F 128 Class. Book. a^ .D -■..^^ Copyright N". COPyRIGHT DEPosrr rill l"i\i; P)ORuV(;iis ('npviiLrlit.-.l. U"'.".. l'\ M.-- Kl A HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY BY GUSTAVE STRAUBENMULLER District Superintendent of Schools, New York City GINN & COMPANY BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 3 NUV 4 9yU5 Copyright, 1905, by GUSTAVE STRAUBENMULLEH ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 55.10 JEfie jatbenarum l^xtii GINN & COMPANY PRIETORS • BOSTON ■ PRO- . U.S.A. PREFACE Wholesome pride in one's home, one's immediate surroundings, and one's own city engenders not only a love for this circumscriljed area, but opens the heart for the larger love, — the love of country and of humanity. Home geography emphasizes man's intimate connection with surrounding geographical featm-es and his dependence upon them ; it shows how man utilizes the opportunities offered by nature to establish relationships with her; it dwells upon man's expediency in turning to profitable account the resources of his environment; and it also arouses in the learner a feeling of reverence for those responsible for the great changes wa^ought, and for the institutions that helped to effect those changes. Home geography does not restrict itself to jDresent conditions alone, it concerns itself with the past. While it gives us a faithful picture of the present, it describes the local conditions of former times. In other words, it is not only an outlook into space but the starting point for history. The value of home geography lies in the fact that it enables the teacher to present concretely the geographical features of the vicin- ity. With these features, thus observed, as basal ideas, the learner can be taught by analogy to get a clear idea of such forms as do not come within his immediate experience. In short, home geography is practical geography, and should, therefore, l)e the preparatory step to geography in general. iv PREFACE As no study of geography is possible without a knowledge of maps, an attempt has been made to teach what maps are, what they stand for, and what they mean. Relief, physical, and political maps have been introduced to acquaint the learner with the system of symbols usually employed on maps, and to enaljle him to interpret them properly. As appeals to the eye are considered especially helpful, many illustrations have been introduced, and much care has been given to their selection. Bird's-eye views have Ijeen made a feature of the book because they are regarded as among the most helpful devices in teaching this suljject. Part I treats of local geography, and Part II treats of local his- tory. The stories of the latter are so arranged as to lead the child through the paths of historical changes in as logical a manner as possible within the limitations of this book. The stories selected are such as will prove interesting as well as instructive. The Appendix contains helpful geographical and historical infor- mation in taljular form. The writer desires to acknowledge valual)le aid from various sources. He would especially thank Professor Hermon G. Bumpus, Director of the American Museum of Natural History, and the cura- tors, Mr. L. P. Gratacap, Professor Pranz Boas, and Mr. Harlan I. Smith, for the courtesy and help extended in the preparation of parts of this book. He is also indebted to several of his colleagues for their valuable assistance in many ways. November, 1905 CONTENTS PAGE Intkohuction ............. xi PART I — LOCAL GEOGEAPHY CHAPTER J. Plans and Maps ........... 1 II. A Relief Map of New York City ....... 17 III. A Physical Map of New York City 20 IV. A Political Map of New Y'ork City ...... 31 V. Topography ....... 37 Manhattan 37 The Bronx 41 Brooklyn 43 Queens ............ 45 Richmond ........... 47 VI. New York Harbor .......... 49 VII. Transportation .......... 55 VIII. Bridges and Tunnels 61 IX. Manufactures ........••• 65 X. New Y'ork : the Nation's Market Place ...... 67 XI. New York: the Nation's Financial Center .... 69 XII. Homes of the People ......... 72 XIII. Immigration ........... 74 XIV. Streets and Avenues .......•• 76 XV. Broadway and the Bowery ........ 78 Fen-ies .......•••■•• "l XVI. Parks 8- Central Park .... 83 Riverside Park ......•••• 8o Prospect Park 86 Ocean Parkwav ........•■ 86 VI CONTENTS Pelham Bay Tark Van Cortlamlt I'ark ..... Bronx Park ....... Forest Park ....... Battery Park ....... Bowling Green Park ..... Morningside Park ...... Fort Greene Park ...... XVII. Museums and Parks that the Children ok our The American Museum of Natural History . The Metropolitan Museum of Ai-t The Aquarium ...... The New York Botanical Garden The New York Zoological Park . The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences . XVIII. Schools, Churches, and Libraries Public Schools . Private Schools and Colleges Churches and Sunday Schools Libraries XIX. The City Government The Mayor Borough President Board of Aldermen Departments Finance Department Police Department Fire Department . Department of Health Street-Cleaning Department Department of Education . Other Departments United States Officials County Officials City should Vlf PAGE . 8G 87 . 87 88 . 89 90 . 90 90 ' 02 92 , 93 94 . 94 96 . 96 98 . 98 99 . 101 102 , 103 103 . 101 101 . 105 105 . 105 106 , 107 108 . 109 109 . 109 110 CONTENTS Vll PAET II— STOEIES OF LOCAL HISTORY CHAPTER PAGE XX. New York City as thp: Home of the Indian .... Ill XXI. Indian Money .......... 115 XXII. The School of the Indian Boy ....... 118 Woodcraft . . . . .. . . . . .118 Indian History .......... 119 Picture Heading and AVriting ....... 120 Athletic Sports 121 Music, Singing, Dancing . . . . . . . .121 Public Speaking .......... 122 XXIII. The School of the Indian Giul ...... 123 Sewing ............ 123 Cooking ........... 123 Serving ............ 124 Housekeeping .......... 12.5 Housebuilding .......... 125 Farming ........... 126 Nursing 120 Studies ........... 126 XXIV. The Coming of the White Man ...... 127 The Coming of the Half Moon as told by a Delaware Chief to a Missionaiy . . . . . . . . . . 127 XXV. The Beginning of the Fur Trade ...... 131 Henry Hudson .......... 131 Adrian Block 134 XXVI. The Dutch in New York 135 Peter Minuit 135 XXVII. How New Amsterdam changed from a Dutch Trading Post TO A Dutch City ......... 137 XXVIII. Peter Stuyvesant 140 XXIX. Early Organization 142 City Departments of New Amsterdam ...... 142 XXX. The First New York Schools ....... 144 The First Free School in the Colonies (1652) . . . .145 Dutch Schools 146 viii CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XXXI. Life in the Dutch Settlements ...... 147 Trades and Occupations ........ 147 XXXII. Dutch Children 151 XXXIII. Under the English Flag ....... 153 Why New Amsterdam became an English City . . . . 153 XXXIV. How New York became an American City .... 155 XXXV. Xew York as an English Colony ...... 157 Growth and Prosperity under the English . . . .157 New York Schools and the Change in Language . . . 159 The First College in New York City 160 Trinity Church, — the First English Church in New York . 161 St. Paul's Chapel 162 The First Printing Press 163 The English City Hall 164 The First Library ......... 164 XXXVI. Early Newspapers . . . . . . . . .165 Quarrels between the People and the English Officers of the Law . 165 The Second New York Newspaper ...... 167 The Freedom of the Press established in America . . . 168 Ways of Travel in 1735 ........ 169 XXXVII. Trouble with England ........ 171 The Stamp Act 171 June 4, 1776 ; the Liberty Pole 173 The Battle of Golden Hill (January 18, 1770) ... 175 Independence Day (July 4, 1776) 176 XXXVIII. New York and the Revolution ...... 179 What the Declaration of Independence meant to those who signed it .......... 179 New York during the Seven Years' War .... 179 Nathan Hale 182 The Battle of Harlem Heights 183 Evacuation Day .......... 185 XXXIX. Historic Spots .......... 188 Battery Park 188 The New Custom House 189 The Aquarium . . . . . . . . . .189 Bowling Green .......... 190 CONTENTS IX CHAPTEE PAGE XL. Stories of New York, an American City .... 195 When Washington lived in New York ..... 195 XLI. Alexander Hamilton ......... 199 The First Secretary of the Treasury ..... 199 XLII. Robert Fulton 202 XLIII. Samuel F. B. Morse 204 The Inventor of the Electric Telegraph ..... 204 XLIV. Peter Cooper 207 The Founder of Cooper Union ....... 207 Ways of Living ......... 208 Words of Peter Cooper ........ 210 The Ways of earning a Living ...... 210 How Peter Cooper helped to make a Success of Many Inventions 211 Cooper Union .......... 212 The Tom Thumb, the First American Locomotive . . 213 The New Western Trade Route to China and Japan . . 215 The Atlantic Cable 216 A Model Citizen 217 APPENDIX The Most Important Settlements in Dutch New York .... 219 Important Dates and Places of Interest in New Amsterdam — a Dutch City 222 Important Dates and Places of Interest in New York — an English and American City ............ 223 Important Dates and Places of Interest associated with Washington . . 225 The Meaning of a Few Geographical Names ....... 226 Dates and Landmarks of Local Interest — Neighborhood of School . . 228 Meanings of Other Geographical Names ........ 229 INTRODUCTION FOE THE TEACHER " The map, not tlie text-book, forms the basis of study." Geikie says, " It should be, in my opinion, the teacher's main aim in the first or elementary stage of instruction to make the understanding of a map and the capabihty of adequately usmg it the great object to be kept in view, and no pupil who has not mastered this acquirement should be allowed to pass into a liigher grade." As an introduction to map study the teacher begms m the schoolroom with observations on surfaces, actual measurements by rule and pacing, the study of space relations of objects and the making and reading of simple plans. Actual boundaries and their proper representations on paper are emphasized. As most of the surfaces selected are such as can be seen by the pupil, he learns to interpret intelligently the graphic representations of them. These steps lead to the understandmg of a map. One of the main objects of tliis book is to teach map reading ; therefore, greater stress has been laid upon the readmg of plans and maps than upon the elaborate drawmg of them. Throughout the book much attention has been given to the scale and its uses. Wherever possible it should be the teacher's aim to let the pupil see the geograpliical feature in nature, then to impress upon Ms mind its various forms by models and pictures, and finally to show its representation or symbol on the map. No amount of study from books will take the place of practical knowledge in this subject. The teacher must acquaint herself thorougUy with the immediate environment of the school, in order that she may intelli- gently direct the study of her class. She should make an attempt to bring out the " why there " as well as the " where." Pupils are always interested in that which is near, if it be properly presented to them. xii INTRODUCTIOIS' As home geography also includes liistory, a splendid opportunity is offered in teaching this subject, to inculcate patriotism and love of home. For that reason this study should begin early and continue throughout the elementary course. In the history section of the book the stories naturally begin with the Indians, the first dwellers on our soil. As this is a home geography of New York, the Indian of the home locality has been described. He was not as high a type as his Western brother. In order to bring Indian life a little nearer to the New York boy and girl who know little or nothing of life in the woods, the Indian children's school has been introduced, with subheaelings suggestive of a modern course of study. The originals of weapons, implements, musical instruments, etc., pictured in tliis book may all be found in the cases of the American Museum of Natural History, and are representative of the New York Indian. The toma- hawk shown here is the only one in America havmg the genuine Indian handle. The Indian chapters are followed by stories of Dutch, English, and American New York. The stories of these periods have been selected with the object of teacliing the children a few of the causes that led to the political and economic development of their city and its institutioi"is. In the American period biographical sketches of Fulton, Morse, and Cooper are used as a means to awaken interest in the epoch-makmg inven- tions that led to the great industrial development of the last century. Many of the chapters in both the geography and history sections are merely reading lessons. Questions are freely interspersed to fix the attention and to lead the child to think and reason. Much has been introduced in order to prompt children to visit places of interest and historic sites and thus to become acquainted with their own city. If an interest in New York city is awakened, tliis book will have accomplished its mission. The Appendix is a ready-reference table, such as a progressive class teacher would have in her notebook for use as the occasion demands. IKTRODUCTION xiii Home geography cannot be learned by the reading of books. Miss Rey- nolds says, " The text-book counts for little, the map for much, the teacher for more, and the pupil for most of all." Study geograpliical features of the home locahty outdoors, and then go to the book and map. Begin with the physical side, because it is easier. Geograpliical forms, even after they have been seen, should be modeled and sketched. Wherever possible the natural objects should be presented first, then they should be modeled in sand or clay, then their appearance on a rehef map should be presented, and finally their form as found on physical and poHtical maps should be made clear. If there be a spare room in your building, establish a science room. In this room you could have the large sand table, plants, insect cages, aquariums, etc. After the pupils have seen the form in nature, model it in sand. Maps should be studied Hke pictures. Sketch maps of physical features, small parks, parts of boroughs, boroughs, and the city help a child to understand scale and to read a map. Elaborate drawings of these are not so helpfid. Use a large wall map in wliich the various boroughs are so colored that they may be seen and distmguished by every pupil in the room. The topography of each borough should be studied in detail by the pupils of that borough. Special attention should at all times be given to the child's own borough. Sections of the boroughs are popularly known by certain names. These were the names of villages and towns annexed to these boroughs at various times. It is advisable to teach only such as are near the school. The study of the meaning of geograpliical names has liistorical and geographical value and sliould be continued throughout the whole course in geography. If you find out the meanings of any place names in your immediate neighborhood wliich are of interest to the cliildren, add these to the list in the book. Such meanings are a helpful device, recalling physical features that an age of improvement has obliterated. xiv INTKODUCTION The points of the compass are to be charted on a clear part of the schooh'oom floor, on the ceiling, or on any horizontal surface witliin view of the pupils. The first steps are to be observational, and the instruction is to be oral. The memory is not to be overtaxed. Cliildren are to see tilings, and know where to look for them rather than to recite about them. Many of the chapters in tliis book are intended to awaken interest and to create a desire to see tilings. Therefore they should be treated as reading lessons. It may be well for the teacher to read to the pupils occasionally. Books relating to local interests shovdd be accessible to pupils. Much material can be found in the biograpliies of noted New Yorkers. In discussing localities such as the Italian quarter, the wholesale district, the retail district, it is advisable to have an outhne map on wliich you can rouglily block out these sections with colored chalk. Color masses of tliis kind make a lasting impression. Avoid lecturing. Make use of comparisons wherever possible. Example : Compare the number of cliildren in a class room with the number in the scliool ; compare the number of cliildren in the school with the number of people living on the school block, or in the school district ; compare the number in the school dis- trict with the number in your borough ; compare the population of New York with other cities, large and small. Tliis may be done very profitably in an arithmetic lesson. Collect bird's-eye views and pictures of physical features, buildings, industries, civic improvements, places of historic and scenic interest. Use the collections, however, only to illustrate your lesson. Do not place them permanently on the walls of the schoolroom. Take your class on the roof of the school building, if that be safe and possible, or let them get a view from a top-floor window, or from one of the giant bridges, or from any elevation in a park or elsewhere. Let them look to the north and point out what can be seen, then to the east, the south, and the west. INTKODUCTION xv Eefer frequently to the bird's-eye views. They are very helpful. Train your pupils to acquire the habit of picturing the country the map represents. Induce your pupils to form walking clubs. Personally conducted excursions are the best and the most helpful. As most of the excursions will be taken on holidays, Saturdays, and Sun- days, much of the work will be done outside of school hours. Plan the trips weeks in advance of class lesson ; at first to places of inter- est near the school, then to places farther removed. Teach your pupils to observe, by telling them what to look for and what you expect them to see. Gradually decrease the amount of direction and information and increase your demands upt)n them as to their observations. A teacher must speak from personal experience if she is anxious to have her pupils get personal experience. Take imagmary trips with your pupils to places of mterest. Get them to describe the exact route from the school to the place selected, mcludmg direc- tion, names of streets, car lines to be used, fares to be paid, and noteworthy places passed. As an occasional exercise, get your pupils to act as guides on imaginary trips. Select colonial landmarks in the vicinity of school. Pay particular atten- tion to landmarks, liistoric or otherwise, m the l)orough of the school. Teachers should note places of interest and historic sites in their own boroughs, not mentioned in tliis book, and add them to the Appendix for reference. The American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Aquarium, the Zoological Park, the Botanical Gardens, and the Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences should be visited. Visits to dry docks, factories, shops, etc., form a part of the study of local geography. Cliildren living in a large seaport should know sometliing about sliips. Let some of the imaginary trips include such places as will introduce a talk about vessels. A HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Part I — Local Geography CHAPTER I PLANS AND MAPS In order to learn something about our own city, it will be convenient and at times necessary to use a map. Let us therefore learn what a map is, what it presents to view, and what story it tells. A map tells us something we ought to know. On the walls of the schoolroom we see maps. Why are they there ? Of what use are they? We see maps in newspapers and geographies. When are maps used in newspapers ? Why are maps used in geogra- phies ? Have you not often seen your father use a map ? When does he use it ? Why does he use it ? We learn from what has been said that maps are frequently used, that they must mean something, and that some people under- stand what they mean. Let us try to find out what they mean and how to read them, so that we too can learn the story they tell. It is true that we can read a map just as we can read a book. It tells us many stories about the countries of the world, its mountains, its rivers, and its cities. 1 2 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOKK CITY But before we can read a map, we must learn what a plan is, because a map is a kind of a plan. Let us get an idea of the difference between a picture, a plan, and a map. First, let us stand in the doorway and look into our schoolroom. We see the walls and the pictures, the blackboards and the win- dows, the desks and the seats, three walls and a ceiling, the floor and the aisles. If you were to take a photograph of this room, it would show the room just as it looks to any one who steps into it. This photograph would be a picture of the room. As you know, the picture would not be as large as the room, and yet you would know it as your class room. You would recognize it as you recognize your mother's picture when you see it in the large frame hanging on the wall at home, or on a small card in the album. Pictures show objects just as they appear to the eye ; they also indicate the height of an object. If, now, it were possible to look down upon this class room through a hole in the ceiling, you would see the tops of the desks, the floor, and the aisles. If we draw an object just as we see it when looking directly down upon it, we make a plan of it. A plan does not show height or thickness. It does show length and width, the shape as seen from above, and the correct distance of one object from another. Try to draw the plan of your desk by putting lines on your paper that will represent the sides and ends of the desk, or its boundaries, so that you will see the shape of its top or surface. Let us stand up on our seats and bend over, so that our eyes are directly over our desks. Each boy sees the top of his desk only. He sees its shape and size. What shape has it ? Measure its length and breadth. Now draw it. ^' But," you will say, " my desk is PLANS AND MAPS 3 2 feet long and 1 foot wide/ and my paper is not large enough to draw upon it a rectangle 2 feet long and 1 foot wide." We must, therefore, do something to get a drawing that will give ns an exact idea of the shape and size of the top of that desk, even if we must place the drawing on a small piece of paper. Well, then, let us draw the desk one half as large as it is. You find the paper still too small ? What are you going to do ? We must do something to get a drawing that will look just like the top of our desk, but it must be small enough to be placed on our paper. Take your rulers. Mark off on a piece of paper ^ of an inch. Call that 1 foot. Whenever you measm'e a foot, you will draw J of an inch on your paper. If you find that an object is 2 feet long, you will draw | of an inch for the length. If you find that an object is 3 feet long, you will draw | of an inch for the length. The desk is 2 feet long. We, therefore, draw ^ of an inch for 1 foot, and without lifting our pencils, draw another ^ of an inch. We have now drawn | of an inch to represent 2 feet. The desk is 1 foot wide. Therefore we draw | of an inch for the width. Let us now complete the rectangle. It is | of an inch long and I of an inch wide. We have drawn a plan of the top of the desk to a scale, showing its exact shape and size. We say this plan is drawn to a scale. The scale used is I of an inch to the foot. Every foot of the object drawn is represented by I of an inch in the drawing. Now, suppose there is no furniture in the room, and that you can look down into the room through a hole in the ceiling. ^ If the desk does uot measure an exact number of feet, you must assume such measurement for the present. 4 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY You see the floor, and the floor is a rectangle. This rectangle is much larger than the rectangle you saw when you looked down upon your desk. Let us measure the floor. We find it to be 20 feet long and 16 feet wide. The scale that we are using is ^ of an inch to the foot. We wish to draw a line that will represent 20 feet. If |- of an inch represents one foot, how many quarter inches will rep- resent 2 feet, 4 feet, 8 feet, 16 feet, 20 feet? IIow many inches long will a line Ije that represents 20 feet ? Draw a line representing 20 feet according to this scale. The line you have drawn represents the length of your room. What is the width of your room ? Draw a line representing the width of your room according to this scale. Draw a rectangle, with opposite sides of 5 inches and 4 inches. You now have a plan of the floor of your room drawn to the scale of I of an inch to the foot. Every foot in the length and also in the width of the room is represented by ^ of an inch in your drawing. The plan of the floor of your room is now said to have been drawn to a scale of | of an inch to the foot. Sometimes it is impossible to obtain a ruler or a tapeline for measuring. We then measure by steps. A step is called a pace. A pace for measuring purposes is fixed at 3 feet, and is measured from heel to heel. Your pace is not so long as that. How long is it, measured from heel to heel ? See how many paces you must take to measure your room. Count the number of paces of a tall boy in pacing the room ; of a small boy. Pace the school street on your way home. Pace the yard. How far is it from the school to your house ? Find out by pacing it. The distances as determined by pacing are, of course, not exact ; we say they are approximate ; sometimes that is near enough. PLANS AND MAP8 5 Let us suppose we are again looking into your class room through a hole in the ceiling, and that the room looks as it does now. The teacher's desk and your own desks are here. We can now draw a plan of the floor, showing size, shape, and location of desks and aisles. Try to do this. Remember that you are looking upon them from above. Measure the top of the teacher's desk. Find out how far it is from the walls on either side of it, and also how far it is from the wall behind it. Reduce all these measurements to the scale of | of an inch to the foot, and then draw the object in your plan. Draw the desks ; leave space for the aisles. You now have the plan of the floor of your room, with your teacher's desk and your own desks in it. The plan also shows the aisles. Read Plan I ; that is, tell from the drawing, by using the scale, how many feet long and how many feet wide the object is. Scale: \ inch ^1 foot | | | [ Plan I You should learn how to make use of a given scale because this knowledge is not only very helpful to boys and girls in reading maps, but it is also helpful in many other ways. When you under- stand the use of a scale, a map will tell you the exact distances between important cities and places of interest to you. Let us suppose your father is about to go to some distant city in the United States. You can tell from a good map, if you have a knowl- edge of the use of its scale, how many miles from home your father will be when he reaches his destination. 6 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Read Plan II. Tell the exact measurement of the room and the desk. SCHOOLROOM Desk Plax II Scale : i inch = 1 foot 12 3 4 5 PLANS AND MAPS Read Plan III. Tell how many desks there are in the room, the actual size of the desks, of the teacher's desk, of the room, and the o O Teacher's Desk Plan III Scale : ^ inch = 1 foot 12 3 4;, 8 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY actual width and length of the aisles. How far is the teacher's desk from the walls on either side ? -1 ~T Door g 5 eu o ^ -4-3 0) O si O 5 Pv o ^ J 5 p^ o ^ ^ i u o o PI Plan IV tScale : \ inch = 1 foot 1 2 3 4 r, PLANS AND MAPS In the plans we have made we have omitted doors and windows. Let ns measure these objects, reduce the measurements to a scale, and place measurements in the plan where they belong. Read Plan IV, How wide are the doors on the plan ? How wide actually ? How wide are the windows ? there ? Plan V Scale : 10 feet = 1 inch, or 1 inch^ 10 feet How many windows are Plan VI Vestibule \ inch = 1 foot First Floor Plan 10 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOKK CITY Read Plan V. Look at the scale. Take your rulers. Measure the length of one of the vertical lines. How long is the line? What does it stand for? Give the actual size of this figure. How many rooms on the floor on which your schoolroom is situated ? Can you draw a rough plan of this floor ? Look at Plan VI. It is the plan of a floor in a very small New York school. Can you read this plan? Study it. Find the location of the class rooms, the principal's platform, the teacher s room. On what scale is this plan drawn ? Plan YTI PLANS AND MAPS 11 You have seen the plan of the floor and have found out something about it. Now let us look at Plan VII of the school- house itself. Will it help you to draw a rough plan of your own school building? I think so. You may now be anxious to see a picture of this school build- ing. Here it is. You have now seen the phin of the floor, the plan of the schoolhouse, and the picture of the schoolhouse. We have seen plans of desks, plans of rooms, a plan of a floor, and a plan of a small schoolhouse. Look at Plan VIII. What do you think it is ? On what scale is it drawn ? How wide are the sidewalks ? How long is the street ? How wide is the roadway ? How wide and how deep is the corner flat ? How wide and how deep is the schoolhouse ? How many houses are there in this street ? How wide and how deep are some of them ? Can you sketch a rough plan of the street on which you live ? Plan IX is a plan of a square in New York cit}^ Tell its name. Is it well known ? Where is this square ? Tell from the plan. Do you know the names of any large and important build- ings on or near this square ? What is the name of the park ? Read from the plan the names of the streets and avenues that Public School ;31, Siatkn Jslaxd 12 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY School Building P o Pi Plan YITI Corner Flat Scale : ^ inch = 1 foot 6 1,0 2 3,0 4,0 5,0 inclose or bound the park. Ask your teacher the meaning of the arrow on this plan. On what scale is this plan drawn? PLANS AND MAPS 13 Plan IX Madison Square 14 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Now look at the picture of this square and compare it with the plan. Only a part of the square can be seen. Point out on the plan the part of Madison square that can be seen in the picture. Now^ look at the plan or map of a section of the city on page 15. Compare it with the other plans. On what scale is this map drawn ? What have you noticed about the scales in the various plans, beginning with the desk and ending with the section of the city? Place these scales in order on a piece of paper and tell what you have noticed. We have been study- ing and reading plans. We have learned some- thing about the appear- ance and size of things when looked upon from Madison Square ^^^^^^^ ^y^ j^^^.^ ^^^^ ^^^ plans of a desk, a room, a floor, a schoolhouse, a yard, a street, a square, and a section of the city. Now a map is also a plan, but a map is the plan of a large area or space on the surface of the earth, such as a city, a country, or an ocean. One great difference between a map and a plan is the size of the thing represented on paper: instead of a schoolroom we have a city; instead of desks we have houses; instead of aisles we have streets. We speak of the plan of a desk, the plan of a room, and the plan of a building. We speak of the map of a city, the map of a state, and the map of a country. WL liiifiil^illii "r iliiiiii f:*^-^^ l-m ■ \ ■ ■ ■ 'Ji, -^ ^^^■'r- Z^,^J^ ir^ il ^ -—...-^«^.v _....- — .