Bacon, Edgar Mayhew. The Hudson River from Ocean to Source: Historical, Legendary, Picturesque. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1903.

While they con\-ersed, Hugo and his followers burst upon them. ^Misunderstanding his daughter's agitation, the old man in a rage ordered his followers to seize the stranger and fling him into the furnace. What the girl saw, when this inhuman decree had been obeyed, was a form clad in robes of sih'er float from the furnace and drift upward into the night. It is said that that …

The storming and reduction of Stony Point by the American army under General Wayne occurred on the night of the 15th of July, 1779. It w^as one of the brilliant achievements of the Revolution, and, indeed, in some respects, can hardly be excelled by any action in our history. The British had retired from Philadelphia; Washington's army had passed through the trying experience …

An amusing and characteristic (and possibly true) anecdote records a conversation sujjposed to have taken ])lace between the Commander and General Wayne on this topic. A'^ked whether he thought he could storm Stony Point, the impetuous Wayne -- -"Mad Anthony" -- replied : " I '11 storm hell, if you'll make the plans, sir!" Washington looked at him meditatively for a moment …

Washington's headquarters at this time were at New Windsor. The column destined for the attack upon Stony Point marched from Sandy Beach, fourteen miles above, at noon of the fifteenth. The soldiers numbered twelve hundred light infantry. Their march was over bad roads and rocky hills and through heavy swamps. They halted after nightfall at the house of a man named …

It was their work to remove the obstructions in the wa}' of the troops. It was nearh' midnight when the advance commenced. Absolute silence was enjoined, and like spectres the two storming parties faded from each other's sight in the gloom. The marshes were overflowed with two feet of water, and through this the men followed their officers, eager and alert, for the object of …

In a few minutes the roar of cannon joined with the rattle of musketry, and the devoted centre was the object of the British attentions, while the real attacking parties, giving no indication of their approach, were pushing eagerly forward. An officer saw one of his men step aside and commence to load his musket. Ordering him to desist, he was met with the surly c|uestion, " …

Still not a shot came from the grim, eager, undeviating ranks of the Americans in re])ly to the reverberating volleys of the enem}% but thc}^ entered the works with the bayonet and they subdued the garrison at close quarters. Then the silence was broken. A cheer rang out, -- a cheer that reached the ears of the men on the British war-shi])s in the river, satisfying those good …

The morning of the 16'^'^ inst, General Wayne with a party of infantry attacked the enemy's works at Stony Point -- the garrison consisted of about six hundred men -- it being the dead of night they were not discovered until they had got within about sixteen rods of the works, the alarm was instantly given, but such was the dexterity of our men that they gained some part of …

There were five deserters from us in the fort, three of which they hanged with little ceremony -- 10 pieces of cannon, a large number of small arms, with military stores of all kinds fell into our hands. Sunday we should have attacked the fort on this side the River, but General Clinton's arrival at Croton Bridge with a large force prevented it. It must otherwise have fallen …

The pleasant village of Peekskill has a memorable history, associated as it was during the War for Independence with important military movements. From its position, so near the lower gate of the Highlands, it was destined to be ridden over by both of the opposing armies. We have spoken elsewhere of some of the more noteworthy occurrences of Revolutionary days, as they …

Heath instantly refused to give the necessary directions, exclaiming, " I have received positive written orders to the contrary." Lee replied that he would then give the orders himself, to which Heath could not do otherwise than to assent. "That makes all the difference," he said. "You are my senior; but I will not myself break those orders." He then showed Lee General …

Heath resolutely demanded and received from Lee a certificate that he had assumed command of the post. Then, when the comedy was all played, and his wayward will satisfied, the usurper of authority changed his mind and recalled the regiments he had ordered out. "The erratic Lee," as some one has called him, crossed the Hudson with his army on the 2nd and 3rd of December, to …

A year after the building of the Peekskill house, Van Cortlandt seems to have been living in the older one at the Point, for it was there that Governor Tryon visited him in 1774, to secure, if possible, his interest for the King's cause in the approaching contest. In 1775, Phili]), the son of General Van Cortlandt, accepted a commission in the Continental army, an act which …

John Paulding, the captor, hved for a number of years after the e\'ent which made him famous on a farm on the Crom-pond road, about three miles east of Peekskill. A number of tales concerning him are current, for one of which we have space. He was attentive to a young woman named Teed whose brother was a lo}^alist. Upon one of his frequent \'isits to the homic of his …

A few days later, while wearing the same conspicuous garment, he assisted in capturing ]\Iajor Andre at Tarry town. After the foregoing cursory glance at Peekskilbs historic past, which we reluctantly leave, we must make an equalh' rapid stu'vey of more recent days. - Of the man}^ eminent men that the inhabitants of the town have delighted to honour, there are several that we …

Here, at an elevation of a hundred feet above the river, all arrangements were made for the convenience of a permanent camp. A reser\'oir was formed by damming a brook, and the water distributed in jnpes through the grounds, while facilities for cooking on a large scale have also l:)een perfected. Here, summer after summer, the \'arious regiments of the National Guard have …

The trains that creep about the base of the Dunderberg are pigmy affairs ; the swift current that flows through the Horse Race and into Seylmaker's Reach catches broken reflections of the towering masses above them, and all the contrivances of man -- his wharves, his boats, and his villages -- cannot impair the invincible majesty of nature. Some years ago there was a …

It might have been taken as a natural inference that the rusty weapon belonged to some British vessel of war, or was a trophy of American valour; but not so did the wiseacres decide. It was gravely j^ronounced to be a relic of Captain Kidd! Then a speculator worked up the idea and interested a number of people of the class that the j)roverb mentions as being soon parted from …

