Glass ^- Book COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT PRICE, 25 CENTS. ^^aM^ NALLY& HANDY GUIDE TO THE ^^ Hudson River ^» VM ^x/i/f/i- I AND Oatskill Mountains RAND, MclNALLY & COMPANY, Publishers. You can reach practically all the great resorts of America, by the through car lines of ''America's Greatest Railroad"— 7 The New York Central. Before deciding on your Summer Outing, consult the ''Four^Track Series," the New York Central's beautiful books of travel. Illustrated Catalogue sent free, post- paid, on receipt of a two=cent stamp, by George H. Daniels, General Pas- senger Agent, Grand Central Station, New York. ON Til ^^ h i estminster'* . jne of the few hotels in New York not condiicted on the expen- sive European plan. It has all the luxuries, comforts, and conveni- ences of an eleg-ant home. It is on the corner of i6th Street and Irving Place, and close to Union Square, near all the best shops, the theaters, the " L" roads, and surface cars, but its immediate neighborhood is quiet — you can sleep there. The streets on all sides are paved with asphalt. Rates, $3 50 per day and up- ward. You can't get better service or better fare if you pay double. " A Little Book About a Big City " free if you ask. E. N. AN ABLE, Prop., Cor. 1 6th St. and Irving Place, New York I Copftlgbt 1806— Bates-Whitman Co., N. y Vji %. Saratoga Lincoln Water The Coming Water of Saratoga Springs. It is carefully packed and shipped in cases of 4 and 2 dozen pints and 2 dozen quarts. Address all orders to Lincoln Spring. Saratoga Springs, N. Y Cbe Delauan Ag"ain Open, Renovated, and Refurnished. ^ The nearest house to all Depots. Kept in first-class style. All rooms on first floor have parlor and baths connected en suite. Free 'bus to all trains and boats. Rates, $2.50 and Upwards According to Rooms and Location. Trusty Porters at all Trains and Boats to care for baggage and show guests every attention, giving information of leaving time of trains, etc. HURTY & I^OORE, Props. ^ T^^aezP^yS^^. United Spates Hotel, SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. ONE OF THE LARGEST HOTELS IN THE WORLD. 917 rooms for guests; line of buildings over 1,500 feet long; 6 stories high; covering and inclosing 7 acres of ground: 236 feet frontage on Broadwa}'; 075 feet frontage on Division Street. The su mmer residence of the most refined circles of American fashion and society. • . ORCHESTRA, HOPS, GERMANS, BALLS, .^ •• CONCERTS, AND ENTERTAINMENTS. *• Most elegantly furnished parlors, ball-room, public and private dining-rooms, reading-rooms, etc. Private villas of any size in the •COTTAGE WING' Unexcelled in everything pertaining to elegance, convenience, and attractive- ness bj- any house in the world. Tompkins, Gage & Perry, PROPRIETORS. g ROADWAY Q ENTRAL g-| OTEL , |SJEW YOiM- Nos. 66r to 6rt BROADWAY, Opposite Bond Street, Midway between Battery and Central Park. THIS IMMENSE PROPERTY By far the Largest in New York, and on^ of the Great Hotels of the World, au BIRD'S-EYE MAP OF NEW YORK p ROADWAY CENTRAlTHOIEL ...TEO STATES MOTE,., TILLY HAYNES, BPO.CW.V CEHTRAU HOTE. EOS'ON. PROPRIETOR. -E«™»- \ RAND, McNALLY & CO.'S ILLUSTRATED GUIDE It) THE HUDSON^ EIYEE AND Catskill Mountains ■i By ERNEST INGERSOLL >" FOURTH EDITIOX, chicago and new york Rand, McNally &. Company, Publishers 1895. ^N. He (ATSK:rL3^ Open from June to October. PASSENGER ELEVATOR, SANITARY PLUMBING, OPEN FIRES, STEAM HEAT, ELECTRIC BELLS, GAS, ETC. CDe flldine A new and substantial building (40 x 120) has been erected, to be used as an amusement hall. It has six regulation alleys, shuffle board, billiard and pool tables, soda water fountain, confectionery and souvenir counter; The grounds comprise twenty acres laid out in walks and roads, tennis courts, croquet grounds, groves, and orchards. Western Union Telegraph office in the hotel. Hotel St. Charles coaches meet all trains. For rates and illustrated booklet, address V ) : J. H. BURTIS, JR., PropV, HUNTER, IM. Y. Copyright, 1893, by Kanrl, McNally & Co. Copyriglit, 1804, by Rand, McNally & Co. Copyright, 1895, by Rand. McNally & Co. Copyright, 1896, by Rand, McNally & Co. CONTENTS. PAGE. Introduction .1 1-24 Character of the Hudson... H Early History 16 Hudson Riv^er Steamboats and Railways 23 New York to Tarrytown 25-57 The New York City an. 1 New Jersey Sliores 25 The Burr-Hamilton Duel 26 Revolutionary Forts 30 The Palisades .35, 46 The City of Yonkers 39 Dobb's Ferjy and Irviugton.. 44 The Croton Aqueducts 48 The Story of Sunnyside .. 49 Fiom Irvington to Tarrytown 51 Sleepy Hollow, Past and Present 53 Tarrytown to West Point 58-105 The Tappan Sea 58 Nyack 59 Sing Siog : 60 The Story of Arnold's Treason 65 The Battle of Stony Point 68 Peekskill 73 The Passasje of the Hudson Highlands 76 The Fall of the Hiahland Forts 81 The Tour of West Point 88 AYest Point to Newbcrgti 106-136 Cro' Nest and Storm King 108 The Culpiit Fay 109 Cornwall and Its Attractions 112 N. P. Willis' "Idlewild" 113 The City of Newburgh 116 Washington's Headquarters 121 TheFishkill Shore 125 Newburgh to Poughreepsie 128-136 Ice and the Ice Harvest 129 Poughkeepsie and Education 133 (3) Stanwix Hall ALBANY, N. Y. American and European Plan The most Perfectly and Comfortably Equipped Hotel in the Capital City. UNDER ENTIREL Y NEW MAN A GEMENT. \j/l CONDUCTED LIBERALLY WITH A DESIRE TO /l^ SATISFY THE MOST EXACTING. MORE CONVENIENT TO ALL DEPOTS AND STEAMBOATS THAN ANY OTHER HOTEL IN THE CITY. 7T\ Many Alterations and Improvements have been effected during the past year, INCLUDING ENTIRELY NEW PLUMBING THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE: FILTRATION OF THE WHOLE WATER SUPPLY; NEW MARBLE LAVATORIES AND BARBER SHOP, SMOKING ROOMS, LARGE PARLORS, ETC. RATES FOR EACH PERSON WILL BE: For Room only, $i.oo and upward per day, according to location, etc. For Room and Board, $3.00 and upward per ^^ day, according to location, etc. ^ For Rooms with Parlor or Bath an extra charge will be made. An Excellent Cafe at Popular Prices. Special Rates will be made for large parties. Address C. QUACKENBUSH. CONTENTS. I'AGE. POUGIIKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON 137-154 First View cf the Catski Is. 138 The Cit}^ of Kingston 142 Cement and Cement Making. Bluestone, etc 143 Historical Sketch of Kingston 147 The i^enate House 150 The Burning of Kingston by ihc Brit sh 151 The Tour of the Catskills... 155-17G Two Principal Entrances 156 'I'he Journey from Kingston 157 At the Gateway of the Catskills 158 Loftiest of the Catskills - 161 Stony Clove, Hunter, and Tannersville 163 Parks and Cottagers 165 From Phoenicia to Stamford . . 168 Kingston to Catskill and to the Mountain Resorts . .177-199 Rhinebeck 177 Saugertiep. ... 1 79 The Story of Clermont. 181 Catskill Village 184 Catskill Mountain Railroad and Otis Elevator. 186 A Group of Famous Mountain Hotels 187 Kaaterskill Clove and Rip Van Winkle 190 Catskill to Hudson 193 The City of Hudson's Curious History 194 The Capital City 200-216 Historical Sketch of Albany... 200 The Tour of Albany 204 The Stale Capitol Described 205 The Upper Hudson Country 217-226 The Rollicking Youth of the Hudson. 217 Albany a Central Point of Departure for the Tourist 219 Tours North of Albany... 220 Saratoga and the Southern Adirondacks 221-222 The Historical Region of Lake George . 223 Northern Entrances to the Ad rondacks 224 Along Lake Champlain.. 224 Scenery in the Mountains 224 From Plattsburgh to Saranac Lake 226 Alpiiaeetical List of Hotels in the Hudson Valley AMD Catskills 227-232 Lndex 237-249 f^EL §l/JMPL/If^ OArS£//yfy' On Lake Champlaiii, Three ]\Iiles south of Plattsburgh, N. Y. D. & H. R. R. Station and Steamboat Pier In Hotel Grounds. Xhe Sup^i*t) Adirondack and Lake presort Vast and magnificent views of lake and mountains; fishing and hunting; riding, rambling, and sailing; exquisite scenery; romantic and historic localities; a lofty and airy situation; panoramic views of Adirondack and Green mountains. It is the natural stoiDping-over point for Northern tourists. A FINE GOLF COURSE IN THE GROUNDS. O. D. SEAVEY, Manager, p. O. ADDRESS, HOTEL CHAMPLAIN, N. Y. ILLUSTRATIONS. Towing on the Hudson Frontispiece The Palisades Facing page 28 Sugar Loaf _. " 44 Breakneck Mountain " 60 Slide Mountain and Shandakcn Valley " 76 Cranston's .__ " 84 View up Hudson from Hotel, West Point " 100 View North from Upper Road, West Point " 108 Newburgh " 116 Washington's Headquarters at Ne^vburgli " 124 The Poughkeepsie Bridge " 132 Kaaterskill Falls i " 140 Haines' Falls " 156 Twilight Park Club House " 164 Furlough Lodge. Geo. Gould's Summer House " 172 Fleischman's Settlement, Delaware County " 180 Otis Elevating Railroad, Catskill Mountains... " 188 The Chasm, Catskill Creek " 204 rn Fall River Line I THE Fall River Line long since took place among the foremost transportation systems of the country, and has for years been recognized as the peer of any of its class by alt sorts and conditions of people. The busi- ness of this line is continuous throughout the year, all facili- ties, accommodations, comforts, and appliances being equally desirable and perfect in Winter as in Summer. In the course of time these facts have become generally known, until the great majority of the public well understands that at all sea-f sons of the year the steamboats of this line are the same great floating hotels, making safe, rapid, sure, and satisfactory trips, and unfailing connections throughout every period. Its quin tette of steamboats, the PRISCILLA, PURITAN, PLYMOUTH, PILGRIM, AND PROVIDENCE, areunequaled in the world elsewhere by similar enterprise; anc this vast and restless agency is, indeed, one of the wonden of the century. Music and all features for the satisfactioit or delighting of patrons are unvarying the whole year round. Ffrtm IVf^W Yofl^ steamers leave Pier 18, North Eiver, foot of Murray Street, at 5.00 p. m. I F*m,>^rY-^ R.rAC£.-f rk*^ Trains connecting with Steamers at Fall River lUIII OU^tUIl^ (49 miles) leave Park Square Station (N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R.— Old Colony System) at 6.00 p. m. SUNDAY TRIPS ARE OMITTED DURING JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND MARCH. Tickets by this Route are on Sale at all of the principal ticket offices in the United States and Canada. J. R. KENDRICK, President, S. A. GARDNER, Superintendent, Boston. New York. CEO. L. CONNOR, Pass'rTraf.Mgr., O. H. TAYLOR, Cen'l Pass'r Agt-i New Haven. New York. LIST OF MAPS. Section 1. new york to tariiytown. 28 miles from New York City. Facing page 27. Section 2. tarrytown to newburgh. 27 to 61 miles from Nev/ York City. Facing page 59. Section 3, newburgh to kingston. 60 to 91 miles from New York City. Facing page 129. Section 4. KINGSTON to COXSACKIE. 90 to 122 miles from New York City. • Facing page 177. Section 5. COXSACKIE to ALBANY. 120 to 147 miles from New York City. Facing page 195. PLAN OP WEST point. Facing page 88. (9) KEY MAP Showing Location and ^<^o A Territory Covered by " Large Maps, Coxsa /¥ udson O IS/ •< Irtiinecliff ris kill 30 IVest Pol ROCKLAI -2l ^ -M A M reckskill LTarryto)TU^" I L YORK U E E N S i;i{()()KL\N i.^ 5^i l)otel Kenmore Leading Hotel of Albany, N. Y. Strictly First-Class Thoroughly Modern Lighted Throughout by Electricity Our Six O'clock Dinner a Special Feature. CENTRALLY LOCATED on principal retail thoroughfare. Convenient to STATE CAPITOL, other public buildings and places of interest. FREE OMNIBUSES at all trains and boats. H. J. ROCKWELL & SON, PROPRIETORS. INTRODUCTIOK. The Hudson River gathers its waters from the central heights of the Adirondacks, and these unite iuto a stream which at Fort Edward, 180 miles from its mouth, becomes well defined. The river is narrow, tortuous, nnd rock-obstructed, however, as far as Troy, thirty miles below and 150 from New York, where it reaches the level ground at tlie foot of the mountains, and begins the stately career of usefulness and beauty which has given it a world-wide renown. "Rivers are as various in their forms as forest trees. The Mississippi is like an oak with enormous branches. What a branch is the Red River, the Arkansas, the Ohio, the Missouri! The Hudson is like the pine or poplar — mainly trunk. From New York to Albany there is only an inconsiderable limb or two, and but few gnarls and excrescences. Cut off the Roudout, the Esopus, the Catskill, and two or three similar tributaries on the east side, and only some twigs remain. There are some crooked places, it is true, but on the whole the Hudson presents a fine symmetrical shaft that would be hard to match in any river of the world." So wrote John Burroughs (Scribner's Montlily, August, 1880), after living many years upon its bank; and he adds: " Of the Hudson it may be said that it is a very large river for its size; tliat is, lor the quantity of water it discharges into the sea. Its water-shed is comparatively small — less, I think, than that of the Connecticut. It is a huge trough with a very slight iDclioe, through which the current moves very slowly, and which would fill from the sea were its supplies from the mountains cut off. Its fall from Albany to the bay is only about five feet. Any object upon it, drifting with the current, progresses south- ward no more than eight miles in twenty-four hours. The ebb tide will carry it about twelve miles, and the flood set it back from seven to nine. A drop of water at Albany, therefore, will be nearly three weeks in reaching New York, though it will get pretty well pickled some days earlier. (11) IS INTRODUCTION. " Some rivers by their volume and impetuosity penetrate the sea, but here the sea is the aggressor, and sometimes meets the mountain water nearly half-way. . . . "It is this character of the Hudson, this encroachment of the sea upon it, that led Prof. Newberry to speak of it as a drowned river. We have heard of drowned lands, but here is a river overflowed and submerged in the same manner. It is quite certain, however, that this has not always been the character of the Hudson. Its great trough bears evidence of having been worn to its present dimensions by much swifter and stronger currents than those tliat course tlirough it now. Hence, Prof. Newberry lias recently advanced the bold and striking theory that in pre-glacial times this part of the continent was several hundred feet iiiglier than at present, and that the Hudson was then a very large and rapid stream, and drew its main supplies from the basin of the Great Lakes through an ancient river-bed that followed pretty nearly the line of the present Mohawk; in other words, that the waters of the St. Lawrence once found an outlet through this channel, debouching into the ocean from a broad, littoral plain, at a point eighty miles southeast of New York, where the sea now rolls 500 feet deep. According to the sound- ings of the coast survey, this ancient bed of the Hudson is distinctly marked upon the ocean floor to the point indicated. "To the gradual subsidence of this part of the continent, in connection with the great changes wrought by the huge glacier that crept down from the north during what is called the ice period, is owing the character and aspects of the Hudson as we see and know them. The Mohawk Valley was filled up by the drift, the Great Lakes scooped out, and an opening for their pent-up waters found through what is now the St. Lawrence. The trough of the Hudson was also partially filled, and has remained so to the present day. There is, perhaps, no point in the river where the mud and clay are not from two to three times as deep as the water. ' ' That ancient and grander Hudson lies back of us several hun- dred thousand years — perhaps more, for a million years are but as one tick of the time-piece of the Lord; yet even it was a juvenile compared with some of the rocks and mountains the Hudson of to-day mirrors. The Highlands date from the earliest e;eological age— the primary; the river — the old river — from the latest, the tertiary; and what that difference means in terrestrial years hath not entered into the mind of man to conceive. Yet iiow the ven- erable mountains open their ranks for the stripling to pass through! Of course, the river did not force its way through this barrier, but has doubtless found an opening there of which it has availed itself, and which it has enlarged." The Hudson is now navigable to Troy for large steamers and shipping; but this, of course, is due to the artificial deepening of INTRODUCTION. 18 the channel, wliich naturally is unnavigable for ships of even moderate size north of the city of Hudson. Opposite the city of New York, the whole river is from fifty to seventy-five feet deep, and a good depth is maintained as far as Hastings by the scouring force of the tides along the comparatively narrow channel at the foot of the Palisades. Above that point, however, a far less depth of channel actually exists wherever the river is broad, and extensive shallows stretch between it and the shore, so that long wharves, or else dredged approaches to the landing stages, are almost everywhere necessary. The Federal Govern- ment has spent large amounts of money in making and maintain- ing the ship-channel through the grassy shallows north of Catskill, and such harbors as those at Rondout and Saugerties. Moreover, it appears sadly true that the channel of the lower river is constantly growing shallower — dangerously so in the Tappan Sea; and this is due, it is said, to the reckless scattering tliere of vast quantities of refuse from barges and canalboats as well as of ashes from many steamboats. The principal offenders are the men who carry bricks, and who dump overboard, wherever con- venient, on their return trip, the broken bricks and dust rejected from the cargoes they carry to New York. "As there are forty to eighty canalboats in each tow, and from six to ten tows pass up the Hudson every twenty four hours, it is easy to realize what a vast quantity of these broken bricks must be thrown into the Hudson each year to the detriment of the channel. And not only are the bricks an evil in themselves, but they arrest mud and the natural silt which would otherwise be carried out to sea." These facts are mentioned here in the hope of calling public attention to the evil. A Federal commission has been appointed to exam- ine into the question of deepening and preserving the river chan- nel, but thus far it has done little or nothing. The river is closed by ice in winter throughout nearly its whole extent. North of the Highlands the closure is usually permanent during January and February, at least, and sometimes longer. Navigation ceases about the end of November, but the winter is by no means a period of idleness upon the Hudson. In its uppermost reaches, the lumbermen are busy, and the owners of water-power. Between Albany and the Highlands there is the vast ice industry (see Chap. IV), and the sports of racing, skating, 14 INTRODUCTION. and ice-boating on the ice; the steam ferryboats continue to run, keeping their paths open. Below the Highlands the ice is a less certain quantity, not growing solidly from shore to shore, as a rule, and rarely available for cutting and saving, but drifting about in more or less compact floes, that lodge here and there for limited periods, and below Dobbs Ferry the river is entirely open more winters than it is closed. The ice-carriers travel all the year round between the city and Rockland Lake, and lightering and other business on the river near the city proceeds all winter with only rare and brief interruptions. This condition varies with seasons and periods, however; and not only the lower river, but the whole har])or, has been frozen solid for weeks together, as happened during the Revolutionary War. The river breaks up in March, usually. Burroughs tells us, though in some seasons not till April. "It is no sudden and tumultuous breaking of the fetters, as in more rapid and fluctuating streams, but a slow and deliberate movement of the whole body of the ice, like an enormous raft quietly untied. You are looking out upon the usually rigid and motionless surface, when presently you are conscious that some point, perhaps a cedar bough used by the ice men, or the large black S(,]uare of open water which they recently uncovered, has changed its place; you take steadier aim with your eye, and with a thrill of pleasure discover that the great ice-fields are slowly drifting southward. . . . " After the ice is once in motion, a few hours suffice to break it up pretty thoroughly. Then what a wild, chaotic scene the river presents — in one part of the day the great masses liurrying down stream, crowding and jostling each other, and struggling for the right of way; in the other, all running up stream again, as if sure of escape in that direction. Thus they race up and down, the sport of the ebb and flow, but the flow wins each time by some distance. Large fields from above, where the men were at work but a day or two since, come down; there is their pond yet clearly defined and full of marked ice; yonder is a section of their canal partly filled with the square blocks on their way to the elevators; a piece of a race-course, or a pait of a road where teams crossed, comes drifting by. The people up above have written their winter pleasure and occupations upon this page, and we read the signs as the tide bears it slowly past. Some calm, bright days the scattered and diminished masses flash by. like white clouds across an April sky. "Ducks now begin to appear upon the river, and the sports- INTRODUCTION. 15 man, with bis white canvas cap and cape, crouched in his low white skiff, simulates as far as possible a shapeless mass of snow- ice, and thus seeks to drift upon them. . . . " When the chill of the ice is out of the river, and of the snow and frost out of the air, the fishermen along shore are on the look- out for the first arrival of shad. A few days of warm south wind, the latter part of April, will soon blow them up; it is true, also, that a cold north wind will as quickly blow them back. Preparations have been making for them all winter. In many a farm house or other humble dwelling along the river, the ancient occupation of knitting of fish-nets has been plied through the long winter evenings, perhaps every grown member of the house- hold, the mother and lier daughters, as well as the father and his sons, lending a hand. "The ordinary gill or drift net used for shad-fishing in the Hudson is from a half to three quarters of a mile long, and thirty feet wide, containing about fifty or sixty pounds of fine linen twine, and it is a labor of many months to knit one. Formerly the fish were taken mainly by immense seines, hauled by a large number of men; but now all the deeper part of the river is fished with the long, delicate gill-nets, that drift to and fro with the tide, and are managed by two men in a boat. The net is of fine linen thread, and is practically invisible to the shad in the obscure river current; it hangs suspended perpendicularly in the water, kept in position by buoys at the top and l»y weights at the bottom; the buoys are attached by cords twelve or fifteen feet long, which allow the nets to sink out of the reach of the keels of passing vessels. The net is thrown out on the ebb tide, stretching nearly across the river, and drifts down and then back on the flood, the fish being snared behind the gills in their efforts to pass through the meshes. . . . "The shad campaign is one that requires pluck and endur- ance; no regular sleep, no regular meals, wet and cold, heat and wind and tempest, and no great gains at last. But the sturgeon fishers, who come later, and are seen the whole summer through, have an indolent, lazy time of it. They fish around the * slack- water,' catching the last of the ebb and the first of the flow, and hence drift but little either way. To a casual observer they appear as if anchored and asleep. But they wake up when they have a 'strike,' which may be every day, or not once a week. The fisherman keeps his eye on his line of buoys, andwiien two or more of them are hauled under, he knows his game has run foul of the net, and he hastens to the point. The sturgeon is a pig, with- out a pig's obstinacy. He spends much of the time rooting and feeding in the mud at the bottom, and encounters the net, which is also a gill-net, coarse and strong, when he goes abroad. He strikes and is presently hopelessly entangled, when he comes to the top, and is pulled into the boat, like a great sleepy sucker." 16 iNTRODtJCTION. The Discovery of the Hudson is popularly attributed to that old sea-dog, Henry Hudson, whose name it bears. He was not its discoverer, but he became its exponent and exploiter; and is entitled to all the distinction the attachment of his name to this most important and beautiful river is able to confer upon him. As early as 1524, the Florentine navigator, Yerrazano, an officer of the French king, Francis I., while coasting the shore of the lately discovered continent, entered the present bay of New York, and ascended it for some distance. How far is not known; but he must have gone at least to the Palisades, for he described the stream as "The River of the Steep Hills." This was the first sight of it by a European of which we have any certain record; and on a map issued in 1629, compiled partly from Yerra- zano's charts, the name " San Germano " is written at the mouth of the Hudson. In 1525, the next year after Yerrazano 's visit, came Gomez, a Portuguese, sailing under the Spanish flag along the American continent, in search of that great desideratum of all the early voy- ager.^, a short-cut to the East Indies. He knew nothing about Yer- razano, but this opening in the coast attracted his attention, and he entered it — probably on St. Anthony's Day (January 17th), for he gave the river, which he explored for some distance, the name " Rio San Antonio." In Ribero's chart, which was partly drawn from an outline map by Gomez, the country from Maryland to Rhode Islaud is named the "Land of Estevan Gomez"; and it has even been suggested that the Spaniards who put the whole river under holy St. Anthony's care were the first to notice that grand old cliff in the Highlands which quizzingly symbolizes the saint's nose. "It is true that Dutch Anthonys innumerable have claimed the honor, but until they settle the disputes among themselves, who shall say that Gomez never saw San Antonio's Nose?" The Dutch, who were the most energetic and intelligent sea rovers and traders of that time, were quick to profit by these and other discoveries. The archives of The Netherlands show that Dutch captains explored all this part of the American coast in 1598, and that they frequented the territory, though without making any fixed settlements, except a shelter in the winter; ' ' for which purpose they erected on the North (Hudson) and INTRODUCTION. 17 South (Delaware) rivers there, two little forts against the incur- sions of the Indians " (iV: Y. Col Doc, Vol. I,]). 149). This is not at all unlikely, considering the fact that prior to 1598 three Dutch voyages had been made to within 9° of the pole. Thus Henry Hudson had several predecessors, and his mission was not to discover but to examine the river, of which he knew as much as the rest of the world of geographers and naval oflScers, and more than most of them, for he had had translated for his own use the ancient sailing directions of Ihe Icelanders who were accustomed to visit the northern part of the western conti- nent; and Capt. John Smith had supplied him with notes derived from the voyages of himself, Gosnold, and other "adventurers into Virginia." Twice this man had tried to reach China by way of the arctic seas north of Europe, and each time had failed to penetrate the ice fields beyond North Cape. A third time he tried it, sailing from Amsterdam under the Dutch flag, and in the "yacht" Half Moon (Haalve Maan), on March 25, 1609. Again meeting a solid barrier of ice, however, he turned his prow westward and held that course until the cliffs of Greenland arose over the tip of his bowsprit. Then he coasted southward, and in September (1609) entered what is now New York Bay, and sailed up our great river, landing now and then, until he reached the head of ship navigation somewhere near the present city of Hudson. Then he sent a boat-load of his men still farther, and they examined the river to beyond the mouth of the Mohawk, and came to the conclusion that this was not a channel through to the East Indies. The mind likes to dwell upon this voyage, whose incidents would be retold here were space available. " I think," exclaims N. P. Willis, "of all excitements in the world, that of the first discovery and exploration of a noble river must be the most eager and enjoyable. Fancy ' the bold Englishman,' as the Dutch called Hendrich Hudson, steering his little yacht, the Haalve Maan, for the first time through the Highlands. Imagine his anxiety for the channel, forgotten as he gazed up at the towering rocks, and round the green shores, and onward, past point and opening bend, miles away into the heart of the country; yet with no lessening of the glorious stream beneath him, and no decrease of promise in the bold aud luxu- riant shores! Picture him lying at anchor below Newburgh, with the dark pass of the ' Wey-Gat ' frowning behind him, the 18 INTRODUCTION. lofty and blue Catskills beyond, and the hillsides around covered with the red lords of the soil, exhibiting only less wonder than friendliness. And how beautifully was the assurance of welcome expressed, when the * very kind old man ' brought a bunch of arrows, and broke them before the stranger, to induce him to partake fearlessly of his hospitality! " On the 4th of October, the Half Moon came out of the "great mouth of the great river," and "steered off into the main sea," on a direct course toward Holland, where its commander made haste to report the goodly land and opportunity for trade which he had found aud aptly appraised. Commerce at once followed in his track. The Half Moon never returned, but was wrecked at the Island of Mauritius; and a few years later Hudson himself — of whom we know almost nothing outside of the eventful years between 1607 and 1611 — was set adrift in an open boat by a mutinous crew, and left to perish in the arctic expanse of Hudson Bay. An interesting article by Miss Susan Fenimore Cooper, in Vol. IV of the Magazine of American History, upon the names which the Hudson has borne, sketches the early history of the river thus: " When Hudson returned to Amsterdam with the report of his voyage, he spoke of the fine river he had explored as the 'Manhattes,' from the name of the people who dwelt at its mouth. ... In 1610, a Dutch ship, freighted with goods to suit the savages, anchored in the bay, at the mouth of the ' river of the Manhattes,' and from that date a succession of the small, uncouth, but serviceable craft in favor among the early explorers and commercial adventurers of the period, showed themselves in the waters of the 'Great River of the Manhattans'; the Little Fox, the Nightingale, the Little Crane, the Tiger, the Fortune, passed the Narrows. In 1613, Adrian Block and his comrades wintered in the country, building themselves rude huts, probably of bark, for shelter. It was in consequence of the discoveries made by Block and his companions, in 1614, that the new country first received a civilized name in the charter granted the 'New Netherland Company' in 1616, and at the same period the 'Man- hattans River,' having been fully explored, received the legal name of ' De Riviere van den Vorst Mauritius.' That great mili- tary genius. Prince Moritz, was then stadtholder, and the idol of his countrymen, his whole life having been a series of battles, sieges, and victories. He Was in the full vigor of life and talent when Hudson, with the ' Haalve Maan,' entered the grand stream. INTRODUCTION. 19 The English, only a few years earlier, had given the name of King James I, to a fine stream in Virginia. It was very natural that the New Netherlands Company should give the name of their stadtholder, Prince Maurice of Orange, to the river whose banks they were about to colonize. The same stream, however, was often spoken of as the ' Groote Riviere,' the ' Noordt Riviere,' the ' River of the Manhattans,' and the ' Rio de Montague.' The name of Hudson was never, at any lime, connected with its waters by the Dutch. In 1024 De Laet wrote his New World; or, Descrip- tion of the West Indies, and at that date he distinctly says that * the Great North River of the New Netherlands' was by some called the Manhattes River, from the people who dwelt near its mouth; by others, also, Rio de Montague, or River of the Mount- ain; by some, also, Nassau, but by our own countrymen it was generally called the ' Great River.' " By this time the river had been Ihoroughl}'^ explored as far as the mouth of the Mohawk, A regular traffic with the different tribes on its banks had begun; Mohegan and Mohawk, Tappaen and Munsee, brought their peltries to the pale-faces. The rude trading boats, passing to and fro, had already noted and named the different reaches, or raches, in the stream, its islands, and some of the hills on its banks, from Manhattasto Beverwyck." Only one remark needs to be added, a word of explanation of the term North River, which is still used commonly in New York City. The "North River" {Noordt Hiviere) v^as originally and naturally so called by the Dutch colonists to distinguish it from the " South " {Zuydt Riviere), which was the Delaware, and not at all with reference to the " East River," which was on the eastern side of the island. At present the term North River is coming to be restricted to the harbor part of it between New York and Jersey City; but half a century ago it was still the designation most com- monly applied to the whole stream. The English, indeed, had always spoken of it as Hudson's River, but the Dutch never did so; and the use of the name Hudson River by the railway com- pany along its eastern bank has probably done more than any other agency to displace the old term and fasten Hudson's name 1/ in popular speech. From the time of the beginning of English rule in New York until the revolt of the colonists against the Crown, the history of the Hudson is simply that of the development of local trade and sea-going commerce in the eastern colonies. At the beginning of the Revolution, New York was already among the foremost sea- ports, and the Hudson Valley was the most populous and impor- 20 INTRODUCTION. tant highway to the interior, north of the Delaware, and had an especial strategic value from the fact that it furnished a direct water route between the southern seacoast and the English strong- holds in Canada. Its possession was therefore of vital importance to the American patriots, since, if they lost it, New England would be separated by the enemy from the southern colonies. During the whole war, therefore, a struggle for the possession of the Hud- son went on, and many of the most thrilling and consequential operations of both armies were conducted in this valley, begin- ning with the capture of Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Poiut, May 10, 1775, held by the British as the key to the gateway of Canada. Mimy of these are particularly spoken of in the follow- ing pages in connection with the places where they occurred; and here it is intended only to give an outline connecting them chron- ologically. After the evacuation of Boston (March 17, 1776), Washington gathered the main body of the army at New York, which was threatened by the British forces, and assembled it upon fortiiied hills, now included in the city of Brooklyn. After these were captured by the British (August 27, 1776), the American army escaped to fortified camps at White Plains, in AVestchester County, where, on July 9, 1776, a provincial assembly had proclaimed New York's adhesion to the Declaration of Independence. Driven from there after the battle of White Plains (October 28, 1776), and the fall of Fort Washington and the neighboring redoubts (November 16, 1776), the remnant of the army was with- drawn to New Jersey, and a line of defense was made east of the Hackensack, leaving the British in possession of the western shore from the Palisades down to Jersey City. Then followed the retreat southward of the American army, and the campaign in the Delaware Valley, marked by the battles of Trenton and Princeton, and succeeded by the terrible winter at Valley Forge (1777-78). Meanwhile, at the end of 1775, a fruitless expedition invaded Canada, but was repulsed, and, in July, 1777, Burgoyne attempted to descend by the Hudson River route from Canada, and forced his way as far as Saratoga. Sir Henry Clinton prepared to meet him by sending an army northward, which captured the forts guard- ing the Highlands, enabling a squadron of British war vessels to rNTRODUCTION. 21 ascend the river, plundering tlie villages along the shores, and finally destroying Kingston, where, in the preceding April, the first State Legislature had assembled and adopted the constitution. Nevertheless, Clinton failed to succor Burgoyne, who surrendered his army to Gates at Saratoga on October 17, 1777. Thus far the operations had been principally in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but the concentration of the British forces in New York, early in 1778, caused Washington to take the army northward, where the battle of Monmouth was fought on June 29, 1778. The winter was passed in the vicinity of Monistown. In the following summer, in 1779, Stony Point was captured by the Americans, and Washington regained complete possession of the Highlands and the river, which were then scientifically fortified. From this time on, the Highlands of the Hudson were con- stantly garrisoned, and, after September, 1778, the main army was quartered in the neighborhood of Newburgh, except when it moved to Virginia for the Yorktown campaign, which resulted in the capture of Cornwallis; after which the army returned to the Highlands to be disbanded, at the close of the war, in 1783. The principal incident of this period, which saw no local battles after the recovery of Stony Point, was the treason of Arnold, and the arrest and execution of Andr^, in September, 1780. After the close of the war, business revived more quickly and vigorously, perhaps, along the Hudson Valley than anywhere else. Each of the existing large towns — Newburgh, Poughkeep- sie, Rondout, Albany — considered itself a seaport, and strove to bring to itself not only the country trade but foreign commerce. Hudson was called into existence, with a rush, by a company of speculative whaling masters and marine merchants. Turnpikes were built inland from each town. Whaling and fishing craft were built and manned and sent out from the up-river towns. Albany and Troy secured improvements of the upper channel to give them an equal chance. Lines of fast and regular passenger sloops, as well as freight vessels, were organized, and the river towns throve and made good headway, even against New York. But prosperity in this line was bi ief . In 1807 the first steamboats were introduced, and they ran for years on the Hudson before 22 INTRODUCTION. they were established elsewhere. The tendency of the new con- veyance — by cheapening and quickening the carriage of both goods and passengers — to minister to the supremacy of the great town nearest the mouth of the river, was at once foreseen; and when the Erie Canal and the Delaware & Hudson Canal were opened, between 1830 and 1840, and tugs were ready to haul the canalboats and barges straight on to New York, the end of the up-river towns as seaports and rivals of New York City was at hand. It was fully accomplished a few years later by the build- ing of the railway. Meanwhile, however, the country along both sides of the river had developed, and the townsmen, adapting themselves to new conditions, had built up local trade and manufactures, which have rendered them newly prosperous, and are year by year adding to their numbers and possessions. These things are highly interesting to the historian, the philos- opher, and the man-ofaffairs, whose desire for information of this kind has not been neglected in the following pages; but to the ordinary tourist the river remains chiefly interesting for the beauty of its scenery, for the romantic associations that cluster about its past and its present, and for the magnificent homes along its banks, and the conspicuous people who dwell in them, "I thank God," exclaims Washington Irving, "I was born on the banks of the Hudson . . . and I fancy I can trace much of what is good and pleasant in my own heterogeneous compound to my early companionship with this glorious river. In the warmth of my youthful enthusiasm, I used to clothe it with moral attributes, and almost to give it a soul. I admired its frank, bold, honest character; its noble sincerity aud perfect truth. Here was no specious, smiling surface, covering the dangerous sand-bar or perfidious rock; but a stream deep as it was broad, and bearing with honorable faith the bark that trusted to its waves, I gloried in its simple, quiet, majestic, epic flow; ever straight forward. Once, indeed, it turns aside for a moment, forced from its course by opposing mountains, but it struggles bravely through them, and immediately resumes its straight- forward march. Behold, thought I, an emblem of a good man's course through life; ever simple, open, and direct; or if, over- powered by adverse circumstances, he deviate into error, it is but momentary; he soon recovers his onward and honorable career, and continues it to the end of his pilgrimage. . . . "The Hudson is, in a manner, my first and last love; and after all my wanderings and seeming infidelities, I return to it INTRODUCTION. 23 with a heart-felt preference over all the other rivers in the world. I seem to catch new life as I bathe in its ample billows and inhale the pure breezes of its hills. It is true, the romance of youth is past, that once spread illusions over every scene. I can no longer picture an Arcadia in every green valley; nor a fairy laod among the distant mountains; nor a peerless beauty in every villa gleam- ing among the trees; but though the illusions of youth have faded from the landscape, the recollections of departed years and departed pleasures shed over it the mellow charm of evening sunshine." HUDSON RIVER STEAMBOATS AND RAILWAYS. Steamboats — All the lines of steamboats plying upon the Hudson River between New York and up-river landings have their wharves in New York upon the western, or North River, side of the city. They arc as follows: Albany Day Line Steamers leave New York every morning in summer (except Sunday) from Vestry Street Pier at 8.40, and W. 22d Street at 9.00 a. m., for Albany and principal inter- mediate points, arriving at Albany at 6.00 p. m. Fare, |2.00; return fare, |3.50. People's Line Steamers leave New York every day (except Sunday) from Old Pier 41, N. R., foot of Canal Street, at 6.00 p. m., for Albany, arriving there at 6.00 a. m. next day. Fare, 11.50; return fare, $2.50. Citizens' Line Steamers leave New York every day (except Saturday) from Pier 46, foot of W. 10th Street, at 6.00 p. m., for Troy, arriving there at 6.00 p. m. next day. The Sunday steamer touches at Albany. Fare, $1.50; return fare, $2.50. Mary Powell Steamboat Go. — Steamer "Mary Powell," leaves New York every day (except Saturda}^ fi'om Desbrosses Street Pier at 3.15 p. m., and W. 22d Street Pier at 3.30 p. m. (from May 15th to October 15th) for Rondout, Kingston, and inter- mediate points. Catskill Evening Line Steamers leave New York eveiy day (except Sunday) from Pier 48, foot of W. 11th Street, at 6.00 p. m. , for Catskill, Hudson, and Coxsackie, connecting at Hudson with the Boston & Albany Railroad. Fare, 50 cents; return fare, $1.00. 