Excerpt from The Western Boundary of Massachusetts: A Study of Indian and Colonial History In the following historical sketch, the substance of which was embodied in a paper read at the quarterly meeting of the Berkshire Historical and Scientific Society, in May, 1885, an attempt has been made to trace with some care the sequence of events which led to the final establishment of the existing boundary between the states of Massachusetts and New York. The history of this particular boundary has been involved in political com plications, which tend to confer upon it a more than local and temporary consequence. Indeed, it is not improbable that the collateral results of the present investigation may be, by many, regarded as of more interest, if not actually of greater importance, than those more immediately aimed at. Among the indirect results which have thus rewarded the author's re searches, may be mentioned the new light which has been thrown upon the local history of the Indian nation originally occupying the country between the Hudson and Connecticut Rivers; a connected relation of the origin, progress, and results of the anti-rent troubles, which disturbed the peace and good order of the state of New York for more than a century; and the important fact, now for the first time clearly established, that the permanent settlement of Berkshire county was commenced by pioneers from the valley of the Hudson, at a very much earlier date than has hitherto been supposed. In the preparation of this paper, the unpublished manuscript archives of the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York, as well as many county and town records, have been freely consulted and have yielded much valuable material. The present relation can be considered as scarcely more than an outline, and hence the authorities for all important statements made have been indicated, so far as practicable, for the convenience of future investigators. The author desires to express his grateful acknowledgments to the custodians of the several state, county and town archives, as well as to those friends who have aided in the collection of material and otherwise facilitated his labors. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.