Ex ICtbrtfi 
 
 SEYMOUR DURST 
 
 ■i ' 'Tort nieiiw ^^rn^erc/am. oj^ Je Manhatofus 
 
 ^hen you leave, please leave this book 
 
 Because it has been said 
 "Ever'thmg comes t' him who watts 
 
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 OLD YORK LIBRARY -OLD YORK FOUNDATION 
 
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 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/hudsonOObruc_0 
 
THE HUDSON 
 
 BY 
 
 WALLACE BRUCE 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 ALFRED FREDERICKS 
 
 WTTH PHOTO-EKGRAVl^'GS OF SCENERY 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 BRYANT LITERARY UNION 
 
 NEW YORK 
 

 COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY WALLACE BRUCE. 
 
 > or X. V. HAIGHT, POUOHKHPSlF, ) 
 
CO:XTENTS, 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Oreetinq: ...... 9 
 
 The Hudson (Historical Analysis), . . . 11 
 
 Desbrosses Street Pier to Twenty-Second Street, 53 
 
 Pier, Twenty-Second Street, to Yonkers, . . 56 
 
 YONKERS TO West Point, . . . . 78 
 
 West Point to Newburgh, , . . .127 
 
 Newburgh to Poughkeepsie, . . . 137 
 poughkeepsie to kingston point, , . .167 
 
 Kingston Point to Catskill, ... 192 
 
 Catskill to Hudson, ..... 220 
 
 Hudson to Albany, ..... 226 
 
 Albany to Saratoga Springs, .... 243 
 
 Saratoga to the Adirondacks, . . . 254 
 
 Saratoga to Lake George, .... 256 
 
 Lake George to Tahawas, .... 264 
 
 Albany to Binghamton, .... 286 
 
 Albany to Niagara Falls, . . , , 290 
 
 Condensed Points, .... . 298 
 
 The Geology of the Hudson- ... 307 
 
THE HUDSON AT WEST POINT, WITH VIGNETTE OF 
 KOSCIUSKO'S GARDEN. 
 
ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 The Half Moon, by Alfred Fredericks, - - - - h 
 
 From Hudson's "Half Moon" to "Hudson bv Daylight," - 17 
 
 Break Neck Mountain, ....... 23 
 
 Oloffe Van Cortland's Dream, by Alfred Fredericks, • 29 
 
 Trophy Point, ------.-. 35 
 
 Rounding the Point, .---.-. ^^ 
 
 General Grant's Tomb, - ..... 61 
 
 Mount Taurus, ........ gg 
 
 SUNNYSIDE, with VIGNETTE OF SLEEPY HOLLOW, BY ALFRED 
 
 Fredericks, ....... gi 
 
 Sleepy Hollow Church, ky Alfred Fredericks, - - 91 
 
 Sugar Loaf, --..-.... 103 
 
 Anthony's Nose, (from the South), - - - - - ' 108 
 
 In the Highlands, --..... facing 112 
 
 Northern Gate of the Highlands (from West Point), - 121 
 
 The Dade Monument at West Point, ----- 125 
 
 Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh, ... 131 
 
 Morning View at Blue Point, by Al^kd Fredericks, - - 155 
 
 Day Line Steamers Passing Under tB Poughkeepsie Bridge, i6q 
 
 The Man in the Mountain, by AlfreM Fredericks, - - 207 
 
 Kaaterskill Falls, - - - if . . . , 213 
 
 Rip Van Winkle's Return, by Alfred Fredericks, - - 215 
 
 Lower Falls of the Kaaterskill, - . - . - 217 
 
 Lake George, .....--.- 259 
 
 Boat Ride, Ausable Chasm, - - - - • 267 
 
 Wall-Face Mountain, by Alfred Fredericks, - . . 280 
 
 An Adirondack Camp-Fire, by Alfred Fredericks, - 238 
 
GREETING : The Hudson, more than any other river, 
 has a distiyict personality — a7i absohite soul-quality. With 
 moods as various as the lo7igings of human life she responds 
 to our joys in sympathetic sweetness, and soothes our sor- 
 rows as hy a gentle compa7iionship. If the Mississippi is 
 the King of Rivers the Hudso7i is, par excellence, the 
 Queen, and continually charins hy her ''infinite variety." 
 It often see7ns that there are in reality four separate Hud- 
 sons — the IIudso7i of Beauty, the IIudso7i of History, the 
 Hudson of Literature, and the lIudso7i of Com7nerce. To 
 hlend the7n all into a lovi7ig cable reaching fro7n heart to 
 heart is the purpose of the 7uriter. It has been his privi- 
 lege to walk agai7i and again every foot of its course fro7n 
 the wilde7'7iess to the sea, to linger beside her fou7itains and 
 dream amid her historic shrines, a7id from ma7iy braided 
 threads of 7nemory it has been his hope to set fo7'th with 
 affectionate enthusiasm ichat the studeyit or traveler wishes 
 to see and hnoio of her 7najesty a7id glory, 
 
 W.B. 
 
THE HUDSON. 
 
 The Hudson River is a noble threshold to a great Continent 
 and New York Bay a fitting portal. The traveler who enters 
 the Narrows for the first time is impressed with wonder, and the 
 charm abides even with those who pass daily to and fro amid its 
 beauties. No other river in the world approaches the Hudson in 
 varied grandeur and sublimity, and no other city has so grand and 
 commodious a harbor as New York. It has been the privilege of 
 the writer of this hand-book to see again and again most of the 
 streams of the old world " renowned in song and story," to behold 
 sunrise on the Bay of Naples and sunset at the Golden Gate of 
 
12 THE HUDSON. 
 
 San Francisco, but the spell of the Hudson remains unbroken, 
 and the bright bay at its mouth reflects the noontide without a 
 rival. 
 
 The Hudson has often been styled "The Rhine of America." 
 There is, however, little of similarity and much of contrast. 
 The Rhine from Dusseldorf to Manheim is only twelve hundred 
 to fifteen hundred feet in breadth. The Hudson from New York 
 to Albany averages more than five thousand feet from bank to 
 bank. At Tappan Zee the Hudson is ten times as wide as the 
 Rhine at any point above Cologne. At Bonn the Rhine is barely 
 one-third of a mile, whereas the Hudson at Haverstraw Bay is 
 over four miles in width. The average breadth of the Hudson 
 from New York to Poughkeepsie is almost eight thousand feet. 
 
 The Mountains of the Rhine also lack the imposing character 
 of the Highlands. The far-famed Drachenfels, the Landskron, 
 and the Stenzleburg are only seven hundred and fifty feet above 
 the river ; the Alteberg eight hundred, the Rosenau nine hun- 
 dred, and the great Oelberg thirteen hundred and sixty-two. 
 According to the latest United States Geological Survey the en- 
 tire group of mountains at the northern gate of the Highlands is 
 from fourteen hundred and five to sixteen hundred and twenty- 
 five feet in height, not to speak of the Catskills from three 
 thousand to almost four thousand feet in altitude. 
 
 It is not the fault of the Rhine with its nine hundred miles of 
 rapid flow that it looks tame compared with the Hudson. Even 
 the Mississippi, draining a valley three thousand miles in extent, 
 looks insignificant at St. Louis or New Orleans contrasted with 
 the Hudson at Tarrytown. The Hudson is in fact a vast estu- 
 ary of the sea ; the tide rises two feet at Albany and six inches 
 
THE HUDSON. 13 
 
 at Troy. A Professor of the Berlin University says : " You lack 
 our castles but the Hudson is infinitely grander." Thackeray, 
 in "The Virg-inians," gives the Hudson the verdict of beauty; 
 and George William Curtis, comparing- the Hudson with the 
 rivers of the Old World, has gracefully said : '* The Danube has 
 in part glimpses of such grandeur, the Elbe has sometimes such 
 delicately penciled effects, but no European river is so lordly 
 in its bearing, none flows in such state to the sea." 
 
 Baedeker, a high and just authority, in his recent Guide to the 
 United States says : " The Hudson has sometimes been called the 
 American Rhine, but that title perhaps does injustice to both 
 rivers. The Hudson, through a great part of its extent, is three 
 or four times as wide as the Rhine, and its scenery is grander and 
 more inspiring ; while, though it lacks the ruined castles and an- 
 cient towns of the German river, it is by no means devoid of his- 
 torical associations of a more recent character. The vine-clad 
 slopes of the Rhine have, too, no ineffective substitute in the bril- 
 liant autumn coloring of the timbered hillsides of the Hudson." 
 
 What must have been the sensation of those early voyagers, 
 coasting a new continent, as they halted at the noble Gateway of 
 the river and gazed northward along the green fringed Pali- 
 sades ; or of Hendrich Hudson, who first traversed its waters 
 from Manhattan to the Alohawk, as he looked up from the chubby 
 bow of his "Half Moon" at the massive columnar formation of 
 the Palisades or at the great Mountains of the Highlands ; what 
 dreams of success, apparently within reach, were his, when 
 night came down in those deep forest solitudes under the 
 shadowy base of Old Cro' Nest and Klinkerberg Mountain, where 
 his little craft seemed a lone cradlo of civilization ; and then, 
 
14 THE HUDSON. 
 
 when at last, with immediate purpose foiled, he turned his boat 
 southward, having- discovered, but without knowing" it, some- 
 thing infinitely more valuable to future history th-an his long 
 soug-ht "Northwestern Passage to China," how he must have 
 gazed with blended wonder and awe at the distant Catskills 
 as their sharp lines came out, as we have seen them many a 
 September morning, bold and clear along the horizon, and learned 
 in g"entle reveries the poetic meaning of the blue Ontioras or 
 " Mountains of the Sky." How fondly he must have gazed on 
 the picturesque hills above Apokeepsing and listened to the mur- 
 muring music of Winnikee Creek, when the air was clear as crys- 
 tal and the banks seemed to be brought nearer, perfectly re- 
 flected in the glassy surface, while here and there his eye wan- 
 dered over grassy uplands, and rested on hills of maize in shock, 
 looking for all the world like mimic encampments of Indian 
 wigwams ! Then as October came with tints which no European 
 eye had ever seen, and sprinkled the hill-tops with gold and rus- 
 set, he must indeed have felt that he was living an enchanted 
 life, or journeying in a fairy land ! 
 
 How graphically the poet Willis has put the picture in musi- 
 cal prose: "Fancy the bold Englishman, as the Dutch called 
 Hendrich Hudson, steering- his little yacht the ' Haalve Maan,' 
 for the first time through the Highlands. Imagine his anxiety 
 for the channel forgotten, as he gazed up at the towering rocks, 
 and round the green shores, and onward past point and opening 
 bend, miles away into the heart of the country; yet with no 
 lessening of the glorious sti'eam before him and no decrease of 
 promise in the bold and luxuriant shores. Picture him lying at 
 anchor below Newburgh with the dark pass of the Wey-Gat 
 
THE HUDSON. 15 
 
 frowning- behind him, the lofty and blue Catskills beyond, and 
 the hillsides around covered with lords of the soil exhibiting 
 only less wonder than friendliness." 
 
 If Willis forgot the season of the year and left out the colors 
 Talmage has fully supplied them in a recent and glowing vision, 
 to complete the picture as Hudson saw it: "Along our river 
 and up and down the sides of the great hills there was an in- 
 describable mingling of gold, and orange and crimson and saffron, 
 now sobering into drab and maroon, now flaring up into solferino 
 and scarlet. Here and there the trees looked as if their tips 
 had blossomed into fire. In the morning light the forests seemed 
 as if they had been transfigured and in the evening hours they 
 looked as if the sunset had burst and dropped upon the leaves. 
 It seemed as if the sea of divine glory had dashed Us surf to the 
 top of the crags and it had come dripping down to the lowest 
 leaf and deepest cavern." 
 
 On such a day in 1883 it was the privilege of the writer to 
 stand before 150,000 people at Newburgh on the occasion of the 
 Centennial Celebration of the Disbanding of the Army under 
 Washington, and, in a poem entitled "The Long Drama," to 
 portray the great mountain background bounding the southern 
 horizon with autumnal splendor : 
 
 October lifts with colors bright 
 
 Her mountain canvas to the sky, 
 The crimson trees aglow with light 
 
 Unto our banners wave reply. 
 
 Like Horeb's bush the leaves repeat 
 From lips of flame with glory crowned: — 
 
 "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, 
 The place they trod is holy ground." 
 
16 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Such was the vision Hendrich Hudson must have seen in those 
 far-off September and October days, and such the picture which 
 visitors still compass long distances to behold. 
 
 " It is a far cry to Loch Awe *' says an old Scottish proverb, and 
 it is a long step from the sleepy rail of the " Half Moon "' to the 
 roomy-decked floating- palaces — the "New York" and the 
 "Albany." Before beginning oar journey let us, therefore, 
 bridge the distance with a few intermediate facts, from 1609 to 
 1894, relating to the discovery of the river, its early settlement, 
 its old reaches and other points essential to the fullest enjoy- 
 ment of our trip, which in sailor-parlance we might style "a 
 gang-plank of history " reaching as it does from the old-time 
 yachtto the modern steamer, and spanning almost three hundred 
 years. 
 
 Its Discovery.— In the year 1524, thirty-two years after the 
 discovery of America, the navigator Verrazzani, a French offi- 
 cer, anchored off the island of Manhattan and proceeded a short 
 distance up the river. The following year, Gomez, a Portu- 
 guese in the employ of Spain, coasted along the continent and 
 entered the Narrows. Several Dutch captains also visited our 
 noble bay about 1598, but it was reserved for Hendrich Hudson, 
 with a mixed crew of eighteen or twenty men in the " Half 
 Moon," to explore the river from Sandy Hook to Albany, and 
 carry back to Europe a description of its beauty. He had already 
 made two voyages for the Muscovy Company— an English cor- 
 poration—in quest of a passage to China, via the North Pole and 
 Nova Zembla. 
 
 In the autumn of 1608 he was called to Amsterdam, and sailed 
 from Texel, April 5, 1609, in the service of the Dutch East India 
 
THE HUDSON. 19 
 
 Company. Reaching Cape Cod August 6, and Chesapeake Bay 
 August 28th. he coasted north to Sandy Hook. He entered the Bay 
 of Xew York September the 3d. passed through the Narrows, and 
 anchored in what is now called Newark Bay : on the 12th re- 
 sumed his voyage, and. drifting with the tide, remained over 
 night on the 13th about three miles above the northern end of 
 Manhattan Island ; on the 14th sailed through what is now known 
 as Tappan Zee and Haverstraw Bay, enterad the Highlands and 
 anchored for the night near the present dock of West Point. On 
 the morning of the loth beheld Newburgh Bay, reached Catskill 
 on the 16th, Athens on the 17th, Castleton and Albany on the 
 18th, and then sent out an exploring boat as far as Waterford. 
 He became thoroughly satisfied that this route did not lead to 
 China,— a conclusion in harmony with that of Champlain. who, 
 the same summer, had been making his way south, through 
 Lake Champlain and Lake George, in quest of the South Sea. 
 
 There is something humorous in the idea of these old mariners 
 attempting to sail through a continent 3.000 miles wide, seamed 
 with mountain chains from 2,000 to 15,000 feet in height. Hud- 
 son's return voyage began September 23d. He anchored again 
 in Newburgh Bay the 25th, arrived at Stony Point October 1st, 
 reached Sandy Hook the 4th. and then returned to Europe. 
 
 First Description of the Hudson.— The official record 
 of the voyage was kept by Robert .Juet, mate of the Half Moon, 
 and his journal abounds with graphic and pleasing incidents as 
 to the people and their customs. At the Narrows the Indians 
 visited the vessel, "clothed in mantles of feathers and robes 
 of fur, the women clothed in hemp: red copper tobacco 
 pipes, and other things of copper, they did wear about their 
 
20 THE HUDSON. 
 
 necks." At Yonkers they came on board in large numbers. 
 Two were detained and dressed in red coats, but they sprang 
 overboard and swam away. At Catskill they found "a very 
 loving- people, and very old men. They brought to the ship In- 
 dian corn, pumpkins and tobaccos." At Castleton the " Master's 
 mate went on land with an old savage, governor of the country, 
 who carried him to his house and made him good cheere." " I 
 sailed to the shore," he writes, " in one of their canoes, with an 
 old man, who was chief of a tribe, consisting of forty men and 
 seventeen women. These I saw there in a house well constructed 
 of oak bark, and circular in shape, so that it has the appearance 
 of being built with an arched roof. It contained a large quan- 
 tity of corn and beans of last year's growth, and there lay near 
 the house, for the purpose of drying, enough to load three ships, 
 besides what was growing in the fields. On our coming to the 
 house two mats were spread out to sit upon, and some food was 
 immediately served in well-made wooden bowls." 
 
 " Two men were also dispatched at once, with bows and arrows 
 in quest of game, who soon brought in a pair of pigeons, which 
 they had shot. They likewise killed a fat dog, (probably a black 
 bear), and skinned it in great haste, with shells which they had 
 got out of the water." 
 
 The well-known hospitality of the Hudson River valley has, 
 therefore, "high antiquity" in this record of the garrulous 
 writer. At Hudson the Indians flocked to the vessel, and Hud- 
 son determined to try the chiefs to see " whether they had any 
 treachery in them." " So they took them down into the cabin, 
 and gave them so much wine and aqua vitce that they were all 
 merry. In the end one of them was drunk, and they could not 
 
THE HUDSON. 21 
 
 tell how to take it." The old chief, who took the aqua vitce, was 
 so grateful when he awoke the next day, that he showed them 
 all the country, and gave them venison. 
 
 Passing down through the Highlands the Half Moon was be- 
 calmed near Stony Point and the "people of the Mountains'' 
 came on board and marvelled at the ship and its equipment. 
 One canoe kept hanging under the stern and an Indian pilfered a 
 pillow and two shirts from the cabin windows. The mate shot 
 at him and struck him in the breast and killed him. A boat 
 was lowered to recover the articles "when one of tbem in the 
 water seized hold of it to overthrow it, but the cook seized a 
 sword and cut off one of his hands and he was drowned." At the 
 head of Manhattan Island the vessel was again attacked. Ar- 
 rows were shot and two more Indians were killed, then the at- 
 tack was renewed and two more were sla 1 n. 
 
 It might also be stated in passing, that soon after the arrival of 
 Hendrich Hudson at the mouth of the river one of the Eng- 
 lish soldiers, John Coleman, was k illed by an arrow shot in the 
 throat. "He was buried," according to Ruttenber, "upon the 
 adjacent beach, the first European victim of an Indian weapon on 
 the Mahicanituk. Coleman's point is the monument to this oc- 
 currence." 
 
 The Half Moon never returned and it will be remembered that 
 Hudson never again saw ths shores of the river that he dis- 
 covered. He was to leave his name however as a monument to 
 further bravery and hardihood in Hudson's Bay, where he was 
 set adrift by a mutinous crew in a little boat to perish in the 
 midsummer of 1611. 
 
 Names of the Hudson.— The Iroquois called the river the 
 
22 THE HUDSON. 
 
 " Cohatatea." The Mahicans and Lenapes the '' Mahicanituk,-' 
 or ''the ever-flowing waters.'' Hudson styled it the '' Man- 
 hattes'' from the tribe at its mouth, the -French the Bio de 
 Montaigne. The Dutch named it the "Mauritius,"' in 1611, in 
 honor of Prince Maurice of Nassau, and afterwards the Great 
 River. It has also been referred to as the "Shatemuck" 
 inverse. It was called " Hudson's River " not by the Dutch, 
 as generally stated, but by the English, as Henry Hudson 
 was an Englishman, although he sailed from a Dutch port, 
 with a Dutch crew, and a Dutch vessel. It was also called the 
 " North River," to distinguish it from the Delaware, the South 
 River. It is still frequently so styled and the East River almost 
 " boxes the compass '' as applied to Long Island Sound. 
 
 Heiglit of Hills and Mountains.— It is interesting to hear 
 the opinions of different people journeying up and down the 
 Hudson as to the height of Mountains along the river. The 
 Palisades are almost always under-estimated, probably on ac- 
 count of their distance from the steamer. It is only when we 
 consider the size of a house at their base, or the mast of a sloop 
 anchored against the shore, that we can fairly judge of their 
 magnitude. Various Guide Books, put together in a day or a 
 month, by writers who have made a single journey, or by persons 
 who have never consulted an authority, have gone on multiplying 
 blunder upon blunder, but the United States Geological Survey, 
 published during the past year, has at last given reliable infor- 
 mation. According to their maps just issued the Palisades are 
 from 300 to 500 feet in height, the Highlands from 785 to 1625, 
 and the Catskills from 3000 to 3885 feet. 
 
THE HUDSON. 
 
 25 
 
 THE PALISADES. 
 
 At Fort Lee 300 feet. 
 
 Opposite Mt. St. Vincent 400 " 
 
 Opposite Hastings 500 " 
 
 THE HIGHLANDS 
 
 Sug-ar Loaf 785 feet. 
 
 Dunderberg- 865 
 
 Anthony's Nose 900 
 
 Storm King 1368 
 
 Old Cro' Nest 1405 
 
 Bull Hill 1425 
 
 South Beacon 1625 
 
 THE CATSKILLS. 
 
 North Mountain 3000 feet. 
 
 Platterskill 3135 '' 
 
 Outlook 3150 
 
 Stoppel Point 3426 
 
 Round Top 3470 
 
 High Peak 3660 
 
 Sugar Loaf 3782 
 
 Plateau 3855 
 
 Sources of tlie Hudson.— The Hudson rises in the Adiron- 
 dacks. and is formed by two short branches: the northern branch 
 (17 miles in length), has its source in Indian Pass, at the base of 
 Mount Mclntyre; the eastern branch (20 miles in length), in a 
 little lake poetically called the "' Tear of the Clouds," 4,321 feet 
 above the sea under the summit of Tahawus, the noblest 
 mountain of the Adirondacks, 5,344 feet in height. About thirty 
 
26 THE HUDSON. 
 
 miles below this junction it takes the waters of Boreas River, 
 and in the southern part of Warren County, nine miles east of 
 Lake George, the tribute of the Schroon. About fifteen miles 
 north of Saratoga it receives the waters of the Sacandaga, then the 
 streams of the Battenkill and the Walloomsac ; and a short dis- 
 tance above Troy its largest tributary, the Mohawk. The tide 
 rises six inches at Troy and two feet at Albany, and from 
 Troy to New York, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, the 
 river is navigable by large steamboats. 
 
 The principal streams which flow into the Hudson between 
 Albany and New York are the Norman's Kill, on west bank, two 
 miles south of Albany ; the Mourdener's Kill, at Castleton, eight 
 miles below Albany, on the east bank ; Coxsackie Creek, on west 
 bank, seventeen miles below Albany ; Kinderhook Creek, six 
 miles north of Hudson ; Catskill Creek, six miles south of Hud- 
 son ; Roeliffe Jansen's Creek, on east bank, seven miles south of 
 Hudson ; the Esopus Creek, which empties at Saugerties ; the 
 Rondout Creek, at Rondout ; the Wappingers, at New Ham- 
 burgh ; the Fishkill, at Matteawan. opposite Newburgh ; the 
 Peekskill Creek, and Croton River. The course of the River is 
 nearly north and south, and drains a comparatively narrow val- 
 ley. 
 
 It is emphatically the " River of the Mountains," as it rises in 
 the Adirondacks and flows seaward east of the Helderbergs, 
 the Catskills, the Shawangunks, through twenty miles of the 
 Highlands and along the base of the Palisades. More than 
 any other river it preserves the character of its origin, and the 
 following apostrophe from the writer's poem, " The Hudson," 
 condenses its continuous mountain-and-lake-like quality : 
 
THE HUDSON. 27 
 
 O Hudson, mountain born and free. 
 
 Thy youth a deep impression takes, 
 For, naountain-guarded to the sea, 
 
 Thy course is but a chain of lakes. 
 
 The First Settlement of tlae Hudson.— In 1610 a Dutch 
 ship visited Manhattan to trade with the Indians and was soon 
 followed by others on like enterprise. In 1613 Adrian Black 
 came with a few comrades and remained the winter. In 1614 
 the merchants of North Holland organized a company and ob- 
 tained from the States General a charter to trade in the New 
 Netherlands, and soon after a colony built a few houses and a fort 
 near the Battery. The entire island was purchased from the In- 
 dians in 1624 for the sum of sixty guilders or about twenty-four 
 dollars. A fort was built at Albany in 1623 and known as 
 Fort Aurania or Fort Orange. From Wassenaer's "Historic 
 van Furopa," 1621-1632, as translated in the 3d volume of 
 the Documentary History of New York, a castle — Fort Nas- 
 sau—was built in 1624, on an island on the north side of the 
 River Montague, now called Mauritius. " But as the natives 
 thjre were somewhat discontented, and not easily managed, the 
 proje(!tors abandoned it, intending now to plant a colony among 
 the Maikans, (Mahicans), a nation lying twenty-five miles (Amer- 
 ican measure seventy-five miles) on both sides of the river, up- 
 wards." In another document we learn that " The West India 
 Company being chartered, a vessel of 130 lasts, called the New 
 Netherland, (whereof Cornelius Jacobs, of Hoorn, was skipper), 
 with thirty families, mostly Walloons, was equipped in the spring 
 of 1623." 
 
 In the beginning of May they entered the Hudson, found a 
 
28 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Frenchman lying- in the mouth of the river, who would erect the 
 arms of the King- of France there, but the Hollanders would not 
 permit him, opposing it by commission from the Lord's States 
 General and the Directors of the West India Company, and " in 
 order not to be frustrated therein, they convoyed the French 
 man out of the rivers." This having been done, they sailed 
 up the Maikans, 140 miles, near which they built and completed 
 a fort, named "Orange," with four bastions, on an island, by 
 them called " Castle Island." This was probably the island be- 
 low Castleton, now known as Baern Island, where the first white 
 child was born on the Hudson. 
 
 In another volume we read that " a colony was planted in 1625 
 on the Manhetes Island, where a fort was staked out by Master 
 Kryn Fredericke, an engineer. The counting-house is kept in a 
 stone building thatched with reed ; the other houses are of the 
 bark of trees. There are thirty ordinary houses on the east side 
 of the river, which runs nearly north and south." This is the 
 description of New York City when Charles the First was King 
 of England. 
 
 Moreover, we should not forget that Communipaw outranks New 
 York in antiquity, and, according to Knickerbocker, whose quiet 
 humor is always read and re-read with pleasure, might justly be 
 considered the Mother Colony. For lo ! the sage Oloffe Van Kort- 
 landt dreamed a dream, and the good St. Nicholas came riding 
 over the tops of the trees, and descended upon the island of 
 Manhattan and sat himself down and smoked, "and the smoke 
 ascended in the sky, and formed a cloud overhead; and 
 Oloffe bethought him, and he hastened and climbed up to the top 
 of one of the tallest trees, and saw that the smoke spread over a 
 
THE HUDSON. 29 
 
 ^eat extent of country ; and, as he considered it more atten- 
 tively, he fancied that the great volume assumed a variety of 
 marvelous forms, where, in dim obscurity, he saw shadowed out 
 palaces and domes and lofty spires, all of which lasted but a mo- 
 ment, and then passed away." So New York, like Alba Longa 
 and Rome, and other cities of antiquity, was under the imme- 
 diate care of its tutelar saint. Its destiny was foreshadowed, for 
 
 OLOFFE VAN CORTLANDT'S DREAM. 
 
 now the palaces and domes and lofty spires are real and genuine, 
 and something more than dreams are made of. 
 
 The Original Manors and Patents.— According to a map 
 of the Province of New York, published in 17T9, the Phillips- 
 burg Patent embraced a large part of Westchester County. 
 North of this was the Manor of Cortland, reaching from Tarry- 
 
30 THE HUDSON. 
 
 town to Anthony's Nose. Above this was the Phillipse Patent, 
 reaching to the mouth of Fishkill Creek, embracing Putnam 
 County. Between Fishkill Creek and the Wappingers Creek 
 was the Rombout Patent. The Shuyler Patent embraced a few 
 square miles in the vicinity of Poughkeepsie. Above this was the 
 purchase of Falconer «S;: Company, and east of this tract what 
 was known as the Great Nine Partners. Above the Falconer 
 Purchase was the Henry Beekman Patent, reaching to Esopus 
 Island, and east of this the Little Nine Partners. Above the 
 Beekman Patent was the Schuyler Patent. Then the Manor of 
 Livingston, reaching from Rhinebeck to Catskill Station, oppo- 
 site Catskill. Above this Rensselaerwick, reaching north to a 
 point opposite Coeymans. The Manor of Rensselaer extended 
 on both sides of the river to a line running nearly east and west, 
 just above Troy. North and west of this Manor was the County 
 of Albany, since divided into Rensselaer, Saratoga, Washington, 
 Schoharie, Greene and Albany. The Rensselaer Manor was the 
 only one that reached across the river. The west bank of the 
 Hudson, below the Rensselaer Manor, is simply indicated on this 
 map of 1779 as Ulster and Orange Counties. 
 
 New Amsterdam. — For about fifty years after the Dutch 
 Settlement the island of Manhattan was known as New Amster- 
 dam. Washington Irving, in his Knickerbocker History, has 
 surrounded it with a loving halo and thereby given to the early 
 records of New York the most picturesque background of any 
 State in the Union, Among other playful allusions to the In- 
 dian names he takes the word Manna-hatta of Robert Juet to 
 mean "the island of manna," or in other words a land flowing 
 with milk and honey. He refers humorously to the Yankees as 
 
THE HUDSON. 31 
 
 **an ingenious people who out-barg-ain them in the market, out- 
 speculate them on the exchange, out-top them in fortune, and 
 run up mushroom palaces so high that the tallest Dutch family 
 mansion has not wind enough left for its weather-cock." 
 
 What would the old burgomaster think now of the mounting 
 palaces of trade and the piled up stories of our Commercial 
 Buildings ? In fact the highest structure Washington Irving 
 himself ever saw in New York was a nine-story sugar refinery. 
 With elevators running two hundred feet a minute, there seems 
 no limit to these modern mammoths. 
 
 From the very beginning there was a quiet jealousy between 
 the Dutch Settlement on the Hudson and the English Settlers in 
 Massachusetts. To quote from an old English history, "it was 
 the original purpose of the Pilgrims to locate near Nova Scotia, 
 but, upon better consideration, they decided to seat themselves 
 more to the southward on the bank of Hudson's River which 
 falls into the sea at New York." 
 
 To this end ''they contracted with some merchants who were 
 willing to be adventurers with them in their intended settlement 
 and were i)roprietor.s of the country, but the contract bore too 
 heavy upon them, and made them the more easy in their disap- 
 pointment. Their agents in England hired the Mayflower, and, 
 after a stormy voyage, "fell in with Cape Cod on the 9th of 
 November. Here they refreshed themselves about half a day 
 and then tacked about to the southward for Hudson's River.'' 
 
 " Encountering a storm they became entangled in dangerous 
 shoals and breakers and were driven back again to the Cape." 
 Thus Plymouth became the first English settlement of New Eng- 
 land. Another historian says that it was their purpose " to set- 
 
32 THE HUDSON. 
 
 tie on the Connecticut Coast near Fairfield County, lying- between 
 the Connecticut and Hudson's River." 
 
 From the very first the Dutch occupation was considered by 
 the English as illegal. It was undoubtedly part of the country 
 the coasts of which were first viewed by Sebastian Cabot, who 
 sailed with five English ships from Bristol in May, 1498, and as 
 such was afterwards included in the original province of Vii> 
 ginia. It was also within the limits of the country granted by 
 King James to the Western Company, but, before it could be set- 
 tled, the Dutch occupancy took place, and, in the interest of 
 peace, a license was granted by King James. 
 
 The Dutch thus made their settlement before the Puritans 
 were planted in New England, and from their first coming, "being 
 seated in Islands and at the mouth of a good River their planta- 
 tions were in a thriving condition, and they begun, in Holland, 
 to promise themselves vast things from their new colony." 
 
 Sir Samuel Argal in 1617 or 1618, on his way^ from Virginia to 
 New Scotland, insulted the Dutch and destroyed their planta- 
 tions. "To guard against further molestations they secured a 
 License from King James to build Cottages and to plant for traf- 
 fic as well as subsistence, pretending it was only for the con- 
 veniency of their ships touching there for fresh water and fresh 
 provisions in their voyage to Brazil ; but they little by little ex- 
 tended their limits every way, built Towns, fortified them and 
 became a flourishing colony." 
 
 "In an island called Manhattan, at the nouth of Hudson's 
 River, they built a City which they called New Amsterdam, and 
 the river was called by them the Great River. The bay to the 
 east of it had the name of Nassau given to it. About one hun- 
 
THE HUDSON. 33 
 
 dred and fifty miles up the River they built a Fort which they 
 called Orange Fort and from thence drove a profitable trade 
 with the Indians who came overland as far as from Quebec to 
 deal with them." 
 
 The Dutch Colonies were therefore in a very thriving- con- 
 dition when they were attacked by the English. The justice of 
 this war has been freelj^ criticised even by English writers, "be- 
 cause troops were sent to attack New Amsterdam before the 
 Colony had any notice of the war." 
 
 The Encyclopaedia Britannica thus briefly puts the history of 
 those far-ofi" days when New York was a town of about 1500 
 inhabitants : " The English Government was hostile to any other 
 occupation of the New World than its own. In 1621 James I. 
 claimed sovereignty over New Netherland by right of ' occu- 
 pancy.' In 1632 Charles I. reasserted the English title of 
 'first discovery, occupation and possession.' In 1654 Cromwell 
 ordered an expedition for its conquest and the New England 
 Colonies had engaged their support. The treaty with Holland 
 arrested their operations and recognized the title of the Dutch. 
 In 1664 Charles the Second resolved upon a conquest of New 
 Netherland. The immediate excuse was the loss to the revenue 
 of the English Colonies by the smuggling practices of their 
 Dutch neighbors. A patent was granted to the Duke of York 
 giving to him all the lands and rivers from the west side of the 
 Connecticut River to the east side of Delaware Bay." 
 
 "On the 29th of August an English Squadron under the direc- 
 tion of Col. Richard Nicolls, the Duke's Deputy Governor, 
 appeared off the Narrows, and on Sept. 8th New Amsterdam, 
 defenseless against the force, was formally surrendered by Stuy- 
 
34 THE HUDSON. 
 
 vesant. In 1673 (August 7th) war being declared between 
 England and Holland a Dutch squadron surprised New York, 
 captured the City and restored the Dutch authority, and the 
 names of New Netherland and New Amsterdam. But in July, 
 1674, a treaty of peace restored New York to English rule. A 
 new patent was issued to the Duke of York, and Major Edmund 
 Andros was appointed Governor." 
 
 New York.— On the 10th of November, 1674, the Province of 
 New Netherland was surrendered to Governor Major Edmund 
 Andros on behalf of his Britannic Majesty. The letter sent by 
 Governor Andros to the Dutch Governor is interesting in this 
 connection : " Being arrived to this place with orders to re- 
 ceive from you in the behalf of his Majesty of Great Britain, 
 pursuant to the late articles of peace with the States Generals of 
 the United Netherlands, the New Netherlands and Dependen- 
 cies, now under your command, I have herewith, by Capt. 
 Philip Carterett and Ens. Caesar Knafton, sent you the respective 
 orders from the said States Generall, the States of Zealand and 
 Admirality of Amsterdam to that effect, and desire you'll please 
 to appoint some short time for it. Our soldiers having been long 
 aboard, I pray you answer by these gentlemen, and I shall be 
 ready to serve you in what may lay in my power. Being from 
 aboard his Majesty's ship, The Diamond, at anchor near. Your 
 very humble servant. Staten Island this 22d Oct., 1674." After 
 nineteen days' deliberatiun, which greatly annoyed Governor 
 Andros, New Amsterdam was transferred from Dutch to Eng- 
 lish authority, 
 
 '*In 1683 Thomas Dongan succeeded Andros. A general As- 
 sembly, the first under the English rule, met in October, 1683, 
 
THE HUDSON. 37 
 
 and adopted a Charter of Liberties, which was confirmed by the 
 Duke. In August, 1684, a new covenant was made with the 
 Iroquois, who formally acknowledged the jurisdiction of Great 
 Britain, but not subjection. By the accession of the Duke of 
 York to the English throne the Duchy of New York became a 
 royal province. The Charters of the New England Colonies 
 were revoked, and together with New York and New Jersey they 
 were consolidated into the dominion of New p]ngland. Dongan 
 was recalled and Sir Edmund Andros was commissioned Govern- 
 or General. He assumed his-vice regal authority August 11th, 
 1688. The Assembly which James had abolished in 1686 was re- 
 established, and in May declared the rights and privileges of the 
 people, reaffirming the principles of the repealed Charter of 
 Liberties of October 30th, 1683." 
 
 From this time on to the Revolution of 1776 there is one con- 
 tinual struggle between the Royal Governors and the General 
 Assembly. The Governor General had the power of dissolving 
 the Assembly, but the Assembly had the power of granting 
 money. British troops were quartered in New York which in- 
 creased the irritation. The Conquest of Canada left a heavy 
 burden upon Great Britain, a part of which their Parliament 
 attempted to shift to the shoulders of the Colonies. 
 
 A general Congress of the Colonies, held in New York in 1765, 
 protested against the Stamp Act and other oppressive ordin- 
 ances and they were in part repealed. 
 
 A Page of Patriotism.— During the long political agita- 
 tion New York, the most English of the colonies in her manners 
 and feelings, was in close harmony with the Whig leaders of 
 England. She firmly adhered to the principle of the sovereignty 
 
38 THE HUDSON. 
 
 of the people which she had inscribed on her ancient ' ' Charter 
 of Liberties." Althoug-h larg-ely dependent upon commerce she 
 was the first to recommend a non-importation of English mer- 
 chandise as a measure of retaliation against Britain, and she was 
 the first also to invite a general congress of all the colonies. On 
 the breaking out of hostilities New York immediately joined the 
 patriot cause. The English authority was overthrown and the 
 government passed to a provincial congress. 
 
 New York Sons of Liberty.— In 1767, in the eighth year 
 of the reign of George Hi. there was issued a document in 
 straightforward Saxon, and Sir Henry Moore, Governor-in-Chief 
 over the Province of New York, offered fifty pounds to discover 
 the author or authors. The paper read as follows : '* Whereas, 
 a glorious stand for Liberty did appear in the Resentment shown 
 to a Set of Miscreants under the Name of Stamp Masters, in the 
 year 1765, and it is now feared that a set of Gentry called Com- 
 missioners (I do not mean those lately arrived at Boston), whose 
 odious Business is of a similar nature, may soon make their ap- 
 pearance amongst us in order to execute their detestable office : 
 It is therefore hoped that every votary of that celestial Goddess 
 Liberty, will hold themselves in readiness to give them a proper 
 welcome. Rouse, my Countrymen, Rouse ! (Signed) Pro Patria.^^ 
 
 In December, 1769, a stirring address " To the Betrayed In- 
 habitants of the City and County of New York," signed by a Son 
 of Liberty, was also published, asking the people to do their duty 
 in matters pending between them and Britain. " Imitate," the 
 writer said, " the noble examples of the friends of Liberty in 
 England ; who, rather than be enslaved, contend for their rights 
 with king, lords and commons : and will you suffer your liber- 
 
THE HUDSON. 39 
 
 ties to be torn from you by your Representatives ? tell it not In 
 Boston ; publish it not in the streets of Charles-town. You have 
 means yet left to preserve a unanimity with the brave Boston- 
 ians and Carolinians ; and to prevent the accomplishment of the 
 designs of tyrants." 
 
 Another proclamation, offering a reward of fifty pounds, was 
 published by the '' Honorable Cadwalader Colden. Esquire, His 
 Majesty's Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the 
 Province of New York and the territories depending thereon in 
 America,-' with another '* God Save the King " at the end of it. 
 But the people who commenced to write Liberty with a capital 
 letter and the word "king" in lower case type were not daunted. 
 Captain Alexander McDougal was arrested as the supposed au- 
 thor. He was imprisoned eighty-one days. He was subsequently 
 a member of the Provincial Convention, in 1775 was ap- 
 pointed Colonel of the first New York Regiment, and in 1777 rose 
 to the rank of Major-General in the U. S. Army. New York City 
 could well afford a monument to the Sons of Liberty. She has a 
 right to emphasize this period of her history, for her citizens pass- 
 ed the first resolution to import nothing from the mother coun- 
 try, burned ten boxes of stamps sent from P^ngland before any 
 other colony or city had made even a show of resistance, and 
 when the Declaration was read, pulled down the leaden statue 
 of George III. from its pedestal in Bowling Green, and moulded 
 it into Republican Bullets. 
 
 In 1699 the population of New York was about 6,000. In 1800, 
 it reached 60,000 ; and the growth since that date is almost in- 
 credible. It is amusing to hear elderly people speak of the 
 " outskirts of the city " lying north of the City Hall, and of the 
 
40 THE HUDSON. 
 
 drives in the country above Canal Street. In the Documentary 
 History of New York, a map of a section of New York appears 
 as it was in 1793, when the Gail, Work House, and Bridewell oc- 
 cupied the site of the City Hall, with two ponds to the north 
 
 East Collect Pond and Little Collect Pond, — sixty feet deep and 
 about a quarter of a mile in diameter, the outlet of which crossed 
 Broadway at Canal Street and found its way to the Hudson. 
 (On this pond John Fitch claims to have launched the first boat 
 propelled by steam, some six years before Fulton made trial of 
 his boat on the river Seine in France, and ten years prior to his 
 putting into operation his boat Clermont in New York.) 
 
 Greater New York.— In 1830, the population of New York 
 was 202,000; in 1850, 515,000; in 1860, 805,000; in 1870, 942,000; 
 in 1880, 1,250,000: in 1892, 1,801,739; with a rapidly increasing 
 population now estimated at over two millions. Brooklyn, 
 which in 1800 had a population of only 2,000, now contributes, as 
 the "Borough of Brooklyn," more than one million to the 
 census of the western emporium. So that Greater New York, 
 with the towns which surround it, represents to-day a popula- 
 tion of almost four millions of people, with something more than 
 three millions under one municipality. 
 
 Brooklyn. — In June, 1636, was bought the first land on Long 
 Island ; and in 1667 the Ferry Town, opposite New York, was 
 known by the name " Breuckelen," signifying "broken land," 
 but the name was not generally accepted until after the Revo- 
 lution. Columbia Heights, Prospect Park, Clinton Avenue, 
 St. Mark's Place, Hancock Street and Stuyvesant Heights are 
 among the favored sjwts for residence. The bright city across 
 the Bridge has a happy location for health and convenience 
 
THE HUDSON. 41 
 
 Jersey City occupies the ground once known as Paulus 
 Hook, the farm of William Kieft, Director General of the Dutch 
 West India Company. It is now a city of about 200,000, and its 
 water front, from opposite Bartholdi Statue to Hoboken, is con- 
 spicuously marked by Railroad Terminal Piers, Factories, Ele- 
 vators, etc. Berg-en is the oldest settlement in New Jersey It 
 was founded in 1616 by Dutch Colonists to the New Netherlands, 
 and received its name from Berg-en in Norway. Jersey City is 
 practically a part of Greater New York, but state lines make 
 municipal union impossible. 
 
 Hudson River Steamboats.— An accurate history of the 
 growth and development of steam navigation on the Hudson, 
 from the building- of the "Clermont*' by Robert Fulton to the 
 building of the superb steamers, the " New York " and "Albany " 
 would form a very interesting book. The first seven years pro- 
 duced seven steamers, to wit : 
 
 Clermont, built in 1807 160 tons 
 
 North River, built in 1808 166 
 
 Car of Neptune, built in 1801) 295 " 
 
 Hope, built in 1811 280 " 
 
 Perseverance, built in 1811 280 " 
 
 Paragon, built in 1811 331 " 
 
 Richmond, built in 1813 370 " 
 
 It makes one smile to read the newspaper notices of those 
 days, and we give some of them for the benefit of the traveler. 
 The time was rather long, and the fare rather high — thirty-six 
 hours to Albany, fare seven dollars. 
 
 From the Albany Gazette, dated September, 1807. 
 *' The North River Steamboat will leave Paulus Hook Ferry 
 (now Jersey City) on Friday the 4th of September, at 9 in the 
 
42 THE HTTDSON. 
 
 morning, and arrive at Albany at 9 in the afternoon on Saturday. 
 Provisions, good berths, and accommodation are provided. The 
 charge to each passenger is as follows : 
 
 To Newburg Dols. 3, Time 14 hours. 
 
 Poughkeepsie " 4, " 17 " 
 
 Esopus " 5, " 20 " 
 
 Hudson " 5i, " 30 " 
 
 Albany " 7, " 36 " 
 
 For places apply to Wm. Vandervoort, No. 48 Courtland 
 street, on the corner of Greenwich street, September 2d, 1807." 
 Extract from the New York Evening Post, dated October 2d, 1807. 
 Mr. Fulton's new-invented steamboat, which is fitted up in a 
 neat style for passengers, and is intended to run from New York 
 to Albany as a packet, left here this morning with ninety pas- 
 sengers, against a strong head wind. Notwithstanding which, 
 it is judged that she moved through the waters at the rate of six 
 miles an hour. 
 
 Extract from the Albany Gazette, dated October 5th, 1807. 
 Friday, October 2d, 1807, the steamboat (Clermont) left New 
 York at ten o'clock a. m., against a stormy tide, very rough 
 water, and a violent gale from the north. She made a headway 
 beyond the most sanguine expectations, and without being 
 rocked by the waves. 
 
 Arrived at Albany, October 4th, at 10 o'clock p. m., being 
 detained by being obliged to come to anchor, owing to a gale 
 and having one of her paddle wheels torn away by running foul 
 of a sloop. 
 
 The following v is recently recopied in the Poughkeepsie 
 Eajrle, as an old time reminiscence : 
 
THE HUDSON. 43 
 
 To Pouglikeepsie from New York in Seventeen Hours. 
 
 — The first steamboat on the Hudson River passed Poughkeep- 
 sie August ITth, 1807, and in June, 1808, the owners of the boat 
 caused the following advertisement to be published in prominent 
 papers along the river : 
 
 STEAMBOAT. 
 
 FOR THE INFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC. 
 
 The Steamboat will leave New York for Albany every Satur- 
 day afternoon exactly at G o'clock, and will pass : 
 
 West Point, about 4 o'clock Sunday morning. 
 
 Newburgh, 7 o'clock Sunday morning. 
 
 Poughkeepsie, 11 o'clock Sunday morning. 
 
 Esopus, 2 o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 Red Hook, 4 o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 Catskill, 7 o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 Hudson, 8 o'clock in the evening. 
 
 She will leave Albany for New York every Wednesday morn- 
 ing exactly at 8 o'clock, and pass : 
 
 Hudson, about 3 in the afternoon. 
 
 Esopus, 8 in the evening. 
 
 Poughkeepsie, 12 at night. 
 
 Newburgh, 4 Thursday morning. 
 
 West Point, 7 Thursday morning. 
 
 As the time at which the boat may arrive at the different 
 places above mentioned may vary an hour, more or less, accord- 
 ing to the advantage or disadvantage of wind and tide, those 
 who wish to come on board will see the necessity of being on 
 the spot an hour before the time. Persons wishing to come on 
 board from any other landing than these here specified caq 
 
44 THE HtTDSON. 
 
 calculate the time the boat will pass and be ready on her arrival. 
 Innkeepers or boatmen who bring- passengers on board or take 
 them ashore from any part of the river will be allowed one 
 shilling- for each person. 
 
 PRICES OF PASSAGE— FROM NEW YORK. 
 
 To West Point $2 30 
 
 To Newburgh 3 00 
 
 To Poughkeepsie 3 50 
 
 To Esopus 4 00 
 
 To Red Hook 4 50 
 
 To Hudson 5 00 
 
 To Albany 7 00 
 
 FROM ALBANY. 
 
 To Hudson $2 00 
 
 To Red Hook 3 00 
 
 To Esopus 3 50 
 
 To Poug-hkeepsie 4 00 
 
 To Newburg-h and West Point 4 50 
 
 To New York 7 00 
 
 All other passengers are to pay at the rate of one dollar for 
 every twenty miles, and a half dollar for every meal they may 
 eat. 
 
 Children from 1 to 5 years of age to pay one-third price and 
 to sleep with the persons under whose care they are. 
 
 Young persons from 5 to 15 years of age to pay half price, 
 provided they sleep two in a berth, and the whole price for each 
 one who requests to occupy a whole berth. 
 
 Servants who pay two-thirds price are entitled to a berth ; 
 they pay half price if they do not have a berth. 
 
 Every person paying full price is allowed sixty pounds of bag- 
 gage ; if less than full price forty pounds. They are to pay at 
 
THE HUDSON. 45 
 
 the rate of three cents per pound for surplus bag-gage. Store- 
 keepers who wish to carry light and valuable merchandise can 
 be accommodated on paying three cents a pound." 
 
 Steamers "New York" and "Albany."— As the cradle of 
 successful steam navigation was rocked on the Hudson, it is fit- 
 ting that the Day Line Steamers, the " New York " and "Albany " 
 should excel all others in beauty, grace and speed. There is no 
 comparison between these river palaces and the steamboats on 
 the Rhine or any river in Europe, as to equipment, comfort and 
 rapidity. To make another reference to the great tourist route 
 of Europe, the distance from Cologne to Coblenz is 60 miles, the 
 same as from New York to Newburgh. It takes the Rhine 
 steamers from seven to eight hours (as will be seen in Baedek- 
 er's Guide to that river) going uj) the stream, and from four and 
 a half to five hours returning with the current. The "New 
 York "or the "Albany*' leaves 22d Street at 9 a. m., reaching 
 Newburgh at 12.25, covering the same distance in three hours 
 and twenty-five minutes, either with or without tide, wind or 
 current. Probably no train on the best equipped railroad in 
 our country reaches its stations with greater regularity than 
 these boats make their various landings. It astonishes a Missis- 
 sippi or Missouri traveler to see the captain standing like a 
 train-conductor, with watch in hand, to let off the gang-plank 
 and pull the bell, at the very moment of the advertised schedule. 
 
 One of the most humorous incidents of the writer's journeying 
 up and down the Hudson, was the " John-Gilpin-experience" of 
 a western man who got off at West Point a few years ago. It 
 was at that time the first landing of the steamer after leaving 
 New York. 
 
46 THE HUDSON. 
 
 As he was accustomed to the Mississippi style of waiting at 
 the various towns he thought he would go up and take a look at 
 the "hill." The boat was off and " so was he ; " with wife and 
 children shaking their hands and handkerchiefs in an excited 
 manner from the gang-plank. Some one at the stern of the 
 steamer shouted to him to cross the river and take the train to 
 Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Every one was on the lookout for him at the Poughkeepsie 
 landing, and, just as the steamer was leaving the dock, he came 
 dashing down Main street from the railroad station, but too late. 
 Then not only wife and children but the entire boat saluted him 
 and the crowded deck blossomed with handkerchiefs. Some one 
 shouted "catch us at Rhinebeck." After leaving Rhinebeck 
 the train appeared, and on passing the steamer, a lone hand- 
 kerchief waved from the rear of the platform. At Hudson an 
 excited but slightly disorganized gentleman appeared to the 
 great delight of his family, and every one else, for the passengers 
 had all taken a lively interest in the chase. "Well," he says, 
 "I declare, the way this boat lands, and gets off again, beats 
 anything I ever see, and I have lived on the Mississippi nigh on 
 to a quarter of a century." 
 
 Tlie Steamer "New York."— This steamer is the fastest 
 side-wheel vessel in the world, and the following facts, furnished 
 by the courtesy of the Day Line, will be of interest to the tourist. 
 The hull was built at Wilmington, Del., by the Harlan & Hollings- 
 worth Co., in 1887, and is, with the exception of the deck-frame, 
 made of iron throughout. During the winter of 1897 she was 
 lengthened 30 feet, and now measures 341 feet in length, breadth 
 over all 74 feet, with grors tonnage of 1,974.85; net tonnage, 
 
THE HUDSON. 49 
 
 1 ,261.81. The engine was built by the W. & A. Fletcher Co., of 
 New York. It is a standard American beam engine, with a 
 cylinder 75 inches in diameter and 12 feet stroke of piston, and 
 develops 3,850 horse power. Steam stearing gear is used. One 
 of the most admirable features of this queen of river steamers 
 is her "feathering"' wheels; and other recent improvements 
 have also added materially to her speed and comfort. The 
 exterior of the "New York" is painted white and relieved 
 with tints and gold. The interior is finished in hard-wood 
 cabinet work, ash being used forward of the shaft on the main 
 deck, and mahogany aft and in the dining-room Ash is also 
 used in the grand saloons on the promenade deck. One feature 
 of these saloons especially worthy of note is the number and 
 size of the windows, which are so numerous as to almost form 
 one continuous window. The Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co. 
 made the artistic glass in the new domes, and D. S. Hess & Co. 
 designed the rich furnishings. The private parlors on the 
 "New York" are provided with bay windows, and are very 
 luxuriantly furnished. In the saloons are paintings by Albert 
 Bierstadt, J. F. Cropsey, Walter Satterlee and David Johnson. 
 The dining-room on the "New York" is located on the main 
 deck, aft, a feature that will commend itself to tourists, since 
 while enjoying their meals they will not be deprived from view- 
 ing the noble scenery through which the steamer is passing. 
 
 Tlie Steamer "Albany."— The "Albany " is one of the 
 most beautiful steamers ever constructed. Her graceful lines 
 and great deck room forward are very noticeable, and she 
 combines all the known improvements that go toward making 
 travel by water safe and attractive. 
 
50 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Her hull and engines were built by the same companies as 
 those of the steamer "New York," and, during the ^winter of 
 1892, she also was lengthened thirty feet and furnished with 
 feathering paddle wheels. Her elegant private parlors, beau- 
 tiful dining-room, hard-wood trimming, cheerful deck and 
 capacious saloons, filled with rare gems of art, notably Palmer's 
 ideal conception of June, a life-size marble bust of a young girl, 
 at the head of the great staircase, and oil paintings on the walls 
 by Emile Princhart of Paris, F. D. Briscoe of Philadelphia, and 
 Yzquierdo of Madrid, Spain, with rich Axminster carpets and 
 furnishings of antique design, make her the worthy peer of the 
 "New York." They are in fact twin-steamers, superbly 
 equipped, whose officers and crews emulate each other in duty 
 and effectiveness. 
 