24 INTRODUCTION. Saugerties Evening Line leaves from foot of Christopher Street, North Kiver every week day at 6.00 p. m., for Staatsburg, Rhine- beck, Barrytown, Ulster Landing, Tivoli, and Saugerties. Fare, $1.00; return fare, $1.50. During July and August Saturday boat leaves at 1.00 p. m. Kingston Line Steamers leave New York every day from Pier 46, foot of W. 10th Street, at 4.00 p. m., Saturdays at 1.00 p. m., for Rondout and Catskill Mountains. Fare, $1.00; return fare, $1.50. Homer Ramsdell Transportation Co. — Steamers leave New York every day from Pier 24, N. R. , foot of Franklin Street, at 5.00 p. m., Sundays 9.00 a. m., for Newburgh and intermediate points. Fare, 50 cents; return fare, $1.00. Railways.— Six railways extend into the Hudson Valley from New York, as follows: New York Central & Hudson River Railroad. — Station, Grand Central Depot, Fourth Avenue and 43d Street. This road passes up the valley of the Harlem to the mouth of the Spuytcn Duyvil, and then closely skirts the eastern margin of the river all the way to Albany and Troy. Its service is frequent and rapid, and a seat on the river side of one of its trains affords the passenger an admirable view of nearly all the scenery. The New York and Putnam Division runs northward from 155th Street as far as Sing Sing, touching Yonkers and other smaller towns. West Shore Railroad. — This railroad has its terminus in Weehawken, N. J. , which is reached from New York by ferries from the foot of Franklin and W". 42d streets. It passes through and along the rear of the Palisades to Haverstraw, and thence along the edge of the river through the Highlands, as far as a few miles above Poughkeepsie, when it turns inland and continues to Albany out of sight of the river. The New York, Lake Erie <& Western Railway (the Erie) runs by branches from Jersey City to Piermont, Cornwall, and New- burgh. It is reached from New York by ferries from the foot of Chambers and W. 23d streets. Ferry from Newburgh to Fish- kill. The Northern Railroad of New Jersey runs from the Erie station in Jersey City alOng the rear of the Palisades, through a historic and beautiful country to Nyack. Ferry to Tarrytown. HUDSON RIVER GUIDE-BOOK NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. Let us begin our Descriptive Tour of the River at tlie New York wharf of some up-river steamer, say an Albany or Troy day -line boat, and stand as observers upon its deck while the voyage proceeds. Thus both shores of the noble Avater-way will be under our eyes at once, and we can proceed compre- hensively. Immediately opposite us, as the steamer leaves her wharf, stretching downward along the western shore of the harbor, are the wharves, warehouses, sugar-retineries, aud railway stations of Jersey City. Of the last, the most prominent is the huge arched station and train house of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the great central line East and South. Just above it the tall Lorillard tobacco-works are seen; and a mile farther the elevators, stations, and ferry landings of the Erie Railway (New York, Lake Erie & Western), the terminus of the main line not only, but of the branch to New burgh and Piermout, and of the New Jersey Northern Rail- road to Nyack. Still farther on is the river-side terminus of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The expanded channel here is crowded with ocean steamships and the white hulls of the boats that run up the river to ports on Long Island Sound and to the ocean beaches. A score of ferry- boats at once are crossing from shore to shore, and three times as many more may be counted in their slips. Great steamers, European ' ' liners," coasters to the Gulf of Mexico, the West Indies, and South America; men-of-war, at anchor; numberless tugs, racing about alone, proudly towing some noble ship to sea, or laboriously dragging a long line of picturesque barges; and innumerable sailing-craft, large aud small, foreign and domestic, dignified and ridiculous — nil these meet and pass and cross one another's bows with little hindrance, for there is room enough for each. The New York shore shows simply a straight array of wharves and warehouses, crowded with ocean steamships, the names of whose lines may be read in large letters, but these thin out (25) 26 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. above 23d Street, where most of the Hudson River boats stop (actually at the foot of W. 22d Street) for up-town pas- sengers. The city's available water-front on North River is said to be no less than thirteen miles in extent, but only the lower part of this is devoted to commerce as yet, fortunately for the sight-seeing traveler. Meanwhile a bushy headland has attracted attention on the New Jersey shore, where Hoboken has succeeded Jersey City, north of an invisible boundary liue, just above the Erie terminus, and about at the place where the half-dug tunnel underlies the river. This is Stevens' Pointy opposite 14th Street, New York, the site of "Stevens' Castle," the homestead of the late Commodore Stevens, who formerly owned a large tract of land near it, and founded the Stevens' Institute of Technology, whose buildings now occupy the Point. The man and the place became famous during the Civil War in connection with the huge float- ing fortress called the Stevens' Battery, which was constructed there, at the commodore's expense, for the defense of the harbor, but was never used. The lowlands north of this Point are called The Elysian Fields — a resort for Sunday afternoon strolling, of which our grand- fathers and grandmothers in their young days were very fond, but which has now lost its beauty and good repute together. Close behind it is seen the rocky front of Bergen Hill, a long ridge of trap rock which forms the backbone of the peninsula between the valleys of the Hudson and those of the HacUensack River and Newark Bay, which are two miles west, and parallel with our river. This ridge steadily increases in height and bold- ness forward ; and is occupied north of Hoboken by Hudson City, covering West Hoboken and Union Hill in one municipality. Nearer the water, and next north of the Elysian Fields, comes Weehawken a name, like " Hoboken," which is a corruption of an Indian term learned by the earliest colonists. None of these towns, upon close acquaintance, gain much over the unprepossess- ing appearance they have from the water, and they are inhabited mainly by foreigners, principally Germans. THE BURR-HA.MILTON DUEL. The Weehawken shore lias a melancholy interest as the scene of that sad duel between Hamilton and Burr which ended the \ ' r^^ NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 27 careers of two exceedingly talented men. It took place upon a grassy platoaii at the foot of the cliff just south of the present West Shoii' Railroad ferry-houses, in the early morning of July 11, 1804. Alexander Hamilton was one of the most cultivated, most tal- ented, honorable, nnd patriotic men of his time. He had been of distinguished service during the years of the Revolution, and to liis genius the financial recovery of the United States at the close of ihat war was mainly due. Among the men whose public course he combatted was the Vice-President, Aaron Burr, a man of brilliant talents, but of erratic and vindictive character. Buir seized upon the pretext of some idle gossip to make a quarrel with Hamilton, and sent a challenge of such a nature as, according to the social rule of the time, Hamilton felt bound to accei)t, though well aware that he had been innocent of any real offense. They met at Weehawken, and Hamilton was mortally wounded at the first fire, he making no attempt to reply with his own pistol. His death, the next day, was mourned as a public calamity, and Burr was treated with almost universal execration until he sank into a bitter and miserable obscurity. On the hill-top above the place where this duel was fought lay the large estate and stone house of the King family. The mansion still stands, but it and the grounds (to which Col. King carried the bowlder against which Hamilton fell, and inscribed it with the initials A. H.) are now occupied by an immense summer garden and amusement place named El Dorado, where outdoor spectacular exhibitions are given every evening, with music, and refreshments, and decorous merry-making of all sorts in the open air. "What a change is here!" exclaims a recent newspaper observer. "The quintessence of paradox is reached when in this old King house wliich, after the battle of Brandy wine, was the headquarters of Gen. Lafayette, are now quartered 150 chorus girls, who nightly flit across the El Dorado stage. In the great high-studded rooms with fluted cornices, where Lafayette and his staff lived, are now placed little cot beds, five or six in a room; and round the old table which has many a time shaken with the pounding of fists as General and af lerward President Washing- ton was toasted in sound old Madeira, now sit a dozen or more Spanish coryphees, who chatter Spanish and eat roast chicken and drink fresh milk every morning. " It is the same red sun that sinks down behind the blue hills of New Jersey now that sank down a hundred years ago, but what a different scene it said good-evening to then. There was no teeming city across the river, no huge white steamers making 28 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. up and down, no El Dorado, with its dancing lights and moving crowds, no yellow-haired coryphees. All was different, except the old square stone house. Doubtless before the door stood a gentleman in a cocked hat and buckled shoes and plum-colored small-clothes, and by his side, ma3iiap, was a lady in a fine hat, with waving ostrich feathers, and a King Charles Spaniel chased across the lawn where now chases the white and woolly trick poodle." The lofty iron structure in front of the El Dorado grounds is a frame- work in which two big elevators travel up and down. Along its top runs a railroad which leads to the gate of the gardens and on over into Union Hill and to the race-track of Guttenberg. The square tower of the Union Hill water-works is seen beyond. The large wharves and ferry-landmgs just above it belong to the terminal station of the New York, West SJiore & Buffalo Railroad, familiarly called "West Shore," which passes through Bergen Ridge by a tunnel immediately in the rear of the station. Its ferryboats run thence to Franklin Street, down- town, and to the foot of W. 42d Street, nearly opposite. Above this poiot the shore becomes a series of bold rocks, crowned by the straggling houses and breweries of Union Hill and Guttenberg, with the Moorish towers of the distant monas- tery and church of the Passionist fathers as the only building worth mention. The cliffs gradually increase in height and abruptness, become more wooded, and are sparsely inhabited. Meanwhile, on the rigid the densely populous, busy part of the metropolis is rapidly gliding astern, and the best residential part, which succeeds it on this northerly high ground along the river, is now hidden by the verdant margin of Riverside Park and Drive. — This beautiful littoral park, says IngersoU's Week in Neio York,* lies along the high verge of the Hudson between 71st and 127th streets, and is reached by the Boulevard horse-cars, or, at the upper end, by the cable-cars along 125th Street to Fort Lee Ferry. It was the subject of an appreciative and artistically illustrated article by Wm. A. Stiles, editor of the popular horticultural journal. Garden and Forest, in *A Week in New York, By Ernest Ingersoll. Raud, McNally «fe Co Annual revision, 1892, p. 116. NEW YORK TO TAERYTOWN. 29 The Century for October, 1885, from which the following remarks are coudensed : From 72d Street to tbe hollow known in the old maps as *' Marritje Davids' Fly" (valley), at what is now 127th Street, the river banks are bold, rising steeply at one point to the height of 150 feet. "Down at the river level lies Twelfth Avenue, while upon the high ground, 800 feet inland, and parallel with the pier line, Eleventh Avenue cuts its way square across the long series of side streets. . . . Betwf en these two avenues, now approach- ing one iind now the other, winds Riverside Drive, following mainly the brow of the bluff, but rising and falling in easy grades, curving about the bolder projections, and everywhere adapting its course so graciously to tlie contour of the land that it does not look to have been laboriously laid out, but to have developed rather ns a part of the natural order of things. The broad shelf against the sloping bank, formed by the associated ways, is sup- ported on the low^er side by a massive retaining wall, at some points nearly forty feet in height, and this rises above the drive in a low% heavy parapet which extends throughout its entire length, fitly crowding and completing the dignified structure." Below this wall the land falls away to the river — a mass of woods and rocks, pretty to look at and pleasant to ramble through. The presence of the city branch of the Hudson River Railroad, which runs along the edge of the river here, to its freight yards down-town, detract somewhat from the natural beauty of the shore; but the scar of the tracks is not obtrusive. From this drive the views of the river and the wood-crowned heights above are most characteristic. The eye has free range to the north or south along the bright water-way, and covers prospects of great extent and the most varied interest. The crowning view^ of the whole series is that from Claremont Heights looking up the river. This is at the northern end of the park, where the grounds reach their greatest elevation. Here, overlooking a commanding prospect, and surrounded by quiet lawns, which keep at a reverential distance the "equipage and bravery of fashion," has been placed the Tomb of Gen. U. S. Grant, the first soldier of the restored Union. Here his body was interred after the impressive ceremonies of August 8, 1885, and a massive memorial mausoleum is now approaching completion. This part of New York, just north of Claremont Heights, used to be Manhattanville, and the name is still heard in the neighbor- hood. The great buildings embowered in trees, upon the emi- nence behind it, are those of the Convent of the Sacred Heart and attached institutions. A half-mile farther, where the white mon- uments of Trinity Cemetery (the burial-ground of Trinity Church) 30 NEW YORK TO TARKYTOWN. gleam among the foliage, the naturalist Audubon lived for many years, and there he is buried. The fine residences just north of the cemetery are built upon the grounds once surrounding his mansion, and form an undivided cluster called Audubon Park. This neighborhood was formerly the village of Carmansville, and it contains several benevolent institutions, among which the city's Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb is conspicuous by reason of its dome. It can accommodate 450 pupils, and dates from 1817, when only one other institution of its kind existed in the country — that at Hartford, Conn. Then comes the elevation Washington Heights, of Revolu- tionary memories and modern social pre-eminence, with Jeffrey's Hook thrown out at its base. This and the Highlands northward are now threaded by streets, and dotted on the water-front with costly estates and great houses which enjoy an almost rural seclusion. The foliage of the trees that beautify the shore hides these houses almost completely; but it may be mentioned that among them are the former country-seats of James Gordon Bennett and A. T. Stewart. The next hill northward is now included under the district name Inwood^ but earlier it was called Cock Hill. It forms the extreme northern end of Manhattan Island. The little point and landing at its base is Tuhhy Hook, named from an ancient ferry- man, Tibers. Between this hill and Washington Heights is a deep vale through which the United States Government is now digging a canal by which ships of deep draught may pass from the Hudson to the Harlem and East rivers. Just behind it is the historic King's Bridge, and beyond, across the Spuyten Duyvil, are the war-scarred heights of Tippet's Hill. Historical. — All this is ground of deep interest to Americans, for it is identified with the early struggles of the Revolutionary War, in the dark days of '76. The defeat of the Patriot army, in the battle of Long Island, made it evident that New York, too, must be abandoned to the foe. The sick and wounded were hur- ried to New Jersey; the military stores and baggage were con- veyed up the Hudson to a fortified post at Dobbs Ferry, and Washington moved his headquarters to King's Bridge, where the old post-road and present Broadway crosses the Harlem. Thus driven fiom the city, the American army set to work to establish itself on these rocky heights, between the Hudson and the Spuyten Duyvil (see map), and upon this, the highest point, a NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 31 fortification was constructed named Fort WasJiington. It was a strong earthwork, in tlie form of a pentagon, occupying, with its ravelins, the lofty hill between 181st and 186lh streets. Just to the northward, on the same rocky heights, was the redoubt called Fort Tryon; to the eastward was Fort George, looking down upon the Harlem River, while immediately below, a water-battery was erected upon Jeffrey's Hook, Cock Hill (now Inwood), Tippet's Hill, and the vicinity of King's Bridge were also fortified. Though these works were slight, their positions were naturally of great defense. Meanwhile, both armies maintained strongly pro- tected fronts, stretching across the whole breadth of Manhattan Island, and separated by the transverse valley north of Central Park, Skirmishes were of almost daily occurrence, and most frequently at the cost of the patriots, who, in addition to their wonted wretched condition, were dispirited to the last degree. Desertions from the camp were so numerous as to materially reduce its strength, and to disquiet even the bravest and most sanguine of the leaders themselves. Boats and ships-of-war were daily bearing the British flag triumphantly up the East River, and even up the Hudson, despite the obstructions upon which so much reliance had been placed. The cJievaux de frise, formed by old sloops sunk in the river, and the wonderful submarine batteries, were but straws in the way of the British vessels ; and the guns of Fort Washington and its twin fortresses Lee and Constitution, across on the Palisade shore, were quite as contemptuously disre- garded. Washington, at this time, desired, as did most of his officers, to evacuate Fort Washington, but was overruled by his respect for the wishes of Congress, which insisted that the post should be held. After the battle of White Plains (October 28, 1776), the whole army devoted itself to strengthening Fort Washington, and negligently allowed Lord Howe to get a supply of flatboats through the Spuyten Duyvil to King's Bridge, enabling him to ferry his troops over, and thus invest the works on every side. The following day (November 15tli), the fort was summoned to surrender, but refused. The next morning, Magaw, who was in command, proceeded to dispose of his forces, amounting in all to nearly 3,000 men, the greater part of whom were stationed out- side of the fort, for want of room within. The south side of the fort was menaced by Lord Percy with 1,600 men, and to oppose him. Col. Lambert Cadwallader was dispatched with a Penn- sylvania force of only half that number. Col. Rawlings of Maryland, with a company of riflemen, was placed by a small battery northward (Fort Tryon), to oppose Knyphausen, who, with his Hessians, was posted with cannon near King's Bridge. Col. Baxter of Pennsylvania held Fort George, to oppose an attack by Mathew from the Harlem side. The fourth proposed attack of the enemy was under Col. Sterling, who, as a feint, was to drop down the Harlem River on flatboats to the left of the fort. 32 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. The enemy's several assaults were made simultaneously, begin- ning about noon of the I61I1, by booming cannon and volleys of musketry. Knypliuusen's division, commanded by himself and by Col. Rahl, conquered all the opposing obstructions of woods aud rocks, and, despite the bold defense of Rawlings, soon drove him and his force back to the fort. The Americans under Baxter were no less steady in their resistance, but with no better fortune. Baxter himself was killed, and his men driven back into the fort. Cadwallader, in the meanwhile, was making a brave defense to the southward against the enemy under Lord Percy; but he, loo, was at length compelled to retreat under the additional pressure of an attack by Gen. Mathew — who had previously driven in Baxter's division — and of the threatened approach, on the rear, (>f Col. Sterling. Thus were the assail- ants victorious at all points, though only after the most obstinate resislance everywhere, and wilh a terrible loss in killed and wounded. Washington and several of his officers were eager spectators of the disastrous struggle, from the opposite shore of the Hudson. When he saw the flag, which heraldc d the second summons to surrender, carried into the ill-fated fortress, he hastily wrote a note to Magaw, promising to bring off his garrison if he could sustain himself until evening. Tliis message was daringly deliv- ered by Capt. Gooch of Boston, who jiassed and repassed safely across the river and amidst the balls and bayonets of the British. The embassy was, however, too late. Magaw and his garrison were wholly in the power of their opponents, and nothing remained but to surrender themselves prisoners-of-war, with no other terms than the retention of their swords by the officers, and of their baggage by the men. "It was," said Lee, at the time, " a cursed affair." Thus ended the military history of Fort Washington, although it was repaired, and, as Fort Knyphausen, was long afterward garrisoned ])y the enemy. The New Jersey bank here is equally interesting histor- ically, and closely connected with the foregoing incidents, as will be seen presently. A wagon road runs along the base of the crags, and people live there in rustic fashion. Some factories — especially the great oil-works at Shadyside (anciently Bull's Ferry) — exist lower down, but above Guttenberg nothing of the sort mars the bank. Many of the residents are fishermen who set shad-nets in the spring, when their numbers are reinforced by men who come with their families from South Jersey. Roads climb inland, here and there, offering enjoyable rambles; and the landings at Shady- side, Edgewater, and Pleasant Valley are accessible several times NEW rORK TO TARRYTOWN, 33 a day, from Canal and W. 22d streets, New York, by the steamer Pleasant Valley (fare, 10 cents). This rocky wall is still Bergen Ridge; but two miles above Weeliawken, and opposite Wash- ington Heights, Bergen Ridge trends inland behind a new and much higher wall of trap-rocks, which thereafter front the river for many miles — the Palisades of the Hudson. In the ravine- like space between the two ridges, which enables a wagon road to reach the plateau upon the summit, a village has Jong existed called Fort Lee after the fortification built upon the heights above it in 1776. For many years Fort Lee has been an excursion point and picnic-ground, and gradually it became the resort of a rough ' element, who would land there by the barge load and hold no'sy revels. A few years ago, an ntiempt was made to redeem the place, and prepare it for a pleasure resort acceptable to a good class of customers. A great hotel has been built, and abundant means of refreshment and amusement are provided, while the scale of prices is moderate, and during the summer steamboats make frequent trips back and forth, from Canal, 13th, and 34th streets, JNew York, while the ferry at W. 129th Street (reached by the 125th Street cable cars) runs all the year round; but fashion has never smiled upon the place, though the view from its Palisades is worth a much longer journey. Historical. — The Revolutionary record of this western shore is intimately connected with that of Washington Heights. The promontory in which the Palisades begin was fortified, early in 1776, by two strong redoubts, of which the principal and uppermost one was named Fort Lee, after the eccentric Charles Lee, and was commanded by Greene, while the other was called Fort Constitution. After the fall of Fort Washington there remained no longer any hope of obstructing the passage of the Hudson at this point, and preparations were at once begun to abandon these Jersey forts also; but before it could be effected, Lord Cornwallis, crossing the river with a British detachment of 6,000 men, endeavored to surround and capture this garrison also. His attempt was a failure. The American troops got safely away to the Hackensack, but were obliged to relinquish to the British all their artillery, except two twelve-pounders, and a great quantity of provisions and military stores. Washington's army, depicted by these losses, discouraged, melting away under expiring terms of service and desertion, totally unprepared to face the inclemency of the weather, or to build fortified winter quarters, was obliged to abandon even this poor line of defense and hasten southward to the Delaware River. 34 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 1 After that the New Jersey shore was nominally in the posses- sion of the British, but was not regularly garrisoned, and became the scene of an incessant guerrilla warfare. Just north of the present Gutteuberg, where the woods begin at Shadyside, there was in those times the landing of Bull's Ferry to New York, where a farmer's road came down through a ravine. Between this road and the river a high and narrow ridge of rocks formed a headland, known since 1779 as Block-liouse Pointy in memory of a fierce and fruitless encounter which occurred there, and which was the occasion of a celebrated poem. The winter of 1779-80 was a season of almost unexampled severity. Sleighs crossed the Hudson for weeks without inter- ruption, and artillery was brought from Staten Island on the ice. Fuel became so scarce in New York that $t30 a cord was paid for wood, and the British authorities were forced to break up old ships to supply their troops with something to keep the fires going. Anticipating an equal scarcity the following winter, a great number of British sympathizers spent the next summer on these heights, w^est of the Hudson, in cutting dow^n the forests covering Bergen Ridge, and turning the logs into cordwood. But the American army along the Hackensack constantly sent out foraging parties, so that the Tory wood-cutters found their occupation precarious in point of profit and dangerous to life and limb. Moreover, most of these men had fled from inland places to the protection of the Royal army, including many ^vho w-ere guilty of robbery and other crimes, committed, in that lawless interval, upon friend and foe alike. Hence the whole crowd w^ere known as "refugees," and were so execrated by both sides that not only had they good cause to dread the American troopers, but were left by the British commander to build block-houses and defend themselves as best they might. Several such minor forts were constructed by w^ood-contractors along the hill-top, but the most important one stood on this point above Bull's Ferry. It was a large block-house of logs, inaccessible on two sides, and defended by breastworks and an abatis upon its vulnerable north- ern front, where the point of land was continuous with the plateau. In the summer of 1780, Washington was encamped near Suffern's, N. Y. His men were badly provisioned, and he knew that there had been collected on Bergen Neck, for the use of the British and the Tories, a large number of hoises, cattle, swine, and other desirable live stock, protected by these Refu- gees. He, therefore, ordered Gen. Anthony Wayne to take several regiments of Maryland and Pennsylvania troops, includ- ing cavalry, destroy it, and secure as many cattle and other pro- visions as possible. Wayne marched quietly to Liberty Pole (now Englewood), NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 35 where he divided his command. A part went straight to the river above Englewood Landing, and hid tliemselves in the woods, wliile Wayne led the remainder down the hacli roads to the top of tlie ridge near Fort Lee, wliere he turned southward and was soon discovered by the wood -cutters, who fled to their block-house and prepared to resist the onslaught. While Wayne, with the infantry and artillery, moved steadily against it, the cavalry under Maj. Moylan, mounting an extra man behind each dragoon, swept on to the pastures of Wee- hawken and Hoboken, gatheit d up every four-footed beast they could find, and drove tliem with the utmost haste toward Wash- ington's camps; a raid long remembered there. Meanwhile, Wayne had made a most spirited attack, but the defense was obstinate, and his little six-pounders were too light to demolish the fortificalions. Moreover, a\ hen success seemed near, word came that the Euglish were crossing in force and were likely to intercept and capture the whole expedition. A retreat was therefore ordered, and the command hurried away, having suffered a loss of sixty-four men in killed and wounded. Wayne and Washington were both deep!}'' disappointed; and their dis- gust was not lightened by learning that the leported reinforce- ments was a false alarm, and that, moreover, if tradition may be believed, the enemy was almost out of ammunition and must have succumbed in a few moments. The door of this block- house may now be seen in the museum of Washington's head- quarters at Newburgh. This skirmish was a source of so great satisfaction to the British, that the King himself sent his personal congratulations to the Refugees, who did really make a most gallant defense; and it inspired Maj. Andr(j, then on the staff of Sir Henry Clinton, in New York, to write his satirical verses, " The Cow Chase." They make a long rollicking ballad, especially interesting from the coincidence connected with the last verse, which runs thus: And now I've closed my epic strain, I tremble as I show it, Lest this same warrio-drover Wayne Should ever catch the poet. On the day this was printed, in Rimngton's Gazette, Maj. Andr6 was captured as a spy ; and the commander of the division of the American army to which his captors belonged, and where he was tried and executed, was Gen. Anthony Wayne! Palisades of the Hudson is the term long since applied to that escarpment of roughly columnar basaltic trap which gushed 36 NEW YORK TO TAKRYTOWN. out of a crack in the earth's crust in early Triassic time, and now, with its fool-slope of fallen fragments, forms the western wall of the river for twenty miles to the Tappan Sea. The face is nearly straight, almost uniform in height, rising from an altitude of 350 feet, half a mile above Fort Lee, to 550 feet near its northern extremity. The front is everywhere jjrecipitous, aud the bare rock is exposed in that vertical formation characteristic of basalt, from which has come the name; a natural suggestion to the early comers here, who were so familiar with stockades made of logs set on end. Breaks sufficient to enable wagon roads to descend to the river occur in only three places, and scarcely more oppor- tunities exist for the hardiest foot-climber to descend; it is in fact a narrow ridge, flat-topped, tree-grown, and falling suddenly away on the inner side into a deep valley dividing it from Bergen Ridge. This long escarpment, so gray and undiversified, half bare of trees, and showing only here and there a little house, or, worse, a great scar where men are tearing down the rocks to cut into paving-blocks or crush as road-metal, is more forbidding than beautiful as seen from a steamer's deck or from the opposite bank, with the broad river to dwarf its height; but when one skirts its base in a canoe, especially at morning or on a somewhat cloudy day, the grandeur of height and warmth of color are perceived, and better justify the encomiums of early writers. A road runs along the top, and it is possible to stroll upon the very edge from Fort Lee some two miles, as far as the end of Englewood Avenue, opposite Spuyten Duyvil, and there to enjoy one of ihe most striking scenes America has to show; a privilege, however, that too few avail themselves of. "The opposite low, verdant shore, for a long distance to the north, affords a varied and charming picture; while below, the eye reaches to the far-off metropolis and its crowded bay. The palisade wall, apparently so uniform, is broken into pinnacles and deep clefts, and all the scene, from a close survey, is full of picturesque variety." One would suppose that this lofty, bieezy ridge so near the city, and affording views so extended and superb, would have long ago been fully occupied by country-houses and summer pleasure-places, but such are few and inconspicuous. Formerly a famous hotel — the Palisade Mountain House — stood upon the cliff opposite Riverdale, but it was burned in 1884. The Eastern side of the river now presents a vivid contrast to NEW YORK TO TARKYTOWN. 37 the solitary and inaccessible Palisades. It is low, verdant, and thickly inhabited. Having passed the heights of Fort Washing- ton and Inwood, the valley of the Spuyten Duyvil (Dutch 'Spyt den duixel) opens to view, but the stream itself is hidden by the railroad drawbridge underneath which the tide flows ia and out between the Hudson and the Harlem. This marks the northern end of Manhattan Island, and affords an opportunity for the main tracks of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad to reach the bank of the Hudson from its city station in the Grand Central Depot, on42d Street. The railway station against the rocks, just north of the valley, is Spuyten Duyvil, where the 30th Street ; branch, which follows the lower river's edge, joins the main line. At the end of the vista up the valley is seen the neighborhood of King's Bridge, which was the scene of several hard skirmishes j in the early part of the Revolution, and later was held as the ' northern outpost of the British army in New York. Irving's facetious explanation of the curious name of this stream or tideway has long been laughed over by the readers of "Diedrich Knickerbocker's" JTutory of New York; but it may not be generally known that the tale which follows is only an I enlargement of a real and fatal exhibition of foolhardiness on the part of a young Dutchman; long before Stuyvesant's time, how- i ever. The story will bear repeating, as Diedrich tells it, and is as follows: Anthony Van Corlear, the trumpeter of Governor Stuyve- sant, was sent post-haste, upon the appearance of the ships of the English Duke of York in the harbor, to warn the farmers up the river and summon them to the defense of New Amsterdam. He had reached tbis stream, where there was then no bridge. " The wind was high, the elements in an uproar, and no Charon could be found to ferry the adventurous sounder of brass across the water. For a short time he vapored like an intelligent ghost upon the brink, and then, bethinking himself of the urgency of his errand (to arouse the people to arms), he took a hearty embrace of his stone bottle, swore most valorously that he would swim across in spite of the devil {en spyt den dtiyvel), and daringly plunged into the stream. Luckless Anthony! Scarcely had he buffeted half-way over, when he was observed to struggle vio- lently, MS if battling with the spirit of the waters. Instinctively he put his trumpet to his mouth, and, giving a vehement blast, sank forever to the bottom! The clangor of his trumpet rang far and wide through the country, alarming the neighbors round, who hurried in amazement to the spot. Here an old Dutch 4 38 NEW YORK TO TAIiRYTOWN. burgher, famed for his veracity, and who had been a witness of tlie fact, related to them the melancholy affair, with the fearful i addition (to which lam slow in giving belief) that he saw the | duyvil. in the shape of a huge moss-bunker, seize the sturdy Au'ihouy by the leg, and drag'him beneath the waves. Certain it is, llie place has been called Spuyten Duyvil ever since." The high point of laud between the Spuyten Duyvil and Hud- son, now covered with residences, the Mohicans called Nipnichsen, and the Dutch Constable's Point, after its owner. At the time of the Revolution, when owned by the Tippet family, it was repeatedly fortified and known as Tippet's Hill, but no incident of much public moment happened there. This little cross-valley seems to have been thickly inhabited by Indians. It was here that Henry Hudson had that fight with the ' 'Manhattoes," or Island Indians, who wished to board his little vessel, and got shot for their pains. One great attraction, no doubt, was the abundance of fish — a recommendation that still holds good. Great hauls of shad are made every spring off the mouth of the Spuyten Duyvil, and the angling for striped bass and the like, along its rocky course, furnishes amusement to many a leisurely citizen. The city of New York long ago overflowed Manhattan Island, and its limits extend northward on this side to Yonkers, three miles above the Spuyten Duyvil. This lofty and beautiful shore, however, still keeps its early village names, Riverdale and Mou7it St. ViTicent^ and is dotted with the country -like estates of wealthy citizens, such families as that of the late Wm. E. Dodge, the philanthropic merchant; the Appletons, of the famous publishing house; Robert Colgate, ex-Postmaster-General James, and others. These are in Riverdale, whose railway station is next above Spuyten Duyvil, at the water's edge. A mile farther up is seen the station for Mount St. Vincent, a locality taking its name from the great convent on the hill-top, where were formerly the castle- like residence and estate, "Font Hill," of the actor, Edwin Forrest. " Mount St. Vincent," remarks the editor oi Picturesque Amer- ica, "is an extensive Roman Catholic convent-school for girls, which is famous for the excellence of its educational system; but, unfortunately, the huge building erected here can not be said to form an attractive feature of the river scenery. It is out of har- mony with the landscape, and . . . utterly dwarfs Font Hill, which, before the erection of the vast unhandsome mass *»» I NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 39 behind it, was a striking and interesting feature of the river shore. Now, if one can manage to shut out from his vision the mammoth pile behind it, he can get a partial idea of its claims to the picturesque. It must be admitted, however, that a castle on the banks of the Hudson is a piece of sheer affectation. The pile looks very small from the river, and must necessarily disappoint those who associate size and grandeur with the idea of a castle, although one frequently finds abroad castles with no better pre- tension in the way of extent, however superior may be their claims on the ground of antiquity." The convent is more than a school, however, for it is the head- quarters in America of the great order of Sisters of Charity, numbering over 1,500 under its immediate jurisdiction, and forming a general home hospital and retreat. After the heights of Mount St. Vincent have been passed, the land sinks somewhat, and busy civilization reappears. The new station Ludlow, at this point, recalls the old-time rural property here of the Ludlow family. Then succeeds The City of Yonkers. — The water front, where the railway, and steamers, and street-cars meet at the central wharf, is solid with warehouses, for here are many important manufacturing estab- lishments — mower and reaper works, gutta-percha and rubber, silk, carpet, and hat factories, machine and elevator works, and the shops of the Eagle Pencil Company. Above these, embow- ered in trees, rise the shops and houses of 35,000 inhabitants. Yonkers is connected with New York not only by the Hudson River Railroad, but also by the New York & Putnam Railroad, and is a calling place for all lines of steamers. It has a score of churches and a long list of religious, benevolent, and fra- ternal societies ; a high school and seven grammar schools, bu t no public library ; paid police and fire departments, with police and fire-alarm telegraphs, connected with New York's system ; four banks and a safe-deposit company ; electric street- cars, which run to the suburbs north, east, and south, and pass Getty Square, the City Hall, and the most central hotels. The leading social clubs are the Yonkers, whose house is 1017 Broadway, and the City, on Getty Square — an open space in the center of the city where several streets converge. There is an athletic club (63 Main Street), with good grounds; but the facilities for aquatic sports have given these pre-eminence there, and along the shore, at the northern suburb Olenwood, a station 40 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. Oil the Hudson River Railroad, are the houses of the Corinthian and Yonkers Yacht rlubs, the Yonkcrs Boat Club, and the Yon- kiTs Canoe Club. The Bicycle and Photographic clubs should also he mentioned. It is thus apparent that athletic and outdoor sports receive an unusual amount of attention at the hands of its cili/ens. The National Guard is represented by the Fourth Sep- arate Company, whose armory is on Waverly Street. Tlie town, as a whole, has no great pretensions to beauty— though AVarburl on Avenue, and some other streets in the north- ern part, fronting the river, are rapidly acquiring it— and con- tains little of interest to the stranger. Two objects, however, are worthy of attention, the more so as they successfully recall tlie early history of the locality. These are the City Hall, called " Manor Hall " because the building was the home of the Lord of the Manor of Phillipsburgh in colonial times; and St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church, a beautiful house of worship, with an interesting story. The best hotel is Arlington Inn, on South Broadway. Henry Hudson, and the Dutch traders after him, found here a Mohican village, named Nappechemak, at the mouth of a rapid little stream, now spelled Nepperhan. Settlements were made by the Dutch AVest-India Company in this township as long ago as 1G39; at least, lands were purchased of the native Indian Sachems at that early period, and soon thereafter occupied. These, after a time, passed into the hands of a burgher of Manhattan, Adriaen Van der Donck, who acquired a far wider area than the present city covers, and was, by royal patent, created a Patroon, whose estate was called Coloudonck. It has been supposed that " Yon- kers" is a corruption of his patronymic, but a better explanation is, that when a viUage began to grow up at this landing it was called the Jonk Ileer's (i. e., young lord's), in compliment to the Patroon; whence Jonker's, and gradual!