\ 
 
 i£x ICtbrtja 
 
 SEYMOUR DURST 
 
 'i ' 'Fort niewv ^m^e.rja-m' Je MTti^Jo-tans 
 
 "When you leave, please leave this book 
 
 Because it has been said 
 "Ever'thing comes t' him who waits 
 
 Except a loaned book." 
 
- FHOPERTY OF— j 
 
 JAN 10 1905 \ 
 York city. 
 
 Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
Wm FOLK'S LIBRARY OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 
 
 STORIES 
 
 OF 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 BY 
 
 Anna temple Lovering, M. D. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 New York Chicago San Francisco 
 
Copyrighted 
 bt educational publishing company, 
 
 1896 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 The Coming of the Half-Moon 
 
 Trading for Furs 
 
 Legend of the Iroquois 
 
 New Netherland, and its Dutcli Governors 
 
 Good Times in tlie Dutcli Colony 
 
 How the Dutch Surprised the English . 
 
 Jacob Leisler 
 
 Burning of Schenectady . 
 
 A Eover of the Seas 
 
 Freedom of the Press 
 
 The Negro Plot 
 
 In the Valley of the Mohawk 
 
 Colonial New York 
 
 A Scene on the Banks of the Hudson 
 
 Sons of Liberty 
 
 Ticonderoga and Crown Poiiil 
 
 The Green Mountain Boys 
 
 The Last English Governor 
 
 The American Flag . 
 
 Battle of Long Island 
 
 Brave General Herkimer 
 
 Bemis's Heights and Saratoga 
 
 Surrender of Burgoyne 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Massacre at Cherry Valley ..... 134 
 
 " Mad Anthony " . . . . ■ . . .138 
 
 A Traitor to His Country . . . . . 143 
 
 Evacuation Day ....... 152 
 
 Inauguration of Washington ..... 156 
 
 First Years of Peace . . . . . .161 
 
 Alexander Hamilton . , . . . 165 
 
 Fulton's Folly ....... 171 
 
 The Erie Canal ....... 175 
 
 The War of 1812 ....... 180 
 
 Legend of the Catskill Falls . .... I'M) 
 
 New York City in the Civil War . . ... 193 
 
 Some of New York's Great Me.v 
 
 Irving and Cooper ...... 197 
 
 John Jacob Astor ...... 205 
 
 Horace Greeley . . . . . . .211 
 
 James Gorden Bennett ..... 214 
 
 Henry Ward Beecher . „ . . . .217 
 
STORIES OF 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 THE COMING OF THE HALF MOON. 
 
 " The great white bird ! " 
 " The great white bird ! " 
 
 That is what the Indians along the shores of the 
 Hudson River cried, one to another, when the square- 
 rigged, stubborn Httle Dutch Half Moon appeared 
 upon the blue waters of the river which, until that 
 clear morning, had seen only the rude little canoes 
 of the natives. 
 
 But the Indians were hardly less surprised than 
 were Henry Hudson and his crew,; for little had they 
 expected to find themselves upon the waters of a great 
 
 7 
 
8 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 and unknown river — they who had set forth to find 
 a northwest passage to Cathay. 
 
 For this was in the stirring days of old, when, the 
 new continent having been discovered, hardy seamen 
 from all nations were eagerly setting forth to try their 
 fortune and, perchance, to earn their fame by great 
 discoveries — that of a northern passage first of all ; 
 for in this, every nation in Europe had profoundest 
 interest. 
 
 It was for this purpose, then, that Henry Hudson 
 had come with his queer little craft ; but, finding him- 
 self at the mouth of a river, he determined to explore 
 it for its own sake. Then — who could tell? — it 
 might lead out into some open sea farther north — the 
 very one, perchance, for which they sought ! 
 
 The Half Moon was well loaded with knives, 
 colored beads, and the thousand other brilliant but 
 useless trinkets which delighted the eye of these early 
 Indians, and by which the white men had learned to 
 trade with these simple, color-loving savages. 
 
 For three weeks the Half Moon cruised up and 
 down the river ; for, as the log-book recorded, " the 
 shores were very pleasant with grasses and flowers, 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 9 
 
 and very sweet were the smells that came from 
 them." 
 
 Then, too, the natives welcomed them, and heaped 
 the vessel with corn, tobacco, and, best of all, with furs 
 of great value, which they were content to exchange for 
 the bits of red and yellow glass the ship had brought. 
 
 HOW SANDY HOOK APPEARED TO HUDSON WHEN HE CAME TO NEW YORK. 
 
 It was at Castleton that Hudson made his first visit 
 to the Indians upon their own ground ; for it was here 
 the chief dwelt, and it was from him that Hudson 
 hoped to learn of the source of the river and of what 
 lay beyond. 
 
 The natives had their own ideas of etiquette ; and 
 
10 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 it was on the very next day that the visit was returned. 
 Arrayed in his very finest feathers, the chief, with a 
 chosen few, paddled out to the ship, where they were 
 received with great courtesy and loaded with showy 
 gifts. 
 
 For these the chief was proud and grateful ; but 
 when Hudson, having followed the course of the river 
 as far as it was navigable, turned back, he was attacked 
 by Indians at different points, who, jealous and cov- 
 etous, longed in their savage hearts for more of the 
 colored glass with which the vessel Avas loaded. 
 
 These attacks were, however, of little moment, 
 since with the flash of the first gun the natives fled, 
 terror stricken before a power they did not undei'stand. 
 
 So, with slight adventures, they sailed along the 
 banks of the beautiful river, ever more to be known as 
 the Hudson, past the frowning walls of rock, now 
 called the Palisades, and past the shadowy forest, shelter- 
 ing game of every description, in which no foot had 
 ever trod save the moccasined feet of the red men. 
 
 Althouo'h not the first discoverer of this section, 
 now known as New York, since Champlain had already 
 penetrated the northern part of the state two months 
 
NEW YOKK. 
 
 11 
 
 earlier, Hudson's report forwarded to Holland excited 
 great interest among the eager merchants, "who looked 
 forward to large and quick returns, if only a trade in 
 fur could once be established. 
 
 As for Henry Hudson, you will want to know if he 
 ever came back ao-ain to the River of the Mountains. 
 No, he never did ; unless, indeed, the legend of the 
 Catskills, as Irving has told it, is true, and once in every 
 twenty years the captain of the Half Moon and' his 
 crew do return to the country they discovered, and 
 celebrate that happy event by a social game of nine- 
 pins, into which they enter with such hearty interest, 
 that the sound of their balls is like distant peals of 
 thunder. One thing, however, is certain ; the old Dutch 
 inhabitants to this day, when they hear a thunder-storm 
 of a summer's afternoon, say, " It's Heinrich Hudson 
 and his crew at their game of ninepins ! " 
 
FIRST SETTLP;]VIKNT 0>r THE JIUDSOX 
 
TRADING FOR FURS. 
 
 When Henry Hudson returned to Holland, you 
 may be sure he was received as a hero. Champlain was 
 forgotten and ignored, and Hudson alone enjoyed the 
 glory of having penetrated an unknown country and 
 of having sailed an unknown water. Sometimes he 
 became a little vain — so some records say — but the 
 Holland people laid nothing up against him, for he had 
 indeed done great service ta the government, which now 
 claimed the river and its shores as their own through 
 the right of discovery. A charter was granted by the 
 States General of Holland to a company of Amsterdam 
 merchants ; a colony was founded, and ships were sent 
 out at once to engage the Indians along the Hudson to 
 trade for furs. 
 
 Among the gallant' captains they employed was one 
 Adrien Block, a Dvitch navigator, not easily discouraged 
 
 13 
 
14 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 ill any uiidertakiug he might engage in, as you will 
 shortly see. On his first voyage in 1613, he had 
 secured from the Indians a cargo of fine bear skins, and 
 was all ready to sail for Amsterdam, when his vessel, 
 the Tiger, caught fire, and was entirely destroyed. 
 This, of course, was a very serious disaster ; but Captain 
 Block and his men were too plucky to waste any time 
 in useless complaining, and the nights were so cold 
 that the bark wig-wams of the Indians, which were 
 freely ofPered to the unsheltered white men, were but 
 poor protection. Accordingly Captain Block and his 
 crew went busily to work erecting log cabins which, 
 rude as they were, kept out Jack Frost's prying 
 fingers, and the North Wind's icy breath. So friendly 
 were the Indians that they brought food and necessaries 
 of all kinds for the voyagers, and all through the long 
 winter months supplied them with the best of their own 
 stores. The cabins finished, these plucky seamen cut 
 down the stately oaks which grew on every side, and 
 fashioned them into planks for another vessel — forty- 
 four feet long and eleven feet wide — which they 
 called the Restless. So industrious were they that 
 in a few months only, they gathered together a new 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 15 
 
 supply of furs, and, putting them on board, sailed 
 for Holland in the spring of 1614. 
 
 This was the first ship built within the limits of the 
 State, and the little cluster of log cabins was the 
 beginning of the present stately city of New York. 
 
 In the same year Charles Christiansen, Avho had 
 made ten voyages to Manhattan Island, sailed up the 
 Hudson as far as Albany, and on a small island near 
 by built and fortified a trading house, which he called 
 Fort Nassau. Here the red men brought furs of every 
 kind and description, and bartered them for knives and 
 beads and trinkets brought over from Holland, and for 
 queer Indian nioney made out of clam shell and strung 
 on threads of sinew, or fastened on deer skin belts. 
 This wampum was for many years commonly used in 
 making purchases, and the smooth white shell and the 
 bluish black one, had each a distinct value of its own. 
 
 The Dutch who built Fort Nassau, and, a little later 
 on, a new fort two miles below Albany, joined with the 
 settlers on Manhattan Island in making a treaty of 
 peace with the Indians. The wise Dutchmen and their 
 red brothers smoked the pipe of peace, and while the 
 latter agreed to bury the tomahawk, the former agreed 
 
16 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 to build a church upon the spot. This was a most 
 sensible plan, for then the tomahawk could not be 
 dug up ; and it was much easier for the Dutch to dwell 
 comfortably in their trading houses and hiiy furs, 
 than to go out into the forests to do their own hunting, 
 thereby endangering their scalps. 
 
 Thus the treaty was made ; and, to the credit of 
 both parties be it said^ it was kept for many long 
 years. The merchants of Amsterdam, and, later on, the 
 Dutch West India Company, built numerous trading 
 posts along the Hudson; they made more and more 
 frequent trips across the ocean; and year after year 
 the trade increased, the colonies prospered, and most 
 friendly were the relations between the Dutch and 
 the simple natives. 
 
 BUTCH FORT AND ENGLISH CHUKOH, ALBANY, 
 
HBLL GATE, FKOM AN OLD DUTCH PKINT. 
 
 LEGEND OF THE IROQUOIS. 
 
 While Henry Hudson was sailing up the banks 
 of the River of the Mountains, he little thought that 
 beyond the hills and shadowy forests there dwelt a 
 people whose government had all the simplicity and 
 power of a great republic. 
 
 Hiawatha, Holder of the Heavens, took the 
 Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas 
 under his especial protection, for he had found them 
 imprisoned under a mountain at the falls of the Oswego 
 river ; and having set them free, loved them Avith a love 
 which the great of heart feel for those whom their own 
 goodness has blessed. And in return the five tribes 
 held Hiawatha in great esteem and affection, and 
 followed his advice in all things. 
 
18 
 
 NEW YOEK. 
 
 After their release they lived in the valleys and 
 among the hills which lie between the Mohawk river 
 and Lake Erie. But a fierce and powerful tribe came 
 down from the country beyond the lakes and made war 
 
 THE FIRST MAP OF THE CITY. 
 
 upon the Onondagas, killing their women and children 
 and filling their hearts with fear and sadness. In this 
 great trouble they hastened to Hiawatha for counsel ; 
 and in accordance with his advice all the tribes came 
 together to make plans for the general warfare. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 19 
 
 Then Hiawatha, after many prayers to the Great 
 Spirit for guidance, said: "Friends and Brothers, you 
 are members of many tribes and nations ; you have 
 come here, many of you, a great distance from your 
 homes ; you have met for one common purpose — to 
 provide for your mutual safety. To oppose these foes 
 from the north by tribes singly and alone would prove 
 certain destruction. You can make no progress in that 
 way ; but if yoii will unite into one common band of 
 brothers, you may drive the invaders back. Do this 
 and you will be safe. 
 
 "You, the Mohawks, sitting under the shadow of 
 the ' Great Tree,' whose roots sink deep into the earth 
 and whose branches spread over a vast country, shall be 
 the first nation, because you are warlike and mighty. 
 
 " And you, Oneidas, a people who recline your 
 bodies, against the ' Everlasting Stone ' that cannot be 
 moved, shall be the second nation, because you give wise 
 counsel. 
 
 "And you, Onondagas, who have your habitation 
 at the ' Great Mountain ' and are overshadowed by its 
 crags, shall be the third nation, because you are gifted 
 in speech and mighty in war. 
 
20 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 " And you, Cayugas, whose habitation is in the 
 ' Dark Forest ' and whose home is everywhere, shall be 
 the fourth nation, because of your superior cunning 
 in hunting. 
 
 " And you, Senecas, a people who live in the ' Open 
 Country ' and possess much wisdom, shall be the fifth 
 nation, because you understand better than any other 
 tribe the art of raising corn and making cabins. 
 
 "You, as five great and powerful nations, must unite. 
 Have but one common interest, and no foe shall be able 
 to disturb or subdue you. If you unite, the Great 
 Spirit will smile upon you. Brothers, these are the last 
 words of Hiawatha ; let them sink deep into your hearts." 
 
 Then the Five Nations made bright their council 
 fire, and the great chiefs gravely considered the advice 
 of the Holder of the Heavens ; and when the twilight 
 warned them that the night was near, all were convinced 
 that in union only would they prove unconquerable. 
 
 Then said Hiawatha : " Preserve this nation as you 
 have formed it. Admit no other tribes to your councils; 
 so shall you be free, numerous and happy. Remember 
 these words ; they are the last you will hear from 
 Hiawatha. The Great Spirit calls me, and I am ready 
 to go. Farewell !" 
 
NEW YOKK. 
 
 21 
 
 At this moment the air was filled with music, and a 
 soft mist descended over the fragrant meadows, dimming 
 the vision of the red men. Then, Hiawatha, seated in 
 the white canoe in which he had so often glided over 
 the blue waters of the lake, passed from beyond their 
 sig-ht, and sailed far out into the land of the 
 setting sun. The south wind, softly sighing through 
 the tree-tops, mingled with the last faint whispers of 
 the distant melody, and the council, their hearts 
 softened one towards the other, sat down to smoke 
 the pipe of peace, by which they pledged themselves, one 
 to the other, to eternal brotherhood. Then the sun 
 went down, and the spirit of Hiawatha appeared to his 
 people, sitting high among the stars. And he smiled 
 upon his people, who should hereafter be as one people, 
 in peace and in war. 
 
 FOKT G£ORGE IN 1783. 
 
EAKLY MAP OF NEW YORK. 
 
SITE or THE CITY OF ^'E^V YORK 
 
 NEW NETHERLANDS AND ITS DUTCH GOVERNORS. 
 
 The merchants of Amsterdam did not long enjoy 
 the sole right of trading with the Indians and shipping 
 furs to Holland. A great and powerful corporation, the 
 Dutch West India Company, was chartered, and for 
 forty years New Netherlands was governed by it in the 
 interests of its own share-holders. 
 
 Never before had so important a company been 
 privileged to make war or peace, to employ soldiers, 
 
 23 
 
24 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 establish courts of justice, appoint and dismiss governors 
 whenever they saw fit. 
 
 Now, governors Avould be of no use unless there 
 were something or somebody to govern. You will 
 remember the cabins and trading-houses already built 
 on Manhattan ; and at this time there was also quite 
 an imposing fort on the Island, and another one, called 
 Fort Orange, had been established near the present site 
 of Albany. 
 
 Although the West India Company took but little 
 interest in their possessions, caring only for the ship- 
 loads of furs, they were now required by their charter 
 to further the settlement of the country, and take an 
 active part in forming a colony. It was, therefore, in 
 1624, that thirty families of Walloons, a French people 
 living in the southern part of Holland, were sent to 
 New Netherlands in one of the company's ships. 
 These for the most part made their homes near Albany. 
 Other vessels quickly followed, bringing sometimes 
 rambling adventurers, sometimes sober-minded, home- 
 loving people, all anxious to better themselves in this 
 wonderful, untried country. Bakers and tailors, farmers 
 and fishermen, masons and shoemakers, wheelwrights 
 
PURCHASING MA'N'HATTAH' 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 25 
 
 and coopers, old and young, landed at New Amsterdam 
 in the next few years, and built for themselves little 
 villages and towns round about this first settlement. 
 
 Then it was that the company sent over the first 
 director or governor, Peter Minuit, who is said to have 
 been a " kindly man, of firm temper and much energy," 
 and one who, for the most part, made a wise use of the 
 power he held. Minuit's first act was to purchase 
 Manhattan Island from the Indians for the astonishingly 
 small sum of twenty-five dollars. How much land do 
 you think you could buy now with that money? In 
 some parts of New York you could not purchase a 
 square inch. Besides buying the island. Governor 
 Minuit made friends with the Indians, visiting them in 
 their wigwams and giving them beads, axes and knives, 
 and gayly colored cloths. In return, the red men 
 brought him bales of furs, and kept him always gener- 
 ously supplied with venison, turkeys, wild fowl, and 
 other game from field and forest. 
 
 In New Amsterdam a rude but strong warehouse 
 had been built, in which to store the company's goods. 
 It was a queer building, with its rough stone walls, roof 
 thatched with reeds, and quaint old gables, like those 
 
26 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 we see to-day in Holland. Besides this, some thirty 
 small cabins were put up along the shore of the East 
 River ; and in one of the large warehouses a store was 
 
 FIRST SAW MILL ON THE HUDSON. 
 
 opened, and a mill worked by horse-power was built to 
 grind grain for the country people round about. 
 Indeed, much happened, during the six years that Peter 
 Minuit governed New Amsterdam, to favor the growth 
 and prosperity of the little colony. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 27 
 
 At the close of these years, Governor Wouter 
 
 OLD DDTOH WINDMILL. 
 
 Minuit, and according to all accounts the exchange was 
 not by any means for the better. Perhaps Irving's 
 description of the worthy Dutchman is not strictly true, 
 
28 
 
 NEW yOllK. 
 
 but it is the one that has come to be accepted : " He 
 was exactly five feet six inches in height, and six feet 
 five in circumference. His head was a perfect sphere, 
 and of such stupendous dimensions that Dame Nature, 
 with all her ingenuity,* would have been puzzled to 
 construct a neck capable of supporting it ; whei'efore 
 she wisely declined the attempt and settled it firmly on 
 the top of his backbone just between the shoulders. 
 His body was oblong and particularly capacious at its 
 base. His legs were short but sturdy in proportion to 
 the weight they had to sustain ; so that when erect he 
 had not a little the appearance of a beer barrel on skids." 
 
 What a very comical figure he must have made, as 
 he landed that spring morning in April, 1633 ! With 
 him came Domine Bogar, the colony's first clergyman^ 
 and Adam Roelandsen, the first school-master. During 
 the four years that Governor Van Twiller held sway, 
 windmills were built, houses of brick and frame, a 
 brewery, and a plain wooden church. 
 
 But trouble had sprung up with the Indians, and 
 blood had been shed on both sides. It was a pity that 
 peace could not have been kept, when for so many years 
 all had gone so smoothly with the red men and the 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 29 
 
 white men. But one day, most unfortunately, an 
 Indian hurt the dignity of a certain particularly sensi- 
 tive Dutchman. On the top of a post there had been 
 fastened a piece of tin bearing the arms of Holland. 
 Not long after, a sharp-eyed chief noticed the tin, 
 innocently enough took it away with him, thinking to 
 make from it a fine tobacco box. Unfortunately the 
 Dutch did not see the theft quite in the same light, and 
 friendly Indians hearing of their displeasure, killed the 
 chief of that tribe to which the thief belonged ; — the 
 worst thing they could have done, for naturally the tribe 
 resented the murder, and watching their chance, 
 attacked one day a party of the colonists, and killed 
 thirty -two of them. 
 
 From this time on the old security from the savages 
 was gone. Although Van Twiller may have been in 
 no way responsible for the affair — indeed he declared 
 he was not — still there were many who felt that he 
 might have prevented it ; and for this, together with 
 certain other failures to carry out the plans of the 
 people, the land-holders petitioned the Government to 
 have him recalled to Holland ; and in 1638 another 
 governor, William Kief, was sent to take his place. 
 
30 
 
 NEW YOEK. 
 
 Of the four Dutch governors, William Kief, 
 although more industrious and temperate in his habits 
 than any of the others, was the least successful. I 
 am afraid his temper was none of the best ; certain 
 
 THE STADT HUTS, 1642. 
 
 it is that he many times treated the Indians with 
 great cruelty ; and, by his lack of kindness and for- 
 bearance, to say nothing of his lack of wisdom, pre- 
 cipitated a war between the races, which sadly crippled 
 the still struggling colony. Then, too, unwilling for 
 the people to have any part in the government, he 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 31 
 
 attempted to tax them without their consent; and, in 
 fact, he so mismanaged affairs that the liberty-loving 
 colonists again sent numerous petitions to Holland 
 asking for his removal. These were finally granted ; 
 and one and all gladly watched the good ship Princess, 
 as it winged its way down the bay, carrying on board 
 their one-time master. 
 
 And now gallant old Peter Stuyvesant took his 
 place ; grim and battle-scarred, whimsical and obstinate, 
 but every inch a hero. Great was the joy of the 
 people at his coming. What if he did strut like a 
 peacock, and stump pompously around on his wooden 
 leg, with an air of overwhelming importance ! Had 
 he not gained fame and honor on many a foreign 
 battle-field, and in many a naval combat ? And so, 
 had he tiot a right to strut ? 
 
 Very fortunate it was that Governor Stuyvesant 
 found the colonists so well disposed ; for, although a 
 just and upright man, he was somewhat of a tyrant, and, 
 although kindly in his rule, a little overbearing in his 
 manner. But, for all that, there is no doubt of the 
 genuine interest he took in the welfare of all the 
 colonies, and more especially in the growth of New 
 
aOVBKNOK SIDYVESANT. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 33 
 
 Amsterdam, which, in 1653, was incorporated as a city. 
 If, indeed, his ghost does haunt the place he so helped 
 to build up, and if at night, as the stofy goes, his 
 shadowy wooden leg taps faintly down the aisle of 
 St. Mark's church, near where his bones lie buried, 
 what a pleasure it must be to him to mark the 
 wonderful growth of the old Dutch town, now the 
 metropolis of America. 
 
