Lossing, Benson John. The Hudson, from the Wilderness to the Sea. New York: Virtue & Yorston, 1866. Internet Archive identifier: hudsonfromwilder00lossi. Illustrated travel-history of the Hudson River valley by the writer and artist Benson J. Lossing, whose chapter on Teller's / Croton Point is a primary source for Senasqua place-name etymology, Sarah Teller's 1682 purchase, and the Underhill vineyard.
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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 …
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 …
The church spires of Troy are also seen, and in dim blue outline, in the extreme southern horizon, appear the higher spurs of the Katzbergs, or Catskill Mountains. Waterford is a very pleasant town, at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, and had then a little more than three thousand inhabitants. It stands upon the level bank of the Hudson. Most of its streets are …
At AVaterford the ear catches the subdued roar of Cohoes Falls '^' in the Mohawk river, three-fourths of a mile distant. That stream is the largest tributary of the Hudson. It flows eastward, with a rapid current most of the way, from Oneida County, in the interior of the State of New York, through one of the richest agricultural regions in the world, for about one hundred and …
The banks of Van Schaick's are steep, a forest of evergreens clothes a large portion of its surface, and only a solitary barn indicates its cognizance by man. Green Island, the larger of the three, stretches along the upper part of Troy, and is a theatre of industry for a busy population, engaged chiefly in manufactures, or in employments connected with railways. There was the …
Down a steep slope of that precipice, for about fifty feet, the proprietor has constructed a flight of steps, and upon the top of a broad terrace at their foot he has planted a flower garden, for the enjoyment of visitors. Around its edge, from which may be obtained a view of the entire cataract, is a railing with seats, and there the visitor may contemplate at ease the wild …
Below the fall, the water rushes over a rocky bed, in foaming rapids, between high banks, to the plain, where the islands divide it into channels, and through these it flows gently into the Hudson. It was a beautiful afternoon in early spring when we visited the falls. The water was abundant, for the snow upon the hills that border the charming valley of the Mohawk was rapidly …
The classical taste which gave the name of the city built where the dappled heifer of Ilus lay down, to this modern town, when it was little more than a hamlet, and which dignified the irregular hill that overlooks it with the title of Mount Ida (called Ida Hill by the inhabitants), named this rocky peak Mount Olympus. We saw nothing upon its *' awful summit " to remind us of …
Just above the dam, and near "Waterford, there is a communication between the canal and the river, and many loaded boats from the former there enter the latter, pass through the lock, and are towed, some to Troy and Albany, and others to New York. The dam also furnishes water power to a number of mills on the Troy shore below it, into which grain is taken from vessels lying at …
It was built of timbei', was closely covered, and rested upon heavy stone piers. It crossed where formerly lay a group of beautiful little islands, when Troy was in its infancy. They have almost disappeared, except THE HUDSON. the larger one, which is bisected by the bridge. Among these islands shad and sturgeon, fish that abound in every part of the river below, were caught …
Town lots were laid out there in the summer of 1787, and two years afterward the freeholders of the fembryo city, at a meeting in Albany, resolved that "in future it should be called and known by the name of Troy." At the same time, with the prescience of observing men, they said -- " It may not be too sanguine to expect, at no very distant period, to see Troy as famous for …
Between the second window on the left and the door was another brick inscribed "M V H. 1752." These were the initials of Matthias Vanderheyden. South of the window on the right, and a little above it, was another brick inscribed " I V H. 1752." These were the initials of Jacob Vanderheyden. Matthias occupied tliis, and the other two built houses elsewhere on the plot. AsWey …
The latter was established under the auspices of the Methodist denomination, but the funds for the building were liberally subscribed by men of various sects. It stands upon Mount Ida, and is the most conspicuous object in a view of the city seen from any point. In its immediate vicinity are beautiful residences, which command extensive and interesting pictures of town and …
About twelve acres of land were purchased at that point by the United States, in 1813, for arsenal purposes, and the group of buildings seen in the sketch was erected. The grounds comprised about one hundred acres, part covered with necessary buildings and a parade, and the remainder was under cultivation. About two hundred yards west of the highway, the Erie Canal passed …
The principal operations carried on are the manufacture of lieavy artillery carnages for the sea-coast forts, with aU the requisite implements and equipments ; carnages for siege trains and field batteries, with their equipments and harness ; all machines used in transporting and repau-ing artillery ; ammunition of all kinds for sea-coast, siege, and field guns, and for small …
There is a house a mile and a half below the arsenal, scarcely visible from the road because of trees and shrubbery which conceal it, and, when seen, it would not attract special attention, excepting for the extreme plainness and antiquated style of its architecture. A pleasant lane leads to it from the canal, and the margin of the sloping lawn on its river front, over which …
The old one was consumed by fire in the summer of 1759, when Philip had been dead eighteen months, and "Aunt Schuyler," his widow, whose waist he spanned with his hands when they were married forty years before, had grown to such enormous dimensions, that a chair was made for her special use. In that chair she was seated, under the cherry-trees in the lane, one hot day in …
Over the yawning cellars of the late mansion a broad wooden bridge was built, furnished with seats like a portico. "This," says Mrs. Grant, "with the high walls of the ancient house, which were a kind of screen before the new one, gave the whole the appearance of an ancient ruin." '•'- Aunt Schuyler removed to her house in Albany, and leased the homestead ; and, a few years …
the city itself, built upon hills and slopes, is more than half concealed by the lofty trees which surround the manor house of the Van Rensselaer family in the northern part of the city. This is one of the most attractive town residences in the State. The mansion, erected in 1765, and recently somewhat modified in external appearance, stands within a park of many acres …
