r 1 T J^V ^ 1 1 HUDSON-FULTON CELEBRATION 1609-1807-1909 • - 5 t " ' .' " ' ' '' i^F^^ HUDSON RIVER from. f^~^TFS (J^X j WEST POINT £ > STATE OF NEW YORK EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 1909 Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library STATE OF NEW YORK EDUCATION DEPARTMENT idson-Fulton Celebration September 25 to October 9, 1909 A BROCHURE FOR THE USE OF THE SCHOOLS OF THE STATE COMPILED AND EDITED BY HARLAN HOYT HORNER HENRY HUDSON'S COAT OF ARMS ALBANY NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 1909 THE HUDSONUFULTON CELEBRATION BY THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION J* THE State of New York is arranging an elaborate celebration in honor of the Hudson river and of the great events associated with its waters and its shores. The celebra^ tion will begin on the 25th of September, 1909, and continue at different points and with varying features to the 9th of October. Wednesday, September 29th, will be the Educational day of the celebration. The time chosen is the three hundredth anniversary of the first exploration of the river by Captain Henry Hudson, in the little sailing ship " Half Moon," sent out by the good people of Holland. It is a little more than a hundred years from the time when Robert Fulton, in the " Clermont," proved that steam power might be relied upon to propel boats. The Hudson river has borne many names. Some of the Indians called it " Mah-i^can^tuk," which meant " the place of the Mohicans"; and others, " Ca-ho-ha-ta-tea," or "river that flows from the mountains." The Dutch named it the " Mauritius " in honor of Prince Maurice, the great son and successor of William the Silent. The French called it " La Grande river," and the Spanish, the " I^iver of the Mountains." The English more ofien gave it the name of the " North river" (the Delaware being the South river), and by that name it is frequently called now. But the popular sense of justice came to call it " Hudson's river," and that finally settled down to the " Hudson river." The common fairness has now been confirmed by many laws. None of its great names has been too good for it. It is a splendid, deep, free-flowing stream. It is the outlet of great mountains and magnificent valleys. It has tides all the way to Albany. It is bordered by beautiful slopes and stately peaks ; by the Palisades, a great stone wall fifteen miles in length; and by thrifty cities and splendid residences as well. In picturesqueness, in always changing, and quickly changing, views, it is hardly equaled by any other river in America, or in the world. It is a river which has long been useful and dear to a great and prosperous civilization. Although Hudson sailed for the Dutch, he first made known his discovery to the English ; and although the English king required him, an English subject, not to leave the English service again, the Dutch were the first to establish trading posts and settlements upon the Hudson river. The Dutch were a little people, but in some things they were greater than the largest. In manu' factures and trade upon the seas, in fighting power, and in schools of all grades and kinds, they were then the foremost nation in the world. They had just had a forty years' war and had laid down a hundred thousand lives for liberty. It had made them the freest nation in the world. Of course, they brought their personal traits and their national feeling to the Hudson. For full fifty years those traits and feelings had their free opportunity in " New Amsterdam " and " New Netherland " ; and of course they have a large share in the foundational history of the State of New York. Just as Hudson was exploring, and Dutch settlers were beginning to locate upon the Hudson river, our Pilgrim forefathers were hunted out of England by religious bigotry. They were welcomed in Holland. A dozen years later they migrated to America, intending to settle upon the Hudson, but were landed upon the Massachusetts coast by reason of bad weather, or the captain's fraud. The Pilgrims and the Dutch had common feelings and cordial relations. Neither had any love for the king and the Royalists in England, who in 1664 sent an armed fleet and took possession of New Amsterdam and called it New York. In the meantime, twenty or thirty thousand English Puritans, and some Royalists, had settled in New England. A few had come over into New York. They were upright, religious, intolerant, autocratic, aggressive people. The English knew much, very much for their day, about human rights. They had fought for their rights within as well as without the kingdom. They had set limits to the power of the king. They brought " Magna Charta" and a good system of laws and of courts to America with them. They were divided among themselves, and had, the Royalists particularly, much friction with the Dutch. But by the time the English Puritans and the Dutch had combined their forces and overwhelmed the English government in the American War for Independence, and by the time they had forced the British armies to surrender, and had driven the Royalists or " Tories " out of the country, they were fused into a united people. They had learned to tolerate each other, and to tolerate other people also. They welcomed people from all the nations. Working together, they became generous- minded and made the great qualities of each even greater than they were before. Out of it all came the " Empire State " and other great states and the great Union of the states. 4 All this and much more, in infinite detail, is associated with the valley of the Hudson river, and must be made much of in our celebration. There is not a point upon the river, not a stream or a valley that leads into it, not a peak that looks down upon it, that is without its legend and its story. War, with its horrors and its heroisms, has had a large part in it. Treason left its stain upon it. Learning, literature, the arts and sciences, agriculture, manufactures, banking, law, politics, statesmanship, have run as freely in the Hudson valley as the ever- flowing waters of the river. The first school in the United States ; the first federal Congress ; the initial and the decisive battles of the Revolution ; and the approval of the federal Constitution were in sight of it. The convention that framed the first state Constitution of New York was forced by the British army up the river from New York to White Plains, then to Harlem, then to Kingsbridge, then to OdelTs in the Philipse Manor, then to Fishkill, then to Poughkeepsie, and then to Kingston, where, with the scales of justice in one hand and the drawn sword in the other, on Sunday, April 20, 1777, it completed its splendid work, only to have advancing war at once compel it to move again. Let us think of what the names of Clinton, Tompkins, Yates, Woodhull, Gansevoort, Schuyler, Tallmadge, Root, Scott, Livingston. Duane, VanCortlandt, VanRensselaer, particularly Hamilton and Jay, and a host of others, signify in the early history of the Hudson : let us think of the teachers, and preachers, and scholars, and writers, who have wrought upon its shores : let us enter into the enlightened policy of the State which long ago made it the greatest highway of travel and commerce in the country, and let us have a share in the new purpose that such it shall remain forever . The schools may do more than any other agencies to put red blood and a true spirit into the coming celebration. New York has never been very generously treated — it has sometimes been badly treated — by the professional writers of American history. Let us enter in no haphazard or half-hearted way into a great celebration which is being arranged to arouse a keener appreciation of the doings of our fathers. Let the pupils read much of the history which makes the Empire State so great. Let them write upon it. Let the exercises upon the 29th of September be public and popular, the worthy expression of a fine school system, and the vital inspiration of a yet greater State. 