 But alas, for the good Dutch government ! So 
 prosperous had the colony become that James Stuart, 
 Duke of York, and brother of King Charles the Second, 
 looked with covetous eyes upon the fair possessions 
 across the sea, and already dreamed of them as his 
 own. Obtaining, therefore, a grant from the king, he 
 prepared to send several war ships of the Royal navy, 
 with four hundred and fifty soldiers on board, against 
 the unsuspecting Dutchmen. 
 
 There was peace at this time between the two 
 nations, and it was, indeed, the greatest treachery -for 
 the English, under cover of their friendly relations, 
 to attempt to steal New Netherlands. The ships were 
 manned, however, and in due time they anchored 
 at the entrance of the harbor of New Amsterdam, 
 
STUyVESANT TEARING Ul' THE LETTER 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 35 
 
 where, on Saturday, the thirtieth of September, 1664, 
 Colonel Richard Nicholls sent to Governor Stuyvesant 
 a summons to surrender the fort and city, promising 
 security of life and property to all the inhabitants 
 should they make no resistance. The Governor, 
 indignant, stoutly refused to yield, though none knew 
 better than he the weakness of the defense, and the 
 uncertain temper of the people ; for many of them 
 looked with friendly eyes upon the coming of the 
 English. 
 
 Finally a letter was brought to him in which he 
 was urged to surrender. The council and the burgo- 
 masters also favored this plan ; and so urgently did 
 they insist upon it, that the quick-tempered Peter 
 Stuyvesant, in great wrath, tore the letter in pieces 
 and threw it on the floor, refusing to have anything 
 to do with so cowardly a proceeding. But the people, 
 fearing the troops and willing to accept the favorable 
 terms offered, compelled the governor to send some 
 answer to Colonel Nicholls. Messengers were de- 
 spatched with a letter, in which Stuyvesant said, 
 " Though I will stand the storm, I am willing to 
 compromise on any fair conditions." 
 
36 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Very sharp was the answer brought back. 
 " Tomorrow," said Nicholls curtly, " I will speak with 
 you at Manhattan." 
 
 Stuyvesant as curtly replied : " Friends will be 
 welcome if they come in a friendly manner." 
 
 " I shall come with ships and soldiers," said 
 Nicholls ; " raise the white flag of peace at the fort, 
 and then something may be considered." 
 
 Brave Stuyvesant resented this sharp order. " I 
 would rather be carried out dead." he thundered. 
 But what could one man do among so many ? Very 
 little indeed ; and on the next morning the red cross 
 of St. George waved over the fort. Colonel Nicholls, 
 with two hundred men, marched into the city, and 
 was proclaimed by the burgomasters, deputy-governor 
 of the province, which, together with the city of New 
 Amsterdam, was named New York, after the treacherous 
 duke who had sent out the expedition. So, without 
 even bloodshed. New Netherland passed into the hands 
 of the English. 
 
OLU DUTCH COTTAGE, N. Y., 1679. 
 
 GOOD TIMES IN THE DUTCH COLONY. 
 
 But before we begin to think of this jolly little 
 Dutch colony as an English one, let us take one look 
 into the odd little homes where Hans and Katrina and 
 Gretchen and so many other round-faced little children 
 lived, so happy and free. For the children of this 
 colony, it has always seemed, had a much happier, 
 jollier, more child-like life than had the children of 
 certain other colonies we might mention. 
 
 By the time New Amsterdam became a city, the 
 industrious burghers had gathered about them many of 
 the comforts and even the luxuries they had enjoyed 
 
 37 
 
38 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 in Holland. Of course things were not just the same, 
 but as nearly like the ways of fatherland as might be. 
 
 First, the houses, with their quaint gables and 
 diamond-paned windows, chimneys of Manhattan blue 
 stone, from which the smoke of hospitable fires curled 
 upward in wreaths but little larger than those from 
 the Dutchmen's pipes. The fronts of the houses were 
 of wood and stone, the ends were finished in checker- 
 work of black and yellow Dutch bricks, while the tiled 
 roofs were surmounted with accommodating roosters, 
 which flew gaily round to all points of the compass. 
 
 Then the gardens, — why they were as much a part 
 of the dwelling as the big brass knockers on the 
 doors. Early and late flowers nodded greetings to each 
 other ; and in generous orchards near by, apple, peach, 
 pear and quince trees made fragrant the springtime, 
 with their sweet, pink blossoms, and in the autumn 
 kept little Hans, Katrina and Gretchen busy heaping 
 up the ripened fruit. 
 
 Within these comfortable homes everything was 
 wonderfully clean and neat, for the good wives were 
 always scrubbing and scouring, sprinkling the floor with 
 clean white sand brushed into fanciful designs, and 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 39 
 
 brightening the pewter platters and porringers till the 
 happy round faces of the children could see themselves 
 in them. 
 
 Tn families in easy circumstances, there were 
 massive silver tankards, waiters and bowls, but very 
 little glass or china. As for lamps, they had none ; 
 but ran candles in little tin moulds, or dipped them 
 in the good old-fashioned way, and carried them about 
 in brass or copper candlesticks brought from Holland. 
 
 The furnishings harmonized with all else ; in many 
 a hall stood a great Dutch clock with the family arms 
 upon its case, and portraits of ancestral grandees look- 
 ing stolidly down upon it. Sometimes in the front 
 room would be a square, figured rug, but rarely a car- 
 pet covering the whole floor, while straight-backed 
 chairs and mahogany tables stood stiffly around — for 
 use perhaps — but hardly for comfort. 
 
 As for the dress of those days, men and women 
 both were very fond of wearing a great many clothes. 
 The every-day ones were generally home made and of 
 linsey woolsey, while for church going and festivals 
 richer stuffs were used. After wigs went out of 
 fashion, the men wore their hair braided in long 
 
40 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 queues, and covered their heads with soft felt hats 
 with wide brims often looped up on one side. Add 
 to this the long coats with capacious pockets, orna- 
 mented with brass or silver buttons, and breeches 
 reaching only to their knees, and you have a picture 
 of the happy, easy-going Dutchman in the time of 
 Peter Stuyvesant. 
 
 And the children, well, the children were in dress 
 perfect pictures of their elders ; but for all that, they 
 had just as good times as if they had had fashions of 
 their own, and had not dressed as clumsily as the 
 older people. And speaking of good times, this makes 
 us think of the parties and the merry-makings, for the 
 Dutch were a very social people. 
 
 Many were the dancing parties, where the only 
 refreshments served were pots of chocolate and soft 
 waffles ; and the tea-drinkings, where the loaf sugar 
 to be used was broken into large lumps and the pieces 
 laid by each cup to be nibbled at as needed. It is 
 said that one economical old lady used to hang a big 
 lump of sugar over the center of the tea-table, so that 
 it might be swung back and forth from one guest to 
 the other. But the best of the good times came in 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 41 
 
 the winter ; and the following is a very good account 
 of them. 
 
 " First, as the weather turns cold, is the skating 
 on the neighboring ponds. Then comes the snow. 
 
 THE GOVERNOR'S HOUSE AND OHDRCH, STUIVESANT'S TIME. 
 
 and the young men arrange for a sleighing frolic by 
 moonhght. Four horses they get and Jan Derickson's 
 sleigh that holdeth ten couples, packed close, as it 
 suiteth young men and maidens to ride, and away 
 they go over the Kissing bridge and under pine boughs, 
 oftimes, methinks, as far as to Harlem, where at Mynheer 
 
42 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Borsom's tavern they have a dance and a supper, which 
 by our custom may consist of naught but bread and 
 a pot of chocolate. 
 
 " Again, though the Dutch be a sober folk, yet 
 do they keep many festivals — Christmas, New Year's, 
 Easter, Whitsuntide and St. Nicholas' Day. Christmas 
 comes first, and we also observe it as the anniversary 
 of landing day. After the stockings are explored for 
 whatever Santa Glaus may have left, the young people 
 spend the morning skating on the fresh-water pond 
 or turkey shooting in the forest ; at one o'clock the 
 great oven yieldeth up the Christmas feast, which all 
 meet to enjoy. 
 
 " New Year's is the greatest day in New Amster- 
 dam. On that day no one does aught but call and 
 receive calls. For days before, the housewives have 
 been brewing, baking and mixing ; and when the day 
 Cometh and thou goest to meet thy friend, thou findest 
 the great logs crackling in the twelve-foot fire place, 
 and in the center of the table spread in the middle 
 of the room, a mighty punch bowl well reinforced by 
 haunches of cold venison and turkeys roasted whole, 
 and ornamented with cakes, comfits and confectionery ; 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 43 
 
 silver tankards and beakers filled with rare Madeira 
 V and foaming ale. The good frau and her daughters 
 clad in their best, are there to receive one and to 
 dispense vphole-hearted hospitality, smiles and good 
 wishes. 
 
 " On Easter day a favorite game is played for 
 eggs. Thy sweetheart holds an egg in her hand 
 and challenges thee to break it by striking it with thy 
 egg, the broken one belonging to that which remain- 
 eth whole. On that day, too, the shops are gay with 
 boiled eggs, tied with red and blue ribbons, or colored 
 by mixing potent pigments in the water which' hath 
 boiled them. On Easter day, no true son of St. 
 Nicholas tastes other food than eggs." 
 
 What better picture can we have of the social 
 spirit of those days, or of the way in which the festi- 
 vals of the Fatherland were cherished in the new 
 homes beyond the sea? 
 
 These good Dutch people were a story-loving 
 people, too ; and many were the legends they would 
 tell as they gathered the children around the big fire- 
 place on the cold winter evenings. Gruesome these 
 stories sonietimes were — of ghosts and goblins j but 
 
44 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 the Dutch children were healthy little creatures — not 
 at all nervous, and so enjoyed them all as heartily as 
 
 THE LITTLE DUTCH GOBLIN OF DUNDEIIBEEG MOU^JTAIX 
 
 did their mothers and fathers ; nor were they, as far 
 as we know, ever one whit harmed by them. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 45 
 
 Then there was a story that Washington Irving 
 tells. It is a story of a boisterous little Dutch goblin, 
 with his sugar-loaf hat, who dwells on the top of 
 Dunderberg Mountain, whose steep sides look down 
 upon the Hudson. 
 
 One day when the wind was piping fresh, a ven- 
 turesome little sloop, in passing by the Dunderberg, was 
 overtaken by a thunder gust that came scouring round 
 the mountain, and seemed to burst just over the vessel. 
 Though tight and well ballasted, she labored dreadfully, 
 and the water came over the gunwale. All the crew 
 were amazed when it was discovered that there was 
 a little white sugar-loaf hat on the mast-head, known at 
 once to be the hat of the Head of the Dunderberg. 
 
 Nobody, however, dared to climb to the mast-head 
 and get rid of this terrible hat. The sloop continued 
 laboring and rocking, as if she would have rolled her 
 mast overboard, and she seemed in continual danger 
 either of upsetting or of running on shore. 
 
 In this way she drove quite through the Highlands, 
 until she had passed the Island where the power of the 
 little Dutch goblin is said to cease. No sooner had she 
 reached this point than the little hat sprang up into the 
 
46 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 air like a top, whirled up all the clouds together and 
 hurried them back to the summit of the Dunderberg, 
 while the sloop righted herself, and sailed on as quietly 
 as if in a mill-pond. 
 
 Nothing saved her from utter wreck but the fortu- 
 nate circumstance of having a horse-shoe nailed against 
 the mast, a wise precaution against evil spirits, since 
 adopted by all the Dutch captains that navigate this 
 haunted river. 
 
 Then there is the story of Ichabod Crane, told by 
 this same delightful writer, in which the hero is pursued 
 by a headless horseman, who these Dutch people believed 
 dwelt in a certain valley, ready to pounce out upon 
 belated travellers — of whom this Ichabod was one. 
 
 Then there is the story of Rip Van Winkle, 
 which never would have been written but for the Dutch 
 legend of Heinrich Hudson and his men at play with 
 ninepins up in the Catskill Mountains. And many 
 more there are, which we leave you to find for your- 
 self in the Sketch Book or in the Knickerhocker 
 History, or in some other book as charming and 
 amusing. 
 
THE PALISADES ALONG WALL STKBBT NEW YORK OITr. 
 
 HOW THE DUTCH SURPRISED THE ENGLISH. 
 
 But to return to the politically important affairs 
 of this New Amsterdam. Governor NichoUs was thor- 
 oughly attached to the interests of the Duke of York. 
 At the same time he was a wise and fair-minded man, 
 and treated the Dutch in so kindly a manner that most 
 of them took without hesitation the oath of allegiance 
 to the British monarch, King Charles. English customs 
 were introduced, and also an English form of govern- 
 ment, which really gave the people more rights than they 
 had possessed under the West India Company. But 
 after four years of governing a foreign people and 
 
 47 
 
48 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 keeping peace with the Indians, Nicholls resigned his 
 commission and returned to England. 
 
 During the rule of Governor Lovelace, who suc- 
 ceeded him, something happened which quite upset the 
 general order of things and gladdened the heart of the 
 redoubtable Peter Stuyvesant. In the summer of 1673, 
 Lovelace left New York to pay a visit to Governor 
 Winthrop of Connecticut. By this time Eugland and 
 Holland were again at war with each other, and the 
 sturdy Dutchmen were a good deal more than half 
 resolved to retake New York, which they had always 
 regarded as their own particular property. 
 
 So, one sunny morning in July, a Dutch squadron 
 of twenty-three ships, including numerous prizes 
 captured on the open sea, and bearing six hundred 
 troops for service on land, arrived off Sandy Hook. 
 What excitement there was among the people I How 
 the little Dutch people bustled and rustled ! I think 
 they must have rather enjoyed it ; for they flew around 
 like bees in a hive and gathered in little groups here and 
 there in the streets to talk it over. 
 
 Captain John Manning, who commanded the fort, 
 sent a messenger after Governor Lovelace and issued 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 40 
 
 a call for volunteers. Few came, however, and thinking 
 to gain a little time, he sent to the Dutch commander 
 to inquire why he had "in such a hostile manner 
 disturbed his Majesty's subjects." 
 
 " We have come," he replied, " to take what is our 
 own, and our own we will have." 
 
 This was certainly a very decided answer, and 
 Captain Manning had good reason to think so, too ; for 
 before long the war-ships had floated up with the tide 
 until they lay broad side to the fort. Then their guns 
 thundered out, and a few of the soldiers in the fort 
 were killed The rest returned the fire riddling the flag 
 ship through and through. But the Dutch commander 
 landed six hundred men and prepared to storm the fort. 
 This was the critical moment, and Captain Manning, 
 realizing his inability to make a successful defence, 
 reluctantly ordered a white flag to be raised over the 
 little garrison. In marched the Dutch, and out marched 
 the English with drums beating and colors flying, 
 grounding their arms outside the fort. 
 
 The banner of the Dutch Republic floated from 
 the flag-staff ; the English soldiers, as prisoners of war 
 were confined in the church within the fort ; and again 
 
50 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 New York became New Netherlands. The city was 
 called New Orange, and Dutch names everywhere 
 replaced the English. 
 
 Lovelace went back to England, where he was 
 treated very unkindly, the king blaming him severely 
 for the loss of the province. Perhaps he was to blame, 
 but very likely he could not have prevented the sur- 
 render, even had he been on hand when the Dutch 
 appeared. 
 
 But Holland was not to retain any permanent hold 
 upon the country it had first settled ; for in less than 
 a year peace was declared between England and 
 
 Holland, and by the terms of 
 the treaty New Netherlands 
 was again given up to the 
 British crown. 
 
 Captain Anthony Colve, 
 whom the Dutch had chosen 
 to be the head of afPairs, 
 most regretfully presented 
 his fine coach and three to 
 the new English governor? 
 Edmund Andros; but he did 
 
 GOVEKNOK ANDROS. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 51 
 
 it with wonderfully good grace, and then sailed away 
 for Holland. But not even three fine horses and a 
 coach of state could make Governor Andros popular. 
 If half the stories told of him are true, during the 
 nine years in which he ruled New York, he proved 
 himself a tyrant, and the only wonder is that people 
 tolerated him as long as they did. 
 
JACOB LEISLER. 
 
 When early in February, 1685, King Charles II. 
 died, the Duke of York succeeded him, becoming the 
 second King James upon the throne of. England. 
 While still duke he had promised the people of New 
 York a " Charter of Liberties," but when he became 
 king he positively refused to keep his word, saying that 
 such a charter would give them more freedom than was 
 good for a dependent colony. This was only one of 
 the many unwise acts which finally cost this king his 
 crown ; and when, as we read in the history of the 
 times, William of Orange landed in England, many of 
 the best men in this country deserted King James and 
 joined in sympathy with his successor. 
 
 The majority of the people of New York were 
 overjoyed to hear the news from England which 
 announced the downfall of King James, but there were 
 some who still upheld the fallen monarch, and who 
 determined either to support the governor he had 
 
 52 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 53 
 
 appointed in the continuance of his power, or, if that 
 could not be done, to take the control of affairs into 
 their own hands. 
 
 Two parties were formed — the Aristocrats, who 
 favored James II., and the Democrats, who were friendly 
 to William and Mary. 
 
 Francis Nicholson, then acting as deputy governor, 
 became alarmed at the feeling among the citizens, and 
 not being a man of much strength of character, quietly 
 took ship and sailed for England. In the meantime, 
 Jacob Leisler, merchant and patriot, had been urged by 
 many of the people to act as their leader until instruc- 
 tions should be sent by King William to the colonists, 
 It required a great deal of courage to take this position, 
 for not only was there much opposition to be encoun- 
 tered from the followers of King James, but the French 
 in Canada were making ready to attack the northern 
 settlements. 
 
 The people were divided in their wishes ; Albany 
 refused to accept Leisler as governor, saying that he was 
 a " restless and ambitious spirit, acting without the least 
 show of authority." However, nearly all the counties 
 sent delegates to an assembly, and Leisler was granted 
 
54 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 almost unlimited power in New York. For the most 
 part he exercised his privileges in the interests of the 
 people, and probably with a really more earnest pur- 
 pose to secure their welfare than had the majority of 
 governors appointed by England. 
 
 William and Mary, when they learned the action 
 of the colony, refused to confirm Leisler in his new 
 office, and appointed Colonel Henry Sloughter governor 
 of New *York.. At the same time that he sailed for 
 America, another ship left port, having on board Major 
 Richard Ingoldsby and two companies of soldiers. The 
 latter vessel arrived first, and exceeding his authority. 
 Major Ingoldsby haughtily demanded the surrender of 
 the fort. This demand Govornor Leisler very naturally 
 refused to comply with, at the same time offering the 
 Major suitable accommodations for himself and for his 
 soldiers in the city, and assuring him of his readiness 
 to welcome Governor Sloughter. Ingoldsby, however, 
 attempted to take the fort by force, but without success. 
 
 Two days later. Governor Sloughter arrived, and 
 to him Leisler loyally gave up the fort and province. 
 But the only reward he received for his faithful service 
 was imprisonment ; and so busy were his enemies, that 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 55 
 
 before another month had passed he was tried for his 
 Hfe on numerous charges, among them that of offering 
 resistance to Major Ingoldsby. You can easily guess 
 how the trial ended, for Leisler's opponents were many 
 and powerful, and not a few of them were among the 
 
 STREET IN NEW TOKK AT CLOSE OP 17TH CENTDKT. 
 
 jury before whom he was tried. Sentence was passed, 
 and Leisler and his son-in-law^ who had also taken an 
 active part in the government, were condemned to death, 
 and were executed in New York in May, 1691. 
 
 Perhaps you will think so sad a story should not 
 have been told ; and yet there is much in it w^hich it 
 
56 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 would be well for us to remember. In Leisler^ we see the 
 first governor of New York who was practically the 
 choice of the people — a people, too, who previously had 
 hardly been allowed proper representation in their own 
 government. It was at Leisler's suggestion, also, that 
 the call for the first Colonial Congress in America was 
 made, the purpose of which was to unite the resources 
 of the colonies, that expeditions might be sent out 
 against Canada, to repel French invasion. 
 
 Although the movement was a failure, the grand 
 idea of the union of the colonies was foreshadowed by 
 the meeting of their representatives at the call of this 
 citizen governor. Whatever his errors of judgment 
 may have been, the service he rendered the people 
 entitled him to the name of patriot ; and in that he lost 
 his life at the hands of the officers of the king whose 
 power he upheld, 1 think we might truly say that he 
 was a martyr as well. 
 
 Do thy duty, that is best, 
 Leave unto thy Lord the rest. 
 
TtTTRXTVr; or sriTKNF.CTADY 
 
Partly because of the war between England and 
 France, occasioned by the English revolution of 1688, 
 and partly because the French in Canada wished to 
 engage practically the interest and co-operation of the 
 Iroquois, they decided to march from Montreal to 
 Schenectad}^, N. Y. — a distance of two hundred miles, 
 and destroy not only this town but Albany also. 
 
 It was in midwinter, and the snow was so very deep 
 that the soldiers could travel only on snow-shoes. 
 Starting from Montreal on the seventeenth of January, 
 1690, the Frenchmen, and an accompanying party of 
 hostile Indians, crossed the frozen lakes and rivers, and, 
 after many hardships on the way, arrived in sight of the 
 town on the eighth of February, at about eleven o'clock 
 at night. They had not intended to make the attack 
 just then, but it was so bitterly cold that they decided 
 to enter the town at once, and warm themselves by the 
 blaze they should make of the pretty little Dutch houses. 
 
58 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Now the village was surrounded by a stockade of 
 pine logs ten feet high, and at one corner there was a 
 fort garrisoned by nearly twenty-five men. Within the 
 palisades were nearly eighty dwellings and some four 
 hundred men, women, and children ; so you see it 
 was quite a sizable little town. Unfortunately, on this 
 fatal night in February, the villagers had gone to 
 bed without closing the gate, or even setting guard. 
 Very careless this certainly was ; but there were friendly 
 Indians who had been sent out as scouts to Lake 
 George, and upon them the people relied for news of 
 any enemy that might be approaching. As the French 
 drew near the devoted village, they were met by four 
 squaws, who told them of the best way of arriving 
 secretly at the place. They entered by the north gate 
 and then separated, a few soldiers being placed before 
 each house. At a given signal the attack was made, the 
 Indians raisinp- their blood-curdling cry, the famous war 
 whoop. Taken entirely by surprise, the terrified inhabi- 
 tants could offer but little resistance. Within two hours 
 sixty of them had been killed, and the French had fired 
 the village. A few of those who escaped made their way 
 through the snowy forests to Albany ; but some, alas, 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 59 
 
 unable to endure the intense cold, perished miserably 
 when almost within reach of help and safety. 
 