It was provided that every Patroon, to whom privileges and exemptions should be granted, should, within four years after the establishment of a colony, have there, as permanent residents, at least fifty persons over fifteen years of age, one-fourth of whom should be located within the first year. Such privileges were granted to Killian Van Eensselaer, a pearl merchant of …
The Patroon was invested with power to administer civil and criminal justice, in person or by deputy, within his domain, and, to some extent, he was a sort of autocrat. These powers were abolished when the English took possession of the province in 1664, and with it fell many of the special privileges, but, by the English law of primogeniture, that princely domain, farmed out …
Within the mansion are collected some exquisite works of Art, and family portraits extending in regular order back to the first Patroon. At the head of the great staircase leading from the spacious hall to the chambers was a portion of the illuminated window which, for one hundred and ninety years, occupied a place in the old Dutch Church that stood in the middle of State …
gallery, and the huge stove used in heating the building was placed upon a platform so high, that the sexton went upon it from the gallery to kindle the fire, implying a belief in those days that heated air descended, instead of ascending, as we are now taught by the philosophers. The pulpit was made of carved oak, octagonal in form, and in front of it was a bracket, on which …
They would slip stealthily into the church while he was there with his dim lantern, unlock the side door, hide in some dark corner, and when the old man was fairly seated at home, and had his pipe lighted for a last smoke, they would ring the bell furiously. Down to the old church the sexton would hasten, the boys would slip out at the side door before his arrival, and the old …
The materials were imported from Holland, -- ^bricks, tiles, iron, and wood-work, -- and were brought, with the church bell and pulpit, in 1657, "When I was quite a lad," says a late writer, ' ' I visited the house with my mother, who was acquainted with the father of Balthazar Lydius, the last proprietor of the mansion. To my eyes it appeared like a palace, and I thought the …
I smell the blood of an Englishman.' He was a tall, spare Dutchman, with a bullet head, sprinkled with thin white hair in his latter years. He was fond of his pipe and his bottle, and gloried in his celibacy, until his life was ' in the sere and yellow leaf.' ^f*f lifM- Then he gave a pint of gin for a squaw (an Indian woman), and calling her his wife, lived with her as such …
It was built in 1725, by Johannes Bcekraau, one of the old burghers of that city ; and was purchased, in 1778, by one of tho Vauderheydcns of Troy, who, for many yeai's, lived tlierc in the style of the old Dutch aristocracy. On account of its size, it was dignified with the title of palace. It figures in Washington Irving' s story of Dolph Heyliger, iu " Bracebridge Hall," as …
This preserves the walls from being damaged by the rain, but it is extremely disagreeable in rainy weather for the people in the streets, there being hardly any means for avoiding the water from the gutters. The street doors are generally in the middle of the houses, and on both sides are seats, on which, during fair weather, the people spend almost the whole day, especially …
If he wanted any help, he had to pay "exorbitant prices for their services," and yet he says he found some exceptions among them. After due reflection, he came to the following conclusion respecting "the origin of the inhabitants of Albany and its neighbourhood. Whilst the Dutch possessed this country, and intended to people it, the government took up a pack of vagabonds, of …
Another was built on the main : it was abandoned in 1623, and a stronger one erected in what is now Broadway, below State Street. This was furnished witli eight cannon loaded with stones, and was named Fort Orange, in honour of the then Stadtholder of Holland. Down to the period of the intercolonial wars, the settlement and the city were known as Port Orange by the French in …
Out of the manor of Rensselaerwyck a strip of land, a mile wide, extending from the Hudson at the town, thirteen miles back, was granted to the city, but the title to all the remainder of the soil of that broad domain was confirmed to the Patroon. "When, toward the middle of the last century, the province was menaced by the French and Indians, a strong quadrangular fort, built …
Among the most interesting of these relics of the past is the mansion erected by General Philip Schuyler, at about the time when the Van Rensselaer Manor House was built. It stands in the southern part of the city, at the head of Schuyler Street, and is a very fine specimen of the domestic architecture of the country at that period. It is entered at the front by an octagonal …
In that mansion General Schuyler and his family dispensed a princely hospitality for almost Ibrty years. Every stranger of distinction passing between New York and Canada, public functionaries of the province and state visiting Albany, and resident friends and relatives, always found a hearty welcome to bed and board under its roof. And when the British army had surrendered to …
General Burgoyne was struck with General Schuyler's generosity, and said to him, * You show me great kindness, though I have done you much injury.' * That was the fate of war,' replied the brave man, ' let us say no more about it.'" "The British commander was well received by Mrs. Schuyler," says the Marquis De Chastellux, in his "Travels in America," " and lodged in the best …
Schuyler's mansion was the theatre of a stirring event, in the summer of 1781. The general was then engaged in the civil service of his country, and was at home. The war was at its height, and the person of Schuyler was regarded as a capital prize by his Tory enemies. A plan was conceived to seize him, and carry him a prisoner into Canada, A Tory of his neighbourhood, named …
At the close of a sultry day in August, the general and his family were sitting in the large hall of the mansion; the servants were dispersed about the premises ; three of the guard were asleep in the basement, and the other three were lying upon the grass in front of the house. The night had fallen, when a servant announced that a stranger at the back gate wished to speak …
Slie was flying to the rescue of her child, when the general interposed, and prevented her. But her third daughter (who afterwards became the wife of the last Patroon of Eensselaerwyck) instantly rushed down stairs, snatched the still sleeping infant from the cradle, and boi'e it off in safety. One of the Indians hurled a sharp tomahawk at her as she ascended the stairs. It …
She died toward the close of August, 1857, at the age of seventy-six years. Albany was made the political metropolis of the State of ISTew York early in the present century, when the Capitol, or State-House, was erected. It stands upon a hill at the heat of broad, steep, busy State Street, one hundred and thirty feet above the Hudson, and commands a fine prospect of the whole …
