Along the ridges and through the woods where they disputed titles with their neighbours, the bears and the catamounts, generations of white men have

Riverside to Inwood 159

come with their feuds and friendships, their loves and their hates, and ha\-e also passed away. From the great city, less and less distant every year, the rumble and the roar of approaching activity warn the dweller among green lawns and trees that the days of his seclusion are numbered.

Chapter XI The Island and the River in 1776

BRITISH plans to gain possession of New York in order to command the entrance of the Hudson, were reported to Congress in October, 1775. Inquiries, it was said, had been made by Englishmen high in authority as to the feasibility of erecting forts in the Highlands, thus controlling the navigation of the river. x\lbany was also included in these designs for keeping open communication between Quebec and the lower provinces. vSuch reports, whether well or ill founded, had the desirable effect of inciting the Continental leaders to measures for the protection of the river and its shores. The military importance of the Hudson in the impending struggle could not be overestimated, and although the scene of conflict shifted from Canada to the Carolinas, and the fields of Pennsylvania and New Jersey were de\'astated, yet from first to last the great river was the key to the continent for which both sides contended. On suspicion that New York City was the destination of the fleet preparing 160to sail under command of