 But one man, at least, saved his life by not 
 running away. Andrew Vrooman's house was strongly 
 built, being a sort of fort, and best of all there was 
 plenty of ammunition within it. So he loaded all the 
 muskets, and with such accuracy and rapidity did he fire 
 at the enemy that they were glad indeed to promise to 
 spare his life and not set fire to his house, if only he 
 would stop shooting. This promise they kept, but they 
 carried olf two of his sons into captivity. 
 
 The women and children who had not been killed 
 by the first fierce attack, were spared by the enemy, as 
 were thirty Mohawks found in the town, who were also 
 permitted to go unharmed. 
 
 The next day, which was Sunday, the French 
 departed, carrying with them a great deal of plunder, 
 and forty of the best horses they could find. 
 
 When the friendly Mohawks heard of this attack, 
 as they did two days later, they joined a I3arty of young- 
 men from Albany, and conihig up with the enemy killed 
 twenty-five of them. 
 
 In a ballad of those days the story is told of how, 
 
60 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 "when the news reached Albany, Captain Willie set out 
 with a gallant company to avenge the burning of 
 Schenectady. 
 
 The News come on the Sabbath morn 
 
 Just att the Break of Day 
 And with a company of Horse 
 
 I galloped away. 
 
 But soon We found the French were gone 
 
 With all their great Bootye ; 
 And then their Trail We did persue, 
 
 As was our true Dutye. 
 
 The Mohaques joined our brave Partye, 
 
 And followed in the Chase 
 Till we came up with the Frenchmen 
 
 Att a most likely Place. 
 
 Our soldiers fell upon their Reare, 
 
 And killed twenty-five. 
 Our young men were so much enraged 
 
 They took scarce One alive. 
 
A ROVER OF THE SEAS. 
 
 The very same conditions which favored the hostile 
 French and Indians in their attack upon the towns and 
 villages of the English, made life out upon the ocean 
 quite as dangerous as life upon the land. 
 
 For the change of rulers in England and the 
 unsettled state of the British possessions in America had 
 covered the seas with pirates, and the Indian Ocean 
 especially swarmed with these daring robbers. The loss 
 of life and property was very great ; so great that the 
 English government decided to send out an armed vessel 
 in pursuit of them, and incidentally to capture as many 
 prizes from the King's enemies as possible. 
 
 How many of you have heard of the famous 
 Captain Kidd ? Ah, I thought so ; nearly all of you 
 know that in the old days he scoured the seas — the 
 black flag, with its skull and cross bones, floating from 
 the mast-head of his ship. But was he always a 
 pirate ? No, indeed ; at the time the government 
 
 61 
 
TAPTAIX KIDD ( APTUHINi; IIIK 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 63 
 
 thought of fitting out this vessel, Captain Kidd was in 
 London, the well known commander of a merchantman ; 
 and more than that, at various times he had highly 
 distinguished himself hy his courage and gallantry in 
 the wars between England and France. Just because he 
 was so well and favorably known, he was chosen as 
 captain of the " Adventure Galley," and commissioned 
 under seal of royalty to cruise in all directions as a 
 privateer. So, instead of setting sail as a pirate, he 
 started out to overhaul and capture the pirate vessels. 
 
 The Earl of Bellemont, then recently appointed 
 Governor-General of New York and New England, took 
 an active part in completing this arrangement, as did 
 also Robert Livingstone, a very influential man in the 
 colony, and owner of large grants of land near Albany. 
 
 The first port Kidd touched at was New York ; 
 here he shipped many volunteers, with the understand- 
 ing that their pay should depend on the value and 
 number of prizes they should capture. Then he 
 sailed for the Indian Ocean. For a while the famous 
 Captain attended strictly to the business on which he 
 had been sent ; but when days and weeks had passed 
 and no captures of any consequence had been made, the 
 
64 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 men began to murmur ; for where was the prize 
 money to come from if no vahiable captures were 
 made ? 
 
 But one summer's day a fine ship, the " Quedah 
 Merchant," hove in sight. Urged by his men, and 
 perhaps if the truth were told, rather inclined himself 
 not to let such a chance slip through his fingers, 
 Captain Kidd bore down upon the vessel and, after a 
 short chase, came up with and captured her. His crew 
 and their belongings were transferred to the new vessel, 
 and away they went to capture other ships belonging to 
 the Great Mogul, and so enrich themselves with what- 
 ever gold and precious stones they might find upon 
 them. 
 
 In " Ye Lamentable Ballad, and Ye True History 
 of Captain William Kidd," Captain Kidd is supposed to 
 tell his story as follows : — 
 
 " I steer'd from sound to sound, as I sail'd, as I sail'd ; 
 I steer'd from sound to sound, as I sail'd ; 
 I steer'd from sound to sound, and many ships I 
 found. 
 
 And most of them I burned, as I sail'd. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 65 
 
 I spy'd three ships from France, as I sail'd, as I sail'd ; 
 
 I spy'd three ships from France, as I sail'd ; 
 I spy'd three ships from France ; to them I did 
 advance, 
 
 And took them all by chance, as I sail'd. 
 
 I spy'd three ships from Spain, as I sail'd, as I sail'd ; 
 
 I spy'd three ships from Spain, as I sail'd ; 
 I spy'd three ships from Spain ; I fired on them amain, 
 
 Till most of them were slain, as I sail'd. 
 
 I'd ninety bars of gold, as I sail'd, as I sail'd ; 
 
 I'd ninety bars of gold, as I sail'd ; 
 I'd ninety bars of gold, and dollars manifold, 
 
 With riches uncontrolled, as I sail'd." 
 
 Then follows an account of his capture, which was 
 not true at all ; for leaving the " Quedah Merchant " to 
 follow after, Kidd returned to Boston in a small sloop, 
 and there asserted his innocence of the charges pre- 
 ferred against him. Evidently the Earl of Bellemont 
 did not put much faith in his statements, for in a few 
 days he had Kidd arrested, and finally sent him a 
 
66 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 prisoner to England to be tried for piracy, and also for 
 the murder of one of his men. It was on this last 
 charge that Captain Kidd was condemned and sentenced 
 to be hanged, though he was also found guilty of 
 piracy. 
 
 This is the story of the famous captain that you 
 may not have heard before, but I am sure you have 
 heard of the treasure Kidd was supposed to have hidden 
 somewhere alongf the New York coast. Some articles of 
 great value he really did conceal on Gardiner's Island, 
 east of Long Island ; among them were three bags of 
 gold dust, two bags of gold in bars, and a bag of silver 
 pieces and jewels, and much else; all of which the Earl 
 of Bellemont recovered, and used as evidence against the 
 unfortunate Captain Kidd. 
 
 But the treasures in the " Quedali Merchant," what 
 became of them ? Some say that the great vessel sailed 
 for New York and passing by the city in the night kept 
 on up the Hudson ; and that, near the foot of the 
 Dunderberg mountain, the crew scuttled the ship and 
 fled with a portion of the treasure to the woods. Now 
 this is mere tradition ; but certain it is that the party 
 sent out in search of the " Quedah Merchant " never 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 67 
 
 found any trace of her, and it may be ( for there is no 
 one to dispute it ) that beneath the blue waters of the 
 Hudson the famous old ship lies safely hidden, even as 
 tradition says ; and that some day — since all things 
 seem possible in this century — it may be brought to 
 sight again. Who knows ? 
 
 OLD DDTCII CIIUECH, TARKYTOWH 
 
NEW YOKK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTCKT. (FKOM MATHER'S MAGNOLIA ) 
 
NEW TOKK IN 1704. 
 
 FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. 
 
 How should we know from day to day what is 
 going on in the world if we had no newspapers ? 
 But what if the men who issued the newspapers were 
 obliged to publish only that which it suited the 
 government to have known ? What if no writers wer-e 
 allowed to criticise the acts of any one in power? 
 Do you think then we could boast of having a free 
 press f 
 
 It was just at the beginning of the establishment 
 of newspapers in New York, that John Zenger thought 
 it wise to issue a " Weekly Journal." Already there 
 was a " Gazette " published in the interests of Gov- 
 ernor Crosby, which approved always of all that he did. 
 
 69 
 
70 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 But soon this new journal began to say some very 
 sharp thmgs about the governor, charging him, among 
 other acts, with violating the rights of the people. 
 This paper shortly became altogether too bold to suit 
 His Excellency; and before a year's issue had been 
 sent out, Zenger was arrested and imprisoned, and 
 certain copies of his publications were ordered to be 
 burned in public by the common hangman. 
 
 But the mayor and council would not attend the 
 burning, as they were ordered to do, and the court of 
 sessions forbade the hangman to destroy the papers. 
 Zenger was kept in prison from November, 1734, till the 
 following August, when he was tried in City Hall, 
 New York. Very great was the excitement all through 
 the country, for the question involved was that of free- 
 dom of speech and of -the press. 
 
 On a hot morning in August the trial took place. 
 An association, called the Sons of Liberty, had secured 
 Andrew Hamilton, speaker of the Assembly of Penn- 
 sylvania, a distinguished lawyer and a Quaker, to appear 
 in behalf of the printer. As the great man entered 
 the court room the people joyfully rose to give him 
 welcome, and in spite of the frowning looks of the 
 
iJEW YORK. 
 
 71 
 
 chief justice, waved their hands and shouted loud 
 huzzas. 
 
 Zenger pleaded not guilty, but admitted that he 
 had published the articles in question, and boldly 
 asserted his ability to prove the truth of the charges 
 contained in them. 
 
 Then Hamilton arose ; and in a few eloquent 
 sentences defended the accused. He declared that the 
 jury were entirely competent to decide upon the 
 merits of the case, and he reminded them of their 
 duty to protect the " rights, liberties and privileges of 
 their fellow citizens." In conclusion, he thus referred 
 to the underlying principles involved : — "It is not 
 the cause of a poor printer, nor of New York alone, 
 which the jury is now trying. No ! It may in its 
 consequences affect every free man that lives under a 
 British government on the main of America. 
 
 " It is the best cause ; it is the cause of liberty, 
 and I make no doubt that your upright conduct this 
 day will not only entitle you to the love and esteem 
 of your fellow citizens, but every man who prefers 
 freedom to slavery will bless and honor you as men 
 who have baffled the attempt of tyranny, and, by your 
 
?2 NEW YOEK. 
 
 impartial and uncorrupt verdict, have laid a noble 
 foundation for securing- to ourselves, our j)Osterity and 
 our neighbors, that to which nature and the laws of 
 our country have given us a right, — the liberty of 
 both exposing and opposing arbitrary power, in these 
 parts of the world at least, by speaking and writing 
 the truth." 
 
 After such a grand appeal to their sense of right 
 and justice, nothing that the opposing party had to 
 offer could have much effect ; and the jury brought 
 in a verdict of " not guilty." Then what shouts the 
 people gave and what cheers they raised for Hamilton ! 
 They carried him on their shoulders out of the court 
 room to a grand celebration which had been planned 
 in his honor ; they feasted him right royally ; and at 
 a great banquet they presented him with a valuable 
 gold box made for the occasion, in which was a copy 
 of resolutions, stamped with the New York seal and 
 New York thus made early in her history one of 
 the first great steps in the establishment of true, 
 American liberty. 
 
THE NEGRO PLOT. 
 
 While the people of New York showed their good 
 sense, their love of liberty "and their desire for honest 
 government, there was one direction in which they, 
 with many another colony, made a great mistake. And 
 that was in carrying on the slave trade, and in treat- 
 ing the negroes with cruel severity. I am sorry to 
 say that a slave-market, where the poor slaves were 
 sold or hired, was opened in the very streets of New 
 York, in 1709. The slave laws at that time were very 
 harsh. If a slave was caug-ht out at niffht without a 
 lantern and a lighted candle, he was put in jail, and 
 the next day received thirty-nine lashes at the whip- 
 ping-post. Slaves could not receive any instruction 
 either in the schools or the churches, nor could they 
 possess any property of their own. 
 
 By 1741, there were so many negro slaves in New 
 York, that the inhabitants began to feel uneasy, fear- 
 ing the consequences should the slaves rebel. In March 
 
 73 
 
74 NEW YORK. 
 
 of that year, Fort George, on the Battery, caught fire, 
 and a rumor spread through the town that the negroes 
 had set it. Two weeks later eight more fires occurred, 
 and a negro was seen running away from the last one 
 discovered. Immediately all was consternation and 
 dismay ; many people were so alarmed that they moved 
 their goods from their hoirses, thinking to carry them 
 to some safer place. 
 
 A reward was offered to any white person who 
 should give information of the supposed plot, and full 
 pardon was promised the informer if he was engaged 
 *in it. Numerous arrests were made, and nearly two 
 hundred slaves were in jail on mere suspicion. 
 
 The prisoners were urged to confess, and finally 
 two of them, Mary Burton and Peggy Carey, told some 
 ridiculous stories of how two or three very common 
 white people and a few slaves had planned to burn 
 the whole city. But their stories did not agree at all ; 
 and of all the other confessions that were made, no 
 two were alike. Nevertheless, the people were alarmed ; 
 they used no judgment whatever; and all the lawyers 
 in the town were engaged to prosecute the accused, — 
 the prisoners, of course, being allowed no council. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 75 
 
 Some o£ the negroes, thinking to save themselves, 
 accused others, and again some made confessions which 
 they afterward denied the truth of. In fact, it was a 
 very dreadful affair from beginning to end, for four 
 white slaves were executed, eighteen negroes hanged 
 and eleven burned to death. Moreover, fifty slaves 
 were transported mostly to the West Indies and sold ; 
 and not until all this had been done, was the so-called 
 Negro Plot thought to be broken up. For six months 
 New York was a scene of terror which more than 
 equalled, in its miserable results, the famous witchcraft 
 delusion of the preceding century. 
 
IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK. 
 
 Even as late as the middle of the eighteenth 
 century, the country west of Albany was but little 
 known, save to the trappers and traders who ventured 
 there for furs. Yet this portion of the state was of 
 wonderful beauty and fertility, watered by the winding 
 Mohawk, and reaching north to the borders of the 
 lakes. Here dwelt the tribes of the Iroquois Confed- 
 eracy, here burned their council fires, and here their 
 chiefs ruled with the untutored dignity of their race. 
 And thanks to the Iroquois and their long continued 
 friendship, first for the Dutch and afterwards for the 
 English, the colonists were, protected by them from 
 many a French invasion from Canada. 
 
 In this section of the country lying nearest the 
 river which runs through it, lived the Mohawks, the 
 real head of the Iroquois, and the tribe living farthest 
 east. Among them, in the spring of 1738, came 
 William Johnson, a young lad barely twenty, sent out 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 77 
 
 from the old country to take care of his uncle's 
 estate. Now, as his uncle was Sir Peter Warren, 
 commander of the British fleet in American waters, 
 he was able to make his nephew prominent from the 
 very first. Not that William needed much assistance, 
 for he was a very energetic young man, and possessed 
 not only push and pluck, but also good common 
 sense. So he went busily to work improving his 
 uncle's property, making firm friends of the Indians, 
 and building for himself what was considered in those 
 days a very fine mansion, to which he gave the name 
 of Johnson Hall. 
 
 One of the most sagacious of the Mohawk 
 warriors was a noted chief, who gloried in the English 
 name of King Hendrick. He became very friendly 
 with Johnson and visited him at the Hall. One morn- 
 ing when he had spent the night there, Hendrick said 
 to Johnson, " Brother, me dreamed last night." 
 " Indeed," was the answer, " what did my red brother 
 dream ? " " Me dreamed that coat be mine," referring 
 to a richly embroidered scarlet coat which hung near 
 them. " It is yours," answered the shrewd, white man. 
 Not long afterward Johnson visited Hendrick, and he, 
 
78 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 too, said, " Brother, me dreamed last night." " What 
 did you dream ? " asked Hendrick. " I dreamed that 
 this tract of land was mine," describing a boundary 
 which included many hundred acres of land. Hend- 
 rick was astounded; but, determined not to be out- 
 done in generosity, he said, after thinking a few 
 moments, " Brother, the land is yours ; but you must 
 not dream again." 
 
 Thus Johnson added to his already large estates. 
 Year by year the number of his tenants grew and his 
 importance in the colony increased ; for Governor 
 Clinton made him a member of his council, and, real- 
 izing his ability in military affairs, placed him over 
 the heads of many older officers. And so gallantly 
 did he conduct himself in the battles of the French 
 and Indian War, that England's king dubbed him Sir 
 William Johnson, and appointed him Major General 
 of the colonial forces. 
 
 Very little has been said about the wars with 
 the French, and the expeditions against Canada. Nor 
 shall we make more than a passing reference to 
 them, for the early campaigns were for the most 
 part unsuccessful, and in later ones, where victory 
 
NEW YORK. 79 
 
 was with the English, the stories of the battles 
 fought have not the same degree of interest that we 
 shall find in the great struggles that took place in 
 after years in the war for Independence. 
 
 Although Sir WiUiam joined in several expe- 
 ditions against the French, he served the colonists 
 still better, not as a military leader but as an able 
 statesman, making treaties with the Indians, winning 
 their friendship, redressing their grievances, further- 
 ing the settlement of the beautiful valley in which 
 they lived, introducing new methods of agriculture, 
 and aiding in the establishment of schools and 
 churches. Perhaps it was fortunate that he died 
 before the actual commencement of the Revolution, 
 where he would have had to choose between the 
 king, whom he had served so long, and the people, 
 whose interests he had from the first faithfully 
 advanced. This choice he was however spared, and 
 his memory is rightly preserved in the name of 
 the prosperous village of Johnstown, which grew up 
 on the colonial estates of Sir William in the valley 
 of the Mohawk. 
 
NEW TORK ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CKNTDRT. 
 
 4 
 
COLONIAL NEW YORK. 
 
 At the close of Dutch rule in New Netherlands, 
 the customs and habits of the people were those of 
 the nation they represented. Nor were the 
 years during which England sent her royal governors 
 to the province of New York sufficient to make Eng- 
 lish the ways of the colonists. They had English 
 forms of government to be sure, and of course had 
 adopted many English customs, but they were not 
 English at heai't. Neither were they Dutch. In 
 fact they were rapidly reaching that point when they 
 were to become Americans. 
 
 In 1756, the population of the colony had 
 increased to almost a hundred tiiousand. New York 
 city was the chief town, though its census in that 
 year ranked it only the fourth in number of inhabi- 
 tants ; for here the governor lived, and the general 
 assembly ordinarily met. From here, grain, flour 
 and furs were sent to England, Lisbon and the West 
 
 81 
 
82 
 
 NEW YOBK. 
 
 Indies; in return, sugar and spice, wine and other 
 luxuries, together with a large variety of manufac- 
 tured articles were received. All along the Hudson 
 and other rivers, boats passed up and down, trading 
 with the villagers, and really doing quite an extensive 
 business. 
 
 The wealthy landed proprietors lived in New 
 York in the winter, attended by numerous servants, 
 both white and black, and maintaining a splendor of 
 living not often found in the other colonies. The 
 summer they passed upon their large estates on the 
 Hudson ; and it was fortunate indeed, that, for the 
 most part, they had a genuine interest in the advance- 
 ment of the colony, and did not spend all their time 
 in enjoying their wealth. 
 
 The Dutch families still retained many of the 
 old customs. Within the quaintly built farmhouses 
 great rafters overhead looked down upon the generous 
 fire-places with their pictured tiles, and upon the 
 rows of great wooden and pewter dishes, and racks 
 of long tobacco pipes which adorned the mantel 
 shelf. In these houses the floors were still scoured 
 and sanded, and big frmis and Httle frauleins swept 
 
NEW YOEK. 
 
 88 
 
 arid dusted, and carded and spun, and proudly 
 hoarded the fine linen they had made. 
 
 And the good people were as famous for their 
 hospitality and their merry-making as in years gone 
 by. The farmers had their corn-huskings, spinning- 
 bees, house-raisings and dancing-parties; and in town, 
 the amusements included horse-racing, tavern-parties, 
 balls and parties. 
 
 Many industries were by this time well under 
 way. Among the Germans, homespun and woolens 
 were made. On Coney Island were salt works, and 
 near Kingstown, brick-kilns ; while ship-building was 
 carried on at various points. There were also glass- 
 making in New York, hat-making in Albany, and 
 iron-working along the Hudson. So, in spite of royal 
 governors and of French invasions, the people were 
 asserting themselves ; were improving and adding to 
 their manufactories, extending their settlements and 
 cultivating more and more land. 
 
 Nor were these good Dutch people forgetful of 
 their schools. 
 
 It was as early as 1621 that the colony was 
 enjoined " to find speedy means to maintain a clergy- 
 
84 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 man and a school-master." And moreover " each 
 house holder and inhabitant was enjoined to bear 
 such tax and public charge as should be considered 
 proper for their maintenance." Four years later, we 
 find in the colonial records the expense of the school- 
 master to be 360 florins — just one fourth of that of 
 the minister. 
 
 In 1633, Adam Roelandson, a professional school- 
 master, was brought over from the Dutch mother 
 country, and for nine years he trained the little 
 Dutch Hans and Katrina to read and write. 
 
 In 1650, " New Amsterdam," with a population 
 of 800, now engaged two teachers for the children 5 
 and so the cause of education grew alongside with 
 all other matters of the colony, political and other- 
 wise. 
 
 Not very long ago, the State superintendent of 
 schools of New York gave an address upon education 
 in the State. I know you will like to hear what he 
 said about these first beginnings of school in the 
 cheery Dutch colony. 
 
 The excise moneys seem to have been set apart 
 to pay teachers, and they were in part, at least, paid 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 out of the public treasury. On one occasion the 
 governor of the colony parleyed with the Indian 
 chiefs and urged them to send their sons down to 
 New Amsterdam to school. After taking;' a week to 
 consider, they diplomatically answered that they were 
 powerless to accept the invitation, for the boys were 
 altogether under the control of their mothers." 
 
 The churches frequently maintained or super- 
 vised schools ; not uncommonly the functions of the 
 minister and teacher were combined in the same person. 
 Indeed, it more than once happened that the 
 teacher had also to act as sexton, precentor, choir- 
 master or psalmsetter, and a " comforter of the sick," 
 as the person who supplied the minister's place, was 
 commonly called. 
 
 Along with this spirit of progression in educa- 
 tion, came naturally a spirit of rebellion against 
 anything like tyranny from the English government, 
 under whose control the colony came in later years. 
 Very early they began to open their eyes to the fact 
 that the country might be governed far more to 
 their advantage than it ever had been, and that they 
 were entitled to a great deal more part in the 
 
86 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 management of affairs than England seemed willing 
 for them to have. Thus the spirit of liberty was 
 stirring within their hearts, and unconsciously they 
 were making ready for the mighty struggle which by 
 and by should make them free. 
 