 Tlie Old Readies. — Early navigators divided the Hudson 
 into fourteen " reaches " or distances from point to point as seen 
 by one sailing up or down the river. In the slow days of uncer- 
 tain sailing vessels these divisions meant more than in our 
 time of "propelling steam," but they are still of practical and 
 historic interest. 
 
 The Great Chip Rock Reach extends from above Weehawkcn 
 about eighteen miles to the boundary lino of New York and New 
 Jersey — (near Picrmont.) The Palisades were known by the old 
 Dutch settlers as the " Great Chip," and so styled in the Bergen 
 Deed of Purchase, viz, the great chip above Weehawken. The 
 Tappan Reach, on the east side of which dwelt the Manhattans, 
 and on the west side the Saulrickans and the Tappans, extends 
 about seven miles to Teller's Point. The third reach to a nar- 
 row point called Ilavcrstroo; then comes the Scylmalccfs Reach, 
 
THE HUDSON. 51 
 
 then Crescent Reach ; next Hoge's Reach, and then Vorsen Reach, 
 which extends to Klinkersberg-, or Storm King, the north- 
 ern portal of the Highlands. This is succeeded by Fishefs 
 R^ach where, on the east side once dwelt a race of savages 
 called Pachami. "This reach,"' in the language of De Laet, 
 "extends to another narrow pass, where, on the west, is a point 
 of land which juts out, covered with sand, opposite a bend in the 
 river, on which another nation of savages — the \Yaoranecks — 
 have their abode at a place called Esopus. Next, another reach, 
 called Claverack; then Bockcrack; next Playsier Reach, and 
 Vaste Reach, as far as Hinnenhock ; then Hunter's Reach, 
 as far as Kinderhook : and Fisher's Hook, near Shad Island, 
 over which, on the east side, dwell the Mahicans.*' If these 
 reaches seem valueless at present, there are 
 
 Five Divisions of ttie Hudson— which possess interest 
 for all, as they present an analysis easy to be remembered — 
 divisions marked by something more substantial than sentiment 
 or fancy, expressing five distinct characteristics : — 
 
 1. The Palisades, an unbroken wall of rock for fifteen miles 
 —Grandeur. 
 
 2. The Tappan Zee, surrounded by the sloping hills of 
 Nyack, Tarrytown, and Sleepy Hollow — Repose. 
 
 3. The Highlands, where the Hudson for twenty miles plays 
 "hide and seek" with "hills rock-ribbed and ancient as the 
 sun"— Sublimity. 
 
 4. The Hillsides for miles above and below Poughkeepsie— 
 The Picturesque. 
 
 5. The Catskills, on the west, throned in queenly dignity — 
 Beauty. 
 
SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 From Hurricane Deck of the steamers " New York " and 
 "Albany" can be seen, on leaving or approaching the great 
 Metropolis, one of the most interesting panoramas in the world 
 — the river life of Manhattan, the high buildings of Broadway, 
 the great Transatlantic docks, Recreation Pier, Christopher 
 Street, and an ever-changing kaleidoscope of interest. The 
 view is especially grand between the hours of five and six in 
 the afternoon, as the western sun brings the city in strong re- 
 lief against the sky. If tourists wish to enjoy this beautiful 
 view they should stay on the HuBricane Deck until the boat 
 is well into her Desbrosses Street slip. 
 
 The Brooklyn Annex.— The Brooklyn tourist is especially 
 happy in this delightful preface and addenda to the Hudson 
 trip. The effect of morning and evening light in bringing out 
 or in subduing the sky-line of Manhattan is nowhere seen to 
 greater advantage. In the morning light the buildings from 
 the East River side stand out bold and clear, when lo ! almost 
 instantaneously, on turning the Battery, they are lessened 
 and subdued. On the return trip in the evening, the effect is 
 suddenly reversed — a study worth the while of the traveler as 
 he passes to and fro between Desbrosses Street Pier and Brook- 
 lyn. Surely no other city in the world rises so beautiful from 
 harbor line or water front as " Greater New York,"' with lofty 
 outlines of the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn reminding 
 one of Scott's tribute to Edinburgh : 
 
 *' Whose ridgy back heaves tothe sky, 
 
 Piled deep and massy, close and high, 
 
 Mine own romantic town I " 
 
ct.,i 
 
 ,^ '^ fi 
 
 J" 
 
 \ l\'T 
 
NEW YORK TO ALBANY, 
 
 DESBROSSES STREET PIER TO TWENTY-SECOND STREET. 
 
 The finely equipped steamers "New York'' and "Albany," 
 appropriately named from the terminal cities of the "Hudson 
 by Daylig-ht Trip," leave New York every morning (except Sun- 
 day) in Summer, (May to October) from Desbrosses Street Pier, 
 at 8.40 a. m, and 22nd Street (N. R.) at 9 a. m., reaching Albany 
 about 6 p. m. The general divisions, in accordance with steamer 
 landings, form a simple and complete analysis for description of 
 scenery and historic reference. 
 
 Desbrosses Street Pier.— On leaving the lower landing a 
 charming view is obtained of New York Harbor, the Narrows, 
 Staten Island, the Bartholdi Statue of Liberty, and, in clear 
 weather, far away to the South, the Highlands of Navisink, the 
 first land to greet the eye of the ocean voyager. As the Steamer 
 swings out into the stream the tourist is at once face to face 
 with a rapidly changing panorama. Steamers arriving, with 
 happy faces on their decks, from southern ports or distant lands ; 
 others with waving handkerchiefs bidding good-bye to friends 
 on crowded docks ; swift-shuttled ferry-boats, with hurrying 
 passengers, supplying their homespun woof to the great warp of 
 foreign or coastwise commerce ; noisy tug-boats, sombre as dray 
 horses, drawing long lines of canal boats, or proud in the convoy 
 
54 THE HUDSON. 
 
 of some Atlantic greyhound that has no yet slipped its leash ; 
 dignified "Men of War" at anchor, flying the flags of many 
 nations, happy excursion boats en route to sea-side resorts, scows, 
 picturesque in their very clumsiness and uncouthness — all unite 
 in a living kaleidescope of beauty. 
 
 Across the river on the Jersey Shore we see extensive docks 
 of great railways, with elevators and stations that seem like 
 '' knotted ends " of vast railway lines, lest they might forsooth, 
 untwist and become irrecoverably tangled in approaching the 
 Metropolis. Prominent among these are the Pennsylvania Rail- 
 road for the South and West ; the Erie Railway, the Delaware, 
 Lackawanna and Western, and to the North above Hoboken the 
 West Shore, serving also as starting point for the New York On- 
 tario and Western. Again the eye returns to the crowded 
 Wharves and Warehouses of New York, reaching from Castle 
 Garden beyond 30th Street, with forest-like masts and funnels of 
 ocean steamships, and then to prominent buildings mounting 
 higher and higher year by year along the city horizon, marking 
 the course of Broadway from the Battery. Chief among these 
 we behold the New York Life Insurance Co. with Clock Tower, 
 the square, grey stone structure of the Mutual Reserve, the tall, 
 narrow structure of the Shoe and Leather Bank Building, the 
 dome of the World Building, the tower of the Tribune and 
 close at hand the Times Building. Beyond this the American 
 Tract Building and the Park Row Syndicate, thirty stories in 
 height, the highest in the world, overtopping St. Paul Build- 
 ing by five stories, which marks the old site of the New York 
 Herald. Below these tower the Haverraeyer Building, the 
 Bank of Commerce and the Surety Company with rim of gilt 
 
THE HUDSON. 55 
 
 near the top, and south of these are seen the Manhattan Trust of 
 Wall Street marked by its lofty tower with columns, the Unity 
 Trust Building, the Empire Building, twenty-one stories, and 
 the Campanile tower of the Manhattan Life, literally fulfilling 
 the humor of Knickerbocker in not leaving space for a breath 
 of air for the top of old Trinity Church spire. The Exchange 
 Court, Aldrich Court Columbia Building, Standard Oil Build - 
 ing. Bowling Green, the Washington and the Produce Ex- 
 change complete the great walled highway of Commerce — 
 Broadway, the most majestic street in 'the world. 
 
 Ttie 22d Street Pier is now at hand, convenient of access to 
 up-town dwellers, as the 23d Street car line crosses the island in- 
 tersecting every " up and down " surface or elevated road in the 
 City, as does also the Grand, Vestry and Desbrosses Street at the 
 lower landing. While the passengers are coming aboard we 
 take pleasure in quoting the following from Baedeker's Guide 
 to the United States: "The Photo-Panorama of the Hudson, 
 published by the Bryant Union, 72-4 Temple Court, New York, 
 (price $1.00) shows both sides of the River from New York to Al- 
 bany, accurately represented from 800 consecutive photographs.'' 
 This new and complete object-guide will be of service to the 
 tourist, and can be found at the steamers' news stands, head of 
 grand stairway of the " New York '' and the "Albany," or it will 
 be sent by publishers, postpaid, on receipt of price. 
 
56 THE HUDSON. 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND STREET TO YONKERS. 
 
 The gang-plank is "drawn" and the busy wharves and noisy 
 streets are now behind us, pleasantly exchanged for views of lofty 
 Palisades and tranquil shores. 
 
 Just before touching at 22d Street Pier we passed on the Jersey 
 Shore a wooded point with sightly building, known as Stevens' 
 Castle, home of the late Commodore Stevens, founder of the 
 Stevens' Institute of Technology. It will be remembered that he 
 patriotically constructed at his own expense during the Civil 
 War, the Stevens' Battery for the defense of the harbor, which 
 was, however, never used. Above this point are the Elysian 
 Fields, north of Hoboken, known in early days as a quiet and 
 pleasant resort but now greatly changed in the character of its 
 visitors. On the left will also be seen the dome and tower of St. 
 Michael's Monastery, then Union Hill, and above this 
 
 W&aliawken with its sa^ story of the duel between Hamilton 
 and Burr. A monument once marked the spot erected by the St. 
 Andrews Society of New York on the narrow ledge of rock 
 where Hamilton fell early in the morning of July 11th, 1804, but 
 it was almost chii)ped away by relic hunters, until at last it was 
 entirely removed i)revious to the completion and opening of the 
 West Shore Railroad in 1883. The quarrel between this great 
 Statesman and his malignant rival was, perhaps, more personal 
 than political. It is said that Hamilton, in accordance with our 
 old-time code of honor, accepted the challenge, but fired into the 
 air, while Burr with fiendish cruelty took deliberate revenge. 
 Burr WHS never forgiven by the citizens of New York and from 
 
THE HUDSON. 67 
 
 that hour walked its streets shunned and despised. Among the 
 many poetic tributes penned at the time to the memory of Ham- 
 ilton, perhaps the best was by a poet whose name is now scarcely 
 remembered, Mr. Robert C. Sands. A fine picture of Hamilton 
 will be found in the New York Chamber of Commerce where the 
 writer was recently shown the following concise paragraph from 
 Talleyrand : '* The three greatest men of my time, in my opinion, 
 were Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles James Fox and Alexander 
 Hamilton and the greatest of the three was Hamilton," 
 
 The plain marble slab which stood in the face of the monu- 
 ment is still preserved by a member of the King family. It is 
 thirty-six inches long by twenty-six and a half inches wide and 
 bears the following inscription: ''As an expression of their af- 
 fectionate regard to his Memory and their deep regret for his 
 loss, the St. Andrew's Society of the State of New York have 
 erected this Monument." 
 
 Quite a history attaches to this stone (graphically condensed 
 by an old gardener of the King estate): " It stood in the face of 
 the monument for sixteen years, and w^as read by thousands, but 
 by 1820 the pillar had become an eyesore to the enlightened 
 public sentiment of the age, and an agitation was begun in the 
 public prints for its removal. It was not, however, organized 
 effort, but the order of one man, that at length demolished the 
 pillar. This man was Captain Deas, a peace-loving gentleman, 
 strongly opposed to duelling and brawls, and on seeing a party 
 approaching the grounds often interposed and sometimes suc- 
 ceeded in effecting a reconciliation. He became tired of seeing 
 the pillar in his daily walks, and, in 1820, ordered his men to re- 
 move it and deposit the slab containing the inscription in one of 
 
58 
 
 THE HUDSON. 
 
 the outbuildings of the estate. This was done. But a few 
 months afterward the slab was stolen, and nothing more was 
 heard of it until thirteen years later, when Mr. Hu^h Maxwell, 
 President of the St. Andrew's Society, discovered it in a junk 
 shop in New York. He at once purchased it and presented 
 it to Mr. James G. King, who about this time came into posses- 
 sion of the Deas property, where it has since been carefully 
 preserved." 
 
 The gardener also said : " the river road beneath us is cut di- 
 rectly through the spot. Originally it was simply a narrow and 
 grassy shelf close up under the cliffs, six feet wide and eleven 
 paces long. A great cedar tree stood at one end, and this sand- 
 bowlder, which we have also preserved, was at the other. It was 
 about twenty feet above the river and was "reached by a steep 
 rocky path leading up from the Hudson, and, as there was then 
 no road or path even along the base of the cliffs, it could be 
 reached only by boats." The first duel at Weehawken of which 
 there is any record was in 1799, between Aaron Burr and John 
 B. Church (Hamilton's brother-in-law). The parties met and 
 exchanged shots ; neither was wounded. The seconds then in- 
 duced Church to offer an apology and the affair terminated. 
 The last duel was fought there September 28th, 1845, and ended 
 in a farce, the pistols being loaded with cork — a fitting termina- 
 tion to a relic of barbarism. 
 
 A few years ago a summer garden, known as El Dorado, 
 crowned the hillside above Weehawken. The iron structure, 
 which carried two elevators, is still standing. Beyond this are 
 the Union Hill Water Works which supply Hoboken and Union 
 Hill with water from the Hackensack, the source of which will 
 
THE HUDSON. 59 
 
 be seen by the tourist up the Hudson in a depression of the hills 
 opposite Sing Sing-. Passing the docks of the Manhattan Oil 
 Company and the West Shore Railroad the old-time traveler 
 will miss a white, prominent building, for many years a striking 
 landmark known as the Guttenburg Brewery, destroyed by fire 
 in 1897. Turning to the east bank the tourist w^ill see the 
 Roosevelt Hospital, a brick structure with high pointed spire, 
 St. Luke's Hospital in the distance, and, near the river bank, 
 
 Columbia Collegre, with beautiful dome, crowning a noble 
 site worthy of the old college, whose sons have been to the 
 front since the days of the Revolution in promoting the glory 
 of the state and the nation. It will be remembered that 
 Central Park reaches from 59th Street to 110th Street, about 
 five blocks east of the Hudson. Between this and the River, 
 reaching from 71st to 127th Street is the beautiful 
 
 Riverside Park and Drive, following for the most part the 
 top of the bluff. Near the northern end of the Drive, on its most 
 commanding point, was buried August 8th, 1885, General Ulysses 
 S. Grant, and a massive memorial monument was dedicated in 
 May, 1897, worthy of the great soldier. An attempt to move 
 his body to Washington was nl^de several years ago in Congress 
 but overwhelmingly defeated. -The speech made by Congress- 
 man Amos Cummings in the House of Representatives, was a 
 happy condensation of the facts. He fittingly said : " New 
 York was General Grant's chosen home. He tried many other 
 places but finally settled there. A house was given to him 
 here in Washington, but he abandoned it in the most marked 
 manner to buy one for himself in New York. He was a 
 familiar form upon her streets. He presided at her public 
 
60 THE HUDSON. 
 
 meetings and at all times took an active interest in her local af- 
 fairs. He was perfectly at home there and was charmed with its 
 associations. It was the spot on earth chosen by himself as the 
 most agreeable to him ; he meant to live and die there. It was 
 'his home when he died. He closed his career without ever once 
 expressing- a wish to leave it, but always to remain in it. 
 
 Men are usually buried at their homes. Washington was 
 buried there ; Lincoln was buried there ; Garibaldi was buried 
 there ; Gambetta was buried there, and Ericsson was buried, not 
 at the Capital of Sweden, but at his own home. Those who say 
 that New York is backward in giving for any commendable 
 thing either do not know her or they belie her. Wherever in 
 the civilized world there has been disaster by fire or flood, or 
 from earthquake or pestilence, she has been among the foremost 
 in the field of givers and has remained there when others have 
 departed. It is a shame to speak of her as parsimonious or as 
 failing in any benevolent duty. Those who charge her with 
 being dilatory should remember that haste is not ahv ys speed. 
 It took more than a quarter of a century to erect Bunker Hill 
 Monument ; the ladies of Boston completed it. It took nearly 
 half a century to erect a monument to George Washington in the 
 City founded by him, named for him, and by his act made the 
 Capital of the Nation ; the Government completed it. New 
 York has already shown that she will do far better than this.' 
 
 The Thirteen Elm Trees, about ten or fifteen minutes' walk 
 from General Grant's Tomb, were planted by Alexander Hamil- 
 ton in his door-yard, a century ago, to commemorate the thir- 
 teen original States. This property was recently purchased by 
 the late Hon. Orlando Potter, of New York, with the following 
 
THE HUDSON. <)'6 
 
 touch of patriotic sentiment : " These famous trees are located 
 in the northeast corner of One Hundred and Forty-third street 
 and Convent Avenue ; or, on lots fourteen and fifteen,*' said the 
 auctioneer to the crowd that gathered at the sale. "In order 
 that the old property with the trees may be kept unbroken, 
 should the purchaser desire, we will sell lots 8 to 21 inclusive in 
 one batch: How much am I offered"?'' ''One hundred thou- 
 sand dollars," quietly responded Mr. Potter. A ripple of excite- 
 ment ran through the crowd, and the bid was quickly run up to 
 $120,000 by speculators. '"One hundred i^nd twenty-five thou- 
 sand," said Mr. Potter. Then there were several thousand dol- 
 lar bids, and the auctioneer said : '• Do I hear one hundred and 
 thirty ? " Mr. Potter nodded. He nodded again at the " thirty- 
 five" and "forty" and then some one raised him $250. " Five 
 hundred," remarked Mr. Potter, and the bidding was done. 
 "Sold for $140,500 I " cried the auctioneer. Mr. Potter smiled 
 and drew his check for the amount. " I can't say what I will do 
 with the property," said Mr. Potter, afterwards. " You can rest 
 assured, however, that the trees will not be cut down." 
 
 On the west bank a little below General Grant's tomb is the 
 pleasant village of Sunnyside ; above this, quiet Edgewater, and 
 half a mile to the north of Edgewater, Pleasant Valley, formerly 
 known among river pilots as"Tillie Tudlem." These little vil- 
 lages, affording pleasant rambles among grassy fields and hill- 
 sides, are of easy access by steamer several times a day from 
 Canal or 22nd Street. 
 
 Mantiattanville, north of Claremont Heights, opposite Edge- 
 water, is now being rapidly absorbed in the great City. Passing 
 the Convent of the Sacred Heart and ? little Moorish building 
 
64 THE HUDSON. 
 
 on the point known as the Ottendorf Pavilion, we see the 
 burial yard of Trinity Church, New York, with monuments and 
 headstones almost lost in foliag^e along- its wooded hillsides. 
 Here also lies buried a straightforward patriot and an honest 
 Statesman, 
 
 General Jolin A. Dix, whose words rang across the land 
 sixty days before the attack on Fort Sumter: " If any man at- 
 tempts to pull down the American flag shoot him on the spot." 
 The John A. Dix Post, of New York, comes hither each Decora- 
 tion Day and garlands with imposing ceremonies his grave and 
 the graves of their comrades. 
 
 Near Carmansville was the home of Audubon, the Ornitholo- 
 gist, and the residences above the Cemetery are grouped together 
 as Audubon Park. Near at hand is the New York Institute for 
 the Deaf and Dumb, and pleasantly located near the Shore the 
 River House once known as West-End Hotel. 
 
 Wasliin^ton Heiglits rise in a bold bluff above Jeffrey's 
 Hook. After the withdrawal of the American army from Long 
 Island, it became apparent to General Washington and Alexan- 
 der Hamilton that New York would have to bo abandoned. 
 
 A letter from the commander-in-chief to General Greene, 
 written November 8th, suggested his abandoning the Heights, 
 as the Chevaux-de-frise, made by sinking old sloops and scows 
 across the river, had been broken by a British frigate and two 
 transports, thus opening the entire country to the north along 
 the banks of the Hudson, but Greene adhered to the policy of 
 maintaining the Fort which was also the expression of Congress. 
 Future developments showed that Washing-ton was right. The 
 American troops, so far as clothing or equipment was concerned, 
 
THE HUDSON. 65 
 
 were in a pitiable condition, and the result of the struggle 
 makes one of the darkest pages of the war. On the 12th of 
 November Washington started from Stony Point for Fort Lee 
 and arrived the 13th, finding to his disappointment that General 
 Greene, instead of having made arrangements for evacuating, 
 was, on the contrary, reinforcing Fort Washington. The entire 
 defense numbered only about 2000 men, mostly militia, with 
 hardly a coat, to quote an English writer, " that was not out at 
 the elbows." "On the night of the 14th thirty flat-bottomed 
 boats stole quietly up the Hudson, passed the American forts 
 undiscovered, and made their way through Spuyten Duyvi' 
 Creek into Harlem River. The means were thus provided for 
 crossing that river, and landing before unprotected parts of the 
 American works." 
 
 According to Irving, " On the loth General Howe sent a sum- 
 mons to surrender, with a threat of extremities should he have 
 to carry the place by assault." Magaw, in his reply, intimated a 
 doubt that General Howe would execute a threat " so unworthy 
 of himself and the British nation ; but give me leave," added 
 he, "to assure his Excellency, that, actuated by the most glo- 
 rious cause that mankind ever fought in, I am determined to 
 defend this post to the very last extremity." 
 
 " Apprised by the colonel of his peril. General Greene sent 
 over reinforcements, with an exhortation to him to persist in his 
 defense ; and dispatched an express to General Washington, 
 who was at Hackensack, where the troops from Peekskill were 
 encamped. It was nightfall when Washington arrived at Fort 
 Lee. Greene and Putnam were over at the besieged fortress. 
 He threw himself into a boat, and had partly crossed the river, 
 
66 THE HUDSON. 
 
 when he met those Generals returning. They informed him of 
 the garrison having been reinforced, and assured him that it 
 was in high spirits, and capable of making a good defense. It 
 was with difficulty, however, they could prevail on him to return 
 with them to the Jersey shore, for he was excessively excited." 
 
 "Early the next morning, Magaw made his dispositions for 
 the expected attack. His forces, with the recent addition, 
 amounted to nearly three thousand men. As the fort could not 
 contain above a third of its defenders, most of them were sta- 
 tioned about the outworks." 
 
 About noon, a heavy cannonade thundered along the rocky 
 hills, and sharp volleys of musketry, proclaimed that the action 
 was commenced. 
 
 "Washington, surrounded by several of his officers, had been 
 an anxious spectator of the battle from the opposite side of the 
 Hudson. Much of it was hidden from him by intervening hills 
 and forest ; but the roar of cannonry from the valley of the Har- 
 lem River, the sharp and incessant reports of rifles, and the 
 smoke rising above the tree-tops, told him of the spirit with 
 which the assault was received at various points, and gave him 
 for a time hope that the defense might be successful. The action 
 about the lines to the south lay open to him, and could be dis- 
 tinctly seen through a telescope ; and nothing encouraged him 
 more than the gallant style in which Cadwalader with inferior 
 force maintained his position. When he saw him however, as- 
 sailed in flank, the lino broken, and his troops, overpowered by 
 numbers, retreating to the fort, he gave up the game as lost. 
 The worst sight of all, was to behold his men cut down and bayo- 
 neted by the Hessians while begging quarter. It is said so com- 
 
THE HUDSON. ^* 
 
 pletely to have overcome him, that he wept with the. tenderness 
 of a child.'' 
 
 " Seeing- the flag go into the fort from Knyphausen"s division, 
 and surmising it to be a summons to surrender, he wrote a note 
 to Magaw, telling him if he could hold out until evening and the 
 place could not be maintained, he would endeavor to bring off 
 the garrison in the night. Capt. Gooch, of Boston, a brave and 
 daring man, offered to be the bearer of the note. He ran down 
 to the river, jumped into a small boat, pushed over the river, 
 landed under the bank, ran up to the fort and delivered the mes- 
 sage, came out, ran and jumped over the broken ground, dodg- 
 ing the Hessians, some of whom struck at him with their pieces 
 and others attempted to thrust him with their bayonets ; escap- 
 ing through them, he got to his boat and returned to Fort Lee, ' 
 
 Washington's message arrived too late. "The fort was so 
 crowded by the garrison and the troops which had retreated in- 
 to it, that it was difficult to move about. The enemy, too, were 
 in possession of the little redoubts around, and could have poured 
 in showers of shells and ricochet balls that would have made 
 dreadful slaughter." It was no longer possible for Magaw to get 
 his troops to man the lines ; he was compelled, therefore, to 
 yield himself and his garrison prisoners of war. The only terms 
 granted them were, that the men should retain their baggage 
 and the officers their swords. 
 
 Other defenses in the vicinity of Fort Washington were Fort 
 Tryon, a redoubt to the north on the same heights, Fort George 
 to the south overlooking Harlem River and "a water-battery at 
 Jeffrey Hook." All, however, too poorly manned to hold out 
 against the well equipped British force under General Howe. 
 
68 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Fort Lee.— A beautiful and commanding- site on the west 
 side opposite Port Washington. The picturesque Landing, 
 Driveway, and Hotel, mark the spot as one of the pleasantest re- 
 sorts on the Jersey Shore of the Hudson. The old fort had a 
 commanding position, but entirely useless to the Revolutionary 
 Army after the fall of Fort Washington. It was therefore im- 
 mediately abandoned to the British, as was also Fort Constitu- 
 tion, another redoubt near at hand. 
 
 It will be remembered that the American Army after long 
 continued disaster in and about New York, retreated southward 
 from Fort Lee and Hackensack to the Delaware, where Wash- 
 ington with a strategic stroke brought dismay on his enemies 
 and restored confidence to his friends and the Patriots' Cause. 
 
 Tlie Palisades, or Great CMp Rock, as they were known 
 by the old Dutch settlers, present the same bold front to the 
 river that the Giant's Causeway does to the ocean. Their 
 height at Fort Lee, where the bold cliffs first assert themselves, 
 is three hundred feet, and they extend about seventeen or 
 eighteen miles to the hills of Rockland County. A stroll along 
 the summit reveals the fact that they are almost as broken and 
 fantastic in form as the great rocks along the Elbe in Saxon- 
 Switzerland. 
 
 As the basaltic trap-rock is one of the oldest geological forma- 
 tions, we might still appropriately style the Palisades " a chip 
 of the old block." They separate the valley of the Hudson from 
 the valley of the Hackensack. The Hackensack rises in Rock- 
 land Lake opposite Sing Sing, within two or three hundred 
 yards of the Hudson, and the rivers flow thirty miles side by 
 side. Geologists say that originally they w^re one river, but 
 
THE HUDSON. 71 
 
 they are now separated from each other by a wall more sub- 
 stantial than even the 2,000 mile structure of the '" Heathen 
 Chinee." 
 
 It is said that this basaltic formation was thrown up ages ago 
 between a rift in the earth's surface, where it cooled in columnar 
 form, and that the rocky mould which held it, being of soft 
 material, finally disintegrated and crumbled away, leaving- the 
 cliff with its peculiar perpendicular formation. 
 
 A recent writer has said: "The Palisades are among the 
 wonders of the world. Only three other places equal them in 
 importance, but each of the four is different from the others, 
 and the Palisades are unique. The Giant's Causeway on the 
 north coast of Ireland, and the cliffs at Kawaddy in India, are 
 thought by many to have been the result of the same upheaval 
 of nature as the Palisades ; but the Hudson rocks seem to have 
 preserved their entirety — to have come up in a body, as it were 
 —while the Giant's Causeway owes its celebrity to the ruined 
 state in which the Titanic forces of nature have left it. The 
 third wonder is at Staffa, in Scotland, where the rocks have 
 been thrown into such a position as to justify the name of Fin- 
 gal's Cave, which they bear, and which was bestowed on them 
 in the olden times before Scottish history began to be written. 
 It is singular how many of the names which dignify, or designate, 
 favorite spots of the Giant's Causeway have been duplicated in 
 the Palisades. Among the Hudson rocks are several ' Lady's 
 Chairs,' 'Lover's Leaps,' 'Devil's Toothpicks,' 'Devil's Pulpits,' 
 and, in many spots on the water's edge, especially those most 
 openly exposed to the weather, we see exactly the same conform- 
 ations which excite admiration and wonder in the Irish rocks." 
 
72 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Under the base of these cliffs William Cullen Bryant one Sab- 
 bath mornino- sketched "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 bod, 
 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. ' 
 
 There are strange stories also connected with the Palisades 
 and, as the writer continues, " many remarkable disappearances 
 have occurred in the same vicinity that have never been ex- 
 plained. On a conical-shaped rock near (Jlinton Point a young- 
 man and a young woman were seen standing some half a century 
 ago. Several of their friends, who were back some thirty feet 
 from the face of the cliff, saw them distinctly, and called out to 
 them not to approach too near the edge. The young couple 
 laughingly sent some answer back, and a moment later vanished 
 as by magic. Their friends rushed to the edge of the cliff but 
 saw no trace of them. They noticed at once that the tide was 
 out, and at the base three oi* fouj* ])oatnien were sauntering- 
 
THE HUDSON. 73 
 
 about as thouo-h nothing had happened. A dilig-ent search was 
 instituted, but the young- couple were not found on the rocks, 
 and they could not have fallen into the river. Friends and boat- 
 men joined in the search, but from that day to this they have 
 never been heard from, no trace of them has been found, and 
 the mystery of their disappearance is as complete now as it was 
 five minutes after they vanished. A more tragical termination 
 than the story of the old Pilot on a Lake George steamer, who, 
 surrounded one morning by a group of tourist-questioners, 
 pointed to Roger Slide Mountain, an:l said : "a couple went up 
 there and never came back again." "What do you suppose, 
 Captain," said a fair-haired, anxious listener, "ever became of 
 them?" "Can't tell," said the Captain, "some folks said they 
 went down on the other side." 
 
 The old Palisade Mountain House, a few miles above Fort Lee, 
 had a commanding location, but was burned in 1884 and never 
 rebuilt. Pleasant villas are, however, springing up along this 
 rocky balcony of the lower Hudson,, and probably the entire dis- 
 tance will some day abound in castles and luxuriant homes. It 
 is in fact within the limit of possibility that this may in the 
 future present the finest residential street in the world, with a 
 natural macadamized boulevard midway between the Hudson 
 and the sky. 
 
 It sometimes grieves one to see the gray rocks torn away for 
 building material, but, as fast as man destroys, nature kindly 
 heals the wound ; or to keep the Palisade figure more complete, 
 she recaptures the scarred and broken battlements, unfolding 
 along the steep escarpment her waving standards of green. It 
 sometimes seems as if one can almost see her selecting the easi- 
 
74 THE HUDSON. 
 
 est point of attack, marshalling- her forces, running- her parallels 
 with Boadacea-like skill, and carrying- her streaming banners, 
 more real than Macduff's " Burnham-Wood " to crowning ram- 
 part and lofty parapet. 
 
 The New York side from the Battery to the northern end of 
 Manhattan Island is already '' well peopled." Until recently the 
 land about Fort Washington has been held in considerable 
 tracts and the very names of these surburban points sug-g'est al- 
 titude and outlook — Hig'hbridgeville, Fordham Heig-hts, Morris 
 Heights, University Heights, Kingsbridge Heights, Mount Hope, 
 &c. The growth of the City all the way to Jerome and Van 
 Cortlandt's Park during the last few years has been marvelous. 
 It has literally stepped across the Harlem River to find room in 
 the picturesque county of Westchester. 
 
 Spuyten Duyvil Creek. — Above Washington Heights, on 
 the east bank, the Spuyten Duyvil meets the Hudson. This 
 stream is the northern boundary of New York Island, and a short 
 distance from the Hudson bears the name of Harlem River. 
 Its course is south-east and joins the East River at Randall's 
 Island, just above Hell Gate. It is a curious fact that this mod- 
 est stream should be bounded by such suggestive appellations as 
 Hell Gate and Spuyten Duyvil. This is the first point of special 
 legendary interest to one journeying up the Hudson and it takes 
 its name according to the veracious Knickerbocker, from the 
 following incident : It seems that the famous Antony Van 
 Corlear was despatched one evening with an important message 
 up the Hudson. When he arrived at this creek the wind was 
 high, the elements were in an uproar, and no boatman at hand. 
 " For a short time,'' it is said, *' he va})orod like an impatient 
 
THE HUDSON. 75 
 
 ghost upon the brink, and then, bethinking- himself of the 
 urgency of his errand, took a hearty embrace of his stone bottle, 
 swore most valorously that he would swim across en spijt en Diiy- 
 vil (in spite of the Devil) and daringly plunged into the stream. 
 Luckless Antony I Scarce had he buffeted half way over when 
 he was observed to struggle violently, as if battling with the 
 spirit of the waters. Instinctively he put his trumpet to his 
 mouth, and giving a vehement blast — sank forever to the bot- 
 tom.'' The mouth of the Spuyten Duyvil still retains its old- 
 time reputation as a good fishing ground. The high point of 
 land near at hand was known among the Manhattans as Nip- 
 nich-sen. 
 
 The main branch of the Hudson River Railroad, with its sta- 
 tion at Forty-second street and Fourth avenue, crosses the Har- 
 lem River at Mott Haven, and, following its northern bank, 
 meets the Hudson at this point, where the 30th street branch, fol- 
 lowing the river, joins the main line. Passing Riverdale, with 
 its beautiful residences and the Convent of Mount St. Vincent, 
 one of the prominent landmarks of the Hudson, located on 
 grounds bought of Edwin Forrest, the tragedian, whose Font 
 Hill Castle appears in the foreground, we see 
 
 Yonkers, on the East Bank, seventeen miles from New 
 York, (population about 35,000), at the mouth of the Nepperhan 
 Creek, or Saw Mill River. West of the creek is a large rock, 
 called Meech-keek-assin, or as given In some of the Indian dia- 
 lects, A-mac-ka-sin, the great stone to which the Indians paid 
 reverence as an evidence of the pei*manency and immutability of 
 their deity. Steamers, railway and street cars meet at Central 
 Wharf, and the water front reveals business activity. Here are 
 
THE HUDSON. 
 
 many important manufacturing industries : carpet, silk, and hat 
 factories ; mowers and reapers, gutta percha, rubber and pencil 
 companies. Yonkers is also quite a centre for Aquatic Clubs : 
 the Yonkers Boat Club, The Corinthian and Yonkers Yacht 
 Clubs and the Yonkers Canoe Club. 
 
 It is said that Yonkers derived its name from Yonk-herr — the 
 young heir, or young sir, of the Phillipse manor. Until after 
 the middle of the seventeenth century the Phillipse family had 
 their jorincipal residence at Castle Phillipse, Sleepy Hollow, but 
 having purchased ''property to the southward" from Adrian 
 Van der Donck and obtained from the English King a patent 
 creating the manor of Phillipsburgh, they moved from their old 
 castle to the new " Manor Hall,'' which at this time was probably 
 the finest mansion on the Hudson. This property was confis- 
 cated by act of LiCgislature in 1779, as Frederick Phillipse, third 
 lord of the manor, was thought to lean toward royalty, and sold 
 by the " (Commissioners of Forfeiture" in 1785. It was after- 
 wards purchased by John Jacob Astor, then passed to the Gov- 
 ernment, was bought by the village of Yonkers in 1868, and be- 
 came the City Hall in 1872. The older i)ortion of the house was 
 built in 1682, the present front in 1745. The woodwork is very 
 interesting, also the ceilings, the large hall and the wide fire- 
 place. In the room still pointed out as Washington's, the fire- 
 place retains the old tiles, "illustrating familiar passages in 
 Bible history," fifty on (uich sid(% looking as clear as if they 
 were made but yesterday. 
 
 Mary Phillipse, belle of tlio ncuglil)()rli()()(l, and known in tra- 
 dition as Washington's first love, was born in this "Manor 
 House'' July 3d, 1730. Washington first met iier at the house 
 
THE HUDSON. 77 
 
 of Beverly Robinson in New York, (Mrs. Robinson being- her 
 eldest sister), after his return from the unfortunate Braddock 
 Campaig-n. It has been said by several writers that he proposed 
 and was rejected, but it is doubtful whether he ever was serious 
 in his attentions. At least there is no evidence that he ever 
 "told his love," and she finally married Col. Roger Morris, one 
 of Washington's associates on Braddock's staff. The best part 
 of residential Yonkers lies to the northward, beautifully em- 
 bowered in trees as seen from the Hudson. A line of electric 
 street cars runs north almost two miles along- Warburton Ave- 
 nue. The street known as Broadway, is a continuation of Broad- 
 way, New York. Many of the River towns still keep this name, 
 probably prophetic as a part of the great Broadway which will 
 extend some day from the Battery to Peekskill. 
 
 Almost opposite Yonkers a ravine or sort of step-ladder cleft, 
 now known as Alpine Gorge, reaches up the precipitous sides of 
 the Palisades. The landing- here was formerly called Closter's, 
 from which a road zig-zags to the top of the cliff and thence to 
 Closter Village. Here Lord Grey disembarked in October, 
 1778, and crossed to Hackensack Valley, "surprising and mas- 
 sacring Col. Bayler's patriots, despite their surrender and calls 
 for mercy". 
 
78 THE HUDSON. 
 
 YONKERS TO WEST POINT. 
 
 Passing- Glenwood, now a suburban station of Yonkers, con- 
 spicuous from the Colgate mansion near the river bank, built by 
 a descendant of the English Collates who were familiar friends 
 of William Pitt, and leaders of the Liberal Club in Kent, Eng- 
 land, and " Greystone," the country residence of the late Samuel 
 J. Tilden, Governor of New York, and Presidential Candidate 
 in 1876, we come to 
 
 Hastings, where a party of Hessians during the Revolution- 
 ary struggle were surprised and cut to pieces by troops under 
 Col. Sheldon. It was here also that Lord Cornwallis embarked 
 for Fort Lee after the capture of Fort Washington, and here in 
 later days Garibaldi, the liberator of Italy, frequently came to 
 spend the Sabbath and visit friends when he was living- at Staten 
 Island. Although there is apparently little to interest in the 
 village, there are many beautiful residences in the immediate 
 neighborhood, and the Old Post road for two miles to the north- 
 ward furnishes a beautiful walk or drive-way, well shaded by 
 old locust trees. The tract of country from Spuyten Du3'^vil to 
 Hastings was called by the Indians Kekesick and reached east 
 as far as the Broncks River. Passing Dr. Huyler's conspicuous 
 Clock-tower we see 
 
 Dobbs Ferry, named after an old Swedish ferryman. The 
 village has not only a delightful location but it is beautiful in 
 itself. A summer hotel, the "Glen Tower," overlooks the river 
 below the railway station, and the entire shore is filled with 
 country homes and family-seats. Dobbs Ferry in 1781 was 
 
THE HUDSON "9 
 
 "Washington's Headquarters and the old house, still standing-, is 
 famous as the spot where General Washington and the Count de 
 Rochambeau planned the campaign against Yorktown ; where 
 the evacuation of New York was arranged by General Clinton 
 and Sir Guy Carleton the British commander, and Avhere the 
 first salute to the flag of the United States was fired by a British 
 man-of-war. On flag day, June 14th, 1894, the base -stone of a 
 memorial shaft was here laid with imposing ceremony by the 
 New York State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 
 which erected the monument. There were one thousand Grand 
 Army veterans in line, and addresses by Hon. Chauncey M. 
 Depew, Vice-President Stevenson, John C. Calhoun, General 
 Stewart L. Woodford and D. O. Bradley. The Society and its 
 guests, including members of the Cabinet, officers of the Army 
 and Navy, and prominent men of various States, accompanied by 
 full Marine Band of the Navy Yard, with a detachment of Naval 
 Reserves, participated in the event. 
 
 Voyagers up the river that day saw the " Miantonomoh '' and 
 the " Lancaster,'" under the command of Rear- Admiral Gherardi, 
 anchored raid-stream to take part in the exercises. During the 
 Revolution this historic house was leased by a Dutch farmer 
 holding under Frederick Phillipse as landlord. After the war 
 it was purchased by Peter Livingston and known since as the 
 Livingston House. Arnold and Andre were to have met here 
 but the meeting finally took place at Haverstraw. 
 
 The Indian name of Dobbs Ferry was Wecquaskeck, and it iy 
 said by Ruttenber that the outlines of the old Indian village can 
 still be traced by numerous shell-beds. It was located at the mouth 
 of Wicker's Creek which was called by the Indians Wysquaqua. 
 
80 THE HUDSON. 
 
 After passing "'Nuits" the Cottinet residence, Italian in style, 
 binlt of Caen stone, " Nevis," home of the late Col. James Ham- 
 ilton son of Alexander Hamilton, the George L. Schuyler 
 maisioi), the late Cyrus W. Field's, and many pleasant places 
 about Abbotsford, we come to 
 
 Irvlngton (on the east bank 24 miles from New York, popu- 
 lation 2.299.) once known as Dearman's Station, but changed in 
 compliment to the great writer and lover of the Hudson, who 
 after a long sojourn in foreign lands, returned to live by the tran- 
 quil waters of Tappan Zee. In a letter to his brother he refers 
 to Sleepy Hollow as the favorite resort of his boyhood, and says : 
 " The Hudson is in a manner my first and last love, and after all 
 my wanderings and seeming infidelities, I return to it with a 
 heartfelt preference over all the rivers of the world.'' As at 
 Stratford-on-Avon every flower is redolent of Shakespeare, and 
 at Melrose every stone speaks of Walter Scott, so here on every 
 breeze floats the spirit of AVashington Irving. A short walk of 
 half a mile north from the station brings us to his much-loved 
 
 " Sunnyside." Irving aptly describes it in one of his stories 
 as " made up of gable-ends, and full of angles and corners as an 
 old cocked hat. It is said, in fact, to have been modeled after 
 the hat of Peter the Headstrong, as the Escurial of Spain was 
 fashioned after the gridiron of the blessed St. Lawrence.'' Wol- 
 fert's Roost, as it was once styled, (Roost signifying Rest,) took 
 its name from Wolfert Acker, a former owner. It consisted 
 originally of ten acres when purchased by Irving in 1835, but 
 eight acres were afterwards added. With great humor Irving 
 put above the porch entrance "George Harvey, Boum'r," 
 Boumeister being an old Dutch word for architect. A storm- 
 

 
 SUNNYSIDE, WITH VIGNETTE OF SLEEPY HOLLOW. 
 
THE HUDSON. 83 
 
 worn weather-cock, "which once battled with the wind on the 
 top of the Stadt House of New Amsterdam in the time of Peter 
 Stuyvesant, erects his crest on the gable, and a gilded horse in 
 full gallop, once the weathercock of the great Van der Heyden 
 palace of Albany, glitters in the sunshine, veering with every 
 breeze, on the peaked turret over the portal." 
 
 About fifty years ago a cutting of Walter Scott's favorite ivy 
 at Melrose Abbey was transported across the Atlantic, and 
 trained over the porch of "Sunnyside," by the hand of Mrs. 
 Renwick, daughter of Rev. Andrew Jeffrey of Lochmaben, 
 known in girlhood as the " Bonnie Jessie *' of Annandale, or the 
 " Blue-eyed Lassie " of Robert Burns : — a graceful tribute, from 
 the shrine of Waverley to the nest of Knickerbocker : 
 
 A token of friendship immortal 
 With Washington Irving returns : — 
 
 Scott" s ivy entwined o'er his portal 
 By the Blue-eyed Lassie of Burns. 
 
 Scott's cordial greeting at Abbotsford, and his persistence in 
 getting Murray to reconsider the publication of the "Sketch 
 Book,*' which he had previously declined, were never forgotten 
 by Irving. It was during a critical period of his literary career, 
 and the kindness of the Great Magician, in directing early at- 
 tention to his genius, is still cherished by every reader of the 
 " Sketch Book " from Manhattan to San Francisco. The hearty 
 grasp of the Minstrel at the gateway of Abbotsford was in real- 
 ity a warm handshake to a wider brotherhood beyond the sea. 
 
 It was here, at Sunnyside, that Daniel Webster came, when 
 Secretary of State in 1842, and surprised Irving with his ap- 
 pointment as Minister to Spain, remarking to a friend on the 
 
THE HUDSON. 
 
 journey, "Washing-ton Irving- to-day will be the most surprised 
 man in America.'' Irving had already shown diplomatic ability 
 in London in promoting- the settlement of the "North Western 
 Boundary,-' and his appointment was received with universal 
 favor. Then as now Sunnyside was already a Mecca for travel- 
 ers, and, among many well-known to fame, was a young man, 
 afterwards Napoleon the Third. Referring to this visit, Irving 
 wrote in 1853 : " Napoleon and Eugenie, Emperor and Empress ! 
 The one I have had as a guest at my cottage, the other I have 
 held as a pet child upon my knee in Granada. The last I saw of 
 Eugenie Montijo, she was one of the reigning belles of Madrid ; 
 now, she is upon the throne, launched from a returnless shore, 
 upon a dangerous sea, infamous for its tremendous shipAvrecks. 
 Am I to live to see the catastrophe of her career, and the end of 
 this suddenly conjured up empire, which seems to be of such 
 stuff as dreams are made of ? I confess my personal acquaint- 
 ance with the individuals in this historical romance gives me 
 uncommon interest in it ; but I consider it stamped with danger 
 and instability, and as liable to extravagant vicissitudes as one 
 of Dumas' novels." A wonderful prophecy comi)letely fulfilled 
 in the short space of seventeen years. 
 
 The aggregate sale of Irving's works when he received his 
 portfolio to Spain was already more than half a million copies, 
 with an equal popularity achieved in Britain. No writer was 
 ever more truly loved on both sides of the Atlantic, and his name 
 is cherished to-day in England as fondly as it is in our own 
 country. It has been the good fortune of the writer to spend 
 many a delightful day in the very centre of Merrie England, in 
 the quiet town of Stnitford-on-Avon, and foci the gentle compan- 
 
THE HUDSON. ^ 
 
 ionship of Irving'. Of all writers who have broug*iii; to Stratford 
 their heart homage Irving stands the acknowledged chief. 
 The sitting-room in the "Red Horse Hotel," where he was dis- 
 turbed in his midnight reverie, is still called Irving's room, and 
 the walls are hung with portraits taken at different periods of 
 his life. Mine host said that visitors from every land were as 
 much interested in this room as in Shakespeare's birth-place. 
 The remark may have been intensified to flatter an American 
 visitor, but there are few names dearer to the Anglo-Saxon race 
 than that on the plain headstone in the burial-yard of Sleepy 
 Hollow. Sunnyside is scarcely visible to the Day Line tourist. 
 A little gleam of white here and there amid the trees, close 
 to the river bank, near a small boat-house, merely indicates 
 its location; and the traveler by train has only a hurried glimpse, 
 as it is within one hundred feet of the New York Central 
 Railroad. Tappan Zee, at this point, is a little more than two 
 miles wide and over the beautiful expanse Irving has thrown a 
 wondrous charm. There is, in fact, " magic in the web " of all 
 his works. A few modern critics, lacking appreciation alike for 
 humor and genius, may regard his essays as a thing of the past, 
 but as long as the Mahicanituk, the ever-flowing Hudson, pours 
 its waters to the sea, as long as Rip Van Winkle sleeps in the 
 blue Catskills, or the "Headless Horseman" rides at midnight 
 along the old Post Road en route for Teller's Point, so long will the 
 writings of Washington Irving be remembered and cherished. 
 We somehow feel the reality of every legend he has given us. 
 The spring bubbling up near his cottage was brought over, as he 
 gravely tells us, in a churn from Holland by one of the old time 
 settlers, and we are half vr>^?^r>^A to believe it ; and no one ever 
 
86 
 
 THE HUDSON. 
 
 thinks of doubting- that the '* Flying- Dutchman," Mynheer Van 
 Dam, has been rowing for two hundred years and never made a 
 port. It is in fact still said by the old inhabitants, that often in 
 the soft twilight of summer evenings, when the sea is like glass 
 and the opposite hills throw their shadows across it, that the low 
 vigorous pull of oars is heard but no boat is seen. 
 
 According to Irving " Sunnyside " was once the property of 
 old Baltus Van Tassel, and here lived the fair Katrina, beloved 
 by all the youths of the neighborhood, but more especially by 
 Ichabod Crane, the country school-master, and a reckless youth 
 by the name of Van Brunt. Irving tells us that he thought out 
 the story one morning on London Bridge, and went home and 
 completed it in thirty-six hours. The character of Ichabod 
 Crane was taken from a young man whom he met at Kinderhook 
 when writing his Knickerbocker history. It will be remem- 
 bered that Ichabod Crane went to a quilting-bee at the home of 
 Mynheer Van Tassel, and, after the repast, was regaled with 
 various ghost stories peculiar to the locality. When the ' ' party " 
 was over he lingered for a time with the fair Katrina, but 
 sallied out soon after with an air quite desolate and chop-fallen. 
 The night grew darker and darker. He had never before felt 
 so lonesome and miserable. As he passed the fatal tree where Ar- 
 nold was captured, there started up before him the identical 
 "Headless Horseman" to whom he had been introduced by the 
 story of Brom Bones. Nay, not entirely headless ; for the head 
 which "should have rested upon his shoulders was carried before 
 him on the pommel of the saddle. His terror rose to desperation. 
 He rode for death and life. The strange horseman sped beside 
 him at an equal pace. He fell into a walk. The strange horse- 
 
THE HUDSON. fe7 
 
 man did the same. He endeavored to sing- a psalm-tune, but his 
 tongue clove to the roof of his mouth. If he could but reach the 
 bridge Ichabod thought he would be safe. Away then he flew 
 in rapid flight. He reached the bridge, he thundered over the 
 resounding planks. Then he saw the goblin rising in his stir- 
 rups, and in the very act of launching his head at him. It en- 
 countered his cranium with a tremendous crash. He was tum- 
 bled headlong into the dirt, and the black steed and the spectral 
 rider passed by like a whirlwind. The next day tracks of horses 
 deeply dented in the road were traced to the bridge, beyond 
 which, on the bank of a broad part of the brook, where the water 
 ran deep and black, was found the hat of the unfortunate Icha- 
 bod, and close beside it a shattered pumpkin.'' All honor to him 
 who fills this working-day world with romance and beauty I 
 
 Piermont (population 1,219), lies directly opposite Irvington, 
 just above the Palisades, which here recede from the shore and 
 lose their wall-like character. The long pier which gives the 
 name to the village, projecting- almost one mile into the bay, 
 is a terminus of the Erie Railway, connecting with the main line 
 about eighteen miles distant. The old Rockland Cemetery 
 situated near Sparkhill, overlooking the Hudson, has been 
 recently purchased by New York capitalists, looking to the com- 
 ing burial necessities of greater New York. Two hundred acres 
 have already been secured and other grounds will be added. It 
 is said that this will be the largest cemetery in the world. Four 
 broad plateaus rise by gentle slope to an altitude of several hun- 
 dred feet, from which eminence can be seen five States :— New 
 York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecti- 
 cut. In the receiving vault lies the body of General John C. 
 
88 
 
 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Fremont, and it is expected that a handsome monument will be 
 erected to his memory. The old village of Tappan is about two 
 miles from Piermont, where Major Andre was executed October 
 2d, 1780. The removal of his body from Tappan to Westminster 
 was by a special British ship, and a singular incident was con- 
 nected with it. The roots of a cypress tree were found entwined 
 about his skull and a scion from the tree was carried to England 
 and planted in the garden adjoining Windsor Palace. It is a 
 still more curious fact that the tree beneath which Andre was 
 captured was struck by lightning on the day of Benedict Ar- 
 nold's death in London. Further reference will be made to 
 Andre in our description of Tarry town, and of Haverstraw, 
 where Arnold and Andre met at the house of Joshua Hett Smith. 
 Tarry town (26 miles from New York, population 3,562, North 
 Tarrytown 3,179). Between Irvington and Tarrytown there are 
 many imposing mansions. Most conspicuous of all is the old 
 Paulding House, built by a descendant of John Paulding. Jay 
 Gould died possessed of the property and it is now owned by his 
 heirs. John D. Archibald's house is also notably fine. The 
 Tappan Zee at Tarrytown is nearly three miles wide. It was here 
 on the old Post Road, now called Broadway, a little north of the 
 village, that Andre was captured and Arnold's treachery exposed. 
 A monument erected on the spot by the people of Westchester 
 County, October 7, 1853, bears the following inscription : 
 
 ON THIS SPOT, THE 23d DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1780, THE SPY, 
 
 MAJOR JOHN ANDRE, 
 
 Adjutant-General of the British Army, was captured by 
 
 John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart. 
 
 all natives of this county. 
 
 Ilistory has told tlie rest. 
 
THE HUDSON. gg 
 
 The following- quaint ballad-verses on the young hero give a 
 realistic touch to one of the most providential occurrences in our 
 history: 
 
 He with a scouting party 
 
 Went down to Tarrytown, 
 "Where he met a British officer, 
 
 A man of high renown, 
 "Who says unto these gentlemen, 
 "You're of the British cheer, 
 I trust that you can tell me 
 If there's any danger near ? " 
 
 Then up stept this young hero, 
 John Paulding was his name, 
 "Sir, tell us where you're going 
 And also whence you came ? " 
 " I bear the British flag, sir ; 
 I've a pass to go this way, 
 I'm on an expedition, 
 And have no time to stay." 
 
 Young Paulding, however, thought that he had plenty of time 
 to linger until he examined his boots, wherein he found the 
 papers, and, when ofifered ten guineas by Andre, if he would al- 
 low him to pursue his journey, replied : " If it were ten thousand 
 guineas you could not stir one step."' 
 
 The Centennial Anniversary of the event was commemorated 
 in 1880 by placing, through the generosity of John Anderson, 
 on the original obelisk of 1853, a large statue representing John 
 Paulding as a minute-man. 
 