— 2fe PLANS AND MAPS 15 We have learned that a j)lan is not a picture because it is not a likeness; therefore a map, being a kind of a plan, is not a picture. It is not a likeness. A map is the ^:)?mi of a city or a country, showing its shape, its size, the position of places and objects, and the direction of one place or object from another. In views of larg;e surfaces from above, called bird's-eye views, we cannot tell the height of things. We must have some way of show- ing height on a ma^^. We have maps showing shape, size, and posi- tion, and we also have maps show- ing, in addition, shape, size, posi- tion, and the heights of hills and mountains. Every map has on it certain marks or symbols that have a meaning. You have seen the Hudson and the East rivers. You have seen straits, peninsulas, bays, and islands around our city. You have modeled these forms in a lower grade. You have seen how they looked in your sand trays or boxes. Now we shall see and learn how these forms look on a map. Section of New York City By courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History Relief Map 16 CHAPTER II A RELIEF MAP OF NEW YORK CITY Here is a nicap. Why is it called a map ? You see it is a view obtained by looking upon a surface from above. It shows how the land would appear if we looked down upon it. There are no houses, no streets, and no ships to be seen. This map shows us how the land would look if man were not living on it. It shows shape, size, and height. You can easily tell where the highlands are and where the lowlands are. This is a photograph of a relief map. On a relief map the hills and mountains are actually raised ; on the map before you that is not the case. This is only a picture of elevations. By looking at a map of this kind you can tell where the highlands and the lowlands are. Try to make a relief map with putty or clay. It is the best kind for study because it gives a good idea of the surface of a country as well as of its shape and size. A map is almost always drawn so that the north is at the top of , the page, the south is at the bottom of the page, the east is at the right hand, and the west is at the left hand. Point out the north part of the room in which you are. Where would you place that part of the room if you were to draw a plan of it on paper ? Touch on this map north, east, south, west. You see here repre- sentations of water and land. Which do you think is meant for water ? Which for land ? The great body of water represented on the south is called the ocean. An ocean is the largest body of 17 18 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY water. This ocean is called the Atlantic ocean. Did you ever see it ? Where ? What can you tell about it ? The line along which the land meets the ocean, or any large body of water, is called the shore line or the coast line. Run your finger along the coast line, as shown in the map. The narrow strip of land next the shore line or coast line is called the shore or coast. A part of the coast is sometimes called a beach. Did you ever visit a beach? Notice that on this map the coast is pictured as very much cut into in places by water. We say this coast is indented ; that is, it looks as if pieces of land had been bitten out. These indenta- tions make the coast irregular. This irregularity gives us a longer coast line. Trace some of the indented places. Would the coast line be much shorter if there were no indentations ? The indented places, if deep, make the coast look prettier, and give ships a safe place in which to anchor. Near the southern part of the map you see represented a nar- row body of water between two larger bodies of water. This is called a strait. We call this strait The Narrows. The Narrows connects two larger bodies of water and separates two bodies of land. Point out the bodies of land which it separates and the bodies of water which it connects. Are there any other straits on the map ? Point them out. You see that the two bodies of water which The Narrows con- nects are partly inclosed by land. The one north of the strait, called upper New York bay, is almost entirely inclosed by land. Arms of the sea partly or almost inclosed by land are called bays. South of the strait is represented another bay, called lower New York bay. Point it out. Are there any other bays on this A RELIEF MAP OF NEW YORK CITY 19 map ? Point them out. Count them. Of what use is a bay ? Tell me anything you know about a bay. In upper New York bay you see representations of portions of land entirely surrounded by water. Point out as many of these as you can. We call these islands. What are islands? Look closely and you will find many, some large and some small. When looking for islands you may have noticed in the southern part of the map a strip of land that is almost surrounded by w^ater. Of course such land cannot be called an island. It is nearly an island and is called a peninsula. This peninsula is called Sandy Hook. You will notice that there is generally a narrow strip of land joining a peninsula to a larger body of land. This strip of land is called an isthmus. Look for peninsulas and isthmuses. Draw a peninsula and its isthmus. You will notice on your map representations of points of land extending into the water. Such points of land are called capes. At the end of Sandy Hook there is a cape. Find other capes. Capes are dangerous to shipping. Lighthouses are frequently placed on capes to warn away sailors. Flowing into upper New York bay from the north you see two streams of water : the one to the west is called the Hudson river ; the one to the east, the East river. Have you ever crossed either of these rivers? How? The East river is really not a river, as we shall learn later on. Flowing into upper New York ba}' from the west there is a stream of water known as tlie Kill van Kull ; it connects upper New York Imy with Newark bay. Bodies of water that connect two larger bodies of water are called straits, sounds, channels, or kills. See how many of these you can find. Lake CHAPTER III A PHYSICAL MAP Here is another map. Point out the north, east, south, and west. Point out the land, the ocean. Pam your finger along the coast line. Point out the bays, the peninsulas, the straits, the islands, the capes, and the isthmus. Tell what each one is. Name a bay, a strait, a peninsula, a cape or point, and an island in the vicinity of New York. Maps are usually made on flat surfaces. They do not help us to picture to ourselves highlands and lowlands. We have, however, a number of ways of indicating high and low land on a map. You learned one way when studying the relief map. This map shows a second way of indicating high and low land. 20 A PHYSICAL MAP 21 You notice that there are various colors and shades of colors in your map. All these have a meaning. They tell a story. All ma]3s do not have these colors, nor do all maps show height by means of colors. I will tell you, therefore, what the colors on this map mean. As a rule, you will find an explanation of the mean- ing of the colors in a corner of the map. Whenever you see any explanation on a map you should read it. The blue color indicates bodies of water. The dark green repre- sents land that is a little higher than the ocean level and rises as high above that level as one of the sky-scrapers of New York city. The lighter green represents land higher than that. The buff represents land still higher, the light brown still higher, and the dark brown stands for the highest land. The light markings in the dark brown show that ice and snow are found on top of this highest land. This coloring indicates land more than a mile high. Can you imagine how high that is ? What is your height? What is the height of your schoolroom? How many times your height is^the sclioolroom ? How high is your school building? Think of the Flatiron Building at Broadway, 5th avenue, and 23d street, Manhattan. It looks very tall, but it is only three hundred feet high. How many times higher is the Flatiron Building than your school building? The land col- ored brown on the map is twenty times as high as the Flatiron Building. Point out the highest land shown on this map; the lowest land. In what direction from the lowland is the highland ? The colors show that the land slopes or becomes gradually lower toward the ocean. Place your finger on the highland. Follow slope to coast line. 22 HOME GEOGBAPHY OF NEW YOKK CITY We often hear of people, wagons, and cars going uphill and downhill. We have hills in New York city. Do you know of any ? Hills are high land that you can climb in a short time. When land is so high that it takes us a long time — hours — to get to the top, we call that land a mountain. There are not many people living in the mountains. Most people live in the lower lands. Now that you know the meaning of these colors, let us look at a few other things on the map. In the southeast corner you see a small patch of blue. The blue stands for water. Can you describe this body of water ? What surrounds it ? Compare it with an island. Compare it with a peninsula. This patch of blue stands for a body of water sur- rounded by land. It is called a lake. Find other lakes on this map. After a heavy rain in the city you can find puddles of water formed in poorly paved streets. If there were a vacant lot near you and a very large puddle formed there, so that you could skate on it in winter, you would call it a pond. There is a pond in Central Park, near 59th street. A large pond is called a lake. There are large lakes and small lakes. Do you know of any lakes in our city ? Look again at the lake in the southeast corner of your map. You see a black, winding line coming out of it. Follow this line with your Is this second lake on hisrher or A SntKAM IN Dry Weather finii;er. Where does it lead to ? lower land than the first lake? What direction does this winding A PHYSICAL MAP 9?. line take ? Is the direction towards higher land or lower land ? This black, winding line shows the location and direction of a river in this country. Where does the river begin, in what direc- tion does it flow, and where does it end ? Point out all the rivers Snow-Covered Mountain on this map. See how many you can find. Where does the water in a river come from? Did you ever think of that when you were looking at the mighty Hudson ? Where does the river we were speaking about get its water ? Yes, some rivers get their water from lakes ; such rivers are the outlets of the lakes. In the southwestern part of this country you see mountains covered with snow and ice. Look closely and you will see a num- ber of rivers flowing in different directions from this snow-covered mountain. Where do these rivers get their water ? Some rivers get their water from melting snow and ice. In the eastern part of this country you see other rivers. Do they get their waters from lakes, or from melting ice and snow ? They certainly do not get their water from lakes, for we see no lakes 24 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY indicated on the map. They do not get their water from melting ice and snow, for we see no snow-covered highlands indicated here. Let ns see where they do get their water. When there is a heavy rainfall in the city you notice that the water rushes through the streets, follows the slight slope of the street to the gutter, and flows down the gutters to the sewer openings. From there it flows through the sewers to the river and the ocean. If all the land were smooth or level, the rain water falling upon it would not run off, and the land would be flooded. But the land is not smooth or level. It slopes in some direction. A Stream in Rainy Weatiikr liKM^:F Map showing Dhainagp: Let US suppose that there was a heavy rainfall in the highland just spoken of. Put your finger on the highland. What becomes of the rain water ? Some of it soaks into the ground ; some of it A PHYSICAL MAP 25 runs off along the slope in rills. But what becomes of the water that soaks into the ground ? Where does it go ? Some of it gives drink and nourishment to the plants that grow in the soil. Most of it sinks into the ground until it comes to rock through which it cannot pass. It then flows along underground until it finally comes to the surface again as a spring. These springs sometimes form lakes and sometimes rills. Kills form brooks and brooks form rivers. You see that much of the rain water that falls on the earth finally finds its w^ay to rivers. Rivers flow into the ocean and thus rain- drops are carried back to the ocean. The heat of the sun draws quantities of water up into the air as vapor. Vapor forms clouds and clouds give out rain, snow, hail, and sleet, which we speak of as rainfall. Rainfall furnishes the ice and snow on high mountains and the water in springs, lakes, and rivers. The place where a river rises is called its source. The place where it empties is called its mouth. Point out the source and the mouth of some of the rivers on this map. As a river flows towards the sea or ocean it grows larger and deeper. How is that shown on your map ? Look at the river flowing through the middle of this country. What do you see flowing into it from the east and the west ? These rivers are feeders to the main river. Such rivers are called tribu- taries. You see tributaries coming from the east and from the west. Look at them. What can you say about the slope of the land on these two sides of the main river ? Where do the slopes meet? Point out all the tributaries you see. A river with all its tributaries is called a river system. Do you see some rivers without tributaries ? 26 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY All along the course of a river water flows into it from the land that forms its banks. What are the banks of a river ? Where is the right bank ? Where is the left bank ? Of what nse is a river besides draining the land ? Think of the Hudson river. Of what use are rivers to people living on or near their banks ? Of what use were rivers before people lived here ? In the eastern part of this country you will see one river flowing in a northeasterly direction, and another not far from it flowing in a south- westerly direction. Why is that? What can you say about the slope of the land in this place ? Most of the rivers shown in this map rise in the mountains and flow towards the plain. Where are the plains or low stretches of gently sloping land ? The source of a river is higher than its mouth. Find the mouth of each river on this map. Look at the mouth of the great river flowing through the mid- dle of this country, and then look at the mouth of the river east of it. Are they alike? One river seems to flow directly into the sea. The other river seems to have many mouths by which it reaches the sea. Let us see why this river has so many mouths. Put some sand or mud in a bottle of water. Shake it up well, and then let the water come to rest. What happens? Why does this happen? A Dam A PHYSICAL MAP 27 Remember what you have observed ; it will help }'on to understand the next paragraph. This great river, as we know, drains the land. As it flows through the country it carries with it large quantities of sand and mud. Tiiis sand and mud are not carried out far into the ocean and scattered there; they settle down at the mouth of the river. When mud and sand settle at the mouth of a river many low islands are formed, and the river finds its way between them to the sea. Such a mouth is called a delta. In some rivers the flow of water is so swift and the tides and currents in the sea are so strong at the mouth that the mud is carried out far into the sea. The mud and sand cannot settle, and no delta is formed. Some rivers do not carry down much soil on their way to the ocean. Did you ever hear any one speak of low tide and high tide ? Now that you know something about a river and about its source, would you call the East river a river? Turn to a map of New York city. Put your finger on the river's location on the map. Follow its course. Where does it come from ? Is it a river ? If not a river, then what is it ? Look at the Harlem river. Study it in the same way. Is the Harlem a river ? Now turn again to the map we are studying. Observe it closely. Would you say that this country is mountainous? Mouutr.ins Delta in a Kiver Mouth (loukinl; Dow nstima.m j 28 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY are very high hills. Sometimes they are so high that the tops are always covered with snow. When many mountains are in a line or row we call them a mountain chain. Are there any such on this map ? Where are the mountain chains ? In w^hat direction do they extend ? Where are the highlands ? Where are the lowlands ? In the northwestern portion of the map you see a stretch of land marked in buft" color. It seems very high and level, almost A Mountain Chain like the top of a tal)le. It is not colored green, because it is not lowland, yet it is level like lowland. We call sucli stretches of high and almost level slopes tablelands or plateaus. We have in New York city wdiat we call a plateau. It is really not one, but from it you can get a very good idea of w^hat a tableland looks like. You can reach this plateau by climbing the stairs in Morningside Park. The new Cathedral and St. Luke's Hospital are on this plateau. Tablelands are, however, much higher than this. Look again at the mountain range in the eastern part of the map. You notice one river flowing northeast and another flowing A PHYSICAL MAP 29 southwest. We call tliis mountain range a divide or water parting, because the rain water falling upon one side of this range of moun- tains flows one way, and that falling on the other side flows the other way. Make a mountain range of clay and pour water on top of it. Tell what happens. The two rivers you were looking at ilow down into valleys. The divide or water parting is between two valleys ; it separates them. Valleys are the low land found in hill}- or mountainous coun- tries. Water runs away from hills into valleys. Rivers carry ^r soil from hills and mountains into valleys, where great farms are found. Most of the people of the earth live in valleys ; railroads are usually built there. Sometimes valleys are narrow, sometimes so broad that we cannot see any hills or mountains ; they may also be long or short. On the large river flowing through the middle of this country, near its mouth, that is, where it flows into the ocean, you see a roundish mark. Such a mark, sometimes only a dot, sometimes a small circle, indicates the location of a city. A city is a place where many people live. Find the location of other cities on this map. On what are most of them situated ? Why is this ? Do you find most of them in mountains or in the lower lands ? Why do you think they are there ? How do the people in a city make A Divide 30 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YOKK CITY a living ? Are there any cities on this map not situated on rivers ? Tell where they are. Do you think they are large cities ? What reason can yon give for your answer? Think about New York city. It lies in a plain, at the mouth of a great river, and is easily reached from the ocean. Do you think these facts have anything to do with the greatness of New York city? Describe the difference in occupation between the people living in the country and those living in the city. What is a farm ? Do 3'ou find large farms on the mountains or in the valleys ? What kind of water do you find in lakes, in rivers, and in the ocean ? Look at the course of the great river flowing through the middle of this country. Why is it not west of its present course ? In answering this question remember the meaning of the colors. Look at some of the other rivers and tell what you think fixed their course. By using the scale, tell the width of the isthmus in the north- western portion of the map ; the length of the peninsula. Find the width of the strait. Find the length of the river flowing through the middle of the country. Find the length of the mountain chain in the southern part of this country. Find the length of the rail- road connecting the city on the harbor with the city on the river. Find the length of the canal. Cities, towns, railroads, canals, forts, tunnels, lighthouses, boundaries, and names of places are the works of man. Collect as many pictures as you can of mountains, rivers, capes, seas, peninsulas, isthmuses, islands, and all other features we have been studying. Arrange them under separate headings. Study them • ask questions about them. CHAPTER IV A POLITICAL MAP OF NEW YORK CITY Now that we know what a map is, let us learn something about our own New York city, the second largest city in the world, the city of giant bridges. We are proud of it because it is our home, because of its excellent schools, parks, playgrounds, libraries, and museums, its many hospitals and dispensaries, its asylums for poor children, and its homes for aged people. In the year 1609 Henry Hudson sailed into lower New York bay. Put your finger on the bay and follow him in his journey. Use the political map and the relief map wherever necessary. Sail- ing past Sandy Hook, he saw on his left the hilly stretch of land cov- ered with trees which we now call Staten Island. On his right he saw a long, white, sandy beach, with a rolling wooded country behind it. This is now known as Coney Island beach, and the wooded country l)ehind it is now Brooklyn. Did you point out these places ? Sailing on, he passed through The Narrows into upper New York bay, a large and safe harbor. As he sailed northward he saw beautiful, wooded shores on the east and west, and in the bay several small islands. At the northern end of the bay he saw a flat tongue of land that lay between two rapid currents of water. Put your finger on the tongue. Henry Hudson was looking only for a water way, and he gave little attention to this narrow strip of land. He passed it 31 32 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY and sailed up the stream to the west of the land. What is this stream now called ? He noticed that there was a gradual rising; of the land towards the north on the east shore of the river. Look at the relief map for this. This gradual rising of the land was quite suddenly ended by wooded cliffs and a silvery creek, which we now call Spuyten Duyvil creek. Find this creek on your maps. The flat tongue of land that Hudson saw was the southern end of Manhattan, and the silvery creek marked the northern end of it. The two rapid currents that swept around the southern end of Manhattan are now called the Hudson river and the East river. Henry Hudson had sailed from one end of Manhattan to the other. While sailing by he noticed that this land was covered with low hills and slopes, on which grew lofty trees and thickets of underbrush. He also saw a few brooks flow- ing into the Hudson river from it. These brooks showed that there were springs and ponds in the interior of the island. When opposite Spuyten Duyvil he saw on the west bank of the river a line of cliffs that rise abruptly from the shore. We now call these cliff's the Palisades. Look at your relief map. Point out Spuyten Duyvil creek, lower New York bay, The Narrows, upper New York bay, the Palisades. Palisades of the Hudson A POLITICAL MAP OF NEW YORK CITY 33 On the east and west of Manhattan there are two streams of deep water — the East river and the Hudson river — which unite at the southern end of the island in upper New York bay. On the north and the east are Spuy- ten Duyvil creek, the Harlem river, and the East river. In sailing from The Nar- rows through upper New York bay and the East river we pass the following islands : Oyster, Liberty, Ellis, Gov- ernor's, Black well's. Ward's, and Randall's. Oyster island is so small that it is not shown on this map. Next to the giant bridges, what is the most striking object in the waters around New York city ? It is on an island. What island is it on ? On one of the islands named above there is a fort, and many soldiers live on this island. It can be distinctly seen from the Battery. What is its name ? There is another island in the bay on which immigrants are landed. Immi- grants are people who come to our country to make it their new home. Did you ever hear any one speak of this island ? Perhaps some one can tell us its name. Can any one tell the nationality of some of the people who land on this island ? i i i lTr ii i j i . i iii L» 1 Copj-rightcci, 1N'.)4, by J. S. Johnston, New York Statue of Liukkty 34 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF KEW YORK CITY When sailing through the East river you pass a long and nar- row island ; it is very attractive in appearance. Many large build- ings are on it, which shelter prisoners, blind, aged, and poor people, the insane and the sick poor. Its location is beautiful. Did you ever hear its name ? Do you not think it would make a beautiful park ? On Ward's island, just northeast of Blackwell's, there is a large asylum for the insane and a hospital for poor immigrants. North of Ward's island there is another island. Look at the list above. You have learned the names and location of all but this. What is its name ? On it there is an asylum for idiots, and hospitals and schools for children. The House of Refuge is also on this island. The city of New York is at the mouth of the Hudson river. It is thirty miles long and extends from Yonkers on the north to the southwest point of Staten Island. Look at your map and tell what county, what two bays, and what kill are north of New York city. What sound and county are east of it ? What ocean and what two bays are south of it ? What kill, what bay, and what river are west of it ? Since 1898 the city of New York consists of five boroughs. They are Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Richmond. Point them out. Look at them and write down the name of the one you think the largest ; the smallest. Which is the second largest ; the third ; the fourth ? Which of these boroughs do you think has the greatest number of people living in it ? The order as to the number of people or population is : (1) Manhattan, (2) Brooklyn, (3) The Bronx, (4) Queens, (5) Richmond. Write on a piece of paper the names of the five boroughs, one under the other. At the side of each write one number to show its A POLITICAL MAP OF NEW YORK CITY 35 rank in population, and another number to show its rank in size. Manhattan will look like this in your table. Borough Population Size Manhattan 1 5 The city of New York has a population of about 4,000,000. How many children are there in your class ? Ask your teacher to tell you how many pupils there are in your scliool, how many people live in your school district, and how many children in the city attend the pulilic schools. Write these numbers and compare them with 4,000,000. Cui.yryhtud, VMJ. l,y .Mn^us Ki: Bii;i)'s-Eyi: View of ]\Iamiattan 36 CHAPTER V TOPOGRAPHY Let us take up each borough and study it by itself. Let us look at the relief and the political maps while studying. Manhattan. The borough of Manhattan is an island. It is somewhat rectangular in shape and extends north and south. At the bottom of the political map you will find a scale. Find the length of the island by using this scale. Measure the narrowest part between the Hud- son and the Harlem rivers. Measure the width from a point opposite Randall's island to the Hudson river, and from a point opposite Blackwell's island to the Hudson river. Now measure across that part of the island opposite Brooklyn which you consider the widest. From your measurements tell how long the island is ; how wide it is. Draw a map of the island quickly and roughly without looking at the map. The southern end of the island is low ; the northern end is hig-h. Point to the southern end, then to the northern end. Throughout 37 View looking Nouth, Many Years ago, from SCHOOLHOUSE IN 42d StREET, BETWEEN 2d AND 3d Avenues 38 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY the greater part of the length of Manhattan there is a central ridge of rock sloping to the west, east, and south. Look at your relief map. In what direction will the drainage be ? Broadway is a good guide as to the general direction of the ridge. There were lower ridges to the east of Broadway in early times. The ridge of rock running in the general direction of Broadway is the backbone of the island. In some places this rock rises over two hundred feet above the level of the sea. In such places we have a hill. In other places the rock is be- low the surface of the streets, where it can- not be seen. When erecting sky- scrapers in the lower section of Manhattan builders are often com- pelled to dig down nearly one hundred feet to reach rock for A Lower Ridge East of Broadway, 2d Avenue, North of 42d Street (1861) the foundation. Can you picture to yourself a great mass of rock far below the surface of the street? You cannot see it because it is covered with soil. But let us think that you can see it. Can you then imagine this rock extending northward and coming nearer and nearer to the surface until at last it comes out of the ground ? This mass of rock begins to show itself above the surface in some places, as at Murray Hill and in Central Park. From Central Park it continues to remain in view to the end of the island. TOPOGRAPHY 39 The highest lands of Manhattan extend from Riverside Drive to the northern end of the island. This ridge of highland is broken by two valleys, — one at Manhattanville (125th street west), and one at Tubby Hook or In wood (Dyekman street). It is at the Manhattanville valley that the trains of the subway come Haklem .Ship Canal out of the ground and cross the valley on tracks that are far above the level of the street. Dyekman street is in the valley at Tubby Hook. Beautiful and striking views of the Hudson river may be obtained at Grant's tomb, overlooking the valley at Manhattan- ville, and at Fort George, overlooking the depression at Inwood. The ridge is broken again at the end of the island. Here is Spuyten Duyvil creek, which separates this part of Manhattan 40 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY from The Bronx. The ridge is also cut through by the Harlem. ship canal. Battery Park is made land. Between this park and 23d street there were at one time many hills, consisting of sand, gravel, stones, and earth. These were cut down as the city grew nortliward. Between 23d and 120th streets many rocky hills were leveled as the land was prepared for dwelling houses. In these parts of Manhattan the uj) and down grades of Remains of Fort George (1857) ±^ i i \ i.i -c ^ ^ the streets show the lormer irregularity of the surface. Do you know of any such streets ? When you visit Columbia College, or St. Luke's Hospital you are on the top of a part of the ridge. This part of Manhattan is called Cathedral plateau, and gets its namic from the new cathedral there. Morningside Park is the sloping land on the side of Cathe- dral plateau. From Morningside Park to the Harlem river there is a plain called the Harlem Flats. There is a ridge of rock in this plain, a part of which can be plainly seen at Mt. Morris Park. It may interest you to see and write about specimens of rocks constituting the backbone of Manhattan. They may be found in i Old View of Washington Heights: East Angle of Fort Washington TOPOGRAPHY 41 the collection of Manhat- tan island rocks at the American Mnseum of Natural History. Which borough is north of Manhattan? Which borough is east of it across the river? Mention once more the islands be- Harlem Flats (1812) longing to Manhattan, beginning with those in npper New York bay. The Bronx. The borough of The Bronx is almost a square. On your political map measure its length and its width. Tell its boundaries. What river flows through this borough? Can you name any one of the islands in the w^aters that touch the shore line of the borough? Name one just outside of the borough that is a great pleasure resort. In this borough you will find a rolling country. There are parallel lines of rocky hills running north and south. Between Tibbett's brook and the Hudson river there is a ridge that ex- tends from Spuy- ten Duyvil creek to and beyond the city line. East of Tibbett's brook there is a plateau formed by the union of two ridges coming from the southern part if , «» 1 ^Bi.ik*^^ •'"■ "' 4^^^^ ^^^^^^Bjnggmi^ fej^^j^k^j^^B ^■" IMouNT IMoiiRis Park 42 HOME GEOGKAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY of the borough. These two ridges begin at or near Melrose and unite north of Morris Dock. Find Melrose. Find Morris Dock. You have seen the place where the ridges begin and where they unite. East of the Bronx river there is another ridge extending from Unionport to the city line. Between these parallel ridges we find the valleys of the rivers and creeks of the borough. Harlem River looking South above Washington Bridge The valleys of the Bronx river and of the other little streams are in limestone. Limestone is a rock that is more readily worn away than the harder rocks forming the higher ridges. As years passed this softer rock was carved out into lower channels. TOPOGRAPHY 43 ■$'&. Through these channels the drainage naturally pours in the general flow to the southeast. The Bronx river divides the borouifh into two nearly equal parts. The Harlem and the East rivers have lime- stone floorings also. Brooklyn. Brooklyn is somewhat rectangu- lar in shape. You may study on the political l- map the boundaries of this borough. Measure its greatest length and width. What creek and ^^^^ Bronx : Old View fkom Valentine's Hill what borough are on the north ? What bor- ough and what bay are on the east and south- east ? What is south of it? What do you find on its western boundary ? Where are Gravesend, Gowanus, and Wallabout bays ? What island is south of Brooklyn ? What is this island famous for? Why do we go there ? Can you name some of the things you have seen there ? Name the beaches on this island. Old View from Gowanus Heights, Brooklyn TOPUCJKAPHY 45 Look for another island east of Coney Island. When reading about the street-cleaning department in this book your teacher will tell you what is done on this island with some of the refuse of the city. The backbone of Brooklyn consists of a chain of low hills extending from the bay shore at Fort Hamilton in a northeasterly direction. Look at the relief map. This chain of low hills passes through Greenwood cemetery, Prospect Park, and East New York into the jjorough of Queens. Do you see the direction on the relief map? This chain of hills is not a rocky ridge, it IS made up House of Simon Aertsen de Hart on Gowanus of loose material, such ^-^^^ ^'"''^^ standing (18G7) as cobblestones, bowlders, clay, sand, and gravel. From these hills the land slopes gently towards the north. South of this chain of hills the land is low and in some places marshy. Along the shore opposite the lower point of Manhattan there is an irregular bluff known as Brooklyn Heights. Between Fort Hamilton and Evergreen cemetery much of the surface has been changed by the grading of the streets. Queens. The borough of Queens is the largest and is very irreg- ular in shape, with deep indentations on the north. Measure its greatest length and width. Tell its boundaries. Name two bays on 46 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF KEW YORK CITY Newtown Ckkkk 15i;idgk line. The drainage is north and south from this chain of hills. There is marshy land in the south- ern part of the borough. The hills of Queens are not of a rocky char- acter, but consist of loose material and a.re like the the northern shore. What beach is on the southern shore ? What bay is in the southern part ? The chain of hills which runs through Greenwood cemetery and Prospect Park in Brooklyn con- tinues through Evergreen ceme- tery, the Brooklyn reservoir, Forest Park, Richmond Hill, Maple Grove, and onward in a northeasterly direction to and beyond the city \,iff' ^ n^A tsi. : ,~^-,,'i; mm psnfldB ■^ _ '■"''' w wS^ H(> ■javUjjB ^jp". .J "^^^ £^^* _ ^'■^"Tma jtatf^rflHVS H mm m ■ In ■ii IIammel Station, Fishing Club House Hammel Station, Jamaica Bay hills of Brooklyn. They are made up of sand, gravel, and loose rocks or bowlders. In days long past this material was brought down from the north by ice sheets or glaciers. The slopes of TOPOGRAPHY 47 these hills are abrupt and steep northward, and more gentle and gradual southward. Refer to relief map while study iug. RocKAWAY Beach Scene Richmond. The borough of Richmond is an island triangular in shape. Measure its greatest length and width. You may study its boundaries. Why do we call it an island ? Beginning at The Narrow\s, trace around it and mention all the bodies of water that touch it. Are there any popular beaches on Staten Island? Find Hoff- , -p.. . , , rni Sailors' Snug Hakbor man and Dix islands, ihere is a broad central range of low hills extending across the island. The range extends