It is certain that strange things have been seen in these highlands in storms. The captains of the river craft talk of a little bulbous-bottomed Dutch goblin, in trunk-hose and sugar-loafed hat, with a speaking-trumpet in his hand, which they say keeps about the Dunderberg. They declare that they have heard him, in stormy weather, in the midst of the turmoil, giving orders in …

In this way she drove quite through the highlands, until she had passed Pollopol's Island, where, it is said, the jurisdiction of the Dunderberg potentate ceases. No sooner had she passed this bourn, than the little hat spun up into the air like a top, whirled up all the clouds into a vortex, and hurried them back to the summit of the Dunderberg; while the sloop righted …

Nicholas; whereupon the goblin threw himself up in the air like a ball and went off in a whirlwind, carrying away with him the nightcap of the Dominie's wife; which was discovered the next Sunday morning hanging on the weathercock of Esopus church steeple, at least forty miles ofif! Several events of this kind having taken place, the regular skippers of the river, for a long …

Before the battle of Long Island, in .\ugust, 1776, the New York Con\'ention sent delegates to stir up the veomanr\' along the river. As the enemy's ships w^ere at anchor near Tarrytown, powder and ball w^ere sent to that place. Colonel Hammond, of local celebrity, w^as actively engaged in organising the militia for defence; Colonel Pierre Van Cortlandt, of the Croton manor of …

The Tories alongshore w^ere suspected of furnishing both provisions and information. A tender beat u]3 from Ha\^erstraw Bay nearh^ to Fort Montgomery in the Highlands, when General Clinton greeted the unwelcome visitor with a ball from a 32-pounder, that had the effect of sending her about in short order. But soundings and observations had been completed, and the chart of the …

" They were to be lashed together," we read, " between old sloops filled with combustibles and sent down with a strong wind and tide, to drive upon the ships." Besides these preparations, an effective barrier was to be made by stretching a huge iron chain across the river in an oblique direction, from Fort Montgomery to Anthony's Nose. Van Cortlandt and others were busy at …

The story has been graphically told by Irving in his Life of Washington: Two of the fire-ships recently constructed went up the Hudson to attempt the destruction of the ships which had so long been domineering over its waters. One succeeded in grapphng the Phccnix, and would soon have set her in flames, but in the darkness got to leeward, and was cast loose without effecting …

The men on board were kept close, to avoid being picked off by a party of riflemen posted on the river bank. The ships fired grapeshot as they passed, but without effecting any injury. Unfortunately, apassage had been left open in the obstructions on which General Putnam had calculated so sanguinely; it was to have been closed in the course of a day or two. Through this they …

The galleys made strenuous efforts to escape, some by darting into convenient bays and others by trusting to their speed and ability to sail over shallows where the British must have grounded. But two of them ran ashore, and the crew took to the boat and made for land with aU possible speed, their vessels falling into the hands of the British. All was hurry and alarm at …

I would then have stationed the main body of the army in the mountains on the east, and eight or ten thousand men in the Highlands on the west side of the river. I would have directed the river at Fort Montgomery, which is nearly at the southern extremity of the mountains, to be so shallowed as to afford only depth sufficient for an Albany sloop, and all the southern passes …

When, after the winter of 1776-77, the river was again free from ice so as to be navigable, General Howe sent a squadron of war-vessels, with troops, to destroy or capture American stores, one of the principal depots for which was at Peekskill. General McDougall was, during the absence of General Heath, in command there, and, learning of the approach of the British, he …

He also strengthened the chain previously extended across the ri\'er from Fort Montgomery. General McDougall. still in command at Peekskill, received instructions from Washington to co-operate with Clinton in ]cutting the fortifications in as perfect condition as possible for defence. Clinton was directed to put as large a force as he could spare on the mountains west of the …

spv, Edmund Palmer, as a lieutenant in the King's service. Putnam did not waste words in writing his reply : Headquarters, 7^^ Aug. 1777. Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was taken as a spy lurking within our lines. He has been tried as a spy, condemned as a spy and shall be executed as a spy; and the flag is ordered to depart immediately. Israel Putnam. p s …

The Spirit of '76 3^7 headquarters at Peekskill, wrote to General George CUnton as follows: I have received intelligence on which I can fully depend, that the enemy had received a reinforcement at New York last Thursday, of about three thousand British and foreign troops, that General Clinton has called in guides who belong about Croton River; has ordered hard bread to be …

Fort Clinton had subsequently been erected within rifle shot of Fort [Montgomery, to occupv ground which commanded it. A deep ravine and stream, called Peploep's Kill, intervened between the two forts, across which there was a bridge. The governor had his headquarters in Fort Montgomery, which was the northern and largest fort, but its works were unfinished. His brother James …

On the next day, the fifth, Clinton landed in force at Verplanck's Point, below Peekskill, thus strengthening the impression already created that Fort Independence and the eastern shore of the river were to be the scene of his attack. Almost immediately, however, the greater part of the troops were ferried across in barges from Verplanck's to the opposite shore, and while a …

Dividing his force, vSir Henry Clinton sent Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, with nine hundred men, to take a circuitous course by the western side of Bear Hill and a])proach Fort Montgomery from the north or north-west -- that is to say, in the rear. Sir Henry proceeded towards the river from the point of division, which was between the Dunderberg and Bear Hill. He then intended …

Two hundred and fifty were either slain or captured by the British. Putnam did not suspect the true direction of the British advance till the reverberations of the battle, thundering along the cliffs of the Highlands, revealed the true state of affairs. The escape of the brothers George and James Clinton was almost marvellous. The Governor leaped down the rocks to the …

The main object of Sir Henry Clinton's attack, which was to create a diversion in favour of General Burgoyne, w^as a complete failure, as that officer, in the course of ten days, yielded to the harassing attentions of his foes. Chapter XXI A Voyage up the Hudson in 1769 e A HITHERTO unpublished account of a voyag up the Hudson in 1769 is here presented. It is taken from a …