 Tarrytown was the very heart of the Debatable Ground of 
 the Revolution and many striking incidents mark its early his- 
 tory. In 1777 Vaughan's troops landed here on their way to 
 
90 THE HUDSON. 
 
 attack Fort Montgomery, and here a party of Americans, under 
 Major Hunt, surprised a number of Britisli refugees while play- 
 ing cards at the Van Tassel tavern. The major completely 
 " turned the cards '' upon them by rushing in with brandished 
 stick, which he brought down with emphasis upon the table, re- 
 marking with genuine American brevity, ''Gentlemen, clubs 
 are trumps." Here, too, according to Irving, arose the two 
 great orders of chivalry, the " Cow Boys " and '* Skinners." The 
 former fought, or rather marauded under the American, the 
 latter under the British banner ; the former were known as 
 " Highlanders," the latter as the " Lower Party." In the zeal 
 of service both were apt to make blunders, and confound the 
 property of friend and foe. "Neither of them, in the heat and 
 hurry of a foray, had time to ascertain the politics of a horse or 
 cow which they were driving off into captivity, nor when they 
 wrung the neck of a rooster did they trouble their heads whether 
 he crowed for Congress or King George." 
 
 It was also a genial, reposeful country for the faithful his- 
 torian, Diedrich Knickerbocker ; and here he picked up many 
 of those legends which were given by him to the world. One of 
 these was the legend connected with the old Dutch Church of 
 Sleepy Hollow. ' 'A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over 
 the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere. Some say the 
 place was bewitched by a high German doctor during the early 
 days of the settlement; others that an old Indian chief, the 
 wizard of his tribe, held his pow-wows there before Hendrich 
 Hudson's discovery of the river. The dominant spirit, however, 
 that haunts this enchanted region, is the apparition of a figure 
 on horse-back, without a head, said to be the ghost of a Hessian 
 
THE HUDSON. 
 
 91 
 
 trooper, and was known at all the country firesides as the 
 'Headless horseman ' of Sleepy Hollow." 
 
 Sleepy Hollow. — The Old Dutch Church, the oldest on the 
 Hudson, is about one-half mile north from Tarrytown. 
 
 It was built by "Frederick Filipse and his wife Katrina Van 
 Cortland in 1690." The material is i)artly of stone and partly of 
 brick brought from Holland. It stands as an appropriate senti- 
 
 SLEEPY HOLLOW CHURCH. 
 
 nel near the entrance to the burial-yard where Irving sleeps. 
 After entering- the gate our way leads past the graves of the 
 Ackers, the Van Tassels, and the Van Warts, with inscriptions 
 and plump Dutch cherubs on every side that often de- 
 lighted the heart of Diedrich Knickerbocker. How many wor- 
 shippers since that November day in 1859, have come hither 
 
92 THE HUDSON. 
 
 with reverent footsteps to read on the plain slab this simple in- 
 scription: "Washing-ton Irving, born April 3, 1783. Died No- 
 vember 28, 1859." And what a beautiful tribute from Longfellow 
 " In the churchyard at Tarry town ! " 
 
 " Here lies the gentle humorist, who died 
 In the bright Indian Summer of his fame. 
 A simple stone, with but a date and name, 
 
 Marks his secluded resting place beside 
 
 The river that he loved and glorified. 
 Here in the Autumn of his days he came, 
 But the dry leaves of life were all aflame 
 
 With tints that brightened and were multiplied. 
 
 How sweet a life was his, how sweet a death : 
 
 Living to wing with mirth the weary hours, 
 Or with romantic tales the heart to cheer ; 
 
 Dying to leave a memory like the breath 
 
 Of Summers full of sunshine and of showers, 
 A grief and gladness in the atmosphere." 
 
 Sleepy Hollow Church, like Sunnyside, is hidden away from the 
 steamer tourist by summer foliag^e. Just before reaching Kings- 
 land Point light-house, a view, looking northeast up the little 
 bay to the right, will sometimes give the outline of the building. 
 Beyond this a tall granite shaft, erected by the Delavan family, 
 is generally quite distinctly seen, and this is near the grave of 
 Irving. The light-house, built in 1883, marks the southern point 
 of the Kingsland estate, and just below this the l*ocantico or 
 Sleepy Hollow Creek joins the Hudson : 
 Pocantico's hushed waters glide 
 
 Through Sleepy Hollow's haunted ground, 
 And whisper to the listening tide 
 The name c.irved o'er one lowly mound. 
 
THE HUDSON. 93 
 
 To one loving- our early history and legends there is no spot 
 more central or delightful than Tarrytown. Irving humorously 
 says that Tarrytown took its name from husbands tarrying too 
 late at the village tavern, but its real derivation is Tarwen- 
 Dorp, or Wheat-town. The name of the old Indian village at 
 this point was Alipconck (the place of elms). It has often oc- 
 curred to the writer that, more than any other river, the Hudson 
 has a distinct personality, and also that the four main divisions 
 of human life are particularly marked in the Adirondacks, the 
 Catskills, the Highlands and Tappan Bay : 
 
 The Adirondacks, childhood's glee ; 
 
 The Catskills, youth with dreams o'ercast * 
 The Highlands, manhood bold and free ; 
 
 The Tappan Zee, age come at last. 
 
 This was the spot that Irving loved ; we linger by his grave 
 at Sleepy Hollow with devotion ; we sit upon his porch at Sunny- 
 side with reverence : 
 
 Thrice blest and happy Tappan Zee, 
 
 Whose banks along thy waters wide 
 Have legend, truth, and poetry 
 
 Sweetly expressed in Sunnyside I 
 
 Nyack, on the west side, (27 miles from New York, terminus 
 of the Northern Railroad of New Jersey, connected with Tarry- 
 town by ferry ; population 4,111, South Nyack 1,496,) lies in a 
 semi-circle of hills which sweep back from Piermont, meeting 
 the river again at the northern end of Tappan Zee. Tappan 
 is derived from an Indian tribe of that name, which, being 
 translated, is said to signify cold water. The bay is ten miles ir 
 length, with an average breadth of about two miles and a half. 
 
94 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Nyack grows steadily in favor as a place for Summer resi- 
 dents. The hotels, boarding-houses and suburban homes would 
 increase the census as given to nearly ten thousand people. The 
 West Shore Hailroad is two and a half miles from the Hudson, 
 with station at West Nyack. The 'Northern Bailroad of New 
 Jersey, leased by the New York, Lake Erie and Western, (Cham- 
 bers Street and 23d Street, New York) passes west of the 
 Bergen Hills and the Palisades. The Ramapo Mountains, north 
 of Nyack, were formerly known by ancient mariners as the 
 Hook, or Point-no-Point. They come down to the river in little 
 headlands, the points of which disappear as the steamer nears 
 them. The peak to the south is 730 feet high. They were 
 sometimes called by Dutch captains Verditege Hook. Perhaps 
 it took so long to pass these illusive headlands, reaching as they 
 do eight miles along the western bank, that it naturally seemed 
 a very tedious point to the old skippers. Midway in this Ramapo 
 Range, "set in a dimple of the hills," is — 
 
 Rockland Lake, source of the Hackensack River, one hun- 
 dred and fifty feet above the sea. The " slide way," by which 
 the ice is sent down to the boats to be loaded, can be seen from 
 the steamer, and the blocks in motion, as seen by the traveler, 
 resemble little white pigs running down an inclined plane. As 
 we look at the great ice-houses to-day, which, like uncouth 
 barns, stand here and there along the Hudson, it does not seem 
 possible that only a few years ago ice was decidedly unpopular, 
 and wheeled about New York in a hand-cart. Think of one 
 hand-{;art supplying New York with ice ! It was considered un- 
 healthy, and called foi-th many learned discussions. 
 
 Returning to the cast ])ank, we see above Tarrytown many 
 
'/ r 
 
 y V I ^ A 
 
 <ri \ \ \ ^ 
 
 
THE HUDSON. 95 
 
 delig^litful residences, notably among- these "Rockwood," the 
 home of William Rockefeller, President of the Standard Oil 
 Company. The estate of General James Watson Webb is also 
 near at hand, one of whose sons, Vice-President of the 'New York 
 Central Railroad, has recently carried a new and pleasant railway 
 into the very heart of the Adirondacks. Passing- Scarborough 
 Landing, with the Hook Mountain and Ball Mountains on the 
 left, we see 
 
 Sing Sing, on the east bank (32 miles from New York ; popu- 
 lation 9,352). The low white buildings, near the river bank, are 
 the State's Prison. They are constructed of marble, but are not 
 considered palatial by the 1,700 prisoners that occupy the cells. 
 It was quarried near by, and the prisons were built by convicts 
 imported from Auburn in 1826. Saddlery, furniture, shoes, etc., 
 are manufactured within its walls. There was an Indian chief- 
 tancy here known as the Sint-sinks. In a deed to Philip Phil- 
 lipse in 1685 a stream is referred to as " Kitchewan called by 
 the Indians Sink-Sink." The Indian Village was known as 
 Ossinsing, from " ossin '' a stone and "sing" a place, probably 
 so called from the rocky and stony character of the river banks. 
 The heights above Tappan Zee at this point are crowned by fine 
 residences, and the village is one of the pleasantest on the river. 
 The drives among the hills are delightful and present a wide 
 and charming outlook. Here also are several flourishing mili- 
 tary boarding schools and a seminary for girls. The old silver 
 and copper mines once worked here never yielded satisfactory 
 returns for invested capital. Few towns are better equipped as 
 to water and fire department service, and the people are well ac- 
 commodated in having thirty trains and one steamboat daily to 
 
96 THE HUDSON. 
 
 and from l^(ew York. Various industries g"ive active life and 
 prosperity to the town. Just above Sino^ Sing 
 
 Croton River, known by the Indians as Kitchawonk, joins 
 the Hudson in a bay crossed by the Kew York Central Hailroad 
 Croton draw-bridge. East of this point is a water shed having 
 an area of 350 square miles, which supplies New York with 
 water. The Croton Reservoir is easily reached by a pleasant 
 carriage drive from Sing Sing, and it is a singular fact that the 
 pitcher and ice-cooler of New York, or in other words, Croton 
 Dam and Rockland Lake, should be ahnost opposite. About 
 fifty years ago the Croton first made its appearance in New 
 York, brought in by an aqueduct of solid masonry which follows 
 the course of the Hudson near the old Post Road, or at an aver- 
 age distance of about a mile from the east bank. Here and there 
 its course can be traced by " white stone ventilating towers" 
 from Sing Sing to High Bridge, which conveys the acqueduct 
 across the Harlem River. Its capacity is 100,000,000 gallons per 
 day, which however began to be inadequate for the City and a 
 new aqueduct was therefore begun in 1884 and completed in 
 1890, capable of carrying three times that amount, at a cost of 
 $25,000,000. The water-shed is well supplied with streams and 
 lakes. Lake MahopaC; one of its fountains, is one of the most 
 beautiful sheets of water near the metroxwlis, and easily accessi- 
 ble by a pleasant drive from Peekskill, or by the Harlem Rail- 
 road from New York. The old Indian name was Ma-cook-pake, 
 signifying a large inland lake, or perhaps an island near the 
 shore. The same derivation, we imagine, is also seen in Copake 
 Lake, Columbia County. On an island of Mahopac the last great 
 " convention " of the southern tribes of the Hudson was held. 
 
THE HUDSON. 97 
 
 The lake is about 800 feet above tide, and it is pleasant to know 
 that the bright waters of Mahopac and the clear streams of Put- 
 nam and Westchester are conveyed to New York even as the 
 poetic waters of Lock Katrine to the City of Glasgow. 
 
 Just above Croton Bay and the Xeic York Central Bailroad 
 Draw-bridg-e will be seen the old Van Cortlandt Manor, where 
 Frederick Phillipse and Katrina Van Cortlandt were married, 
 as seen by the inscription on the old Dutch Church of Sleepy 
 Hollow. 
 
 Teller's Point f sometimes known as Croton or Underhill's 
 Point . separates Tappan Zee from Haverstraw Bay. It was 
 called by the Indians " Senasqua." Tradition says that ancient 
 warriors still haunt the surrounding glens and woods, and the 
 sachems of Teller's Point are household words in the neighbor- 
 hood. It is also said that there was once a great Indian battle 
 here, and perhaps the ghosts of the old warriors are attracted 
 by the Underbill grapery and the 10,000 gallons of wine bottled 
 every season. 
 
 The river now opens into a beautiful bay, four miles in 
 width,— a bed large enough to tuck up fifteen River Rhines side 
 by side. This reach sometimes seems in the bright sunlight 
 like a molten bay of silver, and the tourist finds relief in adjust- 
 ing his smoked glasses to temper the dazzling light. 
 
 Haverstraw. — (37 miles from New York, population about 
 5,000). Haverstraw Bay is sometimes said to be five miles wide. 
 Its widest point however, from Croton Landing to Haverstraw 
 is, according to recent United States Geological Survey, exactly 
 four miles. The principal industry of Haverstraw is brick-mak- 
 ing, and its brick-yards reaching north to Grassy Point, are 
 
98 THE HUDSON. 
 
 generally prosperous if not picturesque. The place was called 
 Haverstraw by the Dutch, perhaps as a place of rye straw, to 
 distinguish it from Tarrytown. a place of wheat. The Indian 
 name has been lost : but, if its original derivation is uncertain, 
 it at least calls up the rhyme of old-time river captains, which 
 Captain Anderson of the Mary Powell told the writer he used 
 to hear frequently when a boy : 
 
 " West Point and Middletown, 
 Konnosook and Doodletown, 
 Kakiak and Mamapaw, 
 Stony Point and Haverstraw." 
 
 Quaint as these names now sound, they all are found on old 
 maps of the Hudson. 
 
 High Torn is the name of the northern point of the Ramapo 
 on the west bank, south of Haverstraw. According to the Coast 
 Survey, it is 820 feet above tide-water, and the view from the 
 summit is grand and extensive. The origin of the name is not 
 clear, but it has lately occurred to the writer, from a recent 
 reading of Scotfs " Peveril of the Peak.'" that it might have 
 been named from the Torn, a mountain in Derbyshire, either 
 from its appearance, or by some patriotic settler from the cen- 
 tral water-shed of England. Others say it is the Devonshire 
 word Tor changed to Torn, evidently derived from the same 
 source. 
 
 West Shore Railroad.— The tourist will see at this point, 
 on the left bank of the river, the tunnel whereby the " West 
 Shore " finds egress from the mountains. The traveler over this 
 railway, on emerging from the quiet valley west of the Pali- 
 sades, comes upon a sudden vision of beauty unrivaled in any 
 
THE, HUDSON. 99 
 
 land. The broad river seems like a great inland lake ; and the 
 height of the tunnel above the silver bay gives to the panoramic 
 landscape a wondrous charm. About a mile from the river, 
 southwest of Grassy Point, on the farther side of the winding 
 Minnissickuongo Creek, which finally after long meandering 
 makes up its mind to glide into Stony Point Bay, will be seen 
 Treason Hill marked by the Joshua Hett Smith stone house 
 where Arnold and Andre met. The story of this meeting will 
 be referred to at greater length in connection with its most 
 dramatic incident at the old Beverly House in the Highlands. 
 The Hudson here is about two miles in width and narrows rap- 
 idly to 
 
 Stony Point, where it is scarcely more than half a mile wide. 
 This was, therefore, an important pass during the Revolution. 
 The crossing near at hand was known as King's Ferry, at and 
 before the days of "76, and was quite an avenue of travel between 
 the Southern, Middle and Eastern States. The fort crowning a 
 commanding headland, was captured from the Americans by 
 the British, June 1, 1779, but it was surprised and recaptured by 
 Anthony Wayne, July 15 of the same year. A centtennial was 
 observed at the place July 15, 1879, when the battle was "re- 
 fought •' and the West Point Cadets showed how they would 
 have done it if they had been on hand a century ago. Thacke- 
 ray, in his "Virginians," gives perhaps the most graphic ac- 
 count of this midnight battle. The present light-house occupies 
 the site of the old fort, and was built in part of stone taken from 
 its walls. Upon its capture by the British, Washington, whose 
 headquarters were at New Windsor, meditated a bold stroke 
 and summoned Anthony Wayne, more generally known as 
 
100 THE HUDSON. 
 
 "Mad Anthony," from his reckless daring, to undertake its re- 
 capture with a force of one thousand picked men. The lines were 
 formed in two columns about 8 p. m. at " Spring-steel's farm." 
 Each soldier and officer put a piece of white paper in his hat to 
 distinguish him from the foe. • No guns were to be loaded under 
 penalty of death. General Wayne forded the marsh, at the head 
 of the column covered at the time with two feet of water. The 
 other column led by Butler and Murfree crossed an apology for 
 a bridge. During the advance both columns were discovered 
 by the British sentinels and the rocky defense literally blazed 
 with musketry. In stern silence, however, w^ithout faltering 
 or firing a single shot, the American columns moved forward, 
 entered the abatis, until the advance guard under Anthony 
 Wayne were within the enemy's works. A bullet at this mo- 
 ment struck Wayne in the forehead grazing his skull. Quickly 
 recovering from the shock he rose to his knees, shouted "For- 
 ward my brave fellows : " then turning to two of his followers, 
 he asked them to help him into the fort that he might die, if it 
 were to be so, "in possession of the spot." Both columns were 
 now at hand and inspired by the brave General, came pouring 
 in, crying " The Fort's our own." The British troops completely 
 overwhelmed, were fain to surrender and called for mercy. 
 Wayne's characteristic message to Washington antedates mod- 
 ern telegraphic brevity: — "Stony Point, 2 o'clock a. m. The 
 American flag waves here: Mad Anthony." There were twenty 
 killed and sixty wounded on each side. Some five hundred 
 of the enemy were captured and about sixty escaped. "Money 
 rewards and medals were given to Wayne and the leaders in the 
 assault. The ordnance and stores captured were appraised at 
 
THE HUDSON. 101 
 
 over $180,000 and paid by Congress in cash, which was dis- 
 tributed among the troops engaged, and there was universal 
 rejoicing *' throughout the land. Verplanck's Point, on the east 
 bank (now full of brick-making establishments with kilns and 
 drying houses', was the site of Fort Lafayette. It was here that 
 Baron Steuben drilled the soldiers of the American army. Back 
 from Green Cove above Verplanck's Point is "Knickerbocker 
 Lake." This is the nearest spot to New York where ice is cut 
 on the Hudson, provided Rockland Lake is not taken into consid- 
 eration. 
 
 Tompkin's Cove.— North of Stony Point we see great quar- 
 ries of limestone, the principal industry of the village of Tomp- 
 kin's Cove. Gravel is also shipped from this place for Central 
 Park roads and driveways in New York City. The tourist, look- 
 ing north from the forward deck of the steamer, sees no opening 
 in the mountains, and it is amusing to hear the various conjec- 
 tures of the passengers : as usual, the " unexpected" happens, 
 and we sweep at once into the grand scenery of the Highlands. 
 The straight forward course, which seems the more natural, 
 would land the steamer against the Hudson River Railroad, cross- 
 ing the Peekskill River. It is said that an old skipper, Jans 
 Peek, ran up this stream, years before the railroad was built, 
 and did not know that he had left the Hudson, or rather that the 
 Hudson was "on the left" until he ran aground in the shoal 
 water of the bay. The next morning he discovered that it was 
 a goodly land, and the place bears his name unto this day. 
 
 Peekskill, (forty miles from New York, population 9676), is a 
 pleasant village on the quiet bay which deeply indents the east- 
 ern bank. The property in this vicinity was known as Rycks 
 
102 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Patent in 1665. In Revolutionary times Fort Independence stood 
 on the point above, where its ruins are still seen. The Francis- 
 can Convent Academy of "Our Lady of Ano-els," guards the 
 point below. In 1797 Peekskill was the headquarters of old 
 Israel Putnam, who rivaled " Mad Anthony " in brevity as well 
 as courage. It will be remembered that Palmer was here cap- 
 tured as a spy. A British officer wrote a letter asking his re- 
 prieve, to which Putnam replied, " Nathan Palmer was taken as 
 a spy, tried as a spy and will be hanged as a spy. P. S. — He 
 is hanged." This was the birthplace of Paulding, one of Andre's 
 captors, and he died here in 1818. He is buried in the old rural 
 cemetery about two miles and a half from the village, and a 
 monument has been erected to his memory. Near at hand is the 
 " Wayside Inn," where Andre once "tarried," also the Hill- 
 side Cemetery, where on June 19, 1898, the 123d anniversary of 
 the battle of Bunker Hill, a monument was unveiled to General 
 Pomeroy by the Society of the Sons of Revolution, New York. 
 The church which Washington attended is in good preservation. 
 Near Peekskiil is the old Van Cortlandt house, the residence 
 of Washington for a short time during the Revolution. East of 
 the village w^as the summer home of the great pulpit orator, 
 Henry Ward Beecher, and Peekskill is also known far and wide 
 as the birthplace and many-storied shrine of that sunny-prismed 
 genius, orator and wit, Chauncey M. Depew, President of the 
 New York Central liaihvad. Suburban trains give hourly commu- 
 nication with New York, and the well known Steamer " Chryste- 
 nah " makes daily pilgrimages to the metropolis. Peekskill was 
 known by the Indians as Sackhoes, in the territory of the Kitch- 
 awongs which extended from Crotoii River to Anthony's Nose. 
 
THE HUDSON. 105 
 
 Turning- Caldwell's Landing or Jones' Point, formerly known 
 as Kidd"s Point, almost at right angles, the steamer enters the 
 southern gate of the Highlands. At the water edge will be 
 seen some upright planks or caissons marking the spot where 
 Kidd's ship was supposed to have been scuttled. As his history 
 seems to be intimately associated with the Hudson, we will give 
 it in brief : 
 
 Tlie Story of Captain Kidd.— " My name was Captain Kidd 
 as I sailed," are famous lines of an old ballad which was once 
 familiar to our grandfathers. The hapless hero of the same 
 was born about the middle of the seventeenth century, and it is 
 thought, near Greenock, Scotland. He resided at one time in 
 New York, near the corner of William and Cedar Streets, and 
 was there married. In April, 1690, he sailed from England in 
 command of the " Adventure Galley," with full armament and 
 eighty men. He captured a Prench ship, and, on arrival at 
 New York, put up articles for volunteers ; remained in New 
 York three or four months, increasing his crew to one hundred 
 and fifty-five men, and sailed thence to Madras, thence to Bona- 
 vista and St. Jago, Madagascar, then to Calicut, then to Mada- 
 gascar again, then sailed and took the '"Quedah Merchant." 
 Kidd kept forty shares of the spoils, and divided the rest with 
 his crew. He then burned the "Adventure Galley," went on 
 board the '' Quedah Merchant," and steered for the West Indies. 
 Here he left the '" Merchant," with part of his crew, under one 
 Bolton, as commander. Then manned a sloop, and taking part 
 of his spoils, went to Boston via Long Island Sound, and is said 
 to have set goods on shore at different places. In the mean 
 time, in August, 1698, the East Indian Company informed the 
 
106 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Lords Justice that Kidd had committed several acts of piracy, 
 particularly in seizing a Moor's ship called the " Quedah Mer- 
 chant." When Kidd landed at Boston he was therefore arrested 
 by the Earl of Bellamont, and sent to England for trial, 1699, 
 where he was found guilty and executed. Now it is supposed 
 that the crew of the "Quedah Merchant," which Kidd left at 
 Hispaniola, sailed for their homes, as the crew was mostly 
 gathered from the Highlands and above. It is said that they 
 passed New York in the night, en route to the manor of Living- 
 ston ; but encountering a gale in the Highlands, and thinking 
 they were pursued, ran her near the shore, now known as Kidd's 
 Point, and here scuttled her, the crew fleeing to the woods with 
 such treasure as they could carry. Whether this circumstance 
 was true or not, it was at least a current story in the neighbor- 
 hood, and an enterprising individual, about fifty years ago, 
 caused an old cannon to be " discovered " in the river, and perpe- 
 trated the first "Cardiff Giant Hoax." A New York Stock 
 Company was organized to .prosecute the work. It was said that 
 the ship could be seen in clear days, with her masts still stand- 
 ing, many fathoms below the surface. One thing is certain — 
 the Company did not see it or the treasurer either, in whose 
 hands were deposited about $30,000. 
 On the west shore r^se the rock-beaten crags of— 
 Tlie Dunderberg, the dread of the Dutch mariners. This 
 hill, according to irving, was peopled with a multitude of imps, 
 too great for man to number, who wore sugar-loaf hats and short 
 doublets, and had a picturesque way of "tumbling head over 
 heels in the rack and mist." They were especially malignant 
 toward all captains who failed to do them reverence, and 
 
THE HUDSON. 107 
 
 brought down frightful squalls on such craft as failed to drop 
 the peaks of their mainsails to the goblin who presided over this 
 shadowy republic. It was the dread of the early navigators — in 
 fact, the Olympus of Dutch mythology. Verditege Hook, the 
 Dunderberg, and the Overs^au^h, were names of terror to even 
 the bravest skipper. The old burghers of New York never 
 thought of making their week's voyage to Albany without ar- 
 ranging their wills, and it created as much commotion in New 
 Amsterdam as a modern expedition to the north pole. Dunder- 
 berg, in most of the Hudson Guides and Maps, is put down as 
 1,098 feet, but its actual altitude by the latest United States 
 Geological Survey is 865 feet. 
 
 The State National Guard Encampment crowns a bluflf, for- 
 merly known as Roa Hook, on the east bank, north of Peekskill 
 Bay, a happy location in the midst of history and beauty. Every 
 regiment in the State rallies here in turn during the summer 
 months for instruction in the military art, living in tents and 
 enjoying life in true army style. Visitors are cordially greeted 
 at proper hours, and the camp is easily reached by ferry from 
 Peekskill. A ferry also runs from Peekskill to Dunderberg, af- 
 fording a hillside outing and a delightful view. It is expected 
 that a spiral railroad, fourteen miles in length, undertaken by a 
 recently organized corporation, but abandoned for the present, 
 will make the spot a great Hudson River resort. The plan also 
 embraces a palatial hotel on the summit and pleasure grounds 
 upon the Point at its base. Passing Manito Mountain on our 
 right the steamer approaches 
 
 Antbony's Nose, a prominent feature of the Hudson. 
 Strangely enough the altitude of the mountains at the southern 
 
108 
 
 THE HUDSON. 
 
 portal of the Highlands has been greatly overrated. The for- 
 merly accepted height of Anthony's Nose has been reduced by 
 the Geological Survey from 1,228 feet to 900. It has, however, 
 an illustrious christening, and according to various historians 
 
 ANTHONY'S NOSE, (FROM THE SOUTH). 
 
 several godfathers. One says it was named after St. Anthony 
 the Great, the first institutor of monastic life, born A. D. 251, 
 at Coma, in Heraclea, a town in Upper Egypt. Irving's humor- 
 ous account is, however, quite as probable that it was derived 
 fro'n tli<^ ii()s(^ of Anthony A'an ( 'orlear, the illnstrion ; truniju^ter 
 
THE HUDSON. 109 
 
 of Peter Stuyvesant. " Now thus it happened that bright and 
 early in the morning- the good Anthony, having washed his 
 burly visage, was leaning over the quarter-railing of the galley, 
 contemplating it in the glassy waves below. Just at this moment 
 the illustrious sun, breaking in all his splendor from behind a 
 high bluff of the Highlands, did dart one of his most potent 
 beams full upon the refulgent nose of the sounder of brass, the 
 reflection of which shot straightway down hissing hot into the 
 water, and killed a mighty sturgeon that was sporting beside 
 the vessel. When this astonishing miracle was made known to 
 the Governor, and he tasted of the unknown fish, he marveled 
 exceedingly ; and, as a monument thereof, he gave the name of 
 Anthony's Nose to a stout promontory in the neighborhood, and 
 it has continued to be called Anthony's Nose ever since." It 
 was called by the Indians " Kittatenny,"' a Delaware term, signi- 
 fying " endless hills." The stream flowing into the river south 
 of Anthony's Nose is known as the Brocken Kill, broken into 
 beautiful cascades from mountain source to mouth. 
 
 lona Island, with its grapery and pleasant picnic grounds, 
 is near the west bank, opposite Anthony's Nose ; and a short dis- 
 tance from the island, on the main land, was the village or 
 cross-roads of Doodletown. This reach of the river was form- 
 erly known as The Horse Race, from the rapid flow of the tide 
 when at its height. The hills on the west bank now recede 
 from the river, forming a picturesque amphitheatre, bounded on 
 the west by Bear Mountain. An old road directly in the rear of 
 lona Island, better known to Anthony Wayne than to the 
 modern tourist, passes through Doodletown, over Dunderbe'rg, 
 just west of Tompkin's Cove, to Haverstraw. Here amid these 
 
110 
 
 THE HUDSON. 
 
 pleasant foothills Morse laid the scene of a historical romance, 
 which he however happily abandoned for a wider invention. 
 The world can g-et along- without the novel, but it would be a 
 trifle slow without the telegraph. On the west bank, directly 
 opposite the railroad tunnel which puts a merry "ring" into 
 the tip of Anthony's Nose, is what is now known as Highland 
 Lake, called by the Indians Sinnipink, and by the immediate 
 descendants of our Revolutionary fathers "Hessian Lake" or 
 " Bloody Pond," from the fact that an American company had a 
 severe struggle here with the British, and after the capture of 
 Fort Montgomery their bodies were thrown into the lake. 
 
 The capture of Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery was two 
 years before Mad Anthony's successful assault on Stony Point. 
 Early in the history of the Revolution, the British Government 
 thought that it would be possible to cut off the eastern from the 
 middle and southern colonies by capturing and garrisoning com- 
 manding pomts along the Hudson and Lake Champlain. It was 
 therefore decided in London, in the spring of 1777, to have Sir 
 Henry Clinton approach from the south and Burgoyne from the 
 north. Re-enforcements, however, arrived late from England and 
 it was September before Clinton transported his troops, about 
 4,000 in number, in warships and flat-boats up the river. Gov- 
 ernor George Clinton was in charge of Fort Montgomery, and his 
 brother James of Fort Clinton, while General Putnam, with 
 about 2,000 men, had his headquarters at Peekskill. In addition 
 to these forts, a chain was stretched across the Hudson from 
 Anthony's Nose to a point near the present railroad bridge, to 
 obstruct the British fleet. General Putnam, however, became 
 convinced that Sir Henry Clinton proposed to attack Fort In- 
 
THE HUDSON. Ill 
 
 dependence. Most of the troops were according-ly withdrawn 
 from Forts Montgomery and Clinton, when Sir Henry Clinton, 
 taking advantage of a morning fog, crossed with 2,000 men at 
 King's Ferry. Guided by a sympathizer of the British cause, 
 who knew the district, he crossed the Dunderberg Mountain by 
 the road just indicated. One division of 900 moving on Fort 
 Montgomery, and another of 1,100 on Fort Clinton. Governor 
 Clinton in the meantime ordered 400 soldiers to Fort Mont- 
 gomery, and his reconoitering party, met by the Hessians^ fell 
 back upon the fort, fighting as it retreated. Governor Clinton 
 sent to General Putnam for re-enforcements, but it is said that 
 the messenger deserted, so that Putnam literally sat waiting 
 in camp, unconscious of the enemy's movements. A simultaneous 
 attack was made at 5 o'clock in the afternoon on both forts. 
 Lossing says : '' The garrisons were composed mostly of un- 
 trained militia. They behaved nobly, and kept up the defense 
 vigorously, against a greatly superior force of disciplined and 
 veteran soldiers, until twilight, when they were overpowered, 
 and sought safety in a scattered retreat to the neighboring 
 mountains. Many escaped, but a considerable number were 
 s^ain or made prisoners. The Governor fled across the river in 
 a boat, and at midnight was with General Putnam at Continental 
 Village, concerting measures for stopping the invasion. James, 
 forcing his way to the rear, across the highway bridge, received 
 a bayonet wound in the thigh, but safely reached his home at 
 New Windsor. A sloop of ten guns, the frigate Montgomery— 
 twenty-four guns — and two row-galleys, stationed near the boom 
 and chain for their protection, slipped their cables and attempted 
 to escape, but there was no wind to fill their sails, and they 
 
112 THE HUDSON. 
 
 were burned by the Americans to prevent their falling into the 
 hands of the enemy. The frigate Congress, twenty-eight guns, 
 which had already gone up the river, shared the same fate on 
 the flats near Fort Constitution, which was abandoned. By the 
 light of the burning vessels the fugitive garrisons made their 
 way over the rugged mountains, and a large portion of them 
 joined General Clinton at New Windsor the next day. They had 
 left many of their brave companions behind, who, to the number 
 of 250, had been slain or taken prisoners. The British, too, had 
 parted with many men and brave officers. Among the latter 
 was Lieut. Col. Campbell. Early in the morning of the 7th of 
 October, the river obstructions between Fort Montgomery and 
 Anthony's Nose, which cost the Americans $250,000, were de- 
 stroyed, and a light flying squadron, commanded by Sir James 
 Wallace, and bearing a large number of land troops under 
 General Vaughan, sailed up the river on a marauding expe- 
 dition, with instructions from Sir Henry to scatter desolation in 
 their paths. It was hoped that such an expedition would draw 
 troops from the Northern army for the protection of the country 
 below, and thereby assist Burgoyne." 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton, who had been advised by General Burgoyne 
 that he must be relieved by October 12th, sent a messenger an- 
 nouncing his victory. Another of the many special providences 
 of the American Revolution now occurs. The messenger blun- 
 dered into the American camp, where some soldiers sat in Brit- 
 ish uniform, and found out too late that he was among enemies 
 instead of friends. As Irving relates the incident in his Life of 
 Washington :— '' On the 9th (October) two persons coming from 
 Fort Montgomery were arrested by the guard, and brought for 
 
THE HUDSON. 113 
 
 examination. One was much agitated, and was observed to put 
 something hastily into his mouth and swallow it. An emetic 
 was administered, and brought up a silver bullet. Before he 
 could be prevented he swallowed it again. On his refusing a 
 second emetic, the Governor threatened to have him hanged and 
 his body opened. This threat was effectual and the bullet was 
 again ' brought to light ' in the preceding manner. It was oval in 
 form, and hollow, with a screw in the centre, and contained a 
 note from Sir Henry Clinton to Burgoyne, written on a slip of 
 thin paper, and dated October 8th, from Fort Montgomery; 
 '^Noiis y void (here we are), and nothing between us and Gates. 
 I sincerely hope this little success of ours will facilitate your 
 operations.' " Burgoyne never received it, and on October 13th, 
 after the battles of Bennington and Saratoga, surrendered to 
 General Gates. Sir Henry Clinton abandoned the forts on hear- 
 ing of his defeat, and returned to New York " a sadder and 
 wiser man." 
 
 Beverley House. — Passing Cohn's Hook, pronounced Conno- 
 sook, where Hendrich Hudson anchored on his way up the river 
 September 14, 1609, we see before us on the right bank a point 
 coming down to the shore marked by a boat house. This is 
 Beverley Dock, and directly up the river bank about an eighth 
 of a mile stood the old Beverley House, where Benedict Arnold 
 had his headquarters when in command of West Point. The 
 old house, a good specimen of colonial times, was unfortunately 
 burned in 1892, and with it went the most picturesque landmark 
 of the most dramatic incident of the Revolution. It will be re- 
 membered that Arnold returned to the Beverley House after his 
 midnight interview with Andre at Haverstraw, and immediately 
 
114 
 
 THE HUDSON. 
 
 upon the capture of Andre the following day, that Colonel Jami- 
 son sent a letter to Arnold, advising him of the fact. It was the 
 morning- of September 4th. General Washing-ton was on his 
 way to West Point, coming- across the country from Connecticut. 
 On arriving, however, at the river, just above the present sta- 
 tion of Garrisons, he became interested in examining some de- 
 fenses, and sent Alexander Hamilton forward to the Beverley 
 House, saying that he would come later, requesting the family 
 to proceed with their breakfast and not to await his arrival. 
 Alexander Hamilton and General Lafayette sat gayly chatting 
 with Mrs. Arnold and her husband when the letter from Jamison 
 was received. Arnold glanced at the contents, rose and excused 
 himself from the table, beckoning to his wife to follow him, bade 
 her good-bye, told her he was a ruined man and a traitor, kissed 
 his little boy in the cradle, rode to Beverley Dock, and ordered 
 his men to pull off and go down the river. The '"Vulture," 
 an English man-of-war, was near Teller's Point, and received a 
 traitor, whose miserable treachery branded him with eternal 
 infamy in both continents. It is said that he lived long 
 enough to be hissed in the House of Commons, as he 
 once took his seat in the gallery, and he died friendless, and 
 despised. It is also said, when Talleyrand arrived in Havre on 
 foot from Paris, in the darkest hour of the French Revolution, 
 pursued by the bloodhounds of the reign of terror, and was 
 about to secure a passage to the United States, he asked the 
 landlord of the hotel whether any Americans were staying at 
 his Louse, as he was going across the water, and would like a 
 letter to a i)erson of influenc'e in the New World. "There is a 
 gentleman up-stairs from Britain or America," was the response. 
 
THE HUDSON. 115 
 
 He pointed the way, and Talleyrand ascended the stairs. In a 
 dimly lig-hted room sat the man of whom the great minister of 
 France was to ask a favor. He advanced, and poured forth in 
 elegant French and broken English, "I am a wanderer, and an 
 exile. I am forced to fly to the New World without a friend or 
 home. You are an American. Give me, then, I beseech you, a 
 letter of yours, so that I may be able to earn my bread." The 
 strange gentleman rose. With a look that Talleyrand never 
 forgot, he retreated toward the door of the next chamber. He 
 spoke as he retreated, and his voice was full of suffering: "I 
 am the only man of the New World who can raise his hand to 
 God and say, 'I have not a friend, not one, in America!'" 
 "Who are you?" he cried — "your name?" ''My name is 
 Benedict Arnold I " 
 
 Andre's fate on the other hand was widely lamented. He was 
 universally beloved by his comrades and possessed a rich fund 
 of humor which often bubbled over in verse. It is a strange co- 
 incidence that his best poetic attempt on one of Anthony 
 Wayne's exploits near Fort Lee closed with a graphically pro- 
 phetic verse : 
 
 " And now I've closed my epic strain, 
 I tremble as I show it, 
 Lest this same Warrior-Drover Wayne 
 Should ever catch the poet." 
 
 By a singular coincidence he did : General Wayne was in 
 command of the Tarrytown and Tappan country where Andre 
 was captured and executed. It is also said that these lines 
 were published by one of the Tory papers in New York the very 
 day of Andre's capture. One of the old-time characters on the 
 
U6 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Hudson, known as Uncle Richard, has recently thrown new 
 light on the capture of Andre by claiming-, with a touch of genu- 
 ine humor, that it was entirely due to the '' effects '" of cider 
 which had been freely " dispensed " that day by a certain Mr. 
 Horton, a farmer in the neighborhood. 
 
 It is impossible even in these later years, not to speak of 
 twenty-five or fifty years ago, to travel along the shores of 
 Haverstraw Bay or among the passes of the Highlands, without 
 hearing some old-time stories about Arnold and Andre, and it 
 would be strange indeed if a little romance had not here and 
 there become blended with the real facts. Uncle Richard's ac- 
 count is undoubtedly the best since the days of Knickerbocker. 
 "Benedict Arnold, you know, had command of West Point, and 
 he knew that the place was essential to the success of the Con- 
 tinental cause. He plotted, as everybody knows, to turn it over 
 to the enemy, and in the correspondence which he carried on 
 with General Clinton, young Andre, Clinton's aid, did all the 
 writing. Things were coming to a focus, when a meeting took 
 place between Arnold and Clinton's representative, Andre, at 
 the house of Joshua Hett Smith, near Haverstraw. Andre 
 came on the British ship Vulture, which he left at Croton Point, 
 in Haverstraw Bay. Well," so runs Uncle Richard's story, " it 
 took a long time to get matters settled; they 'confabbed' till 
 after daybreak. Then Arnold started back to the post which 
 he had plotted to surrender. But daylight was no time for 
 Andre to return to the Vulture, so he hung round waiting for 
 night. 
 
 " During that day, some men who were working for James 
 Horton, a farmer on the ridge overlooking the river, who 
 
THE HUDSON. 117 
 
 gave his men good rations of cider, drank a little too much of 
 the hard stuff. They felt good, and thought it would be a fine 
 joke to load and fire off an old disabled cannon which lay a mile 
 or so away on the bank. They hauled it to the point now called 
 Cockroft Point, propped it up, and then the spirit of fun — and 
 hard cider — prompted them to train the old piece on the British 
 ship Vulture, lying at anchor in the Bay. The Vulture's peo- 
 ple must have overestimated the source of the fire, for the ship 
 dropped down the river, and Andre had to abandon the idea of 
 returning by that means. He crossed the river at King's Ferry, 
 and while on his way overland was captured at Tarrytown. 
 
 '•Of course, the three brave men who refused to be bribed 
 deserve all the glory they ever had : if it were not for them, who 
 knows but the revolutionary war would have had a different 
 ending. But they never would have had a chance to capture 
 Andre if it had not been for James Horton's men warming up on 
 hard cider. Hard cider broke the plans of Arnold, it hung 
 Andre, and it saved West Point." A boy misguided Grouchy en 
 route to Waterloo. On what small hinges turn the destinies of 
 nations ! 
 
 All the way from Anthony's Nose to Beverley Dock, where we 
 have been lingering over the story of Andre, we have been liter- 
 ally turning a kaleidoscope of blended history and beauty, v/ith 
 scarcely time to note the delightful homes of John S. Gilbert, 
 on the left bank, just above Fort Montgomery ; of William and 
 Arthur Pell ; of J. Pierpont Morgan, Alfred Pell, Charles Tra- 
 cy, Captain Roe, " Benny Havens " and John Bigelow ; or on the 
 east bank, the residences of the late Hamilton Fish (seen just 
 above Beverley Dock) ; Col. Arden, H. W. Beecher, Edward 
 
118 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Pierpont. J. M. Toucey, W. Livingston and Samuel Sloane, some 
 of them not visible from the deck of the Day Boats, but seen by 
 the pedestrian on either side of the river. The bold tower oij 
 the right, reminding one of a new edition of the spire of the 
 Tr-ibune Building, is the home of William H. Osborn, just north 
 of Sugar Loaf Mountain ; the mountain being so named as it re- 
 sembles, to one coming- up the river, the old-fashioned conical- 
 shaped sugar-loaf, which was formerly suspended by a string- 
 over the centre of the hospitable Dutch tables, and swung around 
 to be occasionally nibbled at, which in good old Knickerbocker 
 days, was thought to be the best and only orthodox way of 
 sweetening tea. 
 
 Buttermilk Falls, so christened by Washington Irving, is 
 a pretty little cascade on the west bank. Like sparkling wit, it 
 is often dry, and the tourist is exceptionally fortunate who sees 
 it in full-dress costume after a heavy shower, when it rushes 
 over the rocks in floods of snow-white foam. Highland Falls is 
 the name of a small village a short distance west of the river, on 
 the bluff, but not seen from the deck of the steamer. The large 
 hotel north of the falls is known as " Cranston's," and has a com- 
 manding and pleasant site. It is, however, one mile and a half 
 from the Parade Ground— the principal attraction of West 
 Point ; and the visitor who has only a few days at his command, 
 will perhaps gather more information by locating at West Point 
 proper, whose well constructed dock the steamer is now a[)- 
 proaching. 
 
 West Point, taken all in all, is the most beautiful tourist 
 spot on the Hudson. Excursionists by the Day Boats from New 
 York, returning by afternoon steamer, have three hours to visit 
 
 I 
 
THE HUDSON. H^ 
 
 the various places of history and beauty. To make an easy 
 mathematical formula or picturesque " rule of three " statement, 
 what Quebec is to the St. Lawrence, West Point is to the Hud- 
 son. If the Citadel of Quebec is more imposing-, the view of the 
 Hudson at this place is grander than that of the St. Lawrence, 
 and the ruins of Fort Putnam are almost as venerable as the 
 Heig-hts of Abraham. The sensation of the visitor is, moreover, 
 somewhat the same in both places as to the environment of law 
 and authority. To g-et the daily character and quality of West 
 Point one should spend at least twenty-four hours within it? 
 borders, and a good hotel, the only one on the Govermnent 
 grounds, will be found central and convenient to everything of 
 interest. The parade and drills at sunset hour can only be seen 
 in this way. Carriages and omnibuses meet all trains and 
 boats, with a fixed tariff of twenty-five cents for each passen- 
 ger ; twenty-five cents for each trunk or box ; two dollars per 
 hour for carriage, or after the first hour one dollar and a half. 
 If the day is not too warm and the passenger is without baggage, 
 it is a pleasant walk of a quarter of a mile to the Parade Ground, 
 or of about half a mile to the hotel. 
 
 The first building to the right, to one ascending from the land- 
 ing, is the Riding- Hall, completed in 1885. Here the cadet 
 learns cavalry exercises, " enjoying " many a fall which would 
 often be a serious matter were it not that the building is floored 
 with tan- bark. To the rear of this are stables, accommodating 
 one hundred and twenty-five horses. The path or roadway leads 
 one onward and upward to Grant Hall or Mess Hall where, be- 
 tween meal hours, can be seen portraits of noted generals of the 
 Civil War, Beyond this is the Hospital, the Academic Build- 
 
120 
 
 THE HUDSON. 
 
 ing and the Administration Building, headquarters for the Post. 
 Here also will be seen the Library, crowned with a dome, the 
 Chapel, Gymnasium, Recitation Rooms, etc. 
 
 Near tlie Flag-staflf a fine collection of old cannon, old 
 chains, old shell, and the famous "swamp angel" gun, used 
 at Charleston in '(U, will be found. Fort Knox was just above 
 the landing. Near the river bank can also be seen Dade's 
 Monument, Kosciusko's Garden, and Kosciusko's Monument. 
 Old Fort Clinton was located on the plain, near the monument ; 
 and far above, like a sentinel left at his post. Fort Putnam looks 
 down upon the changes of a hundred years. But of all places 
 around West Point, Kosciusko's Garden seems the most suggest- 
 ive, connected as it is with a hero not only of his own country, 
 but with a man ready to battle for free institutions, taking up 
 the sublime words of the old Roman orator, "Where Liberty is 
 tliere is my country." A beautiful spring will be found near the 
 Garden, and the indenture of a cannon-ball is still pointed out in 
 the rocks, which must have disturbed the patriot's meditations. 
 
 The Chapel was completed in 1836 ; the Library in 1841 ; Ca- 
 det Mess in 1852 ; Cadet Hospital in 1881 ; monument to General 
 Thayer in 1883 ; Gymnasium in 1891 ; the Battle Monumeni, 
 which cost about $50,000, surmounted by a figure of Fame, in 
 1894, " Dedicated to the memory of officers and enlisted men of 
 the regular army who fell during the Civil War." 
 
 The United States Military Academy.— Soon after the 
 close of the War of the Revolution, Washington suggested West 
 Point as the site of a military academy, and, in 1793, in his an- 
 nual message, recommended it to Congress, which in 1794 orga- 
 nized a corps of artillerists to be here stationed with thirty-two 
 
THE HUDSON. 123 
 
 cadets, enlarg-ing the number in 1798 to fifty-six. In 1808 it was 
 increased to one hundred and fifty-six, and in 1812 to two hun- 
 dred and sixty. Each Congressman has the appointment of one 
 cadet, supplemented by ten appointed by the President of the 
 United States. These cadets are members of the regular army, 
 subject to its regulations for eight years, viz : during four years 
 of study and four years after graduating. The candidates are 
 examined in June, each year, and must be physically sound as 
 well as mentallj' qualified. The course is very thorough, es- 
 pecially in higher mathematics. The Cadets go into camp in 
 July and August, and this is the pleasantest time to visit the 
 Point. 
 
 Among memorials of historical interest to be seen by the visi- 
 tor are captured Battle Flags, in the Chapel Building, which 
 were surrendered by Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown ; also, tro- 
 phies of the Mexican war, and tablets containing names of 
 prominent American officers of the Revolution, one being sig- 
 nificantly left blank, silently proclaiming the eternal infamy of 
 Arnold. The opposite wall presents the names of generals of 
 the Mexican War. Fort Clinton will especially interest the 
 visitor, as it is one of the old Revolutionary forts, " enlarged for 
 the instruction of the cadets in practicing military engineering.*' 
 As Wakefield's new guide to the Post tells us : — " It contains a 
 large number of guns, captured in the Civil war, including 
 ' Whistling Dick,' taken at Vicksburg, a large iron gun taken 
 at Charleston, which burst and killed forty men ; two brass 
 guns from Cedar Creek, marked 'Jeff Davis,' and ' Johnson ; * 
 also part of chain which was used to block the passage ot vessels 
 up the Tennessee river." 
 
124 THE HUDSON. 
 
 West Point during the revolution was the Gibraltar of the 
 Hudson and her forts were regarded almost impregnable. Fort 
 Putnam should be rebuilt as an enduring monument to the 
 bravery of American soldiers. Flirtation Walk, in spite of its 
 name, is interesting even to the most prosaic individual, winding 
 as it does along the cliff, from Battle Monument past Battery 
 Knox to Kosciusko's Garden, from which point a flight of stone 
 steps lead up to the Parade Ground, near the Library. The 
 Battle Monument, constructed of g-ranite and bronze, was com- 
 pleted in 1894. The shaft is 41 feet 6 inches high, with an 
 average diameter of six feet, surmounted by a figure of Liberty, 
 a fitting memorial to those who gave their lives for their 
 country. 
 
 The best way to study West Point, however, is not in the volu- 
 minous or even condensed pages of a guide book, but to visit it 
 and see its real life, to wander amid these old associations, and 
 ask, when necessary, intelligent questions, which are everywhere 
 courteously answered. The view north from the veranda of the 
 West Point Hotel, if seen in a summer evening, is one long to be 
 remembered. It has often seemed to the writer of this hand-book 
 that the mountains here are like the leaves of an open volume, 
 with the river lying between them for a book-nuii'k — as indica- 
 ted in the Highland section of his poem " The Hudson: " 
 
 On either side these mountain glens 
 
 Lie open like a massive book, 
 Whose words were graved with iron pens, 
 
 And lead into the eternal rock: 
 
 Which evermore shall here retain 
 
 The annals time cannot erase, 
 And Tt7hile these granite leaves remain 
 
 This crystal ribbon niarl.s the place. 
 
THE HUDSON. 127 
 
 WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH. 
 
 The steamer sails too near the west bank to give a view of the 
 magnificent plateau with Parade Ground and Government 
 Buildings, but on rounding the Point a picture of marvelous 
 beauty breaks at once upon the vision. On the left the massive 
 indented ridge of Old Cro" Nest and Storm King, and on the 
 right Mount Taurus, or Bull Hill, and Break Neck, while still 
 further beyond toward the east sweejjs the Fishkill range, senti- 
 neled by South Beacon, 1,G25 feet in height, from whose summit 
 midnight gleams aroused the countryside for leagues and scores 
 of miles in those seven long years when men toiled and prayed 
 for freedom. Close at hand on the right will be seen Constitu- 
 tion Island, formerly the home of Miss Susan Warner, who died 
 in 1885, author of " Queechy " and the " Wide, Wide World." 
 Here the ruins of the old fort are seen. The place was once 
 called Martalaer's Rock Island. A chain was stretched across 
 the river at this point to intercept the passage of boats up the 
 Hudson, but proved ineffectual, like the one at Anthony's Nose, 
 as 1)he impetus of the boats snapped them both like cords. 
 
 Some years ago, when the first delegation of Apache Indians 
 was brought to Washington to sign a treaty of peace, the In- 
 dians were taken for an " outing " up the Hudson, by General O. 
 O. Howard and Dr. Herman Bendell, Superintendent of Indian 
 Affairs for Arizona. It is said that they noted with cold indif- 
 ference the palaces along the river front: "the artistic ter- 
 races, the well-kept, sloping lawns, the clipped hedges and the 
 ivy-grown walls made no impression on them, but when the 
 
128 THE HUDSON. 
 
 magriificent picture of the Hudson above West Point revealed 
 itself, painted by the rays of the sinking sun, these wild men 
 stood erect, raised their hands hig-h above their heads and ut- 
 tered a monosyllabic expression of delight, which was more ex- 
 pressive than volumes of words.'' 
 
 Sir Robert Temple also rises into rapture over the northern 
 Gate of the Highlands. ''One of the fairest spectacles to be 
 seen on the earth's surface. Not on any other river or strait — 
 not on Ganges or Indus, on the Dardanelles or the Bosphorus, 
 on the Danube or the Rhine, on the Neva or the Nile — have I 
 ever observed so fairy-like a scene as this on the Hudson. The 
 only water-view to rival it is that of the Sea of Marmora, opposite 
 Constantinoi)le." 
 
 Most people who visit our river, naturally desire a brilliant sun- 
 lit day for their journey, and with reason, but there are effects, 
 in fog and rain and driving mist, only surpassed amid the Kyles 
 of Bute, in Scotland. The traveler is fortunate, who sees the 
 Hudson in many phases, and under various atmospheric con- 
 ditions. A midnight view is peculiarly impressive when the 
 mountain spirits of Rodman Drake answer to the call of his 
 "Culprit Pay." 
 
 " 'Tis the middle watch of a summer nipht, 
 The earth is dark, but the heavens are bright, 
 The moon looks down on Old Cro' Nest— 
 She mellows the shade on his shaggy breast, 
 And seems his huge grey form to throw 
 In a silver cone on the wave below." 
 
 It is said that the "Culprit Fay" was written by Drake in 
 three days, and grew out of a discussion which took place in a 
 
THE HUDSON. 129 
 
 stroll through this part of the Highlands between Irving, Hal- 
 leck, Cooper and himself, as to the filling of a new country with 
 old-time legends. Drake died in 1820. Halleck's lines to his 
 memory are among the sweetest in our language. It is said that 
 Halleck, on hearing Drake read his j^oem, " The American 
 Flag," sprang to his feet, and in a semi-poetic transport, con- 
 cluded the lines with burning words, which Drake afterwards 
 appended : 
 
 " 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." 
 Just opposite Old Cro" Nest is the village of Cold Spring, on 
 the east bank, which receives its name naturally from a cold 
 spring in the vicinity ; and it is interesting to remember that 
 the famous Parrott guns were made at this place, and many im- 
 plements of warfare daring our civil strife. The foundry was 
 started by Gouverneur Kemble in 1828, and brought into wide 
 renown by the inventive genius of Major Parrott. A short dis- 
 tance north of the village is 
 
 Undercliflf, (built by John C. Hamilton, son of Alexander 
 Hamilton, but more particularly associated with the memory of 
 the poet. Col. Geo. P. Morris), lies, in fact, under the cliff and 
 shadow of Mount Taurus, and has a fine outlook upon the river 
 and surrounding mountains. Standing on the piazza, we see 
 directly in front of us Old Cro' Nest, and it was here that the 
 
 poet wrote : 
 
 " Where Hudson's wave o'er silvery sands 
 
 Winds through the hills afar, 
 
 Old Cro' Xest like a monarch stands 
 
 Crowned uith a single star.''' 
 