5 HENRY HUDSON'S QUEST (1609) OUT from the harbor of Amsterdam The Half Moon turned her prow to sea ; The coast of Norway dropped behind, Yet northward still kept she Through the drifting fog and the driving snow, Where never before man dared to go : "O Pilot, shall we find the strait that leads to the Eastern sea?" "A waste of ice before us lies — we must turn back," said he. Westward they steered their tiny bark, Westward through weary weeks they sped, Till the cold gray strand of a stranger- land Loomed through the mist ahead. League after league they hugged the coast, And their Captain never left his post : " O Pilot, see you yet the strait that leads to the Eastern sea ? " 'I see but the rocks and the barren shore; no strait is there," quoth he, They sailed to the North — they sailed to the South — And at last they rounded an arm of sand Which held the sea from a harbor's mouth — The loveliest in the land ; They kept their course across the bay, And the shore before them fell away : ' O Pilot, see you not the strait that leads to the Eastern sea ? " ' Hold the rudder true ! Praise Christ Jesu ! the strait is here," said he. Onward they glide with wind and tide, Past marshes gray and crags sun-kist ; They skirt the sills of green-clad hills, And meadows white with mist — But alas 1 the hope and the brave, brave dream I For rock and shallow bar the stream : 'O Pilot, can this be the strait that leads to the Eastern sea?" 'Nay, Captain, nay; 't is not this way; turn back we must," said he. Full sad was Hudson's heart as he turned The Half Moon's prow to the South once more; He saw no beauty in crag or hill. No beauty in curving shore ; For they shut him away from that fabled main He sought his whole life long, in vain : ' O Pilot, say, can there be a strait that leads to the Eastern sea ? " 'God's crypt is sealed I 'Twill stand revealed in His own good time," quoth he. Poems of American History, Burton Egbert Stevenson Houghton, Mifflin Co THE HUDSON-FULTON CELEBRATION COMMISSION Organization and plans THE Hudson- Fulton Celebration Commission was incorporated by chapter 325 of the laws of 1906 of the State of New York to arrange for " the public celebration or commemora- tion of the tercentenary of the discovery of the Hudson river by Henry Hudson in the year 1609, and of the first use of steam in the navigation of said river by Robert Fulton in the year ! 807, in such manner and form, either permanent or temporary, as may be found appropriate by said commission." Under the provisions of the statute the officers of the commission are : president, Gen. Stewart L. Woodford ; presiding vice president and acting president, Mr Herman Ridder ; vice presidents, Mr Andrew Carnegie, Hon. Joseph H. Choate, Maj. Gen. F. D. Grant U. S. A., Hon. Seth Low, Mr J. Pierpont Morgan, Hon. Levi P. Morton, Hon. Alton B. Parker, Mr John E. Parsons, Gen. Horace Porter, Hon. Frederick W. Seward, Mr Francis Lynde Stetson, Hon. Oscar S. Straus, Mr W. B. Van Rensselaer, and Gen. James Grant Wilson; treasurer, Mr Isaac N. Seligman; secretary, Mr Henry W. Sackett. In accordance with the original statute and amendments and by appointment by the Governor of the State and Mayor of New York city the entire commission is constituted of mcfre than 300 prominent citizens of the State including the presi- dents of 38 incorporated villages along the Hudson river. The general program for the celebration as tentatively announced by the commission is briefly as follows : Religious service days: Saturday and Sunday, September 25 and 26, 1909 Reception day: Monday, September 27II1 The people of Holland under royal auspices are building a repro- duction of the Half Moon to be presented to the commission manned with a crew in the costumes of the period of Henry Hudson. The facsimile of the Half Moon will be formally received on Monday, September 27th and will take her place in line for the journey up the river. A facsimile of the Clermont, being built by the commission, will start from the original site with appropriate exercises and take her place in line. Public and private buildings will be decorated, visiting guests will be received, and exhibits of paintings, prints, books, models, relics etc. will be opened in libraries and museums in New York city and in similar institutions throughout the State. Historical day: Tuesday, September 28th On Tuesday, September 28th, there will be an historical parade in New York city, composed of floats and moving tableaux representing 7 the principal events in the history of the city and State. The official literary exercises will be held in the evening at different places in New York city at which orations will be delivered by prominent men. General commemoration day: Wednesday, September 2cth Wednesday, September 29th, will be devoted to the dedication of parks and memorials along the Hudson river and to general commemorative exercises in the schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions and societies throughout the State. Other features of the day include a reception to visiting guests at West Point and an official banquet in honor of distinguished guests in New York city in the evening. Military parade day: Thursday, September 30th On Thursday, September 30th, will occur the military parade, participated in by the United States Army, the United States Navy and Marine Corps, the National Guard and the Naval Militia. It is expected that there will be 25,000 troops in line. Hudson River day: Friday, October 1st It is planned on Friday, October 1st, to have a parade of vessels of the navy, merchant marine, excursion boats and pleasure craft go from New York to Newburgh taking with them the facsimiles of the Half Moon and the Clermont. Simultaneously with the ad- vance of the south Hudson division it is proposed to have a counter- procession from Albany to Newburgh, the two divisions meeting and holding appropriate ceremonies there. Carnival day: Saturday, October 2d Saturday, October 2d, will be the Children's day in all the cities, devoted to fetes in public and private parks and playgrounds. The celebration will culminate in New York city in the evening in a carnival parade, with moving allegorical tableaux, participated in by all nationalities represented in the city. It is also designed to have a chain of signal fires from mountain tops and other eligible sites along the whole river lighted simultaneously at 9 p. m. Upper Hudson week: beginning Sunday, October 3d It is planned to devote the week beginning Sunday, October 3d to celebrations in the communities along the upper Hudson. The naval parade with the Half Moon and the Clermont will proceed up the river and will participate in celebrations as follows : Dutchess County day, Monday, October 4th, at Poughkeepsie ; Ulster County day, Tuesday, October 5th, at Kingston; Greene County day, Wednesday, October 6th, at Catskill ; Columbia County day, Thursday, October 7th, at Hudson; Albany County day, Friday, October 8th, at Albany; and Rensselaer County day, Satur- day, October 9th, at Troy. 8 OBSERVANCE IN THE SCHOOLS AS noted in the plans of the Hudson- Fulton Celebration Com- mission, Wednesday, September 29th, has been set apart for the observance of the celebration in all the educational institutions of the State. A General Commemorative Exercises Com- mittee, of which Pres. Jacob G. Schurman of Cornell University is chairman, has charge of this work for the Commission. At a meeting