in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction 48 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY from St. George to Tottenville. From St. George to Richmond, at the center of the island, this ridge is rocky in character. In the center of Staten Island there are points that reach a height of three hundred feet above sea level. At Richmond this rocky ridge sinks into the Fresh Kills meadows, which extend into the island from the west. South of these mead- ows the ridge is no longer rocky, but consists of stones, earth, bowlders, clay, sand, and gravel. The western slope from the cen- tral ridge is gentle; the eastern slope is abrupt. There are abrupt highlands in the eastern elbow of the island. South of this elbow much of the land consists of salt marshes extend- ing along the coast to Great Kills. Along the shores of Arthur Kill there are salt marshes extending from Newark bay to Rossville. The gravel and sand hills of Staten Island are like those of the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. They have ]jeen formed in the same way. Glacier bringing down Sand, Gravel, Loose Rocks, AND Bowlders Note for the Teacher : The Hudson river, emptying into the harbor of New York (formerly an inland lake), passed out to sea through The Narrows, which now separates Long Island and Staten Island. The ocean level has risen, and now the tides move upward into the harbor of the city and through the East river and the Harlem river. Explain briefly how the seacoast is sinking, and how coast lines undergo change. Ask the children living near our coast line to tell you something about the tides. Uld-Timk I'ktuue ok New Yokk Bay and Tiik Nakkows View from Staten Island CHAPTER VI NEW YORK HARBOR : ITS APPROACHES AND CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS New York harbor is one of the finest and safest havens in the world. It consists of two bodies of water connected by The Nar- rows. Tell the name of the water south of The Narrows ; also the name of the water north of The Narrows. Lower New York bay is protected from the ocean by Sandy Hook. It is more open and exposed than upper New York bay and is not so safe a harbor. Upper New York bay is almost inclosed by land. Name the land that almost incloses it. 49 50 HOME GEOGRAPHY OP NEW YORK CITY Excursion Bakge and Tug A safe harbor contributes to the prosperity of a city. The harbor of New Y^ork has to a great extent been responsiljle for the rapid growth of our city. Let us see how it is ap- proached from the ocean. Take your map and trace the routes as they are named. There are tlnee ap- proaches to upper New York bay from the Atlan- tic ocean: one is by Long Island sound through the East river, another by the lower New York bay through The Narrows, and a third by lower New York bay around Staten Island through Arthm Kill and Kill van Kull. The principal approach from the Atlantic ocean is through lower Ne^\ York bay and The Narrows. Almost all direct communi- cation with the com- mercial centers of the world by means of steamship and sailing vessel is carried on through this approach. The Long Island route is used principally l^y pleasure craft, passenger steamboats, and Ocean Steamer NEW YORK HARBOR 51 Copyright, I'.XIO, by Detroit Photographic Coinii:uiy Canal Boats vessels engaged in commerce along the sound and the New England coast. The route through Arthur Kill and Kill van Kull is used only by small vessels. On the waters of New York city one sees ships from every large port in the world, which bring and take away valuable cargoes. Here we may see the giant passenger vessels from European poii:s gracefully wending their way to their wharves ; the heavy freight-bearing vessels ; the tramp steamers ; the railroad barges slowly and cumbersomely threading their way through numberless craft : the stately and picturesque sailing vessel ; the beautiful pri- vate steam yacht ; the excursion boat filled with pleasure seekers ; the skillfull}^ piloted ferryboat ; the heav- ily laden, slowly moving canal boats in tow ; occasionally a ship of war neat and trim ; and here and there scows laden with the city's refuse. Last but not least, we see the saucy, ever busy tugboat, that lends vivacity to the scene as it hurries from place to place, or arouses wonder and admiration as it puffs merrily along dragging its heavy One of the War Vessels, ok Chuiseks, iiiai aki: ALWAYS ready TO GO TO ANY PORT IN THE WoRLD TO GUARD THE COMMERCE OR OtHER INTERESTS OF THE United States 52 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY load, or pulls, pushes, and coaxes a giant sister ship into tlie home wharf. Where are the bow and stern of a ship ? What is a brig ? What is a schooner? What is a sloop ? When you cross our rivers and bays try to name the different kinds of boats you see. How does a boat sailing into a harbor indicate its nationality ? The situation of New York is favor- able to the docking of ships of all sizes. In order that a city may become a great center of the shipping trade, something more is needed than a large and safe harbor. That something is many miles of water front, where piers and docks may be built for the largest vessels. Look at your map. Trace the water front around the upper bay, along both sides of Manhattan, along the Brooklyn shores, and along the shores of the borough of The Bronx and Queens. The miles of water front now in use have helped to make New York the principal city on the w^estern continent. New York still has miles of water front where there are no docks. Along the water front in the sliipping districts NEW YOKK HAEBOR 53 there are a great number of wharves and piers jutting out into the water. In the docks thus formed the water is deep enough to allow the entrance and mooring of the heaviest and largest ships. Here they are unladen and laden. From the time of the arrival of a ship until its departure the pier presents a busy scene. Did you ever watch this scene ? Thousands of men are employed to handle the cargoes of vessels, and thousands of trucks carry the merchandise to the >,i:\v Y(ii;k and Ukuoklvn Binixa-; warehouses, factories, railroad stations, and other places of destina- tion. Then begins the task of loading, and supplying them with coal and provisions. When all is ready a new trip is begun. We find a great number of landing places for ships along the east and west sides of Manhattan and along the shores of Brooklyn, New Jersey, and Staten Island. Many of the ships coming to our shores carry only merchandise and others carry passengers also. The principal shipping district is below 14th street on both sides of Manhattan. In Brooklyn the great piers are found in the Erie and the Atlantic basins. Find the location of these basins on the map. 54 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF KEW YORK CITY The great ocean steamers have their landing places on the Hudson river between 12th and Canal streets, Manhattan, and on the Jersey coast opposite. A great many ferries, freight lines, railroads, and coast steamers have their piers south of 23d street on the Hudson river and on both sides of the East river. Along; the water front on the land side of Manhattan and Brooklyn there are found great warehouses where quantities of goods are stored. Here are also a great many factories. Upper New York bay can be approached by water ways from the interior of our country as well as from the Atlantic ocean. Ask your teacher to show you a map of New York state. Find where the Hudson river empties into New York bay. Follow up the Hudson river to Albany. Here is one end of the Erie canal. Trace the route of the Erie canal. To what lake does it lead? What lake and what river does this canal connect ? Boston and Philadelphia were more important cities than New York before this canal was built. The Erie canal and the Hudson river form a water way from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic ocean. This water way gives us a very large western trade. Many of the canal boats you see in our rivers and bay have come through the Erie canal. CHAPTER VII TRANSPORTATION Old View of Trinity Place, Trinity Church When New York city was small the people worked in the southern part of Manhattan and lived near their places of business. In those days a man could easily walk the short dis- tance from his home to his business. The city grew, and people were obliged to hve farther away from the business district. They could no longer walk this distance night and morn- ing with comfort, and so stages came into use. The city continued to grow, and the distance between the home and the place of employment be- came still greater. Horse cars were then introduced because they were quicker, more reliable, and more con- venient than stages. The cars carried people north ^ ,. ,, ^. ., and south, and east and west Uld View of V andewater bTRKET, Corner ' OF Frankfort Street to the ferries and bridges. 65 The Katzen Map of New Yokk 56 TK AN SrOKT ATION 57 Old Hoppeu Housk, 2d Avenue and 83d Street As the population increased and people moved still farther nort-li, it became tiresome to the people of Manhattan to travel these lon^ distances in horse cars. It was then that many New York business men went to live in small towns in New Jersey and Long Is- land. These j)laces could be reached from the busi- ness center in a shorter time by cars and ferries. The city still contin- ued to grow northward, and so many people living in Manhattan and The Bronx went south to business in the morning and again north to their homes in the evening that the cars were always over- crowded. Now the sky- scraper began to make its appearance and replaced smaller buildinors in the lower section of the city. The new build- ings contained many rooms and accom- modated many more workers. This increased the number of workers Old View ov Kailkoad Detut on Iru Anlme, CoKNEu OF 27th Stkeet 58 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY in the business sections and made it still more difficult to settle the question of transportation. The horse cars and elevated railroads no longer met the demands made upon them. The electric surface roads were then built and were soon followed by the underground rail- road. You know that at the present time all cars on the railroads of Manhattan are overcrowded at cer- tain hours in spite of Haklem Bridge C1861') ,, c , ,i , i ^ ' the lact that we have surface railroads, elevated railroads, and an underground railroad. Why is this so ? Let us inquire into this condition more closely. Manhattan is long and narrow. The distances from avenue to avenue are long, but from street to street they are short. Look at a map. This system of planning streets, together with the narrow- ness of the island, gave very few streets runninar north and south. Those who iit%^' Ferky House, Fulton Street, Brooklyn (1746) planned the streets did not give Manhattan many north and south lines of travel. The armv of workers of Manhattan and The Bronx 60 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY go south in the morning and north in the evening. During certain morning and evening hours the travel is nearly all in one direction. These are the causes of overcrowding. If the business center of Man- hattan were so situated that lines of railroads could run for miles, east, south, west, and north, there would be less overcrowding of cars. Two elevated railroad routes are on the west side of Manhattan and two are on the east side. The west side elevated railroad runs from the Battery to 155th street. The east side elevated railroad runs from the Battery into the borough of The Bronx as far as Bronx Park. Look up these terminals on your maps. The Manhattan subway runs on the west side from one end of the island to the other. At 104th street a branch turns east, then runs north again on Lenox avenue, dips under the Harlem river, enters the borough of The Bronx, and terminates at Bronx Park. The subway also connects with a tunnel passing under the East river to Brooklyn, and has stations at the Brooklyn Borough Hall, Atlantic avenue, Prospect Park, etc. Tell the different modes of travel in New York. What is meant by the third rail ? Why did the people demand rapid transit? At present there is but one great railroad station in Manhattan. It is the Grand Central station at 42d street. To this station come the trains of the New York Central and Hudson River railroad, the New York and Harlem railroad, and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroad. The Long Island railroad has a station in Long Island city. Queens, and in Flatbush avenue, Brooklyn. The central station of the Staten Island rapid transit railroad is at St. George, Richmond. Here is also the terminus of a branch line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. It is a freight depot. Blackwell's Island Bridge Copyi-i-httil, V.UH, \>y Mos CHAPTER VIII BRIDGES AND TUNNELS What rivers flow through New York city ? What river sepa- rates it from New Jersey ? For many 3'ears people wishing to cross these rivers had to use boats. At first they used rowboats, then sailboats, and finally steamboats. As the city grew in population, it was found that ferryboats could not accommodate the people wish- ing to cross the river at certain points, nor could the boats carry all the horses and w^agons needed for the increasing traffic. Over the narrower streams wooden bridges had been built, but people living on the opposite sides of the Hudson and East rivers had to depend on ferries. The city kept on growing, and something had to be done to accommodate the people who lived in Brooklyn and worked in Manhattan. Two things could be done to help these people : one was to build bridges, and the other was to build tunnels. It was decided to do the former. 61 62 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY The beginning of the twentieth century finds the city of New York well equipped in the number and character of its bridges. No city in the world has so many giant bridges. The Harlem river is spanned by eleven bridges, among which the Washington bridge, at West 181st street, is probably the finest of its kind in the world. South of it is High bridge, which carries the old Croton aqueduct across the Harlem. It is a magnificent example of a stone bridge. The railroad bridge at Park avenue is one of the most noteworthy of its kind. The Harlem ship canal and Spuyten Duyvil creek are spanned by bridges. The East river was first spanned by the New York and Brooklyn bridge. The Manhattan termiiuis is Park Row, opposite City Hall Park. It was thought that this bridge would provide sufficient accommo- dation for many years, but it did so for only a short time. It soon became apparent that other bridges were needed. The Williams- burg bridge was then built. It extends from Clinton and Delancey streets, Manhattan, to South 5th and South 6th streets, Brooklyn. Between these two bridges there is another giant bridge in course of construction, known as Manhattan bridge. A fourth one in tliis East River Subway Tunnel BRIDGES AND TUNNELS 63 list of giant bridges crossing the East river will soon be completed. It is known as the Blackwell's Island bridge. It extends over Blackwell's island from 59th and 60th streets, Manhattan, to Long Island city, Queens. The carrying capacity of these bridges and ferries is enormous. We know now that our ferryboats and bridges will not meet the ^^:^Mm^i^m&mm^^is^., WiLLIAMSBUKCJ JjKIDGE increasing demand made upon them. A third way of connecting Manhattan with the surrounding country has been planned. The third way is by means of tunnels. The Pennsylvania railroad tunnel gives a continuous track connection between the Pennsylvania railroad depot on the New Jersey shore and the Long Island railroad in the borough of Queens. This tunnel passes under the Hudson river through Manhattan and under the East river. There is a central station in Manhattan. Passengers using the Pennsylvania railroad can enter New York city from Long Island or from New Jersey without using ferryboats. 64 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY There are two other tunnels in course of construction. One under the Hudson is now nearly completed, and the other is a part of the subway system. This subway tunnel connects the subway systems of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It will cross the East river from the Battery. There are more than four hundred bridges in New York city. Does this surprise you ? Are there any in the parks you have visited ? If you wish to get bird's-eye views of parts of the city, walk across the giant bridges on clear days. There are so many high bridges spanning the East and Harlem rivers that many different parts of the city may be studied from these bridges in turn. Take your note-books with you and write in them the parts of the city that can seen from each bridge. Locate north, east, south, and west. Look down upon the rivers and along the shores ; observe the shipping, the islands, the docks, the piers, and the factories. CHAPTER IX MANUFACTURES The city of New York is generally thought of as a commercial city only, but it is also the greatest manufacturing center of the United States. New York leads not only in commerce Ijut in the manufacture of useful articles, and of articles that add to the refine- ments and luxuries of life. The inhabitants of New York are not miners, not farmers, not lumbermen, not quarrymen, not fishermen. They are manufacturers and distributers. They re- ceive raw material and change it into useful articles. These articles are then sent back to the farmer, the miner, and others. The leading industry is the manufacture of clothing. This industry alone employs more than one hundred thousand persons. A great many inhabitants of the east side of Manhattan are engaged in the clothing industry. G5 NEWSI'ArKl! Kow G6 HOME GEOGRAPHY OE KEW YOUK CITY The next great industry is the refining of sugar and molasses. The sugar refineries are principally along the river front in Brooklyn. The farmers of the South send great quantities of raw sugar to these refineries, where it is manufactured into sugar such as you see on your table. A great many people are engaged in the making of news- papers, magazines, and books. These must be written, printed, bound, and sold. The publish- ing business gives employment to printers, bookbinders, writers, and publishers. Other great industries are the manufacture of machinery, furniture, cigars and tobacco, and malt liquors. We also find coffee and spice-grinding mills, bakeries, slaughtering and meat-packing establishments, gas plants, and factories producing the needful articles for building. From 42d street to the Battery, Manhattan has become one huge workshop and ofiice building. In Brooklyn many of the large factories and refineries are located along the East river shore north of the Brooklyn bridge. South of this bridge is the region of commerce. There are many large warehouses and grain elevators in Brooklyn borougli. In The Bronx and in Queens are some large factories. Copynjjhtc'd, l!ll J, liy Gloh Flatikon Building CHAPTER X NEW YORK : THE NATION'S MARKET PLACE Goods manufactured here and elsewhere are sold in New York in great quantities. People come to New York from all parts of the United States to purchase goods. Merchants in one line of busi- ness generally locate close together for the convenience of buyers. For this reason we find similar kinds of business grouped in certain localities of the city. The whole- sale business is found largely in the lower end of Manhattan south of 14th street. The retail district is in the middle section south of 42d street. The wholesale dry-goods district is along Broadway and its side streets from Reade street to Prince street. West of this district we find the wholesale groceries. The leather district is south of the approaches to the Brooklyn bridge. The leather district is called The Swamp. The wholesale jewelry district is in and near Maiden Lane. In the neighborhood of 23d street and along otli avenue and its side streets is the book-publishing center. The great 67 HkKAM) S(irAl!K 68 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY newspaper offices are found east of City Hall Park. These business districts contain large buildings and great stores of treasure. During the day the streets of the wholesale section are the busiest in the city. At night they are almost deserted. The shopping district is in the middle section of the city, along Broadway, 6th avenue, 14th, 23d, and 42d streets. In this section of Manhattan we find the retail stores, many of which are departs ment stores. They are colossal buildings in which the buyer can find almost any article he desires. Smaller retail stores are scattered throughout the city. In these small stores groceries, bread, milk, meat, drink, medicines, tobacco, cigars, and fancy and dry goods are sold in small quantities to those who live in the neighborhood. Men in the retail business buy from the wholesale merchant. Thus the grocer and butcher go to the markets early in the morning to buy their supplies of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits. Are there any large markets near your school ? The milkman goes to the railroad stations to receive his supply of milk directly from the trains that bring the milk from distant places. In the wholesale and retail sections there are also importers. Im- porters sell articles manufactured in other countries. The estal^lish- ments we have mentioned give employment to a great many people. In Brooklyn the principal stores are along Fulton street, above the City Hall, and on Broadway. A great many of the residents of Brooklyn are employed in Manhattan, or are in business there. In The Bronx, 3d avenue is one of the principal business streets. The Bronx is mainly, however, a borough of homes and parks. In the boroughs of Queens and Richmond there are many farms and market gardens and suburban homes. CHAPTER XI NEW YORK: THE NATION'S FINANCIAL CENTER New York is the financial center of the nation as well as the nation's market place. As a financial center onr city has seen many changes in the cur- rency used, from the old- time Indian wampum to our present Federal money. In early times people used wampum, beaver skins, grain, and the coins of many coun- tries. As 3^ears went by wampum lost its value, and beaver skins were no longer plentiful. Trade increased and more gold and silver money was used. Coins of many nations were in use and some paper money also. WhenwewereanEncrlish '^"'•' J-^^^-'an.^k colony there was more English money in use than any other kind, and it remained in use even after our country became the United States of America. We soon made our own money, however, 69 70 HO.ME (niKXJRAPHV OF XEW VORK CITY and called it Federal money. This is the money we use to-day. Name the 2:old coins and the silver coins. As the money interests of New York increased, business men felt the need of a bank. The first bank was the Bank of New York, founded in 1784. It was opened in the Walton mansion on Pearl street, and is the oldest bank in New York state. A bank is a great convenience for a business man. He can put his money in a business bank daily. There it is not only safe, but when necessary he can order the bank to pay it out to some one he names. Instead of paying in cash for the goods he buys as we do in the stores, he gives an order on his bank. An order on a bank to pay out money that you have deposited is called a check. Did you ever see a check? Ask your teacher to show you one and to tell how it is used. Banks also lend money. Ask your teacher how a business man can borrow money from a bank. The banks we have been speaking of are not used as savings l)anks. Tliey are only business banks. There are also savings banks ill our city. Do you know of any in your neighborhood? We put \\ ALJ, .Mi;i.K 1 NEW YUKK: TJIE NAT10N\S FINANCIAL CENTEK 71 money in a savings bank for safe-keeping and also to get interest on it. There are a great many business banks and savings banks in this city. In many of the banks there are safe-deposit vaults. These vaults are burglar proof and fire proof. Some people put their valuables in these vaults for safe-keeping. Just as New York is known as the financial center of the United States, so Wall street is known as the financial district of the city. It is one of the best known streets in the world. In this street there are many banks. The Sub-Treasury of the United States, " one of the nation's big purses," is also here. In this building there are large vaults for the storage of gold, silver, and paper money belong- ing to the government. Did you ever see the Sub-Treasury? On ^Yall street and in its neighborhood there are the exchanges also. There is the Stock Exchange, the Produce Exchange, the Coffee Exchange, and the Cotton Exchange. In the Stock Exchange public stocks and bonds are bought and sold. In the Produce Exchange merchants buy and sell grain, lard, etc., in large quanti- ties. What do they buy and sell in large quantities in the Coffee Exchange? in the Cotton Exchange? Because so much money is received and paid out in the financial district. New York is called the financial center. In this district there are also many large insurance companies. CHAPTER XII HOMES OF THE PEOPLE Corlear's IIouk Park of Manhattan, along Broadway and on 3d avenue in The Bronx. We have also learned that a great many factories of all kinds are found in these sections. Now let us see where the people live who are em- ployed in these facto- ries and 1 jusiness places. 72 We have learned that New York is the nation's market place, its financial center, and its greatest work- shop. We know that the great business sec- tion of the city is in the lower part of Man- hattan ; that the great shopping districts are in the middle section Fulton streets in Brooklyn, and Cooper Square HOMES OF THE PEOPLE 73 B t, "TfTSBiBKnMVSS^^^^SSli^^^ ' Manliattan is the borough of tenements. In Manhattan the most densely populated districts are on the east side of the borough. Here we find block after block of tenement houses. Almost all the working people of Manhattan live in tenement districts. A great number of people who work in Manhattan live in the other boroughs. The wealthy live along Kecheat.un Fier 5th avenue, on Riverside Drive, and around Central Park. In Brook- lyn we find handsome residences on the Park Slope, Clinton avenue, St. Mark's avenue. Ocean avenue, and Ocean Parkway. There are a great many small and comfortable houses in Brooklyn and comparatively few large tenements. The other boroughs — The Bronx, Queens, and Rich- mond — are largely inhabited by work- ers on Manhattan. These boroua:hs are more desirable for homes because they are not yet overcrowded. Many people living in these boroughs own their homes. Riverside Drive axd Soldikiis' axd Sailors' Monument Ccpyntrhti'd, l;«i3, by (.^ in Immigration Dei'ot, Ellis Island CHAPTER XIII IMMIGRATION Most of the steamships going between other countries and the United States come to New York. The ships leaving New York carry away chiefly breadstuff s, provisions, cotton, petroleum, and machinery. They bring back to us chiefly tea and coffee, crude rubber, precious stones, furs, wine, tin plate, raw sugar, raw silk, leather, leather goods, cotton, silk, and woolen goods. All steamers entering our port are not freight steamers. Many carry passengers, of whom nearly all are immigrants. An immi- grant is one who comes to a country to make it his home. In the year 1903-1904, 606,019 immigrants landed in New York. Most of the inhabitants of New York city are foreign born, or children of foreign-born parents. The reason for this is that so man}- of the immigrants remain in New York city. During the past year most of the immigrants came from Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Germany, England, and Ireland. As a 74 IMxMlGKATlON / rule these immigrants are poor. Many of them have no trade. They land at Ellis island, where the government officials write their names in record books. If the United States law says that they may live in this country, they are allowed to remain here ; if the law says they cannot live in oui- country, they are sent back. M a n y immigrants who land in New York go to some section of the city where their relatives, friends, and countrymen live. For this reason sections of New York are almost like foreign cities ; the people speak a foreign language, have foreign customs, and celebrate foreign holidays. We have Italian sections, Jewish sections, Hungarian sections ; a Russian section, a Bohemian section, an Armenian section, a Chinese section, and other foreign sections. These sections are usually overcrowded. Do you live in or near any of these sections ? What do we call that part of the steamer occupied by the poor immigrants? A Steamship that cahkiks Fkeight and Passengers ackoss the Atlantic CHAPTER XIV STREETS AND AVENUES The growth of Manhattan has been from the southern end upward, while Brooklyn has extended itself east, north, and south. When the first houses were built on Manhattan, New York was forest covered throughout. The early settlers built their houses wherever they saw fit : there was no plan fol- lowed ; there w^ere trails and cow paths, but no streets. Peter Stuyvesant made the first attempt at a street system. These streets took the general direction of the trails, and hence they are so crooked and planless. Stuyvesant laid out and named about sixteen streets. In 1660 there were about twenty-eight streets and three hundred and forty-two houses in New Amsterdam. On the east side of Manhattan south of Houston street and on the west side south of 14th street the streets are irregular, crooked, and frequently twisted. North of these streets and in most of the newer parts of Manhattan a regular city plan was followed. The avenues run parallel with the Hudson river, and the streets run 70 Old View of what is now the Junction OF Pearl and Chatham Streets 8TKEETS AND AVENUES 77 east and west. The avenues are known by numbers with the excep- tion of avenues A, B, C, D, Lexington, and Madison. The cross streets are also numbered, and as a rule extend from river to river. It is quite unfortunate that the distances between the avenues are so great. If we had more avenues, we would have more lines of travel running north and south. Most of the travel and traffic is north and south. There are few avenues to accommodate this travel and traffic; therefore travel on the avenues is congested. Men- tion some attempts to relieve this congestion. What is Park avenue a continuation of ? Mention the names given to 9th, 10th, and 11th avenues west of Central Park. What is the name of the continuation of 6th avenue north of Central Park ? Before the Days of Tenements The Bowery CHAPTER XV BROADWAY AND THE BOWERY The regular plan of north and south and east and west streets and avenues is disturbed by two great thoroughfares, — Broadway and the Bowery. Broadway, the great business street of Manhattan, extends from the Battery to the end of the island. At first its course is in a direct line from the Battery to lOtli street. At 10th street and at 14th street it takes a diagonal course, and then cuts 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, Columbus, and Amsterdam avenues. It joins West End avenue at 106th street, and from that point it takes a northerly direction to its terminus. Broadway is one of the best known streets in the world. Around Bowling Green, where Broadway begins, we find some of the great exchanges, steamship offices, and other office l)uildings. 78 BROADWAY AND THE IJOWEKV 79 As we walk on we pass the financial center of the city, great insur- ance buildings, Trinity church, Western Union Telegraph office, St. Paul's chapel, and arrive at the Post Office, Astor House, and the City Hall. In this neighborhood we find the great newspaper buildings and many lawyers' offices. Passing the City Hall and continuing on our way northward, we find ourselves in the wholesale district. Here we also find many railroad offices. When we get to 10th street the retail shopping district begins. From 10th street to 23d street we pass Grace church and some fine large department, jew- elry, and picture stores. From 23d street north- ward to and beyond 42d street we find many theaters, large hotels, restaurants, and some large department stores. Farther on along Broadway and north of Long Acre square there are a great number of apartment houses, some handsome churches, the 22d Regiment Armory, and the buildings of Columbia University at 116th street. North of the university the most striking landmark is Trinity cemetery. Broadway extends to the end of Manhattan, and then runs through Kingsbridge, skirting the western side of Van Cortlandt Bowling Green 80 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Park, and enters Yonkers at the city boundary line. The Bowery practically begins at the Brooklyn bridge under the name of Park Row. It takes a slightly diagonal course and ends at Cooper square ; there it joins 3d avenue. Both Broadway and the Bowery were post roads in colonial times. The Bowery and 3d avenue were the Boston post 4il!filfim Cuowjj IX TAitK How road, and Broadway was the Albany post road. Strangers coming to our city find their way easily in Manhat- tan, but not so readily in Brooklyn. Why ? Fulton street is the principal street of Brooklyn. On or near it are large department stores, theaters, restaurants, and hotels. In the part of Brooklyn immediately west of Prospect Park and extend- ing southwestward the streets and avenues are numbered. South of Prospect Park the avenues are known by letters. Broadway, begin- ning at the Broadway ferry, is also an important street. In The Bronx we find 3d avenue and Broadway as a contin- uation of those streets of Manhattan. 