130 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Few writers were better known in their own day than the poet 
 of Undercliff, who wrote " My Mother's Bible," and " Woodman, 
 Spare that Tree." On one occasion, when Mr. Russell was sing-- 
 ing- it at Boulogne, an old gentleman in the audience, moved by 
 the simple and touching beauty of the lines, 
 
 *' Forgive the foolish tear, 
 But let the old oak stand,*' 
 
 rose and said : "I beg your pardon, but was the tree really 
 spared? " "It was," answered Mr. Russell, and the old gentle- 
 man resumed his seat, amid the plaudits of the whole assembly. 
 
 Truly 
 
 " Its glory and renown 
 
 Are spread o'er land and sea." 
 
 The first European name given to Storm King was Klinkers- 
 berg, (so called by Hendrich Hudson, from its glistening and 
 broken rock). It was styled by the Dutch "Butter Hill," from 
 its shape, and, with Sugar Loaf on the eastern side below the 
 Point, helped to set out the tea-table for the Danderberg gob- 
 lins. It was christened by Willis, " Storm King," and may well 
 be regarded the El Capitan of the Highlands. Breakneck is op- 
 posite, on the east side, where St. Anthony's Face was blasted 
 away. In this mountain solitude there was a shade of reason in 
 giving that solemn countenance of stone the name of St. An- 
 thony, as a good representative of monastic life ; and, by a qui^t 
 sarcasm, the full-length nose below was probably suggested. 
 
 The mountain opposite Cro' Nest is " Bull Hill," or more clas- 
 sically, " Mt. Taurus." It is said that there was formerly a wild 
 bull in these mountains, which had failed to win the respect and 
 confidence of the inhabitants, so the mountaineers organized a 
 
WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS, NEWBURGH. 
 
THE HUDSON. 133 
 
 hunt and drove him over the hill, whose name stands a monu- 
 ment to his exit. The point at the foot of '* Mount Taurus "' is 
 known as " Little Stony Point." 
 
 The Highlands now trend off to the northeast, and we see 
 North Beacon, or Grand Sachem Mountain, and Old Beacon 
 about half a mile to the north. The mountains were relit with 
 beacon-fires in 1883, in honor of the centennials of Fishkill and 
 Newburgh, and were plainly seen sixty miles distant. 
 
 This section was known by the Indians as " Wequehache,"' or, 
 "the Hill Country,*' and the entire range was called by the In- 
 dians "the endless hills," a name not inappropriate to this 
 mountain bulwark. As i)ictured in our '"' Long Drama," given 
 at the Newburgh Centennial of the disbanding of the American 
 
 Army, 
 
 That ridge along our eastern coast| 
 
 From Carolina to the Sound, 
 Opposed its front to England's host, 
 
 And heroes at each pass were found. 
 
 A vast primeval palisade. 
 
 With bastions bold and wooded crest, 
 A bulwark strong by nature made 
 
 To guard the valley of the west. 
 
 Along its heights the beacons gleamed, 
 
 It formed the nation's battle-line. 
 Firm as the rocks and cliffs where dreamed 
 
 The soldier-seers of Palestine. 
 
 It was also believed by the Indians that, in ancient days, *' be- 
 fore the Hudson poured its waters from the lakes, the Highlands 
 formed one vast prison, within whose rocky bosom the omnipo- 
 tent M«,nitou confined the rebellious spirits who repined at his 
 
134 THE HUDSON. 
 
 control. Here, bound in adamantine chains, or jammed in rifted 
 pines, or crushed by ponderous rocks, they groaned for many 
 an age. At length the conquering Hudson, in its career toward 
 the ocean, burst open their prison-house, rolling its tide triumph- 
 antly through the stupendous ruins." 
 
 PoUopel's Island, east of the steamer's route, was once re- 
 garded as a haunted spot, but its only witches are said to be 
 snakes too lively to be enchanted. In old times, the " new 
 hands " on the sloops were unceremoniously dipped at this place, 
 so as to be proof-christened against the goblins of the High- 
 lands. Here also another useless " impediment" was put across 
 the Hudson in 1779, a chevaux-de-frise with iron-pointed spikes 
 thirty feet long, hidden under water, strongly secured by cribs 
 of stone. This, however, was not broken and would probably 
 have done effective work if some traitor to the cause had not 
 guided the British captains through an unprotected passage. 
 
 Corn wall-on- tlie-Hudson.— This locality N. P. Willis 
 selected as the most picturesque point on the Hudson. The 
 village lies in a lovely valley, which Mr. Beach has styled in 
 his able description, as "an offshoot of the Ramapo, up which 
 the storm-winds of the ocean drive, laden with the purest and 
 freshest air." Idlewild, with its pleasant glen and sunny slope, 
 has a beautiful location in the very centre of this charming land- 
 scape, and is one of the points to be visited. 
 
 The home of the late Rev. E. P. Roe is also near at hand^ 
 whose face was a familiar one a few years ago on the Hudson 
 River Day Boats. Edward W. Bok's frequently quoted and 
 appreciative article in one of the Chicago papers, presents this 
 beautiful section in the briefest compass. 
 
THE HUDSON. 135 
 
 ''It is now nearly forty-five years ago since Nathaniel P. Wil- 
 lis first made known his ' Idlewild ' retreat, and more than 
 twenty-five years have passed since he left it to be taken to 
 Mount Auburn, near Boston. The ' Idlewild ' of to-day is still 
 green to the memory of the poet. Since Willis' death the place 
 has passed in turn into various hands, until now it belongs to a 
 wealthy New York lawyer, who has spent thousands of dollars on 
 the house and grounds. The old house still stands, and here and 
 there in the grounds remains a suggestion of the time of Willis. 
 The famous pine-drive leading to the mansion, along which the 
 greatest literary lights of the Knickerbocker period passed dur- 
 ing its palmy days, still remains intact, the dense growth of the 
 trees only making the road the more picturesque. The brook, at 
 which Willis often sat, still runs on through the grounds as of 
 yore. In the house, everything is remodeled and remodernized. 
 The room from whose windows Willis was wont to look over the 
 Hudson, and where he did most of his charming writing, is now 
 a bedchamber, modern in its every appointment, and suggesting 
 its age only by the high ceiling and curious mantel. Only a few 
 city blocks from ' Idlewild ' is the house where lived E. P. Roe, 
 the author of so many popular novels, as numerous, almost, in 
 number as the several hundreds of thousands of circulation 
 which they secured. The Roe house is unoccupied, and has 
 been since the death of the novelist. For a time, the widow 
 and some members of the family resided there, but Mrs. Roe 
 now lives in New York, and the Cornwall place is for sale. 
 There are twenty-three acres to it in all, and, save what was oc- 
 cupied by the house, every inch of ground was utilized by the 
 novelist in his hobby for fine fruits and rare flowers. Now noth- 
 
136 THE HUDSON. 
 
 ing remains of the beauty once so characteristic of the place. 
 For four years the g^rounds have missed the care of their creator. 
 Where once were the novelist's celebrated strawberry beds, are 
 now only grass and weeds. Ever\- thing is grown over, only a 
 few trees remaining as evidence that the grounds were ever 
 known for their cultivated products. A large board sign an- 
 nounces the fact that the entire place is for sale."' 
 
 Corn-wall has been for many years a favorite resort of the 
 Hudson Valley and her roofs shelter in the summer season prob- 
 ably six thousand people. The road completed in 18Tt), from 
 Cornwall to "West Point, is too steep for bicycling, but a pedes- 
 trian stroll or a ride in a well-springed carriage gives one a 
 pleasant acquaintance with the wooded Highlands. It passes 
 over the plateau of Cro' Nest and winds down the Cornwall 
 slope of Storm King. The tourist who sees Cro' Xest and Storm 
 King only from the river, has but little idea of their extent. 
 Cro' Nest plateau is about one thousand feet above the Parade 
 Ground of West Point, and overlooks it as a rocky balcony. 
 These mountains, with their wonderful lake system, are, in fact, 
 th3 "Central Park'' of the Hudson. Within a radius of ten 
 miles are clustered over forty lakes, and we very much doubt if 
 one person in a thousand ever heard of them. A convenient 
 map giving the phj^sical geography of this section would be of 
 great service to the mountain visitor. The Cornwall pier, built 
 by the Xew York, Ontario and Western Bailwad in 1892 for coal 
 and freight purposes, will be seen on our left near the Cornwall 
 dock. This railroad leaves the West Shoix at this point and 
 forms a pleasant tourist route to the beautiful inland villages 
 and resorts of the State. 
 
THE HUDSON. 137 
 
 NEWBURGH TO POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 Newburgli, (60 miles from New York, population 24,536). 
 Approaching- the city of Newburg-h, we see a building- of roug-h 
 stone, one story high, with steep roof — known as Washington's 
 Headquarters. For several years prior to, and during the Revo- 
 lution, this was the home of Jonathan Hasbrouck, known far and 
 wide for business integrity and loyalty to liberty. This house 
 was built by him, apparently, in decades ; the oldest part, the 
 north-east corner, in 1750; the south-east corner, in 1760, and 
 the remaining half in 1770. It fronted west on the King's high- 
 way, now known as Liberty street, with a garden and family 
 burial plot to the east, lying between the house and the river. 
 It was restored as nearly as possible to its original character on 
 its purchase by the State in 1849, and it is now the treasure- 
 house of many memories, and of valuable historic relics. A 
 descriptive catalogue, prepared for the trustees, under act of 
 May 11, 1874, by a patient and careful historian, Dr. E. M. Rut- 
 tenber, will be of service to the visitor and can be obtained on 
 the grounds. The following facts, condensed from his admirable 
 historical sketch, arc of practical interest : 
 
 " Wasliington's Headquarters, or the Hasbrouck house, 
 is situated in the south-east part of the city, constructed of rough 
 stone, one story high, fifty-six feet front by forty-six feet in 
 depth, and located on what was originally Lot No. 2, of the 
 German Patent, with title vested in Heman Schoneman, a native 
 of the Palatinate of Germany, who sold, in 1721, to James 
 
138 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Alexander, who subsequently sold to Alexander Golden and 
 Burger Meynders, by whom it was conveyed to Jonathan 
 Hasbrouck, the grandson of Abraham Hasbrouck, one of the 
 Hug-uenot founders of New Paltz. He was a man of marked 
 character ; of fine physique, being- six feet and four inches in 
 height ; was colonel of the militia of the district, and in frequent 
 service in guarding the passes of the Highlands. His occupa- 
 tion was that of a farmer, a miller, and a merchant. He died 
 in 1780. The first town meeting for the Precinct of New burgh 
 was held here on the first Tuesday in April, 1763, when its owner 
 was elected supervisor. Public meetings continued to be held 
 here for several years. During the early part of the Revolution, 
 the Committee of Safety, of the Precinct, assembled here ; here 
 military companies were organized, and here the regiment 
 which Col. Hasbrouck commanded assembled, to move hence to 
 the defence of the Highland forts. 
 
 From this brief outline, it will be seen that the building is 
 singularly associated with the history of the Old as well as of 
 the New World : with the former through the original grantee 
 of the land, recalling the wars which devastated the Palatinate 
 and sent its inhabitants, fugitive and penniless, to other parts 
 of Europe and to America; through his successor with the 
 Huguenots of France, and, through the public meetings which 
 assembled here, and especially through its occupation by Wash- 
 ington, with the struggle for American Independence. 
 
 In the spring of 1782 Washington made this building his 
 Headquarters, and remained here until August 18th, 1783, on 
 the morning of which day he took his departure from Newburgh. 
 At this place he passed through the most trying period of the 
 
THE HUDSON. 139 
 
 Revolution : the year of inactivity on the part of Congress, of 
 distress throughout the country, and of complaint and discon- 
 tent in the army, the latter at one time bordering on revolt 
 among the officers and soldiers. 
 
 It was at this place, on the 22d day of May, 1782, that Col. 
 Nicola, on behalf of himself and others, proposed that Wash- 
 ington should become King, for the "national advantage," a 
 proposal that was received by Washington with "surprise and 
 astonishment," "viewed with aVjhorrence," and "reprehended 
 with severity." The temptation which was thus repelled by 
 Washington, had its origin with that jjortion of the officers of 
 the army, who, while giving their aid heartily to secure an inde- 
 pendent government, nevertheless believed that that govern- 
 ment should be a monarchy. The rejection of the proposition 
 by Washington was not the only significant result. The rank 
 ahd file of the army rose up against it, and around their camp- 
 fires chanted their purpose in Billings' song, "No King but 
 God!" From that hour a Republic became the only possible 
 form of government for the enfranchised Colonies. 
 
 The inattention of Congress to the payment of the army, dur- 
 ing the succeeding winter, gave rise to an equally important 
 episode in the history of the war. On the 10th of March, 1783, 
 the first of the famous " Newburgh Letters" was issued, in 
 which, by implication at least, the army was advised to revolt. 
 The letter was followed by an anonymous manuscript notice for a 
 public meeting of officers on the succeeding Tuesday. Wash- 
 ington was equal to the emergency. He expressed his disap- 
 probation of the whole proceeding, and with great wisdom, re- 
 quested the field officers, with one commissioned officer from 
 
140 THE HUDSON. 
 
 each company, to meet on the Saturday preceding- the time ap- 
 pointed by the anonymous notice. He attended t^is meeting 
 and delivered before it one of the most touching and effective 
 addresses on record. When he closed his remarks, the officers 
 unanimously resolved **to reject with disdain" the infamous 
 proposition contained in the anonymous address. 
 
 The meeting of officers referred to was held at the New Build- 
 ing, or " Temple " as it was called, in New Windsor, but Wash- 
 ington's address was written at his Headquarters. The " New- 
 burgh Letters," to which it was a reply, were written by Major 
 John Armstrong, Aid-de-Camp to General Gates. The anony- 
 mously called meeting was not held. The motives of its projec- 
 tors we will not discuss ; but its probable effect, had it been suc- 
 cessful, must be considered in connection with Washington's en- 
 comium of the result of the meeting- which he had addressed : 
 "Had this day been wanting, the world had never known the 
 height to which human greatness is capable of attaining." 
 
 Notice of the cessation of hostilities was proclaimed to the 
 army April 19th, 1783. It was received with great rejoicings by 
 the troops at Newburgh, and under Washington's order, was the 
 occasion of an appropriate celebration. In the evening, signal 
 Beacon lights proclaimed the joyous news to the surrounding 
 country. Thirteen cannon came pealing up from Fort Putnam, 
 which were followed by a, fea-(le-joie rolling along the lines. The 
 mountain sides resounded and echoed like tremendous peals of 
 thunder, and the flashing from thousands of fire-arms, in the 
 darkness of the evening, was like unto vivid Hashes of lightning 
 from the clouds. From this time furloughs were freely granted 
 to soldiers who wished to return to their homes, and when the 
 
THE HUDSON. 141 
 
 army was finally disbanded those absent were discharged from 
 service without being required to return. That portion of the 
 army, which remained at Newburgh on guard duty, after the 
 removal of the main body to West Point in June, were partici- 
 pants here in the closing scenes of the disbandment, when, on 
 the morning of November 3rd, 1783, the proclamation of Con- 
 gress and the farewell orders of Washington were read, and the 
 last word of command given. ' From Hon. John J. Monell's 
 "Handbook of Washington's Headquarters '' we also quote a 
 general description of the house and its appearance when occu- 
 pied by the Commander-in-Chief. "Washington's family con- 
 sisted of himself, his wife, and his Aid-de-Camp, Major Tench 
 Tighlman. The large room, which is entered from the piazza 
 on the east, known as ' the room with seven doors and one win- 
 dow,' was used as the dining and sitting-room. The northeast 
 room was Washington's bedroom and the one adjoining it on the 
 left was occupied by him as a private ofifice. The family room was 
 that in the south-east ; the kitchen was the southwest room ; the 
 parlor the northwest room. Between the latter and the former 
 was the hall and staircase and the store-room, so called for hav- 
 ing been used by Col. Hasbrouck and subsequently by his widow 
 as a store. The parlor was mainly reserved for Mrs. Washing- 
 ton and her guests. A Mrs. Hamilton, whose name frequently 
 appears in Washington's account book, was his housekeeper, and 
 in the early part of the war made a reputation for her zeal in his 
 service, which Thacher makes note of and Washington acknowl- 
 edges in his reference to an exchange of salt. There was little 
 room for the accommodation of guests, but it is presumed that 
 the chambers were reserved for that purpose. Washington's 
 
142 THE HUDSON. 
 
 guests, however, were mainly connected with the army and had 
 quarters elsewhere. Even Lafayette had rooms at DeGrove's 
 Hotel when a visitor at Headquarters. 
 
 "The building- is now substantially in the condition it was 
 during Washington's occupation of it. The same massive tim- 
 bers span the ceiling; the old fire-place with its widie-open 
 chimney is ready for the huge back-logs of yore ; the seven 
 doors are in their places; the rays of the morning sun still 
 stream through the one window ; no alteration in form has been 
 made in the old piazza — the adornments on the walls, if such the 
 ancient hostess had, have alone been changed for souvenirs of the 
 heroes of the nation's independence. In presence of these sur- 
 roundings, it requires but little effort of the imagination to restore 
 the 'departed guests. Forgetting not that this was Washing- 
 ton's private residence, rather than a place for the transaction 
 of public business, we may, in the old sitting-room respread 
 the long oaken table, listen to the blessing invoked on the 
 morning meal, hear the cracking of joints, and the mingled 
 hum of conversation. The meal dispensed, Mrs. Washington 
 retires to appear at her flower beds or in her parlor to receive 
 her morning calls. Colfax, the captain of the Life-Guard, 
 enters to receive the orders of the day— perhaps a horse and 
 guard for Washington to visit New Windsor, or a barge for 
 Fishkill or West Point, is required ; or it may be Washington 
 remains at home and at his writing desk conducts his corres- 
 pondence, or dictates orders for army movements. The old 
 arm-chair, sitting in the corner yonder, is still ready for its 
 former occupant. 
 
 "The dinner hour of five o'clock approaches ; the guests of the 
 
THE HUDSON. 143 
 
 day have already arrived. Steuben, the iron drill-master and 
 German soldier of fortune, converses with Mrs. Washington. 
 He has reduced the simple marksmen of Bunker Hill to the 
 discipline of the armies of Europe and tested their efficiency in 
 the din of battle. He has leisure now, and scarcely knows how 
 to find employment for his active mind. He is telling his host- 
 ess, in broken German-Eng-lish, of the whale (it proved to be an 
 eel) he had cauirht in the river. Hear his hostess laugh ! And 
 that is the voice of Lafayette, relating perhaps his adventures 
 in escaping from France, or his mishap in attempting to attend 
 Mrs. Knox's last party. Wayne, of Stony Point ; Gates, of 
 Saratoga; Clinton, the Irish-blooded Governor of New York, 
 and their compatriots — we may place them all at times beside 
 our rater Patrice in this old room, and hear amid the mingled 
 hum his voice declare: '* Happy, thrice happy, shall they be 
 pronounced hereafter, who have contributed anything, who have 
 performed the meanest office in erecting this stupendous fabric 
 of Freedom and Empire on the broad basis of independency; 
 who have assisted in protecting the rights of human nature, 
 and in establishing an asylum for the poor and oppressed of all 
 nations and religions." 
 
 "In France, some fifty years after the Revolution, Marbois 
 reproduced, as an entertainment for Lafayette, then an old man, 
 this old sitting-room and its table scene. From his elegant 
 saloon he conducted his guests, among whom were several 
 Americans, to the room which he had prepared. There was a 
 large open fire-place, and plain oaken floors; the ceiling was 
 supported with large beams and whitewashed ; there were 
 the seven small-sized doors and one window with heavy sash 
 
144 THE HUDSON. 
 
 and small panes of glass. The furniture was plain and unliko 
 any then in use. Down the centre of the room was an oaken 
 table covered with dishes of meat and vegetables, decanters and 
 bottles of wine, and silver mugs and small wine glasses. The 
 whole had something the appearance of a Dutch kitchen. While 
 the guests were looking around in surprise at this strange pro- 
 cedure, the host, addressing himself to them said, ' Do you 
 know where we now are ? ' Lafayette looked around, and, as if 
 awakening from a dream, he exclaimed, ' Ah ! the seven doors 
 and one window, and the silver camp goblets such as the Mar- 
 shals of France used in my youth. We are at Washington's 
 Headquarters on the Hudson fifty years ago." •' 
 
 The Hasbrouck family returned to their old home, made his- 
 toric for all time, after the disbandment of the army and re- 
 mained until it became the property of the State. On July 4th, 
 1850, the place was formally dedicated by Major General Win- 
 field Scott, Dedicatory Address delivered by John J. Monell, an 
 Ode by Mary E. Monell, and an oration by Hon. John W. Ed- 
 munds. The Centennial of the Disbanding of the Army was 
 observed here October 18th, 1883. After the noonday procession 
 of 10,000 men in line, three miles in length, with Governors and 
 representative people from almost every State, 150,000 people, 
 "ten acres" square, gathered in the historic grounds. Senator 
 Bayard, of Delaware, was chairman of the day, Hon. William 
 M. Evarts was the orator, and modestly speaking in the third 
 person, Wallace Bruce, author of this hand-book, was the poet. 
 No one there gathered can ever forget that afternoon of glorious 
 sunlight or the noble pageant. The great mountains, which 
 had so frequently been the bulwark of liberty and a place of 
 
THE HUDSON. 145 
 
 refuge for our fathers, were all aglow with beauty, as if, like 
 Horeb's bush, they too would open their lips in praise and 
 thanksgiving. One of the closing sentences of Senator Evarts' 
 address is unsurpassed in modern or ancient eloquence : " These 
 rolling years have shown growth, forever growth, and strength, 
 increasing strength, and wealth and numbers ever expanding, 
 while intelligence, freedom, art, culture and religion have per- 
 vaded and ennobled all this material greatness. Wide, how- 
 ever, as is our land and vast our population to-day, these are 
 not the limits to the name, the fame, the power of the life and 
 character of Washington. If it could be imagined that this 
 nation, rent by disastrous feuds, broken in its unit}-, should ever 
 present the miserable spectacle of the undefiled garments of his 
 fame parted among his countrymen, while for the seamless 
 vesture of his virtue they cast lots— if this unutterable shame, if 
 this immeasurable crime, should overtake this land and this 
 people, be sure that no spot in the wide world is inhospitable to 
 his glory, and no people in it but rejoices in the influence of his 
 power and his virtue." In his lofty sentences the old heroes 
 seemed to pass again in review before us, and the daily life of 
 that heroic band, when Congress sat inactive and careless of its 
 needs until the camp rose in mutiny, happily checked, how- 
 ever, by Washington in a single sentence. It will be remem- 
 bered that he began to read his manuscript without glasses, but 
 was compelled to stop, and, as he adjusted them to his eyes, he 
 said, "You see, gentlemen, that I have not only grown gray, but 
 blind, in your service." It is needless to say that the "anony- 
 mously called " meeting was not held. 
 
146 THE HUDSON. 
 
 He quelled the half-paid mutineers, 
 
 And bound them closer to the cause ; 
 His presence turned their wrath to tears, 
 
 Their muttered threats to loud applause. 
 
 The great Republic had its birth 
 
 That hour beneath the army's wing, 
 Whose leader taught by native worth 
 
 The man is grander than the king. 
 
 Near at hand, and also plainly seen from the river, is the new 
 Tower of Victory, fifty-three feet high, costing- $67,000. It con- 
 tains a life-size statue of Washington, in the act of sheathing his 
 sword, with bronze figures representing the Rifle, the Artillery, 
 the Line Officer and Dragoon service of our country, with a 
 bronze tablet on the east wall bearing the inscription : ' ' This 
 monument was erected under the authority of the Congress of 
 the United States, and of the State of New York, in commemo- 
 ration of the disbandment, under proclamation of the Continen- 
 tal Congress, of October 18, 1783, oC the armies, by whose 
 patriotic; and military virtue, our national independence and 
 sovereignty were established.*' The Belvidere, reached by a 
 spiral staircase, is capable of holding one hundred persons, and 
 the view therefrom takes in a wide extent of panoramic beauty. 
 Newburgh has not only reason to be proud of her historical land- 
 marks and her beautiful situation, but also of her commercial 
 prosperit}^ In olden times, it was a great centre for all the 
 western and southwestern distri(;t, farmers and lumbermen 
 coming from long distances in the interior. Soon after the 
 Revolution slie was made a vilhige, when there were only two 
 others in the State. Before the days of the Erie canal, this 
 
THE HUDSON, 147 
 
 was the the shortest route to Lake Erie, and was made by stage, 
 via Ithaca. With increasing* facilities of railway communica- 
 tion, she has also easily held her own against all commercial 
 rivals. The We^t Shore Railroad, the Erie Baihvay, the Neiv 
 York Central and the Xeiv York and New England across the 
 river, and several Hudson river steamers, make her peculiarly 
 central for Hudson river traffic. The city is also favored with 
 beautiful driveways, amid charming country seats. The New 
 Paltz road passes the site where General Wayne had his head- 
 quarters, also, the " Balm of Gilead tree," which g-ave the name 
 of Balmville to the suburban locality. Another road affords a 
 glimpse of the " Vale of Avoca," named after the well-known 
 glen in Ireland, of which Tom Moore has sweetly sung. Here, 
 some say, a treacherous attempt was made on the life of Wash- 
 ington, but it is not generally credited by critical historians. 
 As the steamer leaves the dock, and we look back upon the fac- 
 tories and commercial houses along the water front, crowned by 
 noble streets of residence, with adjoining plateau, sweeping back 
 in a vast semi-circle as a ])eautiful framework to the wide bay, 
 we do not wonder that Hendrich Hudson established a prophetic 
 record by writing " a very pleasant place to build a town." 
 
 Fisbkill-on-tlie-Hudson, (])opulation 3,617). Directly op- 
 posite Newburgh, one mile north of Denning's Point, (formerly 
 the eastern dock of the Newburgh ferry), rises on a pleasant slope, 
 the newer Fishkill of this region. A little more than a mile 
 from the Landing, is the manufacturing village of Matteawan, 
 closely connected by an electric railroad, and both towns, thus 
 blended and joined, number about 11,000 people. Old Fishkill, 
 or Fishkill Village, is about four miles inland, charmingly loca- 
 
148 THE HUDSON. 
 
 ted, under the slope of the Fishkill range. This was once the 
 largest village in Dutchess county, and was chosen for its secure 
 position above the Highlands, as the place to which " should be 
 removed the treasury and archives of the State, also, as the spot 
 for holding the subsequent sessions of the Provincial Conven- 
 tions," after they were driven from New York. A historical 
 sketch of the town, by T. Van Wyck Brinkerhoff, presents 
 many things of interest. " Its history, anterior to 1G82, belongs 
 to the red men of the valley, and, more than any other spot, this 
 was the home of their priests. Here they ])crformed their in- 
 cantations and administered at their altars." According to 
 Broadhead, "It would seem that the neighboring Indians es- 
 teemed the peltries from Fishkill as charmed by the incanta- 
 tions of the aboriginal enchanters who lived along its banks, and 
 the beautiful scenery in which those ancient priests of the High- 
 lands dwelt, is thus invested with new poetic associations." 
 Dunlap speaks of them as "occupying the Highlands, called by 
 them Kittatenny mountains. Their principal settlement, desig- 
 nated Wiccapee, was situated in the vicinity of Anthony's Nose. 
 Here too, lived the Wappingers, a war-like and brave tribe, ex- 
 tending themselves along the Matteawan, along the Wappin- 
 gers Kill and tributaries, along the Hudson, and to the north- 
 ward, across the river into Ulster county. These and other 
 tribes to the south, west and north, were parts of and tributaries 
 to the great Iroquois confederation — the marvel for all time to 
 come of a system of government so wise and politic, and for men 
 so eloquent and daring. The Wappingers took part in the 
 Dutch and Indian Wars of ICU.*^, and 1663, led on by their war- 
 cLicfs, Wapperonk and Acpjcn. A few Indian names are still 
 
THE HUDSON. 149 
 
 remaining-, and a few traces of their history still left standing. 
 The name Matteawan is Indian, sig-nifying ' Good Beaver 
 Grounds,' and the name Wappinger still speaks of those who 
 once owned the soil along the Hudson. Their name for the 
 stream was Mawanassigh, or Mawenawasigh. Wiccapee and 
 Shenondoah are also Indian names of places in Fishkill Hook, 
 and East Fishkill, and Apoquague, still surviving as the name 
 of a country post-office, was the Indian style of what is now 
 called Silver Lake, signifying ' round pond.' In Fishkill Hook 
 until quite recently, there were traces of their burial grounds, 
 and many apple and pear trees are still left standing, set there 
 by the hands of the red man before the country had been occu- 
 pied by Europeans." 
 
 To return to Brinkerhoff, "The first purchase of land in the 
 county of Dutchess, was made in the town of Fishkill. On the 
 8th day of February, 1<)82, a license was given by Thomas Don- 
 gan, Commander-in-chief of the Province of New York, to Fran- 
 cis Rombout and Gulian Ver Planck, to purchase a tract of land 
 from the Indians. Under this license, they bought, on the 8th 
 day of August, 1683, of the Wappinget- Indians, all their right, 
 title and interest to a certain large tract of land, afterward 
 known as the Rombout precinct. Gulian Ver Planck died before 
 the English patent was issued by Governor Dongan ; Stephanus 
 Van Cortland was then joined in it with Rombout, and Jacobus 
 Kipp substituted as the representative of the children of Gulian 
 Ver Planck. On the 17th day of October, 1685, letters patent, 
 under the broad seal of the Province of New York, were granted 
 by King James the Second, and the parties to whom these let- 
 ters patent were granted, became fronj that tirafe the undisputed 
 
150 THE HUDSON. 
 
 proprietors of the soil. There were 76,000 acres of these lands 
 lying- in Fishkill, and other towns taken from the patent, and 
 9,000 acres lying in the limits of the town of Poug-hkeepsie. Be- 
 sides paying the natives, as a further consideration for the privi- 
 lege of their license, they were to pay the Commander-in-chief, 
 Thomas Dongan, six bushels of good and merchantable winter 
 wheat every year." In the Book of Patents, at Albany, Vol. 5, 
 page 72, will be found the deed, of special interest to the his- 
 torian and antiquarian. 
 
 '•After the evacuation of New York, in *he fall of 1776, and 
 the immediate loss of the seaboard, with Lonp" Island and part 
 of New Jersey, Fishkill was at once crowded with refugees, us 
 they were then called, who sought, by banishing themselves 
 from their homes on Long Island and New York, to escape im- 
 prisonment and find safety here. The interior army rout to 
 Boston passed through this place. Army stores, workshops, 
 ammunition, etc., were established and deposited hero." The 
 Marquis De Chastellux, in his travels in North Amjrica, says* 
 "This town, in which there are not more than fifty houses in 
 the space of two miles, has been long the i)rincipal depot of vhe 
 American Army. It is there they have placed their magazines, 
 their hospitals, their workshops, etc., but all of these form a 
 town in themselves, composed of handsome large barracks, built 
 in the woods at the foot of the mountains : for the American 
 Army, like the Romans in many respects, have hardly any other 
 winter quarters than wooden towns, or barricaded camps, which 
 may be compared to the 'hiemalia' of the Romans." These 
 barracks were situated on the level plateau between the resi- 
 dence of Mr. Cothcal and the mountains. Portions of these 
 
THE HUDSON. 151 
 
 grounds were no doubt then covered with timber. Guarding 
 the approach from the south, stockades and fortifications were 
 erected on commanding positions, and regularly manned by 
 detachments from the camp. 
 
 ''Upon one of these hills, rising out of this mountain pass-way, 
 very distinct lines of earthworks are yet apparent. Near the 
 residence of Mr. Sidney E. Van Wyck, by the large black- wal- 
 nut trees, and east of the road near the base of the mountain, 
 was the soldiers' burial ground. Many a poor patriot soldier's 
 bones lie mouldering there ; and if we did but know how many, 
 we would be startled at the number, for this almost unknown 
 and unnoticed burial ground holds not a few, but hundreds of 
 those who gave their lives for the cause of American Independ- 
 ence. Some fifteen years ago, an old lady who had lived near 
 the village until after she had grown to womanhood, told the 
 writer that after the battle of White Plains she went with her 
 father through the streets of Fishkill, and in places between the 
 Dutch and Episcopal Churches, the dead were piled up like cord- 
 wood. Those who died from wounds in battle or from sickness 
 in hospital were buried there. Many of these were State militia- 
 men, and it seems no more than just that the State should make 
 an appropriation to erect a suitable monument over this spot. 
 Rather than thus remain for another century, if a rough granite 
 boulder were rolled down from the mountain side and inscribed : 
 "To the unknown and unnumbered dead of the American Revo- 
 lution," that rough unhewn stone would tell to the stranger and 
 the passer-by, more to the praise and fame of our native town, 
 than any of us shall be able to add to it by works of our own: 
 for it is doubtful whether any spot in the State has as many of 
 
152 THE HUDSON. 
 
 the buried dead of the Revolution as this quiet burial yard in 
 our old town ! " Here also on June 2d, 1883, was observed " The 
 Fishkill Centennial " with addresses by Hon. Theodoric R. West- 
 brook, J. Hervey Cook, and Hon. James G. Graham ; and few 
 of our Centennials have been celebrated amid objects of greater 
 Revolutionary interest. Near at hand, to quote from the official 
 report of the proceeding's, is " Denning-'s Point where Washing-- 
 ton frequently, while waiting, tied his horses under those mag- 
 nificent 'Washington oaks,' as he passed backward and forward 
 from New Windsor and Newburgh to Fishkill. Near by is the 
 Verplanck House, Baron Steuben's old headquarters. On Spy 
 Hill and Continental Hill troops were quartered. At Mattea- 
 wan Sackett lived, and there is the Teller House built by 
 Madame Brett, where officers frequently resorted, and there 
 Yates dwelt when he presided over the Legislative body while 
 it held its sessions in Fishkill, that had much to do with forming 
 our first State Constitution. Baron Steuben was for a while in 
 the old Scofield house at Glenham. In Fishkill are those re- 
 nowned old churches where Legislative sittings were held, 
 which were also used as hospitals for the sick, and one of which 
 is otherwise known as being the place where Enoch Crosby, the 
 spy, was imprisoned, and from which he escaped. Near at 
 hand the Wharton House, (Van Wyck House) forever associated 
 with him, and made famous by Cooper's ' Spy.' In the Brincker- 
 hoff House above, Lafayette was dangerously ill with a fever, 
 and there at Swartwoutville Washington was often a visitor. 
 Whenever Washington was at Fishkill ho made Col. Brincker- 
 hoflf's his headquarters. He occupied the bedroom back of the 
 parlor, which remains the same * excepting a door that opens 
 
THE HUDSON. 153 
 
 into the hall, which has been cut through.' It is an old- 
 fashioned house built of stone, with the date 1738 on one of its 
 gables." With the story of Fishkill we close the largest page 
 relating to our Revolutionary heroes, and leave behind us the 
 Old Beacon Mountains which forever sentinel and proclaim their 
 glory. 
 
 liOW Point, or Carthage, is a small village on the east bank, 
 about four miles north of Fishkill. It was called by the early 
 inhabitants Low Point, as New Hamburgh, two miles north, 
 was called High Point. Opposite Carthage is Roseton, once 
 known as Middlehope, and above this we see the residence of 
 Bancroft Davis and the Armstrong Mansion. We now behold 
 on the west bank a large flat rock, covered with cedars, recently 
 marked by a light-house, the — 
 
 Duyvel's Dans Kammer.— Here Hendrich Hudson, in his 
 voyage up the river, witnessed an Indian pow-wow — the first re- 
 corded fire-works in a country which has since delighted in rock- 
 ets and pyrotechnic displays. Here, too, in later years, tradi- 
 tion relates the sad fate of a wedding party. It seems that a 
 Mr. Hans Hansen and a Miss Kathrina Van Voorman, with a 
 few friends, were returning from Albany, and disregarding the 
 old Indian prophecy, were all slain :— 
 
 " For none that visit the Indian's den 
 Return again to the haunts of men. 
 The knife is their doom I O sad is their lot f 
 Beware, beware of the blood-stained spot 1 " 
 
 Some years ago this spot was also searched for the buried 
 treasures of Captain Kidd, and we know of one river pilot who 
 still dreams semi-yearly of there finding countless chests of gold 
 
154 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Two miles above, on the east side, we pass New Hamburgh, at 
 the mouth of Wappingers Creek. The name Wappinger had its 
 origin from Wabun, east, and Acki, land. This tribe, a sub-tribe 
 of the Mah leans, held the east bank of the river, from Manhattan 
 to Hoeliffe Jansen's Creek, which empties into the Hudson near 
 Livingston, a few miles south of Catskill Station on the Hudson 
 River Railroad. Passing Hampton Point we see Marlborough, 
 the Jiead -centre of a large fruit industry, delightfully located in 
 the sheltered pass of the Maunekill. On the east bank will be 
 noticed several fine residences: S. W. Johnson's "Uplands," J. 
 P. Sheafs "High Cliff,-' Dr. J. Lenox Bank's "Cedars," and 
 Irving Grinneirs " Netherwood." Milton is now at hand on the 
 west bank, with its cozy landing and West Shore Railroad station. 
 This pleasant village was one of the loved spots of J. G. Hol- 
 land, and the home of Mary Hallock Poote, until a modern 
 " Hiawatha " took our Hudson " Minnehaha " to far away west- 
 ern mountains, but millions of readers are still made happy 
 alike by her pen and pencil. 
 
 Locust Grove, residence of the late Prof. S. F. B. Morse, in- 
 ventor of the telegraph, is seen on the west bank; also the 
 * Lookout," once known as Mine Hill, now a part of Poughkeepsie 
 Cemetery, with charming drive-way to the wooded point, where 
 the visitor can see from his carriage one of the finest views of the 
 Hudson. The completion of this drive is largely due to the enter- 
 prise of the late Mr. George Corlies, who did much during the last 
 fifty years to make Poughkeepsie beautiful. The view from this 
 Lookout takes in the river for ten miles to the south, and 
 reaches on the north to the Catskills. In a recent ramble with 
 Mr. C'orlies over I^(H)k()ut Point, he told the writer that It was 
 
THE HUDSON. 
 
 155 
 
 originally the purpose of Matthew Vassar to erect a monument 
 on Pollopel's Island to Hendrich Hudson. Mr. Corlies sug-g-ested 
 this point as the most commanding site. Mr. Vassar visited it, 
 and concluded to place the monument here. He published an 
 article in the Poughkeepsie papers to this effect, and, meeting 
 Mr. Corlies one week aftei^wards, said, "Not one person in the 
 city of Poughkeepsie has referred to my monument. I have 
 
 MORNING \'TEW AT BLUE POINT. 
 
 decided to build a College for Women, where they can learn 
 what is useful, practical and sensible." It is interesting to note 
 the fountain-idea of the first woman's college in the world, as it 
 took form and shape in the mind of its founder. 
 
 We now see Blue Point, on the west bank; and. In every 
 direction, enjoy the finest views. The scenery seems to stand, 
 in character, between the sublimity of the Highlands and the 
 tranquil dreamy repose of the Tappan Zee. It is said that under 
 the shadow of these hills was the favorite anchorage of— 
 
156 THE HUDSON. 
 
 The Storm Sbip, one of our oldest and most reliable leg-ends. 
 The story runs somewhat as follows : Years ago, when Xew 
 York was a villag-e — a mere cluster of houses on the point now 
 known as the Battery — when the Bowery was the farm of Peter 
 Stuy vesant, and the Old Dutch Church on Nassau Street (which 
 also long" since disappeared, was considered the country — when 
 communication with the old world was semi-yearly instead of 
 semi-weekly or daily — say two hundred years ago — the whole 
 town one evening- was put into great commotion by the fact 
 that a ship was coming up the bay. She approached the Bat- 
 tery within hailing distance, and then, sailing against both 
 wind and tide, turned aside and passed up the Hudson. Week 
 after w^eek and month after month elapsed, but she never re- 
 turned ; and whenever a storm came down on Haverstraw Bay 
 or Tappan Zee, it is said that she could be seen careening over 
 the waste ; and, in the midst of the turmoil, you could hear the 
 captain giving orders, in good Low Dutch ; but when the weather 
 was pleasant, her favorite anchorage was among the shadows 
 of the picturesque hills, on the eastern bank, a few miles above 
 the Highlands. It was thought by some to be Hendrich Hud- 
 son and his crew of the "Half Moon," who, it was well known, 
 had once run aground in the upper part of the river, seeking a 
 northwest passage to China ; and people who live in this vicinity 
 still insist that under the calm harvest moon and the pleasant 
 nights of September, they see her under the bluff of Blue Point, 
 all in deep shadow, save her topsails glittering in the moonlight. 
 Perhaps it was this quiet anchorage that gave the name to 
 
 Pougtikeepsie, (seventy-four miles from New York, popula- 
 tion Z\,{\)^\), Queen City of the Hudson, whose name, derived 
 
THE HUDSON. 157 
 
 from the Indian word Apokeepsing, sig-nilies safe harbor. Near 
 the landing" a bold headland juts out into the river, known as 
 Kaal Rock, (signifying barren, or as old-time residents say be- 
 cause sailing vessels used to be "hailed" here, in early days 
 by patient travelers,) and no doubt this sheltering rock was 
 a safe harbor or landing place in days of birch canoes. It is 
 said that there are over foi'ty different ways of spelling Pough- 
 keepsie, and every year the Post-Office record gives a new 
 one. The first house was built in 1702 by a Mr. Van Kleeck. 
 The State Legislature had a session here in 1777 or 1778, when 
 New York was held by the British and after Kingston had been 
 burned ])y Vaughan. Ten years later, the State Convention also 
 met here for ratification of the Federal Constitution. The town 
 has a beautiful location, and is justly regarded the finest resi- 
 dence city on the river. It is not only midway between New 
 York and Albany, but also midway between the Highlands and 
 the Catskills, commanding a view of the mountain portals on 
 the south and the mountain overlook on the north — the Gibraltar 
 of Revolutionary fame and the dreamland of Rip Van Winkle. 
 
 The well known poet and litterateur, Joel Benton, who divides 
 his residence between New York and Poughkeepsie, in a recent 
 article, "The Midway City of the Hudson," written for the 
 Foiiyhkeepsie Sunday Cmmer, says : 
 
 "Poughkeepsie as a township was incorporated in 1788. The 
 village bearing the name was formed in 1799, (incorporated 
 as a city in 1854), and soon became the center of a large trade 
 running in long lines east and west from the river. Dutchess 
 county had at this time but a sparse population. There was a 
 post-road from New York to Albany ; but the building of the 
 
158 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Datcbess Turnpike from Poughkeepsie to Sharon, Conn., con- 
 necting with one from that place to Litchfield, which took place 
 in 1808, was a capital event in its history. This made a con- 
 siderable strip of western Connecticut tributary to Foughkeep- 
 sie's trade. 
 
 " Over the turnpike went four-horse Concord stages, with be- 
 railed top and slanting boot in the rear for trunks and other 
 baggage. Each one had the tin horn of the driver ; and it was 
 difficult to tell upon which the driver most prided himself — the 
 power to fill that thrilling instrument, or his deft handling of the 
 ponderous whip and multiplied reins. Travelers to Hartford 
 and Boston went over this route ; and an east and west through 
 and way mail was a part of the burden. A sort of overland ex- 
 press and freight line, styled the Market Wagon, ran in and out 
 of the town from several directions. One or more of these con- 
 veyances started from as far east as the Housatonic River, and 
 they frequently crowded passengers in amongst their motley 
 wares. 
 
 " Speaking of the stage-driver's horn recalls the fact that 
 when the steamboat arrived — which was so solitary an institution 
 that for some time it was distinctly called ' The Steamboat ' — • 
 the tin horn did duty also for it. When it was seen in the dis- 
 tance, either Albanyward or in the New York direction, a boy 
 went through the village blowing a horn to arouse those who 
 wished to embark on it. It is said the expectant passengers had 
 ample time, after the horn was sounded, to make their toilets, 
 run down to the river (or walk down) and take passage on it. 
 
 " In colonial days few were the people here ; but they were a 
 bright and stirring handful. It seems as if every man counted 
 
THE HUDSON. 159 
 
 as ten. The De's and the Vans, the Livingstons, the Schuylers, 
 the Montgomerys and ever so many more of the Hudson River 
 Valley settlers are still making their impress upon the country. 
 I suppose it need not now be counted strange that the strong 
 mixture of Dutch and English settlers, with a few Huguenots, 
 which finally made Dutchess county, were not a little divided 
 between Tory and Whig inclinations. Around Poughkeepsie, 
 and in its allied towns stretching between the Hudson River and 
 the Connecticut line, there was much strife. Gov. George Clin- 
 ton in his day ruled in the midst of much tumult and turbulence ; 
 but he held the reins with vigor, in spite of kidnj-ppers or 
 critics. When the British burned King.- ton he prorogued the 
 Legislature to Poughkeepsie, which still served as a 'safe 
 harbor.' As the revolution progressed the Tory faction was 
 weakened, either by suppression or surrender. 
 
 *' It was in the Poughkeepsie Court House that, by one vote, 
 after a Homeric battle, the colony of New York consented to be- 
 come a part of the American republic, which consent was practi- 
 cally necessary to its existence. How large a part two small inci- 
 dents played here towards the result of nationality. That single 
 vote was one, and the news by express from Richmond, announc- 
 ing Virginia's previous ratification — and added stimulus to the 
 vote — was the other. Poughkeepsie honored in May, 1824, the 
 arrival of Lafayette, and dined him, besides exchanging speeches 
 with him, both at the Forbus House, on Market street, very 
 nearly where the Nelson House now stands, and at the Pough- 
 keepsie Hotel. It was one of Poughkeepsie's great days when 
 he came. Daniel Webster has spoken in her Court House ; and 
 Henry Clay, in 1844, when a presidential candidate, stopped for 
 
160 THE HUDSON. 
 
 a reception. And it is said that, by a mere accident, she ]ust 
 missed coniributing a name to the list of Presidents ct tlie 
 United States. The omitted candidate was Nathaniel P. Tal- 
 madg-e. He could have had the vice-presidential candidacy, the 
 story goes, in 1840, but would not take it. If he had accepted it, 
 he would have g-one into history not merely as United States 
 senator from New York and afterwards governor of Wisconsin 
 territory, but as president in John Tyler's place. 
 
 *'In 1844, the New York State Fair was held here somewhere 
 east of what is now Hooker avenue. It was an occasion thought 
 important enough then to be pictured and reported in the Lon- 
 don Illustrated Ke^vs. Two years after the telegraph wires were 
 put up in this city, before they had yet reached the city of New 
 York. Considering the fact that Prof. S. F. B. Morse, the tele- 
 graph inventor, had his residence here, this incident was not 
 wholly inappropriate. 
 
 " The advent in 1849 of the Hudson Biver Bailroad, which was 
 an enterprise in its day of startling courage and magnitude, 
 constituted a special epoch in the history of Poughkeepsie and the 
 Hudson river towns. Men of middle age here well remember 
 the hostility and ridicule the project occasioned when it was 
 first broached. Some said no railroad ever could be built on the 
 river's edge ; and, if you should build one, the enormous expense 
 incurred would make it forever unprofitable. It seemed then 
 the height of Quixotism to lay an expensive track where the 
 river offered a free way to all. Property holders, whose proj)- 
 erty was to be greatly benefited, fought the railroad company 
 with unusual spirit and persistence. But the railroad came, 
 nevertheless, and needs no advocate or a])ologist to-day. There 
 
THE HUDSON. 161 
 
 is no one now living- here who would ask its removal, any more 
 than he would ask the removal of the Hudson River itself.'' 
 
 Poughkeepsie has been known for more than half a century 
 as the City of Schools. The Parthenon-like structure which 
 crowns College Hill was prophetic of a still grander and more 
 widely known institution, the first in the world devoted to 
 higher culture for women, — 
 
 Vassar College. This institution, founded by Matthew 
 Vassar, and situated two miles east of the city, consists of a 
 main building five hundred feet long, much after the style of 
 the Tuilleries, with Chapel, Library, Drawing Room, Parlor, 
 Offices, etc. Grouped about this and surrounded by beautiful 
 grounds are the Museum, Observatory, Alumnae Gymnasium, 
 Laboratory, etc. The College has a quiet and charming loca- 
 tion, crowned by hills 372 feet in height, but is not seen from 
 the river. It is reached by one of the favorite drive-ways of 
 Poughkeepsie, and is also of easy access by an electric-car line, 
 part of an extensive system reaching to Wappingers Falls, and 
 embracing several pleasant beautiful villages of the vicinage. 
 
 Eastman College is also one of the fixed and solid institu- 
 tions of Poughkeepsie, located in the very heart of the city. It 
 has accomplished good work in preparing young men for busi- 
 ness, and has made Poughkeepsie a familiar word in every 
 household throughout the land. It was fortunate for the city 
 that the energetic founder of this college selected the central 
 point of the Hudson as the place of all others most suited for his 
 enterprise, and equally fortunate for the thousand of young men 
 who yearly graduate from this institution, as the city is charm- 
 ingly located and set like a picture amid picturesque scenery. 
 
162 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Every department of the College is thoroughly organized, and 
 the course of training forms a good supplement to every young 
 man's education. Eastman Park, is a beautiful feature of the 
 city, lying on a plateau just below Garfield Place. The hospita- 
 ble home and fairy garden of the Eastman Place are known 
 far and wide. 
 
 Among many successful public institutions of Poughkeepsie 
 are the Vassar Hospital, the Vassar Old Men's Home, the Old 
 Ladies' Home, the State Hospital and the Vassar Institute of 
 Arts and Sciences. The best known of its clubs are the Amrita, 
 the Dutchess and the Bicycle. The Opera House is one of the 
 pleasantest in the country and received a high comment from 
 Joseph Jefferson for its perfect acoustic quality. The Armory, 
 the Adriance Memorial Library to the memory of Mr. and Mrs. 
 John P. Adriance, and the historic house on Main street pur- 
 chased in 189S by the Daughters of the Revolution, also claim 
 the attention of the visitor. Several factories are here located, 
 the best known being that of Adriance, Piatt <fc Co., whose 
 Buckeye Mowers and Reapers have been awarded the high- 
 est honors in Germany, Holland, France, Belgium, Sweden, 
 Norway, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States, and 
 are sold in every part of the civilized globe. The Phoenix 
 Horseshoe Co., the Knitting-Goods Establishment, and various 
 Shoe, Shirt and Silk Thread Factories contribute to the material 
 prosperity of the town. The drives about Poughkeepsie are 
 delightful. Perhaps the best known in the United States is the 
 Hyde Park road, six miles in extent, with many palatial homes 
 and charming ])ictures of park and river scenery. This is a 
 part of the old Post Road and reminds one by its perfect finish 
 
THE HUDSON. ^^^ 
 
 of the roadways of Eng^land. Returning one can take a road to 
 the left leading by and up to 
 
 College Hill, 365 feet in height, commanding a wide and 
 extensive prospect. The city lies below us, fully embowered 
 as in a wooded park. To the east the vision extends to the 
 mountain boundaries of Dutchess County, and to the north we 
 have a view of the Catskills marshalled as we have seen them a 
 thousand times in sunset beauty along the horizon. This prop- 
 erty, for a long time owned by Senator* Morgan and his heirs, 
 has been recently purchased by William Smith of Poughkeepsie, 
 and given to the city as a public park. There is ample oppor- 
 tunity here to make this a thing of wondrous beauty and a joy 
 forever, for there are few views on the Hudson, and none from 
 any hill of its height, that surpass it in extent and beauty. The 
 City Reservoir lies to the north, about one hundred feet down 
 the slope of College Hill. 
 
 The South Drive, also a part of the Post Road, passes the 
 gateway of the beautiful Rural Cemetery, Locust Grove and 
 many delightful homes. The drive to and through the grounds 
 of Irving Grinnell are especially pleasant. The village of Wap- 
 pingers Falls may be visited on the return journey, also New 
 Hackensack, reaching Poughkeepsie by the Vassar College 
 road, or past the entrance to the well-known Poughkeepsie 
 Driving Park. Another interesting drive from Poughkeepsie 
 is to Lake Moiionk and Minnewaska, well-known resorts across 
 the Hudson, in the heart of the Shawangunk (pronounced 
 Shongum) Mountains, also reached by railway or stages via 
 New Platz. The graceful little steamer, christened "Queen 
 City," also suggests a pleasant way for a party to spend the day 
 
164 THE HUDSON. 
 
 cisiting points up or down the river, picnicing" here and there 
 ai.ong the shore. There are also many extended drives to the 
 interior of the county recommended to the traveler who makes 
 Poughkeepsie for a time his central point ; chief among these. 
 Chestnut Ridge, formerly the home of the historian Benson J. 
 Lossing, lying amid the hill country of eastern Dutchess. Its 
 mean altitude is about 1100 feet above tide water, a fragment of 
 the Blue Ridge branch of the Appalachian chain of mountains, 
 cleft by the Hudson at West Point, stretching away to the 
 Berkshire Hills. It is also easy of access by the Hdrkm Rail- 
 road from New York to Dover Plains with three miles of car- 
 riage drive from that point. The outlook from the ridge is 
 magnificent ; a sweep of eighty miles from the Highlands to 
 the Helderbergs, with the entire range of the Shawangunk and 
 the Catskills. Mr. Lossing once said that his family of nine 
 persons had required during sixteen years residence on Chest- 
 nut Ridge, only ten dollars' worth of medical attendance. Pre- 
 vious to 1868 he had resided in Poughkeepsie, and throughcut 
 his life his form was a familiar one in her streets. 
 