Scoonhoven, Skipper, for Albany, had fine weather and found it extremely agreeable Sailing with the country Seats of the Citizens on the Right Hand, the high Lands of Bergen on the Left and the Narrows abaft. We sailed about 13 or 14 Miles Sz then came to Anchor for the Night, the great Rains just before we set out had caused the Water of the North River to taste almost fresh …

The ^lanor of Philipsburg according to our Information, extends about Miles on the River and about 6 Aliles back and is joined above by the Manor of Cortland, this ]\Iorng. the Sloop passed by Col. Philips's Mansion House and Gardens situate in a pleasant Valley between Highlands, the country hereabout excels ours by far in fine Prospects and the Trees & Vegetables appear to …

York according to our Skipper is Four Pence, of a Barrel of Flour one Shilling and of a Hogshead of Flour 7/6 and he thinks they have the same rates from Kaatskill. In the Night we ran ground among the Highlands about 50 Miles from N. York between Orange and Duchess Counties. The Highlands here are not so lofty as I expected and the River at this place appears to be about Half …

Martiler's Rock stands in a part of the River w^hich is exceeding deep wnth a bold Shore encircled on either Hand by aspiring Mountains & thro them there is a View^ of a fine Country above, here it is chiefly that the sudden Flaws sometimes take the River Vessels for which Reason they have upright Masts for the more expeditious lowering of the Sails on any sudden Occasion …

About one ocloc we passed by the Town of New Windsor on the Left, seeming at a Distance to consist of about 50 Houses Stores and Out houses placed without anv regular Order, here end the Highlands. This Town has some Trade and probably hereafter may be a place of Consequence as the fine Country of Goshen is said to lie back about 1 2 or more Miles. On the East Side of the …

The New England men cross here & hereabouts almost daily for Susquehannah, their Rout is from hence to the Minisink's accounted only 40 Miles distant, & we are told that 700 of their Men are to be in that Country by the first of June next, A sensible Woman informed Us that Two Men of her Neighbourhood have been several Times across to those Parts of Susquehannah which lie in …

We have the pleasure of seeing sundry Sloops & Shallops passing back and forwards with the Produce of the Country and Returns, in the Evening we sailed thro' a remarkable Undulation of the Water for a Mile or Two which tossed the Sloop about much and made several passengers sick, the more observable as the Passage before and and after was quite smooth & little Wind stirring at …

Our Skipper says there are at Albany 31 Sloops all larger than this, which carry from 400 to 500 Barrels of Flour each, trading constantly from thence to York & that they make Eleven or 1 2 Trips a year each. The general Course of Hudson's River as taken by compass is N. & by E. and S. and by W. in some Places North North and South. Between the Highlands and Kaatskill both …

We went on shore to Two stone Farm Houses on Beekman Manor in the County of Duchess, the Men were absent & the Women and children could speak no other Language than Low Dutch, our Skipper was Interpreter. One of these Tenants for Life or a very Long Term or for Lives (uncertain which) pays 20 Bushels of Wheat in Kind for 97 Acres of cleared Land & Liberty to get Wood for …

Livingston the Judge, in the Lower Manor of Livingston. Albany County now on either Hand, & sloping Hills here and there covered with Grain like all the rest we we have seen, much thrown out by the Frost of last Winter. Landing on the West Shore we found a Number of People fishing with a Sein, they caught plenty of Shad and Herring and use Canoes altogether having long, neat …

Eckerson's House, a good Waggon Road and Produce brot. down daily from thence to Cherry Valley half a Day's Journey, that People are now laying out a New Road from SopusKill to Schoharie which is supposed to be about 32^- Miles, Sopus Creek is about 11 Miles below KatsKill Creek and a Mile below where we now landed, they say that 7 or 8 Sloops belong to Sopus -- the Fish are …

Sloops go no further than Dyer about Half a Mile up the Creek, the Lands on both Sides of KaatsKill belong to Vanberger, Van Vecthe, Salisbury, Dubois & a Man in York, their Lands, as our Skipper says, extend up the Creek 12 Miles to Barber the English Gentleman his Settlement, the Creek runs thro the KaatsKill Mounts, said hereabouts to be at the Distance of 12 or 14 Miles …

Bear's Island said to be the Beginning of the Manor of Renslaerwic which extends on both Sides of the River, the Lords of Manors are called by the common People Patroons, Bearen Island or Bears Island just mentioned is reputed to be 12 Miles below Albany -- Cojemans Houses with Two Grist Mills & Two Saw Mills stand a little above on the West Side and opposite is an Island of …

Jersey, as we approach the Town the Houses multiply on each shore and we observe a person in the Act of Sowing Peas upon a fruitful Meadow on an Island to the right. The Hudson near Albany seems to be about Half a Mile over. Henry Cuyler's Brick House on the East Side about a mile below the Town looks well & we descry the King's stables a long wooden Building on the left & on …

York, we found Cartwright's a good Tavern tho his charges were exorbitant & it is justly remarked by Kahn the Swedish Traveller in America that the Townsmen of Albany in general sustained the character of being close, mercenary and avaricious -- they deem it 60 miles from Albany to Cherry Valley -- We did not note any extraordinary Edifices in the Town nor is there a single …

Stephen VanRenslaer the Patron or Lord of the Manor of Renslaerwick his House stands a little above the Town he is a young man (since deceased) -- the Site of the Town is hilly and the Soil clay but round the place it is a mere Sand bearing pine Trees chiefly of the Pitch Pine, some Lime or Linden Trees as well as other Trees are planted before the Doors as at N. York and …

It is called 7 miles from the City to the Mouth of the Mohawk's River & from thence to the Cahoes 5 Miles, from the Cahoes to Schenectady 1 6 Miles from Albany to Schenectady in a Direct Line along the usual Road 1 7 Miles (there are now Mile Stones set up) The Patroons House at the North End of Albany is a large handsome Mansion with a good Garden & Wheat Field that reaches …