The building is surmounted by a dome supported by several small Ionic columns, and bearing upon its crown a wooden statue of Themis, the goddess of justice and law. Within it are halls for the two branches of the State legislature (Senate and General Assembly), an executive chamber for the official use of the Governor, an apartment for the Adjutant-General, and rooms for the …
The idea of such connection had occupied the minds of sagacious men for many years, foremost among whom Avcre Elkanah Watson, General Philip Schuyler, Christopher Colles, and Gouverneur Morris ; and thirty years before the great work was commenced, Joel 15arlow, one of the early American poets, wrote in his Vision of Columbus -- " He saw as widel}- spreads the imchannelled …
The business demands upon it warranting an enlargement to seventy feet in widtli, work with that result in view has been in progress for several years. It flows through the entire length of the beautiful Mohawk valley, crosses CANAL BA.SIX AT ALIiAXV. the Mohawk Uiver several times, and enters Albany at the north end of the city. Near where the last aqueduct of the canal …
Occuna began : " Daughter of a mighty warrior ! the Great Manitore [the Supreme God] calls me hence; he bids me hasten into his presence ; I hear his voice in the stream ; I perceive his Spirit in the moving of the waters. The light of his eyes danceth upon the swift rapids." The maiden replied : "Art thou not thyself a mighty warrior, 0 Occuna'^ Hath not thy hatchet been …
Occuna was dashed in pieces among the rocks, but his affianced maiden was preserved to tell the story of her perils. Occuna, the Indian said, "was raised high above the regions of the moon, from whence he vicw.s with joy the prosperous hunting of the warriors ; he gives pleasant dreams to his friends, and terrifies their enemies with dreadful omens." And when any of his tribe …
Albany was completed, a passage was made through this pier for ferryboats, the bridges not being sufficient for the accommodation of travellers and freight. The pier was also soon covered with storehouses ; and when the Harlem and Hudson River Railways (the former skirting the western borders of Connecticut, eighteen or twenty miles east of the Hudson, and the latter following …
It is not within the scope of our plan of illustrating the Hudson to do more than offer a general outline of its various features, as exhibited in the forms of nature and the works of man. We leave to the statistician the task of giving in detail an account of the progress of towns and villages, in their industrial operations and the institutions of learning. AYe picture to …
General Van Rensselaer, the present proprietor of the Manor House, at Albany, presented for the purpose eight acres of land upon an eminence north of the city. This preliminary step was followed by Mrs. Blandina Dudley, widow of a wealthy Albany merchant, who offered twelve thousand dollars towards the cost of erecting a building. Those having the matter in charge resolved to …
The whole establishment was to have been placed under the supeiintcndence of the eminent Professor Ormsby M. Mitchel, of Ohio. The Civil War broke out, and Mr. Mitchel, animated by patriotic zeal for the salvation of his country, entered the military service, for which he had been educated at West Point, and was made a general officer. While in command of the "Department of …
It is f jiir and a half feet in diameter, is mounted on the flag-staff, and is raised each day at ten minutes before twelve. The force of the fall is broken by spiral springs at the foot of the flag-staff. Another but smaller time-ball is dropped at the same instant in Broadway, in front of the telegraph-office, and hundreds of persons may be seen daily holding their watches …
thousand soldiers; and their General Dearborn, the ooininander-iu-chief of the United States army, had his quarters for some time. On tliis very spot Abercrombie and Amherst collected their troops above a hundred years ago, preparatory to an invasion of Canada, or, at least, the capture of the French fortresses on Lake Champlain ; and from that same spot went companies and …
Buildings of every description for the use of these railways are there in a cluster, the most conspicuous of which is the immense manysided engine-house of the Western Road, whose great dome, covered with bright tin, is a conspicuous object on a sunny day for scores of miles around. The Hudson Eivcr Railway is on the east side of the stream, and follows its tortuous banks all …
Around it is a pleasant agricultural country, and between it and Albany, on the western shore, flows in the romantic IS'orman's-Kill (the Indian Tawasentha, or Place of many Dead), that comes down from the region of the lofty Helderbergs. Upon the island in the Hudson, at the mouth of this stream -- a noted place of encampment and trade for the Iroquois -- the Dutch built …
In this vicinity is the famous hidden sand-bar, called Overslagh by the Dutch, so formidable to the navigators of this part of the river, not because of any actual danger, but of tedious detentions caused by running aground. Some improvements have been made. In former years the sight of from twenty to fifty sail of river craft, fast aground on the Overslagh at low tide, was …
tive from the Mohegan word is-cho-da, ** a meadow, or fire-plain." This was anciently the seat of the council fire of the Mohcgans upon the Hudson. They extended their villages along the eastern bank of the stream, as high as Lanslngburgh, and their hunting grounds occupied the entire counties of Columbia and Rensselaer. As the white settlements crowded there, the Mohegans …
The village, which was settled by Dutch and Swedes at an early period, is upon a plain five miles from the river, with most attractive rural surroundings. There, for more than twenty years after his retirement from public life, the late Honourable Martin Van Buren, a descendant of one of the early settlers, and the eighth president of the United States, resided. His pleasant …
Its appropriateness may be understood by the form of the shore, whose banks have evidently been cut down by the rushing river currents that sweep swiftly along between an island and the main, when the spring freshets occur. From a high rocky bluff at the ferry, on the east side of the river, a fine view of Coxsakie, with the blue Katzbergs as a background, may be obtained …
On both sides of the river they were pursuing their vocation with assiduity, for "the season" lasts only about two months. The immense reels on which they stretch and dry their nets, the rough, uncouth costume of the fishermen, appropriate to the water and the slime, the groups of young people who gather upon the beach to see the " catch," form interesting and sometimes …
