A reference to the index may in many cases dis])el an impression that some im])ortant event or i)erson has been neglected or forgotten l^ecause its ]dace in a chronological sccjuence has of necessity been disregarded. In commencing the story with the arriwal of TTenry Hudson, the claims of Verrazani and other early na\-igators have been ignored, not because history disowns them, but for the reason that the record of the river, so far as it is clearlv written, commences with the Half Moon and the first Dutch settlers. In collecting and ]:»roducing illustrations for this work great care has been taken to illustrate the text and not merely to make a ])icture-book, but the beauty

iv Preface

as well as the fitness of the many engravings with which it has 1)een embellished is a source of satisfaction to both the author and the publishers, who present them without misgiving. It is a pleasure to acknowledge with hearty appreciation the courtesy of many friends who have aided the writer in his search for material. Among others, Mr. M. H. Bright, the Directors of the Lenox Library, and Mr. Joel Benton have the author's sincere acknowledgment for memoranda and the use of rare ])ictures. To Mr. Francis Whiting Halsey, especially, he is indebted for a manuscript journal of a voyage up the Hudson in the year 1769. This, it is believed, has never before been printed. TJic Hudson River is offered to the ]iu])lic with a consciousnes ofthe vastness of the suljject and the im])ossibility of treating it exhaustively in a single volume. The author \w\\\ ask his archaological readers kindly to bear in mind that for no town in the land vv^ould the antiquaries be found in accord concerning all points of local history. Whoever writes the history (jf a single village, whether on the Hudson or elsewhere, must expect the honest criticism of some who do not agree with his conclusions.