}' (the J being like the English y) the modern spelling. At that time this village was called Upper Yonkers, and the region now covered by Van Cort- landt Park, in New York City, was Lower Yonkers, The latter was conveyed to the Van Cortlandts, Avho intermarried with the Van der Doncks; and the upper half was laier sold to Frederick Phillipse, the tirst. The Phillii>se or Phillipg family, which owned extensive lands northward, and whose favorite residence theretofore had been at " Castle Phillipse," yet standing by the old mill in Sleepy Hollow, at once took possession, and obtained from the English King a patent creating the property into the Manor of Phillipsburgh. Phillipse liad anticipated this dignity, not perfected until 1693, by erecting, in 1082, the front part of the present City Hall as NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 41 his manor-house; and it was completed by the addition of the back part in 1745. This old liouse is still elegant, and in its time must have been a very notable place. Having put his house in order, the now reigning lord of the manor, a second Frederick Phillipse, bethought him of more heavenly things, and erected a stone church, as he was bound to do by reason of owning the living. It was, of course, of the Established Church of England, was called St. John's, and was completed in 1752; but services had been held in the parish ever since 1694. At this time one of his daughters, Mary, born in the manor- house, July 3, 1730, was growing up to be the belle of all the country-side. A few years later (1756) George Washington, then a colonel wearing the laurels which he alone, almost, had brought from the disastrous Braddock campaign, was visiting in New York at the liouse of Beverly Robinson, a man of wealth and cultivation, who afterward became prominent as a leader of Tories, and especially in connection with the Arnold and Andre affair. Robinson's wife was the eldest daughter of Phillips •, and there Washington met and fell in love with her younger sister, the beautiful Mary Phillipse. The affection was not declared, however, and the young Virginian ^^■ent back to his plantations, confiding his secret to a friend who wrote him frequently of the social doings of the young lady and her friends. Finally, Wash- ington was informed that a suitor had appeared in the person of Col. Roger Morris, who had been an associate on Braddock 's staff, and was advised to make haste to come to New York and contest his claim He did not do so — why, no one knows — and the belle became the wife of his rival; but there is no founda- tion for the tradition that Washington had offered himself and had been refused. Yonkers grew apace, and the Nepperhan, which had been trained to work a saw-mill, and hence had come to be called Saw Mill Creek even in Van der Donck's time— soon turned the wheels of several mills, and to-day is hidden between factories. When men were taking sides at the approach of the Revolution, the Frederick Phillipse of that day — third lord of the manor — endeavored to remain neutral; but, although Washington stayed more than once under his roof, he fell under suspicion of a lean- ing toward royalty, and his property was confiscated by act of Legislature in 1779, and was sold by the Commissioners of For- feiture in 1785 — the year of his death in England. Complications followed, which were cleared up by a sale of the whole thing to John Jacob Astor, from whom the Government had to re-buy it, at a very long advance, in order to confirm the tenants and holders of \ arts in their titles. The manor-house was occupied 42 NEW YORK TO TARTITTOWN. as a private residence by various families until 1868, when it was inircha-sed l)y the Village of Yonkers, and finally became the City Hall in 1872. It was the scene of a notable historical celebration in 1882; and in front of it now stands a lofty and admirable Soldiers' i\Ionument to citizens who fell in the Civil War. The Re volution an/ Imtoi-y of Yonkers was full of lively inci- dents, though no battle of moment occurred near it, except the memorable engagement in the harbor in 1777, between the British frigates Hose and Phenix, at anchor, and the oared gunboats of the i)at riots, which were rowed out of the mouth of theNeppcrhan. having in low a large tender, filled with combustibles, intended to be placed alongside of the frigates as a fire-ship. The sailors, however, kept it off by means of spars, and a heavy fire of grape and canister compelled the gunboats and their brave crews to seek shelter near shore. The attempt was witnessed by Gen- erals Heath, Clinton, and others, and came very near succeeding. During the whole war — after the American army, in 1776, had retreated from its hills, following the disastrous campaign about White Plains — Yonkerswas the center of the uncovered "neutral'' tract between the Britisli posts at King's Bridge and those of the American army above. This unlucky tract was the foraging ground of both'parties, and the rendezvous of the opposing bands of reprobates known as the Skinners and the Cow Boys — the for- mer claiming to act in the service of the Americans, and the latter under the Britisli l)anner. As far as the quiet folks of the devoted neighborhood were concerned, there was not much choice between the rival bands, since they both served them- selves, no matter whether at the cost of friend or of foe. What with the escapades of these fellow\«, and with the marches and counter-marches above and below them, and with now and then a serious skirmish, the " neutral ground " was a busy region at the time, and abounds in such reminiscences of adventure as J. Fenimore Cooper has utilized in his story The Spy. St. John's Church persisted, and for many years was an interest- ing relic of colonial architecture; but in 1870 it was replaced by the present spacious, costly, and very beautiful Gothic building on Getty Square, which contains a carved font of Italian marble and workmanship, a beautiful pulpit of brass, and several memorial windows of high artistic excellence. This structure largely exceeds in size the earlier church; but the south wall includes, near the base, a large part of the wall of the original church, and the low, arched, old-fashioned door, which NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 43 has thus been preserved as a filling relic of the early condition. Attached are a series of picturesque parish buildings connecting the noble church with the rectory; and in the wall which incloses the church yard is arranged a public drinking-fountain, having an artistic bronze tablet where the invitation to drink is coupled with the appropriate citation, John iv; 13, 14: Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; hut whosoemr drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never tJdrst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a loell of water springing up into everlasting life. The best part of Yonkers is northward of the business center, especially along Warburton Avenue, a street which lies parallel with the river and part way up the hillside, where the tall brown- stone steeple of the Baptist Church is conspicuous from the water. Above this street are Palisade Avenue and (jSTorth) Broadway, while Alta and Park Hill avenues (see p. 24) are other very handsome streets, bordered with beautiful residences. An interesting walk is to climb the hill, from the trolley-car line to Broadway, and go out along it for a mile or more. This is the old turnpike, and really a continuation of Broadw^ay in the city of New York, so that it comes rightly by this name, which, in fact, is applied to it in all the river towns, at least as far as Sing Sing. The road is macadamized, laid with water, and lighted by gas far north of the city, and bordered by elegant properties, of which the residence of C. H. Lillienthal, indicated from the river by a brown-stone battlemented tower, is a good example. A far more famous homestead, however, is that somewhat above, to be recognized from the river by a lofty gray tower, surmounted by an ornamental iron railing; for this is the country-house of the late Governor and Presidential candidate, Samuel J. Tilden, who became known throughout the Union as the Sage of " Greystone." The large grounds are especially noteworthy for the magnificent trees that grow in forest-like pro- fusion along the avenues of approach and on the river slopes. Next above Yonkers comes Hastings. The village itself, where there are a railway station and small steamboat landing, and the works of an asphalt pavement concern, is of small account; but the high shore is closely set with homes of wealthy men, of which Dr. Huyler's, just above the landing, is most conspicuous by reason of its clock-tow^er and windmill. Just below this is the yellow boat-house of the Tower Ridge Athletic Club, whose grounds for tennis, etc., are elaborately laid out on the hill above. 44 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. The village is much the same as when T. Addison Richards I sketched here, thirty years ago, and wrote out his impressions for i The Knickerbocker (magazine), thus: "The hamlet — for, the more stately villa-edifices apart, such it is — lies snugly nestled in the depths of a beautiful glen, or spreads quietly away upon its verdant acclivities and lofty ter- races, looking into the shades of old woods, and listening to the murmurs of running brooks below, and gazing far up and down the broad river above. In the olden time, that is to say in the days of our revolution, the region around was the domain of the worthy farmer, Peter Post, whose patriotism on one occasion subjected him to an experience which he remembered, no doubt, with less pleasure than we do now. At the period referred to he assisted the patriots, under Col. Sheldon, to surprise a party of marauding Hessians, beguiling them into the belief that the Americans, whom they were pursuing, had moved on in a certain direction, while they were snugly ambushed conveniently in the rear. "'The Hessians, deceived by his answer,' says the story, according to Bolton, in his History of the County of Westchester, ' were proceeding at full gallop through the lane, when a shrill whistle rang through the air, instantly f ollow^ed by the impetuous charge of Sheldon's horse. Panic-stricken, the enemy fled in every direction, but the fresh horses of the Americans carried their gallant riders wherever a wandering ray disclosed the steel cap of the brilliant accouterments of a Hessian. A bridle-path leading from the place of ambush to the river was strew^ed with the dead and dying, while those who sought safety in the water were captured, cut to pieces, and drowned. The conflict, so short and bloody, was decisive. One solitary horseman was seen galloping off in the direction of Yonkers, and he alone, wounded and unarmed, reached the camp of Col. Emmerick in safety. Here he related the particulars of the march, the sudden onset and retreat. Astonished and maddened with rage, Emmerick started his whole command in pursuit. Poor Post was stripped for his fidelity, and after having a sufficient number of blows inflicted upon his person, left for dead.' " Earlier than this, however, Hastings had acquired notoriety from the fact that there Cornwallis embarked his army for the subjugation of Fort Lee, following the capture of Fort Wash- ington. A charming walk or bicycle-run of li miles may be taken from Hastings northward to Dobbs Ferry, along the old post-road, which is shaded all the way, mainly by ancient locust trees; and no walls or high hedges prevent a view of the orderly and tasteful grounds that continuously border the avenue. Dobbs Ferry is an exceedingly pretty village, whose homely NEW YORK TO TARRTTOWN. 45 name is the bequest of the ancient family of Dobbs ("Dobb — his ferry," says Mr, Sparrowgrass), who whilome farmed and fei'ried the contiguous land and water. As early as 1698 there lived here or hereabouts a Jan Dobs and his wife, who were members of the now venerable old church in Sleepy Hollow. The village covers hill and dell, rising charmingly from the river shore to the crests of lofty ridges, and is planted thick vrith sumptuous homes. There is one summer hotel, the " Glen Tower," whose yellow front and fine grounds overlook the river below the station, and a boarding- house or two; but none of the villages in this part of the country are "resorts," being composed almost wholly of those who own and occupy their premises the most of, if not all, the year. Just above the village is "Nuits," the residence of F. Cottinet, a beau- tiful Italian structure of imported Caen stone. Adjoining it, northward, stands " Nevis," the estate of the late Col. James Hamilton, son and biographer of Alexander Hamilton, and next beyond, the home of George L. Schuyler. Dobhs Ferry was an important post in the Rewlution, and the rendezvous of each army alternately. It was here that the British troops mustered after the battle of White Plains, and before marching to the assault upon Fort Washington. In January, 1777, Lincoln and his detachment of the patriot army encamped here a while. Later (1781), Washington established the American army headquarters at the Livingston manor-house, somewhat iuland from the village, and the mansion was subsequently iden- tified with many political events. There, in 1783, George Clinton and Sir Guy Carletou, the British commander, met to confer on the subject of the evacuation of the city of New York by the British forces. Although known as the Livingston manor-house, this house did not come into the possession of the Livingston family until after the Revolution. It was originally built by a Dutch farmer, who leased it from the lord of the Phillipse manor; the Phillipse estate being sequestered by the Government at the close of the war, this farm was purchased by Peter Van Brugli Liv- ingston, with 500 acres, and it became henceforth known as the "Livingston Manor." The fortifications were mainly by the pres- ent railway station — one of the best examples of those hijous of architecture in rose granite, red sandstone, and hardwoods with which the New York Central Company is ornamenting the river route from one end to the other — and were intended for the pro- tection of the rowboat ferry to Paramus, now Sneden's Landing, directly opposite, and a mile or two above the northern boundary of New Jersey. These batteries were a sore vexation to the Brit- ish ships, which were wont to cruise up the river, and attempt to 40 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. ravage the shores. In Julv, 1781, some British frigates that had pa^si-d up tho river a few days before, took advantage of wind jiiid ti(h' lo return to New York, thus exposing themselves to a sc'viTe camionadnig from tliese batteries. They returned the fire, but w iihout elTe(t:"and Thatcher relates that on board one of them, the Sir,if/r, a b(».\ of powder took tire, whereu})on twenty men leaped iiito the river, onlv one of whom, an American prisoner, reached the sliore. Tliis" ve.'^sel was nearly sunk by the w^ell- directed halls. Tiie first treasonable interview between Arnold and Andre w.is to huve been held here, but by some mischance did not take place. The Palisades, to glance again at the western shore, here attain their highest point, which is found in Indian Head {550 feet) directly opposite Hastings. Somewhat below there the precipitous wall is broken by a ravine, in the mouth of which have been built several summer hotels and dancing pavilions, resorted to by cheap steamboat excursion and picnic parties, more noisy than nice in their methods of amusement. A ferry connects the place with Yonkers. This ravine is called Alpine Gorge, and a road zigzags up to tlie top of the ridge and over to the village of Closter, N.J. It was formerly known as Closter Landing, and here Lord Grey disembarked his dragoons on that evening in Octo- ber, 1778, wlien he galloped over to the Hackensack Valley, and surprised and massacred Col. Baylor's company of patriots, despite their surrender and calls for mercy — an act which British as well as American historians have execrated as a disgrace, not only to Englishmen, but to all humanity. This part of the river used to be called the Great Chip Bock Reach, a term which extends to the end of the Palisades, where New Jersey is left and New York State (Rockland County) begins on that side of the river. Here, opposite Dobbs Ferry, is seen a deep glen, up which goes the old highway to Tappan, and so southward into New Jersey. This was known as Paramus when, in 1770, Cornwallis landed here and marched his men up the old road, but now it is Sneden's Landing. The Sneedens (or Sny- den.s) were a family of Tories, early advertised as enemies by the local authorities. The sliore gradually bends backward, and we see before us the broadening space of the Tappan Sea— the name given to the lake-like expanse of the river from the Palisades north to Croton Point. A mile above is Piermont, whence a I NEW YOKK TO TARRYTOWN. 47 wharf a mile or more long, bearing derricks and coal-pockets, juts out to deep water. It was built many years ago by the Erie Railway Company to facilitate the river shipment of their freights, when it was expected to be the chief, if not their only, river terminus. Now it is devoted almost entirely to the transfer of coal from cars to barges. The coal business of the Erie Railway is very large, giving nearly as much revenue as their passenger traflac; and all of it destined for New York comes this way, while that for New England is transferred at Newburgh. "Few portions of the Hudson," as Richards has remarked, "are so rich in natural beauties as the vicinage of Piermont, wiiere the mighty mirror of the Tappan Sea reflects the purple shades and the golden sunshine of grand mountain acclivities and of most picturesque headlands. Back of the village, on the west, the land steps in noble terraces from the waterside to the lofty crests of Tower Hill. To the southward, the Palisades rise in majesty; and above, the bay is shut in by the superb cliffs of the promontory, known as Point-no-Point, or more familiarly as the Hook Mountain." This Tower Hill, by-the-by, is one well worth the attention of climbers. It can be reached by way of Nyack, or more easily by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey, and will well repay a walk to its summit, where there is an observatory. Fiom this platform the hills and valleys of Westchester County, the Sound, and Long Island and the Atlantic Ocean can be seen; to the south, the heights of Hoboken bound the horizon; to the west, the Orange Mountains — some peaks of wliich are more than forty miles away — the Ramapo Gap, and the site of Tuxedo Park; and, linally, to the north a vast sea of mountain tops, comprising some of the Catskill and Berkshire ranges, stretches darkly and grandly to the distant horizon. It is a view that always pleases and almost inva- riably calls forth superlative exclamations of delight. For many years one of the cottages on the Piermont slope was that of Letois Gaylord Clark, the friend of Irving, his associate in the publication of Salmagundi, and long-time"editor of The Knickerbocker. Sparkill, a favorite summer residence with city people, and historic old Taqypan, where Andre was hung, and where so many other things of life and death happened durmg the War for Independence, are only just back of the shore hills. From Bobbs Ferry to Irvington, to return to the eastern shore of the Tappan Sea, is about V/^ miles, and may be covered by a delightful walk along the old Croton Aqueduct. Walk from the railway station along the main street of Dobbs Ferry as far as its turn to the right, when the stile and path down to the top of the 48 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. aqueduct will be seen. This pjith leads straight across the fields, giving occasional glimpses of the river and of the finest houses, in a much better way, and at far less expense of time and labor, than by following the roundabout course of Broadway. Mrs. Henry Draper, widow of the eminent scientific author, lives near where the aqueduct is first encountered; and farther on Gen. Sanmel Thomas; while the comfortable and spacious country- house of the late Cyrus W. Field is seen upon the higher ground to the right, above Broadway. As Irvington is approached, the houses along a deep glen form the Ahbottsford neighborhood, and are owned by such prominent persons as David Dows and Joseph Stiner (the house with a large dome) and others. THE CROTON AQUEDUCTS. The aqueduct alluded to above is that " old" one which has conducted water from the Croton River to New York for half a century. It was finished in 1842, is of brick, and is placed on or lu'ar the surface, occasionally tunneling under high ground, and ai^ain spanning some ravine upon arches, as particularly across Kill Brook in Sing Sing, where the structure is most picturesque — a single stone arch seventy feet high, and having a span of eigiity-eight feet. In general, it follows the old post-road, and is traceable by its white stone ventilating towers nearly all the way from the mouth of the Croton to the beautiful High Bridge by which it is carried across the Harlem River. It conducts nearly 100,000,000 gallons a day, but long ago proved inadequate, and after much preliminary work the construction of a second con- duit from the Croton Valley to the city was begun in January, 1884, and was completed in 1890. The Neio Agueduct consists of a brick tunnel, laid in an almost jicrfectly straight line from Croton Lake to the Harlem near High Bridge, through the solid rock, and at an average depth of 500 feet below the surface. This tunnel is thirty miles long and fourteen feet in diameter, and delivers over 300,000,000 of gallons each twenty-four hours. At times as many as 10,000 men w-ere employed upon it, and the total cost was $25,000,000. Nothing to equal it in magnitude of engineering is known in any other part of the world. The Croton flows from the Highlands southward to its debouchment into the Hudson at Sinir Sing. It drains a basin, I)opularly called the Croton water-shed, having an area of 338 scjiiare miles, above the present Croton dam. This region is a hilly country full of ponds and brooks, the surface of which is gravel overlyino- a hard and impervious gneissic rock. Much of it is covered with second-growth woods, and the cleared portion is NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 49 devoted mainly to dairying. The rapidity of the main river and many of its tributaries has, however, invited the utilization of the water-power and many mills and factories have sprung up, while the population of the valley has greatly increased, and hotels and boarding-houses are enlarged and added to annually. Most of these, deliberately or accidentally, drain their refuse into the Croton, and thence into the city's drinking supply. Thus far the oxygenating power of the sunshine and running water have sufficed to overcome these befoulments and keep the water wholesome, if not as pure as when sent down from the hills and filtered through the gravel-beds; but the time will soon be at hand when it will be vitally important to check this menace to the health of the metropolis by reserving a broad park-like margin along the principal streams, and around the many artifi- cial reservoirs which store the winter's rains against summer's drouth, from human occupation; or perhaps, finally, by evicting the whole population of the water-shed Those interested in the details of construction and management of this wonderful aque- duct and system of water-supply will find a valuable illustrated article upon it in Tlie Century (magazine), Vol. XVII, December, 1889, p. 205. Irvington, the river-landing and railroad station next north of Hastings, at the foot of the Tappan Sea, is a village of compara- tively recent growth, inhabited, in great part, by the families of gentlemen whose place of business is in New York. "The river is here about three miles wide, and the sloping hills that look over this tranquil bay are literally covered with beautiful villas and charming grounds. At no point on the Hudson are there more evidences of wealth and refinement, and this locality around Irvington is noted as one of the most aristocratic suburbs of the great metropolis. Many of these palatial structures are furnished with the choicest that art and wealth can produce, and are the abodes of luxury, culture, and the most exquisite taste." THE STORY OF SUNNYSIDE. This village is named in honor of Washington Irving, whose fancy and pen have informed the whole district with immortal interest. As usual, it is delightful to walk, or wheel, or drive along the ancient highway through and northward of Irvington; but the object of special interest, Irving's home at *' Sunnyside," can not be seen from that road, since it stands close to the river bank, three-fourths of a mile distant. It is only half a mile north 50 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. of the railway station, however, and is excellently seen from tlie windows of the railway cars, or with less distinctness from a steamer's deck. It is a many-gabled, vine-clad cottage, covered with stucco and shadowed by grand trees. When Irving bought the place, in 1835, the locality was vaguely known as Dearman's, for it was not until 1854 that a sufficient settlement accumulated to be set off from Tarrytown and called Irving. This farm con- tained, at that time, ten acres, and there stood upon it a small stone house called " Wolfert's Roost " (^roost, rest), from a former owner, Wolfert Acker, who had been one of the Committee of Public Safety in '76, and had come here to set up his Rest and take his ease. Later, eight more acres were added to " Sunny- side," as the author styled his new property. The main facts in its history have been pleasantly told by Mr. Clarence Cook, in an article in The Century for May, 1887, reminiscent of his school- boy life in Tarrytown, when he enjoyed Irving's friendship. He tells us that Irving at once called in the services of a sympathetic artist, George Harvey, who, while he enlarged and modernized the house, kept all the "old-times" air and picturesqueness which had struck the author's fancy — the "little old-fashioned stone mansion, all made up of gable-ends, and as full of angles and corners as an old cocked hat," as the owner himself has described it. Over the entrance to the porch may still be read the inscription Georr/e Harvey, Boumr., the last word an abbrevia- tion for " Boumeister," which Mr. Irving had raked up as Dutch for architect. The beautiful growth of English ivy that clothes the front of the cottage has all grown from a slip brought from Melrose Abbey by a friend, Mrs. Renwick. This lady was a Miss Jeffrey, of Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and was the heroine of Burns' Blue-eyed Lassie, as well as of another of his songs: When first I saw my Jennie's face. Such is Mr. Cook's assertion, contradicting the popular statement that the ivy grew from slips given to Irving by Sir Walter Scott, at Abbotsford. The interior of Mr. Irving's house, according to Mr. Cook, hardly corresponded with the i)romise made by the outside. " As I remember," he says, "it w;is plainly, but ccmifortably, furnished; and, compared with almost any house lived in by a person of NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 51 Irving's position, to-day, would certainly be said to have a bare look. . . . There was nothing in Irving's surroundings, or in his way of life, to suggest the literary man. His house might have been that of any gentleman bachelor, with a happy turn "for indolence, with no expensive tastes, but with an inborn relish for the simple pleasures of country life." The old liighway from Irvington to Tarrytown is especially beautiful and is bordered by noble properties, mainly between it and the water. As seen from the river, the residences about Tarrytown rise tier upon tier. That on the hill, with the pointed tower, is ' ' Cunningham Castle. " Near it are the still stately ruins of the burned home of tlie painter, Albert Bierstadt; and a long list of names of men prominent in the world of business would be found on the door-plates of the mansions ensconced among those umbrageous trees. Most conspicuous among them, as is appropriate, is the tall square marble tower of the late Jay Oould's house, " Lyndehurst," which rises like a bright monument above the green bank of foliage. It is interesting not only as the former residence of the most powerful, and, since the death of Commodore Vanderbilt, the most picturesque business man of the country, but from llie fact that it was originally "Paulding Manor," the country-house of William Paulding, a nephew of the hero of the Andre capture, and cousin of Admiral Paulding, U. S. N. He was a prominent merchant of the early decades of this country, and was Mayor of New York at the time of Lafayette's visit in 1824; and his house represents the best type of Tudor architecture. It is best seen from a northerly direction. The windows of all these mansions look out upon the Tap- pan Sea (or Zee), so named because the Tappan Indians were foimd along its western shore by the Dutchmen, Many a story might be told of its waters and circling shores, one of which Irving has left us in his Chronicle of Wolfert'a Roost, relating to the Revolutionary period, when every farmer had to be upon his guard against the bandits that infested this debatable land between the lines of the opposing armies. The story may not be veritable history, but it is a picture of those times, nevertheless: " While this marauding system prevailed on shore, the Great Tappan Sea, which washes this belligerent region, was domi- neered over by British frigates and other vessels of war, anchored here and there to keep an eye upon the river, and maintain a 5 52 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. communication between the various military posts. Stout gal- leys also, armed with eighteen-pounders, and navigated with sails and oars, cruised about like hawks, ready to pounce upon " Alftiiese were eyed with bitter hostility by the Dutch yeo- manry along shore, who were indignant at seeing their great Mediterranean plowed by hostile prows; and would occasion- ally thro\y up a mud breastwork on a point or promontory, mount an old iron field-piece, and fire away at the enemy, though the greatest harm was apt to happen to themselves from the bursting of their ordnance; nay, there was scarce a Dutchman along the river that would hesitate to fire with his long duck gun at any British cruiser that came within reach, as he had been accustomed to fire at water-fowl. ' ' About this time, the Roost [i. e. , Sunuyside] experienced a vast accession of warlike importance in being made one of the stations of the water-guard. This was a kind of aquatic corps of observation, composed of long, sharp, canoe-shaped boats, tech- nically called \vhale.boals. that lay lightly on the water, and could be rowed with greut rapidity. They were manned by resolute fello%vs, skilled at pulling an oar or handling a musket. These lurked about in nooks and bays, and behind those long promontories which run out into the Tappan Sea, keeping a look- out, to give notice of the approach or movements of hostile ships. They roved about in pairs; sometimes at night, with muflfled oars, gliding like specters about frigates and guard-ships riding at anchor, cutting off any boats that made for shore, and keeping the enemy in constant uneasiness. These musquito-cruisers gen- erally kept aloof by day, so thnt their harboring places might not be discovered, but would pull quietly along, under shadow of the shore, at night, to take up their quarters at the Roost. Hither, at such time, would also repair the hard-riding lads of the hills, to hold secret councils of war with the " ocean chivalry"; and in these nocturnal meetings were concerted many of those daring forays, by land and water, that resounded throughout the border." With such a history, is it surprising to learn that Irving should hear such traditions as the following: " Before closing this historic document, I can not but advert to certain notions and traditions concerning the venerable pile in question. Old-time edifices are apt to gather odd fancies and superstitions about them, as they do moss and weather-stains; and this is in a neighborhood a little given to old fashioned notions, and who look upon the Roost as sT)mewhat of a fated mansion. A lonely, rambling, down-hill lane leads to it, over- hung with trees, ^vith a wild brook dashing along, and crossing and recTossing it. This lane I found some of the good people of the neighborhood shy of treading at night; why, I could not NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 53 for a long time ascertain, until I learned that one or two of the rovers of the Tappan Sea, shot by the stout Jacob during the war, had been buried hereabout, in unconsecrated ground. " Another local superstition is of a less gloomy kind, and one which I confess I am somewhat disposed to cherish. The Tap- pan Sea, in front of the Roost, is about three miles wide, bor- dered by a lofty line of waving and rocky hills. Often, in the still twilight of a summer evening, when the sea is like glass, with the opposite hills throwing their purple shadows half across it, a low sound is lieard, as of the steady, vigorous pull of oars, far out in the middle of the stream, though not a boat is to be descried. This I should have been apt to ascribe to some boat rowed along under the shadows of the Avestern shore, for sounds are conveyed to a great distance by water, at such quiet hours; and I can distinctly hear the baying of the watch-dogs at night from the farms on the sides of tiie opposite mountains. The ancient traditionists of the neighborhood, however, religiously ascribed these sounds to a judgment upon one Rumbout Van Dam, of Spiting Devil, who danced and drank late one Saturday night, at a Dutch quilting frolic, at Kakiat, and set off alone for home in his boat, on the verge of Sunday morning, swearing he would not land till he reached Spiling Devil, if it took him a month of Sundays. He was never seen afterward, but is often heard plying his oars across the Tappan Sea, a Flying Dutchman on a small scale, suited to the size of his cruising-ground; being doomed to ply between Kakiat and Spiting Devil till the day of judgment, but never to reach the land." Tarrytown, whose port, railway station, and business streets are seen immediately above Irvington, which, indeed, it formerly included, is a beautiful and long-established village with consid- erable trade and manufacturing, as well as a large population of families whose business is in New York. The name is said to be from the Dutch Tericen Dorp, or Wheat Town, in reference to the leading product of the district; this the English half-translated into Terwen Town, and then corrupted into Tarrj'^town. It abounds in irregular, beautifully shaded avenues, lined by costly and elegant houses, crowding all citizens of small means into the low-lying streets along the water-front. The ornamental arrangement of the grounds about the new station here will attract attention, as well as the great fountain, given as a present to the public by the Rev. and Mrs. E. C. Bull. SLEEPY HOLLOW, PAST AND PRESENT. Those who delight to seek out places of historical and poetic association will not fail to stroll about Tarrytown, and will wan- 54 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. i iler out to Sleepy Hollow in search of the scene of the romance * of Ichabod Crane and Katrina Van Tassel, and of that frightful apparition, The Headless Horseman; and will not fail to visit the { gmre of Wa.sJiinr/ton Ining. Sleepy Hollow is the narrow valley of Pocantico Creek, which flows into the Hudson half a mile north of the railway station, where the jutting out of Kingsland's Point— marked by a light- house—forms a small bay. The name is regarded as a half-con- temptuous translation of the Dutch words slaperig ha'oen; and Irving himself tells us why. "Xot far from Tarry town," he writes, "there is a little valley, or rather a lap of land, among high hills, which is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook glides through it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose, and the occa- sional whistle of a quail, or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tran- quillity." "Sleepy Hollow," in the phrase of Clarence Cook, whose article was referred to a few paragraphs back, "is still very much the same lazy country road it was in the old days when we school-boys wandered along it in the summer afternoons, picking blackberries from the wayside vines." Following the turnpike road [Broadway] down the hill we come to Beekman's mill-pond, and crossing the pretty stream, the Pocantico, on the bridge over which Ichabod galloped, pursued in his mad flight by the head- less horseman, we reach the old Dutch church, surrounded by the graves of many generations — those of the earlier settlers cluster- ing thickly about the church itself, while the newer graves people the rising ground toward the north. " It is in this newer portion of the cemetery that Washington Irving lies. His grave is in the middle of a large plot purchased by him in 1853, six years before his death. The stone that marks his grave is a plain slab of white marble, on which are engraved his name and date alone, without any memorial inscription. The l)ath that leads to the entrance gate of the plot is so worn by the feet of visitors that a stranger hardly needs to ask his way to the church. "It would not have been easy to find a place more in harmony with the associations that gather about Irving's name as a writer, than the spot in which he is buried. Even to-day, with all the changes that have been brought about by the growth of the NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 55 neighboring settlement, the spirit of peace and quiet that used to brood over the region hovers there undisturbed. Irving's own words in tlie Legend of Sleepy Hollow^ describing the grave-yard, the old cluirch, and the stream that plays about its feet, reflect with the faithfulness of a mirror the scene as we behold it to-day. '■ Here is the church, a small building with rough sides of the country stone, surmounted by a picturesque roof, and with an open bell turret, over which still veers the vane pierced with the initials of the Frederick Felypsen * who built the church and cndoAcd it in 109!). In our rambles about the grave-yard we used to tin'] the bricks of light-colored clay, brought from Holland, and of which, so tradition said, the church had originally been built, or which had, at any rate, been largely used in its construction." Above Irving's grave, and those of his many relatives, the land swells into a knoll surmounted by the memorials of the Dela'oan family. These consist of a tall shaft of granite, observable from far out on the river, and supporting a grand figure; and of six marble statues, one represenling Jesus, and the others symbolical figures of Immortality, Faith, etc., disposed about the pedestal of the column among the graves. This eminence, called Battle Hill, overlooks the highway, the Pocantico Vale, and the sweetest part of the Tarrytown slope. In 1779 it was crowned by a forti- fication of the Patriot army, but received no assault. Remains of the earthworks may yet be traced; and their site is still further marked by a small cannon, mounted upon a granite carriage, and having near it a pyramid of projectiles. This gim bears an inscription informing readers that it is the rifled steel cannon which caused Napoleon III. to make its inventor a member of the Legion of Honor; but why this red-painted modern weapon and its vulgar personal advertisement should be accepted as an histor- ical monument anywhere, and, above all, in this City of Peace, is a curiosity of inconsistency remaining unexplained. The present bridge is, of course, a very modern affair, replac- ing that one which Irving knew, and which itself had no memo- ries of the old colonial times of which the great romancer w^rote. But the tranquil and weedy pond below it is the same as that of the days when the burghers brought their grist a horseback to be grouud at Wheat Town; and the identical old mill is still stand- * Frederick Philipse the first, whose first manor-house, or "castle," still stands a little way down the stream by the old mill. 56 NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. ing under the trees at the foot of the pond, by its moss-grown dam. Near it is the old Philipse manor-house, or Castle Phil- il)se, whence the family moved to Yonkers when their newer manor-house was built there. It is stanch as ever, but is sadly belittled by the sumptuous homes of modern days, and can scarcely be seen for the foliage. This house, the mill, and the dam are all well seen from the railway while the train is crossing the mouth of the Pocantico, north of the station. The shortest road to Sleepy Hollow from Ihe station is along the street that leads up the railway track, and gradually bends to the right. It is a walk of twenty to thirty minutes, thiough an unpleasant part of town. Much more interesting is the longer way up the hill to Broadway, then northward to where, at a brick church, a wide road descends toward the left; this must be fol- lowed around the cove to the bridge and pond, beside which are the old church and the cemetery. Two hours will amply suffice to walk around this way and back to the station, and to see all that the casual tourist will feel an interest in; but the distance is too great for feeble pedestrians. Carriages are always waiting at Tarrytown station, however. The Monument to Andre's Capture. — About half-way to Sleepy Hollow, on Broadway, stands a monument commemorat- ing one of the most interesting episodes of the War for Inde- pendence — the capture of AndrC', the story of which is told in the next section. It was originally a simple, small obelisk, erected in 1853 by the people of Westchester County, upon a pedestal bearing the following inscription, with some additional sentiments of appreciation : On tuis Spot, The 25th Day of September, 1780, the Spy, MAJOR JOHN ANDRI:, Adjutant General of the British Army, Was Captured by John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart, All Natives of this County. To this was added, upon the centennial anniversary of the inci- dent, in 1880, a bronze statue of a minute-man, specifically repre- senting John Paulding, which is poised effectively upon the top NEW YORK TO TARRYTOWN. 