 One incident occurred about this time that 
 aroused much righteous indignation among the New 
 York colonists against the English government, and, 
 I am sure your sympathies will be with these bravo 
 people who, though often hard pressed for the money 
 they needed in their own homes, had nevertheless 
 been prompt and generous in rendering such aid as 
 the mother country needed. 
 
 As one illustration of England's folly toward 
 this loyal province; — when plans were made for 
 subduing the French, New York came bravely 
 forward and both publicly and privately subscribed 
 a great deal of money for this purpose. Does it 
 not seem as if England should have been very 
 appreciative of this, especially as the defeat of the 
 French was, after all, more to the advantage of the 
 mother country than to the colonists? 
 
 However, England was greedy; and when she saw 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 87 
 
 how much money her subjects could raise, the 
 foohsh old lady began to think she had found a 
 capital way in which to pay her own debts. Now, 
 New York was one of the richest of the colonies 
 and so came in for a goodly share of attention. 
 
 OLD DUTCH HOUSE AT KINGSTON 
 
 Duties were levied on all goods brought into the 
 provinces ; but at the same time all articles sent 
 to foreign countries must be shipped in English 
 vessels — so their English government declared. 
 
 Although there was plenty of iron, the colonies 
 were not allowed to make it into steel, or fashion 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 their own tools ; as by so doing they would lessen 
 their trade with England. 
 
 Among other very unpopular measures was that 
 which gave revenue officers the right to enter any 
 man's house in search of smuggled goods. You all 
 know the old saying, " Every man's house is his 
 castle." The New York people thought so, too, and 
 deeply did they resent this interference with their 
 rights. They also objected to being obliged to pro- 
 vide quarters for the soldiers; for, under pretence of 
 fearing further trouble from France, England had left 
 practically an army in the colonies, and had appointed 
 New York as its headquarters. 
 
 When a man grows greedy, he cannot be expected 
 to show much wisdom; and, so, perhaps it was the 
 most natural thing in the world for England not to 
 realize her folly in trying the patience of the colonies 
 too far. They had been patient, very patient, but 
 underneath it all was a keen sense of justice and 
 right ; and when, in March, 1765, the Stamp Act was 
 passed, they were united in their opposition to it. 
 Had William Pitt, prime minister to George the Second, 
 still been in power, this tax would never have been 
 
NEW YORK. 89 
 
 imposed ; for, years before, this great man had said : — 
 " I will never burn my fingers with an American Stamp 
 Act." But when George the Third came to the throne, 
 he made the Earl of Bute, his chief adviser and 
 representative. A very poor exchange it was, and one 
 which hastened the separation of the colonies from the 
 mother country. 
 
 How many of you know what the Stamp Act 
 was ? It was an act which required the people to pay 
 from three cents to thirty dollars for stamps, which 
 were to be placed on every piece of paper used for legal 
 purposes. Papers showing that a man had bought goods 
 or had sold them, were not of any legal value unless 
 istamped, and no clergyman could even give a certificate 
 of marriage without first placing a stamp upon it. 
 
 This stamp duty was to begin on the first of 
 November. In the meantime, a colonial convention 
 assembled in New York and prepared resolutions to be 
 sent to the king and parliament. These resolutions 
 were very respectfully worded, but in them the people 
 said that no tax ought to be imposed upon them 
 without their consent. Men who had been appointed 
 to distribute the stamps were forced to resign ; and 
 
90 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 when the stamps arrived in New York, the colonists 
 obKged the governor to place them in the hands of 
 the mayor. The citizens resolved not to buy any more 
 goods from England until the Stamp Act was repealed ; 
 and business Avent on in defiance of the new law and 
 much to the discomfiture of the king's officers. 
 
 William Pitt now took up the cause of the colo- 
 nists ; not because he cared very much about England's 
 subjects across the sea, but because he was wise enough 
 to realize the dang-er of losinof them. So he ursred 
 parliament to repeal the Stamp Act ; and this was 
 finally done just one year after it had been passed. 
 
 In the city of New York, as well as elsewhere, 
 there was great rejoicing when the good news arrived. 
 Cannon thundered forth royal salutes, the bells in the 
 steeples rang out their merry bells, the ships in the 
 harbor displayed their flags, and at night there were 
 feasts and fire-works for the people. 
 
 So, for the time being, matters were smoothed 
 over ; and even then, further trouble might have been 
 avoided had England been wise and less greedy, and 
 had she, in the future, levied taxes only with the consent 
 of her still loyal subjects. 
 
A SCENE ON THE BANKS OF THE HUDSON. 
 
 Cool shades and dews are round my way, 
 
 And silence of the early day ; 
 
 'Mid the dark rocks that watch his bed, 
 
 Glitters the mighty Hudson spread, 
 
 Unrippled, save by drops that fall 
 
 From shrubs that fringe his mountain wall ; 
 
 And o'er the clear, still water swells 
 
 The music of the Sabbath bells. 
 
 All, save this little nook of land 
 
 Circled with trees, on which I stand; 
 
 All, save that line of hills which lie 
 
 Suspended in the mimic sky — 
 
 Seems a blue void, above, below, 
 
 Through which the white clouds come and go; 
 
 And from the green world's farthest 'steep 
 
 I gaze into the airy deep, 
 
 91 
 
THE PALISADES, HUDSON TilVEB 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 93 
 
 Loveliest of lovely things are they, 
 On earth, that soonest pass away. 
 The rose that lives its little hour, 
 Is prized beyond the sculptured flower. 
 Even love, long tried and cherished long. 
 Becomes more tender and more strong. 
 At thought of that insatiate grave 
 From which its yearnings cannot save. 
 
 Eiver ! in this still hour thou hast 
 Too much of heaven on earth to last ; 
 Nor long may thy still waters lie. 
 An image of the glorious sky. 
 Thy fate and mine are not repose. 
 And ere another evening close. 
 Thou to thy tides shall turn again, 
 A-nd I to seek the crowd of men. 
 
 — Bryant 
 
MAP OF HEW YOIK kJiD VICINITY, 1776. 
 
SONS OF LIBERTY. 
 
 What a grand, good name that was for the 
 organization of young men who took such an enthu- 
 siastic part in the struggle for independence ! 
 
 Sons of Liberty ! Yes, that is just what they 
 were, helping to secure the freedom of the press, man- 
 fully opposing the Stamp Act, and interfering not a 
 little with the unwise and unjust schemes of His 
 Majesty, George the Third. However, they were loyal 
 to him just as long as they could believe that, per- 
 haps, after all, he had not really meant to treat the 
 people unjustly. And when his birthday anniversary, 
 the fourth of June arrived, they erected in honor of 
 him a tall mast, and unfurled a banner, upon which 
 were the words, " The King, Pitt and Liberty." 
 
 All the citizens celebrated this holiday; yet, per- 
 haps, the greater part of their rejoicings were more 
 on account of the repeal of the Stamp Act than 
 because it was the king's birthday. However, on each 
 
96 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 side of the public common an ox was roasted whole, 
 barrels of beer were opened, and gallons of punch were 
 made and drunk, as was the custom of the day ; and 
 at night a tremendous bonfire was lighted, made out 
 of t\yenty-five cords of wood and a great many tar 
 barrels, which blazed up finely and lighted up the 
 country for miles around. 
 
 But the liberty pole was left standing where the 
 young men had raised it earlier in the day. There it 
 remained until the tenth of August, when some of the 
 soldiers quartered in the barracks cut it down wilfully, 
 intending to thus insult the inhabitants. The people 
 understood this very well and immediately jjroposed to 
 raise another one ; but a party of soldiers carrying 
 bayonets, and " cutting and slashing everyone who 
 came in their way," drove them back and prevented 
 their putting up the new pole. 
 
 This was a little too much for the Sons of Liberty; 
 soldiers or no soldiers, a liberty pole they would have, 
 and did have, though more than once it had to be 
 replaced after fresh attacks had been made upon it by 
 the redcoats. The finest pole of all was the one put 
 up in 1770. It was so heavy that it took six horses to 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 97 
 
 drag it through the streets, and on the top of it was 
 a gilt vane and the word LIBERTY in large letters. 
 When the British captured the city in 1776, this 
 pole, too, they cut down ; but they did not succeed in 
 
 HOUSE IN WHICH THE NON IMPOUTATION AGREEMENT OF THE COLONIES 
 WAS SIGNED ON THE 31ST OCT. 1765. 
 
 destroying the spirit it represented, as they soon found 
 out to their cost. 
 
 There were other popular demonstrations of the 
 liberty-loving spirit in which the Sons of Liberty took 
 part. At one time, New York had a tea-party, as well 
 as Boston. Lord North, at that time prime minister 
 
98 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 in England, insisted that the colonists should pay a 
 tax upon tea, and Governor Tryon, of New York, 
 assured the East India company that the law should 
 be enforced. He also said that the tea should be 
 delivered to the owners even if steeped in blood. A 
 very brave speech indeed, but when John Lamb, an 
 ardent Son of Liberty, sent him word that the tea 
 should not be landed, and that if an attempt was 
 made his blood should be the first shed, the prudent 
 governor thought it wise to pass the matter over for 
 a time at least. 
 
 However, on the twenty-first of April, 1774, the 
 long expected tea-ship, the Nancy, arrived. The captain 
 came up to the town and was there politely informed 
 by the Sons of Liberty that he might straightway 
 hoist his anchor and take his good ship and his chests 
 of tea home again. 
 
 Li the meantime it was learned that one of the 
 New York ship captains had arrived at Sandy Hook, 
 and had eighteen chests of tea hidden away in the 
 vessel's hold. So the Sons of Liberty boarded the 
 ship, and after much questioning found that there 
 really was tea on board. The hatches were opened, the 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 99 
 
 eighteen chests found, and their contents emptied into 
 the salt waters of the bay. 
 
 Everything being now ready for the departure of 
 the Nancy, her captain was escorted to the wharf 
 and put on board the pilot boat which was to tow 
 the vessel out to sea,: The Sons of Liberty went 
 on board, too, to prevent any attempt to land even a 
 pound of the valuable cargo. So the Nancy, with her 
 hold full of tea, sailed back again to England ; and 
 the people cheered as they watched her departure, 
 and rang all the bells in the cit}', and hoisted a flag of 
 triumph, which floated gaily in the breeze from the 
 top of the liberty pole. 
 
 It was but a few weeks later that the Sons of 
 Liberty and the rest of the citizens n)et together 
 and elected representatives to the first Continental 
 Congress, which met in Philadelphia that same year, 
 and where, nearly a year afterwards, news was received 
 of the battle of Lexington. The same men who 
 raised the Hberty-pole now prevented vessels from 
 leaving New York harbor for English ports, and for- 
 bade the sale of arms and ammunition except to 
 those who favored the cause of the colonies. 
 
IN THE NAME OF THE OBBAT JEHOVAH AND THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS 
 
TICONDEROGA AND CROWN POINT. 
 
 Immediately after the battle of Lexington, a plan 
 was formed to take the fortress of Ticonderoga, on 
 Lake Champlain ; for this was a very important point 
 for the colonial forces to gain possession of. Captain 
 Ethan Allen, of Vermont, with 230 valiant Green 
 Mountain Boys, cheerfully undertook the enterprise ; 
 and by a forced march arrived at the lake just oppo- 
 site Ticonderoga, on the evening of the ninth of May, 
 1775. On the way they were joined by Benedict 
 Arnold, who had started out on a similar expedition, 
 but had not raised men enough for the undertaking. 
 He wanted to take command of the party, but the 
 Green Mountain Boys objected ; declaring that they 
 intended to fight under Captain Allen, and Arnold 
 had, therefore, to join them as a priyate in the ranks. 
 
 When they reached the shore of the lake they 
 found great difficulty in finding boats in which to row 
 across. Guides, too, were needed ; and as good fortune 
 
 101 
 
102 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 would have it, one of the farmers who hved near by 
 allowed his little son, Nathan, to go with them to 
 show the way ; for he had often been to the fort to 
 play with the other boys, and having kept his eyes 
 open while there, he knew every secret way that led 
 to the fortress. 
 
 Having so few boats, it took Captain Allen's, 
 men a long time to cross ; indeed, day began to dawn 
 and only the officers and eighty-three men had reached 
 the farther shore. Allen, seeing that he must not 
 wait any longer if he expected to take the fort by 
 surprise, drew his men up in line, told them how 
 dangerous an undertaking it would be with so small 
 a force, and then asked those willing to volunteer to 
 raise their guns. Every gun was raised. Pleased with 
 their spirit, Allen ordered them to march to the gate. 
 There the sentinel snapped his fusee at the captain 
 and then ran within the fort. 
 
 The Green Mountain Boys followed close at his 
 heels, and found all the garrison asleep except the 
 sentries. In his written account Allen says : — " We 
 gave them three huzzas, which greatly surprised them." 
 Probably it did, under the circumstances. Allen, with 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 103 
 
 Nathan at his elbow to show him the way, then ran 
 up the steps to the quarters of the commander, rapped 
 loudly upon the door with the hilt of his sword, and 
 ordered him to appear at once or the whole garrison 
 should be sacrificed. 
 
 Captain Delaplace sprang out of bed and opened 
 the door. Recognizing Allen, he thundered with a 
 great show of authority, " Your errand, sir ? " The 
 captain pointed to his men and exclaimed, " T order 
 you instantly to surrender." " By what authority do 
 you demand it ? " said Delaplace. " In the name of 
 the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress ! " 
 thundered Allen. Captain Delaplace cared very little 
 for the Continental Congress, but having a hearty 
 respect for powder and ball, he ordered his troops to 
 parade at once without arms, and surrendered the gar- 
 rison of forty-eight men as prisoners of war. By 
 this capture the colonists secured one hundred and 
 twenty pieces of cannon, ten tons of musket balls, three 
 cart-loads of flints, besides barrels upon barrels of 
 provisions. 
 
 A pretty good morning's work, was it not ? How 
 the Green Mountain Boys enjoyed their breakfast ! 
 
104 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 How they laughed and cheered and feasted ! And 
 truly they deserved it all. 
 
 On the twelfth, the next day but one, a detachment 
 was sent under Seth Warren to capture Crown Point, 
 which was only a short distance from Ticonderoga. 
 This, too, was easily accomplished, for the place was 
 garrisoned only by twelve men ; and the colonists 
 thereby added sixty more cannon to their store. 
 
 From this, you will see that the first military con- 
 quest of the Americans in the Revolution occurred 
 within the province of New York, and that by it was 
 secured the fortress which commanded the entrance 
 to Canada. 
 
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS. 
 
 Here we halt our inarch, and pitch our tent 
 
 On the rugged forest ground, 
 And Hght our fire with the branches rent. 
 
 By wind from the beeches round. 
 Wild storms have torn this ancient wood, 
 
 But a wilder is at hand. 
 With hail of iron and rain of blood, 
 
 To sweep and scath the land. 
 
 II. 
 
 How the dark waste rings with voices shrill 
 
 That startle the sleeping bird. 
 To-morrow eve must the voice be still, 
 
 And the step must fall unheard. 
 The Briton lies by the blue Champlain, 
 
 In Ticonderoga's towers. 
 And ere the sun rise twice again, 
 
 The towers and the lake are ours. 
 
106 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 III. 
 
 Fill up the bowl fvom the brook that glides, 
 
 Where the fireflies light the brake ; 
 A ruddier juice the Briton hides, 
 
 In his fortress by the lake. 
 Build high the fire, till the panther leap 
 
 From his lofty perch in fright, 
 And we'll strengthen our weary arms with sleep. 
 
 For the deeds of to-morrow night. 
 
THE LAST ENGLISH GOVERNOR. 
 
 The second Continental Congress, which met on 
 the same day that the Green Mountain Boys captured 
 Ticonderoga, — the tenth of May, 1775, — appointed 
 George Washington, of Virginia, commander-in-chief 
 of the American forces. A month later, when Wash- 
 ington passed through New York, on his way to take 
 command of the army at Camhridge, near Boston, 
 their was no little disturbance in the minds of the 
 good people ; for Governor Tryon was also expected, 
 and what, pray, should they do if the distinguished 
 Tory and the equally distinguished Whig should enter 
 the city at the same time ? 
 
 The civil authorities were indeed perplexed ; for 
 
 they must avoid giving offence to either party. They 
 
 waited and watched and fidgeted about, and more than 
 
 once wished themselves well out of it. Fortunately 
 
 Washington arrived early in the afternoon, being 
 
 Qonducted into the city by several companies of soldiers 
 
 107 
 
OEOBCtE WASBQiaiON. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 109 
 
 and a large number of citizens. Here he was suitably 
 received by the president of the congress, who read 
 an address, which, if the truth be told, was anything 
 but warlike, for New York at that time held many a 
 Tory, and so was filled with Tory sentiments. 
 
 It was in the evening that Tryon arrived ; and 
 he, too, was received with the same honor and attention 
 as had been shown to Washington earlier in the day, 
 the members of congress, mayor and the officers prov- 
 ing themselves remarkably skilful in looking two ways 
 at once. Washington, however, soon went on to 
 Cambridge, and the city fathers were left to do as 
 they liked with their royal governor, which was a relief 
 no doubt just then, even to the Whigs. It was a 
 year later when Washington returned again to New 
 York. The British had been driven out of Boston ; 
 and it was lest they should occupy New York that 
 the brave general made his headquarters near the city. 
 Governor Tryon, who was always plotting mischief, 
 bribed one of Washington's soldiers, on this occasion, 
 to try to poison him ; and very nearly did the plot 
 succeed. The poison was placed in a dish of green 
 peas, of which the general was very fond ; but his 
 
110 
 
 NEW YOEK. 
 
 faithful housekeeper, discovering the plan, warned her 
 master, who, making some excuse, sent the peas away 
 from the table without having tasted them. 
 
 The soldier was arrested, found guilty and hanged 
 in the midst of a great crowd of indignant people. 
 What a pity it was that Tryon could not have been 
 hung as well as the poor fellow whom his money had 
 corrupted ! However, he got safely away to England ; 
 and when it was known that he left the province, 
 never to return, there were many who rejoiced ; for hia 
 departure freed New York from the hated presence of the 
 last of the royal governors who ruled within her borders. 
 
THE AMERICAN FLAG. 
 
 When Freedom, from her mountain height, 
 Unfurled her standard to the air, 
 
 She tore the azure robe of night. 
 And set the stars of glory there. 
 
 She mingled with its gorgeous dyes 
 The milky baldric of the skies, 
 And striped its pure, celestial white 
 With streakings of the morning light ; 
 Then from his mansion in the sun 
 She called her eagle bearer down. 
 And gave into his mighty hand 
 The symbol of her chosen land. 
 
 Flag of the free, heart's hope and home ! 
 
 By angel hands to valor given ; 
 Thy stars have lit the welkin dome, 
 
 And all thy hues were born in heaven. 
 Forever float that standard sheet ! 
 
 Where breathes the foe but falls before us, 
 With Freedom's soil beneath our feet, 
 
 And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us ! 
 
 — Joseph Rodman Drake. 
 
 Ill 
 
THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 
 
 Before the battle of Long Island, General Howe, 
 who really wished that the Americans would acknowl- 
 edge the authority of King George, sent an officer 
 with a letter for Washington. When he met 
 Colonel Knox, who was appointed to receive him, the 
 officer said: "I have a letter from Lord Howe to Mr. 
 Washington." " We have no person in our army by 
 that address," replied the Colonel. " Will you not 
 look at the address? " persisted the officer; " No sir," 
 was the answer ; " I can not receive that letter." " I 
 am sorry," said the officer, and then returned to the 
 fleet. This was wisely done, for since Lord Howe 
 would not recognize the right of the American people to 
 make Washington a general like himself, Washington, 
 if he had accepted the letter, would have thus 
 acknowledged that General Howe was in the right. 
 
 Another time, when General Washington received 
 Colonel Patterson and other British ofl&cers, the former 
 
 X12 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 113 
 
 apologized for the address on the previous letter and 
 produced another directed to " George Washington, 
 Esq., etc., etc." This, as it implied everything, he 
 hoped would be satisfactory. " True " replied Wash- 
 ington, "but it also implies anything; and besides 
 this I cannot receive a letter addressed to me as a 
 private person, which relates to my public station." 
 " But," said Colonel Patterson, " the letter is to 
 convey to you and the colonists complete pardon for 
 all past offences. " Then," Washington answered, " the 
 Americans, having done no wrong, want no pardon ; 
 we have but maintained our riofhts as Enorlishmen." 
 
 After this General Howe decided that only more 
 fighting would bring the rebels to terms ; so he 
 stopped sending letters and hastened his preparations 
 for a decisive battle with the Colonial forces. 
 
 It was, then, in this spirit, that General Wash- 
 ington, hearing that Sir Henry Clinton, the British 
 general, would very likely sail for New York to take 
 possession of the city, ordered General Lee, with 
 twelve hundred troops to march as quickly as possible 
 across the country, and occupy the town before Sir 
 Henry could get there. 
 
114 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 This was very close planning indeed; and so well 
 were Washington's orders carried out that General Lee 
 marched into New York City just as General Clinton 
 was sailing up the harbor. Surprised, indeed, at this 
 quick movement on the part of the colonists, Clinton 
 concluded it would be best to postpone the taking of 
 New York until other forces should be ready to 
 join him, that his success in the attempt might be 
 sure. It was, then, June 29th that General Howe 
 entered the harbor with a large fleet of vessels. 
 Soon he was joined by more ships from England, 
 bringing many troops of Hessians, foreign soldiers 
 whom the king had hired by thousands to come 
 and help subdue his unruly people. Sir Henry 
 Chnton, too, came back from the South, and alto- 
 gether General Howe found himself in command of 
 nearly thirty thousand men. 
 
 On the ninth of July word came from Phila- 
 delphia that the Declaration of Independence had 
 been signed; and General Washington, who was now 
 in the city, had a copy of it read to his troops 
 that same afternoon. How the soldiers and citizens 
 cheered and shouted! — not for King George and 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 115 
 
 British rule, but for Liberty and the free and inde- 
 pendent colonies to which they now belonged. But 
 there were dark days ahead; many battles to be 
 fought, to be lost or won, and General Howe's 
 thirty thousand men were quite ready to begin the 
 fight which was to gain for them the city of New 
 York. 
 
 General Washington fortified Brooklyn, on Long 
 Island, as strongly as possible; for he knew that the 
 coming battle must take place near by. The British 
 landed on Staten Island opposite, and remained 
 there until the middle of August, getting rested and 
 refreshed after their long sea-voyage, and preparing for 
 the battle to come by sending spies into the Ameri- 
 can camps, who often learned only too well what 
 the patriots were about. Washington himself, with 
 the main part of the army, remained in New York 
 ready to defend the city should an attack be made 
 there. However, as the Americans expected, Generail 
 Howe landed his men on Long Island, and after 
 many skirmishes, on the twenty-seventh of August 
 the main battle took place. 
 