on March 3, 1909 of the executive committee of the General Com- memorative Exercises Committee, of which the Commissioner of Education is a member, it was voted that the work of extending information to the schools of the State be devolved upon that officer. The Commissioner of Education therefore very earnestly urges all school authorities in the State to plan to hold commemorative exercises on Wednesday, September 29, 1909. Medals for essays In order to aid the Commissioner of Education in arousing interest in the schools in the real significance of the celebration, the Hudson- Fulton Celebration Commission, through its General Commemorative Exercises Committee, offers two medals to each high school and to each academy in the State for the best essays on the dis- covery of the Hudson river or of the application of steam to navigation thereon, one medal to be awarded to a boy and one to a girl in each school. Announcement has already been made in a circular issued to the schools on April 15. These essays are to be not more than 3000 words in length and are to be presented in the handwriting of the author to the principal of the school. The principal is to determine the award and certify the names of the winners to the Commissioner of Education not later than September 25, 1909. It is suggested that public announcement of the winners be made at the exercises on Wednesday, September 29th. Subjects for essays Pupils should be urged to select definite and specific topics for their essays, to study the subject thoroughly and then to write an original paper and not to make a mere compilation. The following topics touching upon the whole general question may be found helpful for essays in the prize contest and in the general composi- 9 tion work in the schools : Henry Hudson and the Half Moon ; Hudson's Journey up the River; An Imaginary Letter from Henry Hudson to a Friend in England Telling of his Reception by the Indians; Hudson's Last Voyage; Instruments Used in Navigation in Hudson's Time; The Relation of the Hudson River to the History of the State; The Scenery of the Hudson River; Legends of the Hudson River ; The Industries on the Banks of the Hudson ; Wash- ington at Newburgh; History of Location of the Capital of the State; The Settlement of [insert the name of town in which writer lives] ; Robert Fulton's Career ; Fulton's Disappointments ; Fulton's Debt to Other Inventors ; The Growth of Steam Naviga- tion in 100 Years ; A Description of the Clermont ; Brief History of the Erie Canal; Description of an Ocean Voyage in 1609, 1809 and 1909 respectively. Subjects for debates 1 That the Hudson river has been more important in the history of the United States than the Mississippi 2 That Europe is more indebted to Spain for its knowledge of the New World than to France, Holland or England 3 That the settlement of the New World by Europeans would have been impossible without the use of gunpowder and the invention of printing 4 That the Dutch took an unfair advantage of the Indians in purchasing Manhattan island for $24 worth of trinkets 5 That the United States was better protected during the War of 1812 by the fame of Fulton than by the American navy 6 That the introduction of steam navigation was more influential in the growth of the State of New York than the Erie canal 7 That it would not be possible for the present city of Greater New York to exist without the steamboat and railroad 8 That the Five Nations were in some respects more civilized than the white people who came among them 9 That Hudson's last voyage was a foolish waste of human life 10 That the capture of New Amsterdam by the English in 1664 can not be justified 1 1 That the two greatest American inventions were brought into practical use by men who had been educated as artists 12 That Robert Livingston should share equally with Robert Fulton the credit for the introduction of the steamboat 10 Suggested maps and charts 1 Map of New York showing locations with names of the prin- cipal Indian tribes in 1609 2 Map of New York in relief showing the old Indian trails and travel routes 3 Map of New York showing the principal cities and villages in 1810 with population of each, then and now 4 Chart showing titles and names of authors of 50 good books relating to the early history of the State of New York 5 Chart showing the titles and authors of 25 works of fiction touching on the early history of the State of New York 6 Graphic chart showing the growth of New York city, Albany and other Hudson river cities according to censuses from 1800 to 1900 7 Chart showing increase in Hudson river shipping from 1800 to 1900 8 Chart showing relative size and tonnage of the Clermont and the Lusitania 9 Chart showing relative horsepower of ordinary tugboat, the new Hudson river steamer Robert Fulton and the Mauretania Constructive work The sand fables in the lower grades and the hand work of the upper grades should serve to present very clearly to pupils the full meaning of the Hudson- Fulton celebration. The evolution of water transportation can be worked out. The smaller children can whittle out swimming logs, dugouts and rafts, and shape boats of bark, skin and reeds. The older children with the use of simple tools can make a model of the Clermont with its paddle wheels, stack and rudder, while ambitious boys in the manual training schools can make an almost exact model of the boat which can be used in all the grades to excite interest in the meaning of the celebration. Subjects for such constructive work are as follows : the Clermont, the Half Moon, a birch canoe, a canal boat, a canal lock, an Indian wigwam, a block- house, Dutch colonial house, colonial fireplace, a water wheel and mill. II Tableaux > It is difficult to make suggestions for tableaux which will be applicable to all parts of the State, to the different conditions under which they are to be given and to the varying resources of the participants. Tableaux can be given out of doors with natural surroundings which can not be given indoors; and effects can be produced in a theater or a large auditorium which can not be had in a schoolroom. Each community must be guided largely by its own history, and each company by its own facilities. While the primary object of the Hudson- Fulton celebration is to commemorate the achievements of Hudson and Fulton, it is designed also to stimulate the study of the local history of all the communities of the State. Therefore, any important or picturesque or interesting event in the annals of a town or city may appropriately be represented. There are no more picturesque subjects than those relating to the Indians. If purely aboriginal life is to be represented, scenes may be given representing passages in the " Legend of Hiawatha, " which is supposed to depict the origin of the Iroquois. If there is any local Indian legend, it may likewise afford material. Scenes in Indian domestic life ; the making of pottery, wooden dishes, bows and arrows, etc.; the stringing of wampum ; an Indian meal ; the gathering of corn ; the pounding of corn; Indian games, etc. are admirable subjects for purely Indian characters. Then there is a range of subjects, as wide as the State, dealing with the contact between the Indians and the white men. The settlers of New York were usually very scrupulous to buy their land from the Indians, even if the price paid was small, so that from the purchase of Manhattan island by Peter Minuit in 1626 to the Big Tree Treaty on the Genesee by which the Senecas parted with most of their land, there were innumerable incidents of that sort. There were a great many councils with the Indians like that on Bowling Green, New York; that between Stuyvesant and the Indians at Albany (Fort Orange) ; those of Sir William Johnson at Johnstown; those under the Gouncil tree at Geneva, etc. The dealings of the fur traders with the natives are susceptible of simple and effective representation. Cooper's " Leatherstocking Tales" will suggest several picturesque scenes. Scenes of captivity may also be represented, and an incident like Mary Jemison's arrival in the 1 Reprinted from a bulletin prepared by Edward Hagaman Hall L.H.M. L.H.D., and issued by the Hudson-Fulton Celebration Commission. 