57 of the obelisk, and a bronze panel, by Theodore Bauer, depicting the capture of Andre in a very spirited way. These were the gift of a citizen, John Anderson; and it is unfortunate that this fine little monument does not stand where it can be seen to better advantage. The little stream below it is now called Andre's Brook; and near the monument there formerly stood a great whitewood, long known as the Andr6 tree. Other stirring adventures occurred at Tarrytown in those days. Lying between the two armies, it was alternately occupied and abandoned by each, and always exposed to the marauders that infested the whole region. Here were landed, in 1777, Vaughan's troops to co-operate in the attack on Fort Montgomery; and at another time, a vigorous cannonade was poured from its intrench- ments upon an English flotilla. One of the liveliest local stories is that of the successful surprise, by a body of American militia, of a large corps of British refugees, gathered at the tavern of Elizabeth Van Tassel. The enemy were amusing their evening hours with cards, when Major Hunt and his volunteers rushed into the apartment, the Major exclaiming, as he brandished over the table the huge stick with which he was armed: " Gentlemen, clubs are trumps!" The luckless card-players were avenged by other and counter incidents in the strife, as in the capture, by Colonel Emmerick, of the Continental Guard, which was quartered in Requa's house, when four of the patriots were killed and the remaining dozen were taken prisoners; and again, in the spring of 1782, when a party of refugees, commanded by Lieutenant Akerly, captured three American militia-men, named Yerks, Van Wart, and Strong, the last of whom was hanged on the spot. TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. The Eastern shore of Tappaa Sea, north of Tarrytown, is studded with the couutry-seats of prominent persons. At the mouth of the Pocautico, occupying lunrjslamVs Point (behind the light-house) and the neighboring river lands, are the long-occupied houses of the Kingsland family, one of whom w^as a noted mayor of New York. Higher up the hill, not far from Sleepy Hollow, lies the old estate of Gen. James Watson Webb, one of whose sons is now conspicuous as the acting third vice-president of the New York Central Railroad. One of his neighbors is Mrs. Anson G. Phelps, and another is William Rockefeller, president of the Standard Oil Company, who occupies the ancient chateau " Rockwood," in which the Aspinwalls and other noted families have dwelt in past years. A little farther north, near Scarbor- ough station and landing, the Scarboroughs, Rcmsens, etc., reside in the summer. The Western shore of the Tappan Sea is nearer to those who travel upon steamers, and must not be overlooked in our description. The Palisades, which the Mohicans said were erected by the Great Spirit to protect his favorite abodes from unhallowed eyes of mortals — is this a bit of sun-myth, referring to the declining king-of-day? — have given place to a graceful blend- ing of valley and hill, stretching northward to a bold promontory which, in some states of the weather, becomes sublime in its aspect. The scenery of the Tappau Sea and its boldly sculptured shores varies widely, with the state of the atmosphere, from the most tame and prosaic condition to an appearance of bold grandeur or idyllic beauty. "The voyager," remarks the land- scape artist Richards, "might very reasonably think himself in fairy-land, should he chance here on a quiet, sunny summer day, when the clear still waters reflect the whiteness of a hundred lazy sails, and the sunshine of the all-encircling hillsides; or he might forget that he is upon the bosom of a decorous and peaceful (58) i 5 \. ^ TARRYTOWN TO "WEST POINT. 59 river, should storm and tempest darken the mountains and valleys, and rudely awaken the dreaming floods." Nyack, just beyond the Piermont jetty, is the only town of importance on the western side of Tappan Sea. It is a pretty and prosperous village at the terminus of the Northern Railroad of New Jersey. Of late years, it has become one of the favorite suburban summer residences, and for some reason has especially attracted many of the South Americans of wealth or promi- nence who live in New York and Washington. The village includes, besides Nyack proper, South Nyack, West Nyack, and Upper Nyack. In winter it has some 5,000 inhabit- ants, and settles down into a steady-going manufacturing town, in which nearly everybody is concerned, directly or indirectly, j with making shoes, or else with building yachts and boats. In summer, however, Nyack is increased by three or four thousand summer residents, who fill the hotels and boarding-houses, and i find plentiful amusement in rambling and boating over her hills and along her shore. The large building seen in the southern part of the town, near the water, is the " Tappan Zee Hotel," while I the still larger "Prospect House" is visible higher up the hill. ' Both of these are summer houses. A ferry connects Nyack with Tarrytown, the steamboat Rockland making hourly trips; and this way runs the tally-ho coach between New York and Tuxedo, ] twenty-two miles west, stopping for lunch at the capital St. George Restaurant, near the landing. I The Northern Railroad of New Jersey makes its northern terminus at Nyack, a few blocks from the landing, and aifords almost hourly communication with the city. This road is leased to the New York, Lake Erie & Western, and is a model of a suburban line. Its trains leave from the "Erie" station, in Jersey City (33d and Chambers streets. New York, by ferry), and run up along the western base of Bergen Ridge, until this breaks, and allows the road to reach the river-side again at Nyack. It is a charming country — that behind the Palisades. The broad meadows of the Hnckcnsack are first seen, then the narrower valley of its eastern tributary, the Overpeck ; and quaint old villages are strung along, with an almost continual line of modern cottages aud summer homes. This is a favorite field for New York artists, some of the foremost of whom dwell at Ridgetield Park, Leonia, and 60 TARUYTOWN TO WEST POINT. Englewood. It abounds in quaint relics of colonial times, as at Ridgefiekl, Tenafly, Closter, Tappan; and was tlie scene, in the earlier years of the Revolution, of some of the most stirring inci- dents of that war. Altogether, the ride by rail from Jersey City to Nyack is scarcely less interesting than that by river. Nyack is also touched, at West Nyack, 2i miles from the river, by the West Shore Railroad, and it has a daily line of steamboats to and from New York. This part of the Hudson, above Nyack, the pilots term Tappan Reach, and it is overshadowed by the extension of the Palisades, locally called Hook Mountain, but more anciently known as Mount Verdrietig Range. This range is elevated in the middle into the rounded dome of Ball Mountain, and ends northward in the bold promontory which has already excited our admiration. The southern prominence of this headland is Verdrietig Hook; the farther one, where the shore makes a slight bend westward, is Diedrich Hook, or Point-no-Point. These hills are about 700 feet high, rough and uninhabited, but pleasing in outline and color; their extraordinary name, which is spelled in every possible way except the right, is a Dutch adjective meaning difficult, tedious, wearisome. The reference was probably at first to the point, or hook (Verdrietig Hoek), where bafiiing winds often make trouble for the sailorman, and render his passage of the cape " tedious," and afterward the name was extended to the whole range inland. Sing Sing, perched upon the hills of the eastern shore, is just in advance on the right, as the steamer comes opposite Point-no- Point, with the famous State Prison in plain view by the edge of the water. This odd designation has been accounted for by various face- tious expedients. Irving says, truly, that it is a corruption of a Mohican place-word, 0-sin-sing, referring to the rocky nature of the site ; and then adds in his droll humor : " Some have rendered it, 0-sin-song, or 0-sing-song, in token of its being a great market town, where anything may be had for a mere song. Its present melodious alteration to Sing Sing is said to have been in compliment to a Yankee singing-master, who taught the inhabitants the art of singing through the nose." Others say the name is a variation of that of a Chinese ruler, Tsing Sing, and was brought over by a Dutch sailor who had traded with the Celestial Empire. It comes, however, from the red man's tongue, and means a stony place; and well is the neigh- TAllRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 61 borliood named, for a more rugged spot of hill and ravine, and a wilder upheaving of rock and bowlder, one could hardly ask for within the streets of an orderly Christian town. The milage of Sing Sing must be kept quite distinct from the prison. It is by no means a sort of penal colony, as the public is too apt to regard it, but " an ancient, prosperous, and picturesque suburb of New York," where some 10,000 excellent people dwell amid surroundings that for health and beauty can hardly be matched in the whole valley. The town lies upon rocky hills and overlooks the most varied, and perhaps the most beautiful, river landscape along the valley. Just north of the town, as the traveler upon the steamer has before now observed ahead of him, the river is invaded by a long projection from the eastern shore, which has quite cut off his view. This is Croton Point, and the water between it and the Sing Sing shore is Croton Bay, or the estuary of Croton River, which the Indians called Kitchawonk. As one stands upon any of the village streets facing the river, his glance not only takes in a long southward sweep of the opposite shore with its irregular highlands, but embraces, in most pleasing perspective, the several summits north of Verdrie- tig Hook, which have the sharpness and pose of real mountains, though only live or six hundred feet in height. But the eye, mov- ing on northward, kindles with increasing pleasure as it ranges across the foreground of sail-dotted bay, and beyond the green and diversified interception of Croton Point, to the expanse of Haverstraw Bay northward, where the farther shore rises, far inland, into the blue and irregular mountains of Orange County, over at the head of the Ramapo. Oue is constantly surprised by glimpses, through the trees and across gardens that fill the fore- ground with life and color, throwing into artistic remoteness the shining river and cool blue hills, of bits of this scenery which are picturesque in the truest sense of the word; and that is a term which can not be applied discriminatingly to much of the Hud- son River scenery, even where it is both interesting and full of charm. This rare outlook, the salubrity, the shady and well- kept streets, the excellent water and drainage, and the many educational advantages, have drawn to Sing Sing a large number of wealthy people whose business interests are in New York; and one may see there many costly and beautiful homes, and many 03 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. fine churches and school buildings. Besides the public schools, this town possesses no less than four military boarding-schools for boys and a seminary for girls, besides two business colleges. In addition to its churches, the Sing Sing Camp Meeting, on the heights a mile north of town, is largely attended in summer by the religious people of the whole region. In the early part of Ihe last century, capital was largely invested here in silver and copper mines, and some of the older families still have in their possession silver spoons and copper utensils which were fashioned from the products of those mines. The copper mines, a little south of the prison, can still be explored by the curious, but the opening to the silver mines, which were on the north bounds of the prison, is now covered by the track of the Hudson River Railroad. Judging from the various and long corridors extending hundreds of feet under the waters of the Hudson, immense sums must have been expended in the develop- ment of these mines. Garnets of some size were frequently found in the same locality, and farther north there were traces of gold. The capital invested in these old mines was truly sunk in the ground; but that which has been put into the many factories at Sing Sing has given a good return. The Arcade File Works here is the oldest in the country, and now employs 150 men; while the factory of the much-advertised Brandreth's Pills has extensive works adjoining the doctor's park-like home grounds along the railway. A shoe factory employing 225 hands, two foundries for plumbers' castings, a manufactory of cotton-gin machinery, and another of cotton-gin saws, are noticeable among the rest. These industries nourish the town industrially and keep it brisk. It has two strong banks, an excellent water and fire-department service, electric and gas lights, and an assessed valuation of nearly $4,000,000. Sing Sing has thirty trains daily to and from New York; the steamer Sarah A. Jenks plies daily, going down in the morning and back at night; and a small steamboat makes four round trips a day between Sing Sing and Haverstraw; and the village has electric street-cars. The State Prison is about one mile south of the station, next the water. Little of it can be seen from a passing steamer, and still less from the railway, which passes underneath it through deep cuttings. The remarkable whiteness of the buildings is due to the fact that they are constructed of dolomite, a coarse marble quarried on the spot, and extensively used as building-stone in TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 63 this and other river towns. This prison was founded in 1826, when Capt. Elam Lynds took a party of 100 convicts from Auburn Prison to this spot, and set them at worli to wall them- selves in. By 1829 this had been accomplished, and the main building was ready. It is now nearly 500 feet long, and has 1,200 cells, besides many shops, in which shoes, saddlery, furniture, and various other articles are manufactured by convict labor. The confinement of women in this prison was discontinued many years ago. About 1,700 persons now find here the quiet, if not the peace, which complete seclusion from society affords. Rockland is the name of the little village, immediately oppo- site Sing Sing, opened to view as the steamer rounds Point-no- Point. It is set in a narrow, shady ravine north of Hook Mount- ain, and is the port of Rockland Lake^ a large sheet of water lying a mile or more inland, and about 150 feet above the landing. On this lake is cut a large portion of the ice used by New York City, and 1,000 men are employed ia harvesting and shipping the product, which is brought down the ravine by a cable railway, and sent to the city in huge barges. Rockland Lake is also a place of summer resort, and has upon its borders, besides the "Rockland Lake Hotel," an extensive grove, which is a favorite place for farmers* picnics. The ice business of New York may be said to have originated at Rockland Lake, where lived the men who were the founders, many years ago, of the Knickerbocker Ice Compan}^. At first, supposing that ice could not be preserved otlierwise, they dug a hole in the ground holding about 125 tons. The ice was taken from this pit, placed in a box holding one ton, mounted upon a truck whose wheels were merely sections of round logs, and hauled aboard a boat which then ran down to New York from Haverstraw one day and returned the next. The delivery in New York was made in springless one-horse carts. How rap- idly and far the business has outgrown these rude beginnings we shall see later. The long, low promontory reaching out from the eastern shore here, and separating Croton Bay from the broad expanse of Hav- erstraw Bay above, is called Croton Point; but the extremity of it, cut off by a cross stream, is distinguished as Teller's Point. At the head of Croton Bay, where the Post Road crosses it, stands the venerable Van Cortlandt manor-house, built by that fine old patroon in 1683, long before his descendants built the two 64 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. mansions on the Mosholu, in New York ; and it remains one of tlie best examples extant of early colonial architecture. The Van Cortlandts and Phillipses intermarried at an early date, and became virtual masters of all this land on the west bank of the river, from here to the Harlem. It was off Croton (Teller's) Point that the British war-ship Vulture, in which Andre came to his fatal confer- ence with Arnold, anchored to await his return, and received Ar- nold instead, after having been driven from the neighborhood of Verplank's Point, to Andr(*'s ultimate discomfiture. Beyond these narrows, the shore recedes eastward, and the steamer enters the broad expanse of Haverstraw Bay, or Haver- stroo (oat-straw), as the Dutch wrote it. The eastern shore is a mass of hills, increasing northward to where the Highlands form a rugged wall across the whole northern horizon. Westward, the hills strike inland in the lofty and abrupt Verdrietig ridges, on whose farther (southern) slopes the trout brooks combine in Pond's Patent to form the Hackensack; and in the wide tract of com- parative lowlands between this range and the Highlands lies the village of Haverstraw, with the historic headland Stony Point jutting out beyond it. The Hudson is here five miles wide — the broadest part of its course — and, as the channel keeps well over in the line of the sweep of the current along the western bank, details on the eastern shore are not well seen from a steamboat deck. The railway ride along that shore from Sing Sing to Peekskill is, however, a very pleas- ant experience,' passing the stations Croton, Cruger's (near where Baron Steuben so diligently drilled the recruits in '76), and Mont- rose, whence is obtained the best southern view of the Highlands of the Hudson. The view from Croton is one of the most attract- ive landscapes of the whole river. The eye glances backward across the long and graceful outlines of Croton Point to the west- ern mountains, which surprise us by their bold and towering pro- files, one behind the other, and blue with distance. Across the shimmering, sail-dotted expanse of the bay are tiers of green hills sweeping from High Tor around almost to the Dunderberg, and blue wisps of smoke prettily indicate the prosaic brick-yards of Haverstraw. This Croton shore is a place famous not only for rod and line angling, but also for its shad fisheries. The glimpse from a passing steamer or railway train is all that the casual traveler will care to see of Haverstraw, which is a vil- TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 65 lage that has grown up behind some two miles of brick-yards, where hundreds of men are mining and molding and baking the fine clay sediment that settled in the eddies of that nook in the by-gone time when the stream was wider and deeper than now. They even build coffer-dams out into the river to rescue from its bed the valuable brick-clay, and far more than half of all the brick made along the whole course of the river comes from these yards, which reach to Grassy Point, the steamboat landing. The tall peak of the Verdrietig Range, which overshadows the town, is High Tor — a good old Devonshire word, almost hidden vmder the local corruption "Torn." This peak is 810 feet in altitude. In the distance is seen Little Tor. Through the depression at the hither base of High Tor, which, by the way, is ascendible by two or three rough roads, making it a pretty hard climb, comes the old turnpike from the south; and the sudden mew of Haverstraw Bay, which bursts upon the sight as you top the hill, is one of the noblest pictures in the world. Underneath this gap is the long tunnel of the West Shore Rail- road, which emerges upon the high ground overlooking Haver- straw, and keeps along the ridge around the meadows in which the Minnissickuongo loiters before falling into Stony Point Bay. On the western side of the creek is the s'ation West Haverstraw, behind which may be seen the eminence of Treason Hill, where, in the stone house of Dr. Joshua Hett Smith, Arnold and Andre perfected their nefarious bargain. The house still stands promi- nently on the hillside, above the railway track, about a mile north of the Haverstraw Station. THE STORY OF ARNOLD'S TREASON. The story of Arnold's treason and Andre's fate is briefly this: Benedict Arnold was a member of a good family, who dis- tinguished himself early in the war for skill and gallantry, and quickly rose to be a major-general. His financial management, while in command at Philadelphia, led to his being arrested, court-martialed, and sentenced by Congress to be reprimanded by the commander-in-chief. This sentence "Washington carried out as considerately as he could. Arnold, nevertheless, was deeply embittered, but dissembled his anger; and, having been conspic- uous for valor at Ridgefield and Bemis Heights, where he received 6 66 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. grievous wounds, readily obtained, at his own request, when rein- stated in the early autumn of 1780, the command of the "West Point district, the key to the Hudson. He had previously, how- ^ ever, been in negotiation with Sir Henry Clinton, the British f commander at New York, for a desertion to the Crown; and the plan had now so expanded as to include the surrender of this most important group of posts with their garrisons. The time was ripe, as Washington was about to lead a large part of the army out of the way into New England. Whether Arnold initiated this base plot, or whether, while smarting under what he esteemed great wrongs, he had listened to the temptings of the enemy in the person of the noted Tory and officer, Beverly Robinson, is a matter of dispute, but the latter seems more likely. At any rate he was given command of the Highland forts, and took up his residence at "Beverly," the abandoned homestead of Robinson, nearly opposite West Point, where his family joined him. (See page 86.) Here he began at once to intrigue with Clinton through Rob- inson, using a Haverstraw Tory, Joshua Hett Smith, as mes- senger. Finally Clinton sent his sloop of war Vulture up the river, bearing as his emissary his adjutant-general, Maj. John Andr6, accompanied by Beverly Robinson as adviser. Arnold was awaiting its coming. Andre was put ashore in what is now the southern part of Haverstraw village, and there, on the 21st of September, under the shadow of High Tor, the two officers met in a secret discussion of the treachery and its payment. They consulted until daybreak, when Arnold persuaded Andr6 to go with him to the house of Dr. Smith (who had previously assisted them), where breakfast was prepared. While at break- fast, cannon were heard booming, and it was learned that Living- ston had opened upon the Vulture from a battery on Verplank's Point, compelling the ship to drop down to a safer anchorage off Teller's Point. After breakfast Andr6 received the plans of the West Point works and armament, numbers of troops, etc., which he wanted, and Arnold rode home. Andr(3 passed the day expecting to go aboard the Vulture that night, but Smith refused the risk of taking him there, and noth- ing remained but to attempt a journey overland, with Smith as guide. Arnold had furnished them with suitable passes, under an assumed name, but as Andr6 wore the conspicuous uniform of his rank, he borrowed a long overcoat with which to conceal it. They started about sunset, aud crossed the King's Ferry between Stony and Verplank points to the east side of the river, but could not get beyond the American lines that night. Early TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 67 next morning Ihe two proceeded, safely passed the American pickets, and then, almost within sight of the British lines, Smith turned back and Andre went on alone. It happened, however, that an irregular outpost of the three militia-men, Paulding, Williams, and Van Wart, was watching the road here near Tarrytown, They stopped Andre, who, mistaking them for a Tory outpost, instead of showing the pass which would have caused Paulding, their spokesman, to let him go on, avowed himself a British officer who must not be detained. The exhibition of the pass after that imprudence did not satisfy the young patriots. They compelled him to dismount, searched him. and found in his stockings the terrible documents. He offered his captors immense bribes to release him, but they refused, and took him to the nearest American commander, Colonel Jamieson. This officer kept the prisoner, but indiscreetly allowed Andr6 to w-rite, under his assumed name, to Arnold. Meanwhile, Wash- ington had not gone to Connecticut as soon as he anticipated, but this very morning was starting and proposed to take breakfast with Arnold and afterward to inspect the new fortifications at West Point — the very day their garrisons were to be scattered so as to appear unable to resist the pretended attack, and the sur- render was to be consummated. All were sitting at a late breakfast when the messenger de ivered Andre's note to Arnold. Excusing himself, he hastened to his barge by an obscure lane, now called Arnold's Path, and lowed down to the Vulture, which hastened away with him to New York, leaving Andr6 to his fate. An hour or two passed before the evidences of the treachery were presented to Washington. He immediately prepared for an attack, but none was offered, and then organized a court- martial, which, in spite of Andre's immediate and frank avowal ol" all the circumstances by which, as the prisoner himself wrote, "was I betrayed into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise within your posts," and of a vigorous defense and many protci^ts, sentenced him to death as a spy; and, furthermore, to be hung, as Nathan Hale had been, years before, in New York. He was thus executed, in full uniform, upon a hilltop near Wayne's headquarters at Tappan, and buried on the spot.* The unhappy fate of this courageous and talented man excited universal sym- pathy, but the cooler judgment of that time, and history since, have justified his execution. A monument was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey when, in 1821, his body was taken there for reburial; and in 1878 a memorial was built upon the place of his execution by the late Cyrus W. Field, at the request of Dean Stanley, but the latter was destro3^ed by bucolic fanaticism. The three militia-men were rewarded by congress- * The coincidence of the poem of the Coio Chase has already been men- tioned (p. 35); another curious coincidence is that the great whitewood tree in Tarrytown which overspread tbe spot where Andre was caught, and which is described by Irving in the Sketch Book, was destroyed by lightning on the very day that the news of Arnold's death reached that town 1 68 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. ional medals and pensions, and now each has his monument at Tanytown or Peekskill. Arnold received from the English gov- ernment a part of his promised reward (about $30,000) and a colonel's commission. He was sent to wage war in the Carolinas, i and was distinguished by his ferocity against the country people | whose farms and villages he ravaged; but, as few English officers would associate with him, he was sent to England, where he lived out his life in disgrace and loneliness. But had he succeeded, in what a different estimation might he have been held, and how divergent might have been the course of history! Sailing past the low meadows and brick-yards of Grassy Point, with a glance at Montrose Point and Oscawanna Island, a picnic resort near the opposite shore, attention is concentrated upon the rocky headland jutting out from the western shore a mile or two in advance, where a light-house crowns an eminence of tragic fame. That is Stony Point, the scene of one of the most brilliant exploits in American annals; and the projecting shore opposite it, which forms the northern boutidary of Haverstraw Bay, is Verplank's Point. Here, in colonial days, the greatest public ferry on the Hud- son, and for that reason called the King's Ferry, plied between Stony and Verplank's points as a part of the principally traveled road between New England and the South — for there was no "West" in those days. This ferry was extremely useful in the military movements of the Continental army, and the possession of these two points became vitally important in 1779, when the second series of hostile operations began against the Highlands. Hence the history of Stony and Verplank's points is closely connected, and may appropriately be told here. THE BATTLE OF STONY POINT. Stony Point was naturally so-called, "stony" in those days meaning rocky, rather than as we now use the word; Verplank's Point had been so termed since it had been bought by Philip Verplank from Stephen Van Cortlandt, the local Patroon, whose only granddaughter and heiress Verplank had married. The river here became narrow, and fortiiications would command the ascent of the channel by any ships then owned by either party. Therefore the re fortification of the Highlands, after the with- drawal of the British in 1777, included these two headlands in its TAKRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 69 scheme. The season of 1778 was passed in operations elsewhere, but with the advent of the summer of 1779 circumstances began to draw both armies hither, and the Americans at once proceeded to erect defenses upon each headland. Aware of this, Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander at New York, as soon as his Southern expedition returned, led his fleet and a large body of troops northward to put a stop to these preparations. The bulk of his force, under Vaughan, was landed on the eastern shore and ordered to march to the rear of Verplank's Point, where a small but complete and scienti6c battery and block-house (Fort Lafayetti) had already proved useful in defending the ferry from piratical boats. A lesser detachment, with Sir Henry command- ing in person, landed at Haverstraw and marched against the block-house which already protected the party of workmen build- ing redoubts upon its summit. Warned of the intended attack, the Americans set fire to the block -house and fled to the hills. Sir Henry took possession, and during the night artillery was landed, and with vast exertion was dragged up and mounted in the empty embrasures; and at daylight a cannonade was opened up m Verplank's Point. The little garrison of Lafayette replied with spirit, but were outmatched, cut off from escape, and forced to surrender. Nobody was killed on either side. This happened in early June, 1779. The British immediately set themselves to flnish and arm the series of redoubts upon Stony Point, until they had constructed "a little Gibraltar," which they boasted was quite impregnable. The onlj^ land approach to it was by the causeway road to the ferry across a marsh, which was defended by an abatis and picket stations. The rock gradually increases in height as it recedes from the mainland, nearly to the extreme point of the peninsula, whence, from a height of not less than 50 feet, it suddenly descends, on its northern, eastern, and southern faces, to the river, Verplank's Point also had been greatly strengthened, no less than seven carefully constructed and well armed redoubts having been built there, holding a heavy garrison. At this time, warned by these operations that the English were in earnest in their efforts against the passes of the Hudson, Washington had concentrated his army at and above West Point, with headquarters at New Windsor, succeeding with the greatest 70 TABRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. diflSculty in forestalling the enemy, largely on account of the apathy with which CoDgress and the people together regarded the army at that time. Partly to inspire a greater public interest by some showy movement, Washington now organized a body of picked men, styled the Corps of Light Infantry, and called to their command Gen. Anthony Wayne, then at his home in Penn- sylvania, knowing that his dashing character was precisely fitted to the work intended for this quick-moving, hard-hitting body of men. The corps and its impetuous commander, " JMad Anthony," as he was nick-named, were stationed at Fort ]\Ioutgomery, and ordered to retake Stony Point if it could be done. The full account of the reconnoitering, in which Washington himself took part; of the slow, secret, and exceedingly careful prepara- tion, and finally of the assault, forms one of the most romantic tales in American history; and it is no wonder that many a myth- ical incident has become entangled into it, even in the writings of Irving, Lossing, and Sparks. These excrescences have been cleared away by the monograph of Dawson, which has been followed in the ensuing sketch. In the afternoon of July IStli the attacking force gathered as near to Stony Point as was prudent, preserving the utmost secrecy as to their movements. So exces^ively bad w^ere the narrow mountain roads that it was 8p m. before the little army of about 1,000 men reached Springsteel's farm, where it was f rmed into two solid columns, leaving the cavalry of " Liiiht-Horse Harry" Lee and a body of infantry as supports. Each column was led by a compan}^ of picked men, in front of which was a "forlorn hope" of twenty volunteers with axes. When all was ready, orders w^ere given, and for the first time the men understood what was expected of them. Each soldier and officer placed in his hat a piece of wdiite paper to distinguish him from the enemy in the melee that was to ensue; and it was ordered that no gun should be tired, but that the assault should be made wholly with the bayonet, and in silence: and the ofiicers were ordered to put to death, instantly, the first man who should attempt to load his musket or break from the ranks. The w^atchword given was " The fort's our own," and each man w^as instructed to give it "with a Repeated and Loud voice," "when the Works are forced — and not before." As midnight drew near, the two columns advanced side by side in perfect stillness. As they approached the marsh, behind the rocky fortress, the right column, with General Wayne at its head, turned toward the right and crossed the marsh, still flooded with some two feet of tide, in order to gain the beach on the TARRYtOWlSr TO WEST POINT. 7l south side of the Point, while the other, under Butler and Mur- free, crossed the relics of the bridge to an attack of the north- ern and western front. These movements were quickly discovered by the pickets, and the garrison was aroused and fully ready for defense on all sides by the time Wayne had waded through the marsh and Butler had swerved around to the northern slope; and, notwithstanding the noisy firing which was immediately begun by Murfree's North Carolinians in front as a feint, the assailants on both sides were received with a storm of bullets and grape-shot. "By moving along the beach, Wayne's column easily turned the abatis, and was at first somewhat sheltered from the artillery, but the redcoats filled every point of rocks on the slope, and poured down a constant and well-directed fire of musketry and bad language. Not a patriot faltered, however, and with fune- real silence and steadiness the column pressed upward without firing a musket. Turning the inner abatis, the front ranks were within the enemy's lines, and Wayne stood by, ' spear in hand/ to direct the movement, when a musket-ball struck him on the forehead and, glancing, grazed the skull. " Stunned by the blow he instantly fell, but as quickly raised himself on one knee and shouted, 'Forward, my brave fellows; forward!' and turning to Captain Fishbourn and Mr. Archer, his aides, he requested their assistance in moving into the works, where, in case his wound should prove mortal, he desired to die. The troops desired no other incentive, and tliey dashed forward, bayonet in hand, climbing up the rocks from the beach to avenge the fall of their commander and to sustain the honor of the fiag. The advance of the right column, headed by its commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Fleury, led the charge, followed closely by the regiment commanded by Colonel Febiger; and as the former officer sprang up the rampart, and seized the colors of the post and the honors of the da}', in broken terms, nearer French than English, he shouted the watchword, ' The fort's our oicn! ' Almost at the same instant the head of the left column of attack, led by Lieu- tenant-Colonel Stewart, and driving before it the portions of the garrison which had opposed its progress, also entered the works from the opposite side. Further resis'ance would have been madness, and the enemy . . . cried lustily for mercy." No time was lost in turning the guns of the captured fortress against the shipping in the offing, which cut their cables and slipped out of range; and against Verplank's Point, w^hicli wisely refrained from wasting ammunition in replying. The attack consumed only about twenty minutes, and by 2 o'clock a. m. the entire garrison had been secured. About twenty were killed and seventy-five wounded on each side (Wayne recovering from his knockdown in a few moments), and twenty-five officers and about 73 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 1 450 privates were captured, besides the wounded, while some sixty escaped. Money rewards and medals were given to Wayne and the leaders in the assault. The ordnance and stores capt- ured were appraised at over $180,000, and paid for by Congress in cash, which was distributed among the troops engaged, and there was universal rejoicing and a revival of courage. Washington was sensible, however, that in the face of the immediate dispatch of a large force from New York by Clinton, Stony Point could not be held, and he contented himself with destroying the place as well as he could quickly do, and taking away the spoil, which was safely done — with the exception of one large cannon— in spite of the guns of Verplauk's Point. The British soon came in force, landed at Haverstruw, resumed pos- session of and repaired Stony Point, but, failing to beguile " Mr. Washington" into risking a disadvantageous battle, they soon returned to New York, leaving garrisons in these fortresses stronger than ever. The expulsion of the marauding Tryou from Connecticut by Putnam, and the brilliant capture of Pau- lus Hook (Jersey City) by the Cavalier, Lee, which immediately followed the Stony Point victory, aroused mightily the weakened confidence and zeal of the Continental army, and rekindled the spirit of patriotism throughout the whole weary country. At the end of October, Sir Henry Clinton, alarmed for the safety of New York, withdrew many of his outlying troops, and both Stony and Verplank's points were evacuated by the "redcoats" and again taken possession of by the "rebels," who re-opened the King's Ferry. In 1783, Yerplank's Point was made his tempo- rary headquarters by Washington, when he went there with his army to meet the French allies returning from Yirginia on their way to embark at Boston for France, and the soldiers spent September and October in rest and merry-making. On the one- hundredth anniversary of the capture of Stony Point, commem- orative exercises were held on the spot, and the battle was fought over again; the cadet battalion from West Point participating. The light-house on the Point stands upon the site of the fort's magazine. Verplank's Point is now covered with a scant village, farms, and brick-yards. Behind it, on the south side, a great ice-house will be noticed at the extremity of what is called Green's Cove. TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 73 This is the lowest ice-house on the river, and one of the oldest, and is filled from Lake Mealiagh, which expands inland behind it. As the steamer rounds Verplank's Point, or the West Shore's train leaves Tomkins Cove (where now an enormous amount of lime is burned, and broken stone and gravel are sent to the city by the ship-load), and creeps along the base of The Dunderherg (the mountain on the left), with The Spitzenberg towering inland behind Verplank's, he is entering the Hudson Highlands. The Hill Country — Wequehachke of the Mohicans — risus in billows of bush-clothed rock ahead, where the river seems to end in a cul de sac; and at the right, a pretty town is half hiding in a ravine, half scrambling up the sides of green bluffs, where several brooks come down into a quiet bay. This is Peekskill. — Whether or not it be true that Capt. Jans Peek, a Dutch navigator, got stuck in the mud here, soon after the voyage of Henry Hudson, and spent the remainder of his life in contentment by the faithless stream which he had mistaken for the main river, and which came to be called Peek's Kill in conse- quence, certainly the record of the town goes far back toward the beginning of local history. In 1664, several Dutchmen bought land here at Sachoes — as the place was called by the local band of Indians (Kitchawonks) — and it was royally confirmed in 1665, as Ryck's Patent. By 1764, several English families had settled near here, and before the end of the century the village was of importance, and had several churches. Peekskill was not itself the scene of any very striking incidents of the Revolutionary War, but it was in the midst of the theater of almost constant campaigns. Fort Independence was just above the village, as its ruins testify. Troops were quar- tered here from time to time, and Washington often visited the town and Continental Village, a fortified camp a few miles north- east. At one period. Gen. Israel Putnam was in command, and here " Old Put" caught the spy. Palmer, and wrote that famous note to a British officer, who interposed in his behalf: "Edward 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." Annexing, two hours later, that curt addendum, "P. S. He is hanged." Here too, in the old rural cemetery by the hospital-church (St. Peter's), is buried John Paulding, the captor of Andre, to whom the city of New York has erected a monumental shaft. He died here in 1818, leaving several sons, one of whom, Admiral Pauldingi became distinguished as a naval officer. 74 TARTIYTOWN TO WEST POINT. Peekskill has grown steadily, and has remained the residence of many families whose branches became rich and famous else- where; while it has attracted to it, as a summer home, many prom- inent New Yorkers. The most widely known of these, no doubt, are the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, whose farm, in which he took the greatest delight, was two miles east of the landing, and Chauncey M. Depew, president of the New York Central Rail- road, whose pillared house is not shaded by magnificent chestnuts, as one might expect to see from the great crop of stories which that genial humorist professes to have gathered in his native vil- lage. That this should be a favorite place of summer residence is not surprising. The situation, at the southern entrance to the Highlands, is most pleasing and healthful ; and the rivers and hills present ever-changing pictures that sometimes attain to grandeur in their effects of sun and shade. The streets wander in all sorts of directions up and down and around the hills, and are densely shaded, while every house has spacious gardens, the smallest of which are thriftily kept. The country roads are excellent, and charming drives may be taken in every direction. "Gallows Hill, with its folk lore and revolutionary legends; its rudely marked graves, wherein lies the dust of patriot dead; its ruins of the magazines destroyed by Tryon and his Tory crew, the dismantled ovens, and the ' Wayside Inn,' in which Andre tarried after his arrest, are less than three miles away. In the east room of this old-time hostelry are yet shown the marks of his military boots, made as he restlessly paced up and down its nar- row limits. The tomb of Paulding, one of his captors, is just to the eastward, and St. Peter's Church, built in 17G7, and in which Washington once worshiped, stands but a few yards away, guard- ing the dust of Maj.