numbers, as to make them clieap dishes for the poor man's table. They enter the Hudson in immense numbers towards the close of March or beginning of April, and ascend to the head of tide water to spawn. It is while on their passage up that the greater number and best conditioned arc caught, several hundreds being sometimes taken in a single "catch." They generally descend the …
Its colour is dusky above, with faint traces of oblique bands ; belly white, and the fins tinged with reddish colour. tr 146 THE HUDSON. the inhabitants of that ancient town, " Sturgeonites." They vary in size from two to eight feet in length, and in weight from 100 to 450 lbs. The "catch" commences in April, and continues until the latter end of August. The flesh is used for …
Never in the history of the rapid growth of cities in America has there been a more remarkable example than that of Hudson. AVithin three years from the time when the farm on which it stands was purchased, and only a solitary storehouse stood ixpon the bank of the river at the foot of the bluff", one hundi;ed and fifty dwellings, with wharves, storehouses, workshops, barns …
Merino high and near, over the bay, whieli is cultivated to its summit, and from whose crown the Highlands in the south, the Luzerne Mountains, near Lake George, in the north, the Katzbergs in the west, and the Green Mountains eastward, may be seen, blue and shadowy, and bounding the horizon with a grand and mysterious line, while at the feet of the observer, the city of …
presents many romantic little scenes, IS'ear its banks, a few miles from Hudson, are mineral springs, now rising into celebrity, and known as the Colnmbia Sulphur Springs. The accommodations for invalids and l)leasure-seekers are arranged in the midst of a fine hickory grove, and many persons spend the summer months there very delightfully, away from the fashionable crowd. The …
The sect or society of this singular people originated in England a little more than one hundred years ago. Ann Lee, the young wife of a blacksmith, who had borne several children, conceived the idea that marriage was impure and sinful. She found disciples, and after being persecuted as a fanatic for several years, she professed to have had a direct revelation that she was the …
The community at jS'ew Lebanon is the most perfect of all in its arrangements, and there the hierarchy of the "Millennial Church" reside. Their strange forms THE HUDSON. of -worship, consisting chiefly in singing and dancing ; their quaint costume, their simple manners, their industry and frugality, the perfection of all their industrial operations, their chaste and exemplary …
So they tooke tliem downe into the cabbin, and gave them so much wine and aqua vitcc that they were all merrie, and one of them had his wife with liim, which sate so modestly, as any of our countrey women would doe in a strange place. In the end, one of them was drunke, which had been aboord of our ship all the time tliat we had beene there : and that was strange to them, for …
At the Oak Hill station the tourist upon the railway will leave it for a trip to the Ivatzbergs before him, upon which may be seen, at the distance of eight miles in an air line, the "Mountain House," the famous resort for hundreds of people who escape from the dust of cities during the heat of summer, Tlie river is crossed on a steam ferry-boat, and good omnibuses convey …
The solemn Katzbergs, sublime in form, and mysterious in their dim, incomprehensible, and ever-changing aspect, almost always form a prominent feature in the landscape. In the midst of this scenery. Cole, the eminent painter, loved to linger when the shadows of the early morning were projected towards the mountqjn, then bathed in purple mists ; or at evening, when these lofty …
Charmed with this region, Cole made it at fii'st a summer retreat, and finally his permanent residence, and there, in a fine old family mansion, delightfully situated to command a full view of the Katzberg range and the intervening country, his spirit passed from earth, while a sacred poem, created by his wealthy imagination and deep religious sentiment, was finding expression …
The range of the Katzbergs ^'- rises abruptly from the plain on their eastern side, where the road that leads to the Mountain House enters them, and follows the margin of a deep, dark glen, through which flows a clear mountain stream seldom seen by the traveller, but heard continually for a mile and a half, as, in swift rapids or in little cascades, it hurries to the plain …
other, that little can be seen beyond a few rods, except the sky above, or glimpses of some distant summit, until the pleasant nook in the mountain is reached, wherein the Cabin of Kip Van Winkle is nestled. After that the course of the road is more nearly parallel with the river and the WINKLi; S CABIN. plain, and through frequent vistas glimpses may bo caught of the country …
As one stands upon the rustic bridge, in front of the cabin, and looks down the dark glen, up to the impending cliff's, or around in that rugged amphitheatre, the scene comes up vividly in memory, and the "company of odd-looking personages playing at nine-pins" reappear. "Some wore short doublets, others jerkins, with long knives in their belts, and most of them had enormous …
Nothing interrupted the stillness of the scene but the noise of the balls, which, whenever they were rolled, echoed along the mountains like rumbling peals of thunder." Such was the company to whom hen-pecked Eip Van Winkle, wandering upon the mountains on a squirrel hunt, was introduced by a mysterious stranger carrying a keg of liquor, at autumnal twilight. And there it was …
That his father had once seen them, in their old Dutch dresses, playing at nine-pins in a hollow of the mountain ; and that himself had heard, one summer afternoon, the sound of their balls, like distant peals of thunder." Rip's veracity was vindicated ; his daughter gave him a comfortable home ; and the grave historian of the event assures us that the Dutch inhabitants, "even …
There are many delightful resting-places upon the road, soon after leaving Rip's cabin, as we toil wearily up the mountain, where the eye takes in a magnificent panorama of hill and valley, forest and river, hamlet and village, and thousands of broad acres where herds graze and the farmer gathers his crops, -- much of it dimly refined because of distance -- a beautifully …
There, too, the ]-oad is level, and the traveller rejoices in the assurance that the toilsome journey is at an cu<l ; when, suddenly, he finds himself, like the young pilgrim in Cole's " Yoyagc of Life," disappointed in his MOUNTAIN HOUSE, FBOM THE KOAD, course. The road that seemed to be leading directly to that beautiful mansion, upon the crag just above him, turns away …
There is something indescribable in the pleasure experienced during the first hour passed upon the piazza of the Mountain House, gazing upon the scene toward the east. That view has been described a thousand times. I shall not attempt it. Much rhetoric, and rhyme, and sentimental platitudes have been employed in the service of description, but none have conveyed to my mind a …