12 Genesee country with her Indian babe on her back could be easily and strikingly portrayed. Henry Hudson may be represented as signing his contract with the directors of the Dutch East India Company ; or studying his globe and charts in the cabin of the Half Moon; or debating with his unruly crew near Nova Zembla whether he shall return to Holland or sail for America; or welcomed by the friendly Hudson river Indians. The famous feast, between Hudson city and Albany, when the Indians broke their bows and arrows to show their friend- ship, would make a striking scene. If facilities are available, a scene based on Collier's painting of " Hudson's Last Voyage," would be effective. Any phase of Dutch colonial life would be good. A Dutch youth and maiden promenading together, or with the youth on his knees before his sweetheart, would represent a Dutch courtship. The rattle-watch — a darkened stage, with a watchman, going about with a lantern and whirling his wooden ratchet — could be easily produced. Men bowling at tenpins; or a Dutch school scene; or features of domestic life, such as spinning, weaving, threshing with a flail, churning by hand, polishing the pewter dishes, and cooking at the old fireplace, are good material to work upon. yVhat has just been said about the Dutch period is equally applic- able to the English colonial period. A tea party of either colonial period could be made very pretty. In preparing for the presentation of historical scenes, the first essential is to read the local history of the town and pick out its leading events. Some incident connected with the first permanent settlement of each town is particularly recommended. In New York city, the purchase of Manhattan island in 1626, as mentioned above, would repre- sent the beginning of the Dutch period; the surrender of Fort Amsterdam by Peter Stuyvesant in 1 664, the beginning of the English period; and the reading of the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Army, July 9, 1776, the beginning of the American period. The trial and acquittal of John Peter Zenger (1735) establishing the freedom of the press; citizens signing the nonimportation agree- ment (1765); citizens burning the British stamps (1765); Washing- ton giving instructions to Nathan Hale (1776); Washington's farewell to his officers (1783) are suggestive of many others relating to colonial and revolutionary times. Where events are of national or state-wide importance there is no reason why one community 13 should not borrow subjects from another. Washington refusing the crown at Newburgh, the adoption of the Constitution at Kingston, the capitulation of Burgoyne at Saratoga, and the making of the first American flag flown in battle at Fort Stanwix (Rome) are events in the latter class. Almost every community has had one preeminent historical char* acter, like Peter Stuyvesant, George Clinton, Peter Schuyler, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, Horatio Seymour, William H. Seward, or scores of others who could be named. Such a character, represented in his most famous attitude or act, would make a tableau by itself. Oftentimes a local statue will convey a helpful suggestion in this direction. " Living statuary " representing a soldier and sailor, would symbolize the Civil War. Robert Fulton's life suggests several sub' jects, such as taking painting lessons from Benjamin West; working on a steamboat model ; making mechanical drawings ; conferring with ex- President Jefferson, President Madison and others when he explained his torpedo plans, etc. Irving's " Sketch Book " can be drawn on for legends of the Hudson river, foremost among which is that of Rip Van Winkle and Henry Hudson's crew in the Catskills. " Sunnyside," Irving's home on the Hudson HUDSON AND THE RIVER ¥ ESS is known of Henry Hudson than of other explorers of America in the 1 7th century ; and all that is known of him is included within four years — from the May day in 1607 when he sailed from Gravesend for Greenland, until the fatal day of June in 1611, when he was cast adrift by his mutin- ous crew in the far northern James bay, and so passed forever into the unknown. We know nothing of his youth, his educa- tion, his associations, his personal appear- ance, his vocational training or experience, or anything about him, prior to his first re- corded voyage, when he looms into view; but the years of which we do know are sufficient to reveal him as a man of large intelligence and enterprise, of abiding courage and indomitable will, which lift him into fame * as conspicuous among those who opened the new world to the old, and especially as the pathfinder for the commerce and civilization of the Empire State. In the agreement with the Dutch merchants in 1609 he is described as "Henry Hudson, Englishman." This doubtless settles the country of his birth. It is suggested that he was a grandson of another Henry Hudson, who was an incorporator of the Muscovy Gompany, but this is a mere conjecture based upon the identity of the Christian name of each and the interest of other Hudsons in the company. It is said by some that he had been a master of Dutch vessels, and by others that he was with the Muscovy Gompany before he was sent by the latter on his arctic voyage, but it may fairly be stated that he was then a skilled seaman. He was about 40 years old and was married, for he had a son who accompanied him in his expeditions and per- ished with him, and there is reference to other children in the subsequent contract with the Dutch East India Gompany. The Muscovy Gompany, trading in Russia, was anxious to find a northwest passage to Ghina. This was the dream that entranced many hardy mariners of the day. It was the dream of Hudson, 15 who was willing to brave dangers and mischances that he might realize it. So the company hired him, and on May 1, 1607 he set out from Gravesend in a craft of 80 tons, the Hopewell, with a crew of 1 1 men, some of whom were turbulent and worthless fellows, as was the case also with his succeeding crews. In six weeks he reached Greenland and named the first land seen Young's cape after one of his men, a name it still retains. Thence he headed north to 72° on the coast and steered for Spitz- bergen, touching 80° 23' and holding the record for "farthest north" until Captain Phipps in 1773 went 25' further north. He perplexed himself in vain about a northwest passage, and by this time his men had become restive and even rebellious and clamored for home. He was obliged to yield to them, and turning his prow east- ward put into Tilbury docks on the 1 5th of September, having been plagued throughout a large part of his course by thick fogs and tempests and pounding ice floes. The voyage was a disappointment. Nothing had been accomplished except the high northern mark. Other adventurers had preceded him in their visits to the arctic region. But he still had his stout heart. Hudson's second voyage was under the same support and probably in the same small but stanch vessel as the first. It was an effort to find at the northeast that which had baffled him at the northwest — communication with China and the Indian ocean. He left St Rathe- rine's docks on the 22d of April 1 608, coasted