-Gen. Seth Pomeroy, the first commander- in-chief of the patriot army. The Indian spring from which the Mohicans drank, and which ebbs and flows with the tide, is on the north side of Gallows Hill, overlooking the site of Continental Village. Here are found the remains of the revolutionary bar- racks. West of the Wayside Inn is the Van Cortlandt mansion, built by ex-Lieutenant-Governor Gen. Pierre Van Cortlandt, a distinguished patriot and statesman of colonial and revolution- ary days. Six miles to the south is the Van Cortlandt manor- house, built by Stephanus Van Cortlandt in 1683." The social and educational advantages of the town are note- worthy. Of the schools, the most widely known is the Peekskill Military Academy, founded in 1838, and occupying the large buildings whose telescope-dome is visible from the river. It and the Worrall preparatory military school are under the con- TAKRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 75 trol of the regents of the State University. A large school for girls is St. Gabriel's, under the care of the Protestant Epis- copal Church. The conspicuous brick buildings next the river are tlie convent, school, and chapel of the Roman Catholic Sister- hood of St Francis (third order), who conduct, in the " Academy of Our Lady of Angels," a large school for girls. These pious women also have the care of an orphanage containing over 1,000 little waifs of humanity. The public schools also are ample and well managed; one standing on the historic eminence. Drum Hill, wherein, it has been written, are stored the drum-beats of the Revolution, to be evoked by him who treads upon its sur- face. The nucleus of a free library bas been established, and all sorts of benevolent, educational, and fraternal societies exist. Peekskill is strong commercially. The population now approaches 10,000, but ihe village government is retained. The leading industry is the making of stoves, in which $1,000,000 is invested and 1,000 persons are employed. This dates from 1835, when the present great Union Stove Works were founded, followed since by seven or eight other establishments. The making of brick, fire-brick, and the machinery and apparatus used in brick- making, form another extensive series of industries. In addi- tion, this thriving village has several machine shops, two paper mills, and a large number of lesser factories of various kinds, including a yacht and boat building yard. The town has public water and a complete sewerage system; is lighted by gas and elec- tricity; maintains uniformed police and fire departments, and free mail delivery. Its public buildings are good, and the new Depew Opera House is of the first class. There are two long-estab- lished banks, four weekly newspapers, and an energetic board of trade. Peekskill is the terminal station of the suburban trains of the Hudson River Railroad, which, with other trains, gives it hourly communication with New York (forty three miles); is a calling-place for the steamer Emmeline, which runs daily between Haverstraw and New^burgh; and has a daily New York boat of its own in the Chrystenah. A ferry crosses the river to Jones' Point (Caldwell Landing). Peekskill lies mainly upon the southern bank of Peekskill Bay, which receives three creeks — the Peek's Kill, or Sachoes, and its two branches, Annsville and Sprout creeks ; the Canopus, aiid a third. The railway crosses the bay through a fleet of anchored pleasure boats, and then curves around the base of a spur of the Highlands called. Manito Mount. At the head, of this little bay, where a level plateau, long known as Roa Hook, stands about eighty feet above tlic streams on cjich side, is the State Camp of Instruction for the National Guard. Here, during the summer, each regiment is brought in turn to encamp 76 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. and be drilled iii the practical work of campaigning. Though the men live in tents in true soldier style, the grounds have been carefully arranged in respect to sewerage and sanitation, the "streets" of tents are lighted by electricity, a large mess-hall forms an eating-house for the officers, a wharf olfers a convenient landing-place for steamers, and a model battery affords object lessons in artillery practice. Remembering that almost every point within view was fortified, and every vale a camping-ground, in the Avar for our independence, no spot more appropriate, as well as delightfid, for the purpose could have been chosen. A ferry communicates with Peekskill, and visitors are welcomed at the camp at all suitable hours. The Passage of the Hudson Highlands now begins. This is regarded a-^ the culmination of the journey in point of scenery, but is perhaps anticipated with too large expectations by most travelers; The railroads on each side skirt llie water's edge through the whole length of the gorge; now and then dodging through a tunnel or behind a rocky wall, but, on the whole, giv- ing as good a view as one obtains from the boats; better, in some respects, for the mountains, when looked at from the water's edge, appear taller than from the high decks of a "day-liner." Of the two railroads, that upon the eastern bank offers the more interesting outlook, since it commands a sight of all the old forts, West Point, and the Cro' Nest group of hills; but the view from the western shore is also very interesting. None of these heights much exceeds 1,500 feet, and this is attained only in Storm King, so that it is only by courtesy that they can be called "mountains." All are merely huge hillocks of primitive rocks — a part of the Archccan framework of the continent— covered with brush, from which all the tall timber was long ago taken away, and the newer trees are cut as soon as they become of useful size. Fortunately, however, this brush is close and green, for no fires have swept through it for many years, and, to the casual glance, looks like the original forest. At several points, however, the cliffs have been and continue to be cut away to supply crushed stone, leav- ing ugly scars, and marring the banks with unsightly buildings. Upon none of these hills are there any signs of agriculture, for there is no cultivable soil, nor many residences, since their ledges are too steep and inaccessible. All civilization, therefore, is near TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 77 the water's edge, except upon the plateaus about Cranston's and West Point, and about Garrison's opposite, where it is masked by trees, for the most part. In the moonlight, or upon a day when a storm is raging in these narrows, or with the twilight shadows filling the gorge, half hiding and half revealing the jutting rocks and swelling hills, a majestic and picturesque interest of no mean degree belongs to the scene; but in the broad light of a clear sum- mer noon, as most tourists see it, the passage of the Highlands is monotonous, and far from the "grand" or "sublime" spectacle it has often been styled. These Highlands appear to best advantage, undoubtedly, from a distance, as when approaching them from the south, or gazing backward from Newburgh. "The passage of the Hudson," Willis once remarked, "is doomed to be re-written, and we will not swell its great multi- tude of describers," Amen! But another remark of Willis is well worth repetition in this connection: "The qualities of the Hudson," says the genial author of Rural Letters, "are those most likely to impress a stranger. It chances felicitously that the traveler's first entrance beyond the sea- board is usually made by the steamer to Albany. The grand and imposing outlines of rock and horizon answer to his anticipations of the magnificence of a new world; and if he finds smaller rivers and softer scenery beyond, it strikt s him but as a slighter linea- ment of a more enlarged design. To the great majority of tastes, this, too, is the scenery to live among. The stronger lines of natural beauty affect most tastes; and there arc few who would select country residence by beauty at all, who would not sacrifice something lo their preference for the neighborhood of sublime scenery. The quiet, the merely rural — a thread of a rivulet instead of a broad river — a small and secluded valley, rather than a wide extent of view, bounded by bold mountains, is the choice of but few. The Hudson, therefore, stands usually fore- most in men's aspirations for escape from the turmoil of cities, but, to my taste, though there are none more desirable to see, there are sweeter rivers to live upon." • But apart from the question of scenery, the passage of the Highlands is full of entertainment to every one interested in colonial history, or in the modern manifestations of summer pleasure-seeking. Here at the southern entrance, where the foot of the Dunder- berg is stretched out against the current, is Kidd's Point (with its village and railway station, Jones' Point, or Caldwell Land- 78 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POlN'T. imj), where the ground has been dug over aud over in search the renowned pirate's buried treasures. " On the strength of a cannon fished from the water," we are told, "an audacious adventurer proclaimed that Kidd's pirate vessel had foundered in a storm on this spot, with untold treasures on board, and that the vessel had been penetrated with a very long auger, which had brought up pieces of silver in its thread. A stock company was formed; shares were readily sold; and a coffer-dam, with powerful steam-engines, was built over the supposed resting-place of the ship." So was another disaster added to the long and gay record of financial romances and human gullibility. The Dunderberg (Thunder Mount) itself is a massive hill, 1,100 feet high, along the base of which are small farms upon a terrace that plainly marks an ancient river bank. A ferry runs hourly between this place and Peekskill; and picnic parties often ascend to the summit, where an attractive view rewards them for a not very arduous climb. This summit has been bought by a corporation, which proposes to erect a hotel there, and to make a pleasure-park upon Jones' Point, at the base, connecting the two by a spiral gravity railway about thirteen miles long. It will be interesting to learn, when this is done, whether it dislodges the mischievous and rollicking little goblins who were wont, in the good old times, to make merry upon the mountain, during the storms that the ancient sloop-captains suspected them of contriv- ing out of pure devilry. " One time," the veritable Diedrich Knickerbocker assures us, "a sloop, in passing by the Dunderberg, was overtaken by a thunder-gust that came scouring round the mountain, and seemed to burst just over the vessel. Though tight and well ballasted, she labored dreadfully, and the water came over the gunwale. All the crew were amazed, when it was discovered that there was a little while sugar-loaf hat on the mast-head, known at once to be the hat of the Head of the Dunderberg. Nobody, however, dared to climb to the mast-head and get rid'of this terrible hat. The sloop continued laboring and rocking, as if she would have rolled her mast overboard; and she seemed in continual danger either of upsetting or of running on shore. In this way she drove quite through the Highlands, until she passed Pollopel's Island, where, it is said, the jurisdiction of the Dunderberg potentate ceases. No sooner had she passed this bourn, than the little hat sprung up into the air like a top, whirled up all the clouds into a vortex, and hurried them back to the summit of the TARllYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 79 Dunderberg, while the sloop righted herself, and sailed on as quietly as if in a mill-pond. Notliing saved her from' utter wreck but the fortunate circumstance of having a horseshoe nailed against the mast — a most wise precaution against evil spirits, since adopted by all the Dutch captains that navigate this haunted river." Our course turns almost at right angles around the protruding foot of the Dunderberg as we ascend the river, and we find our- selves entering the narrowest and straightest of its reaches, called The Horse Race, or, more shortly, 21ie Race — a treacherous place for sailing craft. The mountain on the immediate right is Manito, and beyond it is seen the profile of Anthony's Nose, pierced at the tip by a railway tunnel. On the left, an amphi- theater of foot-hills opens backward to the slope of Bear Mount (1,350 feet high), north of which are the loftier slopes of Mount Rascal, Black Rock, and other summits in the rear of Cro' Nest. Between the Dunderberg and Bear Mount, and across the hollow at our left, winds the ancient road that Clinton followed in '77, and along which Wayne's troops crept stealthily on that eventful June evening when they went to attack Stony Point; and Sinni- pink, one of the many ponds hidden in those hollows (Highland Lake of modern picnickers, careless of the old traditions), has been "Bloody Pond," or "The Hessians' Lake," to the country people ever since the Fort Montgomery fight. Tradition says that several of the hated mercenaries fell upon its shores, and were thrown into its dark waters; and the older and more experienced among them, who have seen the vainglory of scoffing youth brought to contrition again and again, relate that still upon overcast and gusty nights, such as come among those mountains in midsummer, ghostly apparitions, in helmets and vast riding-boots, may be seen flitting across the dark bosom of the pond; and that there floats to the frightened ear the whisper- ing of commands in a strange tongue, and the rattle of ghostly sabers and harness. This thrilling rehearsal of a sanguinary past is more artistic fiction than most of the tales one hears, but it is fiction nevertheless. Yet the truth is oven more horrifying; for into that pond were thrown, after the capture of Fort Mont- gomery, all the bodies of the American dead, unshrived and forgotten. Down by the riverside, here, is lona Island — a grape farm and 7 so TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. a resort for picnics, which come from the city in barges, or by the railroad that sliirts its inland border where it is separated from the mainland by a marshy inlet, called Doodletown Harbor —the seaport of Doodletown, a city of the hills, a mile or two above this peaceful Piraeus. Anthony's Nose, or St. Anthony's Nose, as it used to be written sometimes, is the long ridge sloping down to the river on the right, and causing the bend in the current at the top of the Horse Race, The explanation of this extraordinary name for a very ordinary heap of rocks, some 1,228 feet high, has set every- body guessing. It was just the provocation needed by Irving, who accounts for it by one of his ridiculous Knickerbocker stories. A more serious explanation is that given by Freeman Hunt as told him by Gen. Pierre Van Cortlandt, the owner of the mountain, in 1835, as follows: "Before the Revolution, a vessel was passing up the river, under the command of a Capt. Anthony Ilogans; when imme- diately opposite this mountain, the mate looked rather quizzically, first at the mountain, and then at the captain's nose. The cap- tain, by the way, had an enormous nose, which was not unfre- quently the subject of good-natured remark, and he at once understood the allusion. 'What!' says the captain, 'does that look like my nose? Call it then, if you please, Anthony's Nose.' " Anthony's Nose may be reached, on land, by a road which branches off to the left somewhat over a mile beyond Annsville, on the road from Peekskill to Garrisons. Excavations have been made for the piers of a railway bridge there, but the work long ago ceased. Montgomery Creek is the modern name of the pretty stream in old times called Poplopen's Kill — after an influential Indian who dwelt in its valley — the mouth of which is in the ravine directly opposite Anthony's Nose. Down this deep and narrow ravine come the waters of a large circle of highland brooks and ponds, tumbling in pretty cascades. On the elevated headlands that confront one another and the river at the mouth of this ravine, there were erected, early in the Revolutionary War, two forts, Montgomery, on the northern side, and Clinton, a less impor- tant outwork, on the southern bluff. Their guns would sweep the river in both directions, and the greatest reliance was placed TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 81 upon their ability to resist assault, and guard agaijist aay further ascent of the Hudson by British ships. How well they answeied these expectations, in 1777, may be read in any history. The ensuing notes closely follow the narrative in Lossing's Life and Times of Philip Schuyler: THE FALL OF THE HIGHLAND FORTS. In September, 1777, Gen. Burgoyne, with an army of British regulars and Hessian and Canadian auxiliaries, was attempting to carry out the instructions of the British ministry, who wished him to open communication along the Hudson between the English forces in Quebec and those in New York, and thereby cut the United States in two. As Mr. Ruttenber remarks, it was Sher- man's "march to the sea," without Sherman's success. He had been checked and invested by Schuyler and Gates near Saratoga, and wrote lo Sir Henry Clinton in New York that he must be relieved by October 12th if he were to be saved. Clinton, who had been waiting for slow reinforcements from England, made all haste, as soon as these arrived, to go to Burgoyne's relief, and late in September his war ships and flatboats, carrying and con- veying from 3,000 to 4,000 men, started up the Hudson. The American forces of this district, not exceeding 2,000 men, were commanded by Gen. Putnam at Peekskill, while Gen. George Clinton, Governor of the State, was in special charge of Fort Montgomery, with his brother James as commander of Fort Clinton. Putnam sent a statement of the threatening attitude of the enemy to Gov. Clinton, then presiding over the first session of the first State Legislature, at Kingston, and begged reinforce- ments, but none were to be had. Hie defenses of the Hudson were concentrated here where the river was narrow and curved, and the rough hills formed a nat- ural protection to the flanks of the position. Besides these two forts, Fort Independence stood on the shoulder of Mount Manito, just above Peekskill; and the navigation of the river was obstructed by a hooin and chain stretched from Anthony's Nose to the point of rocks just below the present iron railroad bridge at the foot of the crag upon which Fort Clinton stood, and the place is still known as Chain Point. A. railway sus- pension bridge has been planned to span the river precisely at this place, and an excavation for its pier has already been cut on Anthony's Nose, but work has ceased. A part of this Fort 82 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. Montgomery chain was brought from Lake Champlain, where Schuyler had made it serve a similar purpose in 1775; and there were moored above it some gunboats, intended to prevent an enemy from reaching it in boats to cut a passage through. The strength of these defenses determined Clinton to avoid a direct attack, and attempt their downfall by stratagem. Landing at Verplank's Point, then unguarded,he impressed the rather heed- less Putnam with the belief that the first objects of his attack were Peekskill and Fort Independence. Putnam drew reinforcements from the forts that could ill spare them, and took up a defensive position in the hills; but instead of assailing him, the British com- mander suddenly recrossed, with 2,000 men, at the King's Ferry, in a dense fog on the morning of October 6th, leaving about 1,000, chiefly loyalists, at Verplank's Point to keep up the aspect of menace toward Peekskill. At the same time, the war vessels were ordered to anchor oif Fort Independence, within cannon shot of the Highland forts, and to fire upon them and upon the vessels above the chain. " Piloted by a Tory, Sir Henry made a forced circuitous march from Stony Point around the southern and western bases of the Duuderberg, through rugged defiles, for several miles, and at 8 o'clock, in the pass between that height and Bear Mount, his force was separated into two parties, iu each of which were many Hessian hirelings. One division, composed of 400 loyalists under Col, Beverly Robinson, and 500 British regulars and Hessians, was led by Lieut. -Col. Campbell, and directed to go around Bear Mount, and fall upon Fort Montgomery; while the other division, destined for Fort Clinton, and full 1,200 in number, was led by Gen. Yaughan, accompanied by Sir Henry. Ex- Go v. Tryon was left in the valley with a rear-guard. "Meanwhile Gov. Clinton, who, on Sunday evening, was informed of the landing of troops at Verplank's Point, and who had brought to Fort Montgomery 400 recruits, had sent out a reconnoitering party at dawn on Monday morning. Three miles south of the fort, this party fell in with the British advance guard, and made a sharp, running fight as it retreated to the breastworks, and reported the approach of the enemy, whose advance was con- tested all the way from the Dunderberg. Gov. Clinton then sent a messenger to Putnam for aid. The man turned traitor and deserted to the British. Putnam, in the meantime, was astonished at hearing nothing from the enemy, who, he supposed, was about to attack him at Peekskill. He went out to reconnoiter in the afternoon, and did not return until firing was heard in the direc- tion of the forts, and when, at the, instanf^^i of riol, Humphreys, TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 83 reinforcements had been sent — though too late —from the camp at Continental Village near Peekskill." Such is the account which Lossing gives; but the published diary of one of Clinton's officers says that he himself, on the second night before the attack, personally informed Putnam of the position of affairs, and was refused attention; and that he returned, and took part in the whole fight, and was among the prisoners. He declaretl that he found Putnam at "Beverly," where the ' ' young Ladys and the mother, the night Before the Fort was Taken, Entertained Gen. Putnam with that Pleasing a tention that he forgot what he had been informed of the night before, by myself." As the husband and father of these ladies was in the attacking party, it is fair to surmise that they knew what was going on, and were exercising their fascinations for the express purpose of distracting the attention of the American officer from his duties of defense. While Campbell was making his way around Bear Mount, Vaughan and Sir Henry pressed toward their goal, along a way near the river. At a narrow pass, between Lake Sinnipink and the steep bank of the Hudson, they encountered an abatis, and there they had a severe fight with the Americans. These were pushed back, and, at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, both posts were invested. At 5, a demand for the surrender of Fort Clinton— which was scarcely more than an outwork — was sent in, and scornfully refused, whereupon a simultaneous assault upon both fortresses was made by the troops, and by the vessels-of-war in the river. Lossing proceeds: "The garrisons were composed mostly of untrained militia. They behaved nobly, and kept up the defense vigorously, against a greatly superior force of disciplined and veteran sol- diers, until twilight, when they were overpowered, and sought safety in a scattered retreat to the neighboring mountains. Many escaped, but a considerable number were slain or made prisoners. The brothers who commanded the forts escaped. The Governor fled across the river in a boat, and at midnight was with Gen. Putnam at Continental Village, concerting measures for stopping the invasion. James, forcing his way to the rear, across the high- way bridge, and receiving a bayonet wound in the thigh, safely reached his home at New Windsor. A sloop of ten guns, the frigate Montgomery — twenty four guns — and two row-galleys, sta- tioned near the boom and chain for their protection, slipped their 84 TAKRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. cables and attempted to escape, but there was no wind to fill their sails, and they were burned by the Americans to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. The frigate Congress — twenty-eight guns — which had already gone up the river, shared the same fate on the flats near Fort Constitution, which was abandoned." [Both frigates were built at or near Poughkeepsie, and never went to sea.] " By the light of the burning vessels, the fugitive garrisons made their way over the rugged mountains, and a large portion of them joined Gen, Clinton at New Windsor the next day. They had left many of their brave companions behind, who, to the number of 250, had been slain or made prisoners. The British, too, had parted with many men and brave ofliicers. Among the latter was Lieut. -Col. Campbell. [Sir Henry himself narrowly escaped a grape-shot.] "Early in the morning of the 7th of October, the river obstruc- tions between Fort Montgomery and Anthony's Nose, which cost the Americans $250,000, were destroyed, and a light flying squad- ron, commanded by Sir James Wallace, and bearing a large num- ber of land troops under Gen. Vaughan, sailed up the river on a marauding expedition, with instruci ions from Sir Henry to scatter desolation in their paths. It was hoped that such an expedition would draw troops from the Northern army [Gates'] for the protection of the country below, and thereby assist Burgoyne." From all this, however, Burgoyne received no advantage, mainly owing to one of those miscarriages of plans which seem to have been constantly happening in that war, where English spies and couriers were always coming to grief. On the morning of the 9tli, when Gen. Clinton was leaving New Windsor with the little force he could hastily gather, in an attempt to keep pace with the British squadron on that side of the river, and resist their landings, while Putnam, who had abandoned Peekskill, endeav- ored to protect the people of the eastern shore — on this morning, two strangers blundered headlong into the camp from the south, and failed to discover that they were among the soldiers of the Amer- ican instead of the English Clinton — because these were clothed in captured British uniforms not yet dyed— until carried to the governor's quarters. Then one of them hastily swallowed some- thing, whereuix)n an emetic was administered and a silver bullet was thrown up. He swallowed it again, but under a threat of being immediately hanged and opened, was made to take a second emetic with the same result. The bullet, yet preserved in Albany, was an elliptical shell, joined together in the middle, containing nothing more than an announcement of the victory, "andnoth- TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 85 ing between us and Gates"; but its failure to reach Burgoyne deprived him of hope, and led to his surrender only a few days later (October 13th). Nevertheless, Clinton's capture of the High- lands was of indirect service to him, for when Gates heard of it, and of the depredations of the men and ships ascending the Hud- sou, he felt inclined to grant to Burgoyne easier terms than were at first proposed, and hasten southward to drive back the invaders. Forts Montgomery and Clinton may still be traced, though reduced by a century of weathering, and overgrown with trees and brush. The former is easily accessible by a path which leads up from the railroad track at the little tool house a hun- dred yards below the station Fort Montgomery, which is the station for a farming and summering village, of the same name, on the turnpike. As the steamer swings around Anthony's Nose, and enters Crescent Reach, masses of mountains loom up ahead — the true Highlands. On the left, the heights of Cranston's — marked by its two great hotels — and of West Point, crowned by the ruins of Fort Putnam, fall steeply down to the river, whose bank there is a line of rugged precipices, beneath which the railroad runs 'along the beach; and on beyond are seen the summits of Cro' Nest. On the right, the conical, detached elevation of Sugar Loaf is prominent near at hand, while in the distance are the clustered heights of Bull Hill (Mount Taurus), The Turk's Face (Breakneck), and South Beacon Hill. The land on the right is in Putnam County, which succeeds Westchester County at Anthony's Kose ; and that on the left is in Orange County, which begins at Fort Montgomery, where Rockland County terminates, and Monroe County corners between them at the mouth of Montgomery Creek. Along the elevated highway, on the western side, which, though not far away, is quite out of sight from the river, dwell many persons of note, whose estates come to the brink of the bluff. Near Fort Montgomery lives John S. Gilbert; then the Pells; and a little farther, just opposite Sugar Loaf, J. Pierpont Morgan, the merchant philanthropist. Farther up this beautiful road are the elegant places of Alfred Pell, Charles Tracey, Capt. S. B. Roe, on the Satterlee estate, the " Benny Havens " cottage, and John Bigelow, at " The Squirrels." Here tbe line of crags is 86 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. I broken by a ravine, where, in times of freshet, a stream leaps over a ledge in the pretty cataract, long ago named Buttermilk Falls; and on the plateau at the head of this ravine is the village . of Higliland Falls, which is not only a market town and place of f shipment for dairy products and fruit in large quantities, but a resort for summer boarders. At the mouth of the ravine is a . steamboat-landing, touched at by several lines of boats, and the railway station Cranston's. It is a busy spot in summer. The " Parry House " is a flourishing hotel on the hillside, south of the ravine; while on the northern bluff, overlooking the river, and conspicuous from steamboats or the Hudson River Railroad trains, is " Cranston's Hotel," one of the oldest hotels in the valley. In summer " Cranston's," as the whole locality is familiarly styled, is a very lively, populous, and fashionable place, and a ferry is operated between the landing and Garrison's. The day-line boats, however, stop only at "West Point, where stages from Highland Falls meet the boat and trains. The Eastern Shore, here, is comparatively low, and the Hudson River Railroad had no serious difficulties to encounter. There, too, the ancient highway is near the river, and along it are many fine residences. The first of these, noticeable, is that of F. A. Livingston, on the southern side of a little cove. The upper side of this cove is formed by a small rocky headland, where a small wharf and some stone buildings are visible. This is Beverly Dock, where Benedict Arnold embarked in his barge to flee to the Vulture, on the morning of Andre's arrest; and whence Washington and his staff took a boat for West Point a few , moments later. And " Beverly," the mansion and farm of Col. I Beverly Robinson, was a quarter of a mile back, upon the fertile terrace at the foot of Sugar Loaf. The locality still bears that name, but the house was burned in the spring of 1893. It was a quaint old-time mansion, and visitors used to be shown, in tlie principal bedchamber, the names of many officers of the Con- tinental army, carved on the mantel- piece by them as from time to time they spent one or more nights there. Just above is the residence of Mrs. Underhill; and near by, at " Glencliffe," in a brick house on this bluff, dwelt Hamilton Fish, Sr. It now appears that Sugar Loaf is the southernmost of a range of connected hills parallel with the river, and with the greater TARRYTO^SVTSr TO WEST POINT. 87 heights eastward; and the eye will be attracted to a lofty white building perched upon the very summit of the hill, next north- ward. This is the house of the late Wm. H. Osborne, and the prospect from the tower embraces the whole extent of the High- lands. On the northern slope of the same hill, much lower down, is the new house of a son, also made of white limestone quarried on the property. A little way beyond, and not seen from the river, is the spacious estate of Samuel Sloan, president of the Delaware & Lackawanna Railroad Co. The hill behind him is named Redoubt Mountain, and is crowned by Mr. Sloan's skeleton tower, which gives a view of great breadth and beauty. Still farther north, on the same high ground, is the old and favorite Highland Hotel (stages meet the train at Garrison's station); "Cedar Crest," the residence of J. M. Toucey, general manager of the New York Central Railroad; and the home of the Rev. Walter Thompson, rector of St. Phillips-in-the-Highlands. Nearer the river, and in sight of passengers on steamboats, is a line of costly properties. The first above the estate of the late Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, upon a point directly opposite Cranston's Hotel, is "Arden," the estate of Col. T. B. Arden, above which is that of H. W. Belcher, still the residence of his widow; then comes the home of Hamilton Fish, Jr., marked by its huge red chimneys; then the home of Mrs. Col. S. M. Ben- jamin. The yellow and white house just above the station is that of W. Livingston; upon the bank of the cove beyond lives John T. Sherman; and beyond that is seen the Gouverneur estate, now occupied by Gen. Louis Fitzgerald. This collection of costly and splendid country-seats, including many not mentioned, because not conspicuous, constitutes a dis- trict termed Garrison's. It has a railway station that is impor- tant to the general public, mainly the station for the Highland and Croft hotels, and for the Ferry to West Point (fare 15 cents). The locality, then known as MandimVs, saw much marching and camping of troops, and contains the remains of batteries, but experienced no fighting. " The traveler has now arrived under the shadow of the bold promontory of primitive rock, flanked by shaggy cliffs, and com- manded by wooded heights in the rear, which constitutes West Point, and bears upon its plateau the United States Military Academy. ^8 TARRYfOWN TO WEST POINT. ? THE TOUR OF WEST POINT. f West Point is probably the most interesting stopping-place upon the Hudson for the casual traveler; and every one is strongly advised to arrange his journey so as to spend a few hours there It is possible to reach or leave the place almost hourly by boat or one or the other of the railways; and a hotel exists, where a longer halt may be made in comfort when the house is not crowded A favorite plan is to go up from New York on a morning boat spend three or four hours at the Post, and return by the after- noon boat down. Midday, however, is the least favorable time as the drills, parade, and other picturesque incidents take place mamly toward sunset. Twenty-four hours can be pleasantly and profitably spent here. From the steamboat landing roads diverge right and left up the hill; that to the left goes to Cranston's; that to the right to the Military Academy. An omnibus and carriages meet all trains and boats; and if you have baggage and are going to the hotel it IS advisable to ride; otherwise, the distance up the hill is none too great to be walked.* At the top of the first slope, leave the road, and take the foot- path slanting upward toward the right. blnff ^^n hrfr?i"S.,^f r '' ^^^^f. '^^"^ '^^^^^ ^^^ht, at the brink of the blutt-abick building with an arched roof, completed in 1855 when Gen (then Colonel) Robert E. Lee was superintendent + It is floored with t^n-bark, and here the cadets are taught ho sLan' ship and cava ry exercises. This is the most interesting of all L dnlls. Outside stairways admit spectators to galleries; but these are small and uncomfortable. Just beyond it are the stables, with quarters for 100 horses ihese and all equipments pertaining to this arm of the service are^cared for by the detachment of regular cavalry slationed TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 89 The path brings the visitor out upon the main street of the Post, which here skirts the edge of the plateau. At his left, facing the river, is Grant Hall, or the Mess Hall, as it is more familiarly known. This building may be visited between meal hours by those who wish to see the collection of fine portraits which adorns its walls. The list is now as follows: 1. Maj.-Gen. John F. Rey- nolds. 2. Maj.-Gen. John Sedgwick. 8. Col. J. J. Abert. 4. Maj.-Gen. John M. Schofield. 5. Gen. U. S. Grant. 6. Gen. William T. Sherman. 7. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan. 8. Maj.-Gen. E. O. C. Ord. 9. Brig.-Gen. Wesley Merritt. 10. Capt. Brad- ford R. Alden. 11. Brvt. Maj.-Gen. G. K. Warren. 12. Brvt. Maj.-Gen. Thomas Swords. 13. Maj.-Gen. George Meade. 14 Brvt. Maj.-Gen. R. O. Tyler. 15. Col. J. Gilchrist Benton. 16. Maj.-Gen. J. B. Ricketts. 17. Maj.-Gen. George B. McClellan. 18. Maj.-Gen. C. F. Smith. 19. Brvt. Maj.-Gen. Stewart Van Vleit. 20. Brvt. Brig.-Gen. T. J. Rodman". 21. Maj.-Gen. H. W. Halleck. 22. Brvt. Maj.-Gen. G. W. Cullum. 23. Brig.- Gen. Robert Anderson. 24. Maj.-Gen. H. W. Slocum. 25. Col. J. M. Wilson. 26. Brig.-Gen. Daniel Tyler. 27. Brig.-Gen. Geo. Stoneman. Beyond Grant Hall is the Hospital. Immediately in front of the observer, the new Academic Building, which was finished for use in 1895; and at his right is the Administration Building, or Post headquarters, on the east side of the street. It is not open to visitors in general, but makes appropriate a few words here as to the organization and status of the school. The United States Military Academy dates from the close of the Revolution. It was natural that a nation, welded, as the American had been, in the slow fires of a long war, and keeping its military chiefs in the highest civil offices, should think of future wars, and the education of young men to soldierly duties. Wash- ington, Knox, and others urged the organization of a National Academy where regular instruction in the art of war should be given; and in 1794 Congress authorized a corps of artillerists and engineers which should be kept stationed at West Point, and under constant training; and enjoined the attachment to it of thirty-two students, or " cadets." In 1798, this corps was enlarged; special instructors " in the arts and sciences" were appointed, and cadet became a definite rank between that of sergeant and ensign (now second lieutenant). The cadets are thus regularly members of the army, and subject to its laws the same as other commissioned oflacers. Jb'ormeriy, they were enlisted for five years, but now for eight; and the United States claims their services for four years after graduation, though the Government is not in duty bound to find a commission in the army for every graduate. Step by step, the school was segregated and enlarged, until in 90 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 1812 it was opened to 260 studeuts, and assumed somewhat of its present form. Tlie first superintendent was Gen. Jonathan WlHiams, and one of his professors was F. R. Hassler, who after- ward beeame distinguished in the Coast Survey. Others succeeded him, until 1817, Avhen Col. Sylvamis Thayer, now revered as the " Fjither of tlie Academy," took command, and brought the school into a far higher condition than it had previously known. It was he who introduced the present uniform, organization, rules of study, reports, etc., substantially in vogue to-day, and to which tlie Academy owes its discipline and effectiveness. He remained until 183B, when he resigned, and was followed by other officers in more rapid succession, until now the rule obtains that the superintendent and officers detailed to the Post or school shall not, as a rule, serve more th^n four years. The ' ' professors," however, each of whom has charge of an educational department, ■ are appointed for life, or as long as they continue to give satis- I faction; and have the assimilated rank of lieutenant-colonel, or I colonel, after a service of ten years, and are subject to retirement. | They are thus army officers, in effect, and their assistants are wholly derived from the service. Thus the military idea is diffused throughout tbe whole course of training, which is mainly scientific and practical; too much so, in the opinion of some modern critics, who insist that the literary side of the edu- 1 cation is too little regarded. West Point, however, is not only a school, but a regular army post — perhaps the oldest in tbe United States, as such; and the suj)erintendent is commander of the whole Post, including the Academy, and having in his staff the usual adjutant, quarter- master, etc., as at any army station. Next in rank to him is the commandant of cadets, who is commander of the Cadet Battalion. This battalion is divided into four infantry companies, each commanded by a regular officer of the army, detailed for the purpose, and officered under him by cadets from the upper classes, who are appointed for general excellence in military deportment and studies, and accept the distinction as an honor. There is also a cadet adjutant, who is the highest cadet officer in rank except the four captains. It will please the readers of Capt. Cliarles King's delightful novels of military life to learn that during his cadetship he was promoted through various giades to this adjutancy, and was twice afterward returned to the Academy as an instructor. While ' ' on duty, " every point of mili- tary etiquette is observed by the students toward their cadet officers, but otherwise no distinction whatever is made between these and their fellows. The cadet officers are marked by chev- rons of gold lace on their dress-coats, and of black braid on their everyday " blouses. The awkward ' ' squads " of each new class are drilled by these cadet officers, and after a month of it are scattered through the battalion, whose companies are organized regardless of class distinctions. TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 91 The staff of the Military Academy consisted of the fol- lowing officers on September 1, 1896: Superintendent. — Col. O. H. Ernst, Lieut. -Col., Corps of Engineers. Military Staff. — Capt. Wilber E. Wilder, Fourtli Cavalry, Adjutant of the Military Academy, Post Adjutant and Recruiting Officer, Commanding Band and Detachment of Field Music. Capt. William F. Spurgin, Twenty-first Infantry, Treasurer of the Mili- tary Academy, and Quartermaster and Commissary of Cadets. Capt. John B. Bellinger, Assistant Quartermaster, U. S. A., Quar- termaster of the Military Academy, Post Quartermaster, and Dis- bursing Officer. First Lieut. Barrington K. West, Sixth Cavalry, Post Commissary of Subsistence, and Post Treasurer; in charge of Post Exchange. First Lieut. William Weigel, Eleventh Infantry, Assistant to Post Quartermaster, and Officer of Police. George H. Torney, Surgeon U. S. A., Post Surgeon. Capt. Charles F. Mason, Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. Capt, Charles Willcox, Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A, Rev. (Capt.) Herbert Shipman, Chaplain. Academic Staff. — Department of Natural and Ex-perimental PMlosophy. — (Col.) Peter S. Michie, Professor (14th February, 1871). Capt. William B. Gordon, Ordnance Department, Assist- ant Professor. First Lieut. Henry C. Davis, Third Artillery; First Lieut. Isaac M. Lewis, Second Artillery, Instructors. First Lieut. S. D. Freeman, Tenth Cavalry, in charge of Observatory and Astronomical Calculations. Department of Drawing. — (Col.) Charles W. Earned, Profes- sor (25th July, 1876). Second Lieut. Ch. B. Hagadorn, Twenty- third Infantry; Second Lieut. H. M. Reeve, Third Infantry; Second Lieut. Walter C. Babcock, Eighth Cavalry, Instructors. Department of Mathematics. — (Col.) Edgar W. Bass, Profes- sor (17th April, 1878). (Capt.) Wright P. Edgerton, Associate Professor (1st July, 1893). First Lieut. D. B. Devore, Twenty- third Infantry; First Lieut. John S. Winn, First Cavalry; First Lieut. Charles P. Echols, Corps of Engineers; Second Lieut. William O. Johnson, Nineteenth Infantry; Second Lieut. William M. Crviikshank, First Artillery; Second Lieut. John H. Rice, Third Cavaliy; Second Lieut. George Blakel3% Second Artillery; Second Lieut. Jay E. Hoffer, Third Artillery; Second Lieut. D. M. King, Fourth Artillery, Instructors. Department of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology. — (Col.) Samuel E. Tillman, Professor (21st December, 1880). First Lieut. R. P. Davis, Second Artillery, Assistant Professor. First Lieut. Edgar Russel, Fifth Artillery; Second Lieut. P. E. Pierce, Sixth Infantry; Second Lieut. William R, Smith, First Artillery, Instructors. 