 Tlie Dover Stone Cliurcli, just west of Dover Plains vil- 
 lage, is also well worth a visit. Here a small stream has worn 
 out a remarkable cavern in the rocks forming a gothic arch for 
 entrance. It lies in a wooded gorge within easy walk from the 
 village. Many years ago the writer of this hand-book paid it an 
 afternoon visit, and the picture has remained impressed with 
 wonderful vividness. The archway opens into a solid rock, and 
 a stream of water issues from the threshold. On entering the 
 visitor is confronted by an old-fashioned New England pulpit 
 reaching half way to the ceiling The walls are almost pei*- 
 
THE HUDSON. -^g- 
 
 fectly arched, and g-arnished here and there with g-reen moss 
 and white lichen. A rift in the rocks extends the whole length 
 of the chapelj over which trees hang their green foliag-e, which, 
 ever rustling and trembling-, form a trellis-work with the blue sky, 
 while the spray rising- from behind the rock-worn altar seems 
 like the sprinkling of holy incense. After all these years 1 still 
 hear the voice of those dashing waters and dream again, as I did 
 that day, of the brook of Cherith where ravens fed the prophet 
 of old. It is said by Lossing, in his booklet on the Dover Stone 
 Church, that Sacassas, the mighty sachem of the Pequoids and 
 emperor over many tribes between the Thames and the Hudson 
 River, was compelled after a disastrous battle which annihilated 
 his warriors, to fly for safety, and, driven from point to point, 
 he at last found refuge in this cave, where undiscovered he sub- 
 sisted for a few days on berries, until at last he made his way 
 through the territory of his enemies, the r^Iahicans, to the land 
 of the Mohawks. 
 
166 THE HUDSON. 
 
 FR0.1« POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. 
 
 T eaving- the Poughkeepsie dock the steamer approaches the 
 Poug-hkeepsie Bridge which, from Blue Point and miles be- 
 low, has seemed to the traveler like a delicate bit of lace- 
 work athwart the landscape, or like an old fashioned "valance" 
 which used to hang from Dutch bedsteads in the Hudson river 
 farm houses. This great cantilever structure, the pet scheme 
 of the late President Eastman, was begun in 1873 but abandoned 
 for several years. The work was resumed in 1886 just in time 
 to save the charter, and was finished by the Union Bridge Com- 
 pany in less than three years. The bridge is 12,608 feet in 
 length (or about two miles and a half), the track being 212 feet 
 above the water with 165 feet clear above the tide in the centre 
 span. The breadth of the river at this point is 3,094 feet. The 
 bridge cost over three million dollars and is now controlled by 
 a company which manages it in the interest of the Philadelphia 
 and Beading liailroad. It not only affords a delightful passen- 
 ger route between Philadeli)hia and Boston, but also brings the 
 coal centres of Pennsylvania to the very threshold of New 
 England. Two railroads from the east centre here, and what 
 was once considered an idle dream, although bringing personal 
 loss to many stockholders, has been of material prosperity to 
 Poughkeepsie. It hardly seems twenty years ago since the 
 writer copied in one of his early Guide Books the following from 
 President Eastman's enthusiastic i)rospectus : 
 
 "The Hudson River is one of the great natural boundaries 
 dividing the United States into two grand divisions or sections. 
 
THE HUDSON. 169 
 
 The New England States, east of the Hudson, including New 
 York City, contain one-seventh of the whole population of the 
 United States, and control more than one-half the manufacturing 
 of the nation. These States are the most active and wealth}'-, 
 and their business interests and capital are nearly equal to those 
 of all the rest of the Union, The great crossing places on the 
 Hudson, over which now pass all the mighty streams of trade 
 and travel between this great section of country and the wider 
 and more rapidly growing West, are but two : one at Albany and 
 Troy, the other at New York/' 
 
 The route to Hartford, crossing the Harlem and the Housa- 
 tonic Bailroads, is picturesque and delightful. As the steamer 
 passes under the bridge the traveler will see on the left High- 
 land Station ( TFi:'.s< Shore Eailroad) and above this the old land- 
 ing of New Paltz. A well traveled road winds from the ferry 
 and the station, up a narrow defile by the side of a dashing 
 stream, broken here and there in waterfalls, on to Highland 
 Village, New Paltz and Lako Mohonk. The Bridge and Trolley 
 Line from Poughkeepsie make a most delightful excursion to 
 New Paltz, on the Wall kill, seat of a most successful Normal 
 School, under the principalship of Dr. Frank S. Capen. 
 
 Above Poughkeepsie are many pleasant lesidences; promi- 
 nent among them F. J. Allen's, proprietor of the Astor House, 
 New York, the late John F. Winslow's, Airs. Thomas Newbold's, 
 J, Roosevelt's and Archie Rogers'. The large red buildings 
 above the Poughkeepsie Water Works are the Hudson River 
 State Hospital. Passing Crum Elbow point on the left and the 
 Sisters of the White Cross Orphan Asylum, we see 
 
170 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Hyde Park, ( 80 miles from New York, ) on the east bank, 
 named some say, in honor of Lady Ann Hyde ; according to 
 others, after Sir Edward Hyde, one of the early British Gover- 
 nors of the colony. The villag-e lies on a bluff one mile from the 
 river. The first prominent place above Hyde Park, Greek in 
 style, is the residence of Walter Langdon ; above this a villa oi 
 the Italian order, known as Drayton Hall. Then "GrosBois," 
 owned now by Robert T. Lord, formerly "Placentia," the home 
 of James K. Paulding-. What a commentary on literary fame 
 and ambition! Even the name of his house changed! Has it 
 come to this that Paulding is only to be remembered as a friend 
 of Washington Irving ? or as a mere associate in writing some 
 of his early essays ? And that too, when a few years ago he 
 was regarded the most popular story-teller of his day, the author 
 of " The Dutchman's Fireside," and thirty or forty other novels 
 whose very names have now passed from the memory of his 
 friends and neighbors. 
 
 Immediately opposite " Placentia," at West Park on the west 
 bank, is the cottage of John Burroughs, our sweetest essayist, 
 the nineteenth century's " White of Selborne." Judge Barnard 
 of Poughkeepsie once said to the author of this hand-book, " The 
 best writer America has produced after Hawthorne is John Bur- 
 roughs; I wish I could see him." It so happened that there had 
 been an important " bank " suit a day or two previous in Pough- 
 keepsie which was tried before the Judge in which Mr. Bur- 
 roughs had appeared as a witness The Judge was reminded of 
 this fact when he remarked with a few emphatic words, the ab- 
 sence of wliich seems to materially weaken the sentence: " Was 
 that Burt'oughs ? Well, well, I wish I had known it." 
 
: 1 te 
 
THE HUDSON". 171 
 
 Mouut Hymettus, overlooking- ^Yest Park, and so named by 
 ''the author and naturalist," as it has been to him a successful 
 hunting-'g-round for bees and wild honey, has its front door- 
 yard, as one might say, sloping down to the river well stocked 
 with vines and fruit trees, and it will be long remembered for 
 sweet-er stores of honey encombed and presented in living- type. 
 Washington Irving- says of the early poets of Britain that " a 
 spray could not tremble in the breeze, or a leaf rustle to the 
 g-round, that was not seen by these delicate observers and 
 wrought up into some beautiful morality."' So John Burroughs 
 has studied the Hudson in all its moods, knowing well that it is 
 not to be wooed and won in a sing-le day. How clearly this is 
 seen in his article on ''Our River,'' published in Scribner's 
 Magazine (August, 1880). 
 
 " Rivers are as various in their forms as forest trees. The 
 Mississippi is like an oak with enormous branches. What a 
 branch is the Red River, the Arkansas, the Ohio, the Missouri ! 
 The Hudson is like the pine or poplar — mainly trunk. From 
 New York to Albany there is only an inconsiderable limb or 
 two, and but few gnarls and excrescences. Cut off the Rondout, 
 !;he Esopus, the Catskill and two or three similar tributaries on 
 the east side, and only some twigs remain. There are some 
 crooked places, it is true, but, on the whole, the Hudson presents 
 a fine, symmetrical shaft that would be hard to match in any 
 river in the world. Among our own water-courses it stands 
 preeminent. The Columbia — called by Major Winthrop the 
 Achilles of rivers — is a more haughty and impetuous stream ; the 
 Mississippi is, of course, vastly larger and longer : the St. I^aw- 
 ronce would carry the Hudson as a trophy in his belt and hardly 
 
172 THE HUDSON. 
 
 know the difference ; yet our river is doubtless the most beauti- 
 ful of them all. It pleases like a mountain lake. It has all the 
 sweetness and placidity that go with such bodies of water, on 
 the one hand, and all their bold and rugged scenery on the 
 other. In summer, a passage up or down its course in one of the 
 day steamers is as near an idyl of travel as can be had, perhaps, 
 anywhere in the world. Then its permanent and uniform vol- 
 ume, its fullness and equipoise at all seasons, and its gently- 
 flowing currents give it further the character of a lake, or of the 
 sea itself. Of the Hudson it may be said that it is a very large 
 river for its size, — that is for the quantity of water it discharges 
 into the sea. Its water-shed is comparatively small— less, I 
 think, than that of the Connecticut. It is a huge trough with a 
 very slight incline, through which the current moves very 
 slowly, and which would fill from the sea were its supplies from 
 the mountains cut off. Its fall from Albany to the bay is only 
 about five feet. Any object upon it, drifting with the current, 
 progresses southward no more than eight miles in twenty-four 
 hours. The ebb-tide will carry it about twelve miles and the 
 flood set it back from seven to nine. A drop of water at Albany, 
 therefore, will be nearly three weeks in reaching New York, 
 though it will get pretty well pickled some days earlier. Some 
 rivers by their volume and impetuosity penetrate the sea, but 
 here the sea is the aggressor, and sometimes meets the mount- 
 ain water nearly half way. This fact was illustrated a cou])le 
 of years ago, when the basin of the Hudson was visited by ono 
 of the most severe droughts ever known in this part of the State. 
 In the early winter after the river was frozen over above Pough- 
 keepsie, it was discovered that immense numbers of fish wero 
 
THE HUDSON. I73 
 
 retreating- up stream before the slow encroachment of salt 
 water. There was a general exodus of the finny tribes from the 
 whole lower part of the river ; it was like the spring- and fall 
 migration of the birds, or the fleeing- of the population of a dis- 
 trict before some apjjroaching- danger : vast swarms of cat-fish, 
 white and yellow perch and striped bass were en route for the 
 fresh water farther north. When the people along shore made 
 the discovery, they turned out as they do in the rural districts 
 when the pigeons appear, and, with small gill-nets let down 
 through holes in the ice, captured them in fabulous numbers. 
 On the heels of the retreating perch and cat-fish came the deni- 
 zens of the salt water, and codfish were taken ninety miles above 
 New York. When the February thaw came and brought up 
 the volume of fresh water again, the sea brine was beaten back, 
 and the fish, what were left of them, resumed their old feeding- 
 grounds. 
 
 It is this character of the Hudson, this encroachment of the 
 sea upon it, that led Professor Newberry to speak of it as a 
 drowned river. We have heard of drowned lands, but here is a 
 river overflowed and submerged in the same manner. It is 
 quite certain, however, that this has not always been the char- 
 acter of the Hudson. Its great trough bears evidence of having 
 been worn to its present dimensions by much swifter and 
 stronger currents than those that course through it now. 
 Hence, Professor Newberry has recently advanced the bold and 
 striking theory that in pre-glacial times this part of the conti- 
 nent was several hundred feet higher than at present, and that 
 the Hudson was then a very large and rapid stream, that drew 
 its main supplies from the basin of the Great Lakes through an 
 
174 I^HE HUDSON. 
 
 ancient river-bed that followed, pretty nearly, the line of the 
 present Mohawk ; in other words, that the waters of the St. 
 Lawrence once found an outlet through this channel debouching 
 into the ocean from a broad, littoral plain, at a point eighty 
 miles south-east of New York, Avhere the sea now rolls 500 feet 
 deep. According to the soundings of the coast survey, this an- 
 cient bed of the Hudson is distinctly marked upon the ocean 
 floor to the point indicated. To the gradual subsidence of this 
 part of the continent, in connection with the great changes 
 wrought by the huge glacier that crept down from the north 
 during what is called the ice period, is owing the character and 
 aspects of the Hudson as we see and know them. The Mohawk 
 Valley was filled up by the drift, the Great Lakes scooped out, and 
 an opening for their pent-up waters found through what is now 
 the St. Lawrence. The trough of the Hudson was also partially 
 filled and has remained so to the present day. There is, i)erhaps, 
 no point in the river where the mud and clay are not from two 
 to three times as deep as the water. That ancient and grander 
 Hudson lies back of us several hundred thousand years — perhaps 
 more, for a million years are but as one tick of the time-piece of 
 the Lord ; yet even it was a juvenile compared with some of the 
 rocks and mountains which the Hudson of to-day mirrors. The 
 Highlands date from the earliest geological race — the i)rimary ; 
 the river^ — the old river — from the latest, the tertiary ; and 
 what that diffei-ence means in terrestrial years hath not entered 
 into the mind of man to conceive. Yet how the venerable 
 mountains open their ranks for the stripling to pass through. 
 Of coursf!, the I'ivcn* did not forces its way through this barrier, 
 but has doubtless found an ()])ening there of which it has availed 
 
THE HUDSON. i75 
 
 itself, and which it has enlarged. In thinking- of these things, 
 one only has to allow time enough, and the most stupendous 
 changes in the topography of the country are as easy and nat- 
 ural as the going out or the coming in of spring or summer. 
 According to the authority above referred to, that part of our 
 coast that flanks the mouth of the Hudson is still sinking at the 
 rate of a few inches per century, so that in the twinkling of a 
 hundred thousand years or so, the sea will completely submerge 
 the city of New York, the top of Trinity Church steeple alone 
 standing above the flood. We who live so far inland, and sigh 
 for the salt water, need only to have a little i)atience, and we 
 shall wake up some fine morning and find the surf beating upon 
 our door-steps.'' 
 
 The Frothingham residence and Frothingham dock are south 
 of the Burroughs cottage. General Butterfield's house imme- 
 diately to the north. The old Astor place (once known as Wal- 
 dorf) is also near at hand. In our Guide Book analysis of the 
 Hudson published many years ago and still retained, we refer to 
 the hills above and below Poughkeepsie as " The Picturesque." 
 Any one walking or driving from Highland village to West 
 Park will feel that this is a proper distinction. The Palisades are 
 distinguished for " grandeur "' which might be defined as '' hori- 
 zontal sublimity." The Highlands for " sublimity " which might 
 be termed "perpendicular grandeur ;" the Catskills for " beauty," 
 with their rounded form and ever changing hues, but the river 
 scenery about Poughkeepsie abides in our memories as a series 
 of bright and charming " pictures." North of General Butter- 
 field's residence is Pelham, consisting of 1,200 acres belonging to 
 Robert L. Pell, one of the largest fruit shippers in the world. 
 
176 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Passing- Esopus Island, which seems like a great stranded and 
 petrified whale, along whose sides often cluster Lilliputian-like 
 canoeists, we see Brown's Dock on the west bank at the mouth of 
 Black Creek, rising within eight miles of Newburgh on the 
 eastern slope of the Plattekill Mountains. Flowing through 
 Black Pond, known by the Dutch settlers as the " Grote Binne- 
 water,'" it cascades its way along the southei'n slope of the 
 Shaupeneak Mountains to Esopus Village, a cross-road hamlet, 
 and thence carries to the Hudson its waters dark-stained by 
 companionship with trees of hemlock and cedar growth. The 
 Pell property extends on the west bank to Pell's Dock, almost 
 opposite the Staatsburgh ice-houses. Mrs. Livingston's resi- 
 dence will now be seen on the east bank, and just above this the 
 home of the late William B, Dinsmore on Dinsmore Point. 
 Passing- Vanderberg Cove, cut off from the river by the tracks of 
 the Neiv York Central Bdilroad, we see the residence of Jacob 
 Ruppert, and above this the Frinck mansion known as " Winder- 
 cliffe," formerly the property of E. R. Jones, and next beyond the 
 house of Robert Suckly. Passing Ellerslie Dock we see " Ellers 
 lie," the palatial summer home of Ex- Vice-President Levi P. 
 Morton, an estate of six hundred acres, formerly owned by the 
 Hon. William Kelly. Along the western bank extend the 
 Esopus meadows, a low flat, covered by water, the southern end 
 of which is marked by the Esoi)us light-house. To the west rises 
 Hussey's mountain, about one thousand feet in height, from un- 
 der whose eastern slope two little ])()nds. known as Binnewaters, 
 send another stream to join Black Creek before it flows into the 
 Hudson. Port Ewen on the west bank, with ice-houses and 
 brick-yards, will l)e seen by steamer passengers below the mouth 
 of Rondout Creek. 
 
THE HUDSON. 177 
 
 Rliiueclifr, 90 miles from New York. The villag-e of Rhine- 
 beck, two miles east of the landing- (population 1,649), is not seen 
 from the river. It was named, as some contend, by combining- 
 two words — Beekman and Rhine. Others say that the word 
 beck means cliff, and the town was so named from the resem- 
 blance of the cliffs to those of the Rhine. There are many de- 
 lightful drives in and about Rhinebeck, '"Ellerslie" being only 
 about eight minutes by carriage from the landing. 
 
 Tlie Philadelphia & Reading Rhinebeck Branch meets the Hudson 
 at Rhinecliff, and makes a pleasant and convenient tourist or 
 business route between the Hudson and the Connecticut. It 
 passes through a delightful country and thriving rural villages. 
 Some of the views along the Roeliffe Jansen's Kill are unrivaled 
 in quiet beauty. The railroad passes through Rhinebeck, Red 
 Hook, Spring Lake, EUerslie, Jackson Corners, Mount Ross, 
 Gallatinville, Ancram, Copake, Boston Corners, and Mount 
 Riga to State Line Junction, and gives a person a good idea of 
 the counties of Dutchess and Columbia. At Boston Corners 
 connection is made with the ^eiv Yo7'k & Harlem Railroad. 
 
 From State Line Junction it passes through Ore Hill, Lake- 
 ville, with its beautiful lake (an evening view of which is still 
 hung in our memory gallery of sunset sketches), Salisbury, Cha- 
 pinville, and Twin Lakes to Canaan, where the line crosses the 
 Hoiuiatonic Railroad. This route, therefore, is the easiest and 
 pieasantest for Housatonic visitors en route to the Catskills. 
 From Canaan the road rises by easy grade to the summit, at an 
 elevation of 1,40<) feet, passing through the village of Norfolk, 
 with its picturesque New England church crowning the village 
 hill. 
 
178 THE HUDSON. 
 
 From the summit we pass through the prosperous villages of 
 West Winsted and Winsted ; through the picturesque valleys of 
 New Hartford, Pine Meadow, Collinsville, and Canton to Sims- 
 bury, a cultured village in charming rural setting. 
 
 From Simsbury a run of half an hour takes the tourist through 
 Hoskins, Tariffville, Scotland, Bloomfield, and Cottage Grove to 
 Hartford, the prosperous and enterprising capital of Connecticut. 
 At Hartford connections are made with the yew York, TVeiu Ha- 
 ven & Haiiford Railroad, with Xcic York & New England and 
 Hartford & Connecticut Valley Baihcays; at Simsbury, with New 
 Haven & Noiihampton Bailroad ; and at Winsted, with Naugatuck 
 Bailroad. Few routes present more varied or beautiful scenery. 
 
 The City of Kingston (population 21,495). Rondout and 
 the old city of Kingston gradually grew together until the bans 
 were performed in 1878, and a "bow-knot" tied at the top of the 
 hill in the shape of a City Hall, making them one corporation. 
 
 The name Rondout had its derivation from a redoubt that 
 was built on the banks of the creek. The creek took the name 
 of Redoubt Kill, afterward Rundoubt, and at last Rondout. 
 Kingston was once called Esopus. (The Indian name for the spot 
 where the city now stands was At-kar-karton, the great plot or 
 meadow on which they raised corn or beans.) 
 
 Kingston was settled in 1614, and thrice destroyed by the In- 
 dians before the Revolution. In 1777 the State Legislature met 
 here and formed a constitution. In the fall of the same year, 
 after the capture of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton by 
 the British, Vaughan landed at Rondout, marched to Kingston, 
 and burned the town. While Kingston was burning, the in- 
 habitants tied to Hurley, where a small force of Americans hung 
 
THE HUDSON. 179 
 
 a messenger who was caught carrying dispatches from Clinton 
 to Burgoyne. 
 
 Rondout is the termination of the Delaware and Hudson Ca- 
 nal (whence canal boats of coal find their way from the Pennsyl- 
 vania mountains to tide-water), also of the Z^lster and Delaware 
 Railroad, by which people find their way from tide-water to 
 the Catskill Mountains, which have greeted the eye of the 
 tourist for many miles down the Hudson. Originally all of the 
 country-side in this vicinity was known as Esopus, supposed to 
 be derived, according to Ruttenber, from the Indian word 
 *' seepus," a river. A " sopus Indian '' was a Lowlander, and the 
 name is intimately connected with c^ long reach of territory 
 from Esopus village, near West Park, to the mouth of the 
 Esopus at Saugerties. In 1075 the mouth of the Rondout 
 Creek was chosen by the New Netherland Company as one 
 of the three fortified trading ports on the Hudson ; a stock' 
 ade was built under the guidance of General Stuyvesant in 
 1661 inclosing the site of old Kingston ; a charter was granted 
 in 1658 under the name of Wiltwyck, but changed in 1679 to 
 Kingston. Few cities are so well off for old-time houses that 
 span the century, and there is no congregation probably in the 
 United States that has worshipped so many consecutive years in 
 the same spot as the Dutch Reformed people of Kingston. 
 Five buildings have succeeded the log church of 240 years 
 ago. Dr. Van Slyke, in a recent welcome, said : "This church, 
 which opens her doors to you, claims a distinction which does 
 not belong even to the Collegiate Dutch Churches of Manhattan 
 Island, and, by a peculiar history, stands identified more closely 
 with Holland than any other of the early churches of this country. 
 
180 THE HUDSON. 
 
 When every other church of our communion had for a long- time 
 been associated with an American Synod, this church retained 
 its relations to the Classis of Amsterdam, and, after a period of 
 independency and isolation, it finally allied itself with its Ameri- 
 can sisterhood as late as the year 1808. We still have three or 
 four members whose life began before that date." 
 
 Dominie Blom was the first preacher in King-ston. The church 
 where he preached and the congregation that gathered to hear 
 him have been tenderly referred to by the Rev. Dr. Belcher ; 
 
 " They've journeyed on from touch and tone ; 
 
 No more their ears shall hear 
 The war-whoop wild, or sad death moan, 
 
 Or words of fervid prayer ; 
 But the deeds they did and plans they planned, 
 
 And paths of hlood they trod, 
 Have blessed and brightened all this land 
 
 And hallowed it for God." 
 
 The Senate House, built in 1676 by Wessel Ten Broeck, who 
 would seem by his name to have stepped bodily out of a chapter 
 of Knickerbocker, was "burned" but not "down," for its walls 
 stood firm. It was afterwards repaired, and sheltered many 
 dwellera, among others, General Armstrong, Secretary of War 
 under President Madison. The Provincinal Convention met in 
 the Court House at Kingston in 1777 and the Constitution was 
 formally announced April 22d of that year. The first court was 
 held hare September 9th and the first legislature September 
 lOth. Adjourning Oct. 7th they convened again August 18th, 
 1775), and in 1780, from April 22d to July 2d, also for two 
 months beginning January 27, 1783. 
 
 It was in the yard in f)-ont of tb(> Court House that the Con- 
 
THE HUDSON. 
 
 stitution of the State was proclaimed by Robert Berrian, the 
 secretary of the Constitutional convention, and it was there that 
 George Clinton, the first governor of the State, was inaugurated 
 and took the oath of office. It was in the Court House that John 
 Jay, Chief Justice, delivered his memorable charge to the grand 
 jury in September, 1777, and at the opening said : " Gentlemen, 
 it affords me very sensible pleasure to congratulate you on the 
 dawn of that free, mild, and equal government which now be- 
 gins to rise and break from amidst the clouds of anarchy, con- 
 fusion and licentiousness, which the arbitrary and violent domi- 
 nation of the King of Great Britain has spread, in greater or 
 less degree, throughout this and other American states. And 
 it gives me particular satisfaction to remark that the first fruits 
 of our excellent constitution appear in a part of this State whose 
 inhabitants have distinguished themselves by having unani- 
 mously endeavored to deserve them." The Court House bell was 
 originally imported from Holland. 
 
 The burning of Kingston seemed unnecessarily cruel, and it 
 is said that Vaughan was wide of the truth when, to justify 
 the same, he claimed that he had been fired upon from dwellings 
 in the village. General Sharpe in his admirable address before 
 the Holland Society gives a happy summary of the history of 
 Kingston : '"The history of this county begins to be interesting 
 at the earliest stages of American history. The Duke of York 
 was Duke of Albany in Scotland and Earl of Ulster in Ire- 
 land, and when, in after years, this town was divided, a Royal 
 Governor named the i)ortion which was cut off from it, because 
 he was Baron Lovelace, of Hurley. I may add that the title of 
 Lovelace, of Hurley, having become extinct, that of Lovelace 
 
183 THE HUDSON. 
 
 was ag-ain created in 1838, in favor of William Lord King", who 
 married Ada, the only child of George Gordon, Lord Byron. 
 Visited by Dutchmen in 1614, and ag-ain in 1620, it was in the 
 very earliest Colonial history, one of the strong places of the 
 Province of New York. The British museum contains the re- 
 port of the Rev. John Miller, written in the year 1695, who, 
 after ' having- been nearly three years resident in the Province 
 of New York, in America, as Chaplain of His Majesty's forces 
 there, and constantly attending the Governor, had opportunity" 
 of observing many things of considerable consequence in rela- 
 tion to the Christians and Indians, and had also taken the drafts 
 of all the cities, towns, forts and churches of any note within the 
 same.' These are his own words, and he adds that in the 
 Province of New York 'the places of strength are chiefly three, 
 the City of New York, the City of Albany, and the Town of 
 Kingstone, in Ulster.' I have copied the map of the stockade 
 enclosure which made the fortified boundaries of the town. The 
 east, north and west fronts ran along elevations overlooking the 
 lowlands and having a varying altitude of from twenty to thirty 
 feet. The enclosure comprehended about twenty-five acres of 
 land. There were salients, or horn works at each end of the 
 four angles, with a circular projection at the middle of the 
 westerly side, where the elevation was less than upon the 
 northerly and easterly sides. The Church standing upon the 
 ground where we now are was enclosed with a separate 
 stockade, to be used as the last resort in case of disaster, and, 
 projecting from this separate fortification, a strong block-houso 
 commanded and enfiladed the approaches to the southerly side, 
 which was a i)lain. The local history is of continued and 
 
THE HUDSON. 183 
 
 dramatic interest. The Indian wars were sig-nalized by a 
 great uprising and attack here, which was known as the war of 
 1663, when a considerable number of the inhabitants were killed, 
 a still larger number were taken prisoners, and about one-fourth 
 of the houses were burned to the ground. Reinforcements were 
 sent by the Governor General from New Amsterdam, followed 
 by his personal presence, when the Indians were driven back to 
 the mountains, and, after a tedious campaign, their fields 
 destroyed and the prisoners recaptured. When the next great 
 crisis in our history came Kingston bore a conspicuous part. It 
 was the scene of the formation of the State Government. The 
 Constitution was here discussed and adopted. George Clinton 
 was called from the Highlands, v/here, as a Brigadier General 
 of the Continental Army, he was commanding all the forces 
 upon the Hudson River, which were opposing the attempts of 
 Sir Henry Clinton to reach the northern part of the State and 
 relieve Burgoyne, hemmed in by Gates at Saratoga. He was 
 the ideal war Governor — unbuckling his sword in the Court 
 Room, that he might take the oath of office, and returning, 
 immediately after the simple form of his inauguration, to his 
 command upon the Hudson River. 
 
 "The Court House, standing opposite to us, and rebuilt upon 
 its old foundations, and occupying, substantially, the same super- 
 ficies of ground with its predecessors, recalls the dramatic 
 scene where, surrounded by the Council of Safety, and in a 
 square formed by two companies of soldiers, he was proclaimed 
 Governor by Egbert Dumond, the Sheriff of the County, reading 
 his proclamation from the top of a barrel, and closing it with 
 the words 'God save the people,' for the first time taking the 
 
184 THE HUDSON. 
 
 place of 'God save the King-.' The only building in any way 
 connected with the civil foundation of this great State is still 
 standing, and presents the same appearance that it did at the 
 time of its erection, prior to the year 1690. It was subsequently 
 occupied by General Armstrong, who, while residing here for 
 the better education of his children, in Kingston Academy, was 
 appointed Minister to France. Aaron Burr, then in attendance 
 upon court, spent an evening with General Armstrong, at his 
 house, and, having observed the merit of sundry sketches, made 
 inquiry with regard to, and interested himself in the fate of, 
 John Vanderlyn, who afterwards painted the Landing of Colum- 
 bus in the Capitol, and Marius upon the Ruins of Carthage — 
 which attracted the attention of the elder Napoleon, and estab- 
 lished Vanderlyn's fame. There are more than forty blue lime- 
 stone houses, of the general type found in Holland, still stand- 
 ing to-day, which were built before the Revolutionary period, 
 and many of them before the year 1700." 
 
 Coal, cement and blue-stone are the prominent industries of 
 the city. The cement works yield over two million dollars 
 annually and employ about two thousand men. Over three 
 million barrels are manufactured here, required for shipment 
 of the same. Almost a million tons of coal enter the Hudson 
 via the Port of Rondout from the Wyoming Valley of Pennsyl- 
 vania. Blue-stone also meets tide-water at this point, brought 
 in from quarries throughout the country by rail or by truck. 
 The City of Kingston, the largest station on the West SJwre 
 between Weehawken and Albany, has admirable railroad fa- 
 cilities connecting with the Erie lidilway at Goshen via theWall- 
 Mll VaU/fy. and the Catskills via the Ulster d- Delaware. All roads 
 
THE HUDSON. 185 
 
 centre at the Union Station and the Ulster & Delaware connects 
 at Kingston Point with the Hudson River Day Line, also with 
 the New York Central by ferry from Rhinebeck. Rondout is the 
 starting-point of the "Mary Powell," the "Baldwin" and the 
 "Romer." 
 
 To tlie Catskills.— The two principal routes to the Catskills 
 are via Kingston and the Ulster d- Delaware Railroad, and via 
 Catskill Landing, the Catskill Mountain Railway and the Otis 
 Elevating Railway to the summit of the mountains. It has oc- 
 curred to the writer to divide the mountain section in two parts: 
 
 Tlie Soutliern Catskills.— Kingston Point, where the 
 steamer lands is indeed q, picturesque portal to a picturesque journey 
 The beautiful park which has sprung up like magic at the touch 
 of Col. Coykendall, as he is familiarly known along the Hudson, 
 presents the most beautiful frontage of any pleasure ground 
 along the river. Artistic pagodas located at effective points 
 add greatly to the natural landscape ( "^t, and excursionists 
 from Albany and the North have a delightful spot for lunch 
 and recreation while waiting for the return steamer. In the 
 busy months of mountain travel it is interesting to note the rush 
 and hurry between the landing of the steamer and the depart- 
 ure of the train. The " all aboard " is given, and as we stand 
 on the rear platform a friend points north to a bluff" near Kings- 
 ton Point and qp,ys the Indian name is "Ponckhockie" — signi- 
 fying a burial-ground. The old redoubts of Kingston, on the 
 left, were defenses used in early days against the Indians. 
 
 After leaving Kingston Union Depot, the most important 
 station on the West Shore Railroad, and the terminus of the 
 Wallkill Valley Railroad, the next station is Stony Hollow. 
 
186 THE HUDSON. 
 
 eig-ht miles from Rondout, and the traveler will note the stone 
 tracks in the turnpike below, on the right side of the car, used 
 by quarry wagons. Crossing the Stony Hollow ravine, we reach 
 West Hurley, nine miles from Rondout and 540 feet above the sea. 
 
 Tlie Overlook commands an extensive view, — with an area 
 of 30,000 square miles, from the peaks of New Hampshire and 
 the Green Mountains oi Vermont to the hills of New Jersey 
 and Pennsylvania. To the east the valley reaches away with 
 its towns and villages to the blue hills of Massachusetts and 
 Connecticut, and, through this beautiful valley, the Hudson 
 for a hundred miles is reduced to a mere ribbon of light. 
 Woodstock, al the foot of Overlook, is popular with summer 
 visitors, and is a good starting point for the mountain outlook. 
 
 Olive Brancb is the pretty name of the next station to 
 West Hurley. Temple Pond, at the foot of Big Toinge Moun- 
 tain, covers about one handred acres, and atTords boati: g and 
 fishing to those visiting the foothills of the Southern Catskills. 
 
 Brown's Station is three miles beyond, and near at hand 
 WinchelFs Falls on the Esopus. The Esopus Creek comes in 
 view near this station for the first time after leaving Kingston. 
 The route now has pleasant companionship for twenty miles or 
 more with the winding stream. 
 
 Brodliead's Bridg^e is delightfully located on its wooded 
 banks near the base of High Point, and near at hand is a bright 
 cascade known as Biidal Veil Falls. 
 
 Shokan, (18 miles from Rondout). Here the road takes a 
 northerly course and we are advised by Mr. Van Loan's Guide 
 to notice on the left " a groii]) of live mountains forming a cres- 
 cent ; the peaks of these mountains are four miles distant;" the 
 
THE HUDSON. 181 
 
 right-hand one is the "Wittenberg-,'' and the next "Mount 
 Cornell." Boiceville and Mount Pleasant, 700 feet above the 
 Hudson, are next reached. We enter the beautiful Shandaken 
 Valley, and three miles of charming mountain scenery bring 
 us to — 
 
 Ptioenicia, 29 miles from Rondout and 790 feet above the 
 Hudson. This is one of the central points of the Catskills 
 which the mountain streams (Nature's engineers) indicated 
 several thousand years ago. Readers of " Hiawatha " will re- 
 member that Gitche Manitou, the mighty, traced with his finger 
 the way the streams and rivers should run. The tourist will be 
 apt to think that he used his thumb in marking out the wild 
 grandeur of Stony Clove. The Tremper House has a pictur- 
 esque location in a charming valley, which seems to have been 
 cut to fit, like a beautiful carpet, and tacked down to the edge 
 of these grand old mountains A fifteen minutes' walk up 
 Mount Tremper gives a wide view, from which the Lake 
 Mohonk House is sometimes seen, forty miles away. Phoenicia 
 18 one of the most important stations on the line — the southern 
 terminus of the Stony Clove and Catskill Mountain Division of 
 the Ulster & Delaware System. Keeping to the main line for 
 the present we pass through AUaben, formerly known as Fox 
 Hollow, and come to — 
 
 Sbandaken, (35 miles from Rondout and 1,060 feet in alti- 
 tude) an Indian name signifying "rapid water.'' Here are 
 large hotels and many boarding houses and the town is a cen~ 
 tral point for many mountain spots and shady retreats in every 
 direction — all of which are well described in one of the hand- 
 somest Summer Resort Guides of the season, the Hand-book 
 
188 THE HUDSON. 
 
 of the Ulster *fc Delaware R. R. Three miles beyond Shan- 
 daken we come to a little station whose name reminds one of 
 the plains : Big Indian, (1,209 feet above the river.) 
 
 Big Indian.— It is said that about a century ago, a noble 
 red man dwelt in these parts, who, early in life, turned his 
 attention to agriculture instead of scalping, and won thereby 
 the respect of the community. Tradition has it that he was 
 about seven feet in height, but was overpowered by wolves, 
 and was buried by his brethern not far from the station, 
 where a "big Indian" was carved out of a tree near by 
 for his monument. An old and reliable inhabitant stated 
 that he remembered the rude statue well, and often thought 
 that it ought to be saved for a relic, as the stream was washing 
 away the roots: but it was finally carried down by a freshet, and 
 probably found its w^ay to some fire-place in the Esopus valley. 
 *• So man passes away, as with a flood." There is another tale, 
 one of love but less romantic, wherein he was killed by his rival 
 and placed upright in a hollow tree. Perhaps neither tradition 
 is true, and quite possibly the Big Indian name grew out of 
 €ome misunderstanding between the Indians and w'hite settlers 
 over a hundred years ago. As the train leaves the station it 
 begins a grade of 150 feet per mile to — 
 
 Pine Hill, a station perched on the slope of Belle Ayr 
 Mountain. This is the watershed between the Esopus and the 
 Delaware, and 226 ft^.et above us, around the arcs of a double 
 horseshoe, is the railway summit, 1,880 feet above the tide. 
 
 Grand Hotel Station. The New^ Grand, the second larg- 
 est hotel in the Catskills, with a great frontage of 700 feet, 
 stands on a commantling terrace less than half a mile from the 
 
THE HUDSON. 18^ 
 
 station. The main building faces southwest and overlooks the 
 hamlet of Pine Hill, down the Shandaken Valley to Big- Indian^ 
 The mountains, "grouped like giant kings" in the distance, 
 are Slide Mountain, Panther Mountain, Table and Balsam 
 Mountains. Panther Mountain, directly over Big Indian Sta- 
 tion, with Atlas-like shoulders, being nearer, seems higher, 
 and is often mistaken for Slide Mountain. Table Mountain, to 
 the right of the Slide, is the divide between the east branch of 
 the Neversink and the Rondout. 
 
 Continuing our journey from the summit we pass through 
 Fleischmann's to — 
 
 Arkville, railway station for Margaretville, one and a half 
 miles distant, and Andes twelve miles — connected by stages. 
 Furlough Lake, the mountain home of George Gould, is seven 
 miles from Arkville. An artificial cave near Arkville, with 
 hieroglyphics on the inner walls, attracts many visitors. 
 
 Passing through Kelly's Corners and Halcottville, we 
 come to — 
 
 Roxbury (altitude 1497, feet) a quaint old vUlag-e at the 
 upper end of which is the Gould Memorial Church. Miss 
 Helen Gould spends part of her summer here and has done 
 much to make beautiful the village of her father's boyhood. 
 Grand Gorge comes next 1570 feet above the tide, where stages 
 are taken for Gilboa three miles, and Prattsville five miles dis- 
 tant, on the Schoharie Creek. Pratt's Rocks are visited by 
 hundreds because of the carving- in bass-relief of Col. Pratt and 
 figures emblematic of his career. 
 
 Stamford is now at hand, seventy-six miles from the Hud- 
 son, about 1,800 feet above the sea, named by settlers from 
 
190 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Stamford, Conn. Here was fought, more than a century ago, 
 a desperate battle between the Tories and the Indians. There 
 are many large hotels, chief among them The Rexmere and 
 Churchill Hall — fulfilling the dreams of Dr. Churchill, to whose 
 untiring zeal Stamford owes so much. Utsayantha Mountain, 
 3,365 feet above the tide, is easily reached by carriage-road, 
 where 20,000 square miles can be seen from an observatory. 
 Thirteen miles from Stamford we come to Hobart, four miles 
 further to South Kortright, and then to — 
 
 Bloomville, the terminus, eighty-nine miles from the Hud- 
 son, where a stage line of eight miles takes the tourist to Delhi, 
 a beautiful village, the shire town of Delaware County. Re- 
 turning to Phoenicia we take the Stony Clove train through 
 the famous Stony Clove Notch, pronounced the most beautiful 
 this side of the Rocky Mountains ; we pass through Chichester, 
 Lanesviile, Edgewood and Kaaterskill Junction to — 
 
 Hunter, the northern terminus of the Stony Clove Road, 
 with general elevation of about 1,600 feet. Resuming the 
 eastward journey at Kaaterskill Junction we come to — 
 
 Tanner sville, near which are Elka Park, Onteora Park 
 and Schoharie Manor. 
 
 Haines Corners is another busy station, 2,000 feet above 
 the sea, at the head of Kaaterskill Clove, where at the top of 
 the great Canyon there is a waterfall of 160 feet with further 
 descent by cascades and rapids of 1,200 feet to Palensville. On 
 the slope of Mt. Lincoln several parks have been established, 
 Sunset, Santa Cruz and Twilight. The evening view from 
 the porch of one of the cottages of Santa Cruz Park will 
 never be forgotten by the writer who saw a storm 
 
THE HUDSON. 191 
 
 break upon the mountains and pass away until the 
 valley seemed to open as at the rolling up of a great 
 curtain. Here at the Twilight are the residences of Jas. 
 Lyall, 'New York; S. S. Packard, New York; Col. Lath- 
 ers, New York : Dr. J. H. Suydam, New York ; Mrs. Riley, 
 New York; S. T. Dodd, (Counsel of Standard Oil Co.), New 
 York: I. R. Adriance, Poughkeepsie ; Prof. Hutton, Columbia 
 College ; and at Santa Cruz Park, of Hon. E. Elsworth, 
 Poughkeepsie ; Otto Crouse, Jersey City ; Mrs. Bruen, Phila- 
 delphia ; Mrs. Ludwig, Philadelphia: Mrs. Vrooman, Brook- 
 lyn. Several of these cottages have beautiful names. Among 
 others are recalled : "Bonnie Glint" of Twilight Park 
 owned by Dr. Suydam, and "Tree Tops'' of Santa Cruz Park, 
 owned by Mr. Elsworth. 
 
 Laurel House Station. Here the voice of a waterfall as 
 sweet as that of Minnehaha invites the tourist to one of the 
 most famous spots in the Catskill region, and a mile beyond is 
 
 Kaaterskill Station, 2,145 feet above the sea, the highest 
 point reached by any railroad in the State, and half a mile or 
 so further we alight on a rocky balcony, known for its beautiful 
 view all over the world, crowned by the — 
 
 Catskill Mountain House, to which further reference is 
 made in the Northern division. No other city in the world is 
 so happily situated as Greater New York, for the Hudson River 
 is at her very doors, and those grand open mountains are within 
 a few hours of her crowded streets. 
 
-ly^ THE HUDSON. 
 
 KINGSTON TO CATSKILL. 
 
 The Beekman stone house, almost opposite Kingston Point 
 was built before 1700 by William Beekman, first patroon of this 
 section. It was used as a church and as a fort durin^^ the Indian 
 strug-g-les, and still preserves the honorable scar of a cannon ball 
 from an Eno'lish ship. Passing Ferncliff, on the east bank, form- 
 erly the residence of William Astor, now the home of John 
 Jacob Astor, we see " Clifton Point," once known as the Garret- 
 son place, the noted Methodist preacher whose wife was sister of 
 Chancellor Livingston, and above this Douglass Merritt's home 
 known as "Leacote." Flatbush landing lies on the west bank, 
 below which, opposite Ferncliff, are the residences of Allen 
 Terry, D. S. Manchester, N. A. Nickerson and P. S. Gurney. 
 Above Flatbush Landing, also on the west bank, is the home of 
 Charles A. Shuitz. the Brigham Cement Works and the resi- 
 dences of C. O. Livingston, C. Coddington, and Dr. Shrady. On 
 the east bank now appears F. H. Delano's, at Astor Point, Mrs. 
 M. L. Marshall's "Rokeby," and " Edge water," formerly the 
 Donaldson home, now owned by E. C. Goodwin. Just above 
 Daisy Island is the village of — - 
 
 Barrytown, on the east bank, 90 miles from New York. It 
 is said when General Jackson was President, and this village 
 wanted a post-office, that he would not allow it under the name 
 of Barrytown, from personal dislike to General Barry, and sug- 
 gested another name ; but the people were loyal to their old 
 friend, and vnit idthout a post-office until a new administration. 
 The name of Barrytown, therefore, stands as a monument to 
 
THE HUDSON. 193 
 
 pluck. The place was once known as Lower Red Hook Landing". 
 Passing '^Massena," the Aspinwall property, we see — 
 
 Montgomery Place, residence of Carleton Hunt and sis- 
 ters, about one-half mile north of Barrytown, formerly occupied 
 by Mrs. Montgomery, wife of General Montgomery and sister of 
 Chancellor Livingston. The following dramatic incident con- 
 nected with Montgomery Place is recorded in Stone's " History 
 of New York City " : "In 1818 the Legislature of New York — De- 
 Witt Clinton, Governor — ordered the remains of General Mont- 
 gomery to be removed from Canada to New York. This was in 
 accordance with the wishes of the Continental Congress, which, 
 in 1776, had voted the beautiful cenotaph to his memory that 
 now stands in the wall of St. Paul's Church, fronting Broadway. 
 When the funeral cortege reached Whitehall, N. Y., the fleet 
 stationed there received them with appropriate honors ; and on 
 the 4th of July they arrived in Albany. After lying in state in 
 that city over Sunday, the remains were taken to New York, 
 and on Wednesday deposited, with military honors, in their final 
 resting place, at St. Paul's. Governor Clinton had informed 
 Mrs. Montgomery of the hour when the steamer 'Richmond,' 
 conveying the body, would pass her home. At her own request, 
 she stood alone on the portico. It was forty years since she had 
 parted from her husband, to whom she had been wedded but two 
 years when he fell on the heights of Quebec ; yet she had re- 
 mained faithful to the memory of her ' soldier,' as she always 
 called him. The steamboat halted before the mansion; the 
 band played the ' Dead March,' and a salute was fired ; and the 
 ashes of the venerated hero, and the departed husband, passed on. 
 The attendants of the Spartan widow now appeared, but, over- 
 
194 THE HUDSON. 
 
 come by the tender emotions of the moment, she had swooned 
 and fallen to the floor.*' 
 
 The Sawkill Creek flows through a beautiful ravine in 
 Montgomery grounds and above this is the St. Stephen's 
 College and Preparatory School of the Episcopal Church in the 
 Diocese of New York. Beyond and above this are Mrs. E. 
 Bartlett's home and Deveaux Park, afterwards Almonte, the 
 property of Col Charles Livingston. We are now approaching — 
 Cru^er's Island, with its indented South Bay reaching up 
 toward the bluff crowned by Montgomery Place. There is an 
 old Indian tradition that no person ever died on this island, 
 which a resident recently said still held true. It is remarkable, 
 moreover, in possessing many antique carved stones from a 
 city of Central America built into the walls of a temple 
 modeled after the building from which the graven stones were 
 brought. The "ruin" at the south end of the island is barely 
 seen from the steamer, hidden as it is by foliage, but it is dis- 
 tinctly noted from the windows of the New York Centnd in the 
 winter season. Col. Cruger has spared no expense in the adorn- 
 ment of his grounds, and a beautiful drive is afforded the visitor. 
 The island is connected by a roadway across a tongue of land 
 which separates the North from the South Bay. Above the 
 Island east of the steamer's channel across the track of the New 
 York Central, we see a historic bit of water known as — 
 
 Tlie Nortli Bay. It was here that Robert Fulton built the 
 *' Clermont,'' receiving pecuniary aid from Chancellor Living- 
 ston. It was through his influence that Fulton secured from the 
 State Legislature of New York the passage of an Act granting 
 to himself the exclusive privilege of navigating the waters of 
 
THE HUDSON .195 
 
 the State by means of steam power. The only conditions im- 
 posed were that he should, within a year, construct a boat of 
 not less than twenty tons burthen, which should navigate the 
 Hudson at a speed not less than four miles an hour, and that one 
 such boat should not fail of running regularly between New 
 York and Albany for the space of one year. The Legislature 
 probably intended that Fulton should run an ice-boat when the 
 Hudson was frozen over, or else were sleepy when they passed 
 the bill. It has been a mooted question for almost a hundred 
 years as to whom should be accredited the invention of the steam- 
 boat. An old newspa})er dipping says : 
 
 "The theory of steam navigation on the water had been 
 evolved and considered for more than 200 years before it actually 
 took shape. .Tames Rumsey was engaged in experiments from 
 1784 to 1786, when he tried a boat on the Potomac, which made 
 four miles an hour, propelled by a jet of water forced from the 
 stern. In the same year a paddle steamer was invented and 
 built in Philadelphia, Pa., by John Fitch, of Windsor, Conn. 
 After many disappointments and misfortunes in applying steam 
 to the propulsion of vessels, Mr. Fitch finally triumphed over 
 repeated failures. An engraving and description of the boat was 
 prepared and published in the Cohimhian Magazine for Decem- 
 ber, 178(i. The propelling instruments used in Fitch's boat were 
 paddles suspended by the upper ends of their shafts, and moved 
 by cranks. His boat was sixty feet long and very lightly built. 
 The second steamboat in the world was invented by Mr. Sym- 
 ington, in Scotland. It was tried in 1788, but only partially 
 succeeded." 
 
 The third steamboat, and the only one up to that time that 
 
196 THE HUDSON. 
 
 had attained practical success, was the ''Clermont" of Robert 
 Fulton. It is a remarkable fact that the two most practical 
 achievements of our century have been consummated by artists, 
 a practical telegraph by Morse after a score of "invented" fail- 
 ares, and the successful application of steam to navig-ation by 
 Fulton. Fulton was born in 1765 and, at the time of Symington's 
 experiment on Dalswinton Lock, Scotland, was twenty-three 
 years of age. He was then an artist student of Benjamin West, 
 in London, but after several years of study he felt that he was 
 better adapted for engineering, and soon thereafter wrote a 
 work on Canal Navigation. In 1797 he went to Paris. He re- 
 sided there seven years and built a small steamboat on the 
 Seine, which worked well, but made very slow progress. 
 
 Soon after this he returned to New York and brought the 
 " Clermont " to successful completion. His reputation was now 
 assured, and his invention of "torpedoes" gave him additional 
 fame Congress not only purchased these instruments of war- 
 fare, but also set apart $320,000 for a steam frigate to be con- 
 structed under his supervision. How necessary it is to succeed 
 said Kossuth at Mount Vernon I Perhaps it may never be known 
 who first " thought out " the steamboat. It is, however, certain 
 that Fulton succeeded in making the steamboat an accomplished 
 fact. He would, however, wonder to-day if he could stand at the 
 prow of one of these steamers when the water falls away, cut by 
 a rainbow cimeter of spray. He would admire the dining-room 
 on the main deck, as he took in the Palisades-and-Highlands-on- 
 toast. He would marvel at the great engine of polished steel, 
 working almost noiselessly, and wonder at the way the pilot 
 lands at the docks, even as a driver brings his buggy to a horse- 
 
THE HUDSON. 197 
 
 block; for in his day, and long afterwards, passengers were 
 '' slued " ashore in little boats, as it was not thought safe to land 
 a, steamboat against a wharf. 
 
 An original letter from Robert Fulton to the Minister of Bava- 
 ria at the Court of France, written in 1809, is of much interest 
 at the present day. It was upon the question of putting steam- 
 boats on the Danube. Its commencement pertains to the 
 success of Fulton's boat on the Hudson. In the letter 
 Fulton says: ''The distance from New York to Albany is 160 
 miles : the tide rises as far as Albany ; its velocity is on an 
 average li miles an hour. We thus have the tide half the time 
 in favor of the boat and half the time against her. The boat is 
 100 feet long, 10 feet wide and 7 feet deep ; the steam engine is 
 of the power of 20 horses : she runs 4i miles an hour in still 
 water. Consequently when the tide is H miles an ,^our in her 
 favor she runs 51 miles an hour. When the tide is against 
 her she runs 2f miles an hour. Thus in theory her average 
 velocity is 4i miles an hour, but in practice we take advantage 
 of the currents. When they are against us we keep near shore 
 in the eddies, where the current is weak or the eddy in our 
 favor ; when the tide is in our favor we take the centre of the 
 stream and draw every advantage from it. In this way our 
 average speed is 5 miles an hour, and we run to Albany, 160 
 miles, in about 32 hours. 
 
 The l)oat has three elegant cabins, one for the ladies and two 
 for the gentlemen, with kitchen, library, and every convenience, 
 and averages 100 passengers up or down the river. Every 
 passenger pays $7, or 42 francs, for which he has dinner, tea 
 and bed, breakfast and dinner, with the liberty to carry 200 
 
198 THE HUDSON. 
 
 pounds of bag-^ag-e. Previous to the invention of the steamboat 
 there were two modes of conveyance. One was by the common 
 sloops; they charged 42 francs^ and were on the average four 
 days in making the passage — they have sometimes been as long 
 as eight days. The dread of such tedious voyages prevented 
 great numbers of persons from going in sloops. The second 
 mode of conveyance was the mail, or stage. They charged $8, 
 or 44 francs, and the expenses on the road were about $5, or 30 
 francs, so that expenses amounted to $13. The time required 
 was 48 hours. The steamboat has rendered the communication 
 between New York and Albany so cheap and certain that the 
 number of passengers are rapidly increasing. Persons who live 
 150 miles beyond Albany know the hour she will leave that city, 
 and making their calculations to arrive at York, stay two days 
 to transact business, return with the boat, and are with their 
 families in one week. The facility has rendered the boat a 
 great favorite with the public. 
 
 A telegram from Exeter, N. H., January 11th, 1886, said : Dr. 
 William Perry, the oldest person in Exeter and the oldest grad- 
 uate of Harvard College, died this morning at the age of ninety- 
 eight years. He was the sole survivor of the passengers on 
 Fulton's first steamboat on its first trip down the Hudson, seven- 
 ty-nine years ago. He was born in Norton, Mass., in 1788, and 
 was a^ member of 1811 in Harvard. Dr. Perry was one of the 
 most successful and skillful physicians of his day in New Hamp- 
 shire. He was grandfather of Sarah Orne Jewett, the authoress^ 
 
 Tivoli, (population 1,350), above North Bay took its name 
 from a pre-revolutionary "Chateau," now owned by Col. J. L. 
 DePeyster. The "Callender Place" to the south-east, now oc- 
 
THE HUDSON. 199 
 
 cupied by Mrs. Kidd, was formerly the property of Johnston 
 Livingston. Two miles from the river is the hospitable home 
 of Mr. J. N. Lewis, a morning view from whose veranda is still 
 remembered, also the breakfast which preceded it, and it is to 
 Mr. Lewis that the writer is indebted for a drive ten years ago 
 to the ruins on Cruger's Island. The residence of J. Watts De- 
 Peyster stands on a commanding bluff north of the railway 
 station and it was beside his open fireside many years ago that 
 he told the writer how his house was saved from Vaughan's trip 
 up the river to burn the Livingston Manor House. Rose Hill, 
 the home of his ancestors, was mistaken for "Clermont," but a 
 well-stocked cellar mollified the British Captain. "Rose Hill', 
 was named after the old Watts Mansion in Edinburgh, which 
 has recently been removed to make room for a railway. 
 
