their claims; and
many instances occur in which old officers of the army, in particular,
received a species of reward, by a patent for land, the fees being duly
paid, and the Indian title righteously "extinguished." These grants to
ancient soldiers were seldom large, except in the cases of officers of
rank; three or four thousand well-selected acres, being a sufficient
boon to the younger sons of Scottish lairds, or English squires, who
had been accustomed to look upon a single farm as an estate.

As most of the soldiers mentioned were used to forest life, from having
been long stationed at frontier posts, and had thus become familiarized
with its privations, and hardened against its dangers, it was no
unusual thing for them to sell out, or go on half-pay, when the wants
of a family began to urge their claims, and to retire to their
"patents," as the land itself, as well as the instrument by which it
was granted, was invariably termed, with a view of establishing
themselves permanently as landlords.

These grants from the crown, in the portions of the colony of New York
that lie west of the river counties, were generally, if not invariably,
simple concessions of the fee, subject to quit-rents to the king, and
reservations of mines of the precious metals, without any of the
privileges of feudal seignory, as existed in the older manors on the
Hudson, on the islands, and on the Sound. Why this distinction was
made, it exceeds our power to say; but, that the fact was so, as a
rule, we have it in proof, by means of a great number of the original
patents, themselves, that have been transmitted to us from various
sources. Still, the habits of "home" entailed the name, even where the
thing was not to be found. Titular manors exist, in a few instances, to
this day, where no manorial rights were ever granted; and manor-houses
were common appellations for the residences of the landlords of large
estates, that were held in fee, without any exclusive privileges, and
subject to the reservation named. Some of these manorial residences
were of so primitive an appearance, as to induce the belief that the
names were bestowed in pleasantry; the dwellings themselves being of
logs, with the bark still on them, and the other fixtures to
correspond. Notwithstanding all these drawbacks, early impressions and
rooted habits could easily transfer terms to such an abode; and there
was always a saddened enjoyment among these exiles, when they cou