92 TARRYTOWN TO WEST TOINT. Department of Civil and Military Engineering. — (Col.) Gus- tav J. Fiebeger, "Professor. First Lieut. Chester Harding, Corps of Engineers, Assistant Professor. First Lieut. Thomas H. Rees, Corps of Engineers; First Lieut. F. R. Shunk, Corps of Engi- neers, Instructors. Department of Tactics. — Lieut. Col. Samuel M. Mills, Captain Fifth Artillery, Commandant of Cadets and Instructor of Tactics (1st September, 1892). Capt. James Parker, Fourth Cavalry, Senior Instructor of Cavalry Tactics. First Lieut. Alexander B. Dyer, Fourth Artillery, Senior Instructor of Artillery Tactics. First Lieut. Granger Adams, Fifth Artillery, Assistant Instructor, of Tactics, Commanding Company of Cadets. First Lieut. Wilds P. Richardson, Eighth Infantry, Assistant Instructor of Tactics. First Lieut. William H. Allaire, Twenty-third Infantry, Assistant Instructor of Tactics, Commanding Company of Cadets. First Lieut. Willard A. Holbrook. Seventh Cavalry, Assistant Instructor of Tactics, Commanding Company of Cadets. First Lieut. Robert L. Howze, Sixth Cavalry, Assistant Instructor of Cavalry Tactics, Commanding Company of Cadets. Second Lieut. Matthew C. Butler, Jr., Fifth Cavalry, Assistant Instructor of j Cavalry Tactics, » Department of Modern Languages. — (Lieut. Col.) Ed. E. Wood, Professor (1st October, 1892). First Lieut. Peter E. Traub, First Cavalry; First Lieut. Marcus D. Cronin, Twenty-fifth Infantry; First Lieut. Charles H. Hunter, First Artillery; Second Lieut. Samuel C. Hazzard, First Artillery; Second Lieut. Edward B. Cassatt, Fourth Cavalry; Second Lieut. William R. Smedberg, Jr., Fourth Cavalry; Second Lieut. James M. Wilson, First Artillery, Instructors. Department of Law. — (Lieut. Col.) George B. Davis, Deputy Judge Advocate General, U. S. A., Professor (20th August, 1895). Second Lieut. Walter A. Bethel, Fourth Artillery; Second Lieut. , Frank G. Mauldin, Third Artillery; Second Lieut. Robertson Honey, Fourth Artillery, Instructors. Department of Practical Military Engineering. — Capt. James L. Lusk, Corps of Engineers, Instructor (31st March, 1893). First Lieut. E. Erebeth Winslow, Corps of Engineers; Second Lieut. Jay J. Morrow, Corps of Engineers, Assistant Instructors. Department of Ordnance and Oumiery. — Capt. Lawrence L. Bruff, Ordnance Department, Instructor (ITth August, 1891), and Commanding Department of Ordnance. First Lieut, John T. Thompson, Ordnance Department; Second Lieut. Henry D. Todd, Jr., Third Artillery, Assistant Instructors. - Sword Exercise.— HGvmdiTi J. Koehler, Master. \ Turning to the right, a few steps northward bring the visitor to The Plain — an open, level plain of some forty acres. The street J TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 93 keeps on straight across to the hotel. On the right of the street is a dusty expanse, where field-pieces are packed under canvas covers, and where the mounted drills of cavalry troops and the light-battery take place. At the left is a beautiful lawn — the campus of the Academy aud imrade of the Post. Here the in- fantry battalion drills and dress-parades take place; and it is the ball-ground of the students and general play-field of the chil- dren. L.et MS turn to tJie right — toward the river— and walk around the plain. The Chapel is the modest stone building, with a Greek portico, which is immediately on the corner at the right. This chapel was built in 1836, and the Reformed Episcopal form of worship is conducted there by the Post chaplain. It is small and old-fashioned, but elegant, and peculiarly adorned, not only by the crimson silk hangings about the pulpit, but by a vigorous wall painting, occupying the arch of the roof above it, from the brush of Prof. Robert W. Weir, for many years teacher of draw- ing at the Academy, and father of John W. Weir, professor of painting at Yale. The most interesting objects in this chapel, however, are the cases of captured flags. Those upon the west wall are the British colors surrendered by Cornwallis at Yorktown, in 1781. They were given, by Act of Congress, to Washington, who left them to G. Washington Parke Custisof Arlington, who, in 1858, presented them to the Government, which sent them here for preservation. The opposite case is filled with 3fexican flags, trophies of the Mexican War, in which the graduates of West Point had the first opportunity to distinguish themselves; and where they proved, in the most satisfactory manner, the great advantage to the country of such a school of soldiery. The tablets on the wall commemorate the names of prominent American officers; those on the west wall are all the generals of ■ the Revolution, except one; and the blank is to be filled — in silence — by the name of Arnold. Those on the cast wall are offi- cers of the Mexican War. The remaining space has but a single occupant — the tablet to Lieut. Casey, who was killed in the Sioux war of 1891, and who had been an instructor and exceedingly popular comrade at West Point. Admission to the chapel, when not open, may be gained by application to the adjutant of the Post in the Administration Building. The Library is the building next beyond, at the southeast corner of the plain — a building of dark stone, in the Eliza- 94 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. bethau style, erected in 1840. It is crowned by a dome in -which the astronomical instruments were formerly placed. The tunnel- ing of the Point by the West Shore Railroad Company, and the consequent jar of its trains, made this building untenable for instruments of precision; and in compensation for its privileges the company paid for the erection of the new observatory. The library now contains about 39,000 volumes, mainly devoted to military science and history, but including many general books. Turning 7iorthwa?'d, upon leaving the library, the visitor will walk along the eastern side of the plain, where is now rising the Cullum Memoriid Hall, a legacy from Maj.-Gen. G. TV. Cullum. It will be of stone, in Neo-Greek style, will contain a spacious auditorium, an assembly room for the alumni, and many bed- rooms, and will form a hall for social occasions and a sort of club for visiting officers. Beyond this building is the camp-ground of the cadets, where they live in tents, with all the routine of a field campaign, from graduation day in June until September. The black railings are set there as a more convenient and secure method of tying the tent-ropes than pegs afford. Beyond this shady camp-ground the rambler finds himself confronted by the grassy parapet of Fort Clinton. — A stairway at the nearest corner leads to its top, but, before ascending, the visitor will do well to walk a little wa}' along the carriage road, and observe the old masonry of the wall on that front, which is a part of the ancient structure. The present fortification, a simple form of earthwork, more or less star-shaped, without cannon, and covering, perhaps, two acres of ground, is a restoration, made in 1857, of the revolutionary fortress, and is not only a historical monument, but an object lesson in the science of field fortification. Within its interior, les- sons are given in the construction of such structures, and in the making of gabions, fascines, abatis, chevaux de-frise, and other elements entering into defenses of this miture. The fort is chiefly interesting, however, as a reminder of the historv of "West Point, which is purely military. To sift correctly from the mass of revolutionary record aud tradition Avhicli belongs to this small, though momentous, spot, would require more judgment and labor than most of us have at command; those interested, therefore, owe a debt of gratitude to Capt. Boynton for his com- TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 95 prehensive History of West Point, the whole scene of which is under the reader's eye as he strolls along this grassy parapet. Historical Sketch.— This whole neighborhood was part of an early grant to aa English gentleman, John Evans, who, curi- ously enough, was a captain in the Royal Artillery; but his pat- ent was vacated in 1669, and the lands then passed into the bauds of several proprietors. No one seems to have actually settled here in pre-revolutionary times, however, the rocky character of the place inviting only the camping hunter and wood-cutter. When the war for independence broke out, the defense of the Highlands attracted the first attention, as has been pointed out; and a scheme of fortifications for Constitution Island — the rocky eminence opposite West Point, northward, which is separated from the mainhmd by a space of marshes — was begun {is early as the autumn of 1775, but was soon abandoned. A congressional committee found, among other faults, that the site wns overlooked by the ' ' West Point," and recommended that that elevated ground be made use of as the site of a strong fortification. This was the first official suggestion to that effect. Xevertheless, additional redoubts were built and many guns mounted on the island, until good judges declared the whole affair useless. The principal redoubt was Fort Constitution, from which tlie island derives its present name, and which was destroyed by the enemy when they passed up the river in 1777. The British success of that year taught the Americans that they had put their earlier chain in the wrong place, at Fort Mont- gomery, and that the proper place to stretch it was from Gee's, or Stony Point — the extreme rocky projection of the West Point headland — to the rocky shore of Constitution Island. This was not only 300 feet shorter in distance than the width at Fort Mont- gomer}', but here sail-vessels iiscending the river lost their head way to a great extent in rounding the sharp turn in the river, and by reason of the baflling winds of this tortuous gorge, so that they v.'ould strike the obstruction with diminished force. Accord- ingly another chain was prepared and put into position in April, 1778. It was defended by a battery of guns at each end, and that upon the West Point side is still visible, and is called the CJinin Battery. Meanwhile, the fortification of "the West Point" had been busily prosecuted during the preceding winter (1777-78), in spite of the extraordinary severity of that famous season and the depth of the snow. Parsons' brigade furnished the workmen, and the engineer was a French oflicer, Lieut. -Col. Radiere. His plans were not approved, however, and he was superseded by Kos- ciusko, the Pole — afterward to become a name for the oppressed to conjure by — under whose direction the work went steadily for- ward. The principal fort was this one at the northeastern corner of the plateau, with a water-battery at the end of the chain, and 96 TAKRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. anollier on the cliff face, the present Battery Knox; but, as the whole situation was exposed to the fire of any guns planted upon the eminences that ruse from the plain on the land- ward side, it was imperative that these summits should be included in the general plan. To the most commanding of them, Col, Rufus Putnam was sent with his regiment, and they toiled all winter in the forest, and frost and snow, throwing up as strong a redoubt as could be made of logs and stones and a little earth. Works somewhat less pretentious surmounted other hilltops. Between Fort Putnam and the river was Fort Webb, now the site of the new observatory; and another, Foi^t Wyllis, covered a rocky knoll a quarter of a mile farther south, at the extremity of the same ridge. A fourth was erected upon the round knob some distance north of Fort Putnam. All of these, however, were regarded as outworks defending the approaches to the main citadel here on the plain, which was sufficiently advanced by June of 1778 to receive its garrison and its name — Fort Arnold. This name, according to Boynton, was continued until Arnold's defection, when its title was changed to Fort Clinton, which it has since retained. About 1,000 troops occupied West Point during the winter of 1778-79, and the remninder of the northern army was not far away — a part of it just across the river, where strong breastworks were constructed upon Redoubt Hill and Sugar Loaf, in addition to batteries along the south side of Constitution Island. Washington himself resided here from July 25 to No- vember 28, 1779. ^ The impregnability of these works was soon ascertained by the British, and after the failure of Arnold's treachery. West Point was never even threatened with an assault. Vigilance was not relaxed, however. The forts, and Putnam in particular, were made stronger and stronger, well garrisoned, and filled with war stores of every kind. Their admirable condition is testified to by the Marquis de Chastellu, who inspected them in Novem- ber, 1780. " These magazines," he exclaims, "completely filled, the numerous artillery one sees in these different fortresses, the prodigious labor necessary to transport and pile up on steep rocks huge trunks of trees and enormous hewn stones, impress the mind with an idea of the Americans very different from that which the English ministry have endeavored tj give to Parlia- ment." After the war, West Point was made the repository of the war material remaining, much of which was sold; and the redoubts were not dismantled of their guns until 1787. They were then allowed to fall in'o ruin, and the curious may now find them overgrown with trees. In 1805, Fort Putnam was partly demol- ished, and rebuilt of stone, after a somewhat larger design, but was speedily allowed to sink into the present condition of decay. Fort Clinton was itself restored in 1857. The presence of these fortresses and their stores determined the stationing here of the TARKYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 97 corps of engineers and artillerists and their cadets, and explains the present location of the Military Academy — an aptness of historical foundation which does not often occur. The Cliffs, hcloio Fort Clinton^ are a part of "the Point" dear to the hearts of habitues. "Love at the first sight," we read, "is epidemic at "West Point in June and July," and nowhere is the insidious malady more infectious than along these crags that look out upon the shining river. " Tender-hearted damsels, fresh from the boarding-school, and ardent cadets, whose sober-gray uniform is completely opposite to the warmth of their feelings, wander through the shady lanes, plighting everlasting troth, and quite forgetful of the awful fact that a cruel fate may impend in papa and mamma. There are romantic nooks, arbors, grottoes, and quiet lanes, overarched with intertwining foliage — all that a lover could desire." It is asking too much, perhaps, that the casual visitor of uncertain age, and in broad daylight, should find Flirtation Walk, Kosciusko's Garden, with its arched spring and marble fountain- bowl, and the other nooks and corners, as entertaining as do the fledgling lieutenants and those sweetest of summer girls; but they are delightful paths in which to stroll and smoke a post-prandial cigar, all the same. A sad note is felt in one's meditations as he encounters a plain marble shaft — around which an eagle is twin- ing a laurel wreath — and reads the name Dade inscribed upon its plintli. " It commemorates the bravery of a detachment of United States troops, under Maj. Francis L. Dade, in a battle with the Seminole Indians in Florida, when 105 men out of 108 in the command were slaughtered." A little farther on is Battery Knox — a revolutionary relic kept in modern repair, and with the guns mounted, whose muzzles command the river channel. But these great guns are rarely, if ever, fired. Continuing the walk, you may scramble down to the old Chain Battery on Gee's Point, or — since that is scarcely worth while — may ascend to the carriage road at the northeast angle of Fort Clinton, where the parapet is crowned with the Statue to Kosciusko. Thaddeus Kosciusko was born in Lithuania in 1746. He exhib- ited remarkable ability as a military student, and became a captain of artillery, but on account of an unfortunate attachment lo the daughter of a nobleman, in 1777, he went to Paris, and then to 98 TARRYTOWl? To WEST fOlNT, 1 America with the French fleet. Washington gladly accepted his aid, and he disj^layed such intrepidity and skill that he rose to be a brigadier-general; and liis scienlitic knowledge was utilized in the construction of this very fortress, which now bears the memorial sliaft raised to his memory, in 1828, by the cadets, at a cost of $5,000. In 1786, lie returned to Europe; and in 1789 was made a major-general of the Polish army. In the war with Rus- sia which followed, he acted with remarkable, but unavailing, pkill and valor; and when, in 1793, a part of Poland revolted, Kosciusko became leader, and but for the interposition of Prussia would have freed Poland from the Russian yoke. The result was defeat for the country and wounds and imprisonment for himself. After two years, however, he regained his freedom, and again visited England and America, after which he remained a promi- nent figure in European politics until his death in Switzerland in 1817. The whole world has united in esteem and admiration of him, not only as a soldier, but as a chivalrous patriot. Continuing the walk along the north front, and past the Sally- port of Fort Clinton, the visitor reaches the Hotel, from whose balconies a magnificent view up the river is gained. The West Point Hotel dates from 1829, and long ago became antiquated. It is leased by the Government at so high a rental that the proprietor feels obliged to charge $8.50 a day, but at graduation time the old house is crowded almost to suffocation. Along the nortJi side of the plain, many interesting objects claim attention, not to mention the charming river views this ele- vated outlook affords. The first pause after leaving the hotel must be at the Battle Monument. — This has been erected — from a fund subscribed since 1863, with its increment of interest, amounting to about $50, 000 — in memory of the officers and enlisted men of the regular army who were killed or died of wounds received in action during the War of the Rebellion. The designers are McKim, Mead & White of New York, who have produced a monolith of polished granite, 41 feet in height and 5 feet 8 inches in diameter, resting upon a circular base, and surrounded by flights of steps. Surmounting this is a heroic winged figure of Victory — modeled in bronze by McMonies — whose feet are perched upon a gl()])e. While this noble monu- ment, whose total height is 78 feet, is placed with special refer- ence to its aspect from the plain, its magnificent site will make it visible from a long way up the river. TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 99 A curious round depression in the edge of the campus, which has been felicitously described as "the dimple in the face of the plain," will attract attention just here, and perhaps you will linger a moment to watch the playing in the tennis-courts that occupy it; but in the days of the revolutionary garrison it was Execution or Gallows Hollow, and no guide-book is needed to tell why. The gun upon its brink is that by which the flag is saluted when, at sunset, the band, or drum corps, plays "down the colors," and evening parade is dismissed. Just beyond, in a grove of fine trees, and with a grand outlook up the Hudson — past Cro' Nest and Storm King on the left, and the Beacons on the right — is Trophy Point (once Fort Sherbourne), crowded with cannons and mortars captured in Mexico. Each bears an engraved legend. In the center of the array, suppoited upon iron posts, and inclosing some guns captured from the British in the Revolution, is a section of the great Chain which was stretched across the river here in 1778. In front of this chain was a heavy boom of logs, a description and pictures of which may be found in Ruttenber's Obstructions of the Hudson River. This chain was forged at the Stirling Iron Works in Orange County, hauled piece by piece to New Windsor, and put together at the military smithy of Capt. Machin. It was then floated down as a whole, and placed in position without delay or break- age. Each winter the chain and boom were unmoored, taken up to the beach, in the cove now crossed by the railroad tracks, and piled up out of reach of the moving ice until ready to be replaced in the spring, Boynton gives the following particulars; "The chain and boom were fastened, when in position, to cribbage blocks, the remains of which are yet " [1863] "visible in the little cove, just above the boat-house, on Constitution Island, and directly across from the 'Chain Battery,' yet in existence, and near which the south end was secured. Sixteen links of the chain yet remain united, at West Point, including a swivel and clevis. Two of the largest links weigh, respectively, 130 and 129 pounds, while the medium weight is 114 pounds. The whole chain is said to have weighed 186 tons. In removing the boom finally, a portion of it became detached, and the logs, being water-soaked, sank to the bottom of the river, where, after being washed by the tide for eighty years, they have been, in part, recovered." * * These portions are preserved at The Headquarters, Newburgh. 100 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. '9^ Just Lelow Trophy Point is the Seacoast Battery, whose guns point up the river. The name comes from the "Seacoast" > guns with which the battery was first armed, and with which the cadets practiced in firing at the target visible, upon the face of Cro' Is est. But these old-fashioned cannon have been replaced by rifles of large caliber, mounted upon modern carriages. A bat- tery has occupied this commanding site since the Revolution; and below it is another, the Water Battery. The buildings surrounded by a castellated wall, on the western { side of Trophy Point, form the Ordnance and Artillery Laboratoi^y, and were built in 1840, when artillery and cavalry drill were first added to the military curriculum of the Academy. They are used for making and storing ammunition, and for instruction in I the fabrication of arms and projectiles, and are not open to the ■ public. Beyond are seen the gas-works, the coal-hoisting appa- ratus, the excellent public restaurant, and the wide flats which have been recently filled in. All this low-lying part of the reservation, which reaches northward to the base of the hills, is styled Camptown — not because a camp is, or ever was, there, but after the name of an early settler on that slope. Along the higher ground beyond stand various laboratories, storehouses, soldiers' barracks, and the residences of the families of enlisted men, laundresses, etc., extending to the Cemetery. Resuming his walk, the visitor comes speedily to the rtorthwest corner of the plain, and stops to admire Launt Thompson's vigorous Statue of Sedgwick — a bronze presentment of the commander of the renowned Sixth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, erected by that corps "in loving admiration." It is a noble figure, with the steadfastness of the man's character and the excitement of battle in its pose. An obelisk to the memory of Lieut. -Col. E. W. Wood, who was killed at Fort Erie, in Canada, in 1814, formerly stood near here, but was moved to the cemetery in 1885. Officers' Row has now been reached— a line of comfortable, plain residences, built, for the most part, more than fifty years ago, in which many tenants whose names are bright on the rolls of the American army have succeeded one another. The house near this corner, having somewhat larger grounds, and dis- tinguished by the super solemn and extra-elegant sentry pacing before the gate, is that of the commandant of the Post. These TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT, 101 residences continue northward for some distance around the curve in the road, which will take you directly to the gates of the Post Cemetery, half a mile distant. If you have an hour to spare, this cemetery is well worth a visit. Among its many monuments, the most notable is that erected by the cadets to their comrade, Vincent M. Lowe, who was killed by the premature discharge of a cannon in 1817. It is known as the Cadets' Monu- ment, bears the names of several other officers more lately inscribed upon it, and overshadows the grave of Miss Susan "Warner, the novelist. To no one, however, can this lovely "bivouac of the slain" appeal with the sensation that it does to an old resident. The latest addition is the monument to Keyes. "West Point," exclaims Prof. Bailey, in his Reminiscences, " is the saddest place in the world. When I go back, I feel like Rip Van Winkle after his sleep in those mystic mountains dimly seen up the river. Here is the old routine of long years ago; pre- cisely the same calls, the same parades, and in precisely the same places; but the actors, where are they? Go out to the cemetery yonder; that peaceful, silent spot, so pathetic with the names of the dead. . . . Where is there a spot more sacred? Here lies the trusty Anderson, with the simple record: 'Fort Sumter, 1861.' Brave officer, simple-hearted gentleman, all honor to his memory! Near by is the tomb of the great commander, Gen. Winfield Scott. . . . Here is buried Quincy A. Gillmore — his grave, this last summer, still covered with the memorial flowers of the Grand Army. The dasbing Custer lies here; Buford, the true and brave; Alonzo H. Gushing, ' faithful unto death at Gettys- burg'; Gen. CuvierGrover; Sykes, that glorious hero of a hundred battles — his monument is 'erected by loviug comrades.' These, and many more no less worthy, here ' sleep their last sleep ' 1 In this final repose there is no distinction of rank. We note the names of many enlisted men, true in their station, as I am proud to say those regulars always were. Old Twiggs could play the traitor himself, but not a man did he tempt over with him." In front of the officers' quarters, a line of iron benches extends along the east side of the campus, beneath noble elms. This is the proper place to watch the infantry drills, and to see the dress- parades, which, on gala days, are formed facing this row. Pass- ing along it, the visitor sees before him, on the south side of the plain, the Thayer Monument, the new Gymnasium, the great Cadet Barracks, and the new Academy Building. 103 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. II The Monument to Col. Thayer, "Father of the Academy," whose early influence has been described, is a granite figure, draped in a military cloak, which merits the admiration it receives, and is finely placed amid the trees. The Gymnasium is an imposing double-towered structure of stone, after designs by R. M. Hunt, first occupied in 1893. It stands upon ground formerly occupied by a dwelling-house, some of whose early occupants were Gens. Keyes, McDowell, and McClellan. It is equipped with the best of apparatus, and the gymnastic training here given, including fencing, sword-play, and swimming, is regarded as a most important jDart of cadet training, especially in the earlier years of the course. Dancing is also taught systematically. The building behind it is the Cadet Quartermaster Store. The great quadrangular, castellated, Tudoresque structure of the Cadet Barracks comes next. It was completed in 1849, and is 360 X 60 feet in dimensions, with a wing 100 x 60 feet. The four stories hold 176 rooms, 136 of which are cadet quarters. Every one is prohibited from entering the building during study hours, and it contains little, if anything, to interest the casual visitor. The corps of cadets may include 371, but rarely exceeds 300. They present themselves for examination in June, and if passed and admitted are quartered in the barracks, and undergo prelim- inary "setting-up" exercises and drills while the upper three classes are in camp. At the end of summer, they are assigned rooms and places in the battalion, and constitute the fourth class. " Two persons are assigned to each room, and the entire furniture consists of two iron bedsteads, chairs, lables, and a few other nec- essary articles. The cadet is not allowed to have a waiter, a horse, or dog, but is required to make his own bed and keep his quarters tidy. He is aroused at 6 o'clock in the morning by the drums. At twenty minutes past 6 his room nuist be in order, bedding folded, and wash bowl inverted. AYoe betide him if he be dilatory! He is visited by a superior, who reports his delin- quency, or, as he M^ould more vividly say, 'skins' him. At half- past 6 he goes to breakfast, returning shortly before 7; then an hour for recreation, and then five hours for recitations, class parades, and other duties. The time between noon and 2 p. M. is allowed for dinner and recreation. Academic work is over at 4 o'clock, and the rest of the day is occupied by drills, amuse- ments, and dress-parade. Lights are extinguished in quarters at 10, and the embryo soldier is supposed to go to sleep." I I TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. 103 It is to be feared that he does not always do so. Stories of stealthy midnight expeditions intent on the "hazing" of some unfortunate youngster, or to enjoy that mysterious edible com- pound, mixed in a wash-basin, known as " cadet hash," form a part of all the traditions of the Poiut. But these offenses against discipline are less frequent than formerly. The young men now- adays seem more enlightened and steadier, and even the wildest spirits appreciate thoroughly their privileges and responsibilities. A better sentiment has grown up as to hazing, "which is nearly extinct. The " reduction of a plebe to his proper level of abso- lute insignificance " is biought about soon enough in the course of drill. The restriction of the cadet to "limits," which by no means include the whole of the reservation, and his total lack of money, are other powerful obstacles to forbidden pleasures and contraband indulgence of the appetite. He is paid $45 a month, but never handles a penny of it, all being spent for him by the quartermaster and commissary officers; and he is permitted to receive no money whatever, from home or anywhere else. He even has no pockets in his trousers! Moreover, the cadet is watched by some sort of superior every moment. He awakes, and dresses, and goes to meals; eats and drinks, and marches back again; studies and recites; says his prayers, goes to bed, and attunes his dreams to the word of command, the notes of the bugle, and the tap of the drum. There is scarcely a moment when he is not under eye and liable to correction of deportment by some one who has the power to enforce his hint, or punish the slightest sign of revolt; yet it is all done in so rulable and kindly a way, and is so much a part of the very air they breathe, that a jollier lot of fellows can not be found at any institution in the United States. The Academic Building, first occupied in 1895, is from the designs of Richard M. Hunt, and will be finished by the erection of an imposing clock-tower at the northeast corner. It replaces the fine old structure erected in 1838. It is used wholly for instruction, containing recitation rooms, laboratories, drawing- rooms and other apartments required in the actual college work of the institution. It is not open to visitors, though an officer is permitted to show the ordnance museum, etc., to any one especially interested in such matters. The circuit of the plain has now been completed, and but one thing remains to be done by the conscientious tourist — the visit to Old Fort Putnam. This ruined fortification, the history of which has already been given, crowns the summit of Mount Independence, 495 feet above the river. It is reached by a wind- ing carriage road, which leaves the main street between the Aca- 104 TARRYTOWN TO WEST POINT. domic Building and Grant Hall, and overlooks the plain, as it ascends, until hidden in the woods of the rocky hillside. Half- way up, the road crosses the upland road to Highland Falls; and at that point another road leads off to the left and ascends to the new ObHc'rvatoi'i/, which stands upon the site of old Fort Webb, and is furnished with a 12-inch telescope and other high-class instruments for astronomical work. Continuing, certain short cuts may be taken advantage of by pedestrians, and Fort Putnam is finally reached and entered at the old sally-port. No explanation is required here. One may wander about the ruinous ramparts, peer into the broken casemates, and speculate upon the difficulty of capturing by assault this castle, whose walls are perched upon the very brink of cliffs. It must be remem- bered that its purpose was to defend the garrison of the Point from a landicard attack, and not to guard the river, though doubtless some of its guns would have shelled passing vessels very effectively. The view here is said to extend along fifteen miles of the river; but it is more commendable for its pictur- esque variety than for its breadth, combining in a most winning manner a savagery of nature that has resisted cultivation through two centuries with the perfection of civilization of art ujDon and along the beautiful river, which here, as everywhere else, is the lodestone that irresistibly attracts back to itself the wandering gaze. The distance to Fort Putnam is not less than half-a-mile, and the climb is rather steep, so that not less than an hour should be given to this excursion. The road to Cranston's leads along the edge of the bluff, past the Hospital, the residences of officers, and the old Kinsley estate. The last has now been bought by the Grovernment, extending the Military Reservation almost to Cranston's Hotel. There is no interest for the casual sightseer in that direction, beyond the view of the river; but the first of all local traditions lies somewhere down at that end of the present reservation— the shrine of the tutelar saint of West Point, Benni/ Havens. "Benny Havens," declares Prof . Bailey, "among army men, is a name to conjure by, for even those who never frequented his house, or toasted Gens. Brady or Worth or Scott beneath its roof, or sang Petite Coquille in memory of O'Brien, know by tradition of that old haunt and its well-bred keeper. Benny must have been much above the ordinary run of contraband dealers, or barkeepers, to have inspired such esteem in the hearts of our bravest and best, AH the old fellows, after graduation, TARRYTOWN TO WEST TOINT. 105 and sometimes after fame had come to them, would find their way back to that secluded spot. What a ring and joy there is to those old verses ! How they survive the shocks of time ! How we rise to our feet and shout to hear them, as the Frenchman does to his Marsellaise ! "To our regiments now, fellows, we aU must shortly go, And look as sage as parsons when they tell of whafs below 1 We must cultivate the graces, do everything 'just so,' And never talk to ears polite of Benny Havens, O ! " 9 WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH. Rounding West Point, the steamer turns sharply to the left, bringing into view the two great mountains of the Highlands — Ord Nest and Storm King, on the west side of the river, with Breakneck, Bull Hill, and The Beacons continuing the range north- eastward. The rocky eastern shore immediately upon the right, . however, is Constitution Island, and across this narrow and bent | strait in the river was stretched the cJiain that has been described. The guarding redoubts may still be seen at each end of its posi- tion. Little of the military post is visible from the water level. Some dwelling-houses along the south bluff, the headquarteis' offices, and the battlemented walls of the new Academy Building; the riding halls and stables on the bluff; the hotel on the point; glimpses of a monument or two, and some foliage-hidden batteries, with a view of the laboratories and soldiers' quarters of ' ' Camp- . town," north of the parade; and, finally, the white monuments of I the cemetery, serve only to give the traveler who passes in a steamer an idea of the attractive as w^ell as strategic situation of this famous post in the Highlands. The passenger on the Hud- son River Railroad cars sees a few more roofs than are visible i from the steamer ; but he who travels by the West Shore Rail- road s<3es very little. It runs along the base of the south bluff J and then passes beneath the parade through a long, curving, smoky tunnel ; and its construction here, as often elsewhere, has sadly marred the beauty of the banks. Constitution Island is a mass of rocks, inclosing consider- able arable land, and separated from the mainland by marshes over which the railw^ay now passes upon a causeway. It was anciently known as Marteler's Rock, after a Frenchman named Martelaire, who lived there about 1720.* The change of name and the revolutionary history of the island have been recounted; and nothing would remain to say of interest, were it not that for *So says Boyuton, but other explanations of equal authenticity have been given. (106) WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH 107 many years this secluded place was the home of that Warner family, all of whom were literary, and one, Miss Susan B. Warner, attained to fame, thirty years ago, by the novel, Tlie Wide, Wide World. It was long and " slow," but, in defiance of critics and canons, attained a popularity never reached by any other book by an American w^oman (or man, perhaps), except Uiicle Tom's Cabin, over 250,000 copies having been sold. It was published in 1857, and followed by Queecliy, Say and Seal, and many other stories and religious books, which had a varied success. Miss Warner died in 1885, and is buried, as she washed to be, near the Cadets' Monument at West Point. The house is on the southern shore of the island, and is still occupied, but is so ensconced by trees as to be nearly invisible. Miss Warner's sister Anna was also a novelist, and in the hills behind the island formerly lived another talented spinster — Clara Louise Kellogg. Beyond Constitution Island, a deep cove penetrates the eastern shore. Into it flows a brook, at the mouth of which is the once famous, and still prosperous. West Point Foundry, while just beyond it the valley is filled with the cheerful village of Cold Spring. Cold Spring is an old and inviting, but not very progressive, little town, which takes its name from a powerful spring near the railroad station, and its reputation from its great foundries, whose flaming chimneys often cast brilliant reflections, at night, far out upon the river, giving a startling appearance to the dark crags thus lit up. "Night ill the Highlands, indeed, is scarcely less lovely than the day. The river breaks with faintest murmur on the precip- itous shore; the walls of the mountains are an impenetrable blackness, against which the starry path overhead looks the more lustrous. Trembling echoes strike the hillsides plaintively, as a great steamer cleaves her way up the stream, or a towboat, with a string of canalboats in her wake, struggles against the tide, while fleets of sailing-vessels drift past." In 1828, Gouverneur Kemble brought here, from New York, the plant of an iron foundry, to which he gave the name " West Point." Later, his relatives, the Fauldings, came in, one of whom was that literary J. K. Paulding whose home will be seen at Ilyde Park. Then Major Parrott, artillery officer, also connected by marriage, was introduced to the firm; and he gave the AYest Point foundry a world-wide reputation by the invention and manufacture, just before the Civil War, of the Parrott gun, the 108 WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH. principle of which was the strengthening of the breech by shrink- ing upon it a broad tire of forged steel. Here, during the war, were cast cannons, shot, and shell, to the exclusion of almost everything else ; but since then the casting of machinery has chiefly employed the 200 to 300 men constantly at work. The village stretches mainly along a single street, reaching for half-a-mile up the glen ; and it has one of the finest Episcopal churches in the whole Hudson Valley — a Gothic structure of gray stone, with a lofty spire, which cost half a million, and was the gift of a single parishioner. The population is about twenty-five hundred, and there is a comfortable hotel upon the dock, where minor steamers call. The bold eminence just north of Cold Spring is Bull Hill, lately modernized into the more elegant Mount Taurus. It i is the continuation of Cro' Nest, is over 1,500 feet high, and extends backward, jDarallel with the South Beacon. At "Under- 1 cliffc," in front of this hill, lived Col. George P. Morris, editor, fifty years ago, of The New York Mirror; but more widely remem- bered as the author of WoodTrmriy Spare that Tree, and several other songs that touched the popular heart. It was one of the most spacious and elegant places of its day, and was built by John C. Hamilton, one of the sons of Alexander Hamilton. Its elevated position commands not only one of the most interesting river pictures in the Highlands, but overlooks the parade at West Point, so that the evolutions of tlie cadets at drill can easily be discerned from the piazza. F. B. James has a house near the river, just here; a little farther on live D. Heusted and E. A. Perkins, in the rear of the rocky cape called Little Stony Point; and just beyond Bull Hill, where a road zigzags down between it and the naked, purple cliffs of Breakneck, is Storm King Sta- tion, on the Hudson River Railroad, forming, in summer, the sta- tion, by ferry, for Cornwall. Cro' Nest and Storm King. — All this time the massive, rounded crags of Crow Nest and Storm King mountains over- shadow the river on the left, not leaving room even for the West Shore Railroad, which has partly hacked out a pathway along their bases. The former, now usually written Cro' Nest, is an ancient name, probably borrowed from the red men, and simply notes the WEST POINT TO NEWBUEGH. 