 That was a most unfortunate day for the patriots, 
 
116 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 for their army was small, and lacked the training 
 and confidence of the tried troops of the Tories. 
 However, the difference in numbers was such as to 
 have made success on the colonists' part almost 
 impossible. 
 
 All day the fight went on, now here, now there. 
 The British gained an important road crossing at 
 Long Island, which should have been defended; but 
 being carelessly left unguarded, by means of this 
 pass the enemy were able to surprise and cut ofE many 
 of the Continental forces, and to attack them at a great 
 disadvantage. Though the Americans fought with 
 great gallantry, their defeat was overwhelming; and 
 it is said that their entire loss amounted to more than 
 three thousand men, killed, wounded or taken pris- 
 oners. The loss of the English did not reach four 
 hundred. 
 
 That night the enemy encamped in front of the 
 American lines; they threw up a breast-work on the 
 Wallabout Heights, and in the morning commenced 
 firing upon Port Putnam. But the patriots were 
 ready to return the compliment, as the red-coats soon 
 found out somewhat to their surprise. Still matters 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 117 
 
 were very serious indeed; and Washington, after 
 taking council with his officers, decided that discreet 
 withdrawal would be better than a useless display of 
 bravery. Accordingly, on the evening of the twenty- 
 ninth, his troops were ferried across to New York, 
 and when, bright and early next morning the British 
 prepared to attack Fort Putnam, lo, and behold, there 
 were no soldiers within its walls to fire upon ! 
 
 Under cover of the darkness and the fog the 
 army had stolen away, and General Howe was forced 
 to acknowledge himself outwitted by the shrewd 
 colonists. 
 
 " You should never put olf until to-morrow what 
 you can do to-day," said the colonists to General 
 Howe; and although it was hardly soothing to the 
 British general's pride, there was nothing to be 
 done bat to learn wisdom from this defeat and be 
 wiser and sharper next time. 
 
GENERAL HERKIMER AT ORISKANY 
 
 There dwelt in these early days when Oriskany 
 was surrounded on all sides by deep forests in which 
 the Indians lurked, one chief, Brant, of whom the white 
 men stood in terror ; even the bravest of them, for a 
 mighty chief was he, and of his origin the tribes loved 
 to tell this story : Long, long years ago, when the 
 Mohawk River was broader, and its falls more lofty than 
 you will find them now, a feud arose between two young 
 braves, the Wolf and the Tortoise ; for both loved a 
 beautiful young maiden who dwelt in the wigwam of 
 the Mohawks. 
 
 For a time she showed no preference for either 
 of them, but finally, because the Wolf entreated her so 
 earnestly, she promised to be his bride. Then the 
 Tortoise's heart grew hot with jealous anger, and he 
 vowed that never, never should she enter the wigwam 
 of his rival. All these wicked thoughts, however, he 
 kept to himself, and appeared to be so kindly disposed 
 
 US 
 
IN THE CAVE OF THK TORTOISE 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 119 
 
 that the maiden had no thought of danger, and, when 
 her lover was absent, would take long rambles with the 
 Tortoise, as she had been wont to do. 
 
 But one still evening, as they lingered near the 
 brink of the river, the Tortoise proposed a trip to a 
 beautiful little island out in the stream, where the fire- 
 flies sparkled and the whippoorwill's call was answered 
 by the spirit of the evening, whose voice none but 
 Nature's children may hear. 
 
 The light canoe sped like an arrow down the swift 
 current. The young chief did not try to land upon the 
 island, but instead of doing so, steered for the western 
 shore, and, once there, seized the frightened maiden and 
 bore her to a cave where dry, soft skins were spread^ 
 and an abundance of provisions stored. There he kept 
 her prisoner for many months. 
 
 But when the May time came and the earth was all 
 abloom with flowers, the Wolf, who had sought his 
 promised bride through all the winter months, chanced 
 one day, as he strolled along the river, to see his rival's 
 canoe floating at the mouth of the cavern. That 
 evening, silently plying his paddle, he floated over the 
 silvery waters and through the streaming moonlight, till 
 
120 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 he reached the hidden cave ; and there he found both the 
 Tortoise and the maiden. The former, only shghtly 
 wounded by the first quick blow, fled into the night, and 
 the young brave knew that he would soon return to slay 
 them both. 
 
 Then said the maiden : " Let us rather perish by 
 the waters of the falls." So, springing lightly into the 
 canoe, they let the current carry them whither it would. 
 But their frail little craft passed unharmed through the 
 eddies and down the flying sheet of foam into the 
 smooth waters below ; and they glided far, far away to 
 a wonderful lake, upon whose shores they lived and 
 loved, and their children after them, for years unnum- 
 bered. And from this race came Brant, the Mohawk 
 sachem, the strong wolf of his nation. 
 
 Now the colonists did not accept this marvellous 
 legend of the Indian chief ; but there were often times 
 when they realized to their bitter grief that Brant was 
 indeed an enemy to be feared, so daring, so cunning 
 and so wolfishly cruel could he be. 
 
 Many are the sad stories to be told of this chief 
 who, in these times of war, was a terror to even the 
 bravest of the brave colonists ; but perhaps no attack was 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 121 
 
 more cruel than when General Herkimer led his forces 
 forth one night to bear aid to the general in command 
 of Fort Schuyler. 
 
 Colonel St. Ledger with a large force of men 
 was besieging Fort Schuyler, not so very far away, 
 and the little garrison was in great need of assis- 
 tance. As soon as this became known to General 
 Herkimer, he called for volunteers from all the 
 country round ; and having gathered together some 
 eight hundred men set out to carry aid to the fort. 
 But first he sent a message to its commander asking 
 that three signal guns be fired, that the relief party 
 might know that the garrison was on the watch 
 for them, in case of any surprise from the enemy. 
 
 Unfortunately two of General Herkimer's colonels. 
 Cox and Paris, were very anxious to hurry on to 
 the fort, and when their leader would not permit such 
 rashness, they called him a coward. This insult 
 was hard to bear, but thinking only of his duty 
 he replied: " I am placed over you as a father and 
 a guardian, and I shall not lead you into difficulties 
 from which I may not be able to extricate you." 
 Then, ungenerously persisting in their demands, his 
 
122 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 men accused him of being a Tory. This was an 
 insult too bitter to be borne. As you please," said 
 Herkimer. " Let the order to march be given; but 
 look to it that you who boast the loudest of 
 your courage be not the first to run should we meet 
 the enemy." 
 
 The forces now moved rapidly forward never 
 suspecting that a part of the enemy were lying in 
 ambush in a deep ravine near which they must pass. 
 Here the famous Indian Chief, Brant, who fought 
 for and with the Tories, lay in wait until Herkimer's 
 forces had entered the circle they had made. Then, 
 without one second of warning, the air was filled 
 with war-hoops, and Brant fell upon them with 
 hatchet and spear, and a perfect shower of rifle balls. 
 
 The cowardly rear-guard, as Herkimer had pre- 
 dicted, fled and left their comrades to their fate. 
 Then the battle waged fast and furious. General 
 Herkimer was severely wounded and his horse killed 
 under him. Calling to one of the soldiers he said: 
 " Take the saddle off and place it against that 
 beech-tree." It was done, and the soldier helped him 
 to it. " Now " said the stout-hearted general, " go 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 123 
 
 and fight." Seated there with his men falling on 
 every hand like autumn leaves, with the bullets 
 whistling close about his head-, the brave old man 
 calmly gave his orders and encouraged his soldiers 
 to do or die. "Coward," was he? "Tory?" 
 Of such stuff was many a Tory made, but never 
 one coward. 
 
 Soon it began to rain, and there was a lull in 
 firing. But the battle was not yet over; for when 
 the shower ceased the fight began again ; but, prof- 
 iting by experience, the colonists sheltered themselves 
 as much as possible behind the trees, or, forming 
 circles, they poured their murderous fire upon the 
 enemy. One of the British colonels had his com. 
 pany turn their coats inside out, thinking, that their 
 appearance would deceive the Americans into think- 
 ing help was at hand from the fort. This plan 
 came very near proving successful; but just in time 
 the quick eye of a Yankee captain discovered the 
 trick, and enabled his men to give the turn-coats a 
 very warm reception of fire and bullets. Quite differ, 
 ent it was from anything that they had planned 
 for. 
 
124 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 At last, the Indians, finding tlieir ranks thinned 
 and the colonists still resolute and unconquered, 
 became panic stricken and fled; and the Tories, 
 deprived of their allies, also took to their heels, 
 pursued by the Americans with shouts of victory. 
 To be sure the patriots had stood their ground; but 
 they had not succeeded in bringing relief to Fort 
 Schuyler, though its brave commander, without help, 
 held his position until the British were forced to 
 raise the seige several weeks later. 
 
 But what became of brave General Herkimer? 
 I am sorry to tell you that, although he lived to 
 be carried to his own home at Little Falls, his wound 
 was treated so unskilfully that there was no chance 
 for his recovery, and not many days after the 
 battle he died, but as courageously as he had lived. 
 
 Land of the West — beneath the Heaven 
 There's not a fairer, lovelier clime ; 
 
 Nor one to which was ever given 
 A destiny more high, sublime. 
 
 — TF. D. Gallagher. 
 
BEMIS'S HEIGHTS AND SARATOGA. 
 
 "When General Burgoyne took command of the 
 British troops in Canada, he planned to so separate the 
 New England States that they should be cut off from 
 all aid and assistance from the other states. In 
 order to do this he decided to invade New York by 
 way of Lake Champlain; and as his officers looked upon 
 ■ the expedition as something of an idle pleasure trip, 
 careful preparations were not made, neither was there 
 that concentrated interest in the campaign which 
 should have been. "For of course" so the red-coats 
 said, " the untrained militia of the Americans would 
 not be able to offer much resistance to the tried 
 troops of the British! " In this spirit, then, the 
 forces set forth upon their march. 
 
 On reaching Ticonderoga and Crown Point, Bur- 
 goyne found these forts very insufficently defended; 
 and so, by the aid of a battery planted on a hill near 
 by, he soon drove the brave defenders from the fort. 
 
 - 125 
 
126 
 
 HEW York. 
 
 But turn about is fair play, and the pati*iots kad 
 their chance at the battle of Bemis's Heights, 
 where they gave the red-coats' so much to do that, 
 though they fought from morning until night, they 
 did not win the battle ; and for the first time they 
 began to suspect the colonists were not to be played 
 with so easily. 
 
 Indeed, if General Gates had not been short of 
 ammunition, he would have given the British plenty 
 to do the next day also, but he was forced to wait 
 for a further supply of powder and shot. The 
 British, however, did not know this, and were so 
 afraid of being attacked that they spent the whole 
 morning putting up breast-works. Burgoyne was much 
 dismayed by his ill-success the day before, but, unwill- 
 ing that his troops should know this, he kept up his 
 braggadocio, addressed his men quite cheerfully, 
 saying, " A bit of ill-success to be sure ; but we shall 
 push on to Albany for anything these clumsy farmers 
 can do." 
 
 For many days both armies remained encamped, 
 each watching the other, the forces of General Gates 
 growing stronger, however, every hourj for the farmers 
 
NEW rcuK 
 
 127 
 
 had harvested their crops and were now ready and 
 eager to join the patriots. 
 
 On the morning of the seventh of Octoher, Bur- 
 gojne made deHberate plans to attack the Americans ; 
 but while he was moving forward and his generals 
 were placing their men, his advance was discovered, 
 and he was forced to begin the battle before he was 
 ready. 
 
 I cannot begin to tell you of all that happened 
 that busy day; but by afternoon the British were 
 astonished to find themselves practically surrounded 
 by the militia, who were fighting away very vigorously 
 and effectively, if not with the science of trained 
 troops. Five times one of the cannon was taken and 
 re-taken; finally the Americans got possession of it, 
 and General Cilley, mounting the gun, waved his 
 sword high in air and shouted: " I dedicate this gun 
 to the American cause. 
 
 So the fight went on. General Arnold, who had 
 been deprived of his command by General Gates and 
 had really no authority to act even as a private 
 soldier, exclaimed to one of his aids, " No man shall 
 keep me from the field to-day. If I am without 
 
" I DEDICATE THIS G UN TO THE AMERICAN CAUSE " 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 129 
 
 command I will fight in the ranks; but the soldiers, 
 God bless them, will follow my lead." And so they 
 did into the hottest o£ the fray, covering themselves 
 and their gallant officer with well earned glory. 
 
 Through shot and shell and whizzing bullets and 
 charge of bayonets, the Americans pressed on ; up to 
 the very mouths of - the belching guns they made 
 their way ; for the British fought for conquest, but 
 the Americans fought for Liberty." 
 
 That night Burgoyne resolved to retreat. He 
 marched to the heights of Saratoga, his troops arriv- 
 ing on the tenth, wet, weary and dispirited, for a cold 
 and heavy rain had still further disheartened them. 
 The army of General Gates also moved its position 
 to a point directly ojjposite the enemy's camp. 
 
 The British general saw that he was entrapped. 
 He could not fight, neither could he retreat. What 
 could he do ? And the " clumsy farmer patriots ? " 
 Well, if they were somewhat hilarious over their 
 success ; if they cheered rather loudly and burned 
 bonfires from every hill, who could blame them? 
 Certainly not you or I. 
 
SURRENDER OF BURGOYNE. 
 
 On the morning of the thirteenth of October, 
 1777, General Burgoyne called his officers together to 
 take council as to what course to follow. As they 
 talked the situation over, musket balls from the 
 American lines several times came whizzing through 
 the walls of the tent as if to emphasize what was 
 being said, and finally an eighteen pound cannon-ball 
 swept across the table at which Burgoyne and his 
 generals were seated. These interruptions were not 
 exactly pleasant, and the officers very quickly resolved 
 to treat with General Gates for an honorable surren- 
 der. There was no choice but to send a messenger 
 to the American camp with a flag of truce ; and after 
 this, terms were agreed upon by which Burgoyne's 
 troops were to lay down their arms, promising not 
 to fight again during the war ; and General Gates on 
 his side promised that the British soldiers should be 
 permitted an unmolested passage to Great Britain ; 
 
 130 
 
NEW YORK. iSl 
 
 moreover, on their march to Boston they were to 
 be supplied with everything needed for their comfort. 
 
 General Burgoyne, hearing that the British had 
 taken the forts on the Hudson, was very loth 
 to sign this " convention," as he called it ; but on 
 the seventeenth, General Gates knowing that delay 
 was dangerous, drew up his army in order of 
 battle and sent a message to Burgoyne, telling him 
 that if he did not sign the articles at once his 
 camp would be fired upon. 
 
 There was no hope. The articles were signed, 
 and before many hours the British army were march- 
 ing sorrowfully down from among the hills to the 
 green plains below, where they laid down their arms 
 at the command of their of&cers. 
 
 When this part of the surrender had been 
 accomplished. General Burgoyne proceeded to the 
 American head-quarters. The two commanders, each 
 attended by his staff of officers, met at the head of 
 the camp, the British general clad in his rich uniform 
 of scarlet and gold, the American commander in a 
 plain blue frock-coat. When near each other they 
 reined in their horses, and on being introduced 
 
135 
 
 JJKW YORK. 
 
 General Buvgoyne raised his hat gracefully and said : 
 " The fortune of war, General Gates, has made me 
 your prisoner." " I shall be always ready to bear 
 testimony that it has not been through any fault of 
 your excellency," was the ready reply. 
 
 The stafP officers were then made acquainted 
 with each other, and after that they all went to the 
 head-quarters of General Gates, where dinner was 
 served. After dinner the American soldiers were 
 drawn up in two lines extending nearly a mile, and 
 the conquered red-coats were obliged to march 
 between them to the lively tune of " Yankee Doodle." 
 Then General Burgoyne in the presence of the two 
 armies handed his sword to General Gates, who 
 received it with a courteous inclination of the head, 
 and instantly returned it to the vanquished com- 
 mander. 
 
 In this unhappy manner Burgoyne's expedition 
 ended. He had thought to strike a crushing^ blow 
 to the cause of liberty, to march triumphantly to 
 Albany, and, perhaps, even to Boston. Part of his 
 plan was carried out ; for the British troops went 
 on to Boston, but sadder and wiser than when they 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 133 
 
 started out, and miuus their arms and gay standards. 
 How the good news gladdened the hearts of the 
 patriots ! Congress passed a vote of thanks to 
 General Gates and his army, and ordered a gold 
 medal to be struck in honor of so glorious a victory. 
 
 HOKATIO GATES 
 
MASSACRE AT CHERRY VALLEY. 
 
 How many lives would have been spared if the 
 Indians had taken no part in the scenes of the Revol- 
 ution ! But the Iroquois remembered their losses at 
 Oriskany and elsewhere, and meant to be revenged. 
 Then, too, they were joined by many of the Tory 
 settlers, who were far more cruel than the red-coats 
 from England. During 1778, the Indians were very 
 hostile, making many descents upon the scattered settle- 
 ments all along the Mohawk, plundering and burning 
 the villages, and murdering men, women and children- 
 One of the most fatal of their raids was that 
 which resulted in the complete destruction of Cherry 
 Valley, a beautiful little town on the Susquehanna. 
 That spring, a fort had been built and garrisoned, and 
 Colonel Alden had been placed in command. Although 
 he was a brave man, he was but little accustomed to 
 Indian warfare, and when word was received, early in 
 November, that the Tories and Indians were about to 
 
 134 
 
COLONEL ALDKN AND THE KEDSKIN 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 135 
 
 attack the fort, he paid but little attention to the 
 report, thinking it a mere idle rumor. 
 
 Even when the people wished to seek shelter 
 there, he told them not to be alarmed, for he would 
 send out scouts, that there might be timely warning 
 should danger threaten. Scouts were accordingly sent 
 out, but at least one party of them, who kept along 
 the shore of the I'iver, had so taken on the careless 
 colonel's unconcern, that they kindled a fire in the 
 evening, and, lying down beside it, went fast asleep. 
 Of course the Indians saw the light, for they were on 
 the watch ; and, stealing softly upon the sleepers, made 
 them all prisoners before they realized what was 
 happening. 
 
 Learning from one of these scouts just where the 
 officers in the fort were quartered, the Tories and 
 Indians, some seven hundred in all, planned to surprise 
 the villagers and surround the different houses. On 
 the morning of the eleventh, when the air was thick 
 and hazy, and everything favored their reaching the 
 place undiscovered, the Indians moved forward towards 
 the fort. When almost within the town they came 
 up with one of the settlers who lived a few miles 
 
136 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 below. Putting his horse to its utmost speed, he 
 galloped toward the fort and succeeded in informing 
 Colonel Alden of the enemy's approach. 
 
 Even now the colonel doubted the truth ; but 
 was prevailed upon to order out the guard. Had they 
 obeyed promptly, even now much might have been 
 done ; but on examination of their guns, they found 
 the powder wet with the rain of the previous night, 
 so negligent had they all been in the matter. On 
 -same the Indians, and down the hill ran Colonel 
 Alden, chased by a red-skin who called to him to 
 surrender. Instead of doing so, Alden turned round 
 and snapped his pistol at him ; the Indian in return 
 threw his tomahawk, and rushing upon his victim 
 took his scalp and fastened it to his belt. Then 
 followed a frightful scene of destruction and blood- 
 shed. Whole families were killed, even to little chil- 
 dren not able to walk. 
 
 One old man, a minister of the town, was saved 
 by little Aaron, a Mohawk chief, who led him from 
 the house and stood at his side to protect him. An 
 Indian passing by pulled the old man's hat ofP. Little 
 Aaron ran after him and regained it. When he got 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 137 
 
 back, another Indian had taken the minister's wig ; 
 perhaps he thought he had got his scalp. Poor old 
 man ! he died in less than a year after, never having 
 recovered from the exposure and excitement of that 
 fearful day. 
 
 That evening the prisoners, numbering thirty or 
 forty, were marched about two miles south of the fort 
 where the enemy was encamped. Large fires were 
 kindled, and the shivering captives huddled about them 
 and waited for the morning. Not far away they could 
 see the flames from the burning village, where all 
 their little property was being destroyed. 
 
 During the night the Indians divided the spoil 
 they had taken, and in the morning resumed their 
 march. But before they had gone far they set free 
 most of the women and children, not wishing to be 
 burdened with so many captives. But none of those 
 who were set at liberty or who had escaped returned 
 to Cherry Valley, for there were only blackened ruins 
 and desolation. " The cocks crowed from the tops of 
 the forest trees, and the dogs howled through the 
 fields and woods;" and not until peace came did a 
 new town rise from the ashes of the old. 
 
THE ASSAUt,T ON STONY HOINT 
 
"MAD ANTHONY." 
 
 ' POINT had been taken 
 by Sir Henry Clinton, the 
 very last night in May, 
 1779, and at the same time 
 the British had gained pos- 
 session of Port Lafayette, 
 at Verplanch's Point, on 
 the opposite side of the 
 Hudson. This was most 
 inconvenient, for it cut off all communication with 
 New England below "West Point. General Washington 
 and General Wayne accordingly met to talk the matter 
 over, and most extensive plans were made to recapture 
 Stony Point, which the British were making into a 
 very formidable fort, mounted cannon being placed 
 within, and long lines of felled trees without. 
 
 139 
 
140 
 
 NEW rORK. 
 
 Now General Wayne, more often called " Mad 
 Anthony," because of the fierce fury with which he 
 executed his plans, was ready and eager to undertake 
 just such an enterprise, and, what is more, he was con- 
 fident that he knew just how to do it. With picked 
 men he would march across the marsh at low tide, 
 sending an advance party with axes to cut through 
 the . lines of trees, while the others should carry 
 unloaded muskets with fixed bayonets, and make a 
 grand rush upon the enemy. This was the plan, and 
 a very good one it proved to be. 
 
 With three regiments of Continental light infantry. 
 General Wayne started for Stony Point at noon of a 
 hot July day. The advance was made slowly, for the 
 roads were narrow and rocky ; and then, too, much 
 care was needed as they approached the fort, lest any 
 alarm should be given. When night came on. General 
 Wayne directed the soldiers to pin pieces of white 
 paper to their hats that they might be able to tell 
 themselves from the foes. " We are going to attack 
 the fort," he said, " and the first man inside of it 
 shall have five hundred dollars and immediate pro- 
 motion ; the second, four hundred ; the third, three 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 1-11 
 
 hundred ; the fourth, two hundred ; the fifth, one 
 hundred. If any of you are so lost to the sense of 
 honor as to attempt to retreat or skulk, any officer is 
 authorized to put you to death. I shall share the 
 dangers with you. This is the watchword : " The fort 
 is our own." 
 