Wells & the Two Surveyors to be 60 Feet or upwards but I have seen a Copper plate that calls it 75, tho' upon ocular view it appears less, the Fall is almost perpendicular, the whole Body of the River brawling over a Slate Rock, the Banks of the River consist of this Rock intermixed with a crumbling stone and are perhaps 30 feet higher than the Bed of the River, the whole …

By the Information reed. Stephen Van Renslaers Manor extends on each Side of the North River 12 Miles below Albany and 12 above by 48 Miles across East & West. Along the Road the Trees are out in full Leaf and the Grass in the Vales several Inches high, Clover and Timothy common to the Country, they use wheeled Plows mostly with 3 Horses abreast & plow and harrow sometimes on …

Storm King is not quite so good; it is artificial, and one needs hardly to be told that Willis invented the name to take the place of Boterberg, or Butter Hill, so called by the Dutch because it was thought to resemble a huge pat of butter. Then there is Beacon Hill, reminiscent of the fires that blazed to tell the cotmtry for miles around that the war was over; and Bull Hill …

There is one more of the principal elevations of the Highlands to mention. Mr. Charles M. Skinner, in his delightful Myths and Legends, calls it " the aquiline promontory that abuts on the Hudson opposite Dunderberg." There is at its base an opening that, from a distance, resembles nothing so much as an ant-hill entrance, and from near at hand suggests the den of some fabulous …

Now thus it happened, that bright and early in the morning, the good Anthony, having washed his burly visage, was leaning over the quarter rail of the galley (of Stuyvesant's yacht, in the Highlands), contemplating the glassy wave below. Just at this moment the illustrious sun, breaking in all his splendour from behind a high bluff of the Highlands, did dart one of his most …

It was the latter part of a calm, sultry day, that they floated gently with the tide between these stern mountains. There was that perfect quiet which prevails over nature in the languor of summer heat; the turning of a plank, or the accidental falling of an oar on deck, was echoed from the mountain-side and reverberated along the shores; and if by chance the captain gave a …

It was succeeded by another and another, each seemingly pushing onwards its predecessor, and towering, with dazzling briUiancy, in the deep-blue atmosphere; and now muttering peals of thunder were faintly heard rolling behind the mountains. The river, hitherto still and glassy, reflecting pictures of the sky and land, now showed a dark ripple at a distance, as the breeze came …

f f i •>i niv m iHH 1 m Among the Hills 365 almost hid the landscape from the sight. There was a fearful gloom, illumined still more fearfully by the streams of lightning which glittered among the rain-drops. Never had Dolph beheld such an absolute warring of the elements; it seemed as if the storm was tearing and rending its way through this mountain dehle, and had brought …

Everything now was fright and confusion: the flapping of the sails, the whistling and rushing of the wind, the bawling of the captain and crew, the shrieking of the passengers, all mingled with the rolling and bellowing of the thunder. In the midst of the uproar the sloop righted; at the same time the mainsail shifted, the boom came sweeping the quarter-deck, and Dolph, who …

Margaret died, her share going to the survivors. The first thing these heirs did was to take legal steps to bar the entail imposed by their father. Susannah, who married Beverly Robinson, conveyed her share to William Livingston, who reconveyed it to her husband. It was in his possession up to the time of the Revolution, but was confiscated after the war. The mansion in which …

a fugitive to the Beverly house in the Highlands, while Washington made his headquarters at the house on Richmond Hill, and finally sent Robinson and Morris, with all who belonged to them, overseas in exile. The third share of the Patent, whieh went to Philip Philipse, was left by him to his sons, of whom only one, Frederick, survived. His daughter, Mary, married Samuel …

Indeed, though Washington, in his annual message in 1793, strongly advised the founding of an academy, the necessity for which had been so forcibly demonstrated during the war, when his trained officers were often chosen from among the ranks of foreign soldiers of fortune, yet the recommendation had little or no effect for several \^ears. Congress displayed its accustomed …

To Major Thayer, appointed Superintendent in 1 8 1 7 , the Academy owes more than to any one man for the ground j^lan of its s\'stem of work and the first great impulse towards its present efficiency. He was Superintendent for sixteen years, during which time 570 cadets were graduated, -- men who were soon to test the value of their instruction and training under the skies of …

The mihtary post at West Point formerly was distinct from the Academy, and, until 1842, was sometimes under separate command; but at that time Congress very wisely put an end to contentions arising from a conflict of rank and authority between the Commander of the post and the Superintendent of the Academy, by providing that the latter should also command the post. While the …

Take a man who can ride, dance, fight, speak the truth in his own and several other languages, and pass a stiff college examination, and 3'ou have the kind of man that West Point is turning out b\^ the scores every year. While the standards of physical, mental, and moral excellence have been rigorously upheld at the Academv, and the instruction and drill have advanced with the …

Tablets honouring the memory of Washington's generals are placed upon the walls, one alone being remarkable from the fact that the name is erased, leaving only the dates of birth and death. It is that formerly inscribed with the name of Benedict Arnold, who tried to betray West Point to the British enemy. Above the altar is a picture representing War and Peace, ])ainted iDy …

The conditions of good work ha\'e grown more exacting with every year, till the Academy has been cramped for the lack of modern facilities and equipment. The barracks have been overcrowded and insufficiently furnished with such conveniences as light, water, and heat. The cavalry and artillery drill-room and grounds have proved inadequate to the needs of the school ; the …

In spite of the fact, or it may be because of the fact, that we are not a soldier people, the sentiment of the nation centres at West Point more really than even at the White House or the Capitol. Perhaps no nation on earth has ever seen a case parallel to that of the United States, that has gone through most of its history without a standing army worthy of mention, yet has …