109 abundance of crows on that eminence, as Eagle Valley^ between Cro' Nest and Storm King, was noted as a breeding-place of eagles— a bird once extremely abundant all along the Hudson, and still often seen. The name Cro' Nest is applied to the whole massive ridge fronting the river for two miles or more, and attaining a height at one point of 1,416 feet. "Here, as elsewhere in the neighborhood, crack-brained spec- ulators have searched for Capt. Kidd's buried treasure, and the river front of the Cro' Nest is called Kidd's Plug Cliff, on the sup- position that a mass of projecting rock, on the face of the preci- pice, formed a plug to the orifice where the pirate's gold was hidden." THE CULPRIT FAY. Cro' Nest is linked in English literature with Joseph Rodman Drake's fairy story in verse, The Culprit Fay. It was written.in a spirit of bravado, when the author was only twenty-one years old, to sustain his contention that it was just as possible to place the scene of a romance among the unstoried American hills as among those of Europe, where every pinnacle, slope, and valley was a memento of suggestive deeds. This discussion happened during a memorable walk through the Highlands, in 1816, of a party in which were Drake, Washington Irving, Fitz-Greene Halleck, and J. Fenimore Cooper; and, to confute his elders, the audacious young poet wrote, in three days, one of the most charming poems in the English language. Drake, who became a physician, and lived only until 1820, published some other good things, notably the poem to the American flag, beginning: When Freedom, from her mountain height, Unfurled her banner to the skies ; but The Culprit Fay is that by which he is, and will long be, remembered, "It was a sudden and brilliant flash of a highly poetical mind, which was extinguished before its powers were fully expanded." Its action and sentiment have been admirably sketched in the following language: "The story is of simple construction: The fairies who live on Cro' Nest are called together at midnight to sit in judgment on one of their number who has broken his vow. He is sentenced to perform a most difficult task, and evil spirits of air and water oppose him in his mission of penance. He is sadly baffled and 110 WEST POINT TO NEWBUKGH. tempted, but at lengtli conquers all difficulties, and his triumph- ant return is hailed with dance and song. " These Cro' Nest fairies are a dainty and luxurious race. Their lanterns are owlets' eyes. Some of them repose in cobweb hammocks, swung on tufted spears of grass, and rocked by tlie zephyrs of a midsummer night. Others have beds of lichen, pillowed by the breast plumes of the humming-bird. A few, still more luxurious, find couches in the purple shade of the four- o'clock, or in the little niches of rock lined with dazzling mica. Their tables, at which they drink dew from the buttercups, are velvet-like mushrooms, and the king's throne is of sassafras and spicewood, with tortoise-shell pillars, and crimson tulip-leaves for diapery. ' But the quaint shifts, and the beautiful outfit of the Cul- prit himself ,' says a writer on Drake, ' comprise the most delectable imagery of ihe poem. He is worn out with fatigue and chagrin at the very commencement of his journey, and therefore makes captive a spotted toad, by way of steed. Having bridled her with a silk-weed twist, his progress is made, rapidly, by dint of lashing her sides with an osier thong. Arrived at the beach, he launches fearlessly upon the tide, for, among his other accomplishments, the Fay is a graceful swimmer; but his tender limbs are so bruised by leeches, star fishes, and other watery enemies that he is soon driven back. " 'The cobweb lint and balsam dew of sorrel and henbane speedily relieve the little penitent's wounds, and, having refreshed himself with the juice of the calamus-root, he returns to the shore, and selects a neatly-shaped mussel-shell, brilliantly painted without, and tinged with a pearl within. Nature seemed to have formed it expressly for a fairy -boat. Having notched the stern, and gathered a colen bell to bail with, he sculls into the middle of the river, laughing at his old foes as they grin and chatter around his way. There, in the sweet moonlight, he sits until a sturgeon comes by, and leaps, all glistening, into the silvery atmosphere; then, balancing his delicate frame upon one foot, like a Lilliputian jMercury, lie lifts the flowery cup and catches the one sparkling drop that is to M-ash the stain from his wing. " ' Gay is his return voyage. Sweet nymphs clasp the boat's side with their tiny hands, and cheerily urge it onward. " ' His next enterprise is of a more knightly species, and he proceeds to array himself accordingly, as becomes a fairy cavalier. His acorn helmet is plumed with thistle-down, a bee's nest forms his corselet, and his cloak is of butterfly-wings. With a Lidy- bug's shell for a shield, and a wasp-sting lance, spurs of cockle- seed, a bow made of vine twig strung with maize silk, and well supplied with nettle shafts, he mounts his firefly, and, waving his blade of blue-grass, speeds upward to catch a glimmering spark from some flying meteor. Again the spirits of evil are let loose upon him, and the upper elements are not more friendly than those below. A sylphid queen enchants him by her beauty and kindness. But though she played very archly with the butterfly- WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH. Ill cloak, and handled the tassel of his blade while he revealed to her pitying ears the dangers he had passed, the memory of his first love and the object of his pilgrimage kept his lieart free. Escorted with great honor by the sylph's lovely train, his career is resumed, and his flame- wood lamp at length rekindled, and before the sentry-elf proclaims a streak in the eastern sky, the culprit has been welcomed to all his original glory.' " Next north of Cro' Nest, the rocks rise to an even greater height in a rounded pile which some of the early Dutchmen called The Klinkenherg (meaning "Echo Mount," and usually misspelled " Klinkerberg "), and others Butter Hill. The country l^eople still hold to the last name, indeed, explaining that the height resembles a market-roll of butter in its dome-like round- ness—a notion that dates back to very early times. N. P. Willis, however, succeeded in fastening upon it the new name Storm King, as a term befitting its dignity, not only, but expressive of the fact that it is an unfailing weather-gauge to all the country north of it. The highest point of Storm King is somewhat inland, and may easily be reached by a plain path which ascends from near the Mountain House, in Cornwall. Next southwest of this mountain is the still loftier eminence Black Bock, whose round poll can be seen peering over the crest of Storm King from the south, and stands out in plain view from the north. The straight space of river in front of these mountains used to be known to the old time sloop captains as Vorsen's Reach ; and to the rugged headland opposite, whose precipices arc too steep to bear much vegetation, was given the name Breakneck, so long ago that the time and the reason are both forgotten, for the modern yarn about some old Dutchman chasing a runaway bull over Mount Taurus, until it hurled itself off the crags of the next mountain and broke its neck, is nonsense. A century ago it was known as 27ie Turk's Face, owing to a remarkable image of a human countenance, formed by projecting rocks on the south side, where now a huge purplish wall of bare rock testifies to the ravages of stone-quarrying; but this was long ago tumbled down by the operations of blasting. This Turk's Face, or Breakneck Mountain, is the counterpart of Storm King, and the range con- tinues northward in a chain of summits that form the water-shed between the Hudson and the Croton rivers, in Dutchess County — which begins at this point on the river. 112 WEST POINT TO NEWBtTRGH. These mountains are very rough, and quite uninhabited and wild. A road creeps around their base, however, and paths ascend to their summits, which align themselves into a very prominent and handsome range, as the steamer sails out of this " northern gate of the Highlands into the ampler breadth called Newburgh Bay." With the help of Pollopel's Island, an outlying projection of Breakneck — passed just here — this " northern gateway of the Highlands " was obstructed in 1779 by the chevaux de-frise, frag- ments of which may be examined in the museum at the Head- quarters in Newburgh. They consisted of massive iron-pointed pikes, about thirty feet long, secured at the bottom in cribs filled with stones, and slanted so that their points came just at the sur- face of the water. The British sailors found little difficulty in passing this obstruction under the guidance of a deserter, after their capture of the Highland forts, and the cribs were gradually destroyed by ice, or removed. Later, Pollopel's Island was prob- ably used as a place of confinement for prisoners of war, and it is now an occasional picnic resort. Cornwall appears, as the steamer gets farther on, thicklyj set along the base of Storm King, which extends backward in a lofty ridge. Here, fifty-three miles from New York, is a busy] landing and railway station, where the Neic York, Ontario <& Western Railimy — whose trains run between this point and New York (Weehawken) over the tracks of the "West Shore Railroad — leaves the river for the interior of the State, and to a connection with the Canadian Pacific's transcontinental system on the St. Lawrence River. The extensive pier which this company built in 1892, to form a tide- water terminus for the delivery of coal and other freight, is seen a few rods northward. Nearly all of the minor lines of steamboats stop here; but the Albany day-line does not do so, landing only at Newburgh, two miles beyond. Great quantities of small fruit are sent away from here, in spring and summer, to New York, and the place is the most populous summer resort upon the river. Cornwall-on-tlie-Hudson lies along the sloping base of Storm King, the best houses and hotels occupying a table-land that overlooks the Hudson and the pretty valley of the Moodna. Nathaniel P. Willis styled this plateau the Highland Terrace, and said that the curving mountains bent about it seemed "like a waving arm, like a gesture from Nature, and an invitation to WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH. 113 I3ome and look around you." Willis himself made liis home here in a many-gabled cottage designed by Calvert Vaux — since cele- ^brated as an architect, and the designer of Central Park, New York — who was then a young man in Newburgh. It is now occupied by William A. Hudson, and has many nearer neighbors than when Willis lived and wrote there during the last fifteen L years of his life, and loved it for its real remoteness, although , within sight of "the thronged thoroughfare of the Hudson," Nearer the mountain, and perhaps a mile from the landing, is H the home and fruit farm of the late Rev. E. P. Roe, who was, perhaps, the most popular and influential American novelist of his day. Somewhat beyond his estate, on the slope of Deer Hill — the small foot-hill projecting conspicuously into the valley — ■ still dwells another well-known novelist — Mrs. Amelia E. Barr — J in a locality distinguished as Cornwall Heights, j The vicinity of Cornwall is a little literary Parnassus in itself. Edward W. Bok, in a chatty article in the Chicago Herald, thus described the authors' homes there: ' " It is now nearly forty-five years ago since Nathaniel P. Willis • first made known his 'Idlewild' retreat, and more than twenty- five years have passed since he left it to be taken to Mount Auburn, near Boston. The 'Idlewild' of today is still green to the memory of the poet. Since Willis' death the place has passed in turn into various hands, until now it is the home of a wealthy New York lawyer, who has spent thousands of dollars on the house and grounds. The old house still stands, and here and there in the grounds remains a suggestion of the time of Willis. The famous pine drive leading to the mansion, along which the greatest literary lights of the Knickerbocker period passed during its palmy days, still remains intact, the dense growth of the trees only making the road the more picturesque. The brook at which Willis often sat still runs on through the grounds as of yore. In the house, everything is remodeled and remodern- ized. The room from whose windows Willis was wont to look over the Hudson, and where he did most of his charming writing, is now a bedchamber, modern in its every appointment, and sug- gesting its age only by the high ceiling and curious mantel. Visitors are now denied the grounds — a forbidding sign announc- ing to the wanderer that the 125 acres of 'Idlewild' are 'Pri- vate Grounds,' This restriction w^as found necessary, one of the occupants informed me, because of the liberties taken by visitors, who still come, almost every week, to see the place made famous by ' the dude poet of the Hudson,' as he is still called by the old residents of Cornwall, Only a few city blocks from ' Idlewild ' 8 114 * WEST FOOT TO NEWBURGH. is the house where lived E. P. Roe, the author of so many popu lar novels, as numerous, almosf, in number as the several hun dreds of thousands of circulation which they secured. The Roc house is unoccupied, and has been since the death of the novelist. For a time, the widow and some members of the family resided there, but Mrs. Roe now lives in New York, and the Cornwall place is for sale. There are twenty-three acres to it in all, and, save wdiat was occupied by the house, every inch of ground was utilized by the novelist in his hobby for fine fruits and rare flow- ers. Now nothing remains of the beauty once so ( haracteristic of the place. For four years the grounds have missed the care of their creator. Where once were the novelist's celebrated straw- berry beds, are now only grass ard weeds. Everything is grown over, only a few trees remaining as evidence that the grounds were ever know^n for their cultivated products. A large board sign announces the fact that the entire place is for sale. "Aw^ay up on the mountain-side, flanked on the right by Storm King Mountain and on the left by Deer Hill, is the pretty road- side cottage home of Amelia E, Barr. The place is a mute testi- mony of the novelist's success, it having been bought by her, last spring, from the profits of her literary w^ork. It stands some 600 feet above the Hudson, with a view of landscape that stretches to the Catskills. Here, where one feels closer to his Creator and farther from his fellow-men, Mrs. Barr writes the stories which bring her nn income of over $8,000 a year, and make her one of the most successful novelists of the day." The beauty of its situation renders Cornwall a fashionable resort during the summer, when its many beautiful residences are the scene of a constant round of gaiety. The entertainment of summer visitors has become the characteristic business of the town. About 5,000 persons annually take their summer abode here, and the permanent population has Increased, within a few years, to about 3,000 souls. The hotels and boarding-houses do not reach the magnificent proportions of some of the Saratoga hotels, but are neat and convenient. There are several schools and churches, a savings bank, public library and reading-room in the village. The neighborhood abounds in varied and interesting drives over good roads, which wind about the broad valley of the Moodna, wdiere almost every house, glen, and hilltop has some memory of the patriot army and the war for American independ- ence. Especially noteworthy are "the Montana drive, which is one of the most romantic and picturesque in the district; the Moodua drive, traversing the bed of the glen through a laby- WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH. ' 115 rinth of groves and sylvan grottoes; and also the drive to Orange Lake through one of the most fertile valleys in the State, the road leading through a continuous chain of stock farms and wav- ing fields of ripe golden grain." A new road has just been com- pleted across the mountains to West Point, but is saitl, by impartial travelers, to fall far short of the praise that it has received. It is no better than the old road from Cornwall to Cranston's and West Point, and that is dangerous for light vehicles in several places, and utterly useless for bicycling. Country lanes and by-paths invite those who enjoy rambling afoot to explore the shaggy heights of Storm King and the Schunemunk, whose blue height is seen inland, broadside on; or to wander into valley nooks, away from the dusty highways. (Read Roe's Nature's Serial Story for the local scenery.) One needs only to be a student of colonial history, and a reader of Willis, to find here a parallel to the peculiar attractiveness more widely felt toward Tarrytown. The camp of the Continental army, in 1782-83, spoken of farther on, is just as accessible from here as from Newburgh. One sees nothing of Cornwall from the West Shore Railroad, which follows the beach ; and not much is learned of it from the boats, or the distant eastern shore; but a grand mountain view develops as the Highlands are gradually left behind. The mouth of the Moodna (another of Willis' names — it was always Mur- derer's Greek before his time), Plum Point, and New Windsor are passed in succession. New Windsor became prominent in revolutionary annals, when it was the home of the Clintons, and the birthplace of De Witt Clinton, the famous "canal" governor of the State in after years. From the campaign of 1777 on, these broad valleys on both sides of the river, along the northern base of the Highlands, were the scene of constant musterings of soldiers and war-like opera- tions; and in June, 1779, Washington came to reside at New Windsor, taking Thomas Ellison's, on tlie hill immediately south of the village, as his headquarters; while his geneials, Knox, Lafayette, and others, were nearer their respective commands, up the Moodna valley, on the Fishkill shore, or in the mountains. Here he and Wayne planned the capture of Stony Point, and here he himself was nearly captured by treachery. This house w^as undermined not long ago and destroyed by the digging of the 116 WEST POESTT TO NEWBURGH. clay-pits. Washington left New Windsor the following winter and summer, hut returned in the autumn of 1780, and made ready for the southern campaign of the next summer — which resulted in the capture of Cornwallis — and from which the army returned to encamp for the winter in the valley of the Moodna, above New Windsor, while Washington resided at Newburgh, as we shall presently see. The City of Newburgh has already attracted the attention of all travelers, since it covers the slope of a wide hillside along the western bank of the river, with a long water-front crowded with shipping, and tier upon tier of business and residential streets rising to the crest of the ridge. On the opposite (eastern) shore | of the river {Neichurgh Bay) is Fishkill. Newburgh is beautiful for situation. The site rises from the margin of the river, here 1}^ miles wide, in a series of terraces that well display the city from the water, and make it a brilliant ^ spectacle when lighted up at night. Its icater-frontis crowded for two miles with wharves, warehouses, factories, and railway structures, which hide to some extent the business streets; but these are mainly narrow, and irregular, and unattractive. Higher up are the residences, standing in tiers along the hillside, where broad, well-shaded, and smoothly graded avenues are modern " and most pleasant in appearance, and are studded with the churches and schools whose spires are conspicuous from the river. There are two parks, and capital roads for driving in all directions. Water is pure and abundant, and the drainage is natural and thorough; the city is lighted by gas and electricity, has street cars in all directions, a capable police and fire brigade, and a watchful Board of Health. Its seven public schools are of a high order. One among them, the Glebe School, in Clinton Street, is the regular successor of a series of schools, which began in 1752, and was sustained by a part of the revenues of the Glebe lands, appropriated by the Government for the support of divine service and teaching in the infant colony. Another is the New- burgh Academy, which also grew out of the Glebe funds, about 1790, and was the first institution of higher learning in all this region. It is now the city's high school, and occupies a new and commodious building on Montgomery Street. To these must be added three schools under the care of the Roman Catholic churches, and eight private schools, notable among which are WEST POINT TO NEWBUIIGH. 117 Mount St. Mary's Academy and Miss Mackie's for girls, and Siglar's preparatory sdiool for boys. Besides tliis, tlie city well supports a Free Library and Reading-room, with over 17,000 volumes — one of the most admirable public libraries in the eastern United States; it is at No. 100 Grand Street. Music also receives a large amount of attention, and there is a pretty theater. Newburgh is the home of many wealthy and refined families, and the amenities of life are cultivated. Among her citizens of wide reputation are Joel T. Headley, the ]' author of many works of history, biography, and travel — written I in a popular manner — and one of the earliest exponents of the (beauty of the Upper Hudson and the Adirondacks. Mr, Head- I ley has lived here over thirty years, and is now ninety years of age. i Other citizens of note have been Henry Kirke Brown, the sculptor; Charles and Andrew Downing, pomologists and land- I scape gardeners; Judge J. Monell, the jurist, and many others. ' The City Club, at Grand and Third streets, is the leading social club; while the extraordinary local interest in outdoor sports, and particularly those of an aquatic kind, has led to the organi- zation of several clubs for yachting, rowing, canoeing, etc. The Palatine^on Grand Street, is the newest hotel, and one of the finest in the Hudson Valley. The old United States is near Fishkill ferry. Historical Sketch. — Newburgh occupies almost the only spot upon the western shore of the river, between Kingston and Jersey City, where a great town could be situated, accessible by l^assable wagon roads to the interior. It has therefore excelled, from the first, as a trading town. Settled in the beginning (1709) by refugees from the Palatinate, who were given lands along Quassaick Creek by Queen Anne, these were gradually outnum- bered by Dutch, Scotch, and English accessions, forming a com- munity " diligent in business." Before the Revolution, the farm- ers of all the back country brought hither their produce for sale or shipment; the lumber and stave trade became important; ships were built that engaged in the Liverpool and West Indian trading, and the town was even a whaling port of some account. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War, Newburgh and Fishkill were the center of the most active operations. This meant an increase of trade and wealth for both farmers and citi- zens; and, as the place escaped direct devastation by the British, after the fall of the forts in the Highlands, it was in better condi- tion than many other of the river villages to go ahead when peace presented the opportunity. With the opening of this century, Newburgh became a village separate from the town- 10 118 WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH* ship— the third in the State to receive that distinction. It then had some 1,500 inhabitants, and contained several churches, an academy, a post office, newspaper (the Packet), a fire company, and was filled with enterprise. Its citizens promoted and mainly built the Cochecton turnpike, wliich brought them a large amount of trade from the west which theretofore had gone to New Windsor, and that ambitious rival was forever left behind. The opening of other turnpikes followed, and Newburgh speedily became the most important trading and export point on tlie river, where the shipping was steadily increased to meet the growing demands of both passenger and freight traffic. Until 18B0, sail- ing-vessels, chiefly sloops, carried the produce to New York, and returned with merchandise to be forwarded to the interior or sold in the local shops; but after 1830 steamboats took their place for all local traffic, and those of the Newburgh lines were the crack boats of the day. The streets leading to the docks were frequently blocked for hours with farmers' and freighters' wagons, coming in long processions from the interior of the State, and even from Northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, to deposit and renew their loads at the wharves; and the turnpike resounded with clattering coaches, which ran thence to many interior towns, and connected through them to the West; for the shortest route from New York to Buffalo at that time was by way of Newburgh and Ithaca. " But the completion of the Erie Canal diverted most of this great trade through other channels; and on the night when the waters of Lake Ei'ie mingled with those of the Atlantic, in the harbor of New York, with beacon-fires blazing on the headlands along tlie Hudson, Newburgh rolled up and laid away its map of; the Southern Tier. Considerable travel by stage-coach continued until the opening of railroads through the center of the State, and a large trade remained with the southeastern portion of this State and neighboring portions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania; but the Delaware & Hudson Canal at length penetrated this region, and cut off another source of wealth. Efforts were made to repair the loss thus sustained, by the organization of a company to engage in whale-fishing, and by endeavoring to secure the establishment here of a Government navy-yard. The former enterprise, liowever, met with limited success, and the proposal to establish a navy -yard did not receive the favor of the Govern- ment. The construction of the Erie Railroad from Goshen to Piermont, and its subsequent extension in other directions, took away the last vestige of the ancient trade of Newburgh, and the old stage-coaches, and the long lines of farmers' wagons, with their stores of butter and pork, became but a memory." "But," adds the author of JVewbvrgJt,* — from which the pre- * NEWBirRQH: Her Institutions, Industries, and Leading Citizens. By John J. Nutt. Quarto, Illustrated, pp. 335. Newburgh: Ritchie & Hull, 1891. WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH. 119 ceding words were quoted — "another change has come; a new era has dawned; the tidal wave of prosperity that swept over the village 100 years ago has returned. The old turnpikes have been paralleled with railroads, stretching to us from every direction; and the river, too, gives communication with the Atlantic Coast and all the world." In sj)(yrt, Newburgh has always taken a prominent place. The first general rowing regatta on the Hudson was held there in 1837, succeeded by others in 1840, 1841, and 1842, which excited great public interest. By this time, special oarsmen had been developed, and the gay popular contests among amateurs degenerated into races between professionals, among whom were such leading men as the Wards, the Donoghues. and others of international repute. Walter Brown was also a Newburgh man; and the great sculling race between him and Hamill, run liere in 1867, will be recalled by boatmen. Yachting never reached so far, but in the '70's some good races were seen in the bay, and here, in 1877, catamarans were first admitted as a class. Speed-skating, as a sport, origi- nated here, where June, Shaw, the Donoghues, and other famous skaters won their first laurels, and then went forth to compete suc- cessfully with Canadian and European champions; and here is still the headquarters of professional skating. Newburgh is a station on the West Shore Railroad, and a ter- minus of the Erie and of the New York, Ontario &, Western Rd., which connect, by ferry transfer, with the New York &> New England Railroad on the other side of the river. The town has electric cars, which run from Balmville, north of the city, to the southern extremity, and out Broadway to Orange Lake, a picnic and fishing place seven miles west, and on to Walden, on the Walkill Valley Rd., fourteen miles from New- burgh. This line has cars, in summer, every half hour, and offers a pleasant excursion through charming scenery. The driving excursions possible in the neighborhood of Newburgh are among its special attractions. Excellent roads run in every direction through a district of country-seats and neat dairy farms, here descending into some romantic glen, there com- ing out upon a knoll where the river and the mountains are dis- played in some new aspect of beauty. Northward, two lovely roads extend parallel for several miles, lined with well-kept estates, some of which are remarkable for effects in landscape gardening and scientific horticulture. Passing the site of Wie- gancVs old log-house, where Wayne had his headquarters, and Hathaway Glen, the road comes to ' ' the balm-of-Gilead tree " — an immense and aged landmark, giving the name Balmville to the suburb. Here several roads diverge to New Paltz, Plattekill, 120 WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH. Modena, and other fruit-growing villages inland ; to the up-river towns, and down along the shore past the convent of the Sacred Heart and Roseton. Southward from Newburgh extend several other broad high- ways, with many connecting cross-roads. One traverses the man- ufacturing district along Quassaick Creek, and gets a glimpse of the deep Vale of Avoca, where a treacherous attempt to capture Washington at the house of a farmer was frustrated by the man's daughter and the general's cool precautions. "A mile below the vale," says Nutt, "we pass through the ancient village of New Windsor — a little collection of houses on the river shore. The place is now given over to brick-making, but before and during the Revolution it was an important trading village. Its impor- tance then exceeded Newburgh's, and it was predicted it would become the chief city of the central Hudson Valley. A large town was mapped out, and the work of the projectors may be traced in the few remaining streets; but it has its principal exist- ence in old maps of record. In this little hamlet, Gen. James Clinton lived after his marriage, and here his son De Witt was cradled. ... A mile below New Windsor village is Plum \ Point, a wooded promontory at the mouth of the Moodna, approached over a natural causeway. On Plum Point, in the early part of the war for independence, was erected a battery of i fourteen guns, designed to assist in maintaining obstructions to the navigation of the river, which at this point consisted of a clievaux-de-frise stretching across to PoUopel's Island. It was known in official orders as Capt. Machin's battery. Outlines of its embrasures are still visible. In the vicinity of the battery are the remains of the cellar of the first dwelling-house in this county. Its owner was Col. Patrick MacGregorie, a Scotch gentleman of fortune, who was chosen leader of a company of persecuted Presbyterians, who emigrated from Scotland, and settled on this beautiful spot." The northern side of Plum Point is washed by the waters of Waoraneck, or Murderer's Creek, to which Willis has fastened the prettier name Moodna. One of its tributaries falls from the grounds of his home, "Idlewild," which is in full view from the point where the road crosses the stream, at the mouth of a deep glen. This road continues southward to Cornwall, and on WEST POINT TO NEWBUEGF. 121 over the mountains; or one may tarn up the Moodna Valley, visit the former headquarters of Lafayette, see the place at the foot of Forge Hill where the chain that crossed the Hudson at West Point was partly put together; and, ascending to the old con- tinental road, on the table-land of New "Windsor, visit the famous Ellison House, a partly stone, partly frame mansion, built in 1754 by Col. Thomas Ellison (whose earlier residence, near the river, has been mentioned as Washington's headquarters in 1779), in which Gens. Knox, Gates, Greene, and other officers had a mili- tary residence at different periods during the active operations here, between 1779 and 1783. It is an excellent example of a sub- stantial, old-fashioned rural home of the better class, and remains very much as it appeared when the brilliant Mrs. Knox gave a party there at which the highest officers of the Continental army and all the sparkling belles and gracious dames of this country- side were entertained. Not far above w^as the great cantonment of the army during the winter of 1782-83, where, in the large public building on Temple Hill, peace was proclaimed lo the soldiers, and whence they marched home on furloughs which became perpetual. Many traces of that eventful occupation still remain upon the ground, which is skirted by the Erie Railroad's branches (with a convenient station at VaiVs Gate); and a large field-monument has been erected by the people of the neighbor- ing towns, under the guidance of the learned local historian, E. M. Ruttenber. All this historic ground is within five miles of Newburgh or Cornwall, and the vicinity of Fishkill is scarcely less interesting. This fitly introduces the object of chief interest to the stranger in Newburgh: WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS. This building, which now forms a Jiistoi'ical museum of great value, is situated in the southern-central part of the city, and derives its interest from the fact that it w^as occupied by George Washington, as the general headquarters of the Northern army, from April, 1782, to August, 1783. It stands in plain view from the river, or the Fishkill shore, upon an eminence, the brow of which is adorned by the new Tower of Victory, sheltering a statue of the commander-in-chief. Liberty Street trolley-cars pass the gate. 122 WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH. This house was the home of Jonathan Hasbrouck, a farmer, miller, merchant, and leading man in the community; and here, in the early days of the Revolution, many meetings of supervisors and committees of safety were held, and the militia assembled whenever called upon for local service, as often happened. The northeast corner of the building is the oldest portion, and was erected by Hasbrouck in 1750; the southeast corner was added in 1760, the west half in 1770, and the whole embraced under one roof, the structure of which, as shown in the attic, will inter- est all builders. The west, or southwest, view is said to give a better idea of the house as it appeared at the time of its occupa- tion by Washington, the west being the true front of the building on Liberty street, then " the King's highway," or old public road. As described by men who were familiar with the prendses from boyhood, tlure was a front yard on Liberty Street, while immedi- ately south of the house were the barns. East was the family garden, beyond which, between the house and river, was the family burial-plot in which Col. Hasbrouck was buried. The property was bought by the State of New York in 1849, and placed under the care of a board of trustees, to be preserved as a memorial. It was dedicated in 1850, with impressive ceremonies, Maj.-Gen. Winfield S. Scott formally raising the flag, while an ode was sung. The house has been restored, and maintained in repair, as closely like its original condition, within and without, as possible, and is stored with a large and exceed- ingly interesting collection of furniture, accouterments, docu- ments, and miscellaneous historical relics, mainly belonging to the revolutionary period. It is under the care of a superintendent, and is open, free, to the public every week day. A descriptive catalogue, prepared by Dr. E. M. Ruttenber, is sold (price 25 cents), from the preface to which the following facts are selected; it should be purchased by all visitors (the bound copies, 50 cents, contain a historical appendix), not only because of its intrinsic value, but as a modest contribution to the funds for maintaining the museum. On the 4th of April, 1782, Washington made this building his] headquarters, and remained here until August 18, 1783, " While ! here, he passed through the most trying period of the Revolution — the year of inactivity on the part of Congress, of distress through- 1 out the country, and of complaint and discontent in the army, ! the latter at one time bordering on revolt among the otficers and soldiers; but a period, nevertheless, marked by victories more sub- stantial than those which had been won in the field, as well as by the successful culmination of the long and heroic struggle for national independence." WEST POINT TO NEWBURGS. 1^3 The general and his family occupied the entire house. The large room entered from the piazza on the east was Washing- ton's dining-room; the northeast room was his bedroom, and the one adjoining it on the left was his private office. The family room was in the southeast, the parlor in the northwest, the kitchen in the southwest corner. Though one of the largest houses of the region, it was so small that a guest could only be accommodated by placing a camp-bed in the parlor, as was done on special occasions. Such a guest, in December, 1782, was the Marquis de Chastellux, one of Rochambeau's officers, who has left the only authoritative account of the domestic life and hospitality of Gen. and Mrs. Washington under these cramped conditions. This officer was struck, moreover, by the admirable discipline at headquarters. "When one sees," he remarks, "a battalion of the general's guard encamped within the precincts of his house; nine wagons, destined to carry his baggage, ranged in his court; a great number of grooms taking care of very fine horses belonging to the general officers and their aids-de-camp; when one observes the perfect order that reigns within these precincts, where the guards are exactly stationed, and where the drums beat an alarm and a particular retreat, one is tempted to apply to the Americans what Pyrrhus said of the Romans: ' Truly these people have nothing barbarous in their discipline.' " The papers and relics within and without the house are worthy of special examination. The credit for their collection is largely due to the late Enoch Carter of Newburgh, but many accessions have been the gift of others. The printed catalogue gives a particular description of each, and most objects are intel- ligently labeled. The Uock of brownstone near the entrance is a monument over the grave of Uzal Knapp, the last survivor of Washington's Life Guard, who died in 1856, ninety-six years old. The Life Guards were stationed a few rods northwest of Wash- ington's headquarters. They were all native Americans, "sober, young, active, and well made," the pick of the army, and none less than five feet nine inches tall. Their uniform consisted of a blue coat, with white facings, white waistcoat and breeches, black stock and black half -gaiters, and a round hat with blue and white feather. The motto of the corps was, " Conquer or Die." Their number was about sixty. William Colfax was the captain commandant. The Tower of Victory is a memorial monument of artistic interest, standing on the northeast corner of the Headquarters' ground, and overlooking the river, from which it is well seen. It is the result of a movement the design of which was to mark 124 WEST POINT TO NEWBTJRGH. not only that spot, but also the encampment grounds at New Windsor and Fishkill. The final decision was to erect here a single monument, and the matter was placed in the hands of a committee of Congress and the Secretary of War, who approved plans submitted by Maurice J. Power of New York, drawn by John H. Duncan, architect. It is a stone tower, fifty-three feet high, with four large arch- ways that open into an atrium, and stairways leading into a belve- dere. In the center of the atrium is a bronze statue of Washing- ton, copied fiom Houdon's celebrated model by O'Donovau. Resting in niches in the walls are four bronze figures represent- ing four arms of the service in the army of the Revolution — the dragoon, the artilleryman, the rifleman, and the line officer — dressed in costumes of the times. Four large bronze gates, bear- ing seals and coats-of-arms of the thirteen original Slates, guard the approach to the atrium, and are raised and lowered by port- cullis. A bronze tablet is set on the exterior east wall, with a figure of Peace in relief. It bears this inscription: " This monu- ment was erected under the authority of the Congress of the United States, and of the State of New Yoi'k, in commemoration of the disbandment, under proclamation of the Continental Con- gress of October 18, 1783, of the armies by whose patriotic and military virtue our national independence and sovereignty were established." The total cost was $67,000. The view from the belvedere of this tower well repays the exertion of climbing the stairways. It extends up-river to where the New Hamburgh shore bends out of view behind Low Point. Now the eye sweeps along a sparsely settled shore, down past Fishkill (opposite), and follows the rampart of the Beacon Hills to where the rough ridges of BreakneckMountainfall steeply down, opposite the precipices of Storm King. The gap between the two is half filled by the ugly little heap of rocks and brush form- ing Pollopel's Island, and beyond it the eye sees, far down the stream, the promontory of West Point; and still farther, the curving eastern shore behind Anthony's Nose. The rounded bulk of Storm King is here lifted up to the best advantage, with the liouses and gardens of Cornwall scattered like some quaint inscription along its base, and the massive front overhead, " scarred by a hundred wintry water-courses," rounding down with simple dignity to where the Hudson rolls against its deeply buried base. Beyond is Cro' Nest, equally massive, and the two are like the paired paws of some colossal sphinx crouching upon ._. ._fi WEST rOINT TO NEWBUKGH. 