western Norway, rounded Cape North on the 3d of June, and after much buffeting by the ice rested in a quiet cove of Nova Zembla on the 1st of July. He was soon satisfied that further search at that time would be useless, and "being void of hope," as he says, "the wind stormy and against us and with much ice driving, we weighed anchor and set sail west." He was back on the Thames on the 26th of August, to be coolly received and even scolded by the company for his failure, and his relations with it ended. His own ardor, however, was not eclipsed by his rebuff. The dream still possessed him. There were other ways to try and other patrons to ask. Like "soldiers of fortune" with their swords drawn at any bidding, a number, if not a majority, of the discoverers and explorers of America were aided by governments and associations other than those of their own nationality. Some tramped from court to court, cap in hand. Columbus, a Genoese, was commissioned by Isabella of Spain ; Cabot, an Italian, by Henry VII of England; Verrazano, a Florentine, by 16 Francis ! of France; Gomez, a Portuguese, by Charles V, the German Emperor ; and Americus Vespucius was in the employ of both Spain and Portugal. It is not singular that the English Hudson, doubt- less angry with the Muscovy Company, should make terms for his third and most memorable voyage with the Amsterdam Chamber of the great Dutch East India Company at a time when the Netherlands, despite the exhausting war for her liberties in which she had been engaged with Spain, was pushing to the front as a world trader, when the scepter of commerce was passing from the Rialto to the Zuyder Zee. After considerable delay an agreement was concluded by which the company was to furnish a vessel of about 60 tons burden (the First view of New Amsterdam Half Moon) in which Hudson was to sail "by the north around the north side of Nova Zembla, thence by a southerly course to the latitude of 60°," still to seek the fabled passage to the East, and the injunction was strict that no other route should be attempted. For his personal outfit and the support of his family he was to receive $320 and $80 additional was to be paid to his wife in case of his death, with a pro- vision for further compensation at the discretion of the directors — a paltry sum and an indefinite promise suggesting a secret understanding and an option as to the course he should pursue. His crew was again a motley one — Dutch, English and Asiatics — less than 20 in all, unruly and unmanageable, men meaning to be masters. As has been seen it was always his fate to have such a crew. 17 He left Amsterdam April 4, 1 609 ; in about a month he was off the North cape again, but Nova Zembla was not reached; the ice was obstinate, some of the crew were sick, others were doing double duty, and all were dissatisfied. So the choice was given them to point for America at about 40°, or to try to reach India by way of Davis strait at the north. The latter was selected, and Hudson, disregarding the company's instructions, made the Newfound- land banks, July 2 ; thence he coasted southward to Penobscot bay, to Cape Cod, by New York harbor, to James river, to South Carolina, and then back to the Chesapeake, with a run up the Delaware ; and on the 2d of September the Half Moon cast anchor in " a great lake of water, as we could judge it to be," with high hills to the northward — " a very good land to fall in with and a pleasant land to see," as runs the quaint chronicle. For about 1 days Hudson remained in the lower bay of New York, taking soundings and having intercourse, both friendly and otherwise, with the Indians who crowded about the ship. On the 1 2th of September he went up the bay to the Battery and entered the river, yet with the thought that it might be a channel that led the way to the coveted spices and precious stones of the East. The story of the ascent and descent of the river is a familiar one and needs here to be but briefly told. On the 13th he was at Spuyten Duyvil ; the 1 4th at the Highlands ; the 1 5th within view of the Cats- kills; the 18th opposite the site of Hudson city; on the 19th he was trading with the natives, a few miles below Albany; on the 20th a small boat was sent north to prospect, the Half Moon riding at anchor; on the 22d the boat returned to report that it had gone about 27 miles, probably to Waterford, that the river narrowed and shal- lowed all the way, and that the dream of the northwest passage, by this stream, must be abandoned. On the 23d the descent began, and after various adventures and some serious encounters with the Indians the bay was again seen on the 3d of October. The next day with fair weather and a favoring breeze the Half Moon trimmed her sails for the East, and was the first ship which left the port of New York direct for Europe. How many thousands have followed in her wake I The original destination was Ireland, whence further American explo- ration was to be made, so determined by a compromise with the crew, which was as usual of a mutinous spirit, sullenly refusing to return to Holland. But, either accidentally or by design of the master, Dart- mouth in Devon was the port arrived at on the 7th of November. There both vessel and captain were detained by the English authorities ; 18 the former, however, was subsequently released, and returning to Holland was wrecked in East Indian waters a few years later, while the latter, as an English subject, was forbidden to leave the country. Hudson's career may now be speedily followed to its close. In 1610 certain members of the Muscovy Company, Sir Thomas Smith and Sir Dudley Digges being among them, fitted out for him the ship Discoverer, with which according to the Rev. Samuel Purchas, who wrote much concerning Hudson, he was " to try if through any of the passages which Davis saw, any passage might be found to the other ocean called the South sea." The dream persists. On the 17th of April he sailed from London with an especially ugly crew of 20 men, touched the southern end of Greenland, and on the 1 1 th of July anchored at Baffin land on Hudson strait; thence entering Hudson bay he rested in James bay at its southern extremity some time in September. Therein he was icebound and the winter was spent with much of idleness, bickering and complaint by the crew, and the final shattering of his hope of penetrating to China. He had met with his fourth failure in his zealous pursuit. On the 18th of June 1611 he began his homeward trip, but now mutiny was openly declared against him, and measures for his "taking off" were planned. The severity of his dis- cipline was alleged as his chief offense, in part accounting for but not excusing the tragedy that ensued. Four days later with the sick and lame, his son John and the ship's carpenter, faithful to the last — eight in all — he was thrown into a shallop and the ship bore away. The crime was one of peculiar atrocity. The curtain falls upon the mystery of his fate, but rises upon his imperishable renown. 