I saw the hills in the Hampshire Grants, the Highlands of the river, and all that God had done, or man could do, as far as the eye could reach -- you know that the Indians named me for my sight, ladf -- and from the flat on the top of that mountain, I have often found the place where Albany stands; and as for 'Sopus! the day the royal troops burnt the town, the smoke seemed so …
The aerial pictures seen from the Mountain House are sometimes marvellous, especially during a shower in the plain, when all is sunshine ahove, while the lightning plays and the thunder rolls far below the dwellers upon the summits ; or after a storm, when mists are driving over the mountains, struggling with the wind and sun, or dissolving into invisibility in the pure air …
"We, ourselves, who were expanded into Brobdignags in size, saw the gulf into which we were to enter and be lost. I almost shuddered when my turn came, but there was no eluding my fate ; one side of my face was veiled, and in a moment the whole had passed like a dream. An instant before, and we were the inhabitants of a 'gorgeous palace,' but it was the 'baseless fabric of a …
The blue of the depths and distances -- clouds, mountains, and shadows -- was such that the perception entered into our very souls. How shall I describe the colour? It was not mazarine, because there was no blackness in it ; it was not sunlit atmosphere, because there was no white brightness in it ; and yet there was a sort of hidden, beaming brilliancy, THE HUDSON. that …
Larger and darker became a spot in the magic depths, when, lo ! as in a vision, fields, trees, fences, and the habitations of men were revealed before our eyes. For the first time something real and refined lay before us, far down in that wonderful gulf. Far beneath heaven and us slept a speck of creation, unlighted by the evening rays that touched us, and colourless in the …
Prom the latter, a majestic view of mountain scenery, and of the lowlands southward, may be obtained at the price of a little fatigue, for which full compensation is given. The Katers-Kill* lakes, lying in a basin a short distance from the Mountain House, with all their grand surroundings, the house itself, and the South Mountain, and the Eound Top or Liberty Cap, form the …
But the hand that made that ' Leap ' never made a mill ! There the water comes crooking and winding among the rocks, first so slow that a trout might swim in it, and then starting and running, just like any creatur that wanted to make a far spring, till it gets to where the mountain divides like the cleft hoof of a deer, leaving a deep hollow for the brook to tumble into. The …
sides of the fall, and shelves over the bottom for fifty feet ; so that when I've been sitting at the foot of the first pitch, and my hounds have run ^.%^^ :V^ KATEES-KILL FAILS. into the caverns behind the sheet of water, they've looked no bigger than so many rabbits. To my judgment, lad, it's the best piece of work I've met with in the woods ; and none know how often the …
"While .'sketching the cascades, memory recux-red to other visits we had made there in midsummer, when tlic wealth of foliage lay upon tree and shrub ; and also to a description given us by a lady, of her visit to the falls in winter, Avith Colo, the artist, when the frost had crystallised the spray into gorgeous fret-work all over the rocks, and made a spcndid cylinder of …
The tourist, if he fails to traverse the rugged gorge, should not omit a ride from the Mountain House, down through the "Clove" to Palensvillc THE HUDSON. and tlie plain, a distance of about eight miles. Unpleasant as was the day ■when we last visited the mountains, we returned to Katz-Kill by that circuitous route. After leaving the falls, we rode about three miles before …
precipices upon the other, whose feet are washed by the rushing Katers- Kill, our crooked road pursued its way, now passing a log-house, now a pleasant cottage, and at length the ruins of a leather manufacturing village, deserted because the bark upon the hills around, used for tanning, is exhausted. Kear this picturesque scene, the Katers-Kill leaps into a SCENE OX THE …
Upon the opposite side of the creek a perpendicular wall rises many hundred feet, and then in slight inclination the mountain towers up at least a thousand feet higher, and forms a portion of the range known as the South Mountain. At the mouth of this cavernous gorge lies the pretty little village of Palensville, where we again cross the stream, and in a few moments find …
From the lower borders of Columbia County, opposite Katz-Kill village, to Hyde Park, in Duchess County, a distance of thirty miles, the east bank of the Hudson is distinguished for old and elegant country scats, most of them owned and occupied by the descendants of wealthy proprietors who flourished in the last century, and were connected by blood and marriage with Robert …
In the year 1710 Livingston's grants were consolidated, and Hunter, the royal governor, gave him a patent for a tract of a little more than one hundred and sixty-two thousand acres, for which he was to pay into the king's treasury "an annual rent of twenty-eight shillings, lawful money of New York," a trifle over fourteen shillings sterling! This magnificent estate was …
About 1,800 of them settled upon the manor lands, and at a place on the opposite shore of the river, the respective localities being known as East and West Camp. These Germans were called Palatines, and are represented as the most enlightened people of their native land. Among them was the widow Hannah Zenger, whose son, John Peter, apprenticed to William Bradford, the …
His zeal in the Republican cause, at the kindling of the revolution, made him an arch rebel in the estimation of the British ministry and the officers in the service of the crown in America; and when, in the autumn of 1777, General Vaughan, at the head of the royal troops, went up the Hudson, on a marauding expedition, to produce a diversion in favour of Burgoyne, then …
The mansion is beautifully situated, and, like all the villas in this neighbourhood, commands a fine prospect of the Katzbergs. It was described, as long ago as 1812, as "one of the most commodious houses in the State, having a river front of 104 feet, and a depth of 91 feet, and consisting of a main body of two stories and four pavilions," in one of wjiich the chancellor had …
Livingston's chief honour as a man of science, and promoter of useful interests, is derived from his aid and encouragement in eff'orts which resulted in the entire success of steam navigation. As early as 1797, he was engaged with an Englishman named Nesbit in experiments. They built a steamboat on the Hudson river, at a place now known as De Koven's Cove, or Bay, about half a …
A boat was constructed at Brown's ship-yard, in New York, and was completed in August, 1807, when it was propelled by its machinery to THE HUDSON. Hobokcn, on the Jersey shore, where John Stevens (Mr. Livingston's brother-in-laTv) had been experimenting in the same direction for fifteen years. That first successful steamboat was named Clermont, in compli- IKW AT DK KOV ment to …