 Rose Hill projects so far out into the river that it is beyond 
 the islands two miles below, which, at one time, were about in 
 the centre of the wide expanse of water between the main 
 shores. To give a better idea, however, of the projection, 
 steamboats which pass down to the front have to sheer in so 
 far in making their landing at Tivoli, a quarter of a mile below, 
 that they disappear from the sight of those looking southward 
 and watching them from the piazza of the mansion. Rose Hill 
 itself has grown like one of the old English family houses, with 
 the increase of the family, until, in strange but picturesque out- 
 line — the prevailing style being Italian, somewhat in the shape 
 of a cross — it is now 114 feet long by 87 feet deep. The tower in 
 the rear, devoted to library purposes, rises to the height of 
 about sixty feet. This library, first and last, has contained be- 
 tween twenty and thirty thousand volumes. Such indefinite 
 
200 THE HUDSON. 
 
 languaj^e is used, because the owner has donated over half this 
 number to the New York Historical Society, the New York So- 
 ciety Library, and a number of other similar organizations in 
 different parts of the United States. As a working Library, re- 
 plete with dictionaries and cyclopaedias, in many tongues and on 
 almost every subject, it is a marvel. It is likewise very valuable 
 for its collections on military and several other special topics. 
 From it was selected and given to the New York Historical So- 
 ciety, one of the finest possible collections on the History of 
 Holland, from the earliest period down to the present time. In 
 spite of all these donations it is still a curiosity shop ; not only 
 for a bibliopole, but for a curio-seeker. 
 
 A ferry from Tivoli to Saugerties affords communication be- 
 tween the two villages. Glasco Landing, on the west bank, lies 
 between the residences of Henry Corse, on the south, and the 
 homes of Messrs. Polhemus, O. R. Spaulding and Mrs. Vander- 
 pool (sister of the late President Martin Van Buren), on the 
 north „ 
 
 In locating the residences at this part of our river and dealing 
 so often in the words " north " and " south," we are reminded of 
 a good story of Martin Van Buren. It is said that it was as dif- 
 ficult to get a direct answer from him as from Bismarck or Glad- 
 stone. Two friends were going up with him one day on a river 
 boat and one made a wager with the other that a direct answer 
 could not be secured on any question from the astute statesman. 
 They approached the Ex-President and one of them said, " Mr. 
 Van Buren, my friend and I have had a little discussion : will 
 you tell us, does or does not the sun rise in the east ? " The Ex- 
 President calmly drew up a chair and said, " You must remem- 
 
THE HUDSON. 201 
 
 ber that the east and west are merely relative terms.-' " That 
 settles it," said the qustioner, '' I'll pay the bet.'' 
 
 Sau^erties (101 miles from New York, population 4,237). 
 The long dock on the west bank shows the enterprise of this 
 prosperous villag-e. From its location (being- the nearest of the 
 river towns to the Catskills) it naturally hoped to secure a large 
 share of tourist travel, but Rondout and Catskill presented 
 easier and better facilities of access and materially shortened 
 the hours of arrival at the summit. Platterkill Clove, wilder 
 and grander than Kaaterskill Clove. aV)out nine miles west of 
 the village, has Platterkill Mountain. Indian Head, Twin 
 Mountains and Sugar Loaf on the south, and High Peak and 
 Round Top on the north. Its eighteen waterfalls not only give 
 great variety to a pedestrian trip, but also ample field for the 
 artist's brush. The Esopus, meeting the Hudson at Saugerties, 
 supplies unfailing waterjwwer for its manufacturing industries, 
 prominent among which are the Sheffield Paper Company, the 
 Barkley Fibre Company (wood pulp), the Martin Company (card 
 board) and a white lead factory. There are also large ship- 
 ments of blue stone, evidences of which are seen in many places 
 near at hand along the western bank. Many attractive strolls 
 near Saugerties invite the visitor, notably the walk to Barkley 
 Heights south of the Esopus. An extensive view is obtained 
 from the West Shore Railroad Station west of the village 
 and the drive thereto. North of Saugerties will be seen the 
 docks and hamlets of Maiden, Evesport and West Camp, also 
 the residences of J. G. Myers to the northwest of the Rock islet, 
 and of H. T. Coswell, near which the steamer passes to the 
 west of Livingston Flats. The west shore at West Camp was 
 
202 THE HUDSON„ 
 
 settled by exiles from the Palatinate, about 1710, and one of the 
 old churches still stands a short distance inland. We are now 
 in the midst of^ 
 
 Tlie Livingston Country, whose names and memories dot 
 the landscape and adorn the history of the Hudson Valley. 
 Dutchess and Columbia Counties meet on the east bank opposite 
 that part of Saugerties where Sawyer's Creek flows into the 
 Hudson. " Idele," occupied by Miss Clarkson, was orig-inally 
 called the Chancellor Place. " Clermont" is about half a miie 
 to the north, the home of Clermont Living"ston, an early manor 
 house built by Robert R. Livingston, who, next to Hamilton, was 
 the greatest New York statesman during our Revolutionary 
 period. The manor church, not seen from the river, is at the 
 old village of Clermont, about five miles due west from the man- 
 sion. The Livingstons are of Scotch ancestry and have an illus- 
 trious lineage. Robert Livingston, born in 1654, was descended 
 from Mary Livingston, one of the "four Marys" who attended 
 Mary Queen of Scots during hel* childhood and education in 
 France. He came to the Hudson Valley with his father, and in 
 1686 purchased from the Indians a tract of country reaching east 
 twenty-two miles to the boundary of Massachusetts with a river 
 frontage of twelve miles. This purchase was created," the Lord- 
 ship and Manor of Livingston," by Governor Thomas Dongan. 
 In 1692 Robert built the manor house, but did not reside in it for 
 twenty years. He was a friend of Captain Kidd and a powerful 
 promoter of his enterprises. The manor consisted of 260,000 
 acres. The estate of 13,000 acres, given to his second son Robert 
 was called Clermont. Philip, his first son, inherited 247,000 acres, 
 y)y old-time primogeniture succession. From each of these two 
 
THE HUDSON. 203 
 
 families sprano- a line of vioforous and resolute men. "Robert R. 
 Livingston, our Revolutionary hero, descended from the smaller 
 estate, owned "Clermont"' at the time it was burned by the 
 British. It was soon re-built and Lafayette was a guest at the 
 mansion during- his visit to the United States in 1824. 
 
 Above Clermont are the homes of J. T. Hill, T. S. Clarkson, 
 E. H. Ludlow and the R. E. Livingston estate, opposite West 
 Camp. Above West Camp landing on the west side, is the 
 boundary line between Ulster and Greene Counties ; Ulster hav- 
 ing kept us company all the way from Hampton Point opposite 
 New Hamburgh. Throughout this long stretch of the river one 
 industry must not be overlooked, well described by John Bur- 
 roughs : 
 
 "When the chill of the ice is out of the river and the snow 
 and frost out of the air, the fishermen along the shore are on the 
 lookout for the first arrival of shad. A few days of warm south 
 wind the latter part of April will soon blow them up ; it is true 
 also, that a cold north wind will as quickly blow them back. 
 Preparations have been making for them all winter. In many 
 a farm-house or other humble dwelling along the river, the an- 
 cient occupation of knitting of fish-nets has been plied through 
 the long winter evenings, perhaps every grown member of the 
 household, the mother and her daughters as well as the father 
 and his sons, lending a hand. The ordinary gill or drift-net 
 used for shad fishing in the Hudson is from a half to three-quar- 
 ters of a mile long, and thirty feet wide, containing about fifty 
 or sixty pounds of fine linen twine, and it is a labor of many 
 months to knit one. Formerly the fish were taken mainly by 
 immense seines, hauled by a large number of men ; but now all 
 
204 THE HUDSON. 
 
 the deeper part of the river is fished with the long, delicate gill- 
 nets that drift to and fro with the tide, and are managed by two 
 men in a boat. The net is of fine linen thread, and is practically 
 invisible to the shad in the obscure river current : it hangs sus- 
 pended perpendicularly in the water, kept in position by buoys 
 at the top and by weights at the bottom : the buoys are attached 
 by cords twelve or fifteen feet long, which allow the net to sink 
 out of the reach of the keels of passing vessels. The net is 
 thrown out on the ebb tide, stretching nearly across the river, 
 and drifts down and then back on the flood, the fish being snared 
 behind the gills in their efforts to pass through the meshes. I 
 envy fishermen their intimate acquaintance with the river. 
 They know it by night as well as by day, and learn all its moods 
 and phases. The net is a delicate instrument that reveals all 
 the hidden currents and by-ways, as well as all the sunken 
 snags and wrecks at the bottom. By day the fishermen notes 
 the shape and position of his net by means of the line or buoys ; 
 by night he marks the far end of it with a lantern fastened upon 
 a board or block. The night tides he finds differ from the day 
 — the flood at night being much stronger than at other times, as 
 if some pressure had been removed with the sun, and the freed 
 currents found less hindrance. The fishermen have terms and 
 phrases of their own. The wooden tray upon which the net is 
 coiled, and which sits in the the stern of the boat, is called a 
 'cuddy.' The net is divided into 'shots.' If a passing sloop 
 or schooner catches it with her center-board or her anchor, it 
 gives way where two of these shoots meet, and thus the whole 
 net is not torn. The top cord or line of the net is called a ' cim- 
 line.' One fisherman 'plugs' another when he puts out 
 
THE HUDSON. 205 
 
 from the shore and casts in ahead of him, instead of g"oin^ to the^ 
 g-eneral starting- place, and taking- his turn. This always makes 
 bad blood. The luck of the born fisherman is about as conspic- 
 uous with the gill-net as with the rod and line, some boats bein^ 
 noted for their great catches the season through. No doubt the 
 secret is mainly through application to the business in hand^ 
 but that is about all that distinguishes the successful ang-ler. 
 The shad campaign is one that requires pluck and endurance ;. 
 no regular sleep, no regular meals ; wet and cold, heat and wind 
 and tempest, and no great gains at last. But the sturgeon 
 fishers, who come later and are seen the whole summer through, 
 have an indolent, lazy time of it. They fish around the ' slack- 
 water,' catching the last of the ebb and the first of the flow, and 
 hence drift but little either way. To a casual observer they ap- 
 pear as if anchored and asleep. But they wake up when they 
 have a 'strike,' which may be everyday, or not once a week. 
 The fishermen keep their eye on the line of buoys, and when two 
 or more of them are hauled under, he knows his game has run 
 foul of the net. and he hastens to the point. The sturgeon is a 
 pig, without the pig's obstinacy. He spends much of the time 
 rooting and feeding in the mud at the bottom, and encounters 
 the net, coarse and strong, when he goes abroad. He strikes, 
 and is presently hopelessly entangled, when he comes to the top 
 and is pulled into the boat, like a great sleepy sucker. For so 
 dull and lubberly a fish, the sturgeon is capable of some very 
 lively antics ; as, for instance, his habit of leaping full length 
 into the air and coming down with a great splash. He has thus 
 been known to leap unwittingly into a passing boat, to his own 
 great surprise^ and to the alarm and consternation of the in- 
 mates." 
 
206 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Germantown. Germantown Station is now seen on tne east 
 bank, and between this and Gsrmantown Dock, three miles to 
 the north, is obtained the best view of the " Man in the Mount- 
 ain,'' readily traced by the following outline : The peak to the 
 south is the knee, the next to the north is the breast, and two or 
 three above this the chin, the nose and the forehead. How 
 often from the slope of Hillsdale, forty miles away on the western 
 trend of tne Berkshires, when a boy, playing by the fountain- 
 heads of the Kinderhook and the Roeliffe Jansen's Creek, have I 
 looked out upon this mountain range aglow in the sunset, and at 
 even-tide heard my grandfather tell of his far-off journeys to 
 Towanda, Pennsylvania, when he drove through the great 
 Cloves of the Catskills, where twice he met *' a bear '' which re- 
 treated at the sound of his old flint-lock, and then when I went 
 to sleep at night how I pulled the coverlet closer about my head, 
 all on account of those two bears that had been dead for more 
 than forty years. 
 
 The Catskills were called by the Indians On-ti-o-ras, or Mount- 
 ains of the sky, as they sometimes seem like clouds along the 
 horizon. This range of mountains was supposed by the Indians 
 to have been originally a monster who devoured all the children 
 of the Red Men, until the Great Spirit touched him when he 
 was going down to the salt lake to bathe, and here he remains. 
 " Two little lakes upon the summit were regarded the eyes of 
 the monster, and these are open all the summer; but in the 
 winter they are covered with a thick crust or heavy film : but 
 whether sleeping or waking tears always trickle down his 
 cheeks. In these mountains, according to Indian belief, was 
 kept the great treasury of storm and sunshine, presided over by 
 
THE HrDSON. 
 
 207 
 
 an old squaw spirit who dwelt on the highest peak of the mount- 
 ains. She kept day and night shut up in her wigwam, letting- 
 out only one at a time. She manufactured new moons every 
 
 THE MAN IN THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 month, cutting up the old ones into stars," and, like the old 
 
 ^Eolus of mythology, shut the winds up in the caverns of the 
 
 hills:— 
 
 Where Manitou once lived and reigned, 
 
 Great Spirit of a race gone by, 
 And Ontiora lies enchained 
 With face uplifted to the sky. 
 
208 THE HUDSON 
 
 The similarity of the words Ontario and Ontiora is suggestive 
 as connected with this legend, and Henry Abbey has put the 
 story in graphic verse : 
 
 " In the sleep, or night, of the moon 
 The monster was stalking abroad, 
 On his way to the sea for a bath, 
 For a bath in the salt, gray sea: 
 And he trod the Red-men down, 
 Slaying them as he went, 
 Or drove them out of the land 
 As the winter drives the birds. 
 ******* 
 " Midway between the lakes 
 
 And the waters that reach to the sky- 
 Between the crystal fountains 
 And the headstrong, white-plumed seft-. 
 And near the King of Rivers, 
 Which widens and deepens like life, 
 To Ontiora spoke 
 Manitou, out of the sky, 
 Manitou, father of all, 
 The one Great Spirit of Good, 
 To the man-shaped monster spoke: 
 ' You shall not go to the sea, 
 But forever here on the land. 
 Shall lie on your giant back. 
 
 And wail in the blast, and weep f 
 
 For the Red-men you have slain.' 
 ******* 
 "So Ontiora wild, 
 
 By eternal quiet touched, 
 
 Fell backward in a swoon, 
 
 And was changed into peaceful hilla, 
 
 The Mountains of the Sky. 
 
THE HUDSON. 209 
 
 •' And -whenever you sail along 
 By the Kaatskllls high and grand 
 You may see the form of him, 
 The monster that, moons ago, 
 The Manitou changed into this; 
 He lies with his face to the feky, 
 You can mark his knees and breast, 
 And forehead lofty and large; 
 But his eyes, they say, are lakes 
 Whose tears flow down in streams 
 That seam and wrinkle his cheeks. 
 For the fate that he bears, and regret 
 For the evil he did as he stalked 
 In the sleep, or night of the moon, 
 Moons on moons ago." 
 
 We are now in what is known as The Clover Reach of the 
 Hudson which extends to the Backerack Reach near Athens. 
 One mile above Germantown Dock stood Nine Mile Tree, a land- 
 mark among old river pilots, probably so named on account of 
 its marking a point nine miles from Hudson. Above this the 
 Roeliffe Jansen's Kill flows into the river, known by the Indians 
 as Saupenak, rising in Hillsdale within a few feet of Greenriver 
 Creek, embalmed by Bryant in verse. The Greenriver flows east 
 into the Housatonic, the Jansen south into Dutchess County, 
 whence it takes a northerly course until it joins the Hudson. 
 The Burden iron furnaces above the mouth of the stream form 
 an ugly feature in the landscape. This is the southern boundary 
 of the Herman Livingston estate, whose house is one mile and a 
 half further up the river, near Livingston Dock, beneath Oak 
 Hill. Catskill station is now seen on the east bank, and di- 
 rectly opposite Catskill Landing on the west bank, which the 
 steamer is now approaching is the village of — 
 
210 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Catskill, (111 miles from New York, population 4,922), 
 founded in 1678 by the purchase of several square miles from the 
 Indians. The landing" is immediately above the mouth of the 
 Catskill or Kaaterskill Creek. It is said that the creek and 
 mountains derive their name as follows : It is known that each 
 tribe had a totemic emblem, or rude banner ; the Mahicans had 
 the wolf as their emblem, and some say that the word Mahican 
 means an enchanted wolf. (The Lenni Lenapes, or Delawares, 
 at the Highlands, had the turkey as their totem.) Catskill was 
 the southern boundary of the Mahicans on the west bank, and 
 here they set up their emblem. It is said from this fact the 
 stream took the name of Kaaters-kill. The large cat and wolf 
 were at least similar in appearance, from the mark of King- 
 Aepgin on his deed to Van Rensselaer. Perhaps, however, the 
 mountains at one time abounded in these animals, and the 
 emblem may be only a coincidence. The old village, with its 
 Main street, lies along the valley of the Catskill Creek, not 
 quite a mile from the Causeway Landing-, and preserves some of 
 the features of the days when Knickerbocker was accustomed to 
 pay it an annual visit. The location seems to have been chosen 
 as a place of security — out of sight to one voyaging- up the river. 
 The village has, however, grown of late, and the northern slope 
 reveals fine residences, all of which command extensive views 
 of the Hudson. Just out of the village proper, on a beautiful 
 outlook, stands the charming Prospect Park Hotel, unrivaled in 
 its beauty of location. It has a most delightful piazza, four 
 hundred feet long, sixteen feet wide, supported by Corinthian 
 pillars twenty-five feet high, with many private balconies, and 
 charming views from every room. The main building is two 
 
THE HUDSON. 211 
 
 hundred and fifty feet front, with wing one hundred and fifty feet 
 by forty, situated in a large and beautiful park. This handsome 
 park adjoins the best residence portion -of the village, thus 
 affording miles of elegant shady walks and drives near at hand. 
 The views and scenery from the "Prospect" are unsurpassed. 
 The Hudson, with its ever-changing scenes of busy life in view 
 for forty miles ; the majestic mountains in their quiet grandeur * 
 the Berkshire Hills in the distance ; the many handsome country 
 seats and mansions on both sides of the Hudson ; the busy little 
 village of Catskill and the Catskill River in plain view, all 
 unite in a charming panorama. The drives and pedestrian 
 routes in the vicinity of Catskill are well condensed by Walton 
 Van Loan, a resident of the village, whose guide to the Catskills 
 is the best on this region and will be of great service to all who 
 would like to understand thoroughly the mountain district. 
 
 Tlie Northern Catskills.— The northern and southern divis- 
 ions have been indicated not so much as mountain divisions, but 
 in order to better emphasize the two routes, which converge 
 from Kingston and Catskill toward each other, drawn by two 
 principal points of attraction, the Catskill Mountain House and 
 the Hotel Kaaterskill. 
 
 The Catskill Mountain House has been widely known for 
 seventy years. The original i)roprietor had the choice of loca- 
 tion in 1823, when the entire range was a vast mountain wilder- 
 ness, and he made excellent selection for its site. It seems as if 
 the rocky balcony was especially reared two thousand feet above 
 the valley for a grand outlook and restful resort. "What can 
 you see," exclaimed Natty Bumppo, one of Cooper's favorite 
 characters. "Why, all the world ; " and this is the feeling 
 
212 THE HUDSON. 
 
 to-day of everyone looking- down from this point upon the Hud- 
 son Valley. 
 
 The Mountain House Park has a valley frontage of over three 
 miles in extent, and consists of 2,780 acres of magnificent forest and 
 farming lands, traversed in all directions by many miles of car„ 
 riage roads and paths, leading to various noted places of interest- 
 The Crest, Newman's Ledge, Bear's Den, Prospect Rock on 
 North Mountain, and Eagle Rock and Palenville Overlook on 
 South Mountain, from which the grandest views of the region 
 are obtained, are contained in the property. It also includes 
 within its boundaries North and South Lakes, both plentifully 
 stocked with various kind of fish and well supplied with boats and 
 canoes. The atmosphere is delightful, invigorating and pure ; 
 the great elevation and surrounding forest render it free from 
 malaria. The temperature is alway fifteen to twenty degrees 
 lower than at Catskill village. New York City or Philadelphia. 
 
 Within the past ten years these mountains have been brought 
 into closer touch with the outer world largely through the 
 efforts of C. L. Beach, Commodore Van Santvoord, President of 
 the Hudson River Day Line ; George Harding, the well-known 
 lawyer of Philadelphia, proprietor of the Hotel Kaaterskill, 
 F. B. Thurber, George Wingate, Mrs. Wheeler and others. 
 
 The Otis Elevating Bailway, which extends from Otis Junction 
 on the Catsl'ill 3foimtain Eaihcay to Otis Summit, a noble altitude 
 of the Catskill Range, makes the Mountain House especially 
 easy of access. The incline railway, 7,000 feet in length, 
 ascends 1,600 feet and attains an elevation of 2,200 feet above the 
 Hudson River. " In length, elevation, overcome and carry- 
 ing capacity it exceeds any other incline railway in the world. 
 
THE HUDSON. 
 
 213 
 
 It was built and first opened for traffic in 1892. It is operated by 
 powerful stationary engines and huge steel wire cables, and the 
 method employed is similar to that used by the Otis Elevator 
 Company for elevators in buildings. Every safeguard has been 
 provided, so that an accident of any kind is practically impossi- 
 ble. Should the machinery break, the cables snap or track 
 
 KAATERSKILL FALLS. 
 
 spread, an ingenious automatic device would stop the cars at 
 once. A passenger car and baggage car are attached to each 
 end of double cables which pass around immense drums located 
 at the top of the incline. While one train rises the other descends, 
 passing each other midway. By this arrangement trains carrying 
 
214 THE HUDSON. 
 
 from seventy-five to one hundred passengers can be run in each 
 direction every fifteen minutes when necessary, the time required 
 for a trip being only ten minutes. This is a vast improvement 
 over the old way of making the ascent of the mountains by stage, 
 as it reduces the time fully one and a half hours, besides adding 
 greatly to the pleasure of the trip. The ride up the mountains 
 on the incline railway is a novel and delightful experience, and 
 is alone worth a visit to the Catskills. As the train ascends, the 
 magnificient panorama of the valley of the Hudson, extending 
 for miles and miles, is gradually unfolded ; while the river itself, 
 like a ribbon of silver glistening in the sun, and the Berkshire 
 Hills in the distance seem to rise to the view of the passenger. 
 At the summit of the incline, stages are taken for the Hotel 
 Kaaterskill and Catskill Mountain House (Mountain House only 
 a short walk, 300 ft.), while passengers for the Laurel House, 
 Haines Coi ners, Ontiora, Sunset, Twilight, Santa Cruz, Elka 
 Parks, and Tannersville, take the trains of the Kaaterskill 
 Bailroad, ^/hich connect with the Otis Elevating Bailway.^^ 
 
 Two miles from the hotel are the Kaaterskill Falls. The 
 waters fall perpendicularly 175 feet and afterward 85 feet more. 
 The amphitheatre behind the cascade is the scene of one of 
 Bryant's finest poems : 
 
 " From greens and shades where the Kaaterskill leaps 
 From cliffs where the wood flowers cling;" 
 and we recall the lines which express so beautifully the well- 
 nigh fatal dream 
 
 '* Of that dreaming one 
 By the base of that icy steep, 
 
 When over his stiffening limbs begun 
 The deadly slumber of frost to creep." 
 
RIP VAN WINKLE'S RETURN. 
 
THE HUDSON. 
 
 21T 
 
 About half-way up the mountain is the place said to be the 
 dreamland of Rip Van Winkle— the o-reatest character of 
 American mythology, more real than the heroes of Homer or 
 the massive gods of Olympus. The railway, however, has rather 
 dispensed with Rip Van Winkle. The old drivers had so long 
 pointed out the identical spot where he slept that they had 
 
 LOWER FALLS OF THE KAATERSKILL. 
 
 come to believe in it, but his spirit still haunts the entire lo- 
 cality, and we can get along without his decidedly open air bed- 
 room. It will not be necessary to quote from a recent guide- 
 book that " no intelligent person probably believes that such a 
 character ever really existed or had such an experience." The 
 explanation is almost as humorous as the legend. 
 
^18 THE HUDSON. 
 
 The Hotel Kaaterskill, whose name and fame went over a 
 •continent even before it was fairly completed, is located on the 
 summit of the Kaaterskill Mountain, three miles by carriage or 
 one by path from the Catskill Mountain House. It is the largest 
 mountain hotel in the world, accommodating 1,200 guests, and 
 the Catskills have reason to feel proud of this distinction. They 
 have for many years had the best-known legend — the wonderful 
 and immortal Rip Van Winkle. They have always enjoyed the 
 finest valley views of any mountain outlook, and they have a right 
 to the best hotels. The Kaaterskill, opened in 1881, is constructed 
 on the most improved of modern designs, with elegant parlors, 
 suites of rooms for families, and steam heat and open-fire grates 
 for dining-halls and parlors. Elevators run to all floors, and the 
 rooms are supplied with gas, electric bells and elegant beds and 
 furnishings. The surrounding park includes groves, lakes, 
 lawn tennis and other play-grounds, with every means of enjoy- 
 ment. Billiard rooms, bowling alleys and telegraph offices are 
 in the hotel. 
 
 It may seem antiquated and old-fashioned in the midst of ele- 
 vated railroads to speak of mountain roads, but that to Palenville, 
 as we last saw it, was a beautiful piece of engineering — as smooth 
 as a floor and securely built. It looks as if it were intended to 
 last for a century, the stone work is so thoroughly finished. The 
 views from this road are superior to anything we have seen in 
 the Catskills, and the great sweep of the mountain clove is as 
 grand and beautiful as the Sierra Nevadas on the way to the 
 Yosemite. 
 
 We must not forget, moreover, another Catskill drive that we 
 took a few years ago. Starting one morning with a pair of mus- 
 
THE HUDSON. 219 
 
 tang" ponies from Phoenicia, we called at the Kaaterskill, the 
 Catskill Mountain House, and the Laurel House, took supper at 
 Catskill Village, and reached New York that evening at eleven 
 o'clock. It is unnecessary to say that we were on business — our 
 Guide book was on the press — and we went as if one of the 
 printers' best-known companions was on our trail. 
 
 Irving's description of his first voyage up the Hudson brings 
 us more delicately and gracefully down from these mountains to 
 the Hudson — the level highway to the sea. ''Of all the scenery 
 of the Hudson, the Kaatskill Mountains had the most witching 
 etfect on my boyish imagination. Never shall I forget the effect 
 upon me of my first view of them, predominating over a wide 
 extent of country — part wild, woody and rugged: part softened 
 away into all the graces of cultivation. As we slowly floated 
 along, I lay on the deck and watched them through a long sum- 
 mer's day, undergoing a thousand mutations under the magical 
 effects of atmosphere: sometimes seeming to approach; at other 
 times to recede: now almost melting into hazy distance, now 
 burnished by the setting sun, until in the evening they printed 
 themselves against the glowing sky in the deep purple of an 
 Italian landscape." 
 
220 THE HUDSON. 
 
 CATSKILL TO HUDSON. 
 
 Leaving Catskill dock, the Prospect Park Hotel looks down 
 upon us from a commandino- point on the west bank, while north 
 of this can be seen Cole's Grove, where Thomas Cole, the artist, 
 lived, who painted the well-known series, the Voyag-e of Life. 
 On the east side is Rodger's Island, where it is said the last bat- 
 tle was fought between the Mahicans and Mohawks ; and it is 
 narrated that " as the old king- of the Mahicans was dying, after 
 the conflict, he commanded his regalia to be taken off and his 
 son put into the kingship while his eyes were yet clear to behold 
 him. Over forty years had he worn it, from the time he received 
 it in London from Queen Anne. He asked his son to kneel at 
 his couch, and, putting his withered hand across his brow, 
 placed the feathery crown upon his head, and gave him the sil- 
 rer-mounted tomahawk — symbols of po\^ er to rule and power to 
 execute. Then, looking up to the heavens, he said, as if in 
 despair for his race, ' The hills are our pillows, and the broad 
 plains to the west our hunting-grounds ; our brothers are called 
 into the bright wigwam of the Everlasting, and our bones lie 
 upon the fields of many battles ; but the wisdom of the dead is 
 given to the living.' " 
 
 On the east bank of the Hudson, above this historic island, is 
 the residence of Frederick E. Church, artist. It commands a 
 wide view of the Berkshire Hills to the eastward, and westward 
 to the Catskills. Dr. Sabine's residence is immediately north, 
 and two miles beyond is the home of O. D. Ashley. The State 
 Reformatory is now seen on the bluff immediately below the 
 
THE HUDSON. 221 
 
 South Bay. The hill above Rodg-ers's Island, on the east bank, 
 is known as Mount Merino, one of the first places to which Merino 
 sheep were brought in this country. 
 
 Hudson, (115 miles from New York : population 9,633), was 
 founded in the year 1784, by thirty persons from Providence, 
 R. I., and incorporated as a city in 1785. The city is situated on 
 a sloping promontory, bounded by the North and South Bays. 
 Its main streets, Warren. Union and Allen, run east and west a 
 little more than a mile in length, crossed by Front Street, First, 
 Second. Third, etc. Main Street reaches from Promenade Park 
 to Prospect Hill. The Park is on the bluff just above the steam- 
 boat landing : we believe this city is the only one on the Hudson 
 that has a promenade ground overlooking the river. It com- 
 mands a fine view of the Catskill Mountains, Mount Merino, and 
 miles of the river scenery. The city has always enjoyed the 
 reputation of hospitality. It is the western terminus of the Hud- 
 son and Chatham Division of the Boston & Albany Bail road, and 
 also of the Kinderhook & Hudson Hallway. 
 
 From an old-time English history we read that Hudson grew 
 more rapidly than any other town in America except Baltimore. 
 Standing at the head of ship navigation it would naturally have 
 become a great port had it not been for the steam engine and 
 the steamboat. 
 
 There was also a good sprinkling of Nantucket blood, and vis- 
 itors from that quaint old town recognize in portico, stoop and 
 window a familiar architecture. An electric surface line on 
 Warren Street, showing public s])irit, has proved a successful 
 enterprise. 
 
222 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Columbia Springs, an old-fashioned resort with pleasant 
 g-rove and white sulj^hur water, lies four miles northeast of Hud- 
 son. Its medicinal qualities are attested by scores of physicians, 
 and by hundreds who have been benefited and cured. The hotel 
 has a fine location in the midst of a woodland many acres in ex- 
 tent, and we know of no quieter spot for those requiring repose 
 and seeking- relief from the excitement of business. The drive 
 is pleasant and the return can be made through — 
 
 Claverack, three and a half miles east of Hudson, a restful 
 old-fashioned village. It is situated at the crossing of the old 
 Post Road and the Columbia turnpike and was county seat of 
 Columbia in Knickerbocker days. The Court House on its well- 
 shaded street was for many years the home of the late Peter 
 Hoffman. Claverack College has a delightful location, with 
 pleasant wooded grounds commanding a noble view of the Cats- 
 kills. The late Rev. Alonzo Flack, President, had a stately 
 residence near at hand, most complete in the county. He was 
 an enthusiast in the cause of education and laid the foundation 
 of many successful careers in life. Claverack graduates have an 
 annual dinner in New York, and the College preserves its pres- 
 tige under the successful management of the founder's son, 
 President Arthur Flack. The Dutch Reformed Church, built of 
 bricks brought from Holland, and only a short distance north of 
 the College grounds, wears on its brow wrinkles of antiquity, 
 emphasized by the date 1767 on its walls. It is said that General 
 Washington encami)ed here, but there is no historical data to 
 confirm the tradition. Claverack Falls is well worthy of a visit, 
 and can easily be done in an afternoon stroll. Copake Lake, to 
 the southeast, can be reached by a drive of about twelve miles. 
 
THE HUDSON. 223 
 
 a fine sheet of water ten miles in circumference, with a pictur- 
 esque island connected to the main land by a causeway. Forty 
 years ago a romantic ruin of a stone mansion still stood on this 
 island, where the writer, when a boy, used to wander around the 
 deserted rooms looking- for ghosts, but the walls were torn 
 down July 4th, 1866, as the place was frequented every summer 
 by a remnant of the old Stockbridg-e tribe. The neig-hbors 
 thoug-ht the best way of getting rid of the " noble red men " was 
 to burn up the hive. The mansion was built by a Miss Living- 
 ston, but she soon exchanged her island home for Florence and 
 the classic associations of Italy. Bash-Bish, one mile from 
 Copake Station on the Harlem Railroad, one of the most romantic 
 glens in our country, has been visited and eulogized by Henry 
 Ward Beecher, Bayard Taylor and many distinguished writers 
 and travelers. Soon after leaving Copake Station a beautiful 
 carriage road, but extremely narrow, strikes the left bank of 
 this mountain stream, and for a long distance follows its rocky 
 channel. On the right a thickly wooded hill rises abruptly 
 more than a thousand feet — a perfect wall of foliage from base 
 to summit. A mile brings one to the lower falls ; the upper falls 
 are about a quarter of a mile farther up the gorge. The height 
 of the Falls, with the Rapids between, is about 300 feet above 
 the little rustic bridge at the foot of the Lower Falls. The glen 
 between is a place of wild beauty, with rocks and huge boulders 
 " in random ruin piled." 
 
 Hillsdale Village has a beautiful location and affords a good 
 central point for visiting Mount Everett, with its wide i)rospect 
 (altitude 2,624 feet), Copake Lake six miles to the west, Bash- 
 Bish Falls six miles south, and Po-ka-no five miles to the north- 
 
'224 THE HUDSON. 
 
 east, sometimes known as White's Hill. The Po-ka-no, Colum- 
 bia County's noblest outlook, 1,713 feet, commands the Hudson 
 valley for eighty miles ; and the owner told me that one Fourth 
 of July he went up there to see the fireworks at Newburgh. 
 From the summit can be seen "Monument Mountain " and the 
 Green Mountains of Vermont. At its base glides the " Green 
 River Creek," immortalized by Bryant, which flows into the 
 Housatonic near Great Barrington. From this point the drive 
 can be continued to North Egremont, South Egremont, Great 
 Barrington and Monument Mountain. Before the days of rail- 
 roads the Columbia turnpike was the great trade artery of the 
 City of Hudson. It was interesting to hear William Cullen 
 Bryant recount his experiences in driving from his home in 
 Great Barrington over the well-known highway on his way to 
 New York. The Housatonic and Harlem Bailroads tapped its life 
 and has left many a sleepy village along the route, once astir in 
 staging days. The stone for Girard College was drawn from 
 Massachusetts quarries over this route and shipped to Phila- 
 delphia from Hudson. The Lebanon Valley, in the northeastern 
 part of the county, is considered one of the most beautiful in the 
 State, and said by Sir Henry Vincent, the English orator, to 
 resemble the far-famed valley of Llangollen, in Wales. The 
 Wy-a-mon-ack Creek flows through the Valley, joining its waters 
 with the Kinderhook. Quechee Lake is near at hand, where 
 Miss Warner was born, author of "Quechee" and the ""Wide 
 Wide World." Lebanon Springs is an old-time pleasant sum- 
 mer resort, and its hotel registers preserve the autograjihs of 
 many of the most eminent men of our country. The Shaker 
 
THE HUDSON. 225 
 
 family on Mt. Lebanon is well worthy of a visit. A Sunday serv- 
 ice reveals some of the peculiarities of their worship. 
 
 Lindenwald, a solid and substantial residence, home of 
 President Martin Van Buren, where he died in 1862, is two miles 
 from the charming village of Kinderhook. Columbia County 
 just missed the proud distinction of rearing two Presidents, as 
 Samuel J. Tilden was born in the town of Lebanon. Elisha Wil- 
 liams, John Van Buren and many others have given lustre to 
 her legal annals. 
 
226 THE HUDSON. 
 
 FROM HUDSON TO ALBANY. 
 
 Atliens. Directly opposite Hudson, and connected with it 
 by ferry, is the classically named villao-e of Athens. An old 
 Mahican settlement known as Potick was located a little back 
 from the river. We are now in the midst of the great " Ice In- 
 dustry," which reaches from below Staatsburgh to Castleton and 
 Albany, well descl'ibed by John Burroughs in his article on the 
 Hudson : " No man sows, yet many men reap a harvest from the 
 Hudson. Not the least important is the ice harvest, which is 
 eagerly looked for, and counted upon by hundreds, yes, thousands 
 of laboring men along its course. Ice or no ice sometimes means 
 bread or no bread to scores of families, and it means added or di- 
 minished comforts to many more. It is a crop that takes two or 
 three weeks of rugged winter weather to grow, and, if the water 
 is very roily or brackish, even longer. It is seldom worked till it 
 presents seven or eight inches of clear water ice. Men go out 
 from time to time and examine it, as the farmer goes out and 
 examines his grain or grass, to see when it will do to cut. If 
 there comes a deep fall of snow the ice is " pricked " so as to let 
 the water up through and form snow ice. A band of fifteen or 
 twenty men, about a yard apart, each armed with a chisel-bar, 
 and marching in line, puncture the ice at each step, with a 
 single sharp thrust. To and fro they go, leaving a belt behind 
 them that presently becomes saturated with water. But ice, to 
 be of first quality, must grow from beneath, not from above. It 
 is a crop quite as uncertain as any other. A good yield every 
 two or three years, as they say of wheat out West, is about all. 
 
THE HUDSON. 227 
 
 that can be counted upon. When there is an abundant harvest, 
 after the ice-houses are filled, they stack great quantities of it, 
 as the farmer stacks his surplus hay. Such a fruitful winter 
 was that of '74-5, when the ice formed twenty inches thick. 
 The stacks are given only a temporary covering of boards, and 
 are the first ice removed in the season. The cutting and gather- 
 ing of the ice enlivens these broad, white, desolate fields 
 amazingly. My house happens to stand where I look down upon 
 the busy scene, as from a hill-top upon a river meadow in hay- 
 ing time, only here figures stand out much more sharply than 
 they do from a summer meadow. There is the broad, straight, 
 blue-black canal emerging into view, and running nearly across 
 the river ; this is the highway that lays open the farm. On 
 either side lie the fields, or ice meadows, each marked out by 
 cedar or hemlock boughs. The farther one is cut first, and, 
 when cleared, shows a large, long, black parallelogram in the 
 midst of the plain of snow. Then the next one is cut, leaving a 
 strip or tongue of ice between the two for the horses to move 
 and turn upon. Sometimes nearly two huhdred men and boys, 
 with numerous horses, are at work at once, marking, plowing, 
 planing, scraping, sawing, hauling,' chiseling; some floating 
 down the pond on great square islands towed by a horse, or their 
 fellow workmen ; others distributed along the canal, bending to 
 their ice-hooks ; others upon the bridges, separating the blocks 
 with their chisel bars ; others feeding the elevators ; while 
 knots and straggling lines of idlers here and there look on in 
 cold discontent, unable to get a job. The best crop of ice is an 
 early crop. Late in the season or after January, the ice is apt 
 to get " sun-struck," when it becomes " shaky," like a piece of 
 
228 THE HUDSON. 
 
 poor timber. The sun, when he sets about destroying' the ice, 
 does not simply melt it from the surface — that were a slow pro- 
 cess ; but he sends his shafts into it and separates it into spikes 
 and needles — in short, makes kindling-wood of it, so as to con- 
 sume it the quicker. One of the prettiest sights about the ice 
 harvesting is the elevator in operation. When all works well, 
 there is an unbroken procession of the great crystal blocks slowly 
 ascending this incline. They go up in couples, arm in arm, 
 as it were, like friends up a stairway, glowing and changing in 
 the sun, and recalling the precious stones that adorned the walls 
 of the celestial city. When they reach the platform where they 
 leave the elevator, they seem to step off like things of life and 
 volition ; they are still in pairs and separate only as they enter 
 upon the "'runs.-' But here they have an ordeal to pass through, 
 for they are subjected to a rapid inspection and the black sheep 
 are separated from the flock ; every square with a trace of sedi- 
 ment or earth-stain in it, whose texture is not perfect and un- 
 clouded crystal, is rejected and sent hurling- down into the abyss ; 
 a man with a sharp eye in his head and a sharp ice-hook in his 
 hand picks out the impure and fragmentary ones as they come 
 along and sends them quickly overboard. Those that pass the 
 examination g-lide into the building along the gentle incline, 
 and are switched off here and there upon branch runs, and dis- 
 tributed to all parts of the immense interior. 
 
 Passing west of the Hudson Flats we see North Bay, crossed 
 by the New Yoi'k Central Railroad. Kinderhook Creek meets 
 the river about three miles north of Hudson, directly above 
 which is Stockport Station for Columbiaville. Four Mile Light- 
 house is now seen on the oi)posite bank between the house of 
 
HiiS> OF TIDE >\^t:i{ 
 
 _ — ^- eowr«/M/«s 
 
 M«MeS«r STREAM* I*IA«0S ... HtKWHTS^^ MO UNTAl N S 
 AMXMdin^ » thelateM Coast Siir\-(-^- ~ 
 
 — : _ ALSO ~ ' 
 
 TMiE MAimiES or PROMINENT RESIDENCES 
 
 THE 
 
 THE OLD REACHES orT.cHUOSOH.HD OLD INDIAN NAMES 
 
 ^;; — ^__ ._ PIBJJSHKB BV — -:;- 
 ^>2_^ K Y A IV T I' >" I <> >i_^ 
 
 267 StuyvesairtAve.Brooklyn.N.Y. 
 
 Miap rOTwanladi on re«etpit of 
 PRICE 50 Cts 
 
THE HUDSON. 229 
 
 John Burchill to the south and George Houg-htaling to the 
 north. Nutten Hook, or Coxsackie Station, is four miles above 
 Stockport. Opposite this point, and connected by a ferry, is the 
 villag-e of — 
 
 Coxsackie (name derived from Kaak-aki, which is said to 
 have signified a place of geese). Two miles to the north Stuj've- 
 sant Landing is seen on the east bank, the nearest station on the 
 New York Central & Hudson River Bailroad, by carriage, to 
 Valatie and Kinderhook Village. The name Kinderhook is 
 said to have had its origin from a point on the Hudson prolific 
 of children ; and as the children were always out of doors to see 
 the passing craft, it was known as Kinder-hook, or "children's 
 point." Passing Bronk's Island, due west of which empties 
 Coxsackie Creek, we see Stuyvesant Light-house on our right, 
 on our left the homes of James K. Bronk, A^ndrew Matthews, 
 E. S. Colburn, J. C. Sherman, A. L. Wickes, T. E. Cornell, J. B. 
 Marshall, or their successors in the ever-changing map of hu- 
 man existence, and approach New Baltimore, a pleasant village 
 on the west bank, with sloop and barge industry. About a mile 
 above the landing is the meeting point of four counties : Greene 
 and Albany on the west, Columbia and Rensselaer on the east. 
 Beeren Island, connected with Coeyman's Landing by small 
 steamer, now a picnic resort, lies near the west bank, where it 
 will be remembered the first white child was born on the Hudson. 
 Here was the Castle of Rensselaertein, before which Anthony 
 Van Corlear read again and again the proclamation of Peter 
 Stuyvesant, and from which he returned with a diplomatic re- 
 ply, forming one of the most humorous jjages in Irving's Knick- 
 erbocker. Threading our way through low-lying islands and 
 
230 THE HUDSON. 
 
 river flats, and " slowing- down" occasionally on meeting' canal 
 boats or other river craft, we pass Coeyman's on our left and Lower 
 Schodack Island on our rig-ht, due east of which is the station of 
 Schodack Landing". The writer of this Hand-book, when a law- 
 student at Troy, remembers distinctly a winter's evening walk 
 from Schodack Landing, crossing the frozen Hudson and snow- 
 covered island on an ill-defined trail. He was on his way to 
 deliver his first lecture, February, 1868, and his subject was 
 " The Legends and Poetry of the Hudson." Since that time he 
 has written and re-written a guide to the river for twenty years, 
 so that the present Hand-book is not a thing of yesterday. The 
 next morning, on his return to Schodack, he had for his com- 
 panion a young man from twenty or thirty miles inland, who 
 had never seen a train of cars except in the distance. On reach- 
 ing the platform one of the New York expresses swept by, and 
 as he caught the motion of the bell cord he turned and said : 
 "Do they drive it with that little string ? " Lower Schodack 
 Island, Mills Plaat (also an island) and Upper Schodack Island 
 reach almost to — 
 
 Castleton, a pleasant village with main street lying close to 
 the river, on its eastern bank. The cliffs, a few miles to the 
 north, were known to the Indians as Scoti-ack, or place of the 
 ever-burning council-fire, which gave the name of Schodack to 
 the township, where King Aepgin, on the 8th of April, 1680, sold 
 to Van Rensselaer " all that tract of country on the west side of 
 the Hudson, extending from Beeren Island up to Smack's Island, 
 and in breadth two days' journey." 
 
 The Mahican Tribe originally occupied all the east bank of 
 the Hudson north of Roeliffe Jansen's Kill, near Germantown, to 
 
THE HUDSON. 231 
 
 the head waters of the Hudson ; and on the west bank, from 
 Cohoes to Catskill. The town of Schodack was central, and a. 
 signal displayed from the hills near Castleton could be seen for 
 thirty miles in every direction. After the Mahicans left the 
 Hudson, they went to Westenhook, or Housatonic, to the hills 
 south of Stockbridge ; and then, on invitation of the Oneidas, 
 removed to Oneida County, in 1785, where they lived until 1821, 
 when, with other Indians of New York, they purchased a tract 
 of land near Fox River, Minnesota. 
 
 Domestic clans or families of the Mahicans lingered around 
 their ancient seats for some years after the close of the Revolu- 
 tion, but of them, one after another, it is written, " They dis- 
 appeared in the night." In the language of Tamerund at the 
 death of Uncas, " The pale-faces are masters of the earth, and 
 the time of the red men has not yet come again. My day has 
 been too long. In the morning I saw the sons of Unami happy 
 and strong ; and yet before the night has come, have I lived to 
 see the last warrior of the race of the Mahicans." 
 
 According to Ruttenber, the names and location of the Indian 
 tribes were not ascertained with clearness by the early Dutch 
 settlers, but through documents, treaties and information, sub- 
 sequently obtained, it is now settled that the Mahicans held pos- 
 session " under sub-tribal organizations " of the east bank of the 
 river from an undefined point north of Albany to the sea, includ- 
 ing Long Island ; that their dominion extended east to the Con- 
 necticut, where they joined kindred tribes ; that on the west 
 bank of the Hudson they ran down as far as Catskill, and west to 
 Schenectady ; that they were met on the west by the territory 
 of the Mohawks, and on the south by tribes of the Lenni Lenapes 
 
232 THE HUDSON. 
 
 or Delawares, whose territory extended thence to the sea, and 
 west to and beyond the Delaware River. The Mahicans had a 
 castle at Catskill and at Cohoes Falls. The western side of the 
 Hudson, above Cohoes, belonged to the Mohawks, a branch of 
 the Iroquois. Therefore, as early as 1630, three great nations 
 were represented on the Hudson — the Mahicans, the Delawares 
 and the Iroquois. The early French missionaries refer to the 
 " nine nations of Manhinyans, gathered between Manhattan and 
 the environs of Quebec." These several nations have never been 
 accurately designated, although certain general divisions appear 
 under the titles of Mohegan, Wappinger, Sequins, etc. "The 
 government of the Mahicans was a democracy. The office was 
 hereditary by the lineage of the wife ; that is, the selection of a 
 successor on the death of the chief, was confined to the female 
 branch of the family." According to Ruttenber, the precise 
 relation between the Mahicans of the Hudson and the Mohegans 
 under Uncas, the Pequot chief, is not known. In a foot-note to 
 this statement, he says: "The identity of name between the 
 Mahicans and Mohegans, induces the belief that all these tribes 
 belonged to the same stock, — although they differed in dialect, 
 in territory, and in their alliances." The two Avords, therefore, 
 must not be confounded. 
 
 It is also pleasant to remember that the Mahicans as a tribe 
 were true and faithful to us during the war of the Revolution, 
 and when the six nations met in council at Oswego, at the 
 request of Guy Johnson and other officers of the British army, 
 •' to eat the flesh and drink the blood of aBostonian," Hendrich, 
 the Mahican, made the pledge for his tribe at Albany, almost in 
 
THE HUDSON. 233 
 
 the eloquent words of Ruth to Naomi, " Thy people shall be our 
 people, and whither thou goest we will be at your side." 
 
 Tlie Mourdener's Kill, with its sad story of a girl tied by 
 Indians to a horse and dragged through the valley, flows into 
 the Hudson above Castleton. Two miles above this close to the 
 steamer channel will be seen Staats Island on the east, with an 
 old stone house, said to be next in antiquity to the " Van Rens- 
 selaer •' at Greenbush. It is also a fact that this property passed 
 directly to the ancestors of the present family, the only property 
 in this vicinity never owned by the lord of the manor. Oppo- 
 site the old stone house, the point on the west bank is known as 
 Parda Hook, where it is said a horse was once drowned in a 
 horse-race on the ice, and hence the name Parda, for the old 
 Hollanders along the Hudson seemed to have had a musical ear, 
 and delighted in accumulating syllables. (The word pard is 
 used in Spenser for spotted horse, and still survives in the word 
 leopard.) 
 
 The Castleton Bar or '* overslaugh," as it was known by the 
 river pilots, impeded for years navigation in low water. A. Van 
 Santvoord, Esq., President of the Hudson River Day Line, and 
 other prominent citizens along the Hudson, brought the subject 
 before the State Legislature, and work was commenced in 1863. 
 In 1868 the United States Government very properly ( as their 
 jurisdiction extends over tide-water ), assumed the work of com- 
 pleting the dykes, and they now stretch for miles along the 
 banks and islands of the upper Hudson. Here and there along 
 our route between Coxsackie and Albany will be seen great 
 dredges deepening and widening the river channel. Mr. 
 Charles G. Weir, U. S. Engineer, in charge of the Hudson river 
 
234 THE HUDSON. 
 
 improvements, in a recent report, says that the work of remov- 
 inof shoals and other obstructions that are a menace to naviga- 
 tion is progressing satisfactorily, and that dredges are at work 
 deepening the channel from Coxsackie to the State dam at Troy, 
 in accordance with the act of Congress of September 19, 1890, 
 which calls for a channel 12 feet deep and 400 feet wide from 
 Coxsackie to the foot of Broadway, Troy, and thence 12 feet 
 deep and 300 feet wide to the State dam. 
 
 It is estimated by the Board of Engineers that it will cost 
 $2,447,906.56, and the contract was let in September, 1892. It 
 aslo calls for the removal of 4,620,048 cubic yards of rock. It is 
 estimated that it will take four years to complete the work. 
 
 The plan provides for a system of longitudinal dykes to con- 
 fine the current sufficiently to allow the ebb and flow of the 
 tidal-current to keep the channel clear. These dykes are to be 
 gradually brought nearer together from New Baltimore toward 
 Troy, so as to assist the entrance of the flood-current and in- 
 crease its height. 
 
 The engineers report that the greater part of the material 
 carried in suspension in the Hudson river above Albany is be- 
 lieved to come from the Mohawk river, and its tributary the 
 Schoharie river, while the sands and gravel that form the heavy 
 and obstinate bars near Albany and chiefly between Albany 
 and Troy, come from the upper Hudson. 
 
 The discharge of the Hudson between Troy and Albany at its 
 lowest stage may be taken at about 3,000 cubic feet per second. 
 The river supply, therefore, during that stage is inadequate in 
 the upper part of the river for navigation, independent of tidal 
 flow. 
 
THE HUDSON. 235 
 
 The greatest number of bars is between Albany and Troy, 
 where the channel is narrow, and at least six obstructing bars, 
 composed of fine and coarse gravel and coarse and fine sand, are 
 in existence. In many places between Albany and Troy the 
 navigable depth is reduced to Ti feet by the presence of these bars. 
 
 From Albany to New Baltimore the depths are variable, the 
 prevailing depth being 10 feet and over, with pools of greater 
 depth separated by long cross-over bars, over which the greatest 
 depth does not exceed 9 or 10 feet. Passing many delightful 
 homes on the west bank and the mouth of the Norman's Kill 
 (Indian name Ta-wa-sentha, place of many dead) and the Con- 
 vent of the Sacred Heart, we see Dow's Point on the east and 
 above this the — 
 
 Van Rensselaer Place, with its port holes on either side 
 of the door facing the river, showing that it was built in trouble- 
 some times. It is the oldest of the Patroon manor houses, 
 built in 1640 or thereabouts. It has been said that the adaptation 
 of the old tune now known as " Yankee Doodle " was made near 
 the well in the grounds of the Van Rensselaer Place by Dr. 
 Richard Shuckberg, who was connected with the British Army 
 when the colonial troops from New England marched into a 
 camp at Albany to join the British regulars on their way to 
 fight the French. The tune was known in New England before 
 the Revolution as " Lydia Fisher's Jig,'' a name derived from a 
 famous lady who lived in the reign of Charles II, and which has 
 been perpetuated in the following rhyme : 
 
 Lucy Locket lost her pocket, 
 
 Lydia Fisher found it; 
 
 Not a bit of money in it, 
 
 Only binding 'round it. 
 
a36 THE HUDSON. 
 
 The appearance of the troops called down the derision of 
 the British officers, the hit of the doctor became known 
 throughout the army, and the song was used as a method of 
 showing contem^pt for the colonials until after Lexington and 
 Concord. 
 
 Rensselaer, on the east bank of the river, was incorporated 
 in 1896 by the union of Greenbush and East Albany. The old 
 name of Greenbush, which will still survive in East Greenbush, 
 four miles distant, was given to it by the old Dutch settlers, 
 and it was probably a "green-bushed" place in early days. 
 Now pleasant residences and villas look out upon the river from 
 the near bank and distant hillsides. Two railroad bridges and 
 a carriage bridge cross the Hudson at this point. During the 
 French War in 1775, Greenbush was a military rendezvous, and 
 in 1812 the United States Government established extensive 
 barracks, whence troops were forwarded to Canada. 
 