It is not too much to say that the loss of the Highlands of the Hudson would probably have meant the downfall of the Continental cause. Never but once during that long struggle for freedom did the patriot army temporarily lose this point of vantage: that was when, after the reduction of the forts by Sir Henry Clinton in October, 1777, the chcvaux-dc-frisc and other …

Fort Constitution was on the island opposite West Point, from which place one of Putnam's numerous chains was stretched. Its insular character can hardly be recognised to-day, as the The Hudson River 38o marshes between it and the eastern shore of the river have gradually filled up and now appear as meadowland. The old house, about which the home of the Warner sisters was …

What impulse of chance or Providence led Washington, with Knox and Lafayette, to change his i)lan of breakfasting with Arnold, baffles conjecture. We onh' know^ that the General and his aides turned aside to inspect some fortifications and sent a note to apprise Arnold of the fact, and that in that \'erv hour Colonel Jameson s fatuous letter, informing him of Andre's capture …

Without pausing to aid her, he hurried down-stairs, sent the messenger to her assistance, probably to keep him from an interview with the other officers; returned to the breakfast-room and informed his guests that he must haste to West Point to prepare for the reception of the commander-in-chief; and, mounting the horse of the messenger, wiiich stood saddled at the door …

Within a stone's throw from the portico of the hotel, upon a knoll half hidden with trees, stands one of the most beautiful structures, of its kind, in this country -- a stone church, of English rural architecture, built by the painter, Robert Weir. The story of its construction is a touching poem. When Mr. Weir received ten thousand dollars from the government for liis …

The painter's taste and heart were set to work, and with the money left him by his children and contributions from General Scott and others, he erected this simple and beautiful structure, as a memorial of hallowed utility. Its bell for evening service sounded a few minutes ago -- the tone selected, apparently, with the taste which governed all, and making sweet music among …

What belle of other days ever comes back to the Point without looking out upon the Parade from the windows of the hotel and indulging in a dreamy recall of the losing of her heart, pro tciii., on her first summer tour, to one of those grey-tailed birds of war? A flirtation with a greycoat at the Point is in every pretty woman's history, from Maine to Florida. Suppress those …

Who, at that time of rejoicing and congratulations, could anticipate the horror and mystery that would afterwards surround the fate of this ro\-al infant ? History has related the imprisonment of the Dauphin, after the downfall of his ill-fated house, has told of the cruelty of the brutish Simon, and has recorded the prince's death from a scrofulous affection induced by the …

was built upon a spur six hundred feet above the level of the river, and so situated that it commands an extensive view of the water and of the Highlands on both sides. It is somewhat back of the Point, and, though long since disused by troops, its parapets and several of its ancient casemates are still preserved. "The spot where Kosciusko dreamed" is still a place where the …

It was here, in a time long past, that Fanny Kemble loved to row her boat, mooring it in some attractive little cove along shore when the heat became burdensome. A brook that flows into the bay north of Garrison's was a favourite haunt of hers, and the cascade that for years had been known as Indian Falls was afterwards rechristened Fanny Kemble 's Bath. Only a short distance …

In that curious journal of a voyage up the Hudson in 1769 which we have the good fortune to publish in this volume, the reader will notice that the name " Broken Neck Hill" appears, and a glance at the camel-like profile of the mountain in question will go far toward convincing one that the later name, "Breakneck," is a corruption of a title that was really descriptive. The …

We hear in the thunder that reverberates from crag to crag the echo of long silent artillery; we see in the mists of morning the smoke of British guns, and under the downright rays of noon seem to distinguish the entrenchments of patriotic levies. But when night falls the mysterious significance of nature asserts a sway that is stronger than embattled arms and older than …

He lay contemplating the strange scene before him: the wild woods and rocks around; the fire throwing fitful gleams on the faces of the sleeping savages; and the Heer Antony, too, who so singularly, yet vaguely, reminded him of the nightly visitant to the haunted house. Now and then he heard the cry of some animal from the forest ; or the hooting of the owl; or the notes of …

Pollopel's has long been considered as a haunted spot, especially infested by the evil s])irits that in time of storm fly with the storm through the Highlands. In this particular it resembles the Duyvel's Dans Kamer. Crtiger's Island, on the contrary, enjoys the distinction of never having been visited by death, even down to the present day. Above the Highlands, on the western …

He superintended the laying-out of paths, the building of roads and dams; he cultivated the acquaintance of trees and wild flowers, protected the birds, and evinced a kindly fellowship for the frogs. To many of those who have read Willis's work, no part of it seems more satisfactory than the chatty, personal chronicle of nature happenings, the unforced record of his …

If, from some dust}^ shelf corner, you take down a copy of Out-Doors at Idlcwild, blow the dust of years from it, and settle yourself to read, you may presently say, " Burroughs would have done this better, or Bradford Torrey that." Very possibly. Please to recollect that Willis did it first. To-day every man -- lawyer, physician, clergyman, hack, storekeeper, or clerk …

My cottage at Idlewild [wrote Willis] is a pretty type of the two lives they live who are wise -- the life in full view, which the world thinks all, and the life out of sight, of which the world knows nothing. You see its front porch from the thronged thoroughfares of the Hudson, but the grove Ijehind it overhangs a deep down glen, tracked but by my own tangled paths, and the …

The drives are probably better kept and the lawns better groomed than they were in the early fifties, and the shade trees are taller and more dense ; but one step aside over the edge of the wooded declivity instantly translates the pilgrim into a "land of faery," where the hand of man has not interfered except with the consummate art that conceals art. From the commencement of …

Step by step in a zigzag course the visitor gets toward that stream that is "sometimes a cataract," and, with every moment the remoteness from human life increases. If it was ever true that " Idlewild is getting fast peopled with the viewless crowd that will make haunted ground of it," the gentle ghosts must have departed with him for whom they first appeared. I could imagine …