„ Hudson „ 5 J „ 30 „ „ Albany „ 7 „ 36 „ nil cLri ^ uM. '-yu; Fulton's new steamboat," said the same paper, on the 5th of October, " left New York on the 2nd, at 10 o'clock, A.M., against a strong tide, verj' rough water, and a violent gale from the north. She made a headway, against the most sanguine expectations, and without being rocked by the waves ! " THE HUDSON. the war …
The proprietor was a good-humoured, hospitable man. He soon convinced the invaders of their error, supplied them bountifully with wine and other refreshments, and made them so kindly and cheery, that had he been the "rebel" himself, they must have spared his property. They passed on, performed their destructive errand, partook of the good things of Mr. Livingston's larder and …
bridge above it, yet some features of grandeur and beauty remain. The chief business part of the village lies upon a plain with the Katzbergs for a background, and on the high right bank of the creek, where many of the flrst-class residences arc situated, an interesting view of the mouth of Zaeger's Kill, or Esopus Creek, with the lighthouse, river, and the fertile lands on …
On inquiry, we found the church to be that of the Holy Innocents, built by the proprietor of Annandale upon his estate, for the use of the inhabitants of that region as a free chapel. The new building was for St. Stephen's College, designed as a training school for those who are preparing to enter the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Cliurch, in New …
V Adjoining Annandale on the south is Montgomery Place, the residence of the family of the late Edward Livingston, brother of the Chancellor, who is distinguished in the annals of his country as a leading United States senator, the author of the penal code of the State of Louisiana, and ambassador to France. The elegant mansion was built by the widow of General Richard …
The mansion and its 400 acres passed into the possession of her brother Edward, and there, as we have observed, members of his family now reside. Of all the fine estates along this portion of the Hudson, this is said to be the most perfect in its beauty and arrangements. Waterfalls, picturesque bridges, romantic glens, groves, a magnificent park, one of the most beautiful of …
Armstrong was the author of the celebrated addresses which were privately circulated among the officers of the Continental Array lying at Newburgh, on the Hudson, at the close of the war, and calculated to stir up a mutiny, and even a rebellion against the civil power. The feeble Congress had been unable for a long time to provide for the pay of the soldiers about to be …
He was the author of a "Life of General Montgomery," "Life of General "Wayne," and "Historical Notices of the "War of 1812." Eokeby, where this eminent man lived and died, is delightfully situated, in the midst of an undulating park, farther from the river than the other villas, but commanding some interesting glimpses of it, with more distant landscapes and mountain scenery …
The bricks of which the chimney is constructed were imported from Holland. In this house the first public religious services in that region were held, and it was used as a fortress in early times, against the Indians. It now belongs to the Heermance family, descendants of early settlers there. Beekman' s son, Henry, afterwards procured a patent from the English government for …
Its character is different from that of an ordinary villa residence, being cultivated with much care as a farm, whilst great regard is had to improving its beauty, and developing landscape effects. The lawn and gardens occupy thirty acres; the greenhouse, graperies, &c., are among A A THE HUDSON. the most complete in this country. The park contains three hundred acres; its …
Garrettson was a leader among the plain Methodists in the latter part of the last century, when that denomination was beginning to take fast hold upon the public mind in America, and his devoted, blameless life did much to commend his people to a public disposed to deride them. ] * More properly Wilder KLippc. Tliis is a Dutch word, signifying wild man's, or wild Indian's …
Garrettson left the Church of England, in which he had been educated, the Methodists were despised in most places. He was a native of Maryland. Eminently conscientious, he gave liis slaves their freedom, and entering upon his ministry, preached everywhere, on all occasions and at all times, offending the wicked and delighting the good, and fearless of all men, having full …
Probably no house in the world has ever held within it so many Methodist preachers as this, from the most humble of "weak vessels" up to Bishop Asbury, and other dignitaries of the church ; for, with ample means at command, the doors of Mr. Garrettson and his wife were ever open to all, especially to their brethren in the ministry. ) And that generous hospitality is yet …
A few families settled soon afterwards upon or near the site of Kingston, and called the place Wiltwyck, or Wild Indian Town. They were soon dispersed by the savages. Another settlement then followed ; again the savages dispersed them. Finally, in 1660, a treaty was concluded that seemed to promise security to the settlers. But the wrath of the Indians became fiercely kindled …
Many^of the persecuted Huguenot families who fled from France settled at Kingston and in its vicinity, towards the close of the seventeenth century; and when the war for independence broke out in 1775, their descendants were found on the side of the republicans. Kingston was called a "nest of rebels." There, in the spring of 1777, the representatives of the people of the State …
It is related that when the British landed at Kingston Point, some Dutchmen were at work just below it, and were not aware of the fact until they saw the dreaded "red-coats" near them. It was low water, and across the flats on the river shore they fled toward the place of the present village of Rondout as fast as their legs could carry them, not presuming to look behind them …
There, while Esopus was in flames, the republicans hanged a spy, who had been caught in the American camp near Newburgh, a few days before. He had been sent by Sir Henry Clinton with a message to Burgoyne. "When apprehended on suspicion, he was seen to cast something into his mouth and swallow it. An emetic was administered, and a silver bullet, hollow and elliptical in shape …
Its population in 1860 was about 4,000, and the space between it and Rondout, a mile and a half distant, was rapidly filling up with dwellings. The two villages were already connected by gas-pipes, and public conveyances ply between them continually. Eondout (Ptedoubt), at the mouth of Rondout Creek, is one of the busiest places on the river between Albany and IS'ew York. It …
The greater proportion of the able-bodied men and boys were, in some way, connected with the coal business. Another village, the offspring of the same trade, and of very recent origin, stands just below the mouth of the Rondout Creek. It was built entirely by the Pennsylvania Coal Company. From that village, laid out in 1851, and containing a population of about 1,400 souls, a …