 Albany, (144 miles from New York, population over 100,000. 
 New York Central & Hudson JRiver Bailroad, Boston d- Albany, 
 West Shore, Delaware and Hudson, Keic York and Albany Day 
 Xi?ie>nd People's Line. Best Hotel, The Ten Eyck.) Its site 
 was called by the Indians, Shaunaugh-ta-da (Schenectady) or 
 the Pine Plains. It was next known by the early Dutch set- 
 tlers as "Beverwyck," "William Stadt," and " New Orange." 
 The seat of the State Government was transferred from 
 New York to Albany in 1798. In 1714, when 100 years old, it 
 had a population of 3,000, one-sixth of whom were slaves. In 
 1786 it increased to about 10,000. 'n 1676, the city comprised 
 within the limits of Pearl, Beaver and Steuben streets, was 
 surrounded by wooden walls with six gates. They were 13 
 
THE HUDSON. 237 
 
 feet high, made of timber a foot square. It is said that a portion 
 of these walls were remaining in 1812. The first railroad in the 
 State and the second in the United States was opened from 
 Albany to Schenectady in 1831. The pictures of these old 
 coaches are very amusing, and the rate of speed was only a 
 slight improvement on a well-organized stage line. From an 
 old book in the State Library we condense the following descrip- 
 tion, presenting quite a contrast to the city of to-day : " Albany 
 lay stretched along the banks of the Hudson, on one very wide 
 and long street, parallel to the Hudson. The space between 
 the street and the river bank was occupied by gardens. A small 
 but steep hill rose above the centre of the town, on which stood 
 a fort. The wide street leading to the fort (now State street) had 
 a Market-Place, Guard-House, Town Hall, and an English and 
 Dutch Church, in the centre." A relic of these old days still 
 exists in the Van Rensselaer manor-house, deserted and dis- 
 mantled ; but even in its desolation, a monument of archi- 
 tectural elegance and interesting associations. It is not only 
 a valuable relic of the colonial period, but one of the very few 
 existing links which connect us with the feudal institutions 
 introduced into New York from Holland upwards of 250 years 
 ago. The house was erected in 1765 — the date in great iron 
 letters gracing the outside — and it was so much finer and grander 
 and more gorgeous than any other residence of the period that 
 it looked like a palace.'' It has not been inhabited, as the 
 Albany Argus says, for many years, although still in the pos- 
 session of the Van Rensselaer family. 
 
 Tourists and others will be amply repaid in visiting the new 
 Capitol building, at the head of State street. It is open from 
 
238 THE HUDSON. 
 
 nine in the morning until six in the evening-. It is said to be 
 larger than the Capitol at Washington, and when completed 
 will cost more than any other structure on the American conti- 
 nent. The staircases, the wide corridors, the Senate Cham- 
 ber, the Assembly Chamber, and the Court of Appeals room, 
 attest the wealth and greatness of the Empire State. The 
 visitor up State street will note the beautiful and commanding 
 spire of "St. Paul." The Cathedral is also a grand structure. 
 The population of Albany is now almost 100,000, and its growth 
 is due to three causes : First, the capital was removed from New 
 York to Albany in 1798. Then followed two great enterprises, 
 ridiculed at the time by every one as the Fulton Folly and Clin- 
 ton^s Ditch — in other words, steam navigation, 1807, and the Erie 
 Canal, 1825. Its name was given in honor of the Duke of Al- 
 bany, although it is still claimed by some of the oldest inhabit- 
 ants that, in the golden age of those far-oflf times, when the 
 good old burghers used to ask for the welfare of their neighbors, 
 the answer was "All bonnie," and hence the name of the 
 hill-crowned city. 
 
 To condense from H. P. Phelps's careful Hand-book of "Albany 
 and the Capitol." In 1614 a stockaded trading-house was erected 
 on an island below the city, well defended for trading with the 
 Indians. In 1617 another was built on the hill, near Norman's 
 Kill. The West Indian Company erected a fort in 1623 near the 
 present landing of the Day Line. In 1664 the province fell into 
 the hands of the English and the name was changed to Albany. 
 In 1686 it was incorporated into a city. It was the meeting 
 place of the Constitutional Congress 1654, the proposed Consti- 
 "vtion of which, however, was never ratified. Washington vis- 
 
THE HUDSON. 239 
 
 ited it in 1783. The Erie Canal was opened in 1825, a rail- 
 road to Schenectady in 1832, the Hudson Biver in 185], a con- 
 solidated road to Buffalo in 1853, and the Susquehanna Bail- 
 road to Binghamton in 1869. A walk of five minutes from 
 the steamboat landing- brings the traveler to the Union Depot, 
 or the Delaware & Hudson station. Trains for Saratoga and 
 the North also meet the day boats at the landing". State 
 Street at one time was said to be the widest city thoroug-h- 
 fare in the country, after Pennsylvania Avenue in Washing^ton. 
 The English and Dutch Churches and other public buildings, 
 once in the midst of it, but long since removed, account for its 
 extra width. The State Capitol has a commanding site at the 
 head of State Street. The old Capitol building was completed 
 in 1808. The corner-stone of the present building was laid June 
 24, 1871, and, although not yet completed, has been occupied 
 since January 7, 1879. According to Phelps, '' the size of the 
 structure impresses the beholder at once. It is 300 feet north 
 and south by 400 feet east and west, and with the porticoes will 
 cover three acres and seven square feet. The walls are 108 feet 
 high from the water-table, and all this is worked out of solid 
 granite brought, most of it, from Hallowell, Me. 
 
 The impression produced varies with various persons. One 
 accomplished writer finds it " not unlike that made by the photo- 
 graphs of those gigantic structures in the northern and eastern 
 parts of India, which are seen in full series on the walls of the 
 South Kensington, and by their barbaric profusion of ornamenta- 
 tion and true magnificence of design give the stay-at-home Briton 
 some faint inkling of the empire which has invested his queen 
 with another and more high-sounding title. Yet when close oti 
 
240 THE HUDSON. 
 
 hand the building- does not bear out this connection with Indian 
 architecture of the grand style ; it mig-ht be mere chance that at 
 a distance there is a similarity ; or it may be that the smallness 
 of size in the decorations as compared to the structure itself 
 explains fully why there is a tendency to confuse the eye by the 
 number of projections, arches, pillars, shallow recesses, and 
 what-not, which variegate the different facades. The confusion 
 is not entirely displeasing : it gives a sense of unstinted riches, 
 and so far represents exactly the spirit that has reared the 
 pile." 
 
 The best view of the Capitol and of Albany is from the road- 
 way leading from East Greenbush, in reference to which the 
 English historian, Edward A. Freeman, says : " The American 
 city which struck me most was Albany. Rising grandly as it 
 does from the noble Hudson, it suggested to me some of the 
 ancient cities by the Loire. The general look of the city carried 
 me so completely into another part of the world that if any one 
 had come up and told me in French, old or new, that the new 
 Capitol was Le Chateau de Monseigneur le due d'Albanie, I 
 could almost have believed him." 
 
 The Governor's room, the Golden Corridor, the Senate Stair- 
 case, the Senate Chamber, the Assembly Chamber, and the 
 Court of Appeals room are interesting alike for their architect- 
 ural stone work, decorations and general finish. The State Li- 
 brary, dating from 1818, contains about 150,000 volumes. The 
 Clinton papers, including Andre's documents captured at Tarry- 
 town, are the most interesting of many valuable manuscripts. 
 Here also are a sword and pistol once belonging to General 
 Washington. The Museum of Military Records and Relics con- 
 
THE HUDSON. 241 
 
 tains over 800 battle flags of State regiments, witli several en- 
 signs captured from the enemy. Near the Capitol are the State 
 Hall and City Hall, and on the right, descending State street, the 
 Greological Hall, well worthy an extended visit. The present St, 
 Peter's Episcopal Church, third upon the site, is of Schenectady 
 blue stone with brown trimmings. Its tower contains " a chime 
 of eleven bells and another bell marked 1751, which is used only 
 to ring in the new year." Washington Park, consisting of eighty 
 acres and procured at a cost of one million dollars, reached by a 
 pleasant drive or by electric railway, is a delightful resort. It 
 is noted for its grand trees, artistic walks and floral culture. 
 Several fine statues are also worthy of mention, notably that of 
 Robert Burns, (Charles Calverley, sculptor), erected by money 
 left for this purpose by Mrs. McPherson. under the careful and 
 tasteful supervison of one of Albany's best-known citizens, Mr. 
 Peter Kinnear. A view from Washington Park takes in the 
 Catskills and the Helderberg Monntains, 
 
 The Ten Eyck. — The completion of the Capitol marks the 
 closing page of a Great Century for Albany, and another 
 structure is worthy of this historic year, bearing a name fitting 
 the ancestral origin of the city. The Ten Eyck Hotel is an 
 ornament to Albany. A good authority has said that among 
 all the great hotels for which the American nation is famous, 
 it is unquestionably the finest and the best. This massive 
 and imposing structure, built of stone and pressed brick, nine 
 stories in height, fronts on State Street, Maiden Lane and 
 Chapel Street, with main entrance on State. It is thoroughly 
 fire-proof throughout, and the cost of the building was some- 
 thing more than half a million of dollars. The interior is 
 artistic and every room a dream of beauty. 
 
242 ^^QS HUDSON. 
 
 And now, while waiting- to " throw out the plank," which puts 
 a period to our Hudson River Division, we feel like congratu- 
 lating ourselves that the various goblins which once infested the 
 river have become civilized, that the winds and tides have been 
 conquered, and that the nine-day voyage of Hendrich Hudson 
 and the " Half Moon " has been reduced to the nine-hour system 
 of the " New York " and the " Albany." 
 
 Those who have traveled over Europe will certainly appreci- 
 ate the quiet luxury of an American steamer ; and this first 
 introduction to American scenery will always charm the tourist 
 from other lands. No single day's journey in any land or on uny 
 stream can present such variety, interest, and beauty, as the 
 trip of one hundred and forty-four miles from New York to 
 Albany. The Hudson is indeed c. goodly volume, with its broad 
 covers of green lying open on either side ; and it might in truth 
 be called a condensed history, for there is no other place in our 
 country where poetry and romance are so strangely blended 
 with the heroic and the historic, — no river where the waves of 
 different civilizations have left so many waifs upon the banks. 
 It is classic ground, from the " wilderness to the sea," and will 
 always be the poets' corner of our country ; the home of Irving, 
 Willis, and Morris,— of Fulton, Morse, and Field,— of Cole, 
 Audubon, and Church, — and of scores besides, whose names are 
 household words. 
 
SOURCE OF THE HUDSON. 
 
 ALBANY TO SARATOGA. 
 
 {Delaware & Hudson Bailroad.) 
 
 Saratoga Division. — The Saratoga Division of the Dela- 
 ware & Hudson Railroad mig-ht be said to stand secure on a 
 solid tripod, Albany representing- one foot, Troy another, and 
 Schenectady the third. Travelers by Day Boat, Night Boat, 
 or the West Shore Railroad, take their departure for Saratoga 
 from Albany. Most of the through express trains on the Hud- 
 son River Railroad go rtVtTroy. Passengers from Buffalo, Roch- 
 ester, Syracuse, Utica, and the west, find their nearest route via 
 Schenectady. To carry the figure still further, the three sup- 
 ports of the tripod all converge toward Saratoga, and there 
 unite to support the main standard, with Lake George, Cham- 
 plain and the Adirondack^ for a picture rack. 
 
 Troy. — {New York Central c5 Hudson River R. R., Delaware & 
 Hudson, Fitchhurgh & Central Vermont, Citizens' Line Steamers.) 
 To mark the locality of Troy it is necessary to get your bearings. 
 If you happen to be in Albany, you can say Troy is six miles 
 north of Albany ; but, if you chance to be in Troy, it would be 
 safe to say that Albany is six miles south of Troy. It stands at 
 the head of tide-water, and is emphatically a live city. If you 
 ask its history, it points to its great iron interests, its collar, 
 
 243 
 
244 THE HUDSON. 
 
 cuff, and various laundry industries, and iike the Roman matron, 
 says, '• These are my jewels." Et is located upon a flat, at the 
 foot of classically-named hills, Mount Ida and Mount Olympus. 
 Two streams, the Poestenkill and the Wynant's Kill, approach 
 the river through narrow ravines, and furnish excellent water 
 power. In the year 1786 it was called Ferryhook. In 1787, 
 Rensselaerwyck. In the fall of 1787 the settlers began to use 
 the name of Vanderheyden, after the family who owned a great 
 part of the ground where the city now stands. January 9, 1789, 
 the freeholders of the town met and gave it the name of Troy. 
 The Hudson, the Erie, and the Champlain Canals have con- 
 tributed to its growth. The city population is 6-:t,98G, but the 
 surrounding cities and towns, which have sprung up around it, 
 viz., Cohoes, Lansingburg, Waterford, etc., makes it central to 
 at least 100,000 people. The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 
 the oldest engineering school in America, has a national reputa- 
 tion. 
 
 The best hotel is the Troy House, corner First and River 
 streets, centrally located, among the leading mercantile inter- 
 ests and public buildings of the city, within five minutes' walk 
 from the Union railroad depot, or within two minutes' walk 
 of the landing of the elegant steamers •' Saratoga * and " City of 
 Troy." Being handy alike for the tourist or man of business, 
 and under the po])ular management of the owner and })roprietor, 
 Mr. B. F. Stiles, it furnishes a pleasant resting place for one 
 en route to Saratoga and the Adirondacks. Passing west from 
 Albany or Troy through West Troy, we come to — 
 
 Cohoes, a prosperous manufacturing city, which has grown 
 up aroimd one of the finest water i)ower3 in the country. The 
 
THE HUDSON. 245 
 
 name Cohoes is said to signify "the island at the falls." This 
 was the division line between the Mahicans and the Mohawks, 
 and when the water is in full force it sugg-ests in graceful curve 
 and sweej) a miniature Niagara. The view from the double- 
 truss iron bridge (960 feet in length), looking up or down the 
 iNlohawk is impressive. 
 
 Passing through Waterford, and Mechanicville, which lies 
 partly in the township of Stillwater, with its historic records of 
 Bemis Heights and burial place of Ellsworth, the first martyr 
 of the civil war, we come to — 
 
 Round Lake, nineteen miles north of Troy, and thirteen miles 
 south of Saratoga Springs, near a beautiful sheet of water, three 
 miles in circumference, called by the Indians Ta-nen-da-ho-wa, 
 which interpreted, signifies Round Lake. 
 
 The gateway at the station seems to open at once into a fairy 
 land, which, however, gives vigorous evidence of entertaining 
 human beings in the existence of a post-office, a grocery and 
 provision stores, a bakery, meat, fish, milk, and vegetable mar- 
 kets, also, telegraph and express offices. Private boarding and 
 lodging may be obtained in cottages and tents at very reasonable 
 rates. We have seen it stated that a cottage, including a lot, 
 can be built at Round Lake, accommodating several persons, 
 for $500, and pleasant cottages can be rented for $40. 
 
 The drives in the vicinity are most delightful to Saratoga 
 Lake, to the Hudson River, to the historic battle-fields of Bemis 
 Heights and Stillwater, The air at Round Lake is pure and in- 
 vigorating and the grounds are abundantly supplied with pure, 
 cool water from living springs upon the high lands of the Asso- 
 ciation 
 
246 THE HUDSON. 
 
 The Association grounds consist of 200 acres of land, charm- 
 ingly situated, and the institution is most flourishing, under its 
 able and popular management 
 
 Ballston Spa, (thirty-one miles from Albany, population 
 4,000), is the county seat of Saratoga. Here are several well 
 known mineral springs, with chemical properties similar to the 
 springs of Saratoga. Over ninety years ago Benjamin Douglas, 
 father of Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, built a log house, near the 
 "Old Spring," for the accommodation of invalids and travelers, 
 and at one time it looked as if Saratoga would have a vigorous 
 rival at her very doors ; but its hotel glory has departed and 
 the old "Sans Souci" of the days of Washington Irving is a 
 thing of the past. There is a fine avenue between the two vil- 
 lages, which makes a popular driveway, running, as it does, near 
 the Geyser, Vichy and Spouting Springs. 
 
 Saratoga Springs, (thirty-eight miles north of Albany, one 
 hundred and eighty-two miles from New York. Population 
 about 15,000). We presume no one will dispute us, when we say 
 that this is the greatest watering place of the continent, or of 
 the world. Its development has been wonderful, and puts, as it 
 were, in large italics, the prosperity of America. Its fifty 
 years' growth is as marvelous as the growth of New York, Chi- 
 cago, or San Francisco. The wooden inns and hotels of 1830, 
 which then seemed palatial to the rural jieople of Saratoga, 
 would get lost even in the parlors of the mammoth hotels which 
 now line the main street of the village. Chief among these hotels, 
 we mention the— 
 
 ''United States," a grand and princely building of noble 
 frontage with a bright and spacious interior court. We see it 
 
THE HUDSON. 247 
 
 as we approach the station, with its loug line of cottages on one 
 side, and its long wing- on the other, reaching almost to the rail- 
 road track, as if standing with opon arms to welcome the tourist 
 and traveler. 
 
 This magnificent structure was completed in June, 1874. It 
 constitutes one continuous line of buildings, six stories high, over 
 fifteen hundred feet in length, containing nine hundred and 
 seventeen rooms for guests, and is the largest hotel in the world. 
 The architectural appearance is exceedingly elegant and beau- 
 tiful. It is Norman in style, and its Mansard roof is embellished 
 with pediments, gables, dormer windows and crestings, and 
 three large pavilions. 
 
 The building covers and encloses seven acres of ground in the 
 form of an irregular pentagon, having a frontage of two hundred 
 and thirtj'-two feet on Broadway, six hundred and fifty-six feet 
 on Division street, wath " Cottage Wing " on the south side of 
 the plaza, extending west from the main front for five hundred 
 and sixty-six feet. This wing is one of the most desirable fea- 
 tures of this admirably arranged house, as it affords families, 
 and other parties, the same quiet and seclusion which a private 
 cottage would afford, together with the attention and conveni- 
 ence of a first-class hotel. The rooms of this wing are arranged 
 in suites of one to seven bedrooms, with parlor and bath-room in 
 each suite. Private table is afforded, if desired, and the seclu- 
 sion and freedom of a private villa may be enjoyed here, to be 
 varied, at will, by the gayer life of the hotel and watering place. 
 
 The main front and entrance are on Broadway, in which is the 
 elegant drawing-room, superbly furnished with Axminster car- 
 pets, carved walnut and marble furniturer frescoed ceilings, ele- 
 
248 THE HUDSON. 
 
 gant lace curtains and costly chandeliers and mirrors. The 
 room is rich and tasteful in its entire arrangements. Across the 
 hall is the ladies* parlor, furnished with exquisite taste; and 
 beyond, at the corner of the Broadway and Division street fronts, 
 are the gentlemen's reading-rooms and the business offices of the 
 hotel. To the west of the office, in the Division street wing, is 
 the dining-hall, fifty-two by one hundred and twelve feet, with 
 twenty and one-half feet ceiling. The grand ball-room, one hun- 
 dred and twelve by fifty-three feet, with ceilings twenty-six feet 
 high, is on the second floor of the Division street wing, and is 
 also handsomely decorated. 
 
 In brief, this palatial structure surpasses in grandeur and 
 magnitude, any hotel in Saratoga. It was not built in pieces 
 and pasted together in scraps, but reared at once in its entirety, 
 springing up like Aladdin's Palace, symmetrical and beautiful. 
 It is moreover appropriately named, for it is a fit type of the 
 fifrowth of our country, and speaks well for a centennial of pros- 
 perity under the successful management of Gage & Perry, 
 proprietors. 
 
 The American-Adelplii's bright and cheerful face is 
 also lighted up with smiles and prosperity. It has one of the 
 finest locations in Saratoga, and enters upon its eighteenth suc- 
 cessful season, under the management of Mr. Greo. A. Farnham. 
 The rooms are entirely refurnished, and 300 guests will be sure 
 of comfort, good attention, a fine table, and every convenience 
 of a first-class house. One thing is sure, there is no better table 
 in Saratoga, and those who go to the "American^' return again 
 and again. 
 
THE HUDSON. 249 
 
 Dr. Strong's Sanitarium, established in 1885, is a very 
 popular and largely patronized house, on Circular street, one of 
 Saratoga's beautiful avenues, and within three minutes' walk of 
 the great hotels, Congress Park, Hathorn, Patterson and other 
 springs. It remains open throughout the year, and is justly re- 
 garded one of the celebrities of Saratoga. To the public it has 
 the aspect of a family hotel, and for those seeking health or rest, 
 it is a home and sanatarium, completely equipped with the most 
 modern curative appliances, under the management of thor- 
 oughly educated physicians. To the feeble and overtaxed, it ex- 
 tends, in all seasons, aid, and to the pleasure seekers abundant 
 recreation, being just near enough to all the whirl, and just re- 
 tired enough for rest, with the table appointments and elegance 
 of a first-class hotel. During the past year this institution has 
 made extensive improvements and additions. It introduced a 
 beautifully decorated reception hall, communicating with an 
 elegant drawing-room, and containing an open fire-place, modern 
 staircase and passenger elevator. It has also built a Sun Par- 
 lor and Promenade on the roof, literally a glass house with a 
 tower, through which the elevator runs and lands its passengers 
 in the Sun Parlor. This room is furnished with tables, easy 
 chairs, magazines, papers, plants, etc. Out of the Sun Parlor, 
 toward the east, is an extensive promenade covering the main 
 roof of the building. The power of the sun beam, the invigoration 
 of the atmosphere free from moisture, and the balmy breeze, 
 make the additions great agencies for health, elevation of spirits 
 and recreation. One could scarcely imagine a more delightful 
 resting place after a heated summer day than the roof prome- 
 nade. It has proved a very attractive feature in the summer 
 
250 THE HUDSON. 
 
 evening's to the young ladies and gentlemen who throng this 
 favorite resort. During the past year Dr. Strong built a large 
 annex to his Sanitarium in which he has placed suits of rooms 
 with baths, billiard rooms, gymnastic hall, and Turkish and 
 Russian baths, which for elegance and completeness have never 
 been excelled. The annual croquet and lawn tennis tourna- 
 ments each season are greatly enjoyed by the guests of the house. 
 
 The Mount McGregor Bailroad is one of the pleasantest "day 
 trips " to be made from Saratoga. Trains leave Saratoga three 
 or four times during the day, and the view from the i*oad and 
 the mountain is very fine. An art gallery has been established 
 on this mountain, and a collection of pictures by American 
 artists is on exhibition. The Electric Line to Saratoga Lake is 
 also one of the features of the village, and furnishes a most de- 
 lightful forenoon or afternoon's outing. 
 
 Tlie Springs. — The most prominent springs in and about 
 Saratoga are the Hathorn, the Vichy, the Patterson and the 
 Congress. The popularity of the Hathorn is attested by the 
 universal sale of its bottled waters throughout the United States. 
 The Vichy is also a great favorite, and the Patterson is rapidly 
 winning a reputation which its excellence deserves. 
 
 But in the midst of this throbbing, gay and delightful Sara- 
 toga, we must not forget that it was here the fathers of the Re- 
 public achieved one of their most decisive victories. The battle 
 was fought in the town of Stillwater, at Bemis Heights, two and 
 a half miles from the Hudson. The defeat of St. Leger and the 
 triumph of Stark at Bennington filled the American army with 
 hope. Burgoyne's army advanced September 19th, 1777. The 
 battle was sharply contested. At night the Americans retired 
 
THE HUDSON. 251 
 
 into their camp, and the British held the field. From Septem- 
 ber 20th to October 7th the armies looked each other in the face, 
 each side satisfied from the fi est day's strug-gle that their oppo- 
 nents were worthy foemen. ' The Americans had retaken Ticon- 
 derog"a and Lake George. Burgoyne had no place to retreat, 
 and the lines were slowly but surely closing in around him. 
 October 7th Burgoyne commenced the battle, but in half an 
 hour his line was broken. He attempted to rally his troops in 
 person, but they could not stand before the impetuous charge of 
 the Americans. He was compelled to order a full retreat, and 
 fell back on the heights above Schuylerville. The Americans 
 surrounded him, and he surrendered. It was a decisive victory, 
 and cheered the friends of freedom, not only in America, but in 
 the English House of Commons. Those desirous of going a few 
 centuries further back in history will find their taste fully grati- 
 fied at elegant Pompeii on the main street of the village — a re- 
 production of the " House of Pansa," buried by Vesuvius, A. D. 
 79. It is a most complete and vivid portrayal of the domestic 
 life, worship and customs of the Romans. 
 
 In Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester's book, entitled " Historical 
 Sketches of Northern New York and the Adirondack Wilder- 
 ness," the tourist will find a large and well digested mass of in- 
 formation relative to Saratoga and the Adirondack Wilderness. 
 In the 2.'W Cha])ter we learn that the earliest date in which the 
 word Saratoga appears in history is 1684, and was then the name 
 of an old hunting ground on both sides of the Hudson. Its in- 
 terpretations have been various. Some say " The Hillside Coun- 
 try of the Great River ;" others, the place of swift waters, while 
 Morgan, in his " League of the Iroquois," says the signification 
 
252 THE HUDSON. 
 
 of Saratoga is lost. It has occurred to the writer of this Hand, 
 book that the old root of the word meaning "brackish," or 
 "bitter," appears also in the English, "sour," in the Swedish. 
 " sur," and in German, "sauer ;" being kindred with Sam, or salt 
 water. The word "daga" signifies water as seen in Sacan- 
 daga, Onondaga, &c., and Saradoga would easily become Sara- 
 toga. 
 
 To quote from the superb Guide Book issued by the Delaware 
 and Hudson Canal Company : "Long before the discovery of 
 Saratoga's wonderful springs by the whites, the place was 
 the resort of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Senecas and 
 Cayugas, who came thither for the health-giving properties of 
 the waters. The first white man to visit the place was Sir 
 William Johnson, who, in 1767, was conveyed there by his Mo- 
 hawk friends, in the hope that the waters might afford relief 
 from the serious effects of a gunshot wound in the thigh, re- 
 ceived eight years before in the battle of Lake George, at which 
 time his army defeated the French legions under Baron Dieskau. 
 It was not until the year 1773, six years after Sir Wm. Johnson's 
 initial visit, that the first clearing was made and the first cabin 
 erected by Derick Scowten. Owing, however, to his misunder- 
 standings with his red neighbors, he shortly afterwards left. A 
 year later, George Arnold, from Rhode Island, took possession 
 of the vacated Scowten House, and conducted it with some de- 
 gree of success for about two years. Arnold was in turn fol- 
 lowed by Samuel Norton, who failed to make the venture sui'- 
 cessful, owing to the outbreak of the Revolution. Norton was 
 succeeded in 1783 by his son, who sold out in 1787 to Gideon 
 Morgan, who, in the same year, made the property over to Alex- 
 
THE HUDSON. 253 
 
 ander Bryan. Bryan became the first permanent settler after 
 the close of the war. The prosperity of the villao-e beo^an i'n 
 1789, with the advent of Gideon Putnam, and has continued al- 
 most uninterruptedly, until to-day it has a resident population 
 of 1.3,000 and a summer population of sometimes 60,000, and 
 offers more attractions than any watering-place in the world. 
 
 Saratoga is also the most attractive point in the country as a 
 gathering place for conventions and large meetings, and, m re- 
 sponse to the growing demand for adequate facilities, a splendid 
 convention hall, with a seating capacity for five thousand people, 
 has recently been erected by the town authorities. It is a strik- 
 ing architectural addition to Saratoga's attractions.'' 
 
2M THE HUDSON. 
 
 FROM SARATOGA TO THE ADIRONDACKS. 
 
 Adirondack Railway to Xorih Creek — Stages to Blue ^fountain Lake. 
 
 The Adirondack Railimy furnishes one of the pleasantest ex- 
 cursions to be made from Saratoga. The traveler passes through 
 the romantic and picturesque valley of the Upper Hudson — 
 through King's, South Corinth, Jessup's Landing to Hadley, 
 (the railroad station for Luzerne, a charming village at the 
 junction of the Hudson and the Sacandaga) ; then through 
 Stony Creek, Thurman, thirty-six miles from Saratoga Springs, 
 at the junction of the Schroon and the Hudson; the Glen, 
 forty-four miles ; Riverside, fifty miles, (for Schroon Lake), 
 pleasurable throughout, to North Creek, where "Concord 
 coaches " and patent-covered spring buckboards are in wait- 
 ing for Blue Mountain Lake — distance about thirty miles, 
 through a beautiful romantic country. The road is in thorough 
 repair, and the traveler will reach Blue Mountain Lake in time 
 for supper. We had the good fortune to make this trip last 
 August, and hope to do so at least once a year for the next de- 
 cade. Blue Mountain Lake is a noble threshold of the Adiron- 
 dacks, and furnishes a delightful route to the lake district. The 
 stage line has two or three relays of horses, makes frequent 
 changes, and the "drivers" swing one along like a California 
 "Jehu" of the Yosemite. 
 
 The "Prospect" accommodates S-IO ])eoplo, and is in every 
 particular a first-class hotel. 
 
 The water route from this point is as follows : Through Blue 
 Mountain Lake and Utowana Lake to the outlet, a distance of 
 
THE HUDSON. 255 
 
 seven miles. A "carry"' about two-thirds of a mile in length 
 brings the traveler to a fairj'-like steamer on Marion River. The 
 river trip is twelve miles long to Forked Lake, and we remem- 
 ber that it abounded with '' water lilies," which were gathered 
 by heroic voyagers for fair ones in their charge. 
 
 The Raquette is one of the most delightful of the "braided 
 lakes.-' It has ninety miles of coast, and we understand that the 
 name signifies " star-like." The name Utowana signifies " Lake 
 of Plenty." 
 
 Arriving at "Forked Lake Carry," one-half mile takes us to 
 Fletcher's, or Forked Lake. This is really the first "hotel in 
 the woods," and here the traveler gets his first real mountain 
 bill of fare. From this point we took a guide to Long Lake. 
 The Sagamore accommodates about 200 guests. There is a short 
 cut from this point over to the Tupper Lakes, which we can 
 commend in every particular, and the tourist can either return 
 to Long Lake and continue his route to the Saranacs, or go to 
 the Saranacs direct from Lake Tupper. From the Saranacs 
 there is a stage to Lake Placid. 
 
 From this point we went to Keene Flats, and stopped with 
 " Beede." Some six or eight years ago we visited Beede, on our 
 way from Plattsburgh to Mount Marcy, and we were delighted 
 to see that he had outgrown the quiet farm-house, and now finds 
 himself proprietor of one of the best conducted hotels of the 
 Adirondacks, accommodating 100 people. It is a charming and 
 healthful spot, and only five miles from the "Lower Ausable 
 Pond." These ponds, the "Lower" and "Upper," are unri- 
 valed in beauty and grandeur. They lie at the foot of Mount 
 Mavcy, Haystack, the Gothics, and Mount Bartlett. 
 
256 THE HUDSON 
 
 FROM SARATOGA TO LAKE GEORGE. 
 
 The traveler will find trains and excursions to suit his conven- 
 ience from Saratoga to America's fairest lake. His route takes 
 him through Gansevoort and Fort Edward to Glens Falls. About 
 one mile from Fort Edward station stood, until recently, the tree 
 where Jane McCrea was murdered by Indians during- the Revo- 
 lution. From Glens Falls the tourist proceeds over the well- 
 conducted Lake George Division of the Mensselaer d- Saratoga 
 B. i?., and soon finds himself in the midst of a historic and ro- 
 mantic region. About half way to the lake stands a monument 
 to Col. Ephraim Williams, killed at the battle of Lake George 
 in 1755, and erected by the graduates of Williams College, 
 which he founded. Bloody Pond, a little further on, sleeps calm 
 and blue in the sunlight in spite of its tragic name and associa- 
 tions, and soon Lake George, girt-round by mountains, greets 
 our vision, stretching away in beauty to the north. 
 
 Tlie Trosadis of America. Capt. Wm. R. Lord, author of "Rem- 
 iniscences of a Sailor,'- in a recent article contributed to a Scot- 
 tish paper, has happily christened Lake George and its surround- 
 ings " The Trosachs of America." In writing of the Autumn 
 season he says : "Its similarity to the Trosachs of Scotland im- 
 presses one most vividly as seen at this season ; the mountains 
 are clothed in a garb, the prevailing color of which is purple, 
 reminding me of a previous visit through the Scottish Highlands 
 when the heather was in full bloom. I at that time felt it to be 
 impossible that any other place on the face of the globe could 
 equal the magnificently imposing grandeur of the ' Trosachs.' 
 
THE HUDSON. 257 
 
 I must, however, freely admit that in its power of chang-ing- 
 beauty this reg-ion of America fully equals, if it does not sur- 
 pass it. Deeds of 'derring-do,' enacted in these mountain 
 fastnesses in days g-one by, still add to make the comparison 
 more close. Our path at times seemed to be literally strewn 
 with roses, for the different colored leaves that carpeted our 
 way conveyed that thought. The depth and variegated beauty 
 of coloring that marks this season of decaying- foliage, would 
 enrapture the heart of an artist. In my vocation I have had 
 occasion to visit the four quarters of the g-lobe, but never have 
 I seen tints so striking-ly beautiful." 
 
 Lake Georg-e, called by the French " Lac St. Sacrament," was 
 discovered by Father Jacques, who passed through it in 1646, on 
 his way to the Iroquois, by whom he was afterward tortured and 
 burned. It is thirty-six miles long by three miles broad. Its 
 elevation is two hundred and forty-three feet above the sea. 
 The waters are of remarkable transparency ; romantic islands 
 dot its surface, and eleg-ant villas line its shores. Fort William 
 Henry and Ticonderoga, situated at either end of the lake, were 
 the salients respectively of the two most powerful nations upon 
 the globe. France and Eng-land sent great armies, which 
 crossed each other's track upon the ocean, the one entering 
 the St. Lawrence, the other the harbor of New York. Their 
 respective colonies sent their thousands to swell the number of 
 trained troops, while tribes of red men from the south and the 
 north were marshalled by civilized genius to meet in hostile 
 array upon these waters, around the walls of the forts, and at 
 the base of the hills. In 175"), General Johnston reached Lake 
 St. Sacrament, to which he g-ave the name of Lake George, 
 
258 THE HCTDSON. 
 
 "not only in honor of his MajeMy, but to assert his undoubted 
 dominion here."' 
 
 The village of Caldwell is pleasantly situated at the head of 
 the lake. It contains two churches, a court house, and a num- 
 ber of pretty residences. Just behind the court house is the baj- 
 where Montcalm landed his cannon, and where his entrench- 
 ments began. It ran across the street, near Brown's Hotel, to 
 the rising ground beyond the Episcopal Church. 
 
 Fort William Henry Hotel is the lar^-est and best ap- 
 pointed hotel on Lake George. It has a most beautiful and com- 
 manding location, and the view from its great piazza is one long 
 to be remembered. This piazza is twenty-four feet in width and 
 supported by a row of Corinthian columns thirty feet high. The 
 outlook from it at all times is little less than enchanting, com- 
 manding as it does the level reaches of the lake for miles, with 
 a number of the most picturesque islands and promontories. 
 
 About twelve miles from the hotel is Fourteen-mile Island 
 which, with a number of others, form " The Narrows." The 
 lake here is 400 feet deep, much fishing is done, and in the right 
 season hunting parties start out. Black Mountain, the monarch 
 of the lake, rises over two thousand feet above its waters (being 
 2,6G1 feet above tide), and from the summit a magnificent view 
 may be obtained of Lake Champlain, the Green Moimtains, the 
 Adirondacks, and the distant course of the Hudson. 
 
 Those who have only a day can make a delightful excursion from 
 Saratoga to Caldwell by rail, then through the Lake to Baldwin, 
 and thence by rail to Saratoga, or via Baldwin and up the lake 
 to Caldwell, and so to Saratoga. But, to get the full beauty of 
 this unrivaled lake, the trip should be made with less haste, for 
 
THE HUDSON. 261 
 
 there is no more delightful place in the world to spend a week, a 
 month, or an entire summer. Lake George and its immediate 
 surroundings present much to interest the student of history and 
 legend ; and to lovers of the beautiful it acknowledges no rivals. 
 The elevation and absolute purity of air make it a desirable place 
 for the tourist. It is 346 feet above the level of the sea, 247 feet 
 above lake Champlain, and is now brought within six hours of 
 New York by the enterprise of the Delaware & Hudson Canal 
 Co, It is a great question, and we talk it over every time we see 
 the genial General Passenger Agent of this enterprising line, 
 whether Lake George or Lake Luzerne, in Switzerland, is the 
 more beautiful. We were just deciding last summer, on the 
 Steamer "Horicon," that Lake George was more beautiful, but 
 not so wild, when, as if the spirit of the lake were roused, a great 
 black squall suddenly came over the mountains, and, the crys- 
 tal Horicon for a few minutes, was as wild and grand as any one 
 might desire. We all were glad to see her smile again as she did 
 half an hour afterward in the bright sunlight. 
 
 " At its widest point Lake George measures about four miles, 
 but at other places it is less than one mile in width. It is dotted 
 with islands ; how many we do not know exactly — nobody does ; 
 but tradition, which passes among the people of the district for 
 history and truth, says there are exactly one island for every 
 day in the year, or 365 in all. Whatever their real number they 
 all are beautiful, although some of them are barely large enough 
 to support a flagstaff, for they all seem to fit into the scene so 
 thoroughly that each one seems necessary to complete the charm. 
 On either side are high hills, in some places rising gently from 
 the shores, and in others beetling up from the surface of the 
 
262 
 
 THE HUDSON. 
 
 water with a rugg-ed cliff, or time-worn mass of rocks, which 
 reminds one of the wild bits of rocky scenery that make up the 
 savage beauty of the Isle of Skye. 
 
 Its clearness is something extraordinary. From a small boat, 
 in many places, the bottom can be seen, and in others one can 
 gaze so far down into its depths that it is impossible to believe 
 that the bottom is much farther down. Indeed, so mysteriously 
 beautiful is the water that many visitors spend a day in a row- 
 boat gazing into it at different points." 
 
 
 
 1^ 
 
 k:-: 
 
 *:<^^ 
 
 %'.^r 
 
 \? ^T^' 
 
 AFLOAT. 
 
 Charles Dudley Warner says: " Bolton, among a host of at- 
 tractive spots on the lake, holds, in my opinion, a rank among 
 the two or three most interesting points. There is no point of 
 Lake George where the views are so varied or more satisfactory, 
 excepting the one from Sabbath-daj^ Point. At Bolton the islets 
 which dot the surface of the lake whose waters are blue as the 
 sea in the tropics, carry the eye to the rosy-tinted range whieb 
 
THE HUDSON. 263 
 
 includes Pilot, Buck, and Erebus Mountains, and culminates in 
 the stateliness of Black Mountain. Or, looking- northwest, the 
 sujierb masses of verdure on Green Island are seen mirrored on 
 the burnished surface of the lake. Behind rises the mighty di- 
 viding wall called Tongue Mountain, which seems to separate 
 the lake in twain, for Ganouskie, or Northwest Bay, five miles 
 long, is in effect a lake by itself, with its own peculiar features." 
 The Champlain Transportation Company runs a regular line of 
 steamboats the entire length of the lake, making three round 
 trips daily, except Sunday. The Horicon is a fine side-wheel 
 steamer, 203 feet long and 52 feet wide, and will accommodate, 
 comfortably, 1,000 people. 
 
 At Fort Ti the tourist can continue his northern route via the 
 Delaware & Hudson to Hotel Champlain, Plattsburgh, Rouse's 
 Point, or Montreal, or thi-ough Lake Champlain by steamer. 
 The ruins of Fort Ti, like old Fort Putnam at West Point, are 
 picturesque, and will well repay a visit. 
 
264 THE HUDSON. 
 
 LAKE GEORGE TO THE ADIRONDACKS. 
 
 The reader who does not visit Lake George may feel that he 
 is switched off on a side-track at Fort Edward ; so, comint? to 
 his rescue, we return again, and renew our northern journey via 
 the main line, through Dunham's Basin, Smith's Basin, Fort 
 Ann, and Comstock's Landing-, to — 
 
 IVliiteliall, a village of six or seven thousand inhabitants, 
 with a romantic situation at the head of Lake Champlain. This 
 village is the centre of a large lumber trade, and has a location 
 quite like an infant Chicago. 
 
 From this point north the Delaware & Hudsmi crosses all the 
 thresholds for the Adirondacks, and shortens the journey to the 
 mountain districts. It passes through five mountain ranges, 
 the most southerly, the Black Mountain range, terminating in 
 Mt. Defiance, with scattering spurs coming down to the very 
 shore of the lake. The second range is known as the Kayade- 
 rosseras, the terminations of which lie along the shore north of 
 Ticonderoga, culminating in Bulwagga Mountain. The third 
 range passes through the western part of Schroon, the northern 
 part of Moriah and centre of Westport, ending in Split Rock 
 Mountain. The fourth range, the Bouquet range, ends in high 
 bluffs on Willsboro Bay. Here the famous Red-Rock Cut is lo- 
 cated, and the longest tunnel on the line. 
 
 The fifth range, once known as the Adirondack Range, as it 
 includes the most lofty of the Adirondack Mountains, viz.: Mc- 
 Intyre, Colden and Tahawas, ends in a rocky promontory known 
 as Tremblau Point, at l*()i"t Kent. 
 
THE HUDSON. 265 
 
 No wonder, with these mountain ranges to get through, that 
 the subject was agitated year after year, and it was only when 
 the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company put their strong 
 shoulder to the wheel, that the work began to go forward. For 
 these mountains meant tunnels, and rock cuts, and bridges, and 
 cash. Leaving Whitehall, we pass through a tunnel near the 
 old steamboat landing, cross a marsh, which must have suggested 
 the beginning of the Pilgrim's Progress, for it seemed almost 
 bottomless, and are wheeled along the narrow end of the lake, 
 still marked by light-houses, where steamers once struggled and 
 panted "like fish out of water,"' fulfilling the Yankee's ambition 
 of running on a heavy dew. Then winding in and out along the 
 shore, we proceed to — 
 
 Ticonderoga, 23 miles from Whitehall. Here terminates 
 the first range of the Adirondacks, to which we have already 
 referred, viz. : Mount Defiance. Steamers connect with the 
 train at this point on Lake Champlain, also with a railroad for 
 Lake George. Near the station we get a view of old Fort Ti- 
 conderoga, where Ethan Allen breakfasted early one morning, 
 and said grace in a brief and emphatic manner. The lake now 
 widens into a noble sheet of water ; we cross the Lake George 
 outlet, enter a deep rock-cut, which extends to a distance of 
 about 500 feet, and reach Crown Point thirty-four miles north of 
 Whitehall, with its blast furnaces and branch railroad to Ham- 
 mondville mines, some thirteen miles in length, up the valley of 
 Put Creek. Passing along the shore of Bulwagga Bay, we 
 come to — 
 
 Port Henry, forty miles from Whitehall, where there are 
 more blast furnaces and another private railroad, seven miles 
 
266 THE HUDSON. 
 
 long, to Mineville, when we pass through another cut and a 
 tunnel some 300 feet in length. A few miles above this the rail- 
 road leaves the lake at Mullen Brook, the first departure since 
 we left Whitehall, and we are greeted with cultivated fields and 
 a charming landscape. 
 
 Westport, fifty-one miles from Whitehall, is the railroad 
 station for^ 
 
 ElizabettLtown, the county seat of Essex. It is about eight 
 miles distant from the station, and we know of no pleasanter 
 village nestled among the mountains. A county consisting 
 mostly of mountain scenery could have no happier location for a 
 head-centre, Elizabeth town forms a most delightful gate- 
 way to the Adirondacks either by stage route or pedestrian 
 tour. 
 
 A short distance north of Westport we enter the well-culti- 
 vated Bouquet Valley, and after a pleasant run we come to 
 Wellsboro Falls, where we enter seven miles of rock cutting. 
 The road is about 90 feet above the lake, and the cuts in many 
 places from 90 to 100 feet high. After leaving Red-Rock cut, 
 we pass through a tunnel 600 feet long. Crossing Higby's 
 Gorge and rounding Tremblau Mountain, we reach — 
 
 Port Kent, to which Keeseville, an interesting village, con- 
 nects itself by a well-managed stage line. There is a good deal 
 of progressive life about this pleasant town of 4,000 inhabitants. 
 The scenery is charming and romantic on every side. 
 
 Ausable Chasm, is only three miles from the station of 
 Port Kent. It is fully ten years since we visited the Chasm, 
 but its pictures are still stamped upon our mind clearly and 
 definitely— the ledge at Birmingham Falls, the Flume, the Devil's 
 
BOAT RIDE, AUSABLE CHASM 
 
THE HUDSON. 269 
 
 Pulpit, and the boat ride on the swift current. Indeed, the entire 
 rock-rift, almost two miles in length, left an impression never 
 to be effaced. The one thing especially peculiar, on account of 
 the trend of the rock-layers was the illusion that we were float- 
 ing- up stream, and that the river compressed in these narrow 
 limits, had "got tired" of finding its way out, until it thought 
 that the easiest way was to run up hill and get out at the top. 
 
 Blu£f Point. After all this absence the new and superb 
 "Hotel Champlain " seemed indeed a vision of beauty. The 
 bluff is about 200 feet above the lake and the view from the 
 hotel piazza is far reaching and impressive, with the Green 
 Mountains on the east and the Adirondacks on the west. The 
 hotel grounds comprise the same number of acres as the islands 
 of Lake George, 365. The hotel is 400 feet long. We condense 
 the following description from the Delaware and Hudson Canal 
 Guide-book, which we can heartily endorse from personal visit : 
 
 "The western shore of Lake Champlain forms the margin of 
 the most varied and altogether delightful wilderness to be found 
 anywhere upon this continent east of the Rocky Mountains. 
 The serried peaks to the westward are in plain view from its 
 shores, their foot-hills ending in lofty and often abrupt ridges 
 where they meet the lake. Three impetuous rivers, the Sara- 
 nac, the Salmon and the Ausable, flow down from the cool, clear 
 lakes, hidden away in the wildwood, and, breaking through this 
 barrier at and in the vicinity of Plattsburgh, contribute not 
 only to the lucid waters of Lake Champlain but greatly to the 
 picturesque variety of the region. 
 
 Upon Bluff Point, one of the most commanding promontories 
 of this ridge, separating the valley of the Salmon River from the 
 
270 THE HUDSON. 
 
 lake, and three miles south of Plattsburgh, the large and costly 
 Hotel Champlain forms the most commanding- feature in an un- 
 rivaled landscape, challenging the admiration of travelers both 
 by rail and steamer. 
 
 Resolute has been the struggle here with nature, where rocks, 
 tangled forest and matted roots crowned the chosen spot ; but 
 upon the broad, smooth plateau finally created the Hotel Cham- 
 plain has been placed, and all the surrounding forest, its soli- 
 tudes still untamed, has been converted into a superb park, 
 threaded with drives and bridle paths. At the foot of the grad- 
 ual western slope of the ridge the handsome station of Bluff 
 Point has been located beside the main line of the Dclmvare & 
 Huthon Railroad, the chief highway of pleasure and commercial 
 travel between New York, Saratoga, Lake George, the Adiron- 
 dacks and Canada. 
 
 From the station where the coaches of the hotel await ex- 
 pected guests, a winding pike, the very perfection of a road, 
 leads up the hill. From the carriage, as it rises to the crest, a 
 wondrous outlook to the westward is opened to view. Nearly a 
 thousand square miles of valley, lake and mountain are within 
 range of the eye or included in the area encircled by visible 
 peaks. As the porch of the hotel is reached, the view, enhanced 
 by the fine foreground, is indeed beautiful, but still finer is the 
 grandeur of the scene from the arches of the tall central dome of 
 the house. 
 
 To the southward we see Whiteface, showing, late in spring 
 and early in autumn, its coronet of almost perpetual snow ; and 
 in a grand circle still more southward we see in succession Mc- 
 Intyre, Marcy (both over 5,000 feet high), Haystack, Dix, the 
 
THE HUDSON. 271 
 
 Gothic peaks, Hurricane and the Giant. This noble sisterhood 
 of mountains rises from the very heart of the wilderness, and yet 
 the guests at the Hotel Champlain may reach any portion of 
 their environment "within a few hours. 
 
 The interior arrangement of the hotel, both in convenience 
 and luxurious furnishing, fully bears out the fair promise of the 
 tasteful white and gray exterior. There is not a room in the 
 house which fails to command, from its windows, a view grand 
 and far-reaching in its scope. 
 
 Life at the Hotel Champlain involves a most extraordinary 
 variety of diversions. Equestrian expeditions are possible in 
 various directions. Pedestrian wanderings are likely to be pop- 
 ular. Frequent steamboats upon the lake and local trains upon 
 the railroad offer a long list of single-day excursions, each enjoy- 
 able in its turn. Much of the best fishing and hunting territory 
 of the Adirondack region may be reached in time to enjoy a 
 good day's sport and return at night-fall. Lake Placid, the 
 most widely known resort in the Adirondack Mountains, is 
 peculiarly accessible from Bluff Point. 
 
 The fine equipment and frequent train service of the Dela- 
 ware & Hudson between New York and Bluff Point without 
 change, by daylight or at night, and the direct connection of 
 the same line with the Hudson River steamboats, places this 
 resort high upon the list of available summering points in the 
 dry and healthful north for families from the metropolis. Travel 
 from the west, coming down the St. Lawrence River, or through 
 Canada via Montreal, will find Bluff Point easy to reach ; while 
 from the White Mountains and New England seashore-resorts 
 it is accessible by through trains via St. Albans or Burlington. 
 
272 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Under the manag^ement of Mr. O. D. Seavey, the executive 
 head of the princely Hotel Ponce de Leon, at St. Augustine, the 
 new Hotel Champlain has promptly taken its place as one of 
 the essential points in the complete northern tour." 
 
 It is also the station for the Catholic Summer School of Amer- 
 ica. This institution has acquired several hundred acres of land 
 fronting- on Lake Champlain and adjoining the Hotel Champlain 
 g-rounds on the north. The movement is international in scope, 
 and this will be the central point of the Catholic reading circles 
 and for the dissemination of literature after the Chautauqua 
 plan, and for universitv extension teaching among the Catholics 
 of America. Several hundred thousands of dollars will be ex- 
 pended in improving- the grounds, erecting suitable buildings 
 and making this charming region a summer' gathering place for 
 Catholics from all quarters of America. In addition to the plans 
 of the association to establish a great center of learning and a 
 permanent summer pleasure resort on a vast scale, it may be 
 found available in this healthful and lovely spot to provide a 
 summer retreat for the various uncloistered orders of the Church. 
 
 The lectures and courses of study are open to all, and tourists 
 may avail themselves of the opportunity of hearing lectures from 
 the most eminent Catholic scholars on the various important 
 questions in the different departments of knowledge that engage 
 public attention to-day. 
 
 Plattsburgh. (Pour miles from Bluff Point and 168 from 
 Albany. A town of 8,000 inhabitants at the mouth of the Sara- 
 nac River.) The Fouquet Hotel, conveniently located, under 
 the management of Paul Smith, is near the station. The 
 northern part of Lake Champlain offers special attractions to 
 
THE HUDSON. 273 
 
 camping parties. The shores and islands abound in excellent 
 sites. Lake Champlain is also replete with interest to the his- 
 torian. The ruins of Fort St. Anne are still seen on the north 
 end of the Isle La Mott, built by the French in 1660. Valcour 
 Strait, where one of the battles of '76 was foug-ht ; Valcour's Is- 
 land, where lovers came from far and near, built air castles, 
 wandered throug-h these shady groves for a season or two, and 
 then v.anished from sight, bankrupt in everything but mutual 
 affection ; Cumberland Bay, with its victory, September, 1814, 
 when the British were driven back to Canada ; and many other 
 points which can be visited by steamer or yacht. 
 
 It is almost thirty years since I made my first trip to the 
 Adirondacks. I remember the long route to the Saranacs and 
 the mountain trails over Tahawas ; but last autumn I stepped 
 aboard a well equipped train at Plattsburgh and in five or six 
 hours (I forgot the time in the glory of that October day) found 
 myself by the bright waters of the Lower Saranac, and instead 
 of the old time hotel with its straight verandas, found a hotel 
 of architectural grace, the "Ampersand," furnished with the 
 most comfortable modern conveniences. The "Ampersand" 
 might to-day be called the centre and starting point for all re- 
 sorts and camping grounds in the Lake District of the Adiron- 
 dacks. Floating about the Saranac Islands of a summer even- 
 ing, roaming among forest trees, strolling over to the little 
 village one mile distant, and absorbing the rich exhilaration ot 
 a life of untrammeled freedom, with a perfect hotel, and blazing 
 fire-places if the weather happens to be unpleasant, form a 
 grand combination, alike for pleasure seekers, and in this busy 
 age, seekers after rest. 
 
274 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Ten years ago the writer prepared an article for the June or 
 July Outing, and transcribes it here as it presents fully his idea 
 of the Adirondacks. 
 
 Tlie Adirondacks. — The White Mountains are frequently 
 called the Switzerland of America : Lake Georg-e and Lake 
 Memphremagog are often likened to Loch Katrine, or Loch 
 Lomond ; the Hudson is sometimes compared with the Rhine *, 
 but it is the glory of the Adirondacks that no traveler has been 
 able to liken them to any other part of the earth's surface. The 
 Yosemite, on the Pacific slope, and the Adirondacks, on the At- 
 lantic, stand alone in their peculiar types of sublimity and beauty. 
 
 The subject of our sketch naturally divides itself into two sec- 
 tions, — the eastern, or mountain district, and the western or lake 
 district ; the division line being well indicated by the north 
 branch of the Hudson and the west branch of the Ausable. The 
 lake district empties its waters into the St. Lawrence ; the 
 mountain district into Lake Champlain and the Hudson. 
 
 In this article I propose to speak of the mountain district. It 
 must not, however, be understood by the reader that the mount- 
 ain district has no lakes, or the lake district no mountains ; for 
 the " Braided Lakes," west of the Hudson water-shed, reflect in 
 their bright mirrors many mountain i)eaks of no mean altitude ; 
 and the traveler over the trails of Tahawas and Skylight will 
 drink of the clear waters of Lakes Avalanche and Golden, of 
 Lakes Henderson and Ausable. 
 
 It is not my purpose to talk of the Adirondacks as a health 
 resort, although its pine, hemlock and fir-balsam forests make it 
 unrivaled as a sanitarium; nor to consider its great mineral 
 resources, but simply to indicate some of its principal features of 
 
THE HUDSON. 275 
 
 beauty, its general points of attraction, and the best way of 
 reaching- them. 
 
 As it is my purpose to make this a practical article, — that is, 
 to convey accurate information to persons unfamiliar with this 
 mountain district, — it may perhaps be v^rell to indicate briefly 
 our first trip over Tahawas, just ten years ago, here and there 
 marking the changes which I noted last summer. 
 
