The valley, maintaining the same average width and general aspect, becomes richer in numerous farm-houses and more careful cultivation as we approach the cluster of large towns whose church spires may be seen soon after leaving Mechanicsville t.nd Half-Moon, two pleasant little villages on the west bank of the Hudson. These are in the township of Half-Moon, so called in memory of Hcndrick Hudson's famous yacht, in which he discovered the river that bears his name. They are a short distance below Stillwater. The Champlain Canal and the Eensselacr and Saratoga llailway pass through them. On the site of the latter village stood " y*^ fibrt of y° Half-Moon, about j^ house and barne of Harm® Lieves*^ " -- a stockade for defence against the Indians. It was removed in the year 1689.

The summer drive upon the public road in this part of the valley is delightful. The plain and slopes have the appearance of a garden ; while the hills on both sides present sweet pictures of mingled forest and cultivated fields, enlivened by small flocks and herds, and dotted with the homes of a thrifty people. But the river appears solitary. Not a boat may be seen upon it, until "Waterford is passed, for the current is too swift for navigation. **The water in the river here," wrote Kalm, the Swedish naturalist and traveller, in his journal, more than one hundred years ago, "was very clear, and generally shallow, being only from two to four feet deep, running very violently against us in most places."