19 What did Henry Hudson accomplish ? Broadly it may be stated that he discovered the bay and explored the river to each of which his name is attached. Not many years passed before he was followed to the bay by Button and Fay and Cox, and half a century after his death the Yankee captain, Zachariah Gillam, led an expedition thither which resulted in the building of the first fort on its shore and in the organiza- tion of the famous Hudson's Bay Company, whose colossal operations have lasted more than two centuries. When the controversy between England and France for the possession of the immense territory that surrounds it became acute, it was upon the exploit of Hudson that England based her claim to priority of title. But it is in his relation to the river and its features, associations and history that we are chiefly interested. Of it in the strictest sense he can not be said to be the discoverer. Others had previously seen it. Verrazano in 1524 beheld the "Grandissima riviera" at its mouth, as probably did Gomez in 1525, who named it " Rio de Sanet Antonio," and it is thus indicated on a map drawn by Alonzo Chaves, a Spanish cartographer, in 1537. Stephen Bellinger, a Frenchman, in 1583 coasted southwesterly from Cape Breton, 600 miles, " and had trafique with the people in tenne or twelve places." The shore of the river may have been^one of these. And there are vague accounts of both French and Dutch visitations prior to 1609, but Hudson saw, observed and investigated from tide water to the head of navigation. The Dutch immediately assumed title to the river and to lands westward of it by right of Hudson's exploration — not an uncontested and at the last a voided title — for the English claimed by virtue of Cabot's discoveries all lands on the North American coast north of Florida, and the English crown made grants accordingly. They also claimed, because of Hudson's nationality as superior to his Dutch engagement. The Indian name of the river was Shatemuc; Hudson called it the Mauritius, after Prince Maurice ; the early colonists, the North, by which it is still sometimes known; but eventually it was properly named the Hudson. In their first operations the Dutch were not materially molested by any other power. Trade with the Indians for furs began at once. In 1610 the fur merchants of Amsterdam dispatched for that purpose a vessel with Hudson's former mate, Van Kampen, as master, the venture being a profitable one. In 1611 Hen' drick Christiaensen took to Holland two Indian boys, the sons of a Manhattan chief. In 1611 five ships were sent out from Holland, and certain famous sailors, Christiaensen, Block and May, appeared 20 upon the scene, driving lucrative bargains and making some notable discoveries in adjacent waters as well. Within a few years several forts or bastions were erected, Nassau, a mile or two south of Albany, and one, perhaps two, on Manhattan being among them ; and settle- ment, as yet wholly for traffic with the Indians, may be said to have begun. In 1614 that eminent buccaneer, Samuel Argall, compelled the Dutch at all their forts to lower their own and raise the English flag, and then sailed away, the English flag being promptly pulled down after he left. In the same year the States General of the United Netherlands gave a charter for a limited number of voyages to the New Netherland Company to trade exclusively in the newly New York harbor discovered lands between the 40th and 45th degrees of north latitude — that is, between New France and Virginia, so expressed — and specifically describing the region as New Netherland. In 1618 a notable compact was made by the command at Fort Nassau with the Iroquois on a hill at the mouth of the Tawasentha — Norman's kill — a few miles below Albany for the exchange of peltries and weapons of war. It was the basis of a warm and enduring friendship of the Iroquois and Dutch, to which the English succeeded, that was of immense benefit to the latter and of serious harm to the French and Algonquins. In 1621 the States General issued the celebrated charter to the Dutch West India Company, with its enormous jurisdiction and 21 extraordinary franchises ; and two years thereafter the company sent out the ship New Netherland with thirty Walloon families ; a part of them settled in what is now the borough of Brooklyn, and a part at Fort Orange on the site of Albany. Colonization was a fact. In 1626 Peter Minuit was made Director General with residence in New York, and purchased Manhattan island from the Indians for 60 guilders — $24. Thus Dutch estates, usages and institutions were introduced into New Netherland, and these remained even after the English conquest in 1664. Their influence is still felt in New York. It would be beyond the limits of this article to enlarge upon the influ- ence of the Dutch in molding our State. A few words must suffice. First of all it is to be noted that New Netherland was the child of the Dutch Republic, then the most intelligent, the freest and the most enter- prising nation of Europe. The founders of the new state brought with them the principles of the old ; and they also opened wide the door to the refugees of all nations from either political or religious persecution. New Amsterdam was cosmopolitan from the beginning. It is said that 18 languages were spoken there before 1650. The Swedes came to Manhattan, the Waldenses to Staten island, the Wal- loons and English to Long island and the Huguenots to Ulster county. The Dutch originated the vital principles of our institutions, municipal and township organizations, and the idea of local self-government. To these they held firmly in their representative bodies — the "twelve men" and the "eight men." They uniformly opposed arbitrary taxation. Above all else, it is to be remembered that on the Hudson in 1633 the first public school in the land was established. If it be said that the feudal powers granted to the patroons on their manorial estates did not correspond with the general prevalence of popular government, it may be replied that for these the West India Company, and not the States General, was responsible; that in 1638 and 1640 the prerogatives of fhe patroons were materially restricted and the rights of free settlers materially enlarged, and that wherever the numbers in the settlements were sufficient the company was bound to guarantee them local self- government. The Hudson, the second of any river of considerable size on the continent to be explored, the St Lawrence being the first, is 300 miles in length, and is navigable by vessels of the first class for about 150 miles. Its general direction is southerly — due south in its navigable portion. It drains an area of about 30,000 square miles above the entrance of the Mohawk. Among its tributaries are the Schroon, 22 Batten kill, Hoosic, Wappingers and Croton on the east, and the Sacandaga, Mohawk, Wallkill and Esopus creek from the west. There are longer rivers in the land, but few with fuller flow. There are those along which nature is tossed into more weird and awful shapes, with deeper chasms and loftier cataracts, but there is none upon which there is a greater variety cf scenery, from the beautiful to the sublime, as there is none more serviceable. During its entire course there is no spot which is not invested with interest, either natural, legendary or historical, from the silken skeins of mist and the bubbling springs at its sources in the Adirondacks, to the magnificent bay upon which the navies of the world may ride, where the queenliest of cities Storm King receives tribute from the commerce of all the zones. Especially notable are the series of rapids and cascades at Glens Falls, the water rushing over ragged masses of black marble through a descent of 80 feet; the Catskills, a wonderful procession of peaks and slopes, and recesses ; the picturesque Highlands ; the solitary grandeur of Storm King and Cro' Nest; the majesty of the Palisades, battlements rock-ribbed and perpendicular, sheer from the water's edge to hights of 250 to 500 feet; the broad expanse of the Tappan Zee, and the noble sweep into the Atlantic. The Hudson is a peerless stream. It is often com- pared with the Rhine, but the Rhine is not so uniformly fascinating in its natural features as the Hudson, and is admired less for these than for the castles and ruins on its banks. The Hudson is lined by princely 23 estates, thriving villages and prosperous cities. Of