3d avenue is the princi- pal business avenue. There we find many retail stores and places of amusement. The chief streets in Queens are Jackson and Flushing avenues. Several important avenues of Brooklyn are continued in Queens. BROADWAY AND THE P.OWERY 81 Ferries. Some of the streets in Manhattan leading to important ferries are West 42d, West 23d, Christopher, Desbrosses, Chambers, Cortland t. Liberty, Whitehall, Wall, Ful- ton, East 23d, East 34th, East 42d, East 92d, and East 99th. Some of the streets in Brooklyn leading to important ferries are 3 9th, Hamilton avenue, Fulton street, JNIoDEKN Double-Deck Fekryj5oat Broadway, and Greenpoint avenue. The East 34th street ferry leads to Long Island city and the Long Island railroad depot, Queens ; the East 92d street ferry, to Astoria, Queens ; and the East 99th street ferry, to College Point, <^Hieens. The ferries from the west side of Manhattan lead to New Jersey, principally to railroad depots. The ferry from Whitehall street at the Battery leads to St. George, Richmond. Mill Kock, Hell Gate (li^ii) Liuldken's Sailing J^akk, Ckxtijal Takk CHAPTER XVI PARKS When New Amsterdam became a city in 1653 it contained about one thousand inhabitants. The residents of the little city had the country right at their doors. They had their gardens and their farms. Lakes, streams, hills, flowers, and birds were close at hand. There was an abundance of fresh and invigorating air for all. As the population increased and continued to increase, the city farms and gardens began to decrease. Farms and gardens were cut up into building lots, and houses were erected upon them. The old- time houses were small. These small houses were soon replaced by larger ones, and at last a wilderness of tenements took the place of forest, farm, and garden. 82' PARKS 83 Open spaces for recreation and amusement in the southern pai^t of Manhattan had disappeared. People living there had to take long walks or a ride to enjoy the sight of trees and flowers and to get the fresh air and clear sunlight of the country. This was a great hardship to the very young and the feeble old, who could not walk long distances and who could not afford to pay car fare. It was then that areas of land, large and small, were set aside for the use of the people. These areas of land are called parks. ^^^HMHHPI 1 ^^HpH|HB|Pf^P^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ W H^^^'-^^^' /"' • , IM^. ^0^^^ ^ ^ *■)> Central Park Terrace and Bethesda Fountain In these parks the people can enjoy fresh air, and in some there are shady walks and places for picnics. Parks have become the out-of- door homes of the people. Central Park is one of the largest as well as one of the most beautiful parks in- the world. It extends from 59th street to 110th street and has a width of half a mile. Look at the plan of Central Park. Between what avenues is it ? How can you get there from your home ? One twentieth of the whole population of the United States lives within one hour's ride of Central Park. It provides not only fresh air but other attractions for the thousands who visit it daily. 84 HOME GEOGKAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY 1 irr 600 lOOO 2000 Feet. Plan of Cexthal Park Everybody, poor or rich, young or old, finds pleasure and health within its boundaries. In it there are hills and valleys, shrubs and trees of endless variety, lawns and flower beds, walks and promenades, statues and fountains, drives and bridle paths, lakes and bridges, archways and tunnels, tennis courts and baseball grounds, reservoirs and observ- atories, a menagerie, and conservatories. Can you locate and describe some of the above points of interest ? Do you know anything about the trees and flowers that grow there ? Central Park is not only a place for health, play, and rest, but it is also a place for study. At 5th avenue and 83d street is the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art. On Manhat- tan square, west of the park, between 77th and 81st streets, is the American Museum of Natural History. On the east side of Central Park, at 64th street, there is a menagerie in which animals of many varieties may be seen. There are many statues and monuments in Central Park. On a knoll near the Museum of Art stands an Egyptian obelisk, a noted monument, which is about thirty-five hundred years old. At 59th street and 8th avenue there is a statue of Columbus. PARKS 85 Riverside Park is a long, narrow park lying between 72d street and 130th street. Its location on a ridge along the Hudson, its beautiful views, its drives, and its w^alks make it a very attract- ive spot. Many of the rich have built mae- '^'^^^-^t/. ";• <^ •'• ^ ♦.' •:^; ,■^ ■..•■. '::if' , ;•' ■' ■ . ' ^^^fe: p^ ^' - V .%^''- • > ■S," . 1 "0 ^- WW Jjf .;^( %A' -^ ^4i^f V. ' • Jk^.; -^^1 ^'.' M S9i i ^ 1^^ ^glill ■ ^^^Q^^ ■ HKf-;'' Mall, C'extkal Takk nificent homes east of the park. The tomb of General Grant at the northern end of the park is very imposing and attracts thousands of visitors. There is also a soldiers' monument at 89th street. The excellent driveway of this park is continued on a viaduct over Manhattanville valley to the heights on the north. There it joins the Lafayette boulevard. Dyckman street con- nects Lafayette boule- vard with the Speed- way, which is a public road for fast driving. The Speedway extends southward alonsr the western bank of the Obelisk. iiMKAi I'aimv Havlcm rivor from 86 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY 208tli street to 1 55tli street. From 155th street a driveway continues along St. Nicholas place and St. Nicholas avenue to Central Park. Prospect Park is in the center of Brooklyn. Look at the plan of Prospect Park. Bound it. The park is situated on Mount Prospect, an elevated ridge. The site of the park has great natural advantages. It contains fine wooded hills and a rolhng country. It is not as large as Central Park, but it has more natural beauty. Its wood- land, its botanical gardens, its lawns, its meadow-land, its lake, its Riverside Drive Extension Viaduct tennis courts, its croquet grounds, and its great parade ground, used for baseball, cricket, and polo, are some of its attractions. The soldiers' and sailors' memorial arch in the Plaza is a hand- some monument. There is a magnificent view of the city and harbor from the park. Ocean Parkway is a boulevard west of Coney Island avenue, run- ning from the southern end of Prospect Park to Coney Island. It is one of the finest drives in New York city. Pelham Bay Park, The Bronx. The borough of The Bronx, called '• the l)orough of parks," contains the two largest parks in the city PAKKS 87 and many small ones. Pelham Bay Park is on Long Island sound and contains many islands. It is the largest in the city and one of the most beautiful in the world. Its athletic field, its miles of water front, its islands, and its large tracts of woodland make it an attractive spot. Van Cortlandt Park, The Bronx. This is next to the largest park in the city. It lies in the northwestern part of the borough. It has popular golf links, ball Suldiek.s' and Sailors' Arch, Prospect . , , , . . 1 • 1 . Park Plaza, Brooklyn tields, tennis courts, and cricket fields. Van Cortlandt lake affords amusement to many thousands of skaters in the winter. The Van Cortlandt mansion was one of Washington's head- quarters during the Revolution. It is now an historical museum. The gen- eral appearance of this park has not been changed ; it is a natural park. Bronx Park is in Plan of Prospect Park the center of the lUOO 1500 2U00 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Ocean rAUKWAv borough. It is third in interest in the city of New York and is traversed throughout its entire length by the picturesque Bronx river. Within its boundaries may be found a botanical garden and a zoolog- ical park that are justly the pride of New York city. There is much natural scenery in the park, including several falls and cascades. Forest Park. The borough of Queens has but little of its area set aside for park purposes. Here there is less need for parks. Forest Park is a natural woodland of considerable extent. It has been set aside to provide a playground and breathing spot for the i^eople of the eastern district. Good views of the Atlantic ocean, Jamaica bay, and Long Island sound may be obtained from its high points. In the borough of Richmond there are few parks. The popula- tion is still scattered, and as the country is still close at hand to everybody, there is no need for large park areas. Besides the large parks in the city there are many small parks, squares, gores, playgrounds, parkways, and recreation piers. Public comfort and health are also provided for by public baths along our river front and in other parts of the city. Ocean beaches are being acquired by the city authorities for seaside parks. Some of the small parks are of historic interest, and are so well known that we ought to learn something about them even if they are not located in the borough in which we live. PARKS 89 Battery Park. Where is it? Find it on your map. Did you ever see this park? What can be seen from it? Although this is a small park, it is famous. Why ? Its location at the southern end of the island where the Hudson and East rivers meet brintrs it into daily view of a great many people. Why ? It is a beautiful spot, even though all the elevated railroads of Manhattan do have their IkOCKAWAv Beach terminals here. In this park there are shade trees and numerous benches and it is a cool and pleasant spot in summer. The view from the sea wall is interesting. Battery Park is nearly all made land. The building now used as an aquarium is- one of the oldest and best known buildings in our city. It was once a fort, and the spot on which it stands was once an island. The fort was changed into a place of amusement and was called Castle Garden. Later on it became a landing place for immigrants. 90 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Copyrighted, 11)02, by Irving Underhill Cathedral Heights and Mohningside Park Bowling Green is a small park at the beginning of Broadway. It has been called the cradle of New York and, although so small, it is of great interest to us. Morningside Park is an irregular piece of land extending from 110th street to 123d street. It is situated on the eastern border and slope of a plateau. In this park there are trees, a great variety of shrubs, and benches. The section immedi- ately west of Morning- side Park is known as Cathedral Heights. Walks and stairways lead from the park to these heights. St. Luke's Hospital and the new cathedral are on Cathedral Heights. A short walk will take you to Columbia University, whose buildings stand on historic ground. Fort Greene Park is a beautiful small park in the borough of Brook- lyn. As it is higher than the surround- ing streets, good views may be ob- tained from it. It is interesting to us because during the Revolu- tion a fort stood there. Many soldiers who died in the British prison ships are buried in a tomb in this park, 1 Fort Greene Park PAEKS 91 There are many other small parks in different parts of the city which are not so well known as those mentioned. They are the rec- reation grounds of the people living near them. In the daytime the younger children play in the sand heaps and have fun in the swings and the older ones run, jump, and play basket ball. In many of these parks there are also ladders, rings, horizontal and parallel bars, springboards, and vaulting blocks. In the evening the older people enjoy the parks in their own way. In very crowded sections of the city piers are used as playgrounds for the children in the day- time and as places of recreation for adults in the evening. Name all the small parks and recreation places in the section of the city in which you live. Describe the exact location of each one, tell its uses, and name the buildings in it. Draw a plan of it. Be sure to give its right name. Find out whether there is any place of historic interest in the park. American Museum of N^ukal IIistuky CHAPTER XVII MUSEUMS AND PARKS THAT THE CHILDREN OF OUR CITY SHOULD VISIT The American Museum of Natural History. This great institutioii occupies a part of the square inclosed by 77th and 81st streets, Central Park west, and Columbus avenue. The present building is a part of a group that will some day cover the entire square. Every one can find something to interest him here. The building itself is imposing, the exhibition halls are roomy and light, and the collections are extensive and complete. Here may be seen collections that will help the children in many of their studies. There are collections of mammals, birds, insects, shells, fossils, woods, minerals, and gems. In cases we find Indian relics, which help us to understand a little about Indian life. There are thousands of objects gathered here that show us something of the customs and domestic life of many of the different races found in North and South America, 92 MUSEUMS AND PAKKS CHILDKEN SHOULD VISIT 1)8 and in other countries. There is a large lecture hall in which lec- tures are given to teachers and pupils of the public schools and also to the general public. Cases containing specimens for study are sent directly to the schools. They are helpful in the study of birds, insects, corals, sponges, woods, and minerals. Children are always welcome in the museum, and the director and curators take pleasure in assisting teachers and children in their school work. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This museum is in Central Park opposite the East 83d street entrance. It is the largest and richest art museum in America. Here may be seen the works of great sculptors and painters. Here may be found antiquities. Mkti!oi'<)litax Museum of Aut wrought-iron work and bronzes, arms and armor, vases, porcelains, old laces, musical instruments of all nations, and many other inter- esting things. The original paintings of many of the pictures that you have in your home and school can be seen and studied here. Do you 94 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY know the name of any great picture in this museum ? Do you know the name of the artist who painted the picture ? Name some of the famous pictures you have seen. Name some of the famous artists you have heard of. Do you know of any famous statue in the museum or in any part of the city ? Do you know the name of the sculptor who made the statue ? The Aquarium is in Battery Park. Both salt- and fresh-water fish may be seen in the tanks of the Aquarium. Fish from all parts of our country and from Bermuda are here placed on exhibi- tion. The handsome trout, the beautiful angel fish, and the curious moonfish are apparently quite at home in the large glass tanks. Here may also be seen seals, sea lions, and sturgeon. In a room, known as the labora- tory, there are many aquariums such as can be kept in school or at home. Children are always welcome at the Aquarium, and teachers are assisted in their work whenever they desire it. It is a pleasure for the gentlemen in authority to fill the school aquariums and to help the teachers and their classes in any way they can. The New York Botanical Garden is in the northern part of Bronx Park. In what borough is Bronx Park ? The Botanical Garden is a place for recreation. It is also a place of study for the lovers and students of plant life. We find here the plants of our own climate and also many that grow in the warmer regions of our own Aquarium MUSEUMS AKD PARKS CHILDREN SHOULD VISIT 95 Botanical Garden and Mtski .m and other countries. The garden affords us an oppor- tunity to study this great variety of plants. Hardy plants of our own climate are found here growing outdoors. The plants of warmer climates are kept in large glass houses, where the temperature is much warmer than it is outside. Along the miles of walks in the garden we can see flower borders, flowering shrubs, and many kinds of trees. There is a botanical museum here also. It contains a large collection of dried plants, roots, seeds, and fruits. Each specimen has a label. On the label you may read something about the plant and its uses. The plants in the garden are also labeled so that visitors may see what they are called and where they grow. They can after- ward visit the museum to learn more about the plant and its uses. There is a large lecture hall in the museum building. In Bears' Dkn IN THE New York Zoological Park thlS lecture hall teachers 96 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY and students attend lectures on botany. The director is always ready to help childi'en and then- teachers who visit the garden for study. The object of the Botanical Garden is to educate the people in everything pertaining to plants and their uses. The New York Zoological Park is in the southern section of Bronx Park. A visit to this section will help children who are studying about animals, because here they can see the living animal. On the ranges they can see buf- faloes and antelopes. They can watch the lion in his house and the bear in his den. They can see reptiles in the great rep- tile house. They can Pki.u A.\s AM> i-LA.MiMioEs IN THE Flying-Cage cujoy tlie prauks of the IN THE New York Zoological Park i ,i ± „j monkeys as they stand near the monkey house watching the funny little faces and listen- ing to the chatter. Children studying about birds should visit the birds' mammoth flying-cage. I am quite sure that if you visit the Zoological Park once you will wish to go again. The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences has a fine museum building near the northern end of Prospect Park. In this museum there are stuffed animals of all kinds, minerals, other valuable col- lections, and an art gallery. Courses of interesting and instructive lectures are given in the institute every winter. This institute is helpful to students and to young pupils. The Brooklyn Institute MUSEUMS AND PARKS OHILDKEN SHOULD VISIT 07 supports a children's museum filled with objects interesting and instructive to the young. I wonder how many Brooklyn children make use of their privilege.^ Copyrighted, 1904, by Moses King Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences View of building when completed When visiting parks and museums remember that you cannot see everything in them in one day or during one visit. Our parks and museums contain so many objects of interest that it is impos- sible to see and remember them all. Ask your parents or your teacher to tell you what to look for and what to look at. Select beforehand what you wish to see or study about. Go to observe a few objects rather than many, and think about the few you have observed when you return home. 1 These New York museums are supported partly by the city and partly by private contributions. LOFC. "•^^gw^ ' iapj ■^u.ujipu j l il C'ULLKGE OF THE ClTY OF 2SEW YoKK CHAPTER XVIII SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND LIBRARIES Public Schools. New York is the only city in the world that offers to all of its children a free school education beginning with the kindergarten and ending with graduation from a college. Our school system is the largest in the world. We have more than five hundred schools and more than six hundred and twenty thousand children attending them. The system includes kindergarten classes, primary and grammar schools, high schools, two colleges, and two training schools for teachers. It also includes evening schools, vacation schools, vacation playgrounds, evening recreation centers, a school ship, and truant schools. The public lectures given in the evening in many sections of our city are also a part of the New York system of education. Evening schools are intended for those who are employed during the day and wish to continue their studies. Vacation schools are for children who cannot go to the country in summer and are 98 SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND LllJRAlilES 99 anxious to occupy the mornings in a useful manner. Vacation playgrounds are in school buildings or on piers. They are cool and shady places where children can play during the hot afternoons in summer. The evening recreation centers are places of assembly, instruction, play, and recreation for working boys and girls. The ))oys on the school ship study lessons as you do ; they also learn seaman- ship, which means the duties of a seaman. Truant schools are provided for those chil- dren who refuse to attend school regularly. Private Schools and Colleges. In addition to the public school system New York is well sup- plied with excellent private schools, academies, institutes, colleges, and universities. There are also many large parochial schools, corporate schools, and schools supported by various societies. Columbia University, the largest in the state, is situated on Morningside Heights. It has many departments, of which Columbia College, Barnard College, Teachers College, College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the School of Law are the most important. New York University, situated on University Heights, The Bronx, is next in size and importance to Columbia. New York NoKMAI. CoLLEtiK 100 SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND LIBRARIES 101 University has a college, a law school, a medical college, and other important departments. Fordham University, with its college and its law and medical departments, is a Catholic institution. The College of the City of New York and the Normal College belong to the public school system. Churches and Sunday Schools. There are two cathedrals in New York. Both are in the borough of Manhattan. St. Patrick's New York University Cathedral is on 5th avenue, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is on Cathedral Heights. St. John's Cathedral is unfinished at present. In addition to these cathedrals there are many churches, chapels, and synagogues in New York city. Children receive religious K)2 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF XEW YORK CITY instruction in the Sunday schools belonging to the churches. Some of the Sunday schools are very well known even outside of New York. Libraries. Libraries are a great aid to education. In New York we have many free libraries for the use of all. The largest library in the city is the New York Public Library. The main building of this Nf.W YoKK Priil.lC LiHHAHY lil)rary is on 5th avenue between 40th and 42d streets. It is not yet completed. The New York Public Library has a great number of branch libraries throughout the city. The main branches are the Astor Library and the Lenox Library. Is there any branch of the New York Public Library near your school? Do you ever use a l)ul)lic library? What is a catalogue? City Hai.l and Park CHAPTER XIX THE CITY GOVERNMENT All the people in a city cannot assemble to make the laws. They therefore choose a certain number of men to make their laws, and others to carry them out. These men are voted for on election day, and are called city officials. They should be honest and able men. A good citizen votes only for such men. Let us see who the important city officials are. Every boy and girl sliould know some- thing about them. The Mayor. The chief city official is the mayor. He is elected by the citizens of the whole city. He carries out the city laws, which are called ordinances, and also the state laws. He is a very 103 104 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY busy man. The mayor cannot do everything necessary to carry out the laws. He cannot look after the policemen, the firemen, the paving of streets, etc. For this reason we have city departments. The mayor has the right to appoint the heads of the city depart- ments. They are called commissioners. Each commissioner is responsible to the mayor. The mayor can remove the men he appoints if their work is not done properly. The mayor's office is in the City Hall. Borough President. Each borough has a presi- dent. He is not chosen by the citizens of tlie whole city as the mayor is, but is elected by the people of his borough. There are hve borough presidents. The borough president looks after the paving and repair of streets and sewers ; he keeps certain public buildings in good condition ; he gives permits to build, to alter, and to remove buildings. He has the right to appoint other men to help him do all this work properly. The office of the borough president is in the Borough Hall of his own borough. Board of Aldermen. The city is divided into many districts. Each district elects its own alderman. The president of the board of aldermen is elected by the citizens of the whole city. The board Borough Hall of Brooklyn THE CITY GOVERNMENT 105 of aldermen makes the city laws or ordinances, and the mayor, the borough presidents, and the heads of departments carry them out. The aldermen- meet in the City Hall. Departments. There are many departments in the city govern- ment. The heads of the departments, called commissioners, are appointed by the mayor. The commissioners govern the depart- ments for the mayor, and they are responsible to him. Finance Department. The head of this city department is called the comptroller. He is not appointed by the mayor. He is elected by the people of the city. The comptroller is the head of the finance department. He is the official who takes in and pays out the city's money. If the city ever needs more money than it has on hand, the comptroller borrows money for the city. His office is in the Stewart Building in Manhattan. Police Department. Every city has duties to perform just as parents and children have. We wish to live in quiet and peace, to enjoy our night's rest without fear of robbery, to know that we can pass through the streets in safety at any time of the day or night. It is the duty of the city to give us a feeling of security, to keep order, to protect the people in it from violence, to detect crime, to keep the streets clear of obstructions, and to see that all laws are obeyed. For these purposes we have a poHce department. The head of this department is called the police commissioner. Policemen have many duties to perform. They must watch day and night, in clear and stormy weather ; they must send in fire alarms and call ambu- lances ; they must direct strangers who ask their way ; and they must assist all the other departments in enforcing the laws. The police department is one of the most important of city departments. 100 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY What is a precinct ? What is a station house ? What do we call tlie commanding officer in a precinct ? What is the reserve ? What is a platoon ? Fire Department. One of the great dangers in a large city where buildings stand close together is fire. Fire can destroy much property in a very short time. Many people lose their lives in fires. We must, therefore, do all we can to protect life and property against fire. The city has a' department for this purpose. The head of the department is called a commissioner. The duty of the fire department is to prevent and to put out fires. This department prevents fires by watching the storage, sale, and use of materials that burn very easily. Firemen protect property by putting out fires, and by using no more water for that purpose than is necessary. Frequently the water used destroys more than the fire itself. The department must also find out the cause of each fire. The fireman's first duty is to save the lives of the people in tlie burning building. We may well be proud of our firemen, for they are brave men. Everybody fears fire. Careless and disobedient children often set tlieir homes afire. How would you escape from your rooms in case of fire there ? Why do you have fire drills in school ? How do the firemen know where a fire is ? How should vou behave in i'll;i, lltiAi THE CITY GOVEKNME^'T 107 case of fire ? What is the number of the engine nearest your school ? What is the engine for ? What does the hook and ladder company do ? What can you say about the horses ? Department of Health. Nothing is more important than good health. It is therefore necessary for all to try to have good health. Each one of us must do his share to keep well and must help to keep others well. The city can assist us in many ways in these efforts. Some- times people have conta- gious diseases. It is the duty of the city to prevent the spreading of these dis- eases. How is this duty performed? Whatever helps the people to keep well and strong is said to add to their physical wel- fare. The Avork of our department of health is to look after the physical welfare of the people. It is the duty of this department to see that the water, the milk, and the drugs we use are pure ; that the meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables we eat are fresh ; and that no refuse or decaying substance remains in the street. It is not considered good for the health of young children to work ; therefore the department of health does not give " employment certificates " to children under fourteen years of age. I'OST OlKICK 1U8 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF KEW YOEK CITY The health department also keeps records of marriages, births, and deaths. Have you a visiting physician in your school ? Who sends him there ? What does he do ? Why ? Were you ever vaccinated ? By whom? Which two departments work together in the schools to prevent the spread of contagious diseases ? Street-Cleaning Department. Our streets must be kept clean. We cannot keep them clean unless they are swept and the dirt, ashes, and garbage are removed. To do all this we need a street- cleaning department. The head of this department is called a commissioner. The street-cleaning department must do more than sweep the streets. It must also remove snow and ice from the principal streets in winter. It is the duty of every one in our city to help this department in its work. It is wrong to throw paper, orange peel, banana skins, ashes, or garbage into the street. We should put all refuse into boxes, pails, or barrels. If we have untidy neighbors, we should get them to follow our good example. They will soon take pride in living in a clean street. Every neat and thoughtful boy and girl can help the city to keep its streets clean. Do you not think it worth while ? How nice it is to see a clean street ! Would you not rather live in a clean street ? Some districts in New York are not as clean as others. Why ? How about the district in which you live ? Do you ever throw anything on the sidewalk or into the street? If you are in the habit of doing so, stop it. What kind of a uniform does a street sweeper wear ? What articles does he use in cleaning the streets ? THE CITY GOVERKMENT 109 Department of Education. An important duty of a city is to educate its children and to make good citizens of them. The board of education consists of forty-six men appointed by the mayor. These gentlemen give their services to the city. They are not paid. The board of education builds schoolhouses, appoints teachers and principals, and looks after the welfare of the people as far as edu- cation is concerned. Other Departments. There are a number of other city depart- ments, each of which has special work to do. Their names will tell you what work they do. There is the department of parks, the department of bridges, the department of water supply, gas, and electricity, the depart- ment of docks and ferries, the law depart- ment, and others. You have learned that the city has many officials who make and , •, T Customhouse carry out its ordi- nances. All these officials are paid by the city. There are, how- ever, laws of the state and laws of the United States that must be carried out in the city. The officials who carry out the state laws are state officials. The officials who carry out the laws of the United States are federal officials. United States Officials. United States judges are officers of the United States, or federal officials. Those who break the laws of no HUME (lEOCIKAPHY OF KEW YORK CITY the United States are tried in the federal courts before United States judges. Letter carriers, customhouse otticers, the soldiers in our forts, and the sailors in the navy yard are employed by the United States. County Officials. County officials are state officials. Persons breaking the laws of the state are tried in the county court- houses. Coroners, the district attorney, the surrogate, and the sheriff are county officers. Who is the mayor of New York ? Who is the president of your borough ? Who is the alderman of the district in which you live ? Ask your father. Who elects the mayor ? the borough presidents ? the aldermen? There are four counties of the state in New York city. The boroughs of Manhattan and The Bronx are New York county, the borough of Brooklyn is Kings county, the borough of Queens is Queens county, and the l^orough of Richmond is Richmond county. FoKT Wadsworth A Manhattan Village Part II — Stories of Local History CHAPTER XX NEW YORK CITY AS THE HOME OF THE INDIAN In the year 1609 the present city of New York was a wild and beautiful country. The people who lived here were Indians. They had red or copper-colored skin, black eyes, and black hair like the Indians seen in the West to-day. They lived in villages generally situated near the water, and supported themselves principally by hunting and fishing. When you visit the Museum of Natural History to view the various articles found on the sites of old Indian villages and in tlieir burying grounds, you will see in the cases cards on which are 111 112 HOME GEOGRAPHY OP NEW YORK CITY A Bkave the words, " Algonkin Indians of New York city and vicinity." These cards show that all the Indians living here belonged to a race called the Algonkin race. The Algonkin race was divided into many tribes, and these tribes were divided again into many bands. Tlie tribes and bands were known by differ- ent names, and sometimes they took their names from the places where they lived. Some writers say that the Indian name for Hell Gate meant " the whirl- pool," and for Manhattan island, "place of the whirlpool." The tribe that lived on the island was called the ]\Ianhat- tans, or the people of the ''place of the whirlpool." Other writers say Manhattan means " island " and that Manhattans means " people living on an island." There were also Manhattan Indians in The Bronx and on Staten Island. In each of the five boroughs, and all along the shores of the Hudson river, there were a great many Indian villages. The head man of each village was called a sachem or sagamore. Both words are Indian for the English word chief. The chief hunted for his living just as the other men of his tribe or band did. An Indian soldier was called a brave. When a brave killed his first enemy and