It is a simple, beautiful retreat, now consecrated in memory as the residence of a venerable novelist and poet -- the friend and associate of Washington Irving in his early literary career- They were associated in the conducting of an irregular periodical entitled " Salmagundi," the principal object of which was to satirise the follies and foibles of fashionable life. Contrary …
The golden sun was delicately veiled in purple exhalations, and over all the scene silence deepened the solemnity of the thought that we were treading paths where a child of genius had daily walked, but who had lately turned aside to be laid to rest in the cool shadows of the tomb. The village of Hyde Park is upon a pleasant plain, high above the river, and half a mile from …
On account of this the Dutch settlers called the place Krom EUehoge, or Crooked Elbow. As is frequently the case THE HUDSON. 18: along the Hudson, the present name is a compound of Dutch and English, and is called Crom Elbow. Six miles below Hyde Park is the large rural city of Poughkeepsic, containing about 17,000 inhabitants. The name is a modification of the Mohegan word …
The southern bluff bears the name of Call Eock, it having been a place from which the settlers called to the captains of sloops or single-masted vessels, when passage in them was desired. "With this bay, or " safe harbour," is associated an Indian legend, of which the following is the substance : -- Once some Delaware warriors came to this spot with Pequod captives. Among the …
They eluded the vigilance of the Huron, fled at nightfall, with swift feet, towards the Hudson, and in the darkness, shot out upon its bosom, in a light canoe, followed by blood-thirsty pursuers. The strong arm of the young Pequod paddled his beloved one safely to a deep rocky nook near the mouth of the "Winnakee, concealed her there, and with a few friendly Delawares whom he …
There Ann Lee, the founder of the Shaker church in America, was con- THE \A> KLEEK HOtSr. fined, in 1776, on a charge of complicity with the enemies of republicanism. There the legislature of New York, when driven by the torch from Kingston, in 1777, met, and continued during two sessions ; and there many of the members of the State Convention in 1788, to consider the Federal …
Around, within an area of twenty to thirty miles in diameter, spreads out a farming country, like a charming picture, beautiful in every feature. The general appearance of Poughkeepsie from the hills above Lewisburg, on the western side of the Hudson, is given in our sketch. It is one of the most delightful places for residence in the United States. It is centrally situated …
The most striking objects on its surface are fleets of barges from the northern and western canals, loaded with the products of the fields and forests, lashed or tethered together, and towed by a steamboat. On these barges whole families sometimes reside during the season of navigation ; and upon lines stretched over piles of lumber, newly- washed clothes may be frequently …
But immediately around it are gardens, conservatories, and a pleasant lawn, basking in the sunshine, and through vistas between magnificent trees, glimpses may be caught of the Hudson, the northern and southern ranges of mountains, and villages that dot the western shore of the river. Here the master dispenses a generous hospitality to friends and strangers, and with the …
For this offence, when the chain and accompanying boom were forced, and the vessels of Yaughan carried the firebrand to Esopus or Kingston, the rebel blacksmith's mill was laid in ashes, and he was confined in the loathsome Jersey prison-ship at New York, where he had ample time for reflection and penitence for three weary years. Alas ! the latter never came. He was a sinner …
There and at some places on the eastern shore, are the chief sources of the supply of that delicious fruit for the city of New York ; and the quantity raised is so great, that a small steamboat is employed for the sole purpose of carrying raspberries daily to the city. These villages are upon high banks, and are scarcely visible from the river. They have a background of rich …
Here they may be seen of all sizes and most perfect forms, from the tiny shrub to the tall tree that shows its stem for several feet from the ground. The most beautiful are those of six to ten feet in height, whose branches shoot out close to the ground, forming perfect cones, and exhibiting nothing to the eye but delicate sprays and bright green leaves. "When quite small …
It is navigable for a mile and a half from its mouth, when it falls seventyfive feet, and furnishes power used by quite a large manufacturing village. It is usually incorrectly spelled "Wappingers. Its name is derived from * The Arbor A^itffi is the Ihuya Occidentalis of Linnffius. It is not the genuine white cedar, although it frequently bears that name. In New England it is …
They painted themselves grotesquely, built a large fire upon this rock, and danced around it with songs and yells, making strange contortions of face and limbs, under the direction of their conjurors or " medicine men." They would tumble, leap, run, and yell, when, as they said, the Devil, or Evil Spirit, would appear in the shape of a beast of prey, or a harmless animal; the …
That large town lies upon the steep slope on the western shore, and presents a beautiful appearance to the traveller by railway or steamboat, especially when it is lighted up by the morning sun. Around that old town, the site of the oldest permanent settlement in Orange County, are clustered many associations of the war for independence ; for near there the Continental Army …
j^: HE house at Newbxirgh, -svhich was occupied by c Washingtou, was built by Jonathan Hasbrouck, in 1750, and is known by the respective names of "Hasbrouck House" and "AVashington Headquarters." It has been the property of the State for several years, and a sufficient annual appropriation from the State treasury is made, to keep it, with the grounds around, in good order …
Then an appeal to the officers of the army Avas Avritten, and secretly disseminated, in which grievances were set forth, and they were advised to take matters into their own hands, and, in effect, form a military despotism if the Congress should not speedily provide for their pay. Washington was informed of the movement. He resolved to control, without seeming to oppose it. He …
of the army." This scene did not occur at head-quarters, but in a large temporary building a few miles in the interior, near whei'e the army lay at that time. In the centre of the Hasbrouck House, or Head-quarters, is a large hall, having on one side au enormous fire-place, and containing seven doors, but only one window. Here Washington received his friends ; here large …