the latter there are in New York State eight — Cohoes, Albany, Hudson, Kingston, New^ burgh, Poughkeepsie, Ycnkers and New York, already the second and soon to be the first market place in the world ; and in New Jersey are Hoboken, Jersey City and ether populous communities. Over 5,000,000 people reside on, or contiguous to, the banks cf the Hudson — a multitudinous host, an imperial domain. There is no section of the country that is of larger historical signifi- cance than that of the Hudson. It has witnessed its own exploration and colonization by one people and its surrender to another ; a portion of the conflict between two great European nations for the pos- session of the continent; the first congress of the colonies for mutual protection ; the provincial struggles I or popular rights ; the battles of the Revolution most intimately reived to its successful issue; the organization of the federal government; and the evolution politically and economically cf the foremost commonwealth of the United States. Some of these events have already been referred to and but a glance at others may be indulged in. The Dutch held sway in New York for about 50 years, the last Dutch governor being Peter Stuyvesant, a very hard-headed and hot- headed, one-legged man, who stumped New Amsterdam in unavailing rage when on August 29, 1664 Richard Nicolls sailed up the bay and demanded in the name of his sovereign, Charles II of England, then at war with Holland, the surrender of the " towns situated on the island commonly known by the name cf Manhattoes, with all the parts there- unto belonging.'"' English rule began September 8th, the transferred province being renamed New York after the Duke of York, subse- quently James II, and continued with an interval from August 1673, when the Dutch under Captain Colve seized it and administered its affairs, until November 1674, when it reverted to England under the treaty of Westphalia. From 1674 until 1683 Sir Edmund Andres, the ablest and most energetic of the crown governors, was at the helm, returning in 1688 as governor in chief and captain general of all the northern colonies. He strengthened defenses, increased trade, aug- mented the revenues and beautified the city. In 1683, Thomas Dongan being governor, the ''Charter of Liberties" was declared, by which the supreme legislative power was vested in a governor, council and the people met in a general assembly — the first recognition of the people in any American constitution. In the same year the first 1 counties, six of which — Albany, Dutchess, New York. Orange, Ulster 24 FROM PHOTOGRAPH IN POSSESSION OF MRS LAURA VAN RENSSELAER ALBANY Van Rensselaer Mansion Erected at Albany by Stephen Van Rensselaer in 1765 ; remodeled in 1843 and removed to Sigma Phi place at Williams College in 1893. 25 and Westchester — are on the Hudson, were erected. Kings on the East river may also be classed as within the territory of the Hudson, while the remaining counties — Queens, Richmond and Suffolk - - it may not be proper to claim. In 1 735 the liberty of the press was vindicated in New York in the celebrated case of John Peter Zenger, acquitted on a charge of libel by the eloquent plea of Andrew Hamilton. In 1754 a congress of the northern colonies was held in Albany, at which a plan of union drafted by Benjamin Franklin was adopted. It was not carried, but it was the herald of their future cooperation. On the 18th of October 1764 the New York Assembly authorized a correspondence with other colonies concerning the acts of Parliament relative to trade and upon the danger of being taxed unreasonably by the mother country — the first official proposition in behalf of American union for American interests, anticipating by two years the action of Massachusetts at the instance of Samuel Adams, to the same purpose. The Hudson bore the brunt of the Revolution. It was the scene of its most stirring incidents, of its crucial conflict, and of the evacua- tion of the country by British troops, November 25, 1783. There Washington revealed his consummate military genius by withdrawing his shattered troops in the face of overwhelming numbers to win the victories of Trenton and Princeton. On its lower shores was the debatable ground where patriot and tory were in constant feud. On the 17th of October 1777 at Schuylerville Burgoyne surrendered, as the outcome of the battles of Bemis Heights, generally known as the field of Saratoga. The story is a familiar one — the scheme to separate New England from the other colonies by uniting the troops of Burgoyne and Howe on the upper Hudson ; the failure of Howe to ascend ; the advance of Burgoyne by way of Lake Champlain ; the well devised plans of Schuyler to meet the invasion ; his cruel retirement from com- mand and the succession of Gates ; the fall of Ticonderoga ; the retreat from Fort Edward to an advantageous position ; the breaking of British communication with the Canadian base ; the cordon drawn about Burgoyne; the sharp engagements and the laying down of arms. Nowhere on American soil is there a spot more sacred than that of Saratoga. There was the signal American triumph, and there the signal British discomfiture, presaging ultimate British defeat. " The Revolution," says Senator Lodge, " was saved at Trenton : it was established at Saratoga." On the 15th of July 1779 "Mad Anthony" Wayne captured Stony Point, the " Gibraltar of the Highlands," as Irving calls it — one of the most brilliant exploits of the war, distinguished alike for 26 its difficulty and daring. It is in sharp contrast with the infamy of West Point, a year later, when Benedict Arnold, the dashing fighter of Quebec, Valcour and Saratoga, the beloved and trusted lieutenant of Washington, harassed with debt and smarting at the neglect of Con- gress, tried to betray the fortress into British hands for British gold; and, thwarted in this, sneaked down the Hudson leaving the British emissary, the gifted and noble Andre, to be executed as a spy, for his (Arnold's) treason. Reproduction of pass in Arnold's handwriting found with other papers in Mai'or Andre's boots when he was captured. The Andre papers were acquired by the State of New York with the George Clinton papers in 1 853 and are now in the State Library. Washington's headquarters at Newburgh 27 On April 20, 1777, at Kingston, New York declared itself an independent state and adopted a constitution; and on the 9th of July George Clinton, soldier and statesman, became the first governor, serving as such continuously until 1804, save for the intervening term of John Jay — 1795 to 1801. Driven from Kingston by the incursion of the enemy and the burning of the place, the Legislature held its second session in 1788 at Poughkeepsie, and for the next six years wandered from Poughkeepsie to Kingston and Albany, as the fortunes of war determined its safety, in 1 784 it met in New York and there remained until 1786 with the exception of holding sessions at Pouglv keepsie in 1788 and 1795 and at Albany in 1789 and 1794. In 1797 the capital was located permanently at Albany. At his headquarters in Newburgh in 1782 Washington could have founded a kingdom and become its king. Royal state was pressed upon him, but he indignantly refused its proffer and sternly rebuked the devoted officers who made it; and at Newburgh in 1783 he disbanded the continental army. In 1788 at Poughkeepsie, New York ratified the federal Constitution, mainly by the persuasion of Alexander Hamilton, her great constructive statesman; and on the 30th of April 1789, George Washington on the balcony of Federal Hall in Wall street, took the oath of office as President of the Republic he had created, New York remaining the seat of the general government