 Until half past eleven the men rested, and then 
 in silence they moved toward the fort and through 
 the waters of the marsh, for the tide was not wholly 
 out, and there was still some two feet of water through 
 which they must wade. Before they were well across, 
 however, an alarm was given, and the soldiers within 
 the fort began to fire their cannon. 
 
 But " Mad Anthony " and his men did not stop 
 for that ; the lines of trees were cut through and a 
 way made for the patriots to rush on and up the 
 hill to the breast-works ; over these they swarmed, and, 
 bayonets in hand, forced the enemy back on every 
 side. A musket ball struck General Wayne on the 
 head, but fortunately only stunned him, and when the 
 fort had been gained, he was able in person to receive 
 the surrender of the commanding officers. 
 
 " The fort is our own ! " Yes, that was true 
 
142 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 enough ; for, in not more than fifteen minutes, the 
 three Continental regiments had captured an important 
 mihtary point and taken five hundred and forty-three 
 prisoners ; and all with a loss of only fifteen killed. 
 
 Here is a copy of the letter General Wayne 
 wrote to General Washington : — 
 
 Stony Point, 
 July 16, 1779. (2 o'clock, A. M.) 
 
 Dear General : 
 
 The fort and garrison, with Colonel Johnson, 
 are ours. Our officers and men behaved like men who 
 are detei'mined to be free. 
 
 Yours most sincerely, 
 
 Anthony Wayne. 
 
 General Washington. 
 
 This was one of the most brilliant exploits of 
 the Eevolution, and " Mad Anthony's " name will 
 always be remembered in connection with it. 
 
THE GKEAT CHAIN. 
 
 A TRAITOR TO HIS COUNTRY. 
 
 In March, 1778, work was begun on the famous 
 fortifications at West Point ; for General Washington 
 realized that a strong fort there would protect the 
 troops and supplies which he might wish to send 
 back and forth across the river between New England 
 and the other colonies. Nature had done a great deal 
 for the place, and it was comparatively easy to make 
 it so strong that not all the forces of the British 
 would be able to capture it. 
 
 Not far from the fort a heavy iron chain, with 
 great links riveted to logs, was stretched across the 
 river from shore to shore and bolted firmly to the 
 rocks on either side, so that the British ships might 
 not slip by the point under cover of darkness. 
 When the fortress was finished General Washington 
 
 U3 
 
STATUE HBECTED WHERE ANORB WAS CAPTURED 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 U5 
 
 stored all the powder there, together with one hun- 
 dred cannon and a large supply o£ provisions, and 
 then appointed General Benedict Arnold commander 
 of the garrison. 
 
 You remember how General Arnold distinguished 
 himself at the battle of Bemis Heights? That was 
 not the first, nor the only time he had won renown 
 for his bravery and daring on the field of battle. 
 But unfortunately though he was brave physically, he 
 was a coward morally. During the war he for 
 his own use so appropriated money which should 
 have been spent for the army, that finally an 
 investigation was held, and Arnold was severely 
 censured for the way he had conducted the business 
 entrusted to him. Now, General Arnold was not the 
 kind of a man to try to regain the good opinion of 
 others. He only grew angry and sullen when Wash- 
 ington reproved him for his wrong-doing, and in his 
 heart of hearts began to plan revenge. He kept 
 his angry feelings to himself, and protested that he 
 was as great a patriot as any man in the army. It 
 was in consideration of his bravery in the field that his 
 short-comings were overlooked, and he was. as I have 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 147 
 
 told you, made commander of the fort at West Point. 
 
 All this time Sir Henry Clinton had his eye on 
 the new fortress ; and when he learned of the large 
 amount of supplies stored there, he was anxious to 
 get possession of it. For, if West Point fell into 
 the hands of the British, it would be a crushing blow 
 to the Americans. Sir Plenry knew that General 
 Arnold was all but ready to join the English forces, 
 and so began a secret correspondence with him, 
 through which he discovered that this trusted com- 
 mander was willing to betray his country and sell its 
 stronghold to the British. Major Andre, one of Gen- 
 eral Clinton's stafE-officers, was sent to arrange the 
 terms of purchase. He met General Arnold one dark 
 September night; and then and there' it was agreed 
 that the traitor should receive ,£10,000 of gold for 
 his treachery, and that within the next few days the 
 British should surprise the garrison at West Point. 
 
 It was moraing before the plans were completed ; 
 and the men who had rowed Andre from the English 
 ship to the shore refused to take him back again, for 
 they were tired out with the long night's waiting. 
 But Andre could not wait for boatmen to rest; so 
 
ESCAPE OF BENEDICT AKNOLD. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 149 
 
 Arnold gave liim a horse and a pass through the 
 American lines, furnishing him also with written 
 plans of the fort and the number of men within 
 it. How many, many times did Andre afterwards 
 wish he had never taken those tell-tale papers. 
 However, he galloped away, putting mile after mile 
 behind him, and beginning to breathe more freely 
 as he neared the British lines. His written pass from 
 Arnold had helped him by more than one American 
 sentinel already, and when three men suddenly sprang 
 into the road ahead of him and cried " Halt ! " he 
 hoped they also would let him by. Indeed, one of 
 them wore a British uniform. Perhaps they were 
 Tories. If so he was safe. " Gentlemen," he said, 
 " I hope you are of our party." 
 
 To this, John Paulding, one of the three men. 
 replied, " What party ? " 
 
 " The lower party," said Andre, meaning the British. 
 
 " We are," said Paulding. 
 
 Then Andre told them that he was a British 
 officer on special business, and that they must not 
 detain him a moment. 
 
 " But," said Paulding, " we are Americans." 
 
150 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Poor Andre, though he offered them almost any 
 amount of money and goods, they would not let him 
 go. But they knew better than to let a British 
 soldier on " special business " slip by ; so they forced 
 him to dismount, and, in searching him, found hidden 
 in his stocking the tell-tale papers. " Why, this man's a 
 spy ! " cried Paulding ; and with no further words, they 
 took him to the nearest camp, where the papers were 
 read, and then word was sent to General Washington. 
 
 That next morning, the twenty-fifth of Sejitember, 
 1780, the General was about sitting down to his break- 
 fast with Arnold when the news arrived that the traitor 
 Andre had been captured. Hastily excusing himself, 
 Arnold mounted his horse, rode swiftly to the river's 
 bank, jumped into his boat which was in waiting for 
 him, and rowed to the English vessel lying in the 
 stream. In an hour he was under the protection of the 
 British army, thus escaping the punishment his crime so 
 richly merited. 
 
•H ASHINOTON'S llEADQUAIilEKS, AT NEWBUKGII 
 
 EVACUATION DAY. 
 
 But the war was drawing to a close. Only a 
 year after Arnold's attempted treachery, six thousand 
 brave Frenchmen joined Washington's forces on the 
 Hudson ; and while Sir Henry Clinton was busying 
 himself in New York preparing a warm reception 
 
 151 
 
TOWKU Of VlCTORi' AT NKWBUKGU 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 153 
 
 for the patriots, the patriots quietly marched south, 
 and, in 1781, forced Cornwallis to surrender at York- 
 town. Washington and his army then established 
 themselves at Newburgh, and waited patiently for the 
 announcement of peace and the recall of the British 
 forces. 
 
 By this time the people of England were grow- 
 ing very tired of furnishing means for armies that 
 gained no decisive victories, and which never came 
 back again. The king would have continued the 
 struggle, but his subjects said, " No^ we are tired of 
 war, and we will not waste any more money trying 
 to whip a people who do not know when they are 
 beaten." So, very reluctantly the king's ministers 
 sent dispatches to the British generals, ordering them 
 to return home. It was on the twenty-fifth of 
 November, 1783, that the British evacuated New 
 York. What a glorious sight it was to the long- 
 tried inhabitants when regiment after regiment of 
 red-coats marched through the streets to the wharves, 
 embarking in small boats which were to take them to 
 the ships lying in the stream. And how much 
 more glorious to see the stately ships spread their 
 
154 NEW YORK. 
 
 white wings and sail out of the harbor with all the 
 hated Tories on board ! How the people shouted 
 and cheered ! " A good riddance to King George's 
 tyranny and taxation, and three times three for the 
 Stars and Stripes, and Independence forever ! " They 
 shouted and shouted until the Catskill's themselves 
 took up the echo, and rolled it from peak to peak. 
 
 Only a few days later, on Thursday, the fourth 
 of December, the principal officers of the American 
 army met at Francis tavern to take a final leave of 
 their much loved commander-in-chief ; for now that 
 the war was ended, Washington was going to his 
 own quiet home at Mt. Vernon. 
 
 When they had assembled, General Washington 
 addressed them in a few affectionate words, and 
 closed by saying, " With a heart full of love and 
 gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly 
 wish that your latter days may be as prosperous 
 and happy as your former ones have been glorious 
 and honorable. I can not come to each of you 
 to take my leave, but shall be obliged to you, if each 
 of you will come and take me by the hand." Then 
 General Knox, who stood nearest him, turned and 
 
NEW YORK. 155 
 
 grasped his hand. Washington embraced and kissed 
 him, and in the same manner took leave of the rest 
 of the officers. 
 
 Not a word was spoken. What words could 
 have been as eloquent as the silence which showed 
 how deeply those brave men felt the parting from 
 their distinguished and honored leader ! Leaving the 
 tavern, Washington went at once to the barge which 
 was in waiting, and, waving his hat to the assembled 
 people, bade them a silent farewell as he sailed away. 
 Nor did he dream that in so short a time he would 
 come back to them again, loaded with greater honor 
 than ever, and take his place at the head of a new 
 people and a new nation. The needs of the people 
 wei'e once more to summon him from his quite home, 
 to become the head of that government which his 
 wisdom and bravery had secured to a united country. 
 Not again on the field of battle was he to lead 
 the Continental forces from defeat to victory, but in 
 the halls of Congress and, later, as President of a 
 great republic, was he to guard the liberties of the 
 American people, and so make the United States of 
 Americaj a land of peace, prosperity and progress. 
 
INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 When the Constitution had been adopted, it 
 became the duty and privilege of the people to cast 
 their vote for the first President of the United States. 
 New York had a special interest in this, for Congress 
 had decided that it should be the capital city; and a 
 capital city must, of course, have a Capitol. 
 
 So the old city hall was remodeled, and decorated 
 with the thirteen stars for the thirteen states, with 
 thirteen arrows over the windows, with the American 
 eagle, with olive branches, and with much else besides 
 that I cannot stop to tell you about ; but all of which 
 showed that the building was to be used for national 
 purposes. There was a senate chamber, a hall of 
 representatives, two galleries for spectators, and the 
 apartments were very fine and lofty, with beautiful 
 columns and pillars reaching from floor to ceiling. 
 
 ^Ylly have I told you all this? Because in this 
 
NEW YORK- 
 
 IST 
 
 building, the first Congress under the new Constitution 
 met ; and because on the balcony leading from the 
 senate chamber, George Washington, in the presence 
 of the assembled people, took the oath of office which 
 made him President of the United States. 
 
 But let us follow him a little on his journey from 
 his home in Virginia to the city of New York. 
 Every village and town made haste to do him honor ; 
 crowds of glad and grateful people sped him on his 
 way. In one place they crowned him with laurel, in 
 another thirteen fair young maidens strewed flowers 
 in his pathway and chanted songs in praise of the 
 hero of their country. 
 
 At Elizabethtown Point, Washington was met by 
 a committee of Congress, the Mayor of New York and 
 other officers, and was rowed across to the city in a 
 handsomely decorated barge manned by thirteen pilots 
 in spotless white uniforms. The vessefe in the harbor 
 and the battery in the fort fired a grand salute of 
 thirteen guns, and when all had landed, the Governor 
 of the state, the clergy and the foreign ministers, joined 
 the great procession, and together they marched to 
 the house prepared for the reception of the President. 
 
158 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 All that day there was feasting and joy through- 
 out the city, and in the evening the streets and the 
 houses were ablaze with thp brilliant illumination. 
 
 The first public act of the president-elect was 
 that of taking the oath of office ; and for this, great 
 preparation had been made. On the morning of the 
 thirteenth of April, 1789, every bell in the city pealed 
 merrily forth, and then was hushed and silent, or rang 
 in slower numbers, while the doors of the church were 
 opened and the space within filled by the reverent 
 throng, which came to ask God's blessing upon the 
 new nation and its great leader. At noon the troops 
 paraded before the President's house, and before long 
 the procession was formed. Then, with bands playing 
 and flags flying, Washington was escorted to Federal 
 hall and at once to the senate chamber. 
 
 Here, in the midst of the chosen statesmen of the 
 land, he was received by John Adams, of Massachusetts, 
 who formally introduced him to the representatives of 
 the people, saying : " Sir : The Senate and House of 
 Representatives of the United States are ready to 
 attend you to take the oath required by the constitu- 
 tion, which will be administered by the Chancellor of 
 
UNITED STATES TREASURY BUILDING, NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 Ob this site in Federal Hall, April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath as the first 
 President of the United States of America. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 159 
 
 the State of New York." "I am ready to proceed," 
 was the President's reply. 
 
 So they passed to the balcony overlooking Wall 
 street, and here the grandest sight of all met their 
 eyes ; for the house tops and the windows were filled 
 with richly dressed ladies ; banners and flags floated 
 everywhere ; eager upturned faces thronged the streets 
 below ; and even the little children knew what this 
 holiday meant, and that they were gathered together 
 to do honor to that President who was first and last 
 in the hearts of his countrymen, and the only one who 
 should be unanimously chosen by the nation. 
 
 Then Washington stepped forward to the front of 
 the balcony ; and, attended by the Chancellor of the 
 State and the Secretary of the Senate, he took the 
 solemn oath of office, promising to " preserve, to pro- 
 tect and defend the Constitution of the United States." 
 Then the Chancellor, turning to the assembled multitude, 
 cried in strong, triumphant tones : " Long live George 
 Washington, President of the United States." 
 
 How the people cheered! They shouted till they 
 were hoarse ! Martial music filled the air, cannon 
 thundered and bells were rung ! The city went mad 
 
160 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 with joy ! At night it was one blaze of light ! The 
 great heart of the nation throbbed with a gladness 
 beyond expression. For their government was estab- 
 lished, their leader was chosen, and peace and liberty 
 were proclaimed throughout the land. 
 
 SOGAB HOUSE USED A8 A PRISON IN KEVOLBTIONAET DATS, 
 
FIRST YEARS OF PEACE. 
 
 New York did not long remain the capital city ; 
 but so long as it did, it was very gay, for most of 
 the members of the government made it their home. 
 The President himself was most socially inclined and 
 entertained generously, and Mrs. Washington held 
 receptions on Tuesdays, which were the great social 
 occasions. On these afternoons she was surrounded 
 by quite a little court, over which she presided with 
 all the stately, graceful courtesy of the day. 
 
 Though the city was becoming very English in 
 its fashions and ways, it had not forgotten to make 
 much of New Year's Day, after the good old Dutch 
 custom. In the morning all the high officials and 
 foreign representatives called upon the President, and 
 in the afternoon Mrs. Washington received great 
 numbers of ladies and gentlemen who came to offer 
 her their good wishes. 
 
 Plum and plain cake, tea and coffee were served, 
 
 IGl 
 
162 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 and the evening' was spent in a very social manner. 
 The President enjoyed the day so much that he said : 
 " Whatever changes take place never forget the cordial 
 and cheerful observance of New Year's Day." And 
 the New Yorkers never have forgotten to keep that 
 festival which was so dear to the hearts of the honest 
 burgomasters of New Amsterdam. 
 
 When Philadelphia was chosen as the seat of 
 government, and congress adjourned to hold its session 
 there, the people of New York turned their attention 
 to law and politics, and, best of all, to building up 
 their commerce with other nations. 
 
 From 1790 to 1800, great progress was made 
 throughout the State. The population was nearly 
 doubled ; many new counties were formed by the 
 legislature, and villages and towns began to spring up 
 in all directions. These settlements were made mostly 
 along the large rivers and lakes, and here the farmers 
 raised wonderful crops from the fertile soil. The culti- 
 vated lands in the Mohawk and Genesee valleys, are 
 famous to this day for their richness and fertility. 
 
 In the center of the State most of the produce 
 was taken to market in wagons, for the canals which 
 
NEW YOEK. 
 
 163 
 
 were built to connect the large streams did not entirely 
 answer the purpose. The roads were bad enough to 
 be sure ; few in number and full of ups and downs. 
 No wonder the mails were carried so slowly from one 
 part of the State to the other. However, people did 
 not write many letters then ; postage was high, and 
 perhaps, too, they were not very ready writers. Even 
 when New York city had nearly fifty thousand inhab- 
 itants there were only about a hundred boxes in the 
 post-of&ce, and these were kept in one part of a 
 private house. 
 
 Up to this time education in general had not 
 received much attention. But in 1795, a grand, good 
 work was begun, for the legislature voted to use fifty 
 thousand dollars every year for five years for the 
 benefit of the schools. The counties that wished to 
 have their share of this amount were to raise as much 
 more for the same purpose ; and this they very gladly 
 did, for they were beginning to realize the truth of 
 the old saying, " Knowledge is power." So the 
 schools multiplied and grew ; academies were estab- 
 lished, colleges founded, and an era of real progress 
 entered upon. 
 
164 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Manufacturies were commenced in various parts 
 of the State ; woolen, linen and silk goods were made, 
 iron was mined and worked, and ships were built to 
 coast along shore, or to sail beyond to foreign ports. 
 Within the next few years New York became the 
 proud possessor of a boat which went by steam, a 
 grand canal extending from its western borders to its 
 eastern, and swift iron horses which ran on iron rails, 
 north, south, east and west. But of all these you 
 shall hear later on. 
 
ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 
 
 " The Patriot of Incorruptible Integrity, 
 Tlie Soldier of Approved Valor, 
 The Statesman of Consummate Wisdom." 
 
 This is the tribute to the life and character of 
 this famous statesman and lawyer which one may 
 read on the simple stone which marks his resting 
 place in Trinity Church Yard, in New York City. 
 It is sad to think that party strife could end the 
 life of a man so valuable to his country ; for Alexander 
 Hamilton was one of the chief framers of the Constitu- 
 tion, was Secretary of the Treasury while Washington 
 was Pi'esident, and was also a brave soldier and 
 a great lawyer. 
 
 At the time of his death in 1804, there were 
 two great parties of exactly opposite political views ; 
 Hamilton was the leader of the Federalists, and 
 Aaron Burr, also a noted lawyer, was at the head 
 of the Republicans. Unfortunately these two leaders, 
 
 165 
 
I 
 
 ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 167 
 
 as well as their followers, were not content with 
 making wrong statements and using hard words 
 about the opinions of their opponents, but they 
 must needs descend to bitter personal remarks. 
 
 So it happened that Colonel Burr, who had been 
 defeated in some of his best laid plans, took offence 
 at certain statements he was told Hamilton had 
 made. Several letters passed betweem them, Burr 
 insisting that General Hamilton should retract what 
 he had said. Hamilton would not do this, saying 
 that he could not undertake to give a general denial, 
 but that if Burr Avould mention any one statement, 
 he would then deny or acknowledge it as the case 
 might be. 
 
 Now, in those days, I am sorry to say, it was 
 still customary for men to settle disputes by blood- 
 shed, and no one was very much surprised to know 
 that Colonel Burr had challenged General Hamilton 
 to a duel. This challenge was accepted, and one 
 July morning at sunrise the fatal meeting was held 
 at Hoboken, on the Jersey side of the Hudson. 
 Was Aaron Burr able in after years to put from his mind 
 the memory of the peace and beauty of that fair 
 
168 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 summer's day, which, with ruthless hand, he marred, 
 leaving his enemy wounded and dying in that green field 
 beyond the river? I can not tell; but I do know 
 that with that fatal shot he ended his own career of 
 honor and usefulness, as surely as he took the life of 
 
 THE GKANGE, HAMILTON'S IIOMB. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton, for the people were full of grief 
 for the slain, and indignation for the slayer. 
 
 On the day of the funeral all business ceased; 
 the flags on the shipping drooped idly at half-mast ; 
 men and women trod the streets with sorrowful, down- 
 cast faces, and signs of mourning were seen every- 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 169 
 
 where. To the solemn booming of the minute guns 
 from fort and fleet, the assembled people moved 
 slowly down Bi-oadway to the church where the 
 services were held. 
 
 In strong, well-chosen sentences. Governor Morris, 
 the life-long friend of Hamilton, paid loving tribute 
 to the uprightness of his life, to his wisdom, his 
 valor, and his love of country. Then they sorrow- 
 fully laid him to rest in the quiet graveyard. But 
 as his life was of value to his country, so also was 
 his death ; for party strife was stilled for the time 
 being, and the people realized how cruelly wrong that 
 code of honor was which made it possible for men 
 to murder one another. Even such a sacrifice, the life 
 of Hamilton, the " Patriot, Soldier, and Stateman," 
 was not too great a price to pay to make the people 
 realize that no political ambition, no differences of 
 opinion should put in jeopardy the life of the individual. 
 
KOBBKT FULTON. 
 
FULTON'S FOLLY. 
 
 What a good time all the wiseacres had while 
 Robert Fulton's new vessel was being built in one 
 of the many ship yards ! Could a heavy boat be 
 propelled against wind and tide by the power of 
 steam? Certainly not; what nonsense to say it could 
 be done ! All the idlers and the strangers and the 
 knowing ones who visited the yard said the same 
 thing, and they all thought it very bright and witty 
 to call the new invention, " Fulton's Folly." But Fulton 
 believed too fully in his plans to be entirely dis- 
 couraged ; steam would win he thought, if only a 
 fair trial could be made. 
 
 The eventful day came, the eleventh of August, 
 1807, when the Clermont stai'ted on her first trip up 
 the Hudson. Many of Fulton's friends were on board, 
 not one of them confident of success ; and when, after 
 
 171 
 
172 
 
 NEW YOKK. 
 
 proceeding a little way, the steam stopped, every one 
 said, " There, 1 told you so ; it is a foolish scheme ; I 
 wish we were well out of it." 
 
 As Fulton did not know just what the difficulty 
 was, he asked them to wait patiently for only half 
 an hour, promising to give up the voyage at the end 
 of that time if he could not remedy the trouble. 
 In a few minutes he had discovered the cause of 
 the delay ; and, adjusting the machinery, the boat 
 moved on again beyond New York, along the beautiful 
 banks of the Hudson, past villages and towns and 
 fair, green meadows and wooded heights, till Albany, 
 one hundred and fifty miles from their starting point, 
 was safely reached. 
 