A hundred miles could not make their remoteness more complete. The trees are full of singing and calling birds, the banks covered with ferns and wild flowers; the solitude is that of a beautiful wilderness. What Idlewild was in its prehistoric days we may conjecture from a letter written by its master in February, 1854: We were fortunate enough to identify yesterday a …

Mesa-ba-wa-sin still presides in spirit and fact over the glen, and his altars are everywhere. The woodthrush and the vireo sing his praises still, and the wake robins are proxies for his redskin worshippers. There is a pathetic side to the Idlewild days. In many of the cheery, entertaining letters, and increasingly toward the last, there is an acknowledgment of illness. The …

The last and least attracti\'e name is, of course, the one on which a tradition depends -- the story of the compassion of a red man, the steadfast loyalty of a woman, and the lust for blood that has seemed at times an uncontrollable instinct with the Indian. A family named Murdoch lived near the mouth of the stream and frequently welcomed to their cabin an Indian called …

He was immediately struck down, and the savages, rendered furious by the sight of blood, rushed upon the captives and slew them every one, casting their bodies into the creek. A small company of German Palatines, by the favour of Queen Anne and under the escort of Governor Lovelace, crossed the ocean in 1709 and settled where is now the city of Newburgh. Directed by their …

The Fisher's Reach 405 The few who remained in Newburgh after the exodus of their brethren seem to have been immediately in\-olved in a dispute with their new neighbours, the subject being the possession of the church building. This discussion terminated with the death of the Palatine leader, who was crushed by a falling door. Among the peculiar features of Newburgh 's history …

It is to the story of Washington and the Revolution what Camelot was to the i\rthurian legends. Here, during the long, gloomy months that preceded the dawn of American independence, the great chief of the Continental army fought and won his greatest battles -- fought the growing and just indignation of that army against a dilatory and ungrateful Congress, fought the spectres …

The American military force in the Revolution consisted of three distinct grades or classes of soldiers: the regulars, known as continentals; the levies, drafted either from militia regiments or from the people; and the militia. The continentals were longterm men, always under arms, commanded by the chief of the army -- in a word, professional soldiers. The levies were drawn …

It was the militia and the levies that enabled the commanding general to throw reinforcements into the scale of battle when his little army of regulars was hard ])ressed. The\' were to the British always an unknown riuantity, and set calculations at naught. When Gates needed a larger force of men to oppose to Burgoyne, Clinton sent him the farmer-soldiers of Ulster County …

Yet it would have been worth almost an\' effort or sacrifice to have held the river. Granting the numerical superiority of the Americans on shore, it does not seem impossible that a man of greater genius than Sir Henr}^ Clinton might haA^e maintained an effectual blockade with his fleet U]3on the river. Upon the military road of which the Newburgh ferry was so important a …

The Commander was accompanied by his wife and military family, and lived at Newburgh till the latter part of the succeeding year. The old house, which is in an excellent state of preservation and is used as a repository for military relics, is upon a little plateau commanding a comj^rehensive view of the river, particularh^ where it flows between the towering hills that form …

It was while living at Newburgh that Washington narrowly esca]3ed capture by an envoy of Sir Henry Clinton -- at least, so the legend runs. A man named Ettrick lived with his daughter in a secluded valley to the south of headquarters ;a place known as the Vale of Avoca. It was at the head of a long, narrow bay, but though only a short distance, as the bird flies, from the …

The Fisher's Reach 4^3 ticipations of the future about to ])e turned on the world, forced by penury and by what they call the ingratitude of the public, involved in debt, without one farthing to carry them home, after spending the flower of their days, and many of them their patrimonies, in establishing the freedom of their country, and suffering everything this side death …

Be assured, sir, no occurrences in the course of the war have given me more painful sensations than your information of there being such ideas existing in the army as you have expressed, and which I must view with abhorrence and reprehend with severity. I am much at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct could have given encouragement to an address which to me seems Ijig …

After which the chaplains with the several brigades will render thanks to Almighty God for all His mercies, particularly for His overruling the wrath of men to His own glory, and causing the rage of war to cease among the nations. After noble admonitions addressed to the reason and consciences of the men who had followed him so long, the General proclaimed a day of jubilee and …

To sto]) the destruction being wrought by the d}'namite of the contractor and save the Palisades from ultimate exodus through the jaws of the stone-crusher, the Interstate Park Commission was formed. After a great deal of hard work and no little application of faith and patience, an appropriation of four hundred thousand dollars was secured from the State of New York and fifty …

"Gulian Ver- Planck died before the English patent was granted by Governor Dongan ; Stephanus Van Cortlandt was then joined in it with Rombout, and Jacobus Kipp substituted as the representative of the children of Gulian VerPlanck." The tract contained seventy-six thousand acres in Fishkill and nine thousand more within the limits of the present town of Poughkeepsie. The …

From Beacon Hill the huge watch-fires, lighted to give warning of the approach of the enemy or to celebrate the advent of peace, could be seen from the peaks of the Catskills, the rugged tops of the Highlands, the hills of Westchester, or the far-away elevations of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. On a level plateau at the base of the hills the encampment of the American army …

It is stated with authorit}^ however, that the idea of associating bricks with hats did not originate in Fishkill. Carthage lies about four miles to the north of Fishkill Landing. It was formerly known as Low Point, to distinguish it from the High Point -- New Hamburg -- two miles above. The latter village lies at the mouth of Wappenger's (or Wappingi's) Creek, so named from …

The traditions relating to this miniature island commenced when Hendrick Hudson made his voyage of discovery, and have reached quite to the present day, for there are many young men -- not to mention maidens -- who would hesitate long before venturing to spend the lonely hours of night in a solitary vigil on the Dans Kamer. For some reason not >'et fathomed the spectre of Kidd …

