 Prior to that time Americans tended to regard the mountains and valleys of upstate New York as an unsafe region populated by savage natives.The famous painting, "The Murder of Jane McRea" by Kingston, New York, native John Vanderlyn, best illustrates this local attitude.It wasn't until after the War of 1812 when the frontier shifted far to the west, that attitudes changed and people began to regard the lofty heights around the Hudson River valley as something scenic rather than ominous or fearsome.