 How glad and proud Fulton was ! But even then 
 his guests looked gloomy, and said among themselves, 
 " It is doubtful if this can be done again ; and even 
 if it is, the new invention may not be of any great 
 value." How widely their eyes would have ojjened if 
 they could have looked forward into the future and 
 seen the blue waters of the Hudson dotted with 
 steamboats plying back and forth from landing to 
 landing, or if, with vivid imagination, their thoughts 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 173 
 
 could have foreshadowed the magnificent ocean steamers 
 which now cross the broad Atlantic. But they could 
 not look beyond to these triumphs of man's ingenuity. 
 Indeed, the little Clermont was more than they could 
 understand. 
 
 As you will see, it was not a very imposing 
 looking vessel, nor was it the very first steamboat ; 
 for John Fitch had made one several years before. 
 " Fulton's Folly," so-called, was, however, the first really 
 successful steamboat. After its trial trip, the Clermont 
 was run regularly between New York and Albany ; and 
 as the packet sloop required from four to seven days to 
 make the passage, while by steam it took only thirty- 
 two hours, the new boat did not lack for passengers. 
 
 To Robert Fulton and Robert R. Livingston, who 
 had furnished the necessary funds for building the 
 Clermont, was given the exclusive right to navigate 
 the Hudson by steam. Rival boats were built, how- 
 ever, and before many years there was a regular line 
 of steam packets leaving New York for Albany two 
 or three times a week 
 
 You must remember Robert Fulton ; for to him 
 we owe many important inventions and discoveries ; 
 
174 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 among them the use of torpedoes and torpedo boats 
 in war, and the ferry boats and floating docks. But 
 above all let us remember " Fulton's Folly," the 
 steamboat Clermont, the wonderful success, that added 
 so much to the prosperity of the State in which it 
 had its first trial. 
 
 FIRST FEKBY, LONG ISLAND 
 
THE ERIE CANAL. 
 
 " 'Tis done ; 'tis done ; the mighty chain 
 Which joins bright Erie to the Main, 
 For ages shall perpetuate 
 The glory of our native State." 
 
 When people found that steam could be made so 
 useful, they began to think what a grand thing it 
 would be to connect Albany with Buffalo by means 
 of a great canal. Then all products of the far West 
 could be sent direct from the great lakes to the 
 Atlantic coast, avoiding the long and tedious overland 
 journey. Towns and villages would spring up along 
 its banks, granaries, manufactories and warehouses 
 would be built, and unlimited growth secured by such 
 a wonderful water-way. 
 
 Though many prominent men favored this plan, 
 De Witt Clinton, afterwards Governor of the State, was 
 
 175 
 
176 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 the leading spirit ; and it -was largely due to him that 
 the Erie Canal was successfully completed. On the 
 fourth of July, 1817, the first spadeful of earth for 
 the new venture was dug at Rome, midway between 
 Buffal o and Albany. The people took the greatest 
 interest in the work, contributing time, money, labor 
 and land. A few old grumblers and skeptics said that 
 not even the nation had money enough to build such 
 a great canal ; but the wise ones kept steadily at 
 work and let them talk on. 
 
 In little more than eight years the proposed 
 water-way was completed ; nine millions of dollars 
 had been spent upon it, every cent of which luid 
 been raised 'within the State ! Preparations were 
 made for a grand celebration of the opening of 
 the canal. The people were jubilant ; and well they 
 might be, for eight years is a long time even for 
 so CTeat an undertaking;. 
 
 There was no telegraph there to let the New 
 Yorkers know when the waters of Lake Erie should be 
 allowed to flow into the canal at Buffalo ; so cannons 
 were placed along the banks at intervals of eight or 
 ten miles, and veterans of the war stationed beside 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 177 
 
 them, each strictly charged to fire his piece as soon as 
 the report from his neighbor's gun should be heard. 
 
 At ten o'clock on the morning of the twenty- 
 sixth of October, 1825, water was let into the canal, 
 and a little procession of boats began their journey 
 to New York. In one of them was De Witt Clinton, 
 Governor of the State ; and a very happy man he 
 was indeed that sunny autumn day. As soon as 
 they had started, the guns boomed all along the 
 route until at Sandy Hook the good news was 
 received. Keturn salutes were fired, and the people 
 flocked to the banks of the canal to greet the first 
 travelers on its waters. 
 
 At Rochester, a sentinel in a small boat hailed 
 them with the question, " Who comes there ? " " Your 
 brothers from the West on the waters of the Great 
 Lakes," was the reply. " By what means have they 
 been diverted so far from their natural course ? " 
 " Through the channel of the Grand Erie Canal." 
 " By whose authority and by whom was a work of 
 such magnitude accomplished?" "By the authority 
 and by the enterprise of the people of the State of 
 New York." True enough, how else could that great 
 
178 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 work have been accomplished. Passing Rochester the 
 boats kept on to Albany, where there were feasting, 
 and fireworks, and speeches, and congratulations. On 
 the fourth of November, New York was reached; and 
 here the real celebration was held. The steamer, 
 
 Washington, having on board many city and State 
 officials, came along side, and the question was asked, 
 " Where are you from and whither bound ? " " From 
 Lake Erie and bound for Sandy Hook," was the answer. 
 A few hours later hundreds of vessels formed 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 179 
 
 in line and moved out to sea. Such a brilliant 
 procession, each boat covered from stem to stern with 
 bright banners and gay flags ! Guns thundered salutes 
 from the forts and from the British frigates lying in 
 the harbor, and the bands played merry airs. When 
 Sandy Hook was reached Governor Clinton took a 
 keg of lake water, which had been brought from 
 Buffalo, and poured its contents into the sea, wedding 
 the lake with the ocean. He also made a little speech, 
 in which he commended the wisdom, public spirit and 
 energy of the people, and asked God's blessing upon 
 the great work they had accomplished. Then all 
 returned to the city to take part in the procession 
 on land, which was a very grand affair indeed. In 
 the evening there were fireworks and illuminations of 
 some of the principal buildings. 
 
 So the Erie Canal was formally opened, and traffic 
 upon it commenced. This wonderful water-way has 
 proved an untold blessing to the State; and though 
 the railways have easily distanced it as a means of 
 transportation, still thousands of thousands of dollars 
 worth of freight are towed along its waters from city 
 to city, every year. 
 
WAR OF 1812. 
 
 " Maj our bannered stars as ever 
 Splendidly o'er freeman burn, 
 Till the night of war is over, 
 Till the dawn of peace return." 
 
 Just in the midst of the peaceful pursuits in which 
 the people of the States were engaged, war was declared 
 with Great Britain. This was the war which is always 
 spoken of as the War of 1812. Since the Revolution, 
 England has not shown a really friendly spirit ; she had 
 secretly encouraged the Indians in the North-west to 
 make war upon the border settlements of the United 
 States, and out at sea she had claimed the right to 
 search American vessels for deserters from her own 
 navy. 
 
 • If an English ship was a little short of hands, her 
 captain was very apt to think that some sailor belonging 
 to an American crew ought to be under the British flag, 
 
 ISO 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 181 
 
 and accordingly with or without his consent, the unfort- 
 unate American sailor would he made to change vessels. 
 Our government attempted to settle the matter with 
 Great Britain in a peaceable manner, but England 
 simply would not give up her old custom of boarding 
 jther nations' vessels and taking their seamen. So 
 it last the United States decided to uphold its rights by 
 force of arms. 
 
 Now, though the war lasted less than three years, very 
 many battles were fought both within and without the 
 State of New York, many lives were lost, and a very 
 great deal of money was spent before peace was secured. 
 Though war is an event so greatly to be dreaded, it 
 sometimes happens that even in the midst of it an 
 amusing incident will happen. 
 
 Just look on your map along the northern part of 
 Lake Ontario for Sacket's Harbor. Much happened in 
 this vicinity while the English forces by land and water 
 were endeavoring to invade the state. One July 
 morning, in 1812, five British vessels entered the harbor. 
 Only one American ship was there, and of course it was 
 in great danger of being captured ; and so, as her 
 commander could not pass the British, he made prepara- 
 
182 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 tioiis to fight. His ship was so stationed that her 
 broadside of nine guns might be brouglit to bear on the 
 enemy. The other guns were loaded and placed in the 
 battery, but even with these there were only seven 
 cannon on shore with which to defend the harbor. 
 
 There was, however, (>ne other gun, a thirty-two 
 pounder, that for a long time had lain harmlessly in the 
 mud, but had finally been mounted and after a fashion 
 made ready for use. The gun had been named the 
 " Old Sow," and no one thought it could do much 
 execution. Finally, after firing had been kept up for an 
 hour or two, the ships standing on and off, a thirty-two 
 pound ball came over the blufi^, jiloughing a deep furrow 
 in the earth. One of the officers who was standing by, 
 ran and picked it up, and carrying it to Captain 
 Vaughn, Avho was in command of the " Old Sow," 
 exclaimed: " I've been playing ball with the red-coats, 
 and have caught 'em out. See if the British can catch 
 back again." 
 
 Oddly enough the ball exactly fitted the old 
 cannon; so the gun was loaded and aimed at the ''Royal 
 George," which was just drawing near. Bang went the 
 big gun ! With a sounding crash the British cannon 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 183 
 
 ball struck the British ship fairly on the stern, racking 
 her deck completely, sending splinters of wood in all 
 directions, killing fourteen men outright and wounding 
 many more. The flag-ship had already been greatly 
 damaged and two other vessels severely injured ; and 
 with this final shot, the little fleet concluded that 
 it had had enough of playing ball with the Americans, 
 and shortly sailed out from the harbor into the lake. 
 The band on the shore played "Yankee Doodle," 
 and the soldiers and the citizens cheered the retiring 
 foe. 
 
 Although previous to the war of 1812 the United 
 States had many merchantmen trading from port to 
 port, she had no navy. Now there was great need of 
 one. In the fall of 1812, four ship carpenters were 
 sent to Sackett's Harbor to refit vessels of every descrip- 
 tion and make them ready to do battle for the Union. 
 Before long there was quite a respectable little American 
 fleet upon the waters of the lake. On the ocean, too, 
 the little navy, numbering not quite a score of vessels, 
 was doing valiant work, winning victory after victory 
 for the American cause against the superior numbers 
 and equipments of the British war-ships. So the war 
 
184 
 
 NKW YORK. 
 
 went on for two years more, on ocean and lake, and all 
 along the northern border and at many southern points 
 also. 
 
 The little villages of Buffalo and Black Rock, on 
 the shore of Lake Erie, were burned. Oswego was 
 sacked, and the same fate befell Ogdensburg on the St. 
 Lawrence. On Lake Champlain there were many 
 stirring scenes. Early in September, 1814, while the 
 British forces near Plattsburg were attempting to drive 
 back the Americans on land, the British naval force 
 appeared at the entrance of the bay, and on the 
 morning of the eleventh opened fire upon the American 
 squadron, which was commanded by Captain Thomas 
 McDonough. McDonough was a young man of only 
 thirty-one, but brave as a lion, and a sincere Christian. 
 When his ship was cleared for action he called his 
 officers about h im and, kneeling' upon the deck, invoked 
 God's help in the coming struggle. 
 
 For two hours and a half the great guns thundered 
 over the lake ; at last the battle was ended, and a 
 complete victory had been won by the Americans. Dur- 
 ing the battle a young game-cock, which the sailors had 
 brought on board the " Saratoga," flew up in the rigging 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 185 
 
 and there flapped its wings and crowed most lustily. 
 After the war was over, some rliymster wrote the story 
 of the battle in this comical verse : 
 
 " 0, Johnny Bull, my Joe, John, 
 
 Behold on Lake Champlain, 
 With more than equal force, John, 
 
 You tried your fist again ; 
 But the cock saw how 'twas going, John, 
 
 And cried ' cock-a-doodle-do.' 
 And McDonough was victorious, John, 
 
 0, Johnny Bull, my Joe." 
 
 During the latter part of 1814, it was greatly 
 feared that the British fleet would attack New York City ; 
 so the people patriotically left their workshops and went 
 to work building fortifications on Long Island. The 
 school-teachers locked their school-room doors, the 
 scholars left their books, and all went to help build the 
 breast-works ; and some of the small boys who could not 
 handle the heavy shovels the men used, carried earth on 
 shingles — for every little counted. 
 
186 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 " Johnny Bull, beware ! 
 
 Keep at your proper distance ; 
 Else we'll make you stare 
 At our firm resistance. 
 
 Let alone the lads 
 
 Who are freedom tasting. 
 
 Recollect our dads 
 
 Gave you once a basting. 
 
 Pickaxe, shovel, spade, 
 Crowbar, hoe and barrow. 
 
 Better not invade ; 
 
 Yankees have the marrow." 
 
 The British took the warning and, after all, did not 
 attack New York. Many more battles, however, were 
 fought in other parts of the country before the treaty of 
 peace was agreed u^jon at Ghent, in Belgium. The 
 treaty was made on the tsventy-fourth of December, 1814, 
 and later ratified by the two governments. 
 
 Then indeed the war of 1812 was ended ; the last 
 war, let us hope, we shall ever have with England. 
 
WEST POINT MILITARY ACADEMY. 
 
 What a very long name to read, or to write, or to 
 spell. That is what every one thinks ; so everyone is glad 
 to shorten it, and to call this school for soldiers simply 
 West Point. 
 
 You have heard of West Point before — of how a 
 fortress was built there in the Revolution, and how its 
 one-time commander, Benedict Arnold, tried to deliver 
 it into the hands of the British. 
 
 Washington thought from the first that this com- 
 manding situation would be an excellent spot for a 
 military academy ; and in his message to Congress, in 
 1783, he recommended that one should be built. 
 Little was done, however, until the beginning of the 
 second war with England showed the government the 
 necessity of having a school where the science of war 
 could be taught, and young men fitted to take command 
 in the regular army. 
 
 But more than all this, West Point was meant to 
 
 187 
 
188 
 
 NEW YOKK. 
 
 be, and is, a place where its pupils, the cadets, not only 
 learn to be soldiers, but also receive a good general 
 education ; their studies are many, and during the four 
 years they remain at the academy they are kept busily 
 at work. No boy is allowed to enter who is not well 
 and strong in every way, and over sixteen years of age ; 
 and every boy who is admitted, is obliged to promise to 
 serve in the United States army four years after he 
 graduates from the school. Not that the boys ought to 
 mind that; for that is just what they go to West Point 
 for, — to be made into good soldiers, and to be fitted to 
 take part in defending their country's flag. 
 
 The academy is situated in the midst of the most 
 beautiful grounds imaginable, Avith quiet, shady walks, 
 pleasant, well-kept gardens, little springs and bubbling 
 fountains ; and from every point lovely views can be 
 had of the picturesque Hudson and the surrounding 
 hills and villages. One narrow path, over-hung with 
 boughs and shrubbery, leads down to Kos-ci-us-ko's 
 Garden — a favorite place for ramblers to visit ; and to 
 rest in. 
 
 Thaddeus Kos-ci-us-co was a young Polish officer 
 who came to America to take part in the Revolution. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 189 
 
 He brought letters of introduction to Washington, who 
 asked him : " What do you seek here ? " "I came to 
 fight as a volunteer for American independence," 
 replied the young Pole. " What can you do? " 
 Washington asked. " Try me," said Kos-ci-us-ko. 
 Washington was pleased with his prompt replies, and 
 kept him among his officers ; later on Congress made 
 him engineer, with the rank of colonel. It was this 
 brave Polish officer who planned Fort Clinton, and 
 superintended its building in the spring of 1778. 
 Within the ruins of the old fort the cadets have erected 
 a beautiful marble monument to his memory. 
 
 In summer. West Point is a very fashionable resort; 
 the cadets go into camp there as a relief from their long 
 winter's work, and the nearby hotels are crowded with an 
 endless throng of guests, who find this part of the 
 Hudson very attractive. And so it is ; and perhaps 
 when you grow older you may visit it yourselves, oi 
 perhaps some of the very lads who read this story may 
 wear the cadet's uniform, and fit themselves, at this 
 famous military school, for patriotic service in the 
 United States Army. 
 
LEGEND OF THE CATSKILL FALLS. 
 
 In the days of long ago, when the Mohawks were a 
 great and powerful tribe, an old chief wandering apart 
 from his braves, came suddenly upon the sleeping form 
 of a beautiful white maiden, with eyes blue as the violets, 
 and hair golden as the sun. 
 
 Gently awakening her, he led her to his warriors, 
 and told them that surely this must be a special gift 
 from the Great Spirit. So they took her to their 
 wigwams and treated her with the greatest reverence ; 
 but they could not understand the language she spoke, 
 nor could she understand theirs. When the old chief 
 found her she was clothed all in white ; and because of 
 this, and because she was so fair, the Mohawks called 
 her the White Maiden. 
 
 Now, not many miles from the wigwams of the 
 tribe, along the mountain side and among the ledges of 
 the rocks was a cavern, and here they carried her every 
 year to spend days and weeks alone, that she might con- 
 
 190 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 191 
 
 verse with the Great Spirit, by whose wonder-working 
 she had come to them. 
 
 Ah, how lonely it was for the White Maiden in 
 the cave of hills, with only the twittering birds for 
 companions, and the flowers and grasses nodding 
 silently to each other ! How she watched the fleecy 
 white clouds overhead, and wished she might drift with 
 them far away to sunset land ! 
 
 But one glad sunny day a young brave, hunting 
 far from his own people chanced to see her, and, lightly 
 leaping down the steep side of the mountain, came to 
 bear her company, and while away the long hours with 
 stories of his own tribe and his own powers in the 
 chase. 
 
 Year after year he found her out and comforted 
 her loneliness till she learned to look forward to the 
 weeks of banishment in the deep cleft of the rocks. At 
 last she agreed to go with him over the hills and 
 through the woods and valleys to his own people ; yet 
 still they lingered, lingered until, alas, the White 
 Maiden heard the shouts of the coming Mohawks. 
 
 On the steep crags below, the young brave was 
 gathering the wind-blown flowers that she loved. How 
 
192 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 should she warn him in time for him to escape? With 
 light and fearless step she sprang from ledge to ledge ; 
 down, down the rugged side of the mountain till she 
 could go no farther ; higher, steeper cliffs still remaining. 
 Glancing back at her pursuers she hesitated but a 
 moment, then, with her streaming hair floating about 
 her like a golden cloud, and her white garments 
 swaying in the breeze, she leaped toward the cruel rocks 
 below. 
 
 Then before the eyes of the Mohawks a miracle 
 was wrought. As the White Maiden sprang into the 
 air, water gushed from the rocks above, and, falling, 
 enveloped her in clouds of spray ; and in the midst she 
 was borne away by the Great Spirit, never more to 
 ofladden the hearts of the red men. 
 
 CD 
 
 And to this day the waters foam from ledge to 
 ledge, and shower their diamonds on leaf and twig, and 
 those who visit the mountain torrents say : " Why, yes. 
 these are the Catskill Falls." But we are wiser ; we 
 know that the hurrying waters are the veil of the White 
 Maiden, who once lived in the wigwams of the Mohawk, 
 in the days of long ago. 
 
NEW YORK IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Strike, for that broad and goodly land, 
 Blow after blow, till men shall see 
 
 That Might and Right move hand in hand, 
 And glorious must their triumph be ! 
 
 — William Cidlen Bryant. 
 
 When the trouble between the North and South 
 grew so serious that war threatened, there were business 
 people in New York who were most anxious for peace 5 
 for war meant to them the loss of a great deal of 
 capital which they had invested in trade with the South. 
 These thought that almost any compromise would be 
 wiser than to engage in open war, while others were 
 determined to preserve the Union at all hazards. 
 
 When, however. Fort Sumter was fired upon — the 
 twelfth of April, 1861, — all loyal men and women were 
 of one mind ; and when President Lincoln issued a 
 call for men and arms to suppress the rebellion. New 
 York furnished, in little more than two months, not 
 
 193 
 
194 NKW YORK. 
 
 seventeen regiments which was licr sliare, hut foity- 
 eight ; and on the first of 'Tnly lier troops in the 
 fiehl nnnibered forty-six tlionsand seven liundred. 
 
 All throngli the first years of the war New York 
 gave men and money with patriotic enthusiasm and 
 liberality ; her loyal women originated the Sanitary 
 Commission, and collected and contributed delicacies 
 for the sick and wounded soldiers, lint and bandages 
 and other supplies for tlie hospital, and clothing for 
 the men at the front. 
 
 But there came a time when even these brave 
 men and women felt as if there was to be no end to 
 the demand made upon the people. New York had 
 already borne more than her share of the burden when, 
 in May, 1863, a draft of 300,000 men was ordered. 
 
 This was just the chance the Pettce Party had 
 been looking for. They had never favored the war, 
 and had hindered the enlistment of soldiers as ranch as 
 they covdd. They now denounced the new call for men, 
 and tried to make the people believe that the 
 government was exceeding its authority. 
 
 July 13, 1863, the draft began in New York 
 city. At first all went quietly, but soon a large and 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 195 
 
 determined crowd gathered about the building where 
 it was held, drove out the men in charge, and set 
 the place on fire. This was the beginning of a 
 terrible scene of bloodshed and violence which lasted 
 three days. 
 
 The Colored Orphan Asylum was burned to the 
 ground, and colored men and women were chased 
 through the streets and beaten, and even hanged to 
 the nearest lamp-post. The police were powerless 
 to quell the outbreak, and only by the aid of the 
 loyal citizens, and the small military force which 
 remained in the city, was any control over the rioters 
 obtained. In fact, the Secretary of War had to order 
 the New York troops to return to the city ; but by 
 the time they had reached there the worst of the 
 trouble was over. In three short days two millions 
 of dollars worth of property had been destroyed, and 
 a thousand persons killed or wounded, and a great 
 number of stores and dwellings burned, or sacked and 
 plundered. 
 
 Altogether this was one of the saddest incidents 
 happening in the State during the Civil War. But 
 you must not forget that, after all, it was the act 
 
NEW YOKK. 
 
 of only a small portion o£ the people, and that the 
 State as a whole did noble service in every way for 
 the cause the North believed to be right, and for 
 which it paid so great a price. 
 
 It was from this State that there went the brave 
 regiment of young men, led by Col. Ephraim Ellsworth. 
 Ellsworth was a handsome, daring youth, and 
 his regiment was as brave as he. It was a beautiful 
 sight when these brave defenders niarclied down 
 Broadway in their uniforms of red and blue and 
 yellow — the New York Zouaves they were called — 
 and out from the city. New York was justly proud 
 of her boys, and when the young leader fell, all tlie 
 country mourned with the State that had sent him 
 to the front. 
 
 And when the war was over, no State was more 
 glad ; in no State was there greater and grander 
 demonstration of joy over victory ; nor Avas there any 
 State that could claim greater right to rejoice than 
 brave old New York, who had given — and let us 
 never forget it — not only as many soldiers as the 
 government demanded, but thousands upon thousands 
 more. 
 