brought home the scalp, be was permitted the honor of wearing the feather of the war eagle. The feather of the war eagle was the highest Indian Stonk Knife NEW YORK CITY AS THE HOME OF THE INDIAN 113 T decoration. As the braves, or warriors, were so highly honored among their people, every boy longed for the time when he could bring home his enemy's scalp and be decorated with the eagle feather. The women built the houses, tilled the land, and made the clothes worn by the family. " The men did nothing except hunting, fishing, and going to war against their enemies." The most important weapon of the Indian warrior was the bow and arrow. The arrowhead was a sharpened stone or piece of horn. The Indian also carried a toma- hawk, a war club, and a knife, the blade of which was made of When Indians were going on the warpath they painted their faces and bodies and iiad a war dance. The different Indian tribes were constantly at war. The Indians were revengeful and very cruel. They tor- tured their prisoners to death and disfigured the dead They killed women and children as well as men, although they loved their own children and were kind parents and faithful friends. The Indians living on the opposite sides of the East and Hudson rivers and New York bay were not on friendly terms. They devoted Arrowhead Old Stone Ax or Tomahawk stone or bone. Arrow- head Another View of the Same Ax leu, althou 4 114 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY a great deal of their time to fighting each other, l)nt they united to fight the Indians living farther north. No Indian ever cut down or destroyed a tree unless it was neces- sary. He protected the forest because the forest was the home of the wild animals he hunted for food, clothing, and bedding. Therefore when the white men came here they found it a forest land, although inhabited. Some white men made great fortunes in lumber as well as in fur. War Club and Boxe Crusher I CHAPTER XXI INDIAN MONEY For many centuries before the white men came to America the Indians of New York and vicinity had a currency of their own, which they called seawan and wampum. Seawan means "black money," and w^as the red man's gold ; it was worth twice as much as wampum. Wampum means "white money," and was the red man's silver. Both kinds of Indian money were called wampum by the w^hite men. Wampum was made of shell beads. These beads were made by breaking off little pieces from shells, polishing them, and then boring holes through them with a stone awl having a reed handle. The beads were then strung on strong thread made of the sinews of animals. The l)lack beads were made of the dark purple part of the inside of the clam shell ; the white beads were made from the stem of the periwinkle, — a kind of snail. The Indians 115 J iM »^' M Wk ^p » v%^ ^H^^^ ■Eim ^^H.,:^.r. raAik vhBS^ aJ^H^^lK ' <«9Hi New Yukk Indian of the Twen hktji Centuky 116 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY strung these beads on threads for convenience, just as we make rolls of one-, five-, and ten-cent pieces. They used strings and belts of wampum just as we use coins and bank notes. When the Dutch began to trade with the Indians they were obliged to use the Indian money. They sold the Indians metal awls with which they could work faster. The Indians made more wampum than ever before, and with it they bought what they needed from the Dutch. This gave the Dutch quantities of Indian money. A Dutch minister once showed a Stone Awl ^higf a silver coin wortli one dol- lar, and told him how much he could buy with it in the white man's country. The Indian said, " The white men are fools to value a piece of iron so highly ; if I had such money I would throw it in the river." The Dutch and English valued three small black beads and six white ones at one penny. People in Dutch and Englisli New York bought food and dress goods and paid their fare with wampum to cross the ferries. They also bought land and paid taxes and custom duties with wampum. In trading, the value of furs, grain, and Dutch and English coins was reckoned in wampum value. Wampum was used as money until the year 1700. Shells of which Indian money was made were abundant on the Long Island shores. ^^'AMPUM Belts INDIAN MONEY 117 Belts, necklaces, and bracelets were made of wampum, and clothing was trimmed with it. Strings of wampum were used for presents, for messages, and for cards of invitation. The number and color of the beads on a string had a meaning. Belts of wampum were used as presents, and also in making treaties between Indian tribes and between Indians and settlers. Treaty belts can be seen in the Museum of Natural History. Some Indians say that Hiawatha invented wampum, and that Hiawatha means " he who makes the wampum belt." Others say it means " he who seeks the wampum belt." Stoky-Telling CHAPTER XXII THE SCHOOL OF THE INDIAN BOY The Indian boy's school was the forest. His teachers were his father, grandfather, and the story-tellers of his tribe. As a very little boy he helped his mother and sisters, but as he grew older he went more and more with the men. The Indian boy's studies were woodcraft, Indian history, picture reading and writing, public speaking, music, singing, dancing, and athletic sports. Woodcraft. Craft means skill or art. A craft is a trade that requires special knowledge, skill, or art of some kind. Indian woodcraft meant the knowledge and skill necessary to keep the Indians alive and well in their woodland home without any of the helps the white men knew. 118 THE SCHOOL OF THE INDIAN UOY 111) Woodcraft included manual training and nature study. The Indian's manual training was making weapons and canoes. His nature study was the same as yours, — learning about trees, shrubs, flowers, animals, birds, and insects, and their uses for his purposes. The Indian boy had to learn to hunt animals for food and for clothing ; to make a fire without matches, so that he could cook his food and keep warm ; to make some kind of a shelter to protect hinxself from the cold and storms. He also had to learn how to find his way through the forests in any direction, and to travel miles and miles on foot alone in summer and winter. Indian History. Indian history was not written in books as your a Boy's Bow and history is. The Indians had no Arrow, used for ,1 -Tk , 1 i , n KILLING BiRDS books, ra rents and story-tellers taught the children history just as your teacher is teaching you ; but those boys and girls were obliged Stone Sinker ^q remember their history stories, so that when they were older they could tell them to their children. Thus Indian history was passed on for many hundreds of years from parents to children. The Indians believed and told many beautiful stories about the Great Spirit, the sun, the moon, the stars, the winds, their giants, and their heroes. They believed many fables about how the animals, birds, and insects were created. In Longfellow's " Song of Hiawatha " the poet tells us a great J Bone Fish- hook 1:^0 HOME GEUGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY deal of Indian history, and many of the fables the Indian chil- dren learned in then* school. Picture Reading and Writing. The Indians living in the diiferent parts of New York spoke the same language. They had a written language, but it was not like ours. It was not even like shorthand. It was picture writing, and was made up of pictures and signs. The picture of an animal or some other object stood for a word or perhaps a sentence. The obelisk in Central Park is covered wdth the picture writing of the people who hved in Egypt. In the Museum of Natural History you can see Indian picture writing drawn or painted on clothing and other objects, and also woven into wampum belts. When an Indian wished to wTite a letter to a friend he stripped a piece of birch bark from a tree, and wrote on it in his language of pictures and signs ; he then made his mark, which was the same as signing his name. The Indians left messages for each other in the woods by writing on trees and rocks in their sign language Picture Wkiting ON Wood riCTUKK WlilTINCf ON BiRCH BaRK The children learned to read this language, and to write it; they also were taught the meaning of the few Indian colors used in sending messages. THE SCHOOL OF THE INDIAN BOY 121 TuuKKY-BoNE Whistle Athletic sports. The Indian boys had contests in athletic sports. They practiced running, jumping, and ball playing, and had cham- pion games between the villages. Did you ^ know that lacrosse was an Indian game ? Music, Singing, Dancing. In his first letter to Santa Clans a white boy asks for a drum ; if he has a drum, he asks for a horn. The In- dian boy, too, liked musical instruments ; he learned to play Indian dance music on drums, rattles, and whistles. He could make wooden whistles just as well as the country boy of to-day, but he did not know anything about a horn. Whistles were made also of the bone of a turkey's leg. The cylinder of an Indian's drum was a hollow log, and its head was a piece of deerskin. Rattles were made of turtle shells and gourds. In the Museum of Natural History there is an interesting collection of Indian musical instruments. The pic- tures in this book of the drum, whistle, «B^'- Drum a>,d JJiilm stick and rattles are representations of a few. With these rude instruments the Indians beat the time for singing and dancing. We would not admire their dancing, and we would call their music noise. Rattle made from a Goird 122 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Public Speaking. The Indians liked to listen to good speaking. The boy who had the abihty to speak well was carefully trained, so that when he was a man he could speak at meetings, and also act as a delegate for his tribe on important occasions when good speakers were needed. The Indians used beautiful and poetic language in their speeches. Turtle-Shell Rattle CHAPTER XXIII THE SCHOOL OF THE INDIAN GIRL The Indian girl's school was her home, and her teachers were her mother and grandmother. They taught her sewing, cooking, housekeeping, nursing, farming, and housebuilding. Sewing. In the Museum of Natural History you may see the Indian girl's needles, which were bone and stone awls. Her thread was made of the small sinews of animals, and her cloth was b*^ne Awl, the Indian J 1 • T i 1 i- Girl's Nkedle deerskin, instead or em- broidering with pretty silk, as girls do nowadays, she ornamented her work with porcupine quills and wam- pum. She began her sewing les- sons by making for her father tobacco pouches, and also bags in which he carried samp when he went hunting. Then she *; made moccasins and leggings, and felt very p proud when she could sew on the wampum in pretty patterns. She was taught to weave \ a kind of cloth out of vegetable fibers, and to make mats, baskets, and fishing nets. Moccasins Cooking. The Indian girl's cooking lessons were very different from yours. The housekeeper had pots of soapstone and clay, which 123 Bag eok Pipe AND Tobacco ./% 124 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY were made at home, and the httle cook was taught to make them. She was also taught how to make broilers of sticks and to prepare a bed of hot ashes for baking. She learned to make Indian-meal bread, to broil, roast, and boil meat and fish, to make soup and stews, and to cook vegetables. Did you know that the Indians taught us how to make succotash? Serving. The Indians did not have tables or chairs, and their few dishes were made of wood, birch bark, and Indian Mat shells. There was no table setting taught in the wigwam, and the housekeepers never worried when their dishes were chipped or broken. At mealtime the Indians sat in a circle on the floor. Each person had a wooden bowl and a wooden or shell spoon. The food was served on a piece of wood or in the pot in which it was cooked, THE SCHOOL OF THE INDIAN GIRL 125 aud each person helped himself to as much or as little as he wished. The men and boys ate first, and then the women and girls. The Indians' drink was water. Housekeeping. Indian housekeeping was not very hard work. As you know, they had but few dishes _ and cooking utensils and L\dian Basket no tables or chairs. The family slept on the floor or on raised platforms along the sides of the wigw^ams, and used furs and skin mats for bedding. When the family decided that the wigwam was very dirty and needed a cleaning they moved. That was the easiest way to clean house. Housebuilding. The children helped their mothers to build the new wigwam. The women made a framework of poles, which were arched over and covered with pieces of bark. This house was built so well that no rain could get into it through the bark covering. There was a door to the wigwam, also a hole in the roof, but no wdndow. The fireplace w^as a pit in the middle of the earth floor, and the smoke went out through the hole in the roof, which was the only kind of a chimney the Indians knew anything about. Light and air could enter C'lay Pot only through the doorway and smoke hole. Some wigwams were large enough for several families. Indian Ladle 126 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Farming. In the spring the women and children planted corn, beans, and pumpkins, and enjoyed the work. In the fall they gathered the ripe corn and other vegetables and stored them for the winter. They then had a general good time to celebrate their harvest. Nursing. In the Indian gM's nature-study lessons she learned something about Indian medi- cines, so that when she was a woman she could nurse the sick. The Indian medicines were made of herbs, roots, bark, and other children living in old Manhattan were ill they did not get nice little sugar-coated pills or other medicines equally pleas- ant. They had to drink a big cupful of strong, bitter tea made of herbs and roots. Studies. The girls were taught music, singing, dancing, picture writing, history stories, myths, and fables. While the girls were studjdng and learning to be good little housekeepers they played games and enjoyed themselves in their free time as little girls do nowadays. Tool used in mak- ing A SOAPSTONE Pot CHAPTER XXIV THE COMING OF THE WHITE MAN The Coming of the " Half Moon " as told by a Delaware Chief to a Missionary "A great many years ago, when men with white skin had never yet been seen in this land, some Indians, who were out fishing at a place where the sea widens, espied at a great distance something remarkably large floating on the water, and such as they had never seen before. " These Indians, immediately returning to the shore, apprised their countrymen of what they had observed, and pressed them to go out with them and discover what it might be. They hurried out together, and saw with astonishment the phenomenon which now appeared to their sight, but could not agree upon what it was ; some believed it to be an uncommonly large fish or animal, while others were of the opinion it must be a very big house floating on the sea. "At length the spectators concluded that this wonderful object was moving towards the land, and that it must be an animal or something else that had life in it ; it would therefore be proper to inform all the Indians on the inhabited islands of what they had seen, and put them on their guard. "Accordingly they sent off a number of runners and watermen to carry the news to their scattered chiefs, that they might send off 127 128 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF KEW YORK CITY in every direction for the warriors, with a message that they should come on immediately. These arriving in numbers, and having themselves viewed the strange appearance, and observing that it was actually moving towards the entrance of the river or bay, concluded it to be a remarkably large house in which the Man- nitto (the Great or Supreme Being) himself was present, and that he was probably coming to visit them. " By this time the chiefs were as- sembled at York island and deliberat- ing as to the manner in which they should receive their Mannitto on his arrival. . . . While in this situation, fresh runners arrived, declaring it to be a large house of various colors and crowded with living creatures. . . . Other runners soon after arriving declare that it is positively a house full of human beings, of quite a Descendant of an Inoian Chief ^^iffgrent color from that of the In- dians, and dressed differently from them ; that, in particular, one was dressed entirely in red, who must be the Mannitto himself. " They are hailed from the vessel in a language they do not understand, yet they shout or yell in return by way of answer, according to the custom of their country. Many are for running off to the woods, but are pressed by others to stay, in order not to give offense to their visitor, who might find them out and destroy them. " The house — some say large canoe — at last stops, and a canoe of smaller size comes on shore with the Red Man and some otliers THE COMING OF THE WHITE MAK 129 in it ; some stay with his canoe to guard it. The chiefs and wise men assembled in council, form themselves into a large circle, towards which the man in red clothes approaches with two others. "He salutes them with a friendly countenance, and they return the salute after their manner. They are lost in admiration ; the dress, the manners, the whole appearance of the unknown strangers is to them a subject of wonder ; but they are particularly struck with him who wore the red coat all glittering with gold lace, which they could in no manner account for. He surely must be the great Mannitto, but why should he have a white skin ? . . . " The man with red clothes gave them beads, axes, hoes, and stockings such as the white people wear. They soon became familiar with each other and began to converse by signs. The Dutch made them understand that they would not stay here, that they would return home again, but would pay them another visit the next year, when ^y they would bring them more presents and stay with ■^^^ them awhile ; but as they could not live without ^^^^ eating, they should want a little land of them to Indian Baby's SOW seeds in order to raise herbs and vegetables Resting Place f^^. ^j^^-j, ^^^^^^ " They went away as they had said, and returned in the follow- ing season, when both parties w^ere much rejoiced to see each other ; but the whites laughed at the Indians, seeing that they knew not the uses of the axes and hoes they had given them the year before ; for they had these hanging to their breasts as ornaments, and the 130 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY stockings were made use of as tobacco pouches. The whites now put handles to the former for them, and cut down trees before their eyes, hoed up the ground, and put stockings on their legs. Here, they say, general laughter ensued among the Indians, that they had remained ignorant of the use of such valuable imple- ments, and had borne the weight of such heavy metal hanging to their necks for such a length of time. . . . ^' As the whites became daily more familiar with the Indians, they at last proposed to stay with them, and asked only for so much ground for a garden spot as, they said, the hide of a bullock would cover or encompass, which hide was spread before them. The Indians readily granted this apparently reasonable request ; but the whites then took a knife and, beginning at one end of the hide, cut it up into a long rope, not thicker than a child's finger, so that by the time the whole was cut up it made a great heap. They then took the rope at one end, and drew it gently along, carefully avoiding its breaking. It was drawn out into a circular form and, being closed at the ends, encompassed a large piece of ground. The Indians were surprised at the superior wit of the whites, but did not wish to contend with them about a little land, as they still had enough for themselves." ^ ^ ^^;,,^::....... .SS^' ^ mT -' ■ - Mt^*' #C!a ■' M ■;ll^« l%- ^wl^ "» /; 'S^- •WsTiSmS^^^^p ' - %' ~ '^^ ^j^^^M "■■ :,.; 1 f i'S0 :^^-::^B^^^ .'i^v^-:^:-. ^ , - - ^f^^:SS^--iJ a=:i^ „-^-^— = -„-. -i:^^-: Landing uk Henry Hudson CHAPTER XXV THE BEGINNING OF THE FUR TRADE Henry Hudson In 1609 the people of Europe knew very little about America. They thought it was a very narrow continent between Europe and Asia, and that there was a water way across it to the Pacific ocean. European sea captains and merchants wished to find this water way because it would give them a much shorter trade route to China and Japan. 131 132 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF KEW YORK CITY A Dutch trading company hired Henry Hudson, a famous English North Pole explorer, to find this short water way across the American continent. Henry Hudson did not find this new trade route, but his account of the valuable furs that could be obtained here in exchange for cheap articles influenced the Dutch to en- gage in the fur trade, and the fur trade led to the set- tlement of New York. Compare the bone and stone tools and weapons and the earthenware pots in the Indian rooms of the Museum of Natural History with tools, weapons, and cooking utensils made of metal, and you will realize why the Indians placed so high a value on a spade, a saw, an ax, an awl, an iron pot, or a copper kettle. The Dutch traders had manufac- Henry Hudson , ^ , . , , . , , , tured articles which would make life more comfortable for the Indians. The Indians had valuable furs which would make fortunes for the Dutch traders, so they exchanged or traded one for the other, and in this way the fur trade between the Dutch and Indians began. Beaver skin was the most valuable fur. HENRY HUDSON 133 The Dutch soon found out that Manhattan had many natural trading advantages. New York bay was then, as it is now, a fine, large, and safe harbor for any number of trading vessels. Dutch ships could sail up the Hudson river for one hundred and fifty miles, through the East river, and along the shores of Long Island sound, through Arthur Kill and Kill van Kull into Newark bay, and, by using small boats and canoes, they could travel still farther on the many rivers emptying into the waters named. Manhattan was made the traders' headquarters, and Albany was made the trading center for the northern and western part of the state. Furs collected throughout the country drained by the waters named above were brought to Manhattan, and from Man- hattan they were shipped directly to Europe. 134 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY Adrian Block Adrian Block was one of the first fur traders. He and his men did not make their homes here. They lived in these houses while trading. Although it was merely a trading settlement, it was a settlement, and is considered the beginning of our city. Block's vessel, the Tiger, was burned a few days before he was ready to sail for home. The Indians helped him to build another ship and supplied him with food. Block was the first white man to build a boat on Manhattan, as well as the first white man to build a house here. THIS TABLET MARKS THE SITE OF THE FIRST HABITATION OF WHITE MEN ON THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN ADEIAN BLOCK COMMANDER OF THE TIGER ERECTED HERE FOUR HOUSES OR HUTS NOVEMBER, 1613 HE BUILT THE RESTLESS, THE FIRST VESSEL MADE BY EUROPEANS IN THIS COUNTRY THE RESTLESS WAS LAUNCHED IN THE SPRING OF 1614 THIS TABLET IS PLACED HERE BY THE HOLLAND SOCIETY OF NEW YORK SEPTEMBER, 1890 Tablet at No. 41 BuoAinvAY NiEUW Nederlandt This view of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan is copied from an ancient engraving executed in Holland. The fort was erected in 1623, but was finished upon the above model by Governor Van T wilier in 1635 CHAPTER XXVI THE DUTCH IN NEW YORK Peter Minuit The Dutch lived in Holland, or Netherlaud. Their principal city was Amsterdam. They named the part of America discovered and explored by Henry Hudson, New Netherland, and the southern end of the present borough of Manhattan, New Amsterdam. In 1623 some families from Holland settled in New Amsterdam, some settled in Brooklyn where the Navy Yard is now, and others settled in Albany. 1.S5 136 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY In 1626 Peter Minuit, the first Dutch governor came from Holland to take charge of the new settlements. The Indians were the '' rightful owners and tenants " of the land, and it would have been wrong to have taken this land from them without paying for it. Peter Minuit's first act was to buy the land which is now the borough of Manhattan. He paid for it with manufactured articles worth 60 guilders ($120 at the present time). The Indians had no idea of the value of land. They thought they had more than they needed, and hence they were more than willing to give up some of it for things they valued highly. The Dutch knew they were paying very little for the island, but they did not realize the future value of tlie land they bought. Both parties were quite well satisfied with the bargain. Minuit made a good governor because he was a just, honorable, and sensible man. The Indians liked him and were very friendly to the Dutch settlers. When Peter Minuit was governor there was a ferry between Peck Slip, New Amsterdam, and Brooklyn. The ferryboat was a rowboat. A few years later the fare was fifteen cents' worth of wampum. The ferryman's farm was at Peck Slip, and he was a very important person. Pearl street is the oldest street in Manhattan, and was then on the river front. The road from the fort to the ferry was through Stone and Pearl streets. The land now between Pearl street and the river is made land. CHAPTER XXVII HOW NEW AMSTERDAM CHANGED FROM A DUTCH TRADING POST TO A DUTCH CITY The first settlers did not plan a city with streets and avenues running in straight lines ; they thought only of the fur trade. After a few years they found out that the lumber was valuable, and that New Netherland was a good farming country. Rich Dutch merchants came to New Netherland and invested money in land and business. The boroughs of The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Richmond were purchased from the Indians, and also miles and miles of land along the Hudson river to Albany. The Dutch bought all this land cheap, but they gave the Indians the price they asked for it. It was paid for with cloth, tools, cooking utensils, beads, ornaments, etc. Dutch farmers came and settled in the five boroughs and along the shores of the Hudson river. Thus New Netherland became a farming as well as a commercial colony. 137 T. Smit's Vlv in Early Times, Foot of Maiden Lane 138 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY The first settlers in the five boroughs selected the low land on the water front for their farms. It was the most desirable land for them, because the ground could be readily prepared for the plant- ing of grains and vegetables, and because the people depended on boats to go from place to place, and to New Amsterdam, the busi- ness center. The lower part of Manhattan was divided into small farms called " bouweries." The road that led through these farms to Stuyvesant's country home was called Bouwerie Lane. To-day that road is called the Bowery. The Dutch farmer in Manhattan built his house on any part of his land that he pleased. Pathways led from houses to barns, and lanes led from house to house, from farm to farm. Roads led to the Stadt Huys, to the ferries, to the church in the fort, and to Bowling Green, which was then a market place and a parade ground for soldiers. Bowling Green was an open field near the fort and was called The Plaine. It was the central point in Dutch New York and all roads led to it. As the city grew in size and population, the roads became streets, but they remained winding and crooked. This explains why the streets below 14tli street, Manhattan, are narrow and crooked. In the old part of Brooklyn the streets are narrow and planless for similar reasons. The people in the five boroughs of Dutch New York were not all Dutch, for English, Irish, Scotch, French, Germans, and Jews had settled here. Indian natives were still living in villages, and there were also many negroes here. Traders from many parts of the world were coming and going constantly. It is said that fifteen languages were spoken in our city when the fourth and last Dutch NEW AMSTEKDAM A DUTCH CITY 139 governor lived in New Amsterdam. So you see in early times the people of our city belonged to many different nationalities, but the great majority were Dutch and English. The Hollanders permitted people from other countries in Europe not only to live and work in New Netherland but also to buy land. The settlers were obliged to take the oath of allegiance as Dutch subjects the same as the Dutch colonists, but it was not necessary for them to be members of the Dutch Reformed Church. Dutch was the official language, and it was used in the city churches and taught in the city schools. As early as 1643 it was necessary to have an official interpreter for those who could not speak Dutch. The Indians had their own language and their own names for everything. They called the Dutch cloth workers and iron workers because they made cloth and articles of iron. CHAPTER XXVIII PETER STUYVESANT Peter Stuyvesant was the fourth and last Dutch governor of New Netherland. As soon as the Indians saw him they called him Father Wooden Leg because he had a wooden leg. Governor Stuy- vesant was a soldier and had lost his leg while fighting. He lived in a town house near the site of South ferry. The house was afterwards called the White Hall, and the street where it stood is called Whitehall street. His country home was on his "bouwerie," which extended from about 16th street to Cooper square, and from 4tli avenue to the East river. The house was built at a point east of 3d avenue and north of 10th street. Governor Stuyvesant employed many workmen, and in a few years there was (juite a little village on his land, called Bouwerie village. There was a free school in his village. Stuyvesant gave 140 I'l;! Ki; 8ti:vvesant PETER STUYVESANT 141 great attention to his farm and gardens. Until the year 1867 a pear tree that had been planted in his orchard stood at the corner of 13th street and 3d avenue. He built a chapel in Bouwerie village, and when he died he was buried in the family vault under the little Dutch village chapel. Years afterward the chapel was torn down, but his remains were not disturbed. St. Mark's church now stands on the site of the one Stuyvesant built, and his tombstone is fastened to the east wall. This is the oldest church site in New York now occupied by a church. The Stuyvesant High School, near Stuyvesant square, is on the northern part of Stuyvesant's farm and in the old Bouwerie village. CHAPTER XXIX EARLY ORGANIZATION City Departments of New Amsterdam Governor Stuyvesant made the little settlement look like a city by laying out some streets and by having a few paved. He com- pelled the people who lived in these streets to keep them clean. He also had a fire depart- ment, a police department, and a post-office department, and he improved the schools. The Dutch firemen were called firewardens ; instead of fire engines and long fire hose, they had only two hundred and fifty leather buckets, and ladders. Fifty of these buck- ets were kept in the Stadt Huys ; others were kept in business places, and some in private houses. When a fire broke out the bell on the Stadt Huys was rung, and all who could ran to help extin- guish the fire. The people formed a bucket brigade ; that is, they formed in two lines from the burning house to the river. The filled buckets were passed up one line, and the empty buckets down the other. 142 Map of New Amsterdam (1664) EAELY ORGANIZATION 143 When the fire was out it was the duty of the firewardens to collect the buckets and see that they were placed where they belonged. The first New York policemen were called watchmen. There were very few watchmen in the New Amsterdam police department. The post-office department was also a very simple one. Three post roads started from the Government House in the fort near Bowling Green. One road led through Stone and Pearl streets to the Brookl}Ti ferry. Another road led from the fort to Bouwerie village, and from there along the Har- lem post road (now 3d avenue) to Harlem. The Harlem river was crossed in a boat. The Boston road is an old post road in The Bronx. The third road led from Bowling Green to Bouwerie village, and from there along Broadway to the end of Manhattan, where the postman crossed the ferry to Kingsbridge. The post road continued along the Hudson river from Kingsbridge to Albany. Sailboats carried the mail between Albany and New Amsterdam in summer, but in winter people depended on the " foot post." Indian mail carriers were sometimes employed in winter; this service was called the " Indian posts." The Dutch mail service was not a very regular one. Friends generally settled near one another and consequently did not need to write letters. However, they did write to their friends in Europe, and many of these old letters are still in the libraries of Europe and America. Nkw Amstekdam (10.39) CHAPTER XXX THE FIRST NEW YORK SCHOOLS A schoolmaster was sent to New Amsterdam as soon as the Hol- landers thought that the settlers could pay for one. The first New York schoolmaster was Adam Roelantsen. He came here in 1633 and built a house in Stone street. The schoolroom was a room in his house. As he was the only schoolmaster in New Amsterdam, he expected to make a good living ; but the people did not like him, and he taught here only a few years. Then another school- master was appointed. The Stadt Huys and as the settlements The first Dutch free school was opened in this building ffrCW larger and larger more schoolmasters were needed. There was a small private school in New Amsterdam, and those who could afford it sent their chil- dren to this school. Some parents employed private tutors and had their children taught at home. There was not much ready money in New Netherland in those days. The Dutch did not pay the schoolmasters in cash, but in wampum, beavers' skins, and grain. 