 We (the Tahawas Club) took the cars one bright August 
 morning from Plattsburgh to Ausable Forks, a distance of some 
 twenty miles, hired a team to Beede's, the terminal j)oint of 
 civilization, some thirty miles distant from the " Forks ; *' took 
 dinner at Keene, and pursued our route u]) the beautiful valley 
 of the Ausable. Beede's was then merely a farm-house, and as 
 the "house '' was full, we camped in the l)arn. My last visit pre- 
 sented a large and commodious hotel, with jjleasant rooms and 
 wide veranda, in cheerful contrast to the first entertainment. 
 
 From this point we visited Roaring-Brook Falls, some four 
 hundred feet high, which we remember as a very beautiful 
 waterfall in the evening twilight. The next morning we 
 started, bright and early, for the Ausable Ponds. Four miles of 
 wood-road, smoothed recently into a very comfortable carriage 
 road, brought us to the Lower Ausable. The historic guide, 
 "old Phelps," rowed us across the Lower Lake, pointing out, 
 from our slowly moving and heavily laden scow, " Indian Head " 
 on the left, and the " Devil's Pulpit'' on the right, lifted about 
 eight hundred feet above the level of the lake. "Phelps" 
 remarked with quaint humor, that he was frequently likened to 
 his Satanic Majesty, as he often took clergymen "up thar.', 
 The rocky walls of this lake rise from one thousand to fifteen 
 
276 THE HUDSON. 
 
 hundred feet high, in many places almost perpendicular. A 
 large eagle soared above the cliffs, and circled in the air above 
 us - but no one in the party had the rashness to shoot at it. In 
 fact we had fired most of our ammunition off the day previous at 
 squirrels on the fences, without grazing a hair, or scarcely 
 frightening the lively quadrupeds. 
 
 After reaching the southern portion of the Lake, a trail of a 
 mile and a quarter leads to the Upper Ausable — to our minds, 
 the gem of the Adirondacks. This lake, over two thousand 
 feet above the tide, is surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains 
 Our camp was on the eastern shore, and I can never forget the 
 sun-set view, as rosy tints lit up old Skylight, the Haystack 
 and the Gothics ; nor can I ever forget the evening songs from 
 a camp-fire across the lake, or the " Bear story " told by Phelps, 
 a tale never really finished, but made classic and immortal by 
 Stoddard, in his spicy and reliable hand-book to the North Woods. 
 
 The next morning we rowed across the lake and took the 
 
 Bartlett trail, ascending Haystack, some five thousand feet high, 
 
 just to get an appetite for dinner ; our guide encouraging us on 
 
 the way by saying that there never had been more than twenty 
 
 people before "on that air peak." In fact, there was no trail, 
 
 and in some places it was so steep that we were compelled to go 
 
 up on all fours ; or as Scott i)uts it more elegantly in the " Lady 
 
 of the Lake : " 
 
 •' The foot was fain 
 Assistance from the hand to gain." 
 
 The view from the summit well repaid the toil. We saw Slide 
 Mountain, near by to the north, and Whiteface far beyond, per- 
 haps twenty-five miles distant ; northeast, the Gothics ; cast, 
 Saw-teeth, Mt. Colvin, Mt. Dix, and the Lakes of the Ausablo. 
 
THE HUDSON. 277 
 
 To the southeast, Skylight ; northwest, Tahawas, still called by 
 some Mt. Marcy. The descent of Haystack was as easy as 
 Virgil's famous "Descensus Averni." We went down in just 
 twenty minutes. The one that reached the bottom first simply 
 possessed better adaptation for rolling. 
 
 One mile from the foot of Haystack brought us to Panther 
 Gorge Camp, appropriately named, one of the wildest spots in 
 the Adirondacks. We remained there that night and slept 
 soundly, although a dozen of us were packed lo closely in one 
 small camp that no individual could turn over without dis- 
 arranging the whole mass. Caliban and Trinculo were not more 
 neighborly, and Sebastian, even sober, would have been fully 
 justified in taking us for " a rare monster '' with twenty legs. 
 
 The next morning we ascended Tahawas, but saw nothing 
 save whirling clouds on its summit. Twice since then we have 
 had better fortune, and looked down from this mountain peak, 
 five thousand three hundred and forty-four feet above the sea, 
 upon the loveliest mountain landscape that the sun ever shone 
 upon. We went down the western slope of Tahawas, through a 
 driving rain, to Camp Colden, where, with clothes hung up to 
 dry, we looked like a party of New Zealanders preparing dinner, 
 hungry enough, too, to make an orthodox meal of each other. 
 The next day the weather cleared up, and we made a trip of 
 two miles over a rough mountain trail to Lake Avalanche, whose 
 rocky and precipitous walls form a fit christening bowl, or bap- 
 tistery-font for the infant Hudson. 
 
 Returning to Camp Colden and resuming our western march, 
 two miles brought us to Calamity Pond, where a lone monument 
 marks the spot of David Henderson's death, by the accidental 
 
278 THE HUDSON. 
 
 discharg-e of a pistol. Five miles from this point brought us to 
 the '' Deserted Village," or the Upper Adirondack Iron Works, 
 with houses and furnaces abandoned, and rajndly falling into 
 decay. Here we found a pleasant hotel and cordial welcome. 
 
 Had I time to picture to you this level, grass-grown street, 
 with ten or fifteen square box-looking houses, windowless, empty 
 and desolate ; a school-house with its long vacation of twenty- 
 three years ; a bank with heavy shutters and ponderous locks, 
 whose floor. Time, the universal burglar, had undermined ; two 
 large furnaces with great rusty wheels, whose occupation was 
 gone forever ; a thousand tons of charcoal, untouched for a 
 quarter of a century ; thousands of brick waiting for a builder ; 
 a real haunted house, whose flapping clap-boards contain more 
 spirits than the Black Forests of Germany — a village so utterly 
 desolate, that it has not even the vestige of a graveyard — if I 
 could picture to you this village, as it appeared to me that weird 
 midnight, lying so quiet, 
 
 " under the light of the solemn moon," 
 you would realize as I did then, that truth is indeed stranger 
 than fiction, and that Goldsmith in Im " Deserted Village" had 
 not overdrawn the description of desolate Auburn. 
 
 By special request, we were i)ermitted to sleep that night in 
 the Haunted House, and no doubt we listened to the first crack- 
 ling that the old fire-place had known for years Many bedsteads 
 in the old houses were still standing, so we only needed bedding 
 from the hotel to make us comfortable. As wo went to sleep we 
 expressed a wish to be interviewed in the still hours of the 
 night by any ghosts or spirits who might happen to like our 
 com])any ; but the spirits must have been absent on a visit that 
 evening, for we slept undisturbed until the old boll, suspended 
 
THE HUDSON. 279 
 
 in a tree, rang- out the cheery notes of "trout and pickerel." 
 We understand that the Haunted House from that night lost its 
 old-time reputation, and is now frequently brought into requisi- 
 tion as an " Annex," whenever the hotel or " Club House," as it 
 is now called, happens to be full. The " Deserted Village " is 
 rich in natural beauty. Lakes Henderson and Sanford are near 
 at hand, and the lovely Preston Ponds are only five miles distant. 
 
 Resuming our march through Indian Pass, under old Wall- 
 Face Mountain, we reached a comfortable farm-house at sunset, 
 near North Elba, known by the name of Scott's. The next 
 morning we visited John Brown's house and grave by the old 
 rock, and read the beautiful inscription, "Bury me by the Old 
 Rock, where T used to sit and read the word of God." 
 
 From this point we went to Lake Placid, engaged a lad to row 
 us across the lake— some of our party had gone on before — and 
 strapped our knapsacks for another mountain climb. We were 
 fortunate in having a lovely day, and from its sparkling glacier- 
 worn summit we could look back on all the mountains of our 
 pleasant joui-ney, and far away across Lake Champlain to Mount 
 Mansfield and Camel's Hump of the Green Mountains, and 
 farther still to the faint outlines of Mount Washington. We 
 reached Wilmington that night, drove the next morning to 
 Ausable Forks, and took the cars for Plattsburgh. The ten days' 
 trip was finished, and at this late hour I heartily thank the 
 Tahawas Club of Plattsburgh for taking me under their gener- 
 ous care and guidance. We took Phelps, our guide, back with 
 us to Plattsburgh. When he reached the " Porks," and saw the 
 cars for the first time in his life, he stooped down and, examin- 
 ing the track, said, " What tarnal little wheels." I suppose he 
 
280 
 
 THE HUDSON. 
 
 concluded that if the ordinary cart had two large wheels, that 
 real car wheels would resemble the Rings of Saturn. He saw 
 much to amuse and interest him during his short stay in Platts- 
 burgh, but after all he thought it was rather lonesome, and 
 
 INDIAN HEAD. 
 
 gladly returned to his lakes and mountains, where he slept in 
 peace, with the occasional intrusion of a " Bar " or a " PainLcr." 
 He knew the region about Tahawas as an engineer knows his 
 engine, or as a Greek Professor knows the pages of his lexicon. 
 He had lived so closely with nature that he seemed to under- 
 
THE HUDSON. 281 
 
 stand her gentlest whispers, and he had more genuine poetry in 
 his soul than many a man who chains weak ideas in tangled 
 metre. 
 
 Since that first delightful trip I have risited the Adirondacks 
 many times, and I hope this summer to repeat the excursion. 
 To me Tahawas is the grand centre. It remains unchanged. In 
 fact, the route I have here traced is the same to-day as then. 
 Even the rude camps are located in the same places, with the 
 exception that the trail has been shortened over Tahawas, and 
 a camp established on Skylight. With good guides the route is 
 not difficult for ladies in good health, — say sufficient health to 
 endure half a day's shopping. Persons contemplating the 
 mountain trip need blankets, a knapsack, and a rubber cloth or 
 overcoat ; food can be procured at the hotels or farm houses. 
 
 In this hasty sketch I have had little space to indulge in pic- 
 ture-painting. I passed Bridal- Veil Fall without a reference. I 
 was tempted to loiter on the banks of the Feld-spar and the 
 bright Opalescent, but I passed by without even picking a pebble 
 from the clear basins of its sparkling cascades. I passed the 
 " tear of the clouds," four thousand feet above the tide — that 
 fountain of the Hudson nearest to the sky, without being beguiled 
 into X3oetry. I have not ventured upon a description of a sunrise 
 view from the summit of Tahawas, of the magic effect of light 
 above clouds that clothe the surrounding peaks in garments 
 wrought, it seems, of softest wool, until mist and vapor dissolve 
 in roseate colors, and the landscape lies before us like an open 
 book, which many glad eyes have looked upon again and again. I 
 have left it for your guides to tell you, by roaring camp-fires, 
 long st/Ories of adventure in trapping and hunting, of wondrous 
 
282 THE HUDSONo 
 
 fishes that grow lono-er and heavier every season, althoug-h cap- 
 tured and broiled many and many a year ago — trout and pickerel 
 literally pickled in fiction, served and re-served in the piquant 
 sauce of mountain vocabulary. In brief, I have kept my imagi- 
 nation and enthusiasm under strict control. But, after all, the 
 Adirondacks are a wonderland, and we, who dwell in the Hud- 
 son and Mohawk valleys, are happy in having this great Park of 
 Nature's making at our very doors. 
 
 It has charms alike for the hunter, the angler, the artist, the 
 writer, and the scientist. Let us rejoice, therefore, that the 
 State of New York is waking at last to the fact, that these 
 northern mountains were intended by nature to be something 
 more than lumber ranches, to be despoiled by the axe, and 
 finally revert to the State for " taxes"' in the shape of bare and 
 desolate wastes. Nor can the most practical legislator charge 
 those, who wish to preserve the Adirondack Woods, with idle 
 sentiment ; as it is now an established scientific fact that the 
 rainfall of a country is largely dependent upon its forest land. If 
 the water supply of the north were cut off, to any perceptiDle 
 degree, the Hudson, during the month of July and August, 
 would be a mere sluice of salt water from New York to Albany ; 
 and the northern canals, dependent on this supply, would 
 become empty and useless ditches. Our age is intensely practi- 
 cal, but we are fortunate in this, that so far as the preservation 
 of the Adirondacks is concerned, utility, common sense, and the 
 appreciation of the beautiful are inseparably blended. 
 
 To those persons who do not desire long mountain jaunts, who 
 simply need some quiet place for rest and recuperation, T would 
 suggest this : Select some place near the base of these clustered 
 
AN ADIRONDACK CAMP FIRE. 
 
THE HUDSON. 285 
 
 mountains, like the tasty Adirondack Lodge at Clear Pond, only 
 seven miles from the summit of Tahawas, or Beede's pleasant 
 hotel, high and dry above Keene Flats, near to the Ausable 
 Ponds, or some pleasant hotel or quiet farm-house in the more 
 open country near Lake Placid and the Saranacs. But I proph- 
 esy that the spirit of adventure will come with increased 
 strength, and men and women alike will be found wandering- off 
 on long excursions, sitting about great camp-fires, ay, listening 
 like children to tales which have not gathered truth with age. 
 If you have control of your time you will find no pleasanter 
 months than July, August and September, and when you return 
 to your firesides with new vigor to fight the battle of life, you 
 will feel, I think, like thanking the writer for having advised 
 you to go thither. 
 
 I have written in this article the Indian name, Tahawas, in 
 the place of Mt. Marcy, and for this reason : There is no justice 
 in robbing the Indian of his keen, poetic appreciation, by chang- 
 ing a name, which has in itself a definite meaning, for one that 
 means nothing in its association with this mountain. We have 
 stolen enough from this unfortunate race, to leave, at least, 
 those names in our woodland vocabulary that chance to have a 
 musical sound to our imported Saxon ears. The name Tahawas 
 is not only beautiful in itself, but also poetic in its interpretation 
 — signifying " I cleave the clouds." Coleridge, in his glorious 
 hymn, "Before sunrise in the vale of Chamouni," addresses 
 
 Mount Blanc : 
 
 "Around thee and above 
 Deep is the air and dark, substantial, black— 
 An ebon mass. Methinks thou piercest it. 
 As with a wedge!" 
 
286 THE HUDSON. 
 
 The name or meaning of Tahawas was never made known to 
 the great English poet, who died fifty years ago. Is it not re- 
 markable that the untutored Indian, and the keenest poetic 
 mind which England has produced for a century, should have 
 the same idea in the uplifted mountains ? There is also another 
 reason why we, as a State, should cherish the name Tahawas. 
 While the Sierra Nevadas and the Alps slumbered beneath the 
 waves of the ocean, before the Himalayas or the Andes had 
 asserted their supremacy, scientists say, that the high peaks of 
 the Adirondacks stood alone above the waves, "the cradle 
 of the world's life ;" and, as the clouds then encircled the vast 
 waste of water, Tahawas then rose — "Cleaver" alike of the 
 waters and the clouds. 
 
THE HUDSON. 287 
 
 DELAWARE AND HUDSON RAILROAD. 
 
 SusquetLanna Division.— There are few railroads in our 
 country that possess for so many miles suchvariety and interest 
 as the Susquehanna Division of the Delaware & Hudson. All the 
 way from Albany to Binghamton the hills and valleys, the 
 streams, rivulets, and rivers form a succession of beautiful land- 
 scapes, framed in the moving panorama of a car window. The 
 railroad follows the valleys of three streams — the Schoharie, the 
 Cobleskill, and the Susquehanna. 
 
 Leaving Albany we pass through the little villages and 
 stations of Adamsville, Slingerlands, New Scotland, Guilderland, 
 Knowersville, Duanesburgh, Quaker Street, Esperance, and 
 come to Central Bridge, thirty-six miles from Albany, the junc- 
 tion with the branch road for Schoharie Court House and 
 Middleburgh. Schoharie village, the county seat, is situated on 
 Schoharie Flats. First settlement made in 1711. Population 
 about fifteen hundred. The old stone church, erected in 1772, is 
 now used as an arsenal. Three miles from Central Bridge, or 
 thirty-nine miles from Albany, is the celebrated — 
 
 Howe's Cave, discovered on the 22d May, 1842, by Lester 
 Howe. In interest and extent it is second only to the great 
 Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, and presents, in truth, a new 
 world of beauty, with arches and walls reaching away for miles, 
 of which perhaps the half is only discovered. 
 
 Cobleskill, a pleasant and flourishing village is the next sta- 
 tion, forty-five miles from Albany. This rich and fertile valley 
 was called by the Indians Ots-ga-ra-ga. This is the junction of 
 
288 THE HUDSON. 
 
 the Cheii^j Valley Branch, which passes thTough Hyndsville, 
 Seward and Sharon Springs. 
 
 Sharon Springs, once the rival of Saratog-a, is located in 
 a valley on a hill. The streets are well shaded, and the Sulphur 
 Water is well known for its medicinial qualities. Returning to 
 Cobleskill, we pursue our route westward on the main line of 
 the Albany & Su^'^quehanna, through Richmondville, iVihg in a 
 valley on our left, East Worcester, Worcester, Schenevus and 
 Maryland, to the junction of the Coojjerstown & Susquehanna Val- 
 ley Bailroad, for — 
 
 Cooperstown, one of the pleasantest villages in New York, 
 and one of the classic points of our country. It is situated on 
 the shores of Otsego, a beautiful lake worthy of being the fount- 
 ain head of the bright-flowing Susquehanna. The lake is 1,200 
 feet above the sea. Like Mahopac, it is literally surrounded 
 with beauty, and like Irvington or Tarrytown, Cooperstown is 
 one of the literary Meccas of our country, and, by all means, the 
 place to read the works of Cooper. 
 
 Ricnfield Springs.— The route to this popular resort, via 
 Cooperstown and Otsego Lake, is one of the most charming, ro- 
 mantic, and delightful of any trip designated in our guide, and 
 the village and surroundings of Richfield are worthy of the in- 
 creasing tide of visitors. Of course, persons in a hurry will take 
 a drawing-room coach at the New York Central depot, via Utica, 
 and arrive at Richfield Springs in eight hours; but a little 
 steamboating and coaching — ten miles, via the Natty Bumppo 
 steamer and six or seven miles by stage — give variety to the 
 route. Richfield Springs is situated on an elevated plateau, 
 1,700 feet above tide-water, and has all the requisites of health 
 
THE HUDSON. 289 
 
 and beauty, surrounded by mountains and lakes on every 
 hand. 
 
 Canadarago Lake is about three-fourths of a mile directly 
 south from the Springs, five miles long, and one and a half 
 miles wide, surrounded by wood-covered mountain ranges, and 
 abounding in excellent fish. The drives around and to the dif- 
 ferent lakes that gem the mountains, and along the streams that 
 braid the valleys, often detain the casual visitor ; for Mr. Seward 
 expressed something besides poetry in prose in his oration of 
 July 4th, 1840, when he said : '"I have desired to see for myself 
 the valleys of Otsego, through which the Susquehanna extends 
 his arms and entwines his fingers with the tributaries of the 
 Mohawk, as if to divert that gentle river from its allegiance to 
 the Hudson.'- 
 
 Returning to Cooperstown Junction, our route takes us south- 
 west through Colliers and Emmon's to Oneonta, one of the most 
 stirring villages on the route. The next station is Otsego. 
 From this point stages connect with the pleasant village of 
 Franklin; passing through Well's Bridge, Unadilla, Sidney, 
 (with its branch road to Delhi), Afton, and Harpersville, we 
 come to the Tunnel, 127 miles from New York. Then passing 
 through Osborn Hollow and Port Crane, we arrive at Bingham- 
 ton, completing the equilateral triangle — New York, Albany, 
 and Binghamton. It is a flourishing city, and has railway con- 
 nection with the Erk, the Delaware, Lackawanna & Westeni, and 
 Syraciise & Binghamton Bailways. 
 
290 THE HUDSON. 
 
 ALBANY TO NIAGARA FALLS. 
 
 New York Central & Hudson River Railroad.— Taking: 
 
 the great four-tracked Xcw York Central for the Adirondacks 
 the Thousand Islands, and the Lakes of Central New York, we 
 pass through the lumber district of Albany (one of the largest of 
 our Eastern markets), and, inclining to the west, mount steadily 
 a slope, which in early days of "railroading" was surmounted 
 by a stationary engine. Passing through West Albany and 
 Karner, we reach an old-fashioned, quiet town, seat of Union 
 College — 
 
 Scbenectady, ( 17 miles from Albany, population 15,000), 
 where connections are made from Troy, Cohoes, Ballston and 
 Saratoga. Here we cross the Mohawk, which keeps us company 
 for a hundred miles through Hoffmans, Crane's Village, Amster- 
 dam, Aikens, Tribe's Hill, Fonda, Yosts, Sprakers, Palatine 
 Bridge, Fort Plain, St. Johnsville, East Creek, Little Falls, 
 Herkimer, Ilion, Frankfort, to Utica. At Fonda connection is 
 made with Johnstown, Gloversville, Mayfield and Noi'thville, on 
 the Sacandaga, whose poetic name reminds us of a charming 
 walk made a few years ago from Lucerne, along its banks to 
 Lake Pleasant. At Little Falls the Mohawk, confined in its nar- 
 row channel, presents to the traveler a series of picturesque 
 views. East of Little Falls, the Mohawk Indians once had a 
 village known as Indian Castle. The first patent granted in the 
 Mohawk Valley was to Captain Van Slyck, of Schenectady— a 
 gift of the tribe. In 1723 the great immigration of the Pala- 
 tines occurred, and from that tirpe their lands wei*e parcelled 
 
THE HUDSON. 291 
 
 out until at last they had no abiding- place. It will be remem- 
 bered that they were allies of the English, fighting under Sir 
 William Johnson, who had his home at Johnstown. 
 
 Herkiiner. A branch of the Adirondack Division of the 
 Keic lork dntraJ, used as a local line, connects this village with 
 Trenton Falls, Prospect, and Remsen, but the main line is via — 
 
 Utica, (95 miles from Albany, population 46,608), the first 
 express station on the Xew York Central, (Bagg's Hotel, near the 
 station, the most convenient and best). Twenty-eight miles 
 over the Borne and Wateiioicn and Ogelenshurgh line brings us to 
 Remsen. Continuing our journey we come to Honedaga and 
 crossing Blue River reach "WTiite Lake at the blue dotted 
 portal of the western district of the Adirondacks. Otter Lake 
 and McKeever stations are soon passed and we come to — 
 
 Fulton Chain Station, (58 miles from Herkimer), " Located 
 in Arnold's Clearing (John Brown's tract), near the site of the 
 Old Forge, and about one and a half miles from the Old Forge 
 Steamboat landing-, where connection is made with steamers 
 for the head of Fourth Lake, passing through First, Second, 
 Third and Fourth Lakes of the Fulton Chain. Fourth Lake is 
 one of the largest bodies of Adirondack waters, and certainly 
 one of the prettiest. The popular route to Raquette. Blue 
 Mountain and Long Lakes is via Fulton Chain. After leaving 
 the steamer at the head of Fourth Lake, the tourist is taken in 
 small boats to the head of Fifth Lake, where a short carry is 
 made, when the boat is again launched at the foot of Sixth Lake, 
 and used to the head of Seventh, where another carry of less 
 than a mile is made to Eighth (a gem). Again the boat is used 
 to the head of Eighth Lake, another carry to Brown's tract inlet, 
 
292 THE HUDSON. 
 
 and thence by boat to the Raquette. The distance from Old 
 Forge to the head of Fourth Lake is about ten miles ; through 
 to Raquette Lake about 25 miles. A small steamer plies on 
 Raquette Lake and through Marion River, connecting at Bas- 
 sett's Carry with another small steamer, running through Uto- 
 wana and Eagle Lakes to Blue Mountain Lake, one of the most 
 attractive in the Adirondacks, having an elevation of 1,801 feet 
 and excellent hotel accommodations. The same may also be 
 said of Raquette Lake ; and along the Fulton Chain will be 
 found many excellent hotels and camping places. 
 
 From Raquette Lake it is easy to reach Forked Lake and 
 Long Lake, the trip being made in small boats. 
 
 From Fulton Chain Station the line of the railway still fol- 
 lows the north branch of the Moose River, and 69 miles from 
 Herkimer we reach Big Moose Station. Nine miles north of 
 Big Moose is located a stopping place called Beaver River. 
 
 Near Beaver River Station we enter Ne-ha-sa-ne Park, the 
 private preserve of Dr. Webb. Little Rapids, Lake Lila and 
 Ne-ha-sa-ne are stations for the personal use of Dr. Webb, being 
 located within Ne-ha-sa-ne Park. 
 
 One hundred miles from Herkimer is the station called Horse- 
 shoe Pond. 
 
 After leaving Horseshoe Pond the railway runs northward close 
 to Pleasant Lake, and swinging around Arab Mountain takes an 
 easterly course. At a point near where the turn is made is 
 Childwold, which is the station for Childwold Park and Gales 
 Pond View House, on Catamount Pond. 
 
 Six miles east of Childwold the railway crosses the foot of Ra- 
 quette Pond. 
 
THE HUDSON. 293 
 
 One hundred and fourteen miles from Herkimer is Tupper 
 Lake Junction, the station for Tupper Lake village, and also 
 connecting- point with the Northern Adirond<xck Railroad. 
 
 Beyond Tupper the line runs northeast, passing- close to Little 
 Wolfe Pond, a short distance from Big- Wolfe Pond, and between 
 Mosquito and Rollins Pond past Fleetwood Pond and not far 
 from Long Pond, close to Turtle and Hoel ponds. 
 
 We next come to Saranac Inn Station. About one mile dis- 
 tant is the Saranac Inn, at the head of Upper Saranac Lake. 
 Steamers ply between Saranac Inn and the foot of the lake. 
 
 Big Clear Pond and Lake Clear stations are next reached. The 
 Saranac branch leaves the main line at Lake Clear, passing 
 southeast, crossing Colby Lake, and terminating at Saranac 
 Lake, a distance of 137 miles from Herkimer. This is the larg- 
 est village within the limits of the Adirondack region, and a 
 famous refuge for invalids. 
 
 At a little over a mile from the village is Lower Saranac Lake. 
 
 Returning to the main line at Lake Clear, we travel north- 
 ward to Paul Smith's, 137 miles from Herkimer. From this sta- 
 tion there is an excellent carriage road to the old and well- 
 known resort, "Paul Smith's Hotel," about three and a half 
 miles distant, and located on lower St. Regis Lake. 
 
 Four miles east of Paul Smith's Station is the village of 
 Bloomingdale, having a population of about 600. 
 
 Rainbow Lake Station is two miles north of Paul Smith's Sta- 
 tion. The railway passes within a short distance of Rainbow 
 Lake and Wardner Pond, both noted fishing grounds. 
 
 The next stopping place is Lake Kushaqua and from here 
 north the line of the railway runs along the eastern side of 
 
294 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Loon Lake Mountain to Loon Lake Station, 148 miles from 
 Herkimer. 
 
 From Loon Lake the Adirondack division takes a northerly 
 course through the forrest, passing- Wolfe and Plumadore ponds, 
 then turns to the northwest and follows the Salmon River on 
 the west side, crossing to the east at Mountain View. 
 
 From here we proceed across a long- level plateau, with mount- 
 ains on each side, until Ring-ville is reached. Owl's Head, 
 Branch Pond and Debar Mountains are in plain view from here. 
 From this point on the grade gradually descends, the road 
 swinging in closely to and finally coming out high up on the 
 eastern side of Salmon River Valley, where we have a view of 
 great beauty and grandeur. Soon the buildings of Malone come 
 in sight, the terminus of the Adirondack Division proper, and 
 its connecting point with the St. Lawrence & Adirondack Rail- 
 road, which runs north to Valleyfield, crosses the St. Lawrence 
 River, and connects at Coteau with the Grand Trunk Railway tor 
 Montreal and the Canada Atlantic Railway for Ottawa." 
 
 It will also be remembered that the Rome, Wateiiown & Ogdens- 
 hurgh Railroad connects Utica with the St. Lawrence, passing 
 through Trenton Falls, a dream of beauty framed in everlasting 
 rock, Lowville, one of the most beautiful villages in northern 
 New York, Carthage, with its celebrated water power seventy- 
 four miles from Utica, Watertown, beautifully situated and taste- 
 fully laid out to Clayton and Alexandria Bay. New York State is 
 singularly favored in romantic, grand, and picturesque scenery. 
 The St. Lawrence is one of the few rivers in the world worthy of 
 an association with the Hudson. It combines many features of 
 attraction. From Clayton to Alexandria Bay the picturesque 
 islands present features not to be found on any other sti'eam. 
 
THE HUDSON. 295 
 
 Some of the islanas are miles in length ; others are hardly large 
 enough to support a colony of shrubs. Many of them are 
 adorned by beautiful summer residences. Three or four belong 
 to religious and other associations. On Wells Island two or 
 three societies have their summer home — that known as 
 "Thousand Island Park," being the largest. 
 
 Returning to Utica we resume our western route, passing 
 through Oneida, Chittenango and Manlius to — • 
 
 Syracuse, (population 91,994), 148 miles from Albany, the 
 most flourishing and enterprising city in Central New York. 
 We are now in what might be called the Western Lake District. 
 Oneida Lake having been passed near Oneida and Canastota, 
 we have Cazenovia Lake to the southeast. Lake Skeneateles to 
 the southwest, Auburn and Owasco, Cayuga and Seneca to the 
 west, Canandaigua Lake being the most western of the system. 
 At Syracuse connection is made with Oswego. ( Best hotel the 
 Vanderbilt). From Syracuse what is known as the old road 
 takes one via Auburn, Cayuga and the Lake country, while the 
 main lino passes through Clyde and Lyons direct to — 
 
 Rocliester, (228 miles from Albany, population 144,834), 
 the finest city of Western New York, and in many particulars, 
 the finest in the State. It is now especially attractive to the 
 tourist, for it is the happy possessor of one of the most superb 
 hotels on the continent — the new Powers Hotel. We doubt if 
 there is between the two oceans a more complete and attractive 
 hotel, when we take into account the Powers' Block, the Powers' 
 Hotel, and the Powers' Art Gallery, so connected and arranged 
 that they are practically one building. From Rochester, our 
 route takes us to — 
 
296 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Niagara Falls (Hotel, Prospect House, strictly first class 
 and admirably located) via Buffalo, the Empire State's western 
 metropolis, or direct, without change. During the last few 
 years the surroundings of the Falls have been greatly improved 
 on the American side, and a fine park enclosed, and laid out in 
 walks. It is secure, even for children and absent-minded lovers. 
 The walled battlements present safe standpoints which com- 
 mand the finest views. 
 
 The American Fall (900 feet across, 164 feet high) is only a 
 short distance from the station. We have seen pictures of these 
 Falls, from Church's masterpiece to the hastily engraved cut of 
 a guide-book. We all have an idea how the Falls look, but they 
 never speak to us until we have gazed over that deep abyss, 
 and up the stream which ever rushes on, like an army to battle, 
 and down the crowded chasm, where the black waters have 
 worn their passage, through the silent, unknown centuries. 
 Goat Island, the natural Central Park of the Falls, is connected 
 with the American side by a bridge. The area of the island is 
 about sixty acres. The Cave of the Winds, with its magnifi- 
 cent curtain of changing beauty, the Rainbow, and the Whirl- 
 pool Rapids are reached by Elevator. Goat Island presents a 
 commanding view of the Horse Shoe Falls which Nature has 
 hung as an omen of good luck and amity over the great door- 
 way between the United States and Canada. In addition to the 
 aesthetic improvement of parks and driveways, the commer- 
 cial side of Niagara has also greatly developed. Three bridges 
 now span the great chasm below the Falls and the waterfall has 
 absolutely been harnessed into untold horse power for the ser- 
 vice or man. The Scientific Ainerican of June, 1898, has an ex- 
 
THE HUDSON. 297 
 
 tended article on the subject, from which we clip the following" : 
 " The canal of the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manu- 
 facturing Company is 4,400 feet long-. For the past six years 
 this company has expended a large amount of money in enlarg- 
 ing it. Their right to take water from the upper Niagara has 
 been recognized by the State legislature to the extent that 
 they may develop many thousand horse power. The present 
 width of the canal at its entrance is 250 feet. In 400 feet the 
 width narrows down to 70 feet, and at this width it continues to 
 the basin, which is located about 300 feet back from the edge of 
 the high bank, with which it runs parallel. The basin is about 
 400 feet long and 70 feet wide. For 40 feet of the present width 
 of the canal the channel is 14 feet deep, and for the remaining 
 30 feet it is 8 feet deep. 
 
 The original section of the building was completed in 1896, 
 and contains four turbines which operate eight generators, two 
 of which furnish power for the operation of the Niagara Falls and 
 Lewiston Railway, better known as the " Great Gorge Route." 
 The gate house is located over the forebay. It is an iron 
 frame structure covered with corrugated iron. It is a thoroughly 
 fireproof structure, and stands in the rear of the lower wo7-ks of 
 the Pittsburg Reduction Company. Here are located the ap- 
 pliances for opening and closing the gates which allow the flow 
 of water into the penstocks. Before the water passes into the 
 penstocks it goes through racks which screen out all floating 
 substances likely to endanger the wheels. The apparatus in 
 the new section of this building will be very similar to that of 
 the original installation, an improvement being made in waste 
 gate appliances so as to avoid all trouble from floating ice." 
 
298 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Burning Spring- is about a mile above Table Rock, near the 
 river edge. Not far from this the battle of Chippewa was 
 fought, July 5, 1814. And also, a mile and a half from the falls, 
 is the battle ground of Lundy's Lane. Many writers have 
 attempted to describe Niagara, but in every description there 
 is something lacking. We can give its dimensions, its height 
 and breadth, and point out the places to be seen ; but there is a 
 Unity about Niagara which can only be felt. It makes one wish 
 that David could have seen it, and added a new chapter to the 
 Psalms. 
 
 What a wonderful State ! The ''Empire" in scenery as in 
 wealth and commercial influence. What other spot in the wide 
 world can present in such narrow compass such mountains and 
 wooded lakes as the Adirondacks, such charming outlook as the 
 Catskills, such islands as the St. Lawrence, such Highlands as 
 the Hudson and so noble a climax of majesty as Niagara. 
 
 Proud swaying pendant of a crystal chain, 
 
 On fair Columbia's rich and bounteous breast, 
 With beaded lakes that necklace-like retain 
 
 Heaven's stainless blue with golden sunlight bleett 
 What other land can boast a gem so bright! 
 
 With colors born of sun and driven spray— 
 A brooch of glory, amulet of might. 
 
 Where all the irised beauties softly stray. 
 Ay, more— God's living voice, Niagara thou! 
 
 Proclaiming wide the anthem of the free; 
 The starry sky the crown upon thy brow. 
 
 Thy ceaseless chant a song of Liberty. 
 But this thy birthright, this thy sweetest dowei^ 
 
 Yon arching rainbow— Love still spanning Power. 
 
COXDENSED POIjSTTS 
 
 AS SEEN ON HUDSON RIVER DAY LINE STEAMERS FROM 
 NEW YORK TO ALBANY. 
 
 Desbrosses Street Pier. On leaving' landing- a charming view 
 is obtained of New York Harbor. 
 
 SSnd Street Pier. Upper landing for Hudson River Steamers. 
 
 Stevens Castle, on west bank, almost opposite 22nd Street 
 Landing. 
 
 EUjsian Fields, close to castle on the north : west bank. 
 
 Weehawken, also on west bank, where the Hamilton and Burr 
 duel was fought in 1804. 
 
 Tomb of General Grant, east bank, just above the new build- 
 ings of Columbia College. 
 
 Fort Lee, on west bank, with large picnic houses at foot of 
 bluff. 
 
 Washington Heights, east bank, almost opposite Fort Lee. 
 
 Stewart Castle, east bank, formerly owned by A. T. Stewart. 
 
 Palisades, on west bank, extend fifteen miles from Fort Lee 
 to Piermont, a sheer w^all of trap rock from 300 to 500 feet hig-h. 
 
 Spuyten DuyviL on east bank, northern boundry of Manhattan 
 Island. 
 
 Site of Fort Independence, east bank, on height north of Spuy- 
 ten Duyvil. 
 
 Convent of Mount St. Vincent. The gray, castle-like structure 
 in front was once the home of Edwin Forrest. 
 
 Yonkers, seventeen miles from battery on east bank. 
 
 Greystone, on east bank, crowning hill about one and a half 
 miles north of Yonkers. Once property of Samuel J. Tilden. 
 
 Hastings, pleasant village on east bank. 
 
 Indian Head (510 feet), opposite Hastings, highest point of 
 Palisades. 
 
 Dobb's Ferry, on east bank, named after an old Swedish 
 ferryman. 
 
 300 
 
THE HUDSON. 301 
 
 ArdsJey, on east bank, just above Dobb's Ferry. 
 
 Cosmopolitan Building, on east bank, above Ardsley. 
 
 Irvington, 24 miles from New York, named after Washing-ton 
 Irving. 
 
 Piennont, on west bank, with pier almost one mile in length 
 extending into the river. 
 
 Sunnyside, home of Washington Irving, east bank, one-half 
 mile north of Irvington Station, close to river bank and scarcely 
 seen through the trees. 
 
 Helen Gould's Residence, east bank, prominent Abbey-like 
 structure, known as " Lyndehurst." 
 
 Tarrytown, east bank, 26 miles from New York. Monument 
 to captors of Major Andre, near church spire, not visible from 
 steamer. 
 
 Nyack, west bank, opposite Tarry town. 
 
 Tappan Zee, reaching from Dobb's Ferry to Croton Point, is 
 about three miles wide at Tarry town. 
 
 Sleepy Holloic, east bank, north of Tarry town ; burial place of 
 Washington Irving ; the tall shaft visible from steamer, 
 erected by the Delavan family, is near his grave. 
 
 Bockwood, home of William Rockfeller. One of the most 
 imposing residences on the Hudson. 
 
 Eamapo ^fountains, on west side above Nyack, known as 
 " Point No Point." 
 
 Sing Sing, on east bank, six miles north of Tarrytown. Prison 
 buildings near the river below the village. 
 
 Rockland Lake, opposite Sing Sing, between two hills ; source 
 of the Hackensack River. 
 
 Croton River, on east bank, meets the Hudson one mile above 
 Sing Sing; crossed by draw-bridge of the Hudson River Railroad. 
 
 Ilaverstraw Bay, widest part of the river ; over four miles in 
 width. 
 
 West Shore Railroad, west bank, meets the Hudson south of 
 Haverstraw. 
 
 Ilaverstraw, on west side, with two miles of brickyards. 
 
302 THE HUDSON. 
 
 Treason Hill, where Arnold and Andre met at the house of 
 Joshua Hett Smith, northwest of Haverstraw. 
 
 Stony Point, west bank. Light-house built on site and from 
 the material of old fort captured from the British by Anthony 
 Wayne in 1778. 
 
 PeekskiU, east bank, pleasantly located on Peekskill Bay. 
 
 New York State Encampment, on bluff north of Peekskill Creek. 
 
 KidcVs Point, on west bank, where steamer enters Highlands 
 almost at a right angle. 
 
 Dunderberg 3Iountain, west bank, forming with Manito Moan- 
 tain on the east, the southern portal of the Highlands. 
 
 lona Island, pleasure resort for excursions, west of main 
 channel of the Hudson. 
 
 Anthony^ s Nose, east bank, with tunnel of Hudson River Rail- 
 road. 
 
 Forts Montgomery and Clinton, almost opposite on west bank. 
 
 /. Pierrepont Morgan's Besidence, on west bank, sheltered by 
 trees. 
 
 Sugar-Loaf, east bank, resembling an old "sugar-loaf " look- 
 ing north from Anthony's Nose. 
 
 Beverley Dock, at foot of Sugar-Loaf, from which point Arnold 
 fled to the "Vulture." 
 
 Hamilton Fish's Residence, on hillside. 
 
 William H Osborne's liesidence, on east bank ; house with 
 pointed tower north of Sugar-Loaf. 
 
 West Point, 50 miles from New York, Academy Buildings and 
 Parade Grounds. 
 
 Memorial Hall, commanding building on bluff above landing. 
 
 Garrison, opposite West Point on east bank. 
 
 Fort Putnam (596 feet), overlooks the Hudson on west side. 
 
 West Point Hotel, west bank, wide outlook to the north. One 
 of the finest locations on the Hudson. 
 
 Battle 3Ionument, surmounted by Statue of "Victory." 
 
 Constitution Island, on east bank; chain was thrown across the 
 river at this point during the Revolution. 
 
THE HUDSON. 303 
 
 Old Cro^ Nest, picturesque mountain nortii of West Point on 
 west bank. 
 
 Cold Spring, on east bank, opposite Old Cro' Nest. 
 
 Undercliff, of George P. Morris, on slope north of Cold 
 Spring. 
 
 Break Neck Mountain, on east bank, from which point the 
 Highlands trend away to the northwest, known as the Beacon 
 Mountains and the Fiskill Range. 
 
 Storm King, on west bank, marking northern portal of the 
 Highlands. 
 
 Cornwall, pleasant village under the slope of Storm King. 
 
 PolloxjeVs Idand, at northern portal of the Highlands. 
 
 Idlewild, above Cornwall, scarcely visible through the trees, 
 former home of N. P. Willis. 
 
 Washington's Headquarters, Newburgh, seen as the boat ap- 
 proaches the city. A flag-staff marks the point. 
 
 Newburgh, west bank, 59 miles from New York. 
 
 Fishkill Landing, on east bank, opposite Newburgh. 
 
 New Hamburgh, above Low Point, on the east side. 
 
 Shawangunk Mountains, on the west side, reach away in the 
 distance tow^ard the Catskills. 
 
 Marlborough and Milton. Two pleasant villages on west bank. 
 
 Poughkeepsie, 74 miles from New York. (Vassar College, two 
 miles east, not seen from the river.) 
 
 Poughkeepsie Bndge, 12,608 feet in length. Track 212 feet 
 above tide-water. 
 
 F. J. Allen's liesidence, with tower and beautiful grounds. 
 
 3frs. John F. Wiyhslow's Besidence, seen through opening of 
 trees on east bank. 
 
 Hudson Eiver State Hospital. Large red buildings on east 
 bank, two miles north of Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Hyde Park, on the east side, six miles north of Poughkeepsie. 
 Connected with Poughkeepsie by a succession of villas. 
 
 Besidence of Frederick W. Vanderhilt, with white marble 
 Corinthian columns. 
 
304 THE HUDSON. 
 
 John Burroughs, brown cottag-e, east bank, nearly opposite 
 Vanderbilt's. 
 
 Staatshurgh, on east side. Dock and ice houses in foreground. 
 
 Dinsmore''s Besidence, a lar^-e yellow building- on Dinsmore 
 Point. 
 
 Ellerslie, residence of Ex-Vice-President Levi P. Morton, be- 
 low Rhinecliff. 
 
 Bhinediff, on east bank. 
 
 City of Kingston, embraces Kingston and Rondout. 
 
 Kingston Point. Day Line Landing. Delig-htful park and 
 picnic grounds near the landing. 
 
 Ferndiff, Besidence of William Astor. Fine villa with pointed 
 tower. 
 
 Flatbush. Village seen on west bank opposite Clifton Point. 
 
 Barrytown, on east bank. 
 
 Cruger's Besidence, on Cruger's Island. 
 
 Tlie First Steamboat, The "Clermont," was built by Robert 
 Fulton in the Cove, known as North Bay, just north of Cruger's 
 Island. 
 
 Tivoli, on east side, 100 miles from New York. 
 
 Saugerties, on west side. 
 
 Maiden. Above Saugerties, on west side. 
 
 Germantown, on east side, 105 miles from New York. 
 
 Man in the Mountain. Between Germantown and Catskil we 
 get a fine view of the reclining giant. 
 
 Catskill, 110 miles from New York. 
 
 Prospect Park Hotel, on bluff above landing. 
 
 Frederick E. Church's Besidence. One of the most commanding 
 sites and finest residences on the east bank, opposite Catskill. 
 
 Bodger's Island, on the east side, where the last battle was 
 fought between the Mohawks and the Mahicans. 
 
 Mount Merino, two miles north of Rodger's Island, on the cast 
 bank. 
 
 Hudson, east bank, 115 miles from New York. 
 
 Athe^is, on west bank, opposite Hudson. 
 
THE HUDSON. 305 
 
 Stockport, on east side, four miles north of Hudson. 
 
 Coxsaclcie, on west side, 8 miles from Hudson. 
 
 Stuyvesant, on the east side ; once called Kinderhook Landing. 
 
 New Baltimore, about opposite the centre of Schodack Island, 
 fifteen miles from Hudson and fifteen from Albany. 
 
 Coeymans, west bank, just above Beeren Island. 
 
 Castleton, a pleasant village, on east bank, town of Schodack. 
 
 Van Rensselaer Place. One of the Van Rensselaer houses on 
 the east bank, built before the Revolution. 
 
 Rensselaer, on east bank (formerly Greenbush). 
 
 Albany, 144 miles from New York, with beautiful location and 
 grand public buildings ; notably among these are the Capitol, 
 the Cathedral, the State House and City Hall. 
 
 THE NEW HUDSON PANORAMA, 
 
 By ■WALLACE BRUCE. 
 
 Author of "Old Homestead Poems," "Wayside Poems," "In Clover and 
 Heather." &c. 
 
 Commended and Appreciated at Home and Abroad. 
 
 Both banks of the Hudson in one continuous picture from 
 New Yoi-k to Albany. The most remarkable production of 
 Photography and Photo-Engraving in the world. 
 
 For Sale at News Stands of Hudson River Day Line Steamers or sent 
 by mail on receipt of One Dollar. 
 
 Address, WALLACE BRUCE, 267 Stuyvesant Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 
 
THE HUDSON TIDE. 
 
 (Condensed from article by permission of writer.) 
 
 The tide in the Hudson River is the continuation of the tide- 
 wave, which comes up from the ocean through New York Bay, 
 and is carried by its own momentum one hundred and sixty 
 miles, growing, of course, constantly smaller, until it is finally 
 stopped by the dam at Troy. The crest of this wave, or top 
 high water, is ten hours going from New York to Troy. A 
 steamer employing the same time (ten hours) for the journey, 
 and starting at high water in New York, would carry a flood 
 tide and highest water all the way, and have an up-river current 
 of about three miles an hour helping her. On the other hand, 
 the same steamer starting six hours later, or at low tide, would 
 have dead low water and an ebb-tide current of about three 
 miles against her the entire way. The average rise and fall 
 of the tides in New York is five and one-half feet, and in Troy, 
 about two feet. 
 
 The flood tide may carry salt water, under the most favorable 
 circumstances, so that it* can be detected at Poughkeepsie, but 
 ordinarily the water is fresh at Newburgh. 
 
 To those who have not studied the tides the following para- 
 graphs will also be of interest. 
 
 The tides are the semi-diurnal oscillations of the waters of 
 the ocean, caused by the attraction of the moon and sun. 
 
 The influence of the moon's attraction is the preponderating 
 one in the tide rising force, while that of the sun is about two- 
 fifths as much as that of the moon. The tides therefore follow 
 the motion of the moon, and the average interval between the 
 times of high water is the half length of the lunar day, or 
 about twelve hours and twenty-five minutes. 
 
 The tide-wave always travels west. When the configuration 
 of the coast line drives it into a corner, as in the Bay of Fundy, 
 or the mouth of the Severn, the tides rise to very great heights 
 — fifty, seventy-five, or even one hundred feet. The lowest 
 regular tides are on the islands in raid-ocean. 
 
GEOLOGY OF THE HUDSOK 
 
 In addition to various g-eological references scattered throug-h 
 these pag-es the following- facts from an American Geolog-ical 
 Railway Guide, by James Macfarlane, Ph.D., will be of interest . 
 
 "The State of New York is to the g-eologist what the Holy Land 
 is to the Christian, and the works of her Palaeontolog^ist are the 
 Old Testament Scriptures of the science. It is a Laurentian, 
 Cambrian, Silurian and Devonian State, containing all the 
 groups and all the formations of these long- ag-es, beautifully de- 
 veloped in belts running nearly across the State in an east and 
 west direction, lying imdisturbed as originally laid down. 
 
 " The rock of New York Island is gneiss, except a portion of the 
 north end, which is limestone. The south portion is covered 
 with deep alluvial deposits, which in some places are more than 
 100 feet in depth. The natural outcroppings of the gneiss ap- 
 peared on the surface about 16th street, on the east side of the 
 city, and run diagonally across to 31st street on 10th avenue. 
 North of this, much of the surface was naked rock. It contains 
 a large proportion of mica, a small proportion of quartz and still 
 less feldspar, but generally an abundance of iron pyrites in very 
 minute crystals, which, on exposure, are decomposed. In conse- 
 quence of these ingredients it soon disintegrates on exposure, 
 rendering it unfit for the purposes of building. The erection of 
 a great city, for which this island furnishes a noble site, has very 
 greatly changed its natural condition. The geological age of 
 oho New York gneiss is undoubtedly very old, not the Lauren- 
 tian or oldest, nor the Huronian, but it belongs to to the third or 
 V/hite Mountain series, named by Dr. Hunt the Montalban. It 
 is the same range which is the basis rock of nearly all the great 
 
 307 
 
308 THE HUDSON. 
 
 cities of the Atlantic coast. It crosses New Jersey where it is 
 turned to clay, until it appears under Trenton, and it extends to 
 Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and Richmond, Va., and 
 probably Boston, Massachusetts, is founded on this same for- 
 mation. 
 
 ' ' On the opposite side of the river may here be seen for many 
 miles the Palisades, a long-, roug-h mountain ridge close to the 
 water's edge. Its upper half is a perpendicular precipice of bare 
 rock of a columnar structure from 100 to 200 feet in height, the 
 whole height of the mountain being generally from 400 to 600 
 feet, and the highest point in the range opposite Sing Sing 800 
 feet above the Hudson, and known as the High Torn. The width 
 of the mountain is from a half mile to a mile and a half, the 
 western slope being quite gentle. In length it extends from 
 Bergen Point below Jersey City to Haverstraw, and then west- 
 ward in all 48 miles, the middle portion being merely a low ridge. 
 The lower half of the ridge on the river side is as loping mound 
 of detritus, of loose stones which has accumulated at the base of 
 the cliff, being derived from its weathered and wasted surface. 
 This talus and the summit of the mountain are covered with 
 trees, with the bare rocky precipice called the Palisades be, 
 tween, and many fine country residences may be seen on the 
 level summit, from which are beautiful views of the river, the 
 harbor and City of New York. Viewed from the railroad or from 
 a steamboat on the river, this lofty mural precipice with its huge 
 weathered masses of upright columns of bare rock, presenting a 
 long, straight unbroken ridge overlooking the beautiful Hudson 
 River J is certainly extremely picturesque. Thousands of travel- 
 ers gaze at it daily without knowing what it is. This entire 
 ridge consists of no other rock than trap traversing the Triassic 
 formation in a huge vertical dike. The red sandstone formation 
 of New Jersey is intersected by numerous dikes of this kind, but 
 this is much the finest. The materials of this mountain have 
 undoubtedly burst through a great rent or fissure in the strata, 
 overflowing while in a melted or plastic condition the red sand- 
 
THE HUDSON. 309 
 
 stone, not with the violence of a volcano, for the adjoining- strata 
 are but little disturbed in position, although often greatly al- 
 tered by the heat, but forced up very slowly and gradually, and 
 probably under pressure. Subsequent denudation has laid bare 
 the part of the mountain now exposed along the river. The rock 
 is columnar basalt, sometimes called greenstone, and is solid, 
 not stratified like water-formed rocks, but cracked in cooling and 
 of a crystalline structure. Here is a remarkable but not uncom- 
 mon instance of a great geological blank. On the east side of 
 this river the formations belong to the first or oldest series of 
 Primary or Crystalline rocks, while on the west side they are all 
 Triassic, the intermediate Cambrian, Silurian, Devonian and 
 Carboniferous formations being wanting. This state of things 
 continues all along the Atlantic coast to Georgia, the Cretaceous 
 or Jurassic taking the place of the Triassic farther south. 
 
 ' ' Montrose to Cornwall. This celebrated passage of the Hudson 
 through the Highlands, is a gorge nearly 20 miles long from 3 
 miles south of Peekskill to Fishkill, and is worn out of the Lau- 
 rentian rocks far below mean tide water. The hills on its sides 
 rise in some instances as much as 1 800 feet, and in many places 
 the walls are very precipitous. The rock is gneiss, of a kind 
 that is not easily disintegrated or eroded, nor is there any evi- 
 dence of any convulsive movement. It is clearly a case of 
 erosion, but not by the present river, which has no fall, for tide 
 water extends 100 miles up the river beyond the Highlands. 
 This therefore was probably a work mainly performed in some 
 past period when the continent was at a higher level. Most 
 likely it is a valley of great antiquity. 
 
 "Opposite Fishkill is New burgh, which is in the great valley of 
 Lower Silurian or Cambrian limestone and slate. North of that, 
 on the west side of the river, the formations occur in their usual 
 order, their outcrops running northeast and southwest. On the 
 N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R., on the east side, the same valley crosses, 
 and the slates from Fishkill to Rhinebeck are about the same 
 place in the series : but being destitute of fossils and very much 
 
310 THE HUDSOlSi. 
 
 faulted, tilted and disturbed, their precise geology is uncertain 
 See the exposures in the cuts at Poughkeepsie. The high 
 ground to the east is commonly called the Quebec group. 
 
 "A series of great dislocations with upthrows on the east side 
 traverse eastern North America from Canada to Alabama. One 
 of these great faults has been traced from near the mouth of the 
 St. Lawrence River, keeping mostly under the water up to Que- 
 bec just north of the fortress, thence by a gently curving line to 
 Lake Champlain or through Western Vermont across Washing- 
 ton County, N. Y., to near Albany. It crosses the river near 
 Rhinebeck 15 miles north of Poughkeepsie and continues on 
 southward into New Jersey and runs into another series of faults 
 probably of a later date, which extends as far as Alabama. It 
 brings up the rocks of the so called Quebec group on the east 
 side of the fracture to the level of the Hudson River and Trenton, 
 
 "Catskill Mountains. For many miles on this railroad are 
 beautiful views of the Catskill Mountains, 3,800 feet high, sev- 
 eral miles distant on the oj)posite or west side of the river, and 
 which furnish the name for the Catskill formation. The wide 
 valley between them and the river is composed of Chemung, 
 Hamilton, Lower Helderberg and Hudson River. The geology 
 on the east or railroad side is entirely different. 
 
 "Albany. The clay beds at Albany are more than 100 feet 
 thick, and between that city and Schenectady they are under- 
 laid by a bed of sand that is in some places more than 50 feet 
 thick. There is an old glacial clay and boulder drift below the 
 gravel at Albany, but Professor Hall says it is not the estuary 
 stratified clay."