At the hatcheries of the State Commission it has been found that the shad fry, if they are to be raised at all, must never be handled even with the nets that may be used in the rearing of young trout or salmon. The ideal pond for hatching purposes is one that has been dry for months, so that all life in it is destroyed, and then filled by seepage, thus excluding enemies that would otherwise destroy the adolescent shadlings. It will be readily seen that the natural conditions of the Hudson and its tributaries at the present day are not conducive to the increase of delicate fish.

Chapter XXVII Rondout and Kingston

THE name Rondout signifies a fort or earthwork; it was first applied to the Dutch post near Esopus River, and afterwards to the settled land in the neighbourhood. The word Esopus, it is said, was derived from seepus, a river, and was first given to the Indians dwelling upon the banks of the river that afterwards bore that name. The Indians whose settlements extended through Ulster and Greene counties belonged to the Mingua nation, that Leatherstocking was fond of referring to as Mingos. The Minnesinks, one of the largest clans, were originally dwellers on a minnis, or island, in the upper waters of the Delaware. The Mohegan Indians lived upon the upper shore of the Hudson. Northward of Esopus, on the west shore, the land was claimed by the Mohawks, who ruled the forests as far north as Champlain and through the valley of the Mohawk River. The}^ were to the more peaceable tribes of the south as a hawk is to a heron, being fierce, revengeful, and cruel almost beyond conception. Their occasional forays into the