The Eastman College, devoted to the work of preparing young men for business, has also been long established and is widely known; but to a great many thousands of educated women all over the world Poughkeepsie means " Vassar. " When Matthew Vassar conceived the idea of doing something of public value with his wealth, he hit at first u]3on the plan of erecting a monument. It …

Through all the ages there had been exceptionally favoured women who had been specially trained, in the way that men were trained, and had left such records of intellectual achievement that the world generally regarded them as peculiar creatures, excessively endowed. There was alwavs, in the minds of the ma- Fishkill to PouL;"hkecpsie 423 jority even of educated men, a doubt …

At the old Huguenot village of New Paltz, on the opposite side of the river from Poughkeepsie, is situated the State Normal School, and here recently a number of young women from Cuba have been preparing for educational work in their own lately liberated land. Perhaps no writer who has lived on the Hudson has linked so really a generation that has passed with the men of to-day …

Y., and Fishkill to Poughkeepsie 425 finally retired to his delightful home near the shore of the Hudson. There is an Indian legend connected with the name of Poughkeepsie, which is said to be derived from the Mohegan word apo-kccp-sinck -- " a safe and pleasant harbour. ' ' Between the rocky bluffs called Slange Klippe and Call Rock, the Fall Kill flowed into a bay near which …

Her affianced conceived abold design for her rescue, and proceeded immediately to execute it. In the character of a wizard he entered the Huron camp. The maiden was sick, and her captor employed the wizard to prolong her life until he should satisfy his revenge upon Uncas, her uncle, the great chief of the Mohegans. They eluded the vigilance of the Hurons, fled at night, with …

This house stood till after the Revolution, and was used by the Legislature of New York after the burning of Kingston. About 1835 it was torn down. Poughkeepsie was incorporated as a city in 1854. It early became the centre for the trade of Dutchess County, which, it must be confessed, was at first but meagre; but it was also connected by the Dutchess turninke with Sharon …

When the British burned Kingston he prorogued the Legislature to Poughkeepsie, which still served as a "safe harbour." 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 l)attle, the colony of New York consented to become a part of the American Republic …

In 1S44, 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 London Illustrated Xacs. 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 Professor S. F. B. Morse, the …

He gave what assistance he could to the patriot army, and it may well be believed that a strong and willing arm and a good forge found plenty of occupation; but retribution came when Vaughan's ships passed up the river with the torch. The smithy and mill were among the first places to be laid in ashes, and the smith himself was carried a captive to the most detestable …

But the original purpose was defeated, if not lost sight of, when the ownership of the bridge was acquired by another company. For seven years past the river at Poughkeepsie has been the scene of one of the ga^'cst and most popular of all the great annual features of college athletics. There the regatta of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association isheld every June, and over one …

One recalls in this connection the famous delivery of a well-known critic concerning a popular book: " If you like this sort of a book, this is the sort of a book you like." If one cares for ice-boating, fishing, and kindred occupations, this is the sort of a subject that he cares for; but, realising that the converse is also true, we frankly re-echo the advice given by Mrs …

There the great and fashionable world of x\lbany and Kingston, we may suppose, entered into that exhilarating pastime with a zest that belonged to a simpler phase of life. It is a trite reflection that the fathers enjoyed their pleasures more heartily, having fewer to enjoy. There is a story told of a dinner given by Douw to Red Jacket, the Indian chief, at which were present …

At a hint from one of the disputants, redskin and negro servants in a crowd made for the river, where in a short time they marked and cleared a course across and down stream, lighting the way with torches and lanterns. Peter Van Loan, the overseer, was master of ceremonies, and King Charles, a famous jockey in his day, rode Sturgeon. The bets were large, Schuyler having backed …

Even more exciting than the horse-races are the contests of ice-boats, for which the upper Hudson, especially inthe neighbourhood of Tivoli and Hyde Park, is famous. An ice-boat is to an ordinary boat what the Empire State Express is to a way freight. It does not Sports and Industries 433 sail, it flies, reminding one of the Chinaman's famous descri] )tion of his first …

The crew of a boat that is going at a rate of speed that would put the cannonball flight of a wild duck to shame may escape with life and limb the shock of arrested motion, but that will be because the ways of Providence are past finding out. It is a matter of course (but no less a subject for congratulation) that the passion for skating has not yet died out. The army of those …

With a sled to carry his paraphernalia and a cube of frozen salt pork for his luncheon, such a fisherman may skate ten or twelve miles to find a favourable ground, and the fewer his com]:)anions the more he is to be congratulated. But usually the professionals are gregarious in their habits, which is necessary from the methods they employ. A long fissure, cut at right angles …

In the face of these discomforts the winter fisherman, slapping his legs to restore lost circulation, moving stiffly because of the rheumatism contracted last year, or nursing the cracked and bleeding fingers that were frozen last week, is as cheerful a citizen as circumstances will permit; but it is a far cry from the frozen river as he sees it, a field of labour and a scene …

The first "run" sends a quiver of excitement through the communities of fishers, and the news is telegraphed from New York to Albany. The newspapers herald the coming of the shad and the marketmen display them with pride and expatiate upon their merits. At that time a multitude of the passengers returning from the Jersey shore to Manhattan by w^ay of the upper ferries may be …

The demand upon it grows with increase of population and improved facilities for shipping shad to a distance. It is not alone among the people living along the river that the shad find a market, but hundreds of miles of railways act as distributing agents and take shad where formerly thev w^ere unknown. Since 1S82. the United States Fish Commission has made large contributions …

The toiling groups of roughly clad rivermen, handling and shipping the fish, the midget fieets of clustering boats, and the endless labour of spreading, drying, and repairing the nets, are details of a quaint and fascinating picture. The greatest number of nets operated are at Alpine and Fort Lee on the Jersey shore, and at Nyack and Ossining in New York. The striped bass …