On a long rough table was a repast, just as little in keeping with the refined cuisines of Paris, as the room was with its architecture. It consisted of a large dish of meat, uncouth-looking pastry, and wine in decanters and bottles, accompanied by glasses and silver mxigs, such as indicated other habits and tastes than those of modern Paris. ' ' Do you know where we now are …
It is about six feet in height, and is surmounted by a large recumbent wreath. On the river-front are the words : -- " The last of the Life Guards. TJzal Knapp, boen, 1759; DIED, 1856. Monmouth, Yalley Forge, Toektown." On the opposite side: -- "Erected by the Newburgh Guards, Company F., 19th Regiment, IS". Y. S. M., June, 1860." It is surrounded by a chain supported by …
Just four months afterwards he died, and many who were at the feast were at the burial. By permission of his family, the citizens of Newburgh, after his body had lain in state for three days, buried him at the foot of the flag-staff, near the old head-quarters of his chief, where he had watched and sported three-quarters of a centui'y before. It was over that grave the …
It includes the lower part of jS"ewburgh, the mouth of the Quassaic Creek, the villages of New AVindsor, and Cornwall, the beautiful low peninsula called Denning's Point on the left, and the higher one of Plum Point, on the western shore, seen in the centre. Just beyond the latter is the mouth of the Moodna, a fine clear stream that comes down from the hillcountry of Orange …
I travelled that road on a hot afternoon in August. The shadows were short ; a soft breeze came up the river from the open northern door of the Highlands, whose rugged forms were bathed in golden light. On the land not a leaf was stirred by a zephyr. I crossed the Moodua, in whose shallow waters the cattle were seeking cool retreats, and I was glad to take shelter from the hot …
acclivity is coverecl with the primeval wood, which presents an apparently impenetrable barrier to approach from below. After sketching the attractive scene, I went leisurely up the deep, cool, dai'k glen, to its narrowest point, where the brook occupies the whole bottom of the gorge, and flows in picturesque rapids and cascades over and^ among rugged rocks and overhanging …
He has thoroughly " written it up." It is a fertile strip of land, quite elevated, lying at the foot of the north-western slopes of the mountains. The grape is cultivated there with success ; and as its banks yield some of the finest brickclay in the country, it has become a celebrated brick-making place. Cornwall Landing is at the base of the Terrace near the foot of the …
to meet friends, or only hoping to see new faces, quite cover the wharf at times, especially at evening. From the Cornwall Landing an interesting view of the npper entrance to the Highlands, between the Storm King and Breakneck Hill, may be obtained. In our sketch, the former is seen on the right, the latter on the left. The river is here deep and narrow. The rocky shores …
Such, they say, nnist have been in former ages the "Ancient Lake of the Upper Valley of the Hudson," indicated by the levels and surveys of the present day, and by an examination of the geological structure and alluvial formations of this valley. The Indians called the range eastward of the Hudson, including the Fishkill Mountains, Ilatteawan, or the Country of Good Fur. They …
The appeal was met with a sensible response, and the directors of the Hudson River Eailway Company recognised its fitness by naming a station at Breakneck Hill (when will a better name for this be given?), opposite the Boter Berg, "Storm King Station." The features of the mountain have been somewhat changed. For many years past vast masses of stone have been quarried from its …
it was regarded as a great curiosity, and an interesting feature in the Highland scenery on the river. Just below the Storm King, at the foot of a magnificent valley composed of wooded slopes that come down from the high hills two or three miles westward, is the cottage of Mr. Lamhertson, a resident of New York, wlio has chosen that isolated spot for a summer retreat. He has …
THE HUDSON. 21: steamer Thomas Poicell, and at that hour the deep green of the foreground was fading higher up into a mingled colour of olive and pink, and softening into delicate purple, while the rocky summit of the Storm King cast over the whole the reflected effulgence of a brilliant evening sunlight. In this isolated spot among the mountains, Joseph Eodman Drake, whilst …
electrical clouds, which frequently gather suddenly among the Highlands during the heats of July and August, came up from the west, obscured the sun, hovered upon the summit of the Storm King a few minutes, and then passed eastward, giving out only a few drops of rain where I stood, but casting down torrents in Newburgh Bay, accompanied by shafts of forked lightning and heavy …
The evening sun was pouring a flood of light upon the scene. On the left, in shadow, stood the Storm King, on the right was rugged Breakneck, with its neighbour, round Little Beacon Hill, and between was Pollopell's Island, a solitary rocky eminence, rising from the river, a mile north of them. Beyond these were seen the expanse of Newburgh Bay, the village, the cultivated …
"We reached the first summit, after a fatiguing ascent of a mile and a half. It was not the highest, yet we had a very extensive prospect of the country around, except on the east, which was hidden by the higher points of the mountain. At last the greatest altitude was reached, after making our way another mile over rocky ledges, and through gorges filled with shrub-oaks, and …
Taghkanick range, with the hills of western Massachusetts and Connecticut. Almost at our feet lay Cornwall, and a little beyond were New Windsor and Canterbury, and the whole country back of Newburgh, made memorable by events of the war for independence. Before us lay the old camp-grounds of the Continental Army, the spot where the patriotism of the officers was tried to the …
My right there is none to dispute, From the centre all round to the sea, I am lord of the fowl and the brute." The passing trains upon the Hudson lliver Railway, and large steamers, and more than forty sail of vessels of all sizes, seen upon the river at the same time, appeared almost like toys for children. Yet small as they seemed, and diminutive as "we must have appeared …
With a good telescope the city of New York may also be seen. But within the range of our unaided vision, lay fields of action, the events of which occupy large spaces in history. There was Philipsburg, where the Continental Army was encamped, and almost every soldier was inoculated with the kine-pox, to shield him from the ravages of the small-pox. The camp, for a while …
and the Eamapo Pass, with the solid-looking mass of the Shunnemunk beyond Canterbury. It was after meridian when we had finished our observations from the lofty head of the Storm King, and sat down to lunch in the broken shadows of a stunted pine-tree. We descended the mountain by the path that we went up, and at Cornwall took a skiff and rowed to West Point, making some …