SOME OF NEW YORK'S GREAT MEN. 
 
 IRVING AND COOPER. 
 
 But you have now heard so many stories o£ war 
 that perhaps you will like t;) read something of the 
 times of peace ; and so, in closing, let us just glance at 
 some of New York's great men and scenes of prosperity. 
 
 In all these years great changes were going on in 
 the government, the commerce, and the general devel- 
 opment of the state, and especially in the minds of 
 the people. Never before had so much attention been 
 paid to multiplying and improving the schools, and 
 to encouraging the literary men of the day to do their 
 best ; for the public now began to take a great interest 
 in the new journals, newspapers, and books, that 
 appeared; and to realize that right in their own midst 
 were men, and women too, whose writings would form 
 the foundations of American literature. 
 
 Among her earliest writers Avas Washington 
 
 Irving, who was born in 1783, and who lived to be 
 
 19 r 
 
WASHINGTON IBVIKG. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 199 
 
 more than seventy-six years old. Of all her many 
 men of genius, New York is particularly proud of 
 Irving, because his name and fame can never be 
 separated from the State he loved so well, and which 
 he wrote about in his own tender, merry fashion. 
 
 You have all heard the story of Rip Van Winkle, 
 and of how he wandered ofE amono; the mountains 
 with his faithful dog and gun, and was led by a queer, 
 little old man to an equally queer company of quaintly 
 dressed Dutchmen, who were playing ninepins in a 
 hollow of the mountains ; how Rip drank all too deeply 
 of the wine they offered him, and finally went to sleep 
 to find, when he woke up, that twenty years had passed, 
 and that all the world was new and strange to him. 
 And all this happened among the Catskills, beyond 
 the banks of the Hudson, aTid is only one of the 
 many marvellous tales Irving knew so well how to tell. 
 
 Then there is his Knickerbocker's History of 
 New York ; such a comical story of the way the Dutch 
 lived and ruled in New Amsterdam. You will want 
 to read it for yourself some day, I am sure. But 
 Irving wrote of other lands than ours, stories of old 
 England and sunny Spain, and more than one book 
 
200 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 about the great voyager and discoverer, Christopher 
 Columbus. 
 
 Although our noted writer spent a great many 
 
 StTNNYSIDE. 
 
 years abroad, he had a very lovely home on the Hudson, 
 not far from Tarrytown. This home he called Sunny- 
 side ; and here he lived and worked during the latter 
 part of his life ; and near here he was buried, in a 
 quiet and peaceful spot beside the old Dutch church 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 201 
 
 in Sleepy Hollow. Just as soon as the first sweet flowers 
 of spring gladden the hearts of the children, the fragrant 
 blossoms are laid upon Irving's grave ; and every year 
 many go on pilgrimages to the last resting-place of 
 this man of genius, — the first American writer whose 
 works received due recognition abroad. 
 
 But there is one other author of whom we must 
 make special mention and that one is James Fenimore 
 Cooper ; for although he was born in New Jersey 
 (1789), he was brought to New York while still 
 a baby, and lived and died in the State he made 
 so widely known by his famous tales of life among 
 the Indians and the trappers. Everyone who reads 
 them will learn how beautiful were the forest glens, 
 the lakes and streams of the wilderness, and what 
 exciting adventures and thrilling escapes befell those 
 pioneers who braved the dangers of encountering the 
 wild animals and the hostile red-men. But Cooper 
 wrote stories of the sea as well as of the land ; and 
 perhaps it will be hard work for the boys to tell which 
 they like best. 
 
 Irving and Cooper are, of course, only two of 
 the many, many writers whom New York can claim. 
 
JAMES fENIMOBE COOFEB. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 203 
 
 There are noted authors of. poetry, biography, history 
 and science ; but these I have told you of are, perhaps, 
 the most famous of the writers of fiction, and their 
 stories will be the very first ones you will want to 
 read for yourselves. 
 
 THE OLD FEKRI HOLSE, BKOOKI>VN, 1791. 
 
TRADING WITH THE INDIANS 
 
JOHN JACOB ASTOR. 
 
 New York - has had, too, great business men. 
 There is John Jacob Astor for one. When this man — 
 a mere lad — left his home near the Rhine in Germany, 
 his old schoolmaster said : " I am not afraid of Jacob, 
 he'll get through the world. He has a clear head, and 
 everything right behind the ears." Young Astor was 
 then seventeen years old, stout and strong, and full of 
 courage, and determined to make his way in the 
 new country called America. Before he set out on his 
 travels he made three very good resolutions : to be 
 honest, to be industrious, and not to gamble. 
 
 On the voyage to Baltimore, in 1783, he became 
 acquainted with one of the passengers, who advised him 
 to go into the fur business in New York, telling him 
 that even with a basket of toys, or cakes, he could trade 
 with the Indians, who brought all sorts of skins to the 
 city ; he could sell these to the dealers in furs. 
 
 205 
 
NEW YOKK. 
 
 This young Astor decided to do, and very shrewd 
 bargains did he drive with the keen-witted red-men, who 
 found their match in the hid from across the waters. 
 When he had thoroughly learned the fur trade he made 
 trips to Canada, sometimes walking through the wilder- 
 ness, with his pack upon his back, sometimes gliding 
 over the great lakes in a birch bark canoe. 
 
 By and by, John Jacob opened a little shop for 
 himself ; for he had the greatest confidence in his own 
 powers. "Some day," he once said, as he saw some fine 
 new houses on Broadway, " I will build a greater house 
 than any of these, and in this very street;" and so he 
 did, a perfect palace, still called the Astor House. 
 
 In the little shop on Water Street was the 
 beginning of the great fur trade Astor built up ; but 
 he made the greater part of his wealth by buying land. 
 
 Once he sold a lot near Wall Street for eight 
 thousand dollars, which was less than its real value. 
 The purchaser rather chuckled over his good bargain 
 and said : " Why, Mr. Astor, in a few years this lot will 
 be worth twelve thousand dollars." " Very true," 
 replied Astor, " but now you shall see what I will do 
 •with this money. With this eight thousand dollars I 
 
NEW YORK, 
 
 207 
 
 •will buy eighty lots above Canal Street. By the time 
 your lot is worth twelve thousand dollars, my eighty 
 lots will be worth eighty thousand dollars." And this 
 was what really came to pass. 
 
 This was being far-sighted indeed, and I think he 
 showed himself equally so when he established a long 
 line of trading posts, reaching from St. Louis to the 
 Pacific coast, and there sent the furs, which were 
 p-athered tosrether at the different stations, across the 
 Pacific Ocean to China. The ships which carried them 
 came back to their owner deeply laden with tea and 
 spices, and rich silks. 
 
 When the merchant prince, as he has been called, 
 died, he left a large sum of money with which to build 
 a library, which should be free to all. This home 
 for books is called the Astor Library ; and if you should 
 ever see it, and also see that other imposing building 
 the Astor House, I think you would be likely to 
 remember something at least about the man who built 
 them. 
 
PETER COOPER. 
 
 Do you know what the Cooper Institute is ? It 
 is one of the most noted buildings in New York City, 
 where thousands of pupils have been instructed in many 
 very practical branches of the arts and sciences, and all 
 through the generosity of one good and great man — 
 Peter Cooper. 
 
 Peter Cooper began life as a poor hoy, just as so 
 many of our great men before and since his day have 
 made their start in the world ; like them, too, Peter, was 
 honest, industrious and tlirlftij. Do not forget the last 
 word, for it is the penny saved, as well as the penny 
 earned, that puts money into a boy's pocket. 
 
 Peter was the son of a hatter, and could make a 
 good beaver hat himself before he was fifteen years old. 
 Afterward he became a carriage-maker, and later on 
 an inventor. But by and by, after the war of 1812 
 was ended, he kept a grocery, just where the Cooper 
 Institute now stands. 
 
 One day a friend came to him and said : " I have 
 been building a glue-factory for my son, but I do not 
 
I'ETKK COOPER 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 209 
 
 think either of us can make it pay. But you are the 
 very man to do so." " I'll go and see it," said Peter 
 Cooper. So he did, and as he liked the looks of it, he 
 bought it then and there, and went to work manufact- 
 uring glue : — not any kind of glue, but the very best 
 glue he could find out how to make. 
 
 In the morning he made glue, and in the afternoon 
 he drove round the city selling it, and seeking new 
 customers. By twenty years of faithful work he 
 established a fine business, and the money it brought 
 him he carefully invested. So he prospered, and 
 planned to spend his earnings in building a large school 
 for the benefit of young men who wished to become 
 trained workers. Was not this a generous ambition ? 
 
 At last his plan was carried out ; the Institute was 
 built, and Mr. Cooper spent in all two millions of 
 dollars in this grand gift to our State and country. 
 And when at the ripe old age of ninety-two his familiar 
 face ceased to be seen in the city he had enriched, 
 many grateful hearts bore witness to the true success he 
 had won in living for others, and in making for 
 himself an honored name by the wise use of the wealth 
 he had acquired. 
 
HOBA.CE OBEEIiEY. 
 
HORACE GREELEY. 
 
 When Horace Greeley first set foot in New York 
 City, in 1831, he was a very queer looking object indeed. 
 He was tall and very thin, and his clothes were 
 altogether too small. Then, too, he appeared awkward 
 because he was bashful. Though he had no letter of 
 recommendation, he had that best recommendation of all 
 to a business man, that he knew his trade thoroughly 
 and well. But the question was who would give him a 
 trial ? 
 
 All that first day and the next one too, he wandered 
 about the streets, going from one printing-office to 
 another and repeating the same question : " Do you want 
 a hand ? " And everywhere he got the same discouraging 
 reply : " No, we do not." At one place the owner 
 looked him over severely and said, " My opinion is, 
 young man, that you're a runaway apprentice, and you'd 
 better go home to your master." Horace tried to 
 explain, but the proprietor hastily replied, " Be off about 
 your business, and do not bother me." The next day 
 was Sunday, and the weary, but hopeful lad walked 
 
 2U 
 
212 
 
 NEW YOKK. 
 
 three miles to church, and afterwards said that he had 
 never enjoyed a service more in his life. 
 
 Monday morning, bright and early, he went to 
 " West's Printing-Office, " where he had heard that 
 more help was needed. The office was not yet open ; so 
 he sat down on the stejjs to wait. Pretty soon one of 
 the men employed there came along, and sat down 
 beside him, and as they chatted became quite interested 
 in Horace, for he found that they were both from the 
 same State. 
 
 Through the kindness of this new friend, the fore- 
 man gave young Greeley a chance, though he evidently 
 thought he would not amount to much ; but when the 
 first day's work was ended, and Horace showed what he 
 had accomplished, it was found that his work was the 
 best, both as to quality and quantity, that had yet been 
 done. 
 
 Thus Horace Greeley made his beginning in the 
 great city of New York. He was industrious, temperate 
 and thrifty. He did not waste his health, his time nor 
 his money ; and when in after years, his plan of starting 
 a one cent daily paper, called the IVUnuw, proved to be 
 a great success, I think his untiring efforts showed that 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 213 
 
 he fairly deserved the prosperity which now came to 
 him. 
 
 Among the noted names in journahsm, Horace 
 Greeley's will always have a distinguished place ; but in 
 his active, busy life he found it only too true that 
 success is not always a bed of roses, and that thorns are 
 everywhere. Though he made many friends, he also 
 made a great many enemies ; for enemies are something 
 that no man who edits a paper can hope to escape. 
 
 BBOOKLYN BBIDGE. 
 
JAMES GORDON BENNETT. 
 
 When James Gordon Bennett started the New York 
 Herald, he was nearly forty years old, an age when 
 most men who attain success have already reached it. 
 But Bennett was still struffo-lino- alonsf with 
 perseverance and pluck enough, but with almost no 
 money or credit. 
 
 Where do you suppose the Herald was first made 
 ready for the public ? In a place anything like the fine 
 building it occupies to-day ? No, indeed ; not even in 
 the most ordinary looking office you ever saw, but in a 
 dingy little cellar on Nassau Street, where the sun could 
 not find its way in, and where the shadows stayed all 
 day long. 
 
 And such furniture as the place boasted of I 
 Why, we can hardly call it by such a big name as 
 furniture. J ust a common chair placed in front of a 
 wide pine board, supported at either end by an empty 
 flour barrel. That was all ; nothing else in the place 
 except the owner, the future capitalist, James Gordon 
 Bennett. 
 
 214 
 
NEW YOEK. 
 
 216 
 
 From such small beginnings came great results. 
 After the first year of anxious, poorly paid work, Bennett 
 could really feel sure that his paper was going to be a 
 success. At first he had to be office-boy, clerk, reporter, 
 book-keeper, and editor all in one, and yet when he died 
 in 1872 at the age of seventy-five years, he had the 
 greatest fortune which had ever been earned in this 
 country, — at least by a newspaper. 
 
 The Tribune which Mr. Greeley published, was 
 from the beginning opposed to the Herald which Mr. 
 Bennett issued, and yet these men once came very near 
 being partners ; for when Mr. Bennett was looking for a 
 printer to set type for his proposed paper, he went to 
 Mr. Greeley and asked him to join him in his plan. 
 
 But Horace Greeley thought that the would-be 
 publisher had not money enough to make the newspaper 
 a success ; so he refused his request. Perhaps the 
 Herald would not have succeeded as soon as it did, but 
 for the fact that a patent medicine man from England 
 gave Bennett the chance to advertise the pills he sold, 
 and agreed to pay him a certain sum of money every 
 week for doing so. This money was a wonderful help 
 and encouragement. 
 
216 
 
 NKW VOKK. 
 
 I think you will see from these stories about 
 Horace Greeley, the Yankee, and James Gordon Jiennett, 
 the Scotchman, that their success was really secured by 
 honest, faithful work, temperate living, and patient 
 waiting for results. Of course they were men of great 
 talents ; but remember they did not waste them, nor let 
 them lie idle ; but instead bent all their energies toward 
 making every talent help them in winning honorable 
 positions in the great world. 
 
 Let us be proud of our great workers who have 
 each made something of value to our State, and so to the 
 world ; whether that something be a newspaper, a book, a 
 library or a school. And let us not forget that it is for 
 us to strive to do as well as they have done, and as 
 much better as we have the strength, the courage, and 
 the ability. 
 
 \ 
 
HENRY WARD BEECHER. 
 
 Many of you, I am sure, have heard of the famous 
 clergyman, Henry Ward Beeoher, who for years and 
 years delighted the people of our State with his eloquence. 
 Perhaps you think I am going to tell you what some of 
 his sermons were about. No, I am not going to do 
 that, though young folks and old both were always 
 interested in his earnest words. I am going to tell 
 you about when he was a boy, the merriest, joUiest 
 lad you ever met, full of fun and mischief, and much 
 looked up to by all the other boys. 
 
 One day they had a game of " Follow my Leader," 
 and Henry was leader. Olf they started, fifteen or twenty 
 of them, in full chase ; up one street and down another, 
 over the fences and through the alleys, and everywhere 
 you can think of, till half of them for sheer lack of 
 breath had to stop running. Henry looked back and 
 saw eight or nine still following hard after him. How 
 should he shake them off? 
 
 Not far away there was a brick house building^ 
 and only the floor joists had been laid. So in he ran 
 along the joists to the back of the house, where he 
 swung himself down by a rope and dashed through a 
 
 217 
 
218 
 
 NEW YOKK. 
 
 large bed of mortar which was standmg there ready 
 for the workmen to use. Five boys came out on the 
 other side, — a very sorry looking five. 
 
 But away they went after Henry, who ran through 
 a near-by shop, in at one door and out at the other ; 
 then up a steep hill, one side of which had been dug 
 away, so that from the top of the hill to the bottom 
 must have been a distance of twenty feet. Henry 
 hesitated, but the boys were at his heels, and with 
 some misgivings he leaped down, landing on the sand 
 unhurt, but well shaken up. 
 
 Only two boys were now left, and they pluckily 
 refused to be shaken off. But Henry had a happy 
 thought. Not far away were the wharves, and by 
 them lay several vessels. Picking out the largest he 
 clambered over the side, and, running far out on the 
 bowsprit, jumped into the water. Down, down he 
 went, till it seemed as if he never would be able 
 to come to the surface again ; but finally he commenced 
 to rise, and when his head got above the water and 
 he opened his eyes, there to his great joy he beheld 
 the two lads still standing on the bowsprit, afraid 
 to follow after him. Wasn't that an exciting chase? 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 219 
 
 Just one more story about when Henry Ward 
 Beecher was a boy. Not so very long after this famous 
 game of " Follow my Leader," he went to visit the Char- 
 lestown Navy Yard, near Boston. There he saw piles of 
 big black cannon balls, six and twelve pounders, and 
 while he was looking at them he happened to think 
 that he would very much like to have one. 
 
 Now, in the main, he was a good lad, and knew how 
 very wrong it was to take what did not belong to him ; 
 but this time the temptation proved too strong. So 
 he cautiously took one of the balls and tried to put 
 it in his pocket ; but that would not do at all, his 
 prize was far too balky. Finally he put it in his cap, 
 and his cap on his head, which he held very stiffly 
 indeed as he started for tlie gate. 
 
 Oh, how long the way seemed and how heavy 
 that ball grew ! Everyone seemed to be watching 
 him ; but at last he reached the gate and the sentry 
 came marching along. 
 
 In telling the story in after years Mr. Beecher 
 said: "I thought the guard was going to say, '0, you 
 little thief, do you think I do not see through you?' 
 But bless his heart, he only said ' Pass ! ' and I did 
 
220 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 not wait to be told twice. Once safely away from 
 the gate, heart sore and head sore and with my scalp 
 well rolled I made for home, carrying my cap in my 
 hand as soon as I dared.' 
 
 He also said that this experience rolled a good 
 deal of common sense into his head, and I should 
 think it might have done so, shouldn't you ? You 
 may be sure that Henry Ward Beecher as boy and 
 man never did anything like that again, for he was 
 too honest and upright at heart to find much pleasure 
 in taking what did not belong to him. 
 
 'TV* 
 
 But these are very few of the many brave and 
 brilliant men of the Empire State — a whole book could 
 not name them all ; but we must leave them all just 
 here. We know that the State has had a noble history 
 even from its first colonization ; we know it is the 
 richest State, and that its city is known in every mart of 
 the whole world. We know that in the wars of the 
 country it has never failed to do its part right royally > 
 and from this we may reason that in the years to come 
 it will, as it alwaj's has, stand as one of the bravest, 
 strongest States in our noble Union. 
 
NEW YORK. 
 
 But see ! the broadening river deeper flows, 
 Its tribute floods intent to reach the sea, 
 While, from the west, the fading sunlight throws 
 Its softening hues on stream, and field, and tree ; 
 All silent nature bathing, wondrously. 
 In charms that soothe the heart with sweet desires. 
 And thoughts of friends we ne'er again may see, 
 Till lo ! ahead, Manhatta's bristling spires. 
 Above her thousand roofs red with day's dying fires. 
 
 May greet the wanderer of Columbia's shore. 
 Proud Venice of the west ! no lovelier scene. 
 Of thy vast throngs now faintly comes the roar, 
 Though late bke beating ocean suvl:' I ween, — 
 And everywhere thy various barks are seen, 
 Cleaving the limpid floods that round thee flow. 
 Encircled by thy banks of sunny green, — 
 The panting steamer flying to and fro. 
 Or the tall sea-bound ship abroad on wings of snow. 
 
 — Thexidme Sedgwkk Ftiy. 
 
 221 
 
HENDRIK'S PROPHESY 
 
 Flow fair beside the Palisades, flow, Hudson, fair and 
 
 free. 
 
 By ]jroud Manhattan's shore of ships and green 
 Hoboken's tree ; 
 
 So fair yon liaven clasped its isles, in such a sunset 
 gleam. 
 
 When Heudrik and his sea-worn tars first sounded up 
 the stream, 
 
 And climbed this rocky palisade, and resting on its 
 brow. 
 
 Passed round the can and gazed awhile on shore and 
 wave below ; 
 
 And Hendrik drank with hearty cheer, and loudly 
 then cried he : 
 
 " 'Tis a good land to fall in with, men, and a pleasant 
 laud to see ! " 
 
 Then something — ah, 'twas prophecy ! — came glow- 
 ing to his brain : 
 
 He seemed to see the mightier space between the 
 oceans. twain, 
 
 Where other streams by other strands run through 
 
 their forests fair, 
 From bold Missouri's lordly tide to the leafy Delaware ; 
 
NEW YORK. 223 
 
 The Sacramento, too, he saw, with its sands of secret 
 gold. 
 
 And the sea-like Mississippi on its long, long courses 
 rolled ; 
 
 And great thoughts glowed within him ; — " God 
 
 bless the land," cried he ; 
 'Tis a good land to fall in with, men, and a pleasant 
 
 land to see ! 
 
 I see the white sails on the main, along the land T view 
 The forests opening to the light and the bright axe 
 
 flashing through ; 
 I see the cots and the village ways, the churches with 
 
 their spires. 
 
 Where once the Indians camped and danced the 
 
 war-dance, round their fire's ; 
 I see a storm come up the deep, — 'tis hurrying raging, 
 
 o'er 
 
 The darkened fields, — but soon it parts, with a sullen, 
 seaward roar. 
 
 'T is gone ; the heaven smiles out again — ' God loves 
 
 the land,' cried he : 
 'T is a good land to fall in with, men, and a pleasant 
 
 land to see ! ' 
 
 I see the white sails on the main, I see, on all the 
 strands. 
 
 Old Europe's exiled households crowd, and toil's un- 
 numbered hands • 
 
224 NKW YORK. 
 
 From Hessenland and Frankenland, from Danube, 
 Drave, and Rhine, 
 
 From Netherland, my sea-born land, and the Morse- 
 man's hills o£ pine. 
 
 From Thames, and Shannon, and their isles — and 
 never, sure, before. 
 
 Invading host such greeting found upon a stranger 
 shore. 
 
 The generous Genius of the West his welcome prof- 
 fers free : 
 
 ■ 'T is a good land to fall in with, men, and a pleasant 
 land to see ! ' 
 
 " They learn to speak one language ; they raise one flag 
 adored 
 
 Over one people evermore, and guard with it the 
 sword. 
 
 In festive hours, they look upon its starry folds above. 
 And hail it with a thousand songs of glory and of love. 
 Old airs of many a fatherland still mingle with tlie 
 cheer. 
 
 To make the love more lovhig still, the glory still 
 more dear — 
 
 ' Drink up — sees out ! join hands about ! bear chorus 
 all,' chants he : 
 
 ' 'Tis a good land to fall in with, men, and a pleasant 
 land to see ! ' " 
 
 AwiKtllllOHH. 
 
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