144 THE FIKST NEW YORK SCHOOLS 145 The First Free School in the Colonies (1652J. When Peter Stuyvesant came to New Amsterdam he was not pleased with the town school. He said that " the education of the children had been neglected." He had a schoolhouse built, and while the children were waiting for it to be finished they were taught in a room in the Stone Tavern, which was afterward used as a City Hall and called the Stadt Huys. The site of the first New York free school- house — the public school of New Amsterdam — is 73 Pearl street. Dutch Cottage in jS'kw York (1079) Although Stuyvesant did so much to improve the settlement, the people did not like him. They wanted more freedom, and wrote to the authorities in Holland, asking them to make New Amsterdam a city. In 1653 a charter was granted, which changed the settlement of New Amsterdam to the city of New Amsterdam. 146 HOME GEOGKAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY The Stone Tavern became the Stadt Huys, or City Hall, and meet- ings of city officials were held there. The city then meant that part of Manhattan south of Wall street, and less than one thousand people. Now it means five boroughs and more than four million people. The birthday of om* city is February 2, 1653, and it is now more than two hundred and fifty years old. Dutch Schools. The Dutch schools are less interesting to read about than the Indian schools. The children learned to read, write, and cipher. They had readers and spellers, and usually copied their " sums " in a blank book. Steel pens had not been invented. The children were taught to make pens out of goose quills. When the Dutch girl left school she helped her mother with housework, sewing, spinning, weaving, and knitting. A boy usu- ally worked for his father. If his father were a farmer, he learned farming and how to trade his farm products for things he needed. His bookkeeping was easy. If his father were a trader, he had to learn the market value of furs, grain, and other articles, and also the money value of many strange-looking coins brought here by the foreign traders. When he was not sure of the value of a coin he weighed it in the money scales. The Dutch people in New Netherland and their governors, officers of the law, ministers, and schoolmasters belonged to the Dutch Reformed Cliurch. All schoolmasters were members of that church. When New York became an English colony the Dutch Reformed Church Society (the oldest church society in the city) continued to support its own free schools. The school, founded by the Dutch settlers in 1633, is still in existence. It is the oldest private school in the United States and is called the Collegiate School. CHAPTER XXXI LIFE IN THE DUTCH SETTLEMENTS Tkades and Occupations A great many men settling in the five boroughs preferred farm- ing to trading. Farming paid well for two reasons : first, land was plentiful and cheap, and was sold or leased on easy terms ; second, there was always a market for flour, good butter, cheese, and eggs. The flour business became so profitable that wheat was raised in large quantities. Windmills, just like those used in Holland to-day, were built on these Dutch farms. The man who could not afford to build a mill carried his grain to a mill owner, and paid for the grinding. The farmers sold their farm and dairy products in the New Amsterdam markets and stores. How would the farmers get to New Amsterdam from Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island? People living on farms and in little villages miles away from New Amsterdam depended on peddlers for many things. There were shops and stores of all kinds in the little city, where peddlers could fill their packs for customers. The peddler was a very impor- tant person in those days. There were no newspapers printed in the colony, and when the peddler arrived at a farmhouse the whole 147 Dutch Windmill 148 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY family gathered around him to hear the latest city news, as well as to admire what he had in his pack and bargain for what they needed. Wliat would a peddler have in his pack for a father? a mother? a girl? a boy? What is the date of the first Dutch settlement in your own borough? Find the answer to this question in the book. Do you live in an old Dutch settlement? If not, how far away from fV^ ' AWff r^^u mi- { '- ^_ «^ V Collect Pond as it was in Olden Times Site of city prison at Centre and Leonard streets your school was the first Dutch settlement in your borough? In what direction would you travel to reach the nearest Dutch settle- ment that you know of ? You have learned that the Dutch were fur traders, lumber deal- ers, and farmers. They became very prosperous, and New Amster- dam was the business center of the colony. Ships were constantly unloading and loading along the docks and wdiarves because of its extensive commerce. What is a business center ? What did the Dutch have in abundance? What did they need that was made in LIFE IN THE DUTCH SETTLEMENTS 149 Europe? What do you think the ships brought to New Amster- dam? What do you think the ships took away? What do we call men who buy and sell goods? What do we call a man who is in command of a ship? What do we call the men under liis command? What do we call the men who load and unload vessels? Beaver street was the center of the fur trade. On a counter of a store in Beaver street might have been seen the skin or fur of a beaver or a bear. How did it get there ? Beekman street was the principal home of the leather trade and has remained so. To whom did the leather trade give employment ? The houses were built of wood, brick, and stone. Who builds houses ? Mention the different tradesmen employed in building a house ; in furnishing it. Mention other trades that you think some men in New Amsterdam worked at. Do you think there was much work for men who had trades ? Were all men living there either tradesmen or merchants ? If not, what were they ? There were many ways of earning a living in New Amsterdam. As the Dutch settlers were industrious and very saving, every family could have a comfortable home. There were but few wealthy men in the city. In those days a man who was worth twenty thousand dollars was considered a very rich man. Some of the rich men had town houses in New Amsterdam and country houses farther north on the island. The great majority lived in town all the year round. When we speak of New Amsterdam we mean that part of Manhattan island south of Wall street. Look at 3'our maps. Find Wall street. Across Wall street there was a very strong, thick, high wall built of wood. This wall extended from Pearl street, which was then on the East river, to Greenwich street, which 150 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY was then on the Hudson river. It was built to defend the city on the north, and at certain places along the wall there were block houses. The city wall was guarded day and night by soldiers. At Pearl street and the East river, and at Broadway and Wall street, there were strong, heavy gates which were locked at night. The entrance to the city at the East river was called the Water Gate. The en- trance at Broad- way was called the Land Gate. Broad- way was the prin- cipal street and extended from Bowling Green to the Land Gate, and then beyond to City Hall Park, which was only a pasture where cows were kept from early morning until sundown. The town herdsman took care of the people's cows. He called for them every morning at sunrise, drove them to the pasture, and looked after them during the day. A little before sunset he drove the cows back to the city, and stopped at every gate to blow liis horn and thus tell the people that then- cow was at home. The Water Gate at Pearl Street and the East River CHAPTER XXXII DUTCH CHILDREN A little boy was asked to tell some- thing he knew about the Dutch settlers. He an- swered: ''They lived in brick houses with high, steep, pointed roofs ; they were very clean, and had Christmas trees and crullers, and the father smoked a long pipe and liked to play ninepins on Bow- ling Green." This little boy's answer gives one a good idea of the pleasant home life of the Dutch. A "high, steep, pointed roof," such as the boy described, is called a gable roof. The top floor of 151 Dutch Women in Holland 152 HUME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOKK CITY such a house is called the garret. Here the nuts were stored that the children gathered in the fall. Crullers were not the only good things the children had to eat. Food was plentiful and cheap. The mothers were good cooks and made many kinds of cakes, pies, and puddings for them. The Dutch liked holidays. In New York they celebrated the holidays of old Holland. On these holidays everybody stopped work and enjoyed himself. On Easter Monday the children played at cracking colored eggs. On May Day they had May parties and danced around the Maypole. On Pinkster Monday all went to the woods to spend the day. They took their food with them in baskets and had a regular picnic. They gathered the beautiful wild flowers and brought them home to make their rooms look pretty. The children liked the Christmas holidays best of all. They hung up their stockings and expected presents from jolly old St. Nicholas just as you do now. The fathers and big brothers went to the woods, cut down Christmas trees, and brought them home. The trees were then dressed and looked bright and pretty. On New Year's Day friends, old and young, called to wish each other a Hapjjy New Year. Everybody was welcome, even strangers, and there were crullers and New Year's cakes and all kinds of good things to eat and drink. Governor Stuyvesant, the English gov- ernors, and President Washington always had receptions on New Year's Day. Washington thought it a delightful custom, and said he hoped the people of New York would always make New Year's calls. This friendly old Dutch custom was continued in New York until a few years ago. CHAPTER XXXIII UNDER THE ENGLISH FLAG v{j\^ Why New Amsterdam became an Exglisii City When New Amsterdam 'f became a city in 1653 and there I were other officers of the law ' j as well as a governor, the peo- ple expected more liberty. But Stuyvesant did not believe in free government. He was very stubborn and had a very bad temper. He did what he thought was best for the col- ony. He would not listen to the advice of anybody, and got angry when people disagreed with him. So the people of New Netherland considered him unjust to them and grew to dislike him. The English knew that New Netherland was a rich colony and that the people were „ --<^-=- -=• ^ ^ Stuyvesant surrendering the dissatisfied with Governor to the English 153 Fort 154 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Stuyvesant. One day in September, 1664, some English war ships appeared in New York harbor and demanded the surrender of New Netherland. Stuyvesant said he would never surrender. He wished to fight, but the people refused to help him. They thought they would have more freedom under English rule. Stuyvesant was compelled to surrender. The English changed the name of New Amsterdam to New York. The English made no effort at first to change the Dutch cus- toms, but after a few years English was declared the official lan- guage, and English officers of law took the places of Dutch officers. Thus the Dutch city of New Amsterdam became the English city of New York. CHAPTER XXXIV HOW NEW YORK BECAME AN AMERICAN CITY In 1776 New York was one of thirteen English colonies in America. The colonists were British subjects, but they did not enjoy the same rights and privileges as British subjects living in England. They were governed by unjust laws and were dissatisfied with English rule. Delegates from the colonies met in convention in Philadelphia to discuss ways and means of obtaining justice from King George III. At this time the majority of the people in the colonies did not wish to be independent of England ; they hoped the delegates would be able to settle the trouble. But the king was offended with the colonists and opposed all their wishes. The convention then decided that the colonies ought to be free from English rule. The Declaration of Independence was written, and adopted on July 4, 1776, and then the Seven Years' War for inde- pendence began. The Americans were victorious. When the war was over the thirteen united colonies became thirteen free states, and New York became a free American city. In one hundred and seventy-four years New York had seen seven changes: (1) it had been the home of the Indians; (2) it was visited by Heiu-y Hudson ; (3) it was visited by fur traders ; (4) it became a Dutch trading settlement; (5) it became a Dutch city; (6) it then became an English city; and (7) when the English army left New York in 1783 it became what it has remained, — a free American city. 155 156 NEW YORK AS AN ENGLISH COLONY CHAPTER XXXV GROWTH AND PROSPERITY UNDER THE ENGLISH The English made many improvements in New York. One of the first was the cleaning of streets. Men were paid to carry away the heaps of dirt. This was the beginning of the street-cleaning department. The city wall was taken down and in its place a street was laid out. The streets were lighted at night for the first time. On every seventh house there was a lantern hung on a pole. Does not this seem a very strange way to light the streets ? On New Year's Day, in 1673, the first regular mail in the English colonies started from New York to Boston. " Each first Monday of the month he sets out from New York and is to return within the month from Boston to us again," wrote the governor to a friend. The postman rode on horseback along the old Dutch post road from Bowling Green to Harlem river. He then crossed the river to the Boston road and went along the Boston road through The Bronx. From The Bronx he rode in a northeasterly direction to Boston. He stopped at farmhouses and villages along the way to sleep and to eat. For miles and miles he rode through forests where he had to mark the trees as he went along so that he would know the path he had taken and thus find his way back. He crossed 157 158 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY the large rivers in a boat because in those days there were no bridges spanning them. The colony increased in wealth and numbers, and New York city became a gay and lively place. In the winter the wealthy class lived in the city and in summer on their coun- try estates, just as they do now. The English governor and officers of the law and the English army officers living here with their fam- ilies enjoyed many of the pleasures and amusements they had had in England. A theater was opened and many people attended the plays and concerts given there. They also had afternoon teas, balls, and parties. In summer the boys had fishing, boating, ball playing, bowling, golf, and other outdoor games ; in winter, skating, sleigh- ing, and coasting. The English always celebrated the birthdays of the king and the queen. When New York became an English colony these holi- days were added to the many holidays celebrated by the Dutch. On English holidays the soldiers with their military bands paraded. In the evening the city was illuminated and there was a grand ball at the Government House. The boys could have processions of their own and light bonfires and make all the noise they wished with drums, horns, and whistles. Corner of Exchange Place and Broad Street (1690) GROWTH AND PROSPERITY UNDER THE ENGLISH 159 New York Schools and the Change in Language When the Dutch surrendered their settlements to the English there were free schools in three boroughs, — Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. In New Amsterdam there was also one high school called a Latin school and several private schools. The Dutch lan- guage and the Dutch reformed religion were taught in these schools. The Dutch loved their language and their church. The English governors allowed the Dutch to have their own churches and schools, but the government would not give the Dutch free schools any money. The Dutch Church Society sup- ported as many free schools as it could. The English had their own schools and churches of different denominations. People who spoke other languages had their churches also. In a few years there were in New Amsterdam Dutch schools and English schools, Dutch churches, English churches, a Ger- man church, a French church, and a Jewish synagogue. The educated people understood Dutch and English. The English language was spoken in the City Hall and in the courts. The young Dutch people spoke English in school and with their English friends, and they began to attend the English churches. View in Manhattan: Houses and Churches (1746) 160 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY For these reasons Dutch was spoken less and less as the years went by, and English became the language of New York long before the Zenger trial. The First College in New York City. Until 1754 there were only primary schools and Latin or high schools in New York. Boys who wislied to go to college were sent to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or to Europe. In that year some New York gentlemen decided to found a college in New York. It was called King's College. The Trinity Church Society gave the college a portion of the church lands. Some of the money necessary for the build- ings was raised in England and a part was raised in New York. Some of the books for the college were sent from England and others were given by New York gentlemen. The classes were taught in the vestry room of Trinity until a building was ready. The president and professors belonged to the Church of England. The college and grounds covered the block now bounded by West Broadway (formerly called College place), Barclay, Church, and Murray streets. This land sloped down to the river bank, which was then at Greenwich street. During the Revolution the college was used as a prison. When the war was over the name was changed to Columbia College. Pictures and other valuable articles belonging to the college were stored in the New York Library in City Hall. During the war the English soldiers stole many valuable articles belonging to the college and sold them. By the year 1857 the site of the old college had become such a business center that the trustees decided to move farther uptown. New college buildings were erected on the block between 49th and 50th streets, Madison and 4th avenues. In 1892 this part of GROWTH AND PROSPERITY UNDER THE ENGLISH IGl the city was no longer suitable, and the present historic site on Morningside Heights was selected. Columbia College, the old King's College, is now Columbia University. The story of Columbia Univer- sity buildings is the story of the growth of the west side of Manhattan northward. Trinity Church, — the First English Church in New York The English people held their church services in a Dutch church until they had a church of thek own. Part of the money needed to build the new English church was collected in New York and part in England. The gov- ernment helped the Trinity Church Society by giving a large farm called Queen Anne's farm. This English farm had been two Dutch farms, and it extended from Fulton street to Christopher ^kinity Chukch street, and from Broadway to the Hudson river. The first church was destroyed by the fire that occurred the night before Nathan Hale was put to death. A new church was built on the same site, 162 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY and nearly fifty years afterward it was torn down because it was unsafe. Tlien the present Trinity church was built. The Trinity Church Society gave away or sold some of its land, but it still owns a large portion of what was the old farm and is the richest church society in the United States. In colonial times the society gave some land to King's College. In 1820 it sold some of the farm to the Public School Society for a new free school at the corner of Hudson and Grove streets. That part of the city was then called Greenwich village, so Public School No. 3 now stands in the old Greenwich village, and on part of the land once known as Queen Anne's farm. Trinity churchyard is the oldest one in our city. When New York belonged to the Dutch this churchyard was many feet lower than it is at present. A great many officers and soldiers who died while in prison during the Seven Years' war for independence were buried in Trinity churchyard. The large monument that stands opposite Pine street, called the Soldiers' Monument, was erected in their honor. St. Paul's Chapel. St. Paul's chapel belongs to Trinity parish. It was built in colonial times and is the oldest and the only colonial church building in Manhattan. When the chapel was built that part of Manhattan was " the countryj" and the church members decided to have the new church face the Hudson river. For this reason the rear of the chapel now faces Broadway, which was not a very important street in those days. Standing at the principal entrance in colonial times one saw beautiful lawns and green fields sloping down to the Hudson river, and across the river the wooded shores of New Jersey. When GROWTH AND PROSPERITY UNDER THE ENGLISH 163 Washington lived in New York he attended St. Paul's chapel regu- larly, and no doubt enjoyed the beautiful and attractive view from the church door. Perhaps he walked under the shady trees that grew where office buildings now stand. In the chapel you can still see the pew in which he sat and also the pew of Governor De Witt Clinton, the first president of the Free School Society. The First Printing Press IN New York In 1693 William Bradford set up the first printing press in New York city. His office was at 81 Pearl street, near Hanover square, which was then called Printing House square. It was a business center and the shopping district for a great many years. The printing press of those days was only a hand press. Paper was very scarce and much dearer than it is now. Bradford did the gov- ernment printing and also printed almanacs, pamphlets, and maps. In 1725 he founded the Weekly Gazette, the first New York news- paper and the fourth newspaper in the English colonies. His newspaper office was on the site of the present Cotton Exchange. Newspapers were printed weekly. Each page was about one fourth CojiyrightiMl, V.m. hy (iuorgt St. Paul's Chapkl p. llall & Son 164 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY the size of a page of one of our daily papers. Bradford's printing press is still in existence. When Bradford died he was buried in Trinity churchyard. If you visit the churchyard you can see his grave. The English City Hall A new City Hall was built on the corner of Wall and Broad streets where the Sub-Treasury now stands. It was described as "the most magnificent building in the city." The governor of New York and his council, the law- makers of the colony, and the city officers of the law held their meetings in the new City Hall. In the building there was a court room, afterwards the scene of the Zenger trial, and also cells for prisoners. The building cost about £3000. City Hall in Wall Street before the Revolution The First Library The first New York Library, called the New York Society Library, was opened in a room in the English City Hall, in 1700. During the war for independence, when New York was the head- quarters of the English army, many of the books and other valuable articles of this library were sold in the streets by the English sol- diers. The New York Society Library, the oldest in our city, is now in University place, Manhattan. CHAPTER XXXVI EARLY NEWSPAPERS The citizens of New Amsterdam surrendered to the English for two reasons : first, because they were not satisfied with Dutch rule ; second, because they thought the English rulers would give them more liberty. They were well pleased with the first English governor. He was a just man and tried to please the people and make them like him. As a rule, the governors did not stay here very long. A num- ber of the royal governors tried to deprive the people of some of their rights and were unjust in many ways ; others were dis- honest. As the years passed, the ruling classes were guilty of so many unjust acts toward the people that they had good cause to complain and dislike them. Quarrels between the People and the English Officers of the Law. The royal governor was appointed by the king, l)ut the lawmaking body of the colony was elected by the people. This lawmaking body made the laws to govern the colony. It had the right to tax the people for the money needed to pay the expenses of the government, 165 Old-Timk i'i;iMix(; I'i;k: 166 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY and also for money for the use of the English kmgs. The people always paid the taxes that their own lawmakers ordered them to pay, either for their own nse or for the use of the king. The lawmakers paid the salary of the royal governor and decided how the public money should be spent. There were many quarrels between the governors and the lawmakers because the lawmakers Turtle Bay from 45th to 48th Streets, East River, Manhattan (Old-time view) would not give them as much money as they asked for. In these quarrels the people always sided with the lawmakers they had elected. Gradually two parties began to form, — the people's party and the government party. The government party was made up of the governor and other English officials, some wealthy Dutch mer- chants, and English landowners. The people's party was made up of the wealthy Dutch landowners, the Dutch farmers, men in many different kinds of business, and foreign settlers. There were also many men who did not belong to either party. EARLY NEWSPAPERS 167 Editor Bradford belonged to the government party, and his paper, the Weekly Gazette , always sided with the government, no matter how wrong or how unjust or how dishonest it was toward the people. He never helped the people in any way, but always sided against them and in favor of the government and the ruling classes. Therefore the people called his paper the " Aristocrats' paper." The people of New York said that as they were free English citizens, they had the right to enjoy freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. That means, first, that they had the right to speak freely about what the ruling party did and said; second, they had the right to tell the truth about unjust and dishonest rulers ; thhd, they had the right to have their side of the story in all disputes published. The Second New York Newspaper and the Eighth in the English Colonies. In 1733 some rich men gave John Peter Zenger enough money to start a newspaper to help the people's party. It was called the Weekly Journal. Many of the articles in it were well written and told the readers what the people thought about the actions of the governor and other officials. The writers attacked everybody con- nected with the ruling party who deserved to be attacked. At last the governor and his friends became very angry with Editor Zenger. They said that all he had published about them was untrue. Some editions of his paper were seized and burned publicly. Zenger was put in prison in a cell in the City Hall on the charge of printing falsehoods, and kept there for six months to await trial. This trial was the first open contest of the people of the colonies for their rights. They had good cause to be very anxious 168 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY about the result. The colonists knew that it would be the end of their liberty if the New York governor could suppress freedom of speech and the freedom of the press by using the law to punish an editor for free speaking and free writing. The Freedom of the Press established in America. Andrew Hamil- ton, the greatest lawyer in the colonies, lived in Philadelphia. Some of Zenger's friends who were leaders of the people's party went to see him and asked him to take charge of the case. He said he would gladly do so as a patriotic duty, and that he would not accept a fee or a reward of any kind for his services. Zenger's trial took place in the City Hall on Wall street, where the Sub-Treasury stands to-day. The people were surprised when Hamilton took charge of the case, for they did not know that Zenger's friends had been to see him. Hamilton read in court some of Zenger's articles that the jury knew were truthful. He pointed out to them that this case was not merely the case of an editor of a paper, nor of New York alone, but that it was a case that would affect the liberty of every citizen in the English colonies. He told the jury that their verdict would decide whether men had the right to oppose the acts of unjust rulers by speak- ing and writing the truth. The jury felt that Hamilton was right in all he said and that Zenger had done nothing wrong. They View in Manhattan : Houses and Water Front (1740) EARLY NEWSPAPEKS 169 went out of the room for a few moments and returned with the verdict of Not Guilty. This was a great victory for the people, and we must give much credit to Andrew Hamilton. He established the freedom of the press in America in 1735 by the way he conducted the case. When he started for his home in Philadelphia he was escorted to the boat by great crowds of peo- ple. Andrew Hamil- ton was a hero in the fight for the freedom of the press. Ways of Travel in 1735. Hamilton was eighty years old at the time of this trial and he knew he would not enjoy the trip to New York. The journey Xew York and Boston Mail Coach (1789) was not a pleasant one. People who liked the sea could come from Philadelphia to New York by water. The sailing vessels carried freight and passengers, and if the weather were fine they made the trip in three days. The berths were not very comfortable, and the passengers supplied their own food. The journey by land was made on horseback, in a private carriage, or in the stagecoach. Travelers ate and slept at inns and taverns. All roads were bad, and very few of the inns or taverns were good ; the meals were poor, and sometimes five or six people were obliged to sleep in one room. Rivers and bays were crossed in rowboats, flatboats, or sailboats. o 170 CHAPTER XXXVII TROUBLE WITH ENGLAND The Stamp Act In 1765 the English king, George III, needed a large sum of money, and he decided to raise this money by taxing the colonists. The surest and easiest way for a government to collect money is by means of a stamp tax, so King George had the English government pass a law called the Stamp Act. If the Stamp Act had been obeyed, the people would have been forced to pay a stamp tax on many articles bought and sold. Some stamps cost a penny and some cost ten pounds in English money. The law required all newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets to be printed on stamped paper, and also required a stamp on every kind of business paper or law paper. If a father bought a newspaper, he would have had to pay for the newspaper and also for the stamp on it. When he paid his rent he would ha\e had to pay for the stamp on the receipt. When he paid a bill he would have had to pay for the stamp on the bill. The people in the thirteen colonies united and decided that they would not obey an unjust law '" made in England," and they refused to use any of the stamps or stamped paper. They said they were willing to give the king money, and to be taxed for it by their own lawmakers ; but they felt that they would lose their liberty if they allowed the English king and his lawmakers to tax them when they pleased and how they pleased. 171 172 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY The people were so excited when the stamps for New York came from England that the governor locked up the stamps in the fort near Bowling Green. He feared the people would get them and destroy them. The stamps were to have been used for the first time on November 1st. On October 31st the merchants of New York held a meeting in a coffeehouse, and decided to buy nothing that came from England while the Stamp Act remained a law. The next day the shops and stores were closed, the flags were put at half mast, and the bells in the city tolled as if a funeral were passing. In the evening great crowds gathered in the streets and walked toward The Fields, now City Hall Park, to attend a meeting of the Sons of Liberty, a patriotic society. When the meeting was over the people formed in a torchlight procession and marched down Broadway. Some one had made a dummy and dressed it to look like the gov- ernor. The crowd broke open the gov- ernor's stable, took out his coach, and put the dummy on it. They dragged the coach around the street and then to Bowling Green. Great crowds of people surrounded the fort. They tried to get inside to destroy the stamps ; but the soldiers protected the fort without firing a shot. ^ i La V- f ^rik^nj 9i U^* Tffl f^^^^'-W^^^^I^^IJSf^ ^^^^^^^Hf^E^jv^^^BBjV^^^B^ni^w ^ -1 ■ t'^l I',¥^^^ ■;=a.aai|i8iiii, r >!^% AjH^^jjpj^ >ii3r'^ i^^^ ■■-*^^^?^ ^I^M Fort Amstekdam and iiii. Fir.si J^hkk Dwellings erected in the City TKOUBLE WITH ENGLAND 173 and the governor refused to give up the stamps. The people then made a bonfire on Bowling Green and burned the governors coach and the dummy. Afterward the governor was obliged to hand over the stamps to the mayor and aldermen, and the stamps were locked up in the City Hall. When the news that the colonies were united against the unjust law reached the king, he felt that if he tried to force the colonists to obey it would cause a war, so the Stamp Act was repealed. The following is a stanza of one of the popular songs of the time. With the beasts of the wood we '11 ramble for food And lodge in wild deserts and caves, And live, poor as Job, on the skirts of the globe Befoi-e we '11 submit to be slaves, brave boys, Before we '11 submit to be slaves ! June 4, 1766; the Liberty Pole The repeal of the Stamp Act was a great victory for the colonists. The government party and the English soldiers were very angry about it. As the 4th of June was the king's birthday, the people of New York decided to make it a day of rejoicing because the quarrels about the Stamp Act were ended. The Sons of Liberty put up a Liberty Pole in The Fields very near the site of the post office. A flag waved from the top of the pole bearing the words, '' The King, Pitt,^ and Liberty." Bands played, and there was firing of pistols and cannon. An ox was roasted in The Fields, and there were speeches, singing, and bonfires in the evening. The city officials and military officers were present. 