§ Q H "5, O < c "fe"S 1^ u O S co lu K z uft - I >' V.— INDIAN PATHS IN KINGS COUNTY (Maps VIII, A, B, C, D) HE Borough of Brooklyn covers an area which afforded considerable advantages for Indian residence. Its fishing and hunting facilities must have been superior and were capable of supporting a numerous population. The extensive shell-beds which are found at certain parts of the shore-line indicate a long period of settlement, and it is considered by Wood that the course of native migration had proceeded from the western end of Long Island to the eastern part.

The tract composing the present borough, on the arrival of the white settlers was found to be largely a timbered district, around the margin of which the native stations were planted. The timber, however, was scant in quantity, as a result of the native practice 129 INDIAN PATHS of annually burning off the underbrush, for the purpose of clearing spaces for cultivation and for the attraction of deer and smaller game.

Large tracts of uplands were planted with corn, but the interior area was destitute of occupied stations, owing to the absence of watercourses.