until December 1790. Thus, on the Hudson, statehood was ordained, the monarchy rejected, the national Constitution confirmed, and the nation itself established. Of the 36 governors the State has had, 20 have hailed from the Hudson ; and it has given to the Union four presidents — Van Buren, Arthur, Roosevelt, and Cleveland as he entered upon his second term. It will be impossible to detail the history that has been made upon the Hudson since New York became a state, or even to mention the names of many of her citizens who within the period indicated have guided her progress or contributed to her prestige and power ; but a few may be alluded to. The 11th of July 1804 was perhaps the saddest day in the annals of the State, when at Weehawken on the Hudson, Aaron Burr fatally wounded Alexander Hamilton in a duel, leaving Hamilton's memory sacred as a martyr, as he was already exalted as a statesman. On the 7th of August 1807 Robert Fulton steered the Clermont from New York to Albany — the first successful attempt at steam navigation, the second illustrious ascent of the Hudson, fitly commemorated in connection with the first. At the mouth of the Hudson on the 26th of October 1 825 DeWitt Clinton, 28 29 as the happy phrase says, "married Lake Erie to the Atlantic," and the great artificial channel which crosses the State from west to east and empties into the Hudson at Cohoes was opened to the commerce of the continent. In 1784 the Regents of the University met in New York and granted a charter to Columbia College; in his message of 1795 Governor George Clinton recommended the establishment of common schools and annual appropriations for their maintenance ensued, and in 1812 the Legislature at Albany organized the State common school system which, in its principal features, has been adopted by nearly every American state. And throughout, while credit is to be given to the representatives from all sections for the 130 years of legislation promotive of the common weal, it is not to be for- gotten that all legislation has been enacted on the Hudson. The business energies of the State have there also had their utmost con- spicuous expression. It has both the capital and the metropolis. In the harbor of New York stands the typical figure of " Liberty enlightening the world." It symbolizes also the intellectual supremacy of New York where Bryant sang and Irving wrote and Morse invented. The empire of mind there declares itself in letters and science and the arts, in the multitudinous sheets of the daily press, in museums and galleries and observatories and universities, in pro- fessional standards and rewards, in the acquisition and diffusion of knowledge. The story of the Hudson is here told as fully, if not as adequately, as space permits. In the charm of its scenery, in its legends as told by Irving and other writers, in its history, in its political rank and martial glory, in its growth and commerce and wealth, in all the appointments of civilization, where is its superior ? Henry Hudson explored better than he knew when he sought the gems of the east and held the promise of the west. Charles Elliott Fitch 30 George Washington : took the oath of office as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789 on the open balcony of Federal Hall in New York city within view of the mouth of the Hudson river. Horatio Gates : general in the United States army. Commanding officer at the battle of Saratoga, October 7, 1777. Member of the New York Legislature in 1800. Philip Schuyler : soldier and statesman ; promoter of the Erie canal ; born at Albany in 1733 and died there in 1804 „• for many years conspicuous public leader in the valley of the Hudson. Robert Morris : patriot and statesman ; financier of the Revolution. Gideon Hawley : first Superintendent of Common Schools in New York State and in the country ; elected January 14, 1813 ; Secretary of the Board of Regents ; Regent of the University of the State of New York from 1842 to 1870. Links of the great chain stretched across the Hudson river at West Point in 1778 to keep British war vessels from ascending the river. Three links presented to the State Library in 1858 by Gen. Franklin Townsend of Albany, a great grandson of the maker. The above autographs are reproduced from documents in the State Library. 31 33 ^& A-J^n--£-JZ CT^-C^ r-^^o C^^~^=>^ C^-tsZk. /$ut--^ , <2i- / €^Kj tX~ A^-^x'c fr^yZ-'J^?^ d£f^^fr«j>#j#L 07^4^^/, Washington's opinions of the surviving generals of the Revolution The facsimiles show the first two pages of* a paper prepared by Washington in the winter of 1791-92 after the defeat of Cen. Arthur St Clair by the Indians in the autumn of 1791 in Ohio, in anticipation of the necessity of appointing some one to succeed him in the command of the army. Twenty-three officers are mentioned in the series and Washington gives his opinion of the qualifications of sixteen of them for the office in question. 34 r &£^t./L viz. of Generals Lincoln. Steuben. Moultrie. Mcintosh. Wayne, Weeden. Hand. Scott. Huntington. W.lk.nson. Gist. Irvine. Morgan. Putnam. Pinckney and Gov. H. Lee. This document with other Washington memorials in the State Library came into the possession of the State of New York by purchase from Mrs Ella Bosset Washington in 1871. 35 36 The autographs on pages 36 and 37 are from original documents in the State Library. In the order of arrangement they are as follows ; Johannes de Laet: author of de Nieuuie Wereldt, a scholarly work printed in 1625, which gives one of the eaf 1 iest descriptions of New Netherland and the first full account of the Hudson river ; a director of the Dutch West India Company and a partner in the colony of Rensselaerswyck. Taken from the instructions to Gerrit Swart, schout of the colony of Rensselaerswyck, May 8, 1652. Kiliaen Van Rensselaer: first patroon of the colony of Rensselaerswyck. Taken from instructions to Arent van Curler and Pieter Wyncoop, regarding the purchase of the land at Katskill, September 10, 1643. Adam Roelants Groen: from Dokkum, in Friesland, first schoolmaster of New Netherland. Taken from a power of attorney to Jacob Tysen, to take charge of his children during his absence in the West Indies. December 4, 1649. Johannes Megapolensis (Greek for Grootstadt) : minister of the colony of Rensselaerswyck, 1642-49, and the first minister along the Hudson river outside of what is now the city of New York. Taken from deed from the Indians for the land at Katskill, dated May 24, 1649. Adriaen van der Donck: schout, or sheriff, of the colony of Rensselaerswyck, 1 64 1 -46, afterwards a bold champion of civic liberty and one of the leading opponents of Stuyvesant. Taken from an agreement to pay the balance of his debt to Thomas Chambers, dated May 3, 1646. This is the first reproduction of his real signature. Peter Minuit: Director General of New Netherland. Taken from the certificate of purchase from the Indians of land along the Delaware river, from Cape Henlopen to the mouth of the river, for the behoof of Samuel Godyn and Samuel Blommaert, both directors of the Dutch West India Company, dated July 15, 1630. Wouter van Twiller: Director General of New Netherland. 1633-38. Taken from a contract with George Rapaelje, respecting the use of two cows, June 4, 1638. Pieter Stuyvesant: Director General of New Netherland. 1647-64. Taken from a pass to Jeremias van Rensselaer, the third son of the first patroon, to sail to Holland in the ship " Beaver." October 28, 1655. Richard Nicolls: first English governor of the Province of New York. Taken from agreement with the Esopus Indians, relative to the sale of their lands west and southwest of the river called Kahanckson, October 7, 1665. 37 -{{nf ^Hrph te^z*$u ?&dmaf ^#&t W