1 Pitt was a great English statesman who sided with the colonists. 174 HOME GEOGFvAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY The rejoicings of the people and the sight of the flag with the word "Liberty" on it angered the soldiers. The colonists were obliged to feed the soldiers and give them houses to live in, and the soldiers gave them a great deal of trouble in many ways. One night the soldiers cut down the Liberty Pole. The Sons of Liberty at once erected a second pole. That was cut down, and the Sons of Liberty erected a third pole. They guarded this pole so \'lE\V OF (Jlu JjUILDINGS IN WiLLIAM StREKT well that the soldiers did not get a chance to cut it down until one night in March. When the Sons of Liberty found their third pole cut down they erected a fourth one and fastened it with iron braces. One night, three years later, the soldiers pulled down the fourth pole and sawed it into pieces. They piled the pieces in front of the door of the house where the Sons of Liberty held their meetings. TKOUBLK WITH ENGLAND 175 The Battle of Golden Hill (Janttaky 18, 1770): the First Blood sued in the Wak for Independence The people were enraged the next morning when the fourth pole was found in pieces. There was great excitement in the city, and a crowd soon gathered in The Fields. The corner of John and William streets was then a hill, and in the early times wheat was planted there. When the wheat was ripe it looked like gold in the sunshine, and for this reason it was named Golden Hill. On the morning of the battle the trouble began between the Sons of Liberty and tlie GOLDKN HILL. HERE JANUARY 18, 1770, THE FIGHT TOOK PLACE BETWEEN THE "SONS OF LIBERTY" AND THE BRITISH REGULARS, 16th FOOT. FIRST BLOOD IN THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. ERECTED BY THE SONS OF THE REVOLUTION. soldiers. The soldiers Tablet, Northwest Corner of John and J. T T 1 1 , /-(IT William Streets tell back to Golden Hill. They then charged with their bayonets on the crowd, whose only weapons were stones, clubs, and knives. One citizen was killed and several were wounded. This was called the battle of Golden Hill. It was the first bloodshed of the American Revolution. A short time after the battle the Sons of Liberty bought a piece of land on the western border of The Fields and erected a fifth pole. It was a great high pole with a vane on top, on which was one word, — Liberty. This pole was still standing when the Declaration of Independence was read. 176 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Independence Day, the Birthday of the United States After the repeal of the Stamp Act the king tried in other ways to tax the people against their will, but they would not pay any kind of a tax that was not ordered by their own lawmakers. The king was very angry with them and called them rebels. As the trouble Redoubt on Valley Guove, Bkouklvn (1776) was very serious, statesmen from the colonies met in convention in Philadelphia. These statesmen hoped to find some way to end the trouble between the king and the colonists. They sent letters to the king, but he would not read them. They sent delegates to England, but the king would not see or speak to them. He said that the king was the lawmaker for the colonies and that the colonists must do as he wished. He needed a larger array than he had, so he hired foreign soldiers to come here and help his army fight the colonists. When this news reached America there was a second meeting of statesmen in Philadelphia. This meeting was called a Congress. TROUBLE WITH EKGLAND 177 This Congress voted to declare the colonies free from England. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and all the delegates signed it. On the 4th of July, 1776, the thirteen united colonies called themselves thirteen free states, — the United States of America. Men on horseback were sent with copies of the Declaration to all the new states. When the messenger reached New York the soldiers marched to The Fields, then called The Common. Wash- ino;ton and his officers were on horseback. Such a vast number of people had gathered on and near The Common that it looked as if everybody in New York had come there to see Washington and to hear the Declara- tion of Independ- ence read. When the reader had finished the soldiers and people hurried away. Some rushed to the City Hall and tore down tlie picture of the king and destroyed it. Others rushed to Bowling Green, pulled down the leaden statue of the king, broke it, and sent the pieces away to be made into bullets for the United States army. The people tore down everything in sight with the picture of the king SuYDAM House Built by Leffert on Bushwick Lane, Brooklyn, about 1700; occupied by a company of Hessians in the Revolution 178 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY * or the royal coat of arms on it. These things were broken and thrown into bonfires. The people did everything they could think of to show the joy they felt because King George III was no longer their ruler. Although the colonists had declared themselves free and inde- pendent, the mere declaration was not enough to make them so. King George would not recognize their independence and said that Congress had no right to speak for people he called his subjects. When the Declaration of Independence was adopted an English fleet was near New York harbor. The English commander was told to try to restore peace on the king's terms. Lord Howe could offer pardon to all rebels who would lay down their arms, but he could not treat with any officer appointed by Congress nor recog- nize Congress in any way. He could not even refer to the troubles that caused the people to rebel against the English government. Lord Howe sent a letter to Washington addressed " George Wash- ington, Esq." This address was not correct, as Washington was commander in chief of the American army. Washington refused to receive any letter from Lord Howe not properly addressed. However, he received Lord Howe's messenger at No. 1 Broadway. This officer said that Lord Howe had the power to jDardon all who would lay down their arms. Washington replied that the Ameri- cans could not accept pardons, as they had done nothing wrong ; that they were defending what they considered their rights. As there was no one in authority to receive Lord Howe's message, it was impossible to arrange a meeting between English and American representatives. Lord Howe then began his preparations for war. CHAPTER XXXVIII NEW YORK AND THE REVOLUTION What the Declaration of Independence meant to those who signed it. As the Americans had rebelled against their government, the war for inde]3endence was a civil war. The English considered every American officer and soldier a rebel. Do you know what is done to a rebel if he is caught ? The statesmen who signed the Declaration would have lost money, projDerty, and perhaps their lives if the Americans had been defeated. One of the statesmen when signing his name made a few remarks to those standing near him ; he ended with the words, " We must hang together." " Yes," said the great Benjamin Franklin, " we must all hang together or else we shall all hang separately." New York during the Seven Years' War. When the war began the English decided to get control of New York state. Look at your map. Would it not take a very large and well-trained army to defend your city ? The American army in New York was a volun- teer army ; it was not large nor yet well trained. Congress ordered Washington to defend New York, so he was obliged to divide his army and do the best he could with it. Part of it was to defend Manhattan, part of it was sent to defend Brooklyn, and part of it was at Fort Lee. Washington hoped that the guns of Fort Lee and Fort Washington would pre- vent the English fleet passing Manhattan. The Americans also 179 180 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY used sunken ships and chains between Fort Lee and Manhattan to keep the English ships back. Washington did not have enough men to attempt to defend Staten Island. A large English army landed there, and a large English fleet anchored in the bay. The Black Horse Tav- ern, New Dorp, was the English general's headquarters. The first New York battle of the war was fought in the borough of Brooklyn ; part oi the battleground is now Prospect Park. Washington was not present at that battle. The Americans were defeated and the English took some prisoners. That night Washington saved an army of nine thousand men by retreating across the East river to Manhattan. The English were building earthworks, and the night was dark and foggy. Wash- ington had secured enough boats to carry men, cannon, and all the army supplies across the river. Washington knew the English would follow to the city, but he did not know whether they would surround the island with their large fleet and try to capture the Americans, or whether they would try to drive them from the island. He hurried the army from the city to the northern part of Manhattan above 125th street and made the Jumel mansion his headquarters. Fort Fish, North End of Central Park Old blacksmith shop and Washington's headquarters NEW YORK AND THE REVOLUTION 181 A few days later the English army landed on the island. The general in command had his headquarters in a mansion at 51st street near the East river, and two other generals went to a man- sion at 91st street and 9th avenue.^ The English army stretched in a line across the island between these two points. The English now had Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, and the old city of New York. The Americans still had the northern part of Manhattan, The Bronx, and the New Jersey shores opposite. The American army was small. The English army was large, and they had a strong fleet of war ships. Washington was in a very difficult position. He wished to know what the English general intended to do next. In order to find out the enemy's plans, it was necessary to send some one he could trust within their lines. Washington ordered one of his staff to call a meeting of the officers to explain the great danger facing the American army and to ask for a volunteer ^^^^^^ ^^'^^^^^^ to undertake the task of acting as a spy. Only one man stepped for- ward ; he said, " I will undertake it." He was Captain Nathan Hale. 1 Washington stayed at this mansion for a day or two when the army was going to Washington Heights. In that house were decided the plans tliat Xatlian Hale was to follow. Many years later this property was known as Elm Park and was a popular place for picnics. 182 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Nathan Hale Brave heart that beat for love and right, Brave soldier, Nathan Hale ! Nathan Hale was only twenty years old. He was a graduate of Yale College, a school teacher, and one of the first young men to enlist. His friends and brother officers begged him not to risk his life by acting as a spy. He said he considered it an honor to do anything to help his coun- trymen win the independence for which they were fighting. He decided to go to New York city dressed as a Dutch school teacher. His friends helped him to change his uni- form for a plain suit of brown citizen's clothes and a round broad-brimmed hat. He put his college diploma in his pocket, and left everything else with an officer who was his most intimate friend. On the day before the battle of Har- lem Heights, Nathan Hale started from Washington Heights, then called Har- lem Heights, crossed the Harlem river, walked through The Bronx, and then farther on to Norwalk, Connecticut. He crossed the sound from Norwalk to Huntington, Long Island, walked through Queens and Brooklyn, and crossed the East river to New York. You see he did not go Nathan Hale NEW YOKK AND THE KEVULUTION 183 directly from Washington Heights downtown as you would do to-day because the British army was between Washington Heights and the city. He stayed in the city long enough to get the information he wished for, and was on his way back to the American lines when he was recognized and captured. He was taken to the general's headquarters at 51st street, near the East river, and hanged the next morning about eleven o'clock without a trial. As they were preparing to hang him, some one said, " What a death for an officer to die ! " " Gentlemen," said Captain Hale, " any death is honorable when a man dies in a cause like this." We do not know whether he ever sent Washington any infor- mation. We do not know exactly where he was captured. We do not know exactly where he was put to death, and we do not know where he was buried. But we do know that he was cruelly treated, died a sorrowful death, and that his last words were, " I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." On the afternoon of the day he died Washington and Hale's brother officers heard of it. They were told that he had met death bravely, and also what his last words had been. My sole regret, that it is mine to give Only one life, that my dear land may live. Paktridge. The Battle of Harlem Heights. The battle of Harlem Heights was fought the day after Nathan Hale started on his roundabout journey to reach the city. The land on which Columbia University now stands is a part of this battleground. The Americans were victorious and retired to their camp on Washington Heights, north 184 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY of Manhattanville valley. The English army encamped on the heights, south of Manhattanville valley. Washington left some men at Fort Washington to defend Washington Heights. He then marched his army through The Bronx and into the country north of that borough. The Americans were defeated at Washington Heights, and the commanding officer at Fort Washington was compelled to surrender. New York city was the headquarters of the English army for seven years. The American soldiers captured in Brooklyn and Manhat- tan were placed in charge of the men who had put Nathan Hale to death. Prisoners caj)tured in other places were sent here. There were not enough prisons in the city for so many men, so the City Hall, Columbia College, the churches, business houses, and some worth- less old ships were used as prisons. These ships were anchored in the East river. The most famous prison ship was the Jersey, anchored in Wallabout bay. All the prisons were filthy and over- crowded. The jailers were very cruel men. Sometimes the prisoners suffered from thirst and for want of food, and very often they were given water and food unfit for human beings. Thousands of American soldiers who died from the effects of the bad food and the filthy, overcrowded prisons were West Angle of Fort Washington NEW YUKK AND THE KE VOLUTION 185 buried in Trinity churchyard, and thousands were buried in Brooklyn, near the Navy Yard. The remains of those buried in the Navy Yard were removed to the Martyrs' tomb in Fort Greene Park. Evacuation Day After peace was declared Washington intended to disband the army in New York and then to start for his home in Mount Vernon. In November, when the American army reached Harlem from differ- ent places north of Manhattan, the English were still in the city. fokts flsu am) (.linton, fortifications at McGowan's Pass While waiting for the English to leave Manhattan, Washington remained at a tavern near the corner of 125th street and 8th ave- nue, and the army camped in the northern part of Central Park where Mount St. Vincent is now. That part of the park was then called McGowan's Pass. 186 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY On the morning of November 25th the English sliips were ready and the English soldiers began to go on board. The American army marched down from Harlem to Union square. Here the citizens met Washington and his soldiers. To- gether they went down the Bowery into the city as far as Rector street. Two companies proceeded to the Battery to raise the Amer- ican flag on the fort. Imagine the disappointment and anger of the soldiers when they found that a trick had been played on them. The English soldiers had nailed the English flag to the top of the pole. They had greased the pole to keep the Americans from climbing up to tear the flag off. The English did not wish to see the American flag waving over New York city. They hoped they would get far away be- fore the English View at Foht Clinton, McGowan's Pass, Central Park ^^g ^^^^j^ ^^ p^^jj^^ down. But they were disappointed, as they deserved to be. A young sailor named John Van Arsdale hastily secured some cleats and filled his pockets with them. He climbed the slippery pole step by step ; first he hammered a cleat to the pole ; then he stood on it ; then he hammered another cleat to the pole, and stood on that ; and he continued to hammer and climb until he reached NEW YOKK AND THE REVOLUTION 187 the top. He then tore away the English flag, threw it down to the American soldiers watching him, and put the American flag in its place. How he was cheered by those looking on ! A salute of thirteen guns was fired while the English soldiers were near enough to the Battery to see the flag as well as to hear the American guns. For many, many years Evacuation Day was a public holiday. John Van Arsdale, then his son, and afterwards his grandson, performed the ceremony of raising the flag on the pole in Battery Park on Evacuation Day. When the parade was over Washington went to the fashionable hotel of the city, Fraunces' Tavern, on the corner of Broad and Pearl streets. It was built when New York was an English colony, and is one of the oldest landmarks in the city. Washington made it his headquarters. On the evening of Evacuation Day Governor George Clinton, the first governor of New York state, gave a dinner there in honor of the occasion. Washington remained but a few days in New York. On Decem- ber 4th he said farewell to his officers in the Long Room of the tavern, and returned to his home in Virginia. SOUTH FERRY New Yokk South of Wall Street in Modern Times CHAPTER XXXIX HISTORIC SPOTS Batteky Park Battery Park is made land. When New York was the home of the Indians there were rocks and water where now we have a pretty park. The Battery gets its name from a battery of guns that was set up there during Enghsh rule. In colonial times Battery Park was surrounded on the land side by the houses of wealthy people. It was the fashionable promenade of the people then and for many years afterward. X88 HISTORIC SPOTS 189 The New Custom House The new Custom House is built on the site of the old Dutch fort. The first church on Manhattan was built inside the fort. Within its walls were also houses for the governor, the minister, and soldiers, together with a windmill and one or two other build- ings. Governor Stuyvesant lived in the fort until his house on Whitehall street was built. The Aquarium Will it surprise you to learn that the Aquarium now near the sea wall of Battery Park was at one time a fort ? It was built for the defense of the city, and stood on an island ; a drawbridg;e connected the island with Manhattan. Later the fort was changed to a place of amusement, and named Castle Garden. For thirty-five years Castle Garden was used as an opera house and concert hall. Large public meetings and receptions were also held there. THE SITE OF FORT AMSTERDAM BUILT IN 1626. WITHIN THE FORTIFICATIONS WAS ERECTED THE FIRST SUBSTANTIAL CHURCH EDIFICE ON THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN IN 1787 THE FORT WAS DEMOLISHED AND THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE BUILT UPON THIS SITE. THIS TABLET IS PLACED HERE BY THE HOLLAND SOCIETY OF NEW YORK. SEPTEMBER, 1890. Tablet on a Building torn down to make Room for the New Custom House 190 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YOKK CITY When places of amusement were built farther uptown Castle Garden was used as the New York state immigrant depot. It was the landing place for the immigrants until the United States took charge of immigration and established the new depot on Ellis island. liATTKlvY AM) CaSTLE GaRDEN IN OlDEN TlMES The old historic Castle Garden, a fort, a place of amusement, a landing place for immigrants, was then remodeled. It is now one of the finest aquariums in the world, where boys and girls can go and learn about the wonders of sea life. Bowling Green The southern part of the borough of Manhattan is the richest business section of the world. Do you think a stranger, walking around that part of the city, admiring the tall and attractive l^uild- ings, would be apt to notice our smallest park ? I tliink not. Bowling Green is the most historic spot in New York to-day, and pq 191 192 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY every New York boy and girl should be able to tell visitors some- thing about its history. Let us stand near this little park a moment arid recall the time when the Dutch traders landed on the island. How beautiful this place must have been then ! Standing -in this field we admire the pretty flowers and the beautiful trees. We watch the traders and the Indians, and wonder how they can buy and sell when they do not understand each other's language. How wonderful to think that this fur trading was the beginning of our great commerce with the world ! In a few years a settlement grew up around The Plaine, as it was called. On the south could be seen Fort Amsterdam and the roofs of the buildings inside ; to the north, the top of the high city wall could be seen through the trees. The Plaine was a parade ground for the soldiers, a bowling green for the fathers, a play- ground for the children, a market place for the farmers, and the fair grounds for cattle shows. In the old fort near by Governor Stuyvesant surrendered to the Enghsh ; some days later we might have seen the Dutch soldiers going aboard their ships to return to Europe. The days of Dutch rule are over, and an English governor now lives in the fort. English soldiers are parading -on The Plaine, and we are now an English colony. Some citizens have leased The Plaine from the city for a bowhng green. The Plaine is no longer an open field, but is fenced in as a park, and is called Bowling Green. In colonial times our little park was much larger and could boast of some fine shade trees and pretty walks. On the streets around the park were the handsome homes of wealthy people. On HISTOKIC SPOTS 193 Sundays people passed Bowling Green on their way to cliurch in the fort. There are people living in New York to-day whose ances- tors went to that old church. Bowling Green was the only park in the city. It was a very important little place when the Aquarium was a fort on an island and the rocky bed of most of Battery Park was covered by water. It had been a peaceful and restful place for many years. Then came the troublous times of 1765. Bowling Green again becomes the scene of an historic picture. On a certain day in this year we find the English governor and his soldiers shutting them- selves up in the fort south of Bowling Green. We see an excited people gathering at Bowling Green, anxious to get at the stamps shut up in the fort. Five years later the scene was again one of peace and har- mony. A statue of King George was erected on Bowling Green by the people. It must have delighted all the boys and girls to have seen the governor and his staff and the English soldiers march out of the fort and around the park. Do you think you can see them stand in fine order while famous men are making speeches on the platform near the statue ? Now passes another scene of excitement ! The Declaration of Independence had just been read to the people on The Common. See how they rush down to Bowling Green ! Let us watch them ! They tear down the railing around the green, and pull down the statue of King George that had been erected by them only six years before. They were angry at the king and at England. And so we can go on naming many historic events that the sight of Bowling Green brings to our minds. When Washington 194 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY was President he lived near it. At this time the walls of the old Dutch fort had been torn down, and Washington and other famous men often walked around the park and along the old shore line enjoying the beauties of our harbor just as we do to-day. From Bowling Green one could have seen changes of another kind. When the Indians lived here one could see the graceful canoe gliding up to our shores, then the first big ship of the white man sailing up the bay, and later the great ocean greyhounds as they sped by to their docks and piers. As Bowling Green saw the In- dians who built the primitive canoe, so it saw the great white men who made it possible to cross the ocean by steam power. It saw the savage Indian and it saw Fulton and Erics- JoHN Ekicsson gQ^ Within a short walk, on one side of it, is the grave of Fulton, the inventor of steamships, and within a short walk, on the other side, is the statue of Ericsson, the inventor of the screw propeller. During all these changes in the ways of travel this little plot of ground has always been what it is to-day, — an open space. STORIES OF NEW YOEK, AN AMERICAN CITY CHAPTER XL WHEN WASHINGTON LIVED IN NEW YORK The city of New York was the first capital of the state and also the first capital of the United States. When Washington was elected President he came here to live. After a long journey from his home in Mount Vernon, he landed at the foot of Wall street. There the gov- ernor and officers of the Revolutionary War met him. He refused to ride in a carriage, but walked to his new home at No. 1 Cherry street, comer of Pearl. One of the piers of the Brooklyn bridge stands ,1 ., p ,1 • 1 Federal Hall (1789) on the site oi this house. Washincrton took the oath of office as first President of the United States in City Hall. It had been enlarged and had been named Federal Hall. Federal Hall stood on the site of the Sub-Treasury in Wall street. When the ceremonies in Federal Hall were over Wash- ington and all those present at the inauguration formed a procession and walked to St. Paul's chapel, to attend a special service. 195 196 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Washington lived in Cherry street but a few months. His second home in New York was at No. 39 Broadway. In this house Washington entertained the government officials and his friends. Washington liked the Dutch custom of calling on New Year's Day. While he lived here he celebrated this day in the good old Dutch Inauguuation of Washington fashion. There was a theater in John street then. Washington used to go to the theater and often invited friends to his private box. When New York became the capital of the United States the city had grown northward as far as Reade street on the west side, and Grand or Catharine street on the east side. North of these limits were farms and country homes. Bouwerie village, which extended from 2d street to 16th street, was a real country village, and a country road led through farms all the way to Harlem. Collect pond was still a favorite place for fishing and skating. There were many open fields in the Washington Statue, Wall Street 197 198 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY city where the children could play outdoor games in summer and make sliding ponds in winter. Boys did not need to go miles away from their homes to find a ball field in those days. The east side of Manhattan grew more quickly than the west side and was of more importance in Washington's time ; but there were bouweries and villages on the west side also. The most important west-side villages were Greenwich, Chelsea, and Bloomingdale. Greenwich village ex- tended along the Hudson river from about Charlton Washington's Desk in the City Hall g^^.^^^ ^^ i^^^ ^^^^^^^ Before the fighting began in 1776 Washington had his headquarters in Greenwich village. He was living there when he became interested in Hamilton. Chelsea village extended from about 19th street to 24tli street. Bloomingdale village extended along Broadway from about 66th street to 90th street. These boundaries are not exact. You may learn the exact boundaries when you are older. Greenwich was once an Indian village, then a Dutch farm, then an English settlement two miles from the city. For all these reasons we take a great deal of interest in Greenwich village. It is now only a very small part of a very large city. Abingdon square and Jefferson market are in Greenwich village. CHAPTER XLI alexander hamilton The First Secretary of the Treasury After the Stamp Act head been passed men gradually formed into two political parties : those who sided with England were called Tories ; those who were against England were called Whigs. After the war was over men were obliged to establish a new government for the United States. This caused a great deal of public discus- sion. There were many dif- ferent opinions about many things, so two parties were formed. They were not the same as the old political parties. Alexander Hamilton was the leader of the party called the Federalists. Washington did not belong to either of the new parties. He asked gentlemen of both parties to become mem- bers of his Cabinet. Alexander Hamilton became his Secretary of the Treasury. 199 Alexander Hamilton 200 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY Alexander Hamilton was born in the British West Indies. There were no good schools on his island home, so his friends sent him to New York. When he reached New York he wished to enter King's College. He studied very hard, and at the end of one year he was admitted and soon became famous among the boys for his fine speeches. Hamilton, though only a boy, was a good Tory when he came here, but he soon became a Whig. When only seventeen years old he made a remarkable patriotic speech at one of the public meetings held on The Common. Many men X were surprised to hear a boy of his age make such a speech. They shook hands with him and said he would be a great man some day. When the war began Hamil- ton joined the army and was soon made captain of an artillery com- pany. He devoted much time to drilling his soldiers. He was then only nineteen years old and he looked much younger. Washington saw him drilling his company and became interested in him. A short time after our army retreated from New York he made him his aid- de-camp and private secretary. He was now Colonel Hamilton and only twenty years of age. When the war was over Hamilton became a lawyer. He lived in Albany a short time and later in New York. When Washington became President we had a large war debt, the soldiers had not been paid, and people would not lend us money. Old-Time View in Exchange Place ALEXANDER HAMILTON 201 The long war had made both business men and farmers poor. It was Hamilton's duty to find some way to raise money to pay our debts and to pay the expenses of the government. Hamilton's plans to raise money were successful. He had great natural ability. He gave all his time, thought, and energy to his work, and became a great statesman. When he retired from the Cabinet he practiced law in New York. He bought a small country estate on Washington Heights and built there the house we now call Hamilton Grange at 141st street and Convent avenue. His estate extended from 110th street to 145th street, and from Amsterdam avenue to St. Nicholas avenue. For many years Hamilton and Aaron Burr had been political rivals. On July 11, 1804, they fought a duel in Weehawken. Hamilton was wounded and died the next day. He was buried in Trinity churchyard, where you can now see his tomb. Robert Fulton CHAPTER XLII ROBERT FULTON The City Prison at Centre and Leonard streets stands on the site of Collect pond. This pond was quite deep and extended over several of our city blocks. Collect pond had two outlets, — one emptying into the Hudson river, and the other emptying into the East river. The pond was there for more than two hundred years after the first Dutch traders landed on Manhattan. In later years a canal was dug from Collect pond to the Hudson river. This canal 202 ROBEKT FULTON 203 was afterward filled in, and is now known as Canal street. The outlet to the East river was also filled in. The first steamboat in New York was built on the shores of Collect pond in 1796. The inventor was John Fitch, a soldier of the Revolution. He was poor, and being unable to obtain financial help could not make a success of his invention. Robert Fulton was a more fortunate inventor. A rich New York gentleman was interested in his inventions and they became partners. Fulton built the first steamboat that was of practical use for freight and passengers. It was built in Manhattan, and he named it The Clennont. On the morning of August 11, 1807, The Clermont started on her trial trip up the Hudson river to Albany. The trip was successful, and steamboats replaced the old sailing vessels where greater speed was necessary. Fulton's Ferryboat, " Olive Branch " Built in 183G CHAPTER XLIII samuel f. b. morse The Inventor of the Electric Telegraph Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor of the electric telegraph, began life as an artist. He was a professor in the New York University on Washington square. The University is now in The Bronx, but ^ a part of the building on the site of ^./#^fe^~-^ the old university is used for lecture purposes still. While teaching in the University Morse invented the electric telegraph. He and another jDrofessor were partners, but neither had the money necessary to carry out Morse's ideas. One day 4- a student named Alfred Vail happened .s^^^^'^^^^^^ to enter the professors' room when they were showing then" machine to some Samuel f. b. Morse gentlemen. Young Vail was the son of a wealthy mill owner and had worked in his father's shop. He was a good mechanic and soon under- stood the value of the new invention, — the first electric telegraph in the world. He proposed to get the money necessary for the success of the wonderful invention if Professor Morse would agree to make him 204 o 205 206 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY a partner. Morse agreed, and the young man's father gave them the money they needed, and a room in his workshop was set apart for their use. Many inventions and many new mechanical devices were necessary in order to build the first successful telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore. In 1844 the line was completed. The first message that passed over the wires was "What hath God wrought." The Morse alphabet is still in use. Morse's residence was in Man- hattan, at No. 5 West 2 2d street. He left money to the New York University for an annual medal of scholarship. There is a bronze statue of Morse in Central Park. He was present at the unveiling of his statue in 1871, as an honored guest, and was then eighty years old. On that day he sent the following message : Greeting and thanks to the telegraph fraternity throughout tlie world. Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will to men. — S. F. B. Morse. ^m ^T=f =^ yWiiiit., 1 '*' /u 1 [/■---■ Morse's First Telegraph Instrument CHAPTER XLIV PETER COOPER The Founder of Cooper Union Who gives himself with his alms, feeds three, Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me. During his life Peter Cooper was known to a large number of men, women, and children of all classes, and was loved more than any citizen of New York has ever been. Whenever he drove around the busiest and most crowded parts of New York wagons and carriages were turned aside to make room for the plain, old- fashioned carriage of the man who was the first citizen of our city in the hearts of the people. Why was Peter Cooper loved, honored, and respected by all classes ? Because he loved his fel- low-men and helped them in every way he could to improve their con- dition. Because he was a good man, an honest man, an unselfish man, and a patriotic citizen. 207 Peter Cooper 208 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY Peter Cooper was born in Water street when Washington was President of the United States. The fashionable part of the city was then near the Battery. North of Chambers street there were farms and country homes. Ways of Living. The people in those days wore clothes made of homespun. Wood fires were used for cooking and for heating the houses. Matches had not been invented; flint and steel and the tinder box were used to start a fire. People knew noth- ing of the use of kerosene oil, and lamps in which it could be burned had not been invented. CuATiiAiM Square (181:2) /^ ti t p ^ Candles were used tor light. Many families burned them only on Sundays, holidays, and when they had comioany. They saved the pine knots to burn on other nights for light as well as for heat. When some of our great men were boys they studied their lessons by the light of pine knots because their parents could not afford to burn candles. During Peter Cooper's life he saw great changes in the way of living. He saw kerosene-oil lamps take the place of candles, and gaslight replace the lamps. When men found out how to use hard coal for fuel he saw grates, stoves, and furnaces introduced. Peter Cooper saw coal used for cooking and heating instead of wood, and, in later years, in heating houses he saw steam heaters take the place of stoves. PETER COOPER 209 When Peter Cooper was a young man the people of Manhattan depended on springs and wells for the city's water supply. The city was guarded by watchmen. Each watchman served four hours every night. The hours for ''the watch" were from nine o'clock until dawn. The protection against fire was also primitive. When the fire bell rang people hurried to the fire and formed a bucket brigade. This brigade stretched from a pump or well to a small fire engine. These engines were a kind of force pump, and were drawn by hand. While the bucket brigade passed the water to the tank other men worked the han- dle of the pump, and so a stream of water was thrown on the burning house. Peter Cooper not only lived to see the beginning of our Croton water supply, our police force, and our fire department, but as an alder- man, or as a member of a committee, he helped to form these departments. He was also a trustee of the Free School Society and later a member of the Board of Education. He was very much interested in education, and visited the public schools, the College of the City of New York, and the Normal College very frequently. Thus the school children and college students of New York learned to know and love him. No. 7 CHEKKY SrUKET First New York house lighted with gas 210 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOKK CITY Words of Peter Cooper. " While I have always recognized that the object of business is to make money in an honorable manner, I have endeavored to remember that the object of life is to do good." The Ways of earning a Living. In Peter Cooper's long life he saw great changes in the ways of earning a living. When he was a boy men worked in small shops. Many articles were also made in the home, and all the fam- ily, even the younger children, did a share of the work. Before Peter Cooper was fifty years of age many im^ provements had been made in the steam engine, and ma- chines had been invented for doing many different kinds of work. In many industries steam power took the place of hand power, horse power, and water power. When steam power was used to run many of the new machines great changes took place in the ways of earning a living. Men built mills and fac- tories, put new machinery in them, and hired people to work there. So work was gradually taken out of the home and the old-fashioned shop and was done in factories. Many other changes took place in the business world. Parts of our city became business centers. People moved farther and farther away from these business centers, and men began to think of some way of reaching business quicker than on foot, in a stage, or in a horse car. Old Houses at Junction t>i< Makion AND Elm Streets (1861) Going to a fire in old times PETER COOPER 211 The invention of the steamboat and the locomotive and the building of railroads gave them rapid transit. The steamboat, the railroad, and the invention of the electric telegraph made great changes in the ways of travel, the ways of living, and the ways of earning a living. Peter Cooper not only saw all these changes but helped to make a success of many of the new undertakings. To whom does the coal mining and the use of coal give employ- ment ? To whom does the steam engine give employment ? the steamboat ? the railroads ? the electric telegraph ? To whom does the use of lamps give em- ployment ? the use of gas ? the use of the sewing ma- chine ? What is made in mills ? in factories ? How can boys and girls earn a living by means of these inventions ? Tell of some other ways of earning a living in New York. How Peter Cooper helped to make a Success of Many Inventions. It would be impossible in this short story to tell all that the chil- dren would like to know about Peter Cooper's inventions, and how much he helped other inventors. As a boy he was thoughtful and kind to his mother. He made a washing machine and other labor- saving machines for her. He also made a toy wagon and sold it for six dollars. He took an old shoe apart, learned how it was put together, and succeeded in making good shoes and slippers for all the family. Old Houses, Corner Pearl and Elm Streets 212 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY When learning his trade as a carriage builder he invented sev- eral little machines useful in his trade. Before he was twenty-five years old he made some money by an invention, and soon owned his own home and a small factory. He invented a number of machines for his factory and his home. One invention would rock the baby's cradle and fan away the flies. He sold the patent to a Yankee peddler for a horse and wagon and the peddler's stock. Peter Cooper was never idle and he never wasted time. When not working he was read- ing, studying, or plan- ning inventions. He became a rich man and owned iron mines, mills, and factories. He im- proved old machinery and invented new machinery. He also helped others to make a success of their inven- tions by investing money in their undertakings and by giving them good advice. Cooper Union. When Peter Cooper planned Cooper Union no one had ever heard of iron beams such as are now used in buildings. Wooden beams were used. As Peter Cooper wished to make Cooper Union as nearly fireproof as possible, he decided that iron beams should take the place of wooden ones. He found that the kind of iron beams that he was looking for were not made. He then had new machinery built to make beams according to his ideas. When Southeast and South \vk.->i 1'(>i;m,i;.s of Greenwich and Franklin Streets PETEE COOPER 213 you see men working on our sky-scrapers and our new bridges, do not forget that it was Peter Cooper who made the first iron beams used in building. The Tom Thumb, the First American Locomotive. Tlie locomotive was invented in England. The first railroad company in the United Bible House, Cooper Uniox, and Tompkins ]\rARKET States built a railroad in Baltimore and expected to use one of the new locomotives on it. Peter Cooper was interested in this railroad because he owned some land near it. English engineers said that no locomotive could be used on the new railroad on account of a very sharp curve. Peter Cooper went over the road. He examined 214 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY Old-Time Locomotive it, and then said : " I do not agree with the English engineers that no locomotive can be used on this railroad. I believe them when they say no Englisli locomotive can go around that curve ; ,„ but I am sure I can knock together a locomotive that will get a train around that curve." Peter Cooper hiu-ried to New York for a little brass engine he had, took it back with him to Baltimore, and made a locomotive in a coachmaker's shop. The boiler of the engine was not as large as the boiler attached to your mother's kitchen range. He could not get any iron pipes the size he needed, so he used the barrels of old guns for tubing. The locomotive was so small that he called it the Tom Thumb. The Tom Thumb was not intended for use. It was made only to show the people who owned the railroad that a loco- motive such as they needed could be made. When the Tom Thumb was ready it was attached to a horse car. There were thirty people in the car, and six people rode on the locomotive. The Tom Thumb did what was ex- pected of it. It pulled the car around the short curve. Everybody in Baltimore was interested in the Tom Thumb, and for several weeks it was used to make trips. One day there was a race between the engine and a famous gray horse. The horse drew a car on one track and the Tom Thumb drew a car on Modern Locomotive PETEK COOPEK 215 the other. The Tom Thumb was ahead, when something got out of order ; this caused a delay, and the horse won the race. The New Western Trade Route to China and Japan. America was discovered because the sea captains and merchants of Europe were trying to find a new trade route to China and Japan. New York was discovered because Henry Hudson came here looking for the new trade route that was talked about so much. Europeans thought there was a water way across our continent, and that this water way would give them a western trade route to China and Japan. Other parts of our country were dis- covered for the same reasons. As years went by explorers found that our coun- try was a very big place, and that there was no water way between the Atlan- tic ocean and the Pacific. When they learned this truth they gave up all hope of ever finding a shorter western trade route to Asia and continued to use the old trade routes. When railroads were built many new trade routes were planned. At first only English locomotives were used. The experiment with the Tom Thumb encouraged American inventors. They saw that this little locomotive was the proper kind for American railroads, and they went to work. The result was that in a few years good American locomotives were built, and we soon had railroads in many parts of our country. American iMHiB^ A Train 216 HOME GEOGRAPHY OE NEW YORK CITY locomotives can go around shorter curves than English locomotives. It required many years of hard work to build a railroad across the United States from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific. When this railroad was completed the new western trade route was ready for business. Since then tea and Chinese and Japanese goods are shipped from China and Japan to San Francisco, loaded on cars, and brought to New York. American goods are shipped to those countries from San Francisco. Thus we are now using the long- looked-for western trade route to Asia. The new western trade route is no longer a dream. It is a trade route in daily use, but it took nearly four hundred years to make the dream a reality. It cost many lives and millions of dollars, and many wonderful inventions were necessary before it was completed. The little Tom Thumb can claim some of the honor of helping in this wonderful work. The Atlantic Cable. After men became accustomed to the con- venience of steamboats, railroads, and the electric telegraph they wished for something else to help them in business. People could cross the Atlantic ocean in a steamboat. They could travel miles and miles in our country on the railroad. Business men could send telegrams to tlie business centers in the United States, but they had still to depend on letters and steamboats in doing business with Europe. Cyrus W. Field and Peter Cooper began to think of some way of sending telegraph messages to Europe. These messages could be sent only along wires laid under water. A great many new inven- tions were necessary before men succeeded in laying a successful cable across the Atlantic ocean. They called the wire ropes they PETER COOPER 217 used cables, and the messages they sent were called cablegrams. The first Atlantic cable was laid between Ireland and America. Mr. Cooper helped Mr. Field to make a success of his undertak- ing by investing money in the company, and by his friendly help Section oh Ailamic Caulk lai:i;ied by Adams & Company's Express Wagon and advice. When the Atlantic cable proved to be a success, and men in Europe and America could send messages across the ocean, many people of those days thought nothing more wonderful could ever be invented. A Model Citizen. Peter Cooper was a model citizen. He served his city as an alderman, as a member of many important committees, as a trustee of the Public School Society, and as a commissioner of 218 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY the Board of Education. He gave money for patriotic purposes, and he founded Cooper Union. He was a successful man, but, above all, he was a good man. We shall finish our story with a quotation from a speech he made at a reception given in honor of his eighty-third birthday: *' If our lives be such that we shall one day receive the glad welcome of ' Well done, good and faithful servant,' we shall then know that we have not lived in vain. ..." Old Hall of Board of Education APPENDIX THE MOST IMPOKTANT SETTLEMENTS IN DUTCH NEW YORK 1613-1664 BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN Butch Settlements 1613 New Amsterdam. 1641 Harlem. English Settlements BOROUGH OF THE BRONX 1639 Jonas Bronck bought the land be- tween the Harlem and Bronx rivers from the Indians. He built a house, a mill, and an out- post for New Amsterdam. His house was in Old Morrisania. 1646 Adrian Van der Donck bought land from the Indians on the west side of The Bronx, north of Spuyten Duy- vil creek. The people called him " Jonkheer," which means " young lord." His house and land were called " de Jonkheer's landt." Cross out " de " and " landt," and you have "Jonklieer," afterward pronounced and spelled Yonkers. 1642 1642 Throgs Neck. Pelham Manor and that part of The Bronx now known as Pelham Bay Park. The Dutch claimed all this land and objected to the English settlers, but the English settlers remained, and their names were afterward given to these places. 219 220 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN Dutch Settlements English Settlements 1623 Brooklyn settled at Wallal)oiit bay, 1645 Graveseud settled, where the United States Navy Yard is now. 1636 Flatlands settled. At first called New Amersfoot. This is consid- ered the first permanent settle- ment on Long Island. 1651 Flatbush. Dutch name was Mid- wout. 1657 New Utrecht. 1660 Bushwick. Dutch name was Bos- wyck. When Stuyvesant was governor these were called the five Dutch towns. BOROUGH OF QUEENS The Dutch were the first Europeans 1644 Hempstead. Part of Hempstead be- to occupy any part of Long Island. longs to Nassau county. There were Dutch settlers living in 1645 Flushing. Dutch name was Yliss- the English settlements. engen. 1655 Newtown. Dutch name was Mid- dleburg. 1656 Jamaica. Dutch name was Rustdorp. BOROUGH OF RICHMOND 1630 In 1630 a rich Dutch merchant bought Staten Island, the land now known as Jersey City and Hoboken, and also many miles more of the New Jersey shore opposite Manhattan. His colony was a failure, and he sold his land. Pavonia ferry and Coinmunipaw were named for the first owner of these places. 1636 In 1636 a block house, which was also a signal station, was built on the site of Fort Wadsworth. There were huts near this fort for officials and soldiers. Fort Wadsworth stands on the site of the first Dutch trading post built on Staten Island. APPENDIX 221 1638 In 1638 some settlers built houses a little northwest of Foit Wadsworth. They called the settlement Oude Dorp, or Old Town. Oude Dorp was destroyed by 1651 the Indians. In 1651 there was a " plantation " near Clifton. Some writers say that there were Dutch settlers living on the Stapleton Flats. The earliest Dutch settlements were all on the shore near The Narrows, within a short distance of 1655 the block house, and convenient to the Brooklyn shore opposite. In 1655 there 1658 were eleven "bouweries" on Staten Island. In 1658 a settlement was made south of The Narrows at Stony Brook, now included in New Dorp. During Dutch rule Staten Island was bought and sold several times. The Indians were troublesome, and the settlements on the island were very small. Very few of the Dutch colonists cared to go so far from Fort Amsterdam. The majority preferred to live in the settlements of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. No event of historical importance took place on Staten Island in Dutch colonial times. While Stuyvesant was governor there were not enough settlers on Staten Island to pay the salary of a minister or a teacher. A min- ister from New Amsterdam went there every two months to preach. STATEN ISLAND AS AN ENGLISH COLONY An English governor bought Staten Island from the Indians because they said the Dutch had not paid them enough for it. This pin-chase settled the disputes with the Indians about the ownership of the island. The settlements increased, 1700 and in 1700 there were more than two hundred families living in the present borough of Richmond. 1670 In 1670 the first chm'ch on Staten Island was built at Stony Brook south of The Narrows. 1776 In 1776, when the English decided to attack New York, a large English army landed on Staten Island. The Black Horse Tavern in New Dorp was the head- 1783 quarters of the English general. On Evacuation Day the English army went from Manhattan to Staten Island and remained there for one week. 222 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY IMPORTANT DATES AND PLACES OF INTEREST IN NEW AMSTERDAM — A DUTCH CITY 1613 Nos. 39 and 41 Broadway. 1623 1626 New Custom House. Bowling Green. Wall street. 1633 Stone street (the first street to be paved with stone). 1633 Collegiate School, 77th street, near West End avenue, Manhattan. 1642 No. 73 Pearl street, at the head of Coenties Slip. 1652 Stuyvesant's tomb. A Stuyvesant memorial. Site of first houses built and occupied by white men on Manhattan.^ From 1613 to 1623 there was a trading post only on the southern end of island. Permanent settlers arrived in New Amsterdam. Site of Fort Amsterdam, site of the first church on Manhattan, called the Church of St. Nicholas, and the site of the first governor's house on Manhattan. Then an open field and the site of the early fur trad- ing. It was also a parade ground for soldiers, a general meeting place for the people, and the place where the cattle fairs were held. It was called The Plaine. A walled street, and the northern limit of New Amsterdam. The home of Adam Roelantsen, the first New York schoolmaster, was in this street. The first school in New Amsterdam was taught in Roelantsen 's house. First New York school. Site of Stone Tavern. It became the Stadt Huys, or the first City Hall, in 1653. First Dutch public school opened in the Stadt Huys, when it was called the Stone Tavern. St. Mark's church, 2d avenue and 10th street. The vault is beneath the church. The Stuyvesant High School, named in honor of Peter Stuyvesant. It is on 15th street, near Stuyvesant square. The land on wliich it stands was part of Peter Stuyvesant's " Bouwerie." 1 Let the teacher explain that our local authorities disagree about the exact locatiou of some historic sites, APPENDIX 223 Do you live in a Dutch settlement? If not, where is the nearest Dutch settle- ment in your borough ? Do you know of any historic places near your school ? Is your school near any church or school built in Dutch colonial times? IMPOPvTANT DxVTES AND PLACES OF INTEREST IN NEW YORK — AN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN CITY 1693 Xo. 81 Pearl street. Site of first printing office in New York. 1696 Trinity church. Site of first English church in New York. 1725 Cotton Exchange. Site of first newspaper office in New York. 1754 King's College grounds, Block bounded by AVest Broadway, Barclay, Church, which then sloped down and Murray streets. Tablet at West Broadway and to the river bank. 1754 Columbia University. ]\Iurray street. First New York college. College grounds a part of Harlem Heights battlefield. Site of English City Hall, and first New York library. Freedom of the press established by Zenger's trial in the court room of the City Hall. Stamp Act stamps locked up in the City Hall, in charge of the city officials, so that they could not be used. Site of the coffeehouse where New York merchants met and decided not to buy or use anything that came from England until the Stamp Act was repealed. Oldest New York park — site of bowling games. First regular mail carrier in the English colonies started on his journey from the Government House near Bowling Green. Scene of Stamp Act excitement and of the destruction of the statue of King George III. Some pieces of this statue may be seen in the rooms of the New York Historical Society. Battle of Golden Hill — first bloodshed in American Revolution. Site of Liberty Pole, Scene of the mass meeting to protest against the The Common (second name). Stamp Act. Other public meetings were held on City Hall Park (third name). The Common before the Revolution. Sub-Treasury, corner Wall and Broad streets 1765 Wall and Broad streets. 1 765 C Nos. 9 and 1 1 Broadway -! or i^No. 115 Broadway. Bowling Green. 1765 Bowling Green. 1775 Bowling Green 1770 Corner of John and William streets. 1770 Post Office. The Fields (first name) 224 HOME GEOGEAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY Do you live in an English settlement ? If not, what old English settlement is nearest your school? Do you know of any place of historic interest near your school? Is your school near any church or school built in English colonial times ? Do you know of any old post road in your borough ? 1776 The Common, now City Hall Park. In the City Hall Park. The City Hall. Completed in 1812. Contains memorials every child should see. 1776 Fort Washington. Declaration of Independence read near west wing of City Hall. Statue of Nathan Hale, student, teacher, soldier, hero, pati'iot. The statue does not mark a particular site. Authorities do not agree as to the place where Hale was executed. Painting of Stuyvesant. A picture of the famous pear tree and a section of it. Some furniture used in Fed- eral Hall, — the second City Hall. AVashington's portrait and desk. Hamilton's portrait. The place now called Fort Washington is the site of one of the forts that was built across the island by the Americans in 1776. At Fort Washington the Americans were obliged to surrender to the Eng- lish. The fort extended from 17.5th street to 178th and overlooked the Hudson river. Some say the fort extended from 181st street to 183d. The Fort Washington tablet is at 183d street and Fort Wash- ington avenue. AVlien the Americans built Fort Washington and Fort Lee on the New Jersey shore opposite, they thought they could prevent British ships sailing up the Hudson river. At 183d street and Amsterdam avenue was Fort George, another of the line of forts that was built across the island from the Hudson to the Harlem rivers in 1770 to defend Washington Heights. Fort George overlooks the Harlem river. Is there any old fort near your school ? Is there any old building near your school that was used by the English or American soldiers during the war ? 1776 Fort George. APPE:f^DlX 225 IMPOETANT DATES AND PLACES OF INTEREST ASSOCIATED WITH AVASHINGTOX 1776 Greenwich village The Common, now City Hall Park. No. 1 Broadway. Jumel mansion, Edgecombe avenue and 160th street. 1783 125th street, near 8th avenue. 1783 Fraunces' Tavern, corner of Broad and Pearl streets. 1783 Battery Park. 1783 Foot of Wall street. r Pier of Brooklyn bridge, \ No. 1 Cherry street. Sub-Treasury. Washington lived in Greenwich village before the battle of Long Island was fought. In this park the Declaration of Independence was read in the presence of Washington and his officers, sol- diers, and a great multitude of people. Site of the headquarters of some of Washington's officers when the Declaration of Independence was read on The Common. In colonial times there was a garden in the rear of this house. It extended to the Hudson river. The river shore was then on Greenwich street. Washington's headquarters when the battle of Harlem Heights was fought, and when Nathan Hale was put to death. Site of the tavern where Washington remained while waiting for the English army to leave the city. Washington remained in this tavern for a few days in 178;}. When he left the city to return to his home he said farewell to his officers in the Long Room. The scene of young Van Arsdale's patriotic act on Evacuation Day. Murray's wharf, where President "NV^ashington landed when he came to New York, — the first capital of the United States. Site of President Washington's first home in the city. Site of Federal Hall, where Washington, the first Presi- dent of the United States, was inaugurated. The church Washington attended on the day of his inauguration, and during his residence in New York. Washington's second home in New York. This man- sion was built on the site of Adrian Block's log huts. Do you know of any buildings near your school that were used as headquarters for American or English officers during the Revolution ? Is there any colonial building of any kind near your school? St. Paul's chapel. No. 39 Broadway. 226 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YOEK CITY THE MEANING OF A FEW GEOGEAPHICAL NAMES Arthur Kill. The English corrupted Achter Cull into " Arthur Kill " and gave the name to the stream of water connecting Raritan bay with Newark bay. Barnegat. Barnegat is a Dutch name given by Henry Hudson. Some say the word means " burning hole." Others say it means " breaker's inlet." Bronx. Bronx was named for the Dutch settler, Jonas Bronck. He bought his land from the Indians. Brooklyn. Brooklyn is a Dutch word. The Dutch spelled it Breuckelen. It means <' broken-up land " or " marshy land." Canarsie. Canarsie is the name of a tribe of Indians that lived in Kings county. The word means " at the fenced place." Communipaw. Communipaw has two meanings : first, " the commune " of Pauw (Michael Pauw was the first owner of that land) ; second, Gemoenapa cor- rupted to Communipaw. Flatbush. Flatbush was first called Midwout by the Dutch, and afterward called Vlacke- bos. So named from woods that grew on the flat country. Flushing. Flushing was called Vlissengen by the early Dutch settlers. Flushing is a corruption of Vlissengen, the name of a town in Holland. Governor's island. Governor's island was bought by a Dutch governor, and for that reason was named Governor's island. The Indian name meant " nut island." The island was once famous for its chestnuts. Hell Gate. Some writers say the name Hell Gate is derived from the Dutch word Hellegate, which means " gate of hell." Others say it is derived from Horlbjat, which means "the whirling strait." The place was named on account of the whirlpool which made navigation dangerous. Hempstead. Hempstead is derived from the Dutch word Heemstede, meaning " home- stead." Hoboken. Hoboken was named from the Indian word hopocan, meaning "a tobacco pipe." Jamaica. Jamaica is an Indian word and has two meanings : first, " a country abound- ing in springs " ; second, " land of water and wood." Another writer says that Jamaica was derived from a word that means " beaver." Kill van Kull. Kill van Kull means " the stream of the bay." Kill van Kull connects Newark bay and New York bay. Manhattan. Manhattan is an Indian word. Some writers say it means " island." They tell us that the Indians who lived on Manhattan and Staten islands were called APPENDIX 227 Manhattans, or " people who live on an island." Others think the word meana " the people of the whirlpool," and referred to the whirlpool called Hell Gate. These writers say that the Indians w'ho lived in Manhattan and in a part of The Bronx were called INIanhattans. They give a different name to the Staten Island Indians. Newark bay. Newark bay was called by the Dutch Achter Cull, or Back bay. New Dorp. Xew Dorp means " new town." The Dutch spelling was Niewve Dorp. Pelham. Pelhani bay and park were named in honor of Thomas Pell, an English settler. Raritan. Raritan is the name of an Indian tribe that lived on Staten Island. The word means " forked river." Rockaway. Rockaway is the name of a tribe of Indians that lived in Rockaway. The word means "planting land." Spuyten Duyvil. Spuyten Duyvil means " in spite of the devil." "When Stuyvesant was governor people depended on a ferry to cross the creek that connects the Harlem and Hudson rivers. One very dark, stormy night a Dutch citizen said he would swim across the creek in spite of the devil. The Dutch words wei-e sj)uyt den duyvil. The poor man was drowned, and the creek and the high land north of it have been called Spuyten Duyvil ever since. Staten Island. Staten Island means " the island of the states." It was so named in honor of the " states " that made up the country called Holland. Throgs Neck. Throgs Neck was named in honor of John Throgmorton, an English settler. Wallabout bay. Our writers do not agree about the meaning of this name, nor do they agree about the spelling of it. Here are three ways of spelling it, — Waal-bocht, Waal-hoght, and Walehacht. The AValloons settled at Wallabout bay. They were not Dutch. They had gone from their own country to Holland, and had lived there before settling in Brooklyn. The Dutch called them foreigners. Some of our writers say Wallabout bay means " Walloons' bay," or " Bay of Foreigners." Others say it means " curving bay." Weehawken. Weehawken is an Indian word meaning '• maize-land." K 228 HOME GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK CITY DATES AND LANDMARKS OE LOCAL INTEREST — NEIGHBOR- HOOD OF SCHOOL APPENDIX 229 MEANINGS OF OTHER GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ANNOUNCEMENTS FRYE'S GEOGRAPHIES A TWO-BOOK COURSE By ALEXIS EVERETT FRYE, First Superintendent of Schools of Cuba ELEMENTS OF GEOGRAPHY. List price, 65 cents ; mailing price, So cents. GRAMMAR SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY. T.ist price, $1.25 ; mailing price, $1.45. DURING the last nine years Frye's geographies have Stood the severest test ever given an American text-book, and have proved each year more satisfactory. In this country they have been for several years by far the most widely used texts on the subject, and they are to-day more popular than ever before. Abroad they have the hearty indorse- ment of the Royal Geographical Society of England and of the Geographical Society of France. A London publisher has brought out an English edition which has met with general favor, and a special Canadian edition has been published. An edition in Spanish has been issued and is now the standard text of Cuba and Porto Rico. In every country where Frye's geographies are used they are recognized as of the highest merit. They are to-day the geographical standard for the English- speaking world. President Eliot of Harvard University says of Frye's Geog- raphies : I knew also that Mr. Frye had written the best geographies used in the American schools or any other schools. GINN & COMPANY Publishers GEOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES IN AMERICAN HISTORY By ALBERT PERRY BRIGHAM Professor of Geology in Colgate University. i2mo. Cloth. 366 pages. Illustrated. List price, $1.25 ; mailing price, $1.40 IN this new book Professor Brigham has presented vividly and clearly those physiographic features of America which have been importarst in guiding the unfolding of our industrial and national life. The arrangement is mainly geographical. Among the themes receiving special treatment are : The Eastern Gateway of the United States, the Appalachian Bar- rier, the Great Lakes and American Commerce, the Civil War, and Mines and Mountain Life. ♦ Closing chapters deal with the unity and diversity of Ameri- can life and with physiography as affecting American destiny. The book will be found particularly interesting and valuable to students and teachers of geography and history, but it will also appeal to the general reader. The very large number of rare and attractive photo- graphs and the numerous maps are of importance in vivifying and explaining the text. GINN & COMPANY Publishers INUV ** '^^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS "•=•^■1 007 673 841 5 • !■ 'l it ;!iiSiii3HHitiHll iikiiiiktiyMitiitiuiitiHEgfS8M£^^MiiiMii^!^ii>Si»Hkl(^iis^ ...a! iiif