Long ago the Indians found the bays and shallows of the river prolific breeding-grounds for oysters, and some of the tribes are said to have used the bivalves as one of their chief means of sustenance. Their frequent shell heaps, some of them not yet obliterated, bear witness to the favour in which this epicurean morsel was held by the aborigines. During the early years of New …

When sturgeon were more plentiful than now, they were caught for the oil, that has been esteemed equal to the best sperm. The leap of the sturgeon, immortalised by Drake in TJic Culprit Fay, was a frequent sight a generation ago, and it was worth a day's journey to see that quivering bulk ])ierce the surface, a living projectile, and, descril)ing a parabola of eight or ten …

By the ordinary process of multiplication, if unchecked by other untoward influences, the supply of fish in such a river must ahva}'s be in excess of the number caught with hook and line. But there are other pernicious influences, among them the pollution which results from sewage in the vicinity of large towns. There can be little doubt that fish are poisoned by the fouling …

The restocking of the waters will only be an efficient remedy in places where the fry will not be subject to the disadvantages we have suggested and others of equal importance. It is well known that man}% if not all, of the fish that frequent the Hudson, or any large river, run into the smaller streams to spawn. The practical closing of many such streams by means of dams …

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 …

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 …

But truth compels the admission that the first notable proprietor of land at Kingston (or Atkarkarton) was not a Dutchman. This is on the authority of the Rev. I. Megapolensis, the third stated minister of the Collegiate Dutch Church of New^ York, who, in 1657, wrote: Thomas Chambers and a few others removed to Atkarkarton or Esopus, an exceedingly beautiful land, in 1652, and …

Two other edifices succeeded each other on the ground where the first one stood, and from the tower of the last the Holland bell, imported in 1794 from Amsterdam, used formerly to ring three times a day to notify the good people of their meal hours. In those far-off days sober and respectable people did things in an orderly and customary way. It required unheard-of temerity to …

Notices of all kinds, whether of funerals, weddings, or christenings, were given to the sexton, who took them to the clerk ; and the latter, having a bamboo rod with a split end kej^t for that very purpose, stuck the paper in the slit and jjassed it up to the domine, who was perched overhead in a half-globe pulpit, canopied by a sounding board. "The minister wore (out of the …

At the communion table church members always wore black, and invariably stood to receive the sacrament. The Kingston church is ]particularly worthy tof >- notice from the fact that it occupied a unique position, being an inde])endent church as late as 1808. For a century and a half it had rejected the jurisdiction of the General Synod of the Dutch Church in America. The …

Ulster County, formed in 1683, lay between Moodna or Murderer's Creek on the south, and Sawyer's, the line dividing: from Greene Count\', on the north. It 450 The Hudson River borders the west bank of the river and embraced at that time all of the important settlements between the Highlands and vSaugerties. The trading post of Rondout, one of the very earliest to be …

One of the recipients, during the revel which followed, fired a gun. A party of white men, who were possibly not too sober themselves, construed the discharge of the firearm to mean the commencement of an attack, upon which they fired upon a party of the Indians, killing several of them. In retaliation the lately peaceable redskins took thirteen prisoners, and, soon gathering …

Thomas Chambers, whose foolish bestowal of brandy had brought on the original trouble, aided by the militant valour of the Dutch domine, led his companions in such a desperate fight that they succeeded in driving the invaders from the fort, but not before eighteen of the whites had been killed. Forty- two prisoners were carried away by the savages, and all of the newly …

He directed them to follow Rondout Creek to the Wall kill and to leave that for a third stream, where the encampment of their enemies would be found. The statement that the Indians intended putting their prisoners to death urged the rescuers to greater haste if possible. Dubois and his companions, guided by the savage, pushed through the wilderness for a distance of twenty-six …

Catherine Dubois had already been placed on a funeral ]^yre of wood, preparator}* to being burned, and had 454 The Hudson River evidenced her Christian fortitude by singing hvmns that pleased her cai^tors so that they demanded a repetition of them. It was no new thing for them to hear a warrior sing his death- song in the face of his enemies, but for a woman to show such …

Dubois on the occasion just mentioned was the 137th in the Dutch collection, which is translated thus: By Babel's stream the captives sate And wept for Zion's hapless fate; Useless their harps on willows hung While foes required a sacred song. The village of New Paltz is a delightful reminiscence, a legacy of old habitations and simple customs, bequeathed by generations of …

It is said that so fine and free from animosity and greed has been the life of the people of New Paltz that i)revious to 1873 no lawyer ever found a permanent residence there. Johannes Nevius and others, in a report to the States-General in 1663, spoke feelingly of the deplorable massacre and slaughter of the good people of the beautiful and fruitful country of Esopus …

Then, with necessary stealthiness and caution, he succeeded in freeing his companion, and falling iipon the sleeping Indians thev killed all except two squaws, who escaped. Providing themselves with the arms and provisions of their late captors, they undertook the return journey of four or five hundred miles through the woods. Their lives were barely sa\-ed by the game they …

The previous year, 1876, had been the l^i-centennial anniversary of the building of what has been known niodernly as the Old vSenate House. This building, that has so deep an historic interest, is long and low, constructed of stone and supplemented at a late period of its history by a "linto," or lean-to. It was erected in 1676 by Wessel Ten Broeck, a West])halian, who …

We seem to know that as Jacomyntie Ten Broeck stood in the doorway of that goodly stone house, there was in her roimd and ])leasant face a consciousness of wellstocked larders and fruitful orchards, of cream in the dairy and butter in the crocks, and oily koeks on the ample sheh'cs of the i)antry. At a later day the old house, then one hundred and one years old, sheltered a …