125 the bauk, while its head towers invisible into the vault of heaven. Beneath, pigmy ships go sailing, and over them whirl the clouds, but their passive majesty is unruffled. Inland from these noble headlands, lofty and rugged summits stretch southwestward into Orange County, and the blue rampart of Schunemunk Mount lises across the head of the valley westward, with 'Chattoes Hill as a landmark nearer the city. Fishkill is a term which applies in a general way to all the shore opposite Newburgh, and to the whole valley of the Matteawan, or Fishkill Creek, along the base of the Fishkill Mountains. The visible settlement at the ferry and railway sta- tion is Fishkill Landing, or, in the more high-sounding modern phrase, Fishkill-on-IIuclson. Two miles inland, this village blends with the pleasant manufacturing town Matteawan, and three miles farther up-stream is the ancient settlement which was the original "Fishkill," and is now distinguished as Fislikill Vil- lage. The two last named are stations on the Newburgh, Dutch- ess & Connecticut Railroad, wiiicli connects with the Hudson River Railroad at Dutchess Junction, two miles south of Fishkill Landing. The railway station and landing of the steam ferry to New- burgh (fare 9 cents), at Fishkill Landing, are in connected build- ings. Here, also, the line of electric street-cars may be taken, which will carry the passenger through Matteawan to Fishkill , Village. Fishkill Landing and Matteawan together contain some 12,000 people, and are busy in trade and manufactures, especially at Matteawan, where the water-power of the picturesque stream is utilized by factories that are overshadowed by elms, and look out upon lovely landscapes that must go far to compensate for con- finement at desk and loom within their walls. Historically, Fishkill is full of interesting associations. The district was purchased from the Indians toward the end of the seventeenth century, and the earliest pioneers of Dutchess County were living at the mouth of Fishkill Creek previous to 1700. By the time of the opening of the Revolution, however, the whole Piedmont district was well-cultivated, populous, and prosperous, with a community mainly Dutch and English. "Fishkill Village " ^uti^nhQT writes, "was then the largest and most important place in Dutchess County, and most 126 WEST POmT TO NEWBURGH. favorably situated for communication with the Eastern States, while its proximity to tbe forts in the Highlands rendered it not only one of convenience, but one that could readily be covered against marauding attacks by the enemy. These considerations led to its selection (August 28, 1776) ... as the place to which should be removed the treasury and archives of the State, and as the place for holding the subsequent sessions of the Provincial Convention " [which had been driven out of New York], " Almost immediately following (xlugust 14lh), it was resolved to quarter troops here, establish hospitals, depots for provisions, etc., and convert the place into an armed encampment. From that time until the war closed some portion of the army was constantly here, and its invalid-camp was never without occu- pants." The two old churches — the Reformed Dutch and the Episcopal — remain, as well as many of the old residences, includ- ing the Wharton House, where the Committee of Safety held its meetings; the Veiylanck House, headquarters of Steuben, who used the level plateau near the river, at the foot of the mountains, as a drilling-ground; the Brinckerhoff House, headquartei's of Washington; the Brett (or Teller) House, wdiich was built in 1709 as the manor-house of the great Rumbout patent; and other historical buildings are still preserved. At that time, tbe present Fishkill Landing was represented by a small wharf 'di Denning' s Point, the shady little peninsula — with a white house among the trees — jutting out from the shore a mile south of the present long steamboat wharf. Denning's Point was then owned and occupied by Capt. William Denning, an influen- tial patriot and army officer; and it was there the original IMew- buigh ferry (which had existed under charter for many j^ears previously) made its landing. Two great oaks stood on the point, widely known as the Washington oaks, as a reminder of that time; but one of them was blown down a few years ago. In early times the present main road up the hill did not exist, but the road from the landing was that which leads inland north of the present station. The Verplanck House still stands, with some additions, on the turnpike to Poughkeepsie, about 1\^ miles north of the railway station, and half-a-mile back from the river. It was not only occupied by Baron Steuben, but within its walls was framed the constitution of the Society of the Cincinnati, which was practically organized at Newburgh. The Beacon Hills. — The finely sculptured range of elevations extending northeastward from here, and forming the front of the Highlands on this side, are known as the Fishkill Mountains, or Beacon Hills. The last name is due to the fact that in the Revo- lution some of their peaks were prominent stations for the beacons, or signal-fires, which w^ere intended to give warning of any approach by an enemy. WEST POINT TO NEWBURGH. 127 The beacon-pyres were pyramidal in form, made of logs filled in with brush and inflammable materials, and carried I to a height of thirty feet; and that upon Butter HilL gave the first signal, to which the others were subordinate. The lofty peak beyond Matteawan, and south of the deep gap in the range j there, is still known as the North Beacon. South of it, three- quarters of a mile distant, is South Beacon. The latter is the higher of the two (1,685 feet), and is the big overtopping hill seen directly west from the railroad or river when at, or opposite, Denning's Point and Dutchess Junction; it is not visible from Fishkill or Matteawan, being hidden by the long lidge of North Beacon. It can be ascended without much difficulty almost anj^- where, but most easily from near the terminus of the electric road in Matteawan. Here a road leads up the gulch separating Nonh Beacon (on the right) from Fishkill Mountain. About a mile from the village it forks, and the right branch (w^hich is to be followed) crosses the brook and ascends a side valley dividing North Beacon from Lamb's Hill. Half-a-mile more, in the course of which one gets some very interesting outlooks eastward over the Hudson, Newburgh, and the adjacent country, biings the walker to the reservoir of the Fishkill and Matteawan Water Company, and to " Beacon Inn," the house of the guaidian, who sells materials for a mountain luncheon, edible, potable, and fumaceous, and is very accommodating in respect to information. North Beacon is the height behind the cabin, and the road curves to the right, and leads directly to its top. South Beacon is half-a-mile away, across the reservoir, but will repay the climber with a much wider view. Thus far, a stout carriage can come with little diffi- culty in good weather. The path to South Beacon follows the shore around the south side of the reservoir to its farthest point, where there is a clearing made by wood-cutters, and then, turn- ing to the right, goes straight up to the summit — a steep but not hard climb. The peak is a cap of bare rocks, and overlooks not only a long stretch of the Hudson Valley and the Newburgh region, but a large part of Dutchess County northward, and almost the whole of Putnam County southward, with a big patch of the river near Peekskill. Watchers liere could therefore see more than at any other point in the Highlands east of the river. A cool day should be chosen for the ascent, as shade is deficient. NEWBURGH TO POUGHKEEPSIE. The Hudson above Newburgh is a scene of quiet beauty and interest for many miles, with the landscape astern taking on a new charm as distance mellows the picture. The river gradually narrows, and the channel is once more in the center of the stream. At Low Pointy or Carthage Landing, is a village and railway station on the east side, with a straight road to Fishkill Village. Opposite is the small brick-making settlement of BosetoUy or Middlehope, a mile above which the house of Bancroft Davis may be seen, close above the railway, with the Armstrong mansion a little beyond. Here the boat's course follows the river, in a bend to the right, around Low Point; and there appears ahead, upon the left, a rocky headland with wall-like fronts of white rock. This crag has long been known as the Danskammer, or Devil's Dance-hall — a name going back to the voyage of Henry Hudson. The ' ' devils " referred to are Indians, who were accustomed to meet here for councils, merrymakings, etc., always accompanied by dancing about the camp-fire, when they seemed fiends incar- nate to the witch-fearing Calvinistic Dutchman. This point was the boundary-line between the jurisdictions of New Amster- dam and Fort Orange (Albany); and Hampton Point, half-a-mile above, is the place where now the northern boundary of Orange County comes to the river and the southern border of Ulster County. No county crosses the river; and on the east, Dutchess continues as far north as Tivoli. Having passed the Danskamer, the pretty vale of New Hamburgh — one of the old Palatinate settlements— opens to view on the right, where Wappinger's Creek, named after the powerful "Wappinger Indians, comes in from the northeast, and is crossed by the Hudson River Railroad upon a drawbridge. This valley is the home of many summer residents of wealth and social station. Resuming here the more truly northward course, the steamer is soon passing the bluff shores of Marlborough, whose spires can be seen at the head of the gorge of the Maune- (138) „„lkS%?,. ^i — NEWBUIIGH TO POUGHKEEPSIE. 129 kill, in the opening of which is the railway station and steamboat landing. This was one of the towns bombarded when the British went up the river. It is now a thriving village, which sends a great quantity of fruit to the city, and welcomes summer boarders. The hilly bank opposite, for two or three miles above New Hamburgh, is dotted with the fine country-houses of the Van Rensselaers; S. W. Johnson at "Uplands"; J. F. Sheafe at "High Cliff"; Irving Grinnell, on the river brink, at "Nether- wood "; Dr. J. Lenox Banks at "The Cedars" — the house with a square white tower — and many others. Still farther north, the tower of " Elkhorn," the residence of Prof. R. H. Bull, will attract attention. A few miles farther briugs the traveler to Milton., another little fruit-yielding port and village, among the hills on the west- ern side. The West Shoro Railroad has a station here, and the Hudson River Railroad one opposite, whence a traveler may be set across by boatmen. Milton is coming to be a great favorite with summer residents. Readers of the illustrated magazines will be glad to know that this village was the early home of Mary Hallock Foote, the artist-author, who learned among the old Quaker families the facts and local color of those stories of primi- tive life among the Friends which have delighted her readers. Milton's wharf is piled high with the crates in which strawberries, raspberries, currants, grapes, and other small fruits are sent by steamboat to the city. Off westward may be seen the serrated summits of the Shawan- gunk Range (pronounced " Shawngum"), trending northward at the headwaters of the Wallkill. ICE AND THE ICE HARVEST. It is in this part of the Hudson River that ice-houses begin to attract attention, that at Marlborough being the first of a long line of immense storehouses that line the banks of the river, especially on the western side, all the way to the head of naviga- tion, and which form a feature of the scenery more conspicuous than ornamental. These are the storehouses in which the gar- nered harvest of the river is stored, to be sent to New York and other cities, in barges, as it is needed; and the Hudson is the great highway to the market. 9 130 NEWBURGH TO POUGHKEEPSIE. "No man sows," writes John Burroughs, "yet many men reap a harvest from the Hudson. Not the least important is the ice harvest, which is eagerly looked for and counted upon by hundreds, yes thousands, of laboring-men along its course. Ice or no ice sometimes means bread or no bread to scores of fami- lies, and it means added or diminished comfort to many more. It is a crop that takes two or three weeks of rugged weather to grow, and, if the water is very roily or brackish, even longer. It is seldom worked till it presents seven or eight inches of clear- water ice. Men go out from time to time and examine it, as the farmer goes out and examines his grain or grass, to see when it will do to cut. If there comes a deep fall of snow^, the ice is ' pricked' so as to let the water up through, and form snow ice. A band of fifteen or twenty men, about a yard apart, each armed with a chisel-bar, and marching in line, puncture the ice at each step with a single sharp thrust. To and fro they go, leaving a belt behind them that presently becomes saturated with water. But ice, to be first quality, must grow from beneath, not from above. It is a crop quite as uncertain as any other. A good yield every two or three years, as they say of wheat out West, is about all that can be counted upon. When there is an abundant harvest, after the ice-houses are filled, they stack great quantities of it, as the farmer stacks his surplus hay. Such a fruitful win- ter was that of '74-75, when the ice formed twenty inches thick. The stacks are given only a temporary covering of boards, and ' are the first ice removed in the season. " The cutting and gathering of the ice enlivens these broad, white, desolate fields amazingly. My house happens to stand where I look down upon the busy scene, as from a hilltop upon a liver meadow in haying time; only here the figures stand out much more sharply than they do from a summer meadow. There | is the broad, straight, blue-black canal emerging into view, and* running nearly across the river; this is the highway that lays open the farm. On either side lie the fields or ice meadows, each marked out by cedar or hemlock boughs. The further one is cut first, and, when cleared, shows a large, long, black parallelogram in the midst of the plain of snow. Then the next one is cut, leaving a strip or tongue of ice betw^een the two for the horses to move and turn upon. Sometimes nearly two hundred men and boys, with numerous horses, are at w^ork at once, marking, plowing, planing, scraping, sawing, hauling, chiseling; some floating down the pond on great square islands towed by a horse or their fellow workmen; others distributed along the canal, bending to their ice- hooks; others upon the bridges, separating the blocks with their chisel-bars; others feeding the elevators; while knots and strag- gling lines of idlers here and there look on in cold discontent, unable to get a job. " The best crop of ice is an early crop. Late in the season, or after January, the ice is apt to get * sun-struck,' when it becomes « NEWBURGH TO POUGHKEEPSIE. 131 * shaky,' like a piece of poor timber. Tlie sun, when he sets about destroying the ice, does not simply melt it from the surface — that were a slow process; but he sends his shafts into it and separates it into spikes and needles — in short, makes kindling- wood of it, so as to consume it the quicker. ' ' One of the prettiest sights about the ice harvesting is the eleva- tor in operation " [lifting the ice into the storehouse]. " When all works well there is an unbroken procession of the great crystal blocks slowly ascending this incline. They go up in couples, arm in arm, as it were, like friends up a stairway, glowing and changing in the sun, and recalling the precious stones that adorn the walls of the celestial city. When they reach the platform M^here they leave the elevator, they seem to slip off like things of life and voli- tion; they are still in pairs, and separate only as they enter upon their 'runs.' But here they have an ordeal to pass through, for they are subjected to a rapid inspection, and the black sheep are separated from the flock; every square with a trace of sediment or earth-stain in it, whose texture is not the perfect and unclouded crystal, is rejected and sent hurling down into the abyss; a man with a sharp eye in his head, and a sharp ice-hook in his hand, picks out the impure nnd fragmentary ones as they come along, and sends them quickly overboard. Those that pass the exami- nation glide into the building along the gentle incline, and are switched off here and there upon branch runs, and distributed to all parts of the immense interior." This business is one of the largest and most remarkable indus- tries of the Hudson River and vicinity, the tonnage alone ! amounting in storage capacity to nearly three millions of tons yearly. Of this immense quantity, the Knickerbocker Ice Com- pany of New York — to whose treasurer, Mr. S. O. Reeves, the writer is indebted for these statistics — stores fully one-half. The industry affords employment during the ice-harvesting season to great numbers of men, and that mainly in the season when no other occupation is available to the laboring classes in the river 1 counties, as many as 15,000 or 20,000 men being employed at times, when the harvesting is active, and the work goes on uninterruptedly. The time occupied in gathering this j enormous quantity is necessarily lengthy, averaging thirty days in . the season, much of the time being needed for snow-scraping and \ "cultivating" the ice, preparatory to housing it. The revenue j thus derived from the ice dealers forms an important factor in the 1 general interests of trade along the Hudson Yalley, where no , worse disaster, commercially, could happen than a failure of the j crop. The business in this section was inaugurated in 1831, when I 11 132 NEWBURGH TO POUGHKEEPSIE. ice was first taken to New York City from Rockland Lake, as has already been stated. " The hole in the ground, in which the beginners tried to keep their ice from melting, has given way to these immense store- houses, holding variously from 7,000 to 70,000 tons, and upward. The hand-wagon has given way to the large and expensive spring-wagon, over 600 of which are in daily use by the Knicker- bocker Ice Company alone, and probably as many more by the rest of the ice dealers in New York City and vicinity; the freighting by sloop has given way to a wonderful fleet of ice-barges, especially built and adapted for the carrying and preservation of ice in transitu, and many tugs whose ponderous tows render the scene on the river picturesque, night and day. The capital has grown from the first $2,000, invested in 1830 at Rockland Lake, to upward of $5,000,000, in New York City, Brooklyn, and adjacent places. From such small beginnings has the ice indus- try augmented until it now challenges comparison with the ton- nage importation of all other foreign or domestic commercial industries whose mart is the great metropolis of the New World." Long before this, the great cantilever bridge spanning the river at Poughkeepsie has excited admiration in every eye, for its delicate lines do not disturb the beauty of the landscape. The corner-stone of this bridge was laid as early as 1873, but construction proceeded no farther at that time. It was re-begun in September, 1886, and was finished January 1, 1889. The builder was the Union Bridge Company. It is entirely for rail- way service, and has a double track, with a foot-path which is not yet open to the public. The bridge is 12,608 feet, or about 2^ miles, long, reaching from highland to highland, at an elevation of 212 feet above the water. One or two athletes, seeking money and notoriety, have allowed themselves to drop from its center, and survived the foolhardy feat. The breadth of the river under the bridge is 6,767 feet from pier to pier. The cost was about $3,500,000, and the present owner is a company operating in the interest of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co. Presently the spires and southern suburbs of Poughkeepsie appear on the eastern shore; and here, one house, standing between the river and the highway in a fine open spot where its square central tower is readily perceived, should not be overlooked, since it is " Locust Grove," once the home of Prof. 8. F. B. Morse, who made practicable for us the invention of the electric tele- graph. The great Kaal Rock is passed, where tradition says the early burghers of the town used to sit, and hail the sloops for news as they drifted by, and which is now crowned with the old jg! NEWBURGH TO POUGHKEEPSIE. 133 brick buildings of Matthew Vassar's first brewery, whence, after a while came the hospital, the young ladies' college, and other good works of t.iat genial philanthropist; and the steamer slows up under the shadow of the great bridge at the bustling wharf of Poughkeepsie. — Poughkeepsie (pronounced Po-kip-sie), sit- uated advantageously about half-way between New York and Albany, is referred to by local chroniclers as the " Queen City of tlie Hudson." Its population is reported at about 24,000, which is said now to be a trifle less than Newburgh's, From its foundation by the Dutch as a village, at the end of the last century, Poughkeepsie has always been a leading point on the river as a business and social center. The State Legislature met in it in 1777 and 1778, when the British held New York; and here also the State Convention for the ratification of the Federal Con- stitution met, holding debates in which Gov, Clinton, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton took part. It is the shire town of Dutchess County; and it has attracted to it, and maintained, an average quality of citizenship and sociality that is not surpassed by any other town in the State. In fact, the society has been of so high an order, and so secure in wealth, or competence, that at times its preference for home-like ease over dashing activity has been thought a barrier to the rapid business progress the town might have secured; but this tendency is not so apparent now. The community in some directions was never laggard, however. It was early at the front in the educational line, and has always been noted for the number and character of its different schools. Among those which now exist are Vassar College^ the first institution which gave to girls the advantages of a complete liberal educa- tion, and Eastman College, a pioneer in the commercial field. Both these schools hold their high rank and celebrity undiminished, both for the number of their students and for the fact that almost all the nations of the world contribute to the names on their cata- logues. Vassar College, named after its munificent founder, Mat- thew Vassar, is, indeed, the most widely known fact in connection with the city. It occupies a series of large brick buildings in the midst of an extensive and beautiful park, on high ground, two miles back from the river; and can not be seen from either the boats or railway, the imposing building on an eminence in the rear of the city, usually supposed to be its building, being a 134 NEWBURGH TO POUGHKEEPSIE. former scliool-house, now otherwise occupied. The Main Street horse-cars go out to the college every forty minutes (fare 10 cents). Apart from the general interest of the institution, its library and | natural history and art museums are well worth a visit. The zoological collection, mainly the work of the late Prof. James Orton, is unusually large and instructive; it is strong in ornithol- ogy, more especially in the birds of South America, where Orton became famous as a scientific explorer, and wrote one of the fore- most books upon the Amazon region. Eastman Park — beautiful gardens open to the public — is an ornament to the city which should be seen. The city also pos- sesses a capital Public Library, for both reference and circula- tion, with a reading-room attached, and an annex devoted to law- books — a department rarely to be found in such an institution. There are also a Young Men's and a Young "Women's Christian Association, in the former of which the reading-room is a popular feature. Vassar Brothers' Institute is a worthy foundation endowed for scientific and literary culture. There are also a number of clubs and club-houses, of which the Amrita, the Duchess, and the Bicycle Club are the most conspicuous. Other institutions are various religious and benevolent organizations, and the Vassar Hospital, conspicuous from the river upon a hillock in the southern part of the city, which is described as " one of the most completely equipped and liberally endowed in the country." The churches are numerous, and represent all the chief denominations. There is an opera-house accommodating 2,200 people — which John B. Gougli called the most interesting audience-room of its size he had ever seen — and other public halls. The militia have a fine armory. Journalism has always flourished in Poughkeepsie. Four daily newspapers, which also issue weeklies, are now published, and one semi-weekly and two Sunday papers. The street-railway system connects the railroad stations, steam- boat landing, and Vassar College, reaches the northern suburbs, and extends south along Broadway to Wappingers Falls (see page 136). These trolley-cars pass the court-house and go near the public library and the principal hotels— Nelson and Morgan houses (single fare, 10 cents; five tickets for 25 cents). The water of the city is taken from the Hudson, far out from shore, is thoroughly filtered, and is believed to be as good as any city can hope to procure. The sewerage system, owing to the topography of the city's site, is absolutely perfect, and much care NEWBURGH TO POUGIIKEEPSIE. 135 is taken to keep it so. Consequently, Poughkeepsie is a very healthful town. The city is lighted by electric lamps at intervals of 500 feet in all the streets, and has incandescent lights and gas for in-door service. Within a few years the erection of a Driving Track and the removal of the Dutchess County Fair from the center of tlie county to this city has added a new and welcome feature. Driving for amusement is, indeed, one of the foremost pleasures of life here, as in other towns on this side of the Hudson, where the splendid roads are suitable for speeding; and inspiring landscapes and the sight of fine estates lend a varying interest to any excursion, especially on the Hyde Park and the Fishkill roads. In the winter this place is the headquarters of Ice Boating, and its craft in that line are unsurpassed for beauty and speed. The free space on the river here, and the extended view one obtains of it — both to the north and south — are aids in making it a select place for this sport. Thirteen miles east of Pough- keepsie, and a station on the Newburgh, Dutchess & Connecticut Railroad, is Millbrook, a summer resort of people of note and wealth, which has made the farm land there worth in many places $3,000 and upward an acre. It is fast becoming another Lenox. Poughkeepsie has a considerable wholesale trade, and its manufactures are constantly increasing. This is due to its favorable situation as respects both water and land lines of trans- portation. Four steamboat lines furnish passage to New York, two to Albany, two to Newburgh, and two to Kingston. The river is navigable to these whnrves for the largest vessels, and the river freight-boats have always been well patronized. Small steamboats make frequent trips between Poughkeepsie and the various little landings along the river, northward to Rondout and southward as far as Newburgh. A steam-ferry connects the city with Highland, opposite, where country roads concentrate at an old village landing. Poughkeepsie is the principal station, between New York and Albany, on the Hudson River Railroad, all express trains stop- ping here, and many of them for that 10-minute lunch in the station restaurant so familiar to travelers. The completion of the great bridge has brought here two branches of the New York & New England Railroad system, which now runs trains eastward across the bridge into the coal regions of Pennsylvania, in con- nection with the Philadelphia & Reading system. Another rail- way is in course of construction southeastward. By means of this bridge and the connecting railroads, coal has been reduced to the lowest figure, many new markets opened to Poughkeepsie's merchants and manufacturers, and a great impetus given to the city's growth and prosperity. 136 NEWBURGH TO POUGHKEEPSIE. ^ The Buckeye Mower is perhaps the most famous article made here, and it is sold all over the world. Added to this great fac- tory, are the Phoenix Horse-Shoe Works, an iron works, a glass works, two large shoe factories, Lane Bros.' door hangings and coffee-mill concern, the Fall Kill Knitting Works, a silk thread factory, and a large number of small miscellaneous shops, includ- ing that of the De Laval Separator Company, which makes a peculiar machine for the separation of cream from milk, and also a somewhat remarkable churn; it came to Poughkeepsie from Sweden, and is giving much enterprise to its new work here. The city contains six excellent banks and one savings bank, and long-distance telephones connect it with Albany and New York. Wappingers Falls. — A delightful excursion from Pough- keepsie in summer is a trip in an open trolley-car over the electric railroad to Wappingers Falls. The distance is about seven miles (south), and the whole route is along the old Albany Post Road, which is known here, as usual, as Broadway. It winds about in pleasant irregularities, between stone walls and rows of ancient shade-trees, and past fine suburban estates and cozy farm houses. The suburbs of Poughkeepsie are interesting in all directions. The road lies too far back from the Hudson to permit the river itself to be seen, but the hills on its further shore form a beautiful background to the nearer picture. In the outskirts of the city a park and rural cemetery are passed. Wappingers Falls is a large old-fashioned village on both sides of Wappingers Creek (see page 128) at a point, some two and a half miles above its mouth at New Hamburgh, where the stream falls over a series of high ledges and dams, behind which is a considerable lake. The steep walls of the ravine, the arched stone bridge, the mill races that have been carved out long ago, and the ruins of some ancient mills lend picturesque- ness to a spot already highly endowed in that respect. Many factories line the stream below the falls, and the village is also of importance as a market town, and interesting socially and histori- cally. The run is made in about thirty-five minutes, and the %re is 15 cents each way. POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. As Poughkeepsie is left behind, the huge red buildings of the Hudson River State Hospital become conspicuous upon the hills along the Hyde Park road, north of the city. Here are received those of Unbalanced minds, to be kept and nursed until restored to health or else proved incurably insane. Large as it is, this is only the beginning of what must finally be one of the largest asy- lums in the world. It now shelters several hundred inmates. The pumping station of the city waterworks is seen near the liver bank, whence the water is forced into a distributing reservoir on College Hill. The bank opposite Poughkeepsie is very high and precipitous, but it is broken just above the bridge by a narrow wooded ravine, at the mouth of which is the railway station of Highland, and a ferry and steamboat landing. A little above, some warehouses mark the position of the old New Paltz Landing, where the farm- ers of the Wallkill Valley were wont "to come in former days to cross to Poughkeepsie or meet the sloops and steamboats. Up the ravine goes the old road to Highland Village, a thriving settlement on the plateau, which is thronged with visitors in summer, and is the principal provisioning place for a wide area of farms and rural villages on that side of the river. It is a pleasant walk up to the village along the ravine, down which the creek comes in one long, winding rapid, with here and there a tall waterfall over some dam, which turns, or once turned, a small mill-wheel. Milling is still one of the chief industries of the pretty little town, where there are two small but comfortable hotels. A stage (fare, 10 cents) makes half-hourly trips between the village and the river-side, meeting all trains and boats. Highland is also a station on the Connecticut, New York & New England Railroad, near the western terminus of the big bridge. The large yellow building seen upon the brow of the bluff overlooking the land- ing is Hasbrouck's Bellevue Villa, a summer hotel. The Eastern Shore is much less steep and high than the western, and for the next thirty miles, in particular, it is dotted (137) 138 POUGHKEEPSTE TO KINGSTON. with old estates and costly, handsome, and often historic resi- dences. To this purpose the shore is well adapted, for it rises, not too abruptly for effective landscape gardening, to a plateau about one hundred feet above the water, where the houses stand upon a uniform level. It is upon this plateau, too, that the villages are situated, out of sight, along the old post road, with insignificant railway stations and landings down by the water-side, a fortunate disposition of things for the scenery of the noble river. The roughness of the western bank culminates ahead, as Poughkeepsie is left behind, in bold and shaggy headlands, form- ing a promontory around which the river bends just far enough westward to cut off the view. This slight bend, eighty miles from New York, the river men call Krum Elbow (the original Dutch name w;is Krom-me Hoek — a rounded point), and, as the steamer imperceptibly swings around it, a broad reach gradually opens almost as far as Rhinebeck, and there appear, in blue sil- houette ahead, the eastern peaks of the Catskill Mountains, some thirty miles distant. They will rarely be out of sight, henceforth, for several hours; but, before reaching their base, many things of nearer interest will engage the attention, always with that beautiful background made by the heights of Rip Van Winkle's story. Here on the right, five miles above Poughkeepsie, comes Hyde Park, the road from the station leading up the gorge of Krum Elbow Creek to the village, half-a-mile inland. It is an old place, named in honor of Sir Edward Hyde, one of the early English governors of the province; and years ago there was here, where now stands the railway station, a horse-power ferry for the accommodation of the people on the western shore. The heights of Crum Elbow having been passed, the Western Shore becomes more habitable, and the fine river-road is lined with handsome places that face the water. The woods disappear, too, and the sloping shore is cultivated in vineyards and fruit orchards. Behind this gracious forefront towers the saddle- backed eminence called Mount Hymettus by John Burroughs, "an author and naturalist of pleasant fame" (whose cottage will presently come into view), because of his success in finding upon it bee-trees and stores of wild honey. Mount Hymettus stretches northward in lessening elevations, all wooded to their summits. POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. 139 and known as the Esopus Hills. At its base is seen, among private residences, the tall white Manresa Institute, formerly a Roman Catholic theological seminary, but now an orphanage. North of this, there intervenes between the hills and the river a broad space of arable lands holding several villages. The first of these is West Park, from whose pretty river-landing {Frothing- ham's Dock), directly opposite Hyde Park, a most romantic lane leads up to the turnpike. This is a stopping-place of the steamer plying between New York and Saugerties. West Park is a delightful spot, where a village is gradually arising. The old post road runs along the brow of the terrace between ranks of grand shade-trees, and bordered by fine country places. The little Episcopal Cliurch of the Ascension — a stone building overgrown with vinery — fitly recalls the rural churches of England; and a queer little mill brings out the sketch-book of every artist who strays near it. One of the oldest of the neigh- boring estates is that formerly occupied by the Astors — a large house of the English style, in spacious grounds, now owned and occupied by a New York maltster. This road is good for bicycles, though somewhat hilly, and is admirable for walking or driving. The Hudson is here very beautiful and interesting. Looking backward, one can still obtain a glimpse of the spires of Pough- keepsie, and of a small section of its bridge, traced in hair-lines upon the pale blue front of the Fishkill Mountains, twenty miles away. Ahead, the Catskills are coming more and more plainly into the perspective, and each bank attracts the roving eye with competing charms. My own impression is, that this section from Poughkeepsie to Catskill is the most pleasing part of the whole river, even though it lacks the majestic scenery of the Highlands. Conspicuous just above Hyde Park landing, standing upon the smooth, grassy terrace, between ancient oaks and elms, is the palatial residence of F. W. Vanderbilt — one of the most costly in the long line of noble river-side properties. Next above it is the Drayton House, the old Kirkpatrick estate; and directly opposite, on the West Park shore, and behind and slightly above some enormous ice-houses, is seen the stone cottage of Mr. John Burroughs, the writer of such familiar out-door books as Wake Robin, Birds and Poets, Pepacton, etc., and many acute and pleas- ing essays in literary criticism. Many acres of vineyards and orchards lie in front of the house, as along all this western side 140 POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. of the river; and Mr. Burroughs and his neighbors ship great quantities of table grapes, currants, and small fruits to New York and Boston. A mile above, on the same side, is the immense and much-advertised orchard (said to contain 25,000 trees) of the late R, L. Pell, who sent apples to Queen Victoria — canny man! — and so made a good market for his fruit in Great Britain. His wharf {Pelham) is distinguished by its big stone warehouse with iron gates. Opposite it, on the eastern bank, and about a mile above Hyde Park, a quaint, chalet -like house appears among the trees on the distant terrace. This place is called " Gros Bois" by its present proprietor, Robert T. Lord; but it derives a greater interest from the fact that years ago it was "Placentia," the home of the gifted James K. Paulding, a literary man who published many and varied books, until his death in 1860. He was one of that coterie of bright minds that clustered about Washington Irving, and was his associate in the publication of Salmagundi. The little island met here, usually animated in summer by the camps of canoeists or fishermen, is Esopus; and just above it, on the western bank, is the landing (Broicji's Dock) for Esopus Village, an old-time cross-roads hamlet a mile and a half back. It stands on the shore of Black Creek, w^hose outlet, here at the landing, is almost hidden in lilj^-pads and masses of blossoms of the spiked loosestrife — a tall water weed, naturalized from Europe, which' sprouts densely in the shallow coves all along the Hudson, encir- cling their margins with bands of bright magenta pink, amid which glow here and there the more fiery standards of the cardinal flower. Black Greek is a lively little river that merits its name, for its water is stained with the roots and bark of hemlock and cedar until it looks like an outlet of the juniper jungles of the Dismal Swamp. It rises down beyond Marlborough, and flows north, behind Mount Hymettus, expanding into a pond which the Dutch called Grote Binnewater ("Big Pond') and the moderns name Black Pond, and frets its way down innumerable waterfalls and through deeps and shadows until it escapes here at Esopus Village. It contains a fair quantity of black bass, perch, and sunfish, harbors a good many copperheads, and still turns the wheels of small mills, hidden away in the brush, as it used to do in the good old days of the Dutch. The road which leads back over the hills from West Park strikes it in its most picturesque part. iS^ KAATERSKILL FALLS POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. 141 The name "Esopus" is one that is met with often and rather confusingly in this part of the country. The hills on the west take the appellation, and the island opposite, but the marshy Esopus Meadows are some three miles north of Esopus Light- house. Esopus Village and landing are here at the mouth of Black Creek; while Esopus Creek empties into the Hudson twenty miles north at Saugerties; and Rondout Creek, at Kondout, used to be called the Little Esopus. This confusion arises, as will be clear when the history of Kingston is read, from the fact that in early colonial days the whole district on the western side of the river, of which Kings- ton was the center, was known as Esopus — a Dutch and English corruption of an Indian word, the earliest spelling of which was Desopus. By this time, Krum Elbow has blotted out the Poughkeepsie bridge and the southern highlands, Mount Hymettus is well behind us on the west, and its continuation, the Shaiqjeneak, and Hussey's Mountain are becoming prominent. The eastern shore is lower than heretofore and better cultivated, and the Hudson River Railroad disappears behind a bluff where the little village of Staalshurgh is hidden from view; its landing is indicated by ice-houses. Just beyond, Esopus Light-house marks the outer edge of the weedy shoals called Esopus Meadows, oppo- site which, on the eastern shore, is Dinsmore's Point, with the large yellow mansion of the late William B. Dinsmore behind it, where the river indents the eastern shore with the wide shallows of Vanderberg Cove. Immediately upon this cove, in a bouse on the end of the ridge, dwells the brewer, Jacob Rupert; and next above him another New Yoik brewer, Finck, occupying a great white stone mansion overlooking an immense lawn. This is " Wildercliffe," formerly the estate of Edward R. Jones. A little farther on, and nearer the river, is the house of Robert Suck- ley; and next beyond, just above the railway tunnel, is "Ellerslie " once the residence of the Hon. William Kelly — long prominent in political life — and now the summer home of ex-Vice-President Levi P. Morton. His estate contains about six hundred acres, much of which is devoted to gardens and ornamental grounds, and the rest is highly cultivated as a farm. A magnificent view of the Catskill Mountains is now presented. The passenger sees here the whole eastern series, from Overlook to where the Mountain House gazes down from its storied ledges. They are too far away and misty to exhibit details, but the lofty 142 POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. and well-chiseled outlines culminating in High Peak, the stately grouping beyond the foreground of water, and the long sweep of swelling outlines, cumulative contours leading the eye artistically to the center of the picture, with the dull red and gray of Ron- dout's buildings in the middle distance, make a composition as pleasing in arrangement as it is vivid in color. Nor is the ele- ment of " life" wanting, for the shimmering foreground is dotted with boats, sailing-craft and steamers, from some natty sloop- yacht or huge ' ' day-liner " to a laboring old steam canalboat bound for Buffalo or bringing coal from Scranton. Sometimes a, dingy little steam launch may be seen, loaded fore and aft with! eatables — a regular floating market. Piled high on top of the] pilot-house may be cabbages and corn, or other green truck, while the entire space in front is often filled with loaves of bread, and the space amidships, sheltered by an awning, may contain a heap of ice. A shelf runs along the low bulwarks, and it will perhaps be covered with fruits and vegetables whose trailing leaves ripple the water as the boat skims from shore to shore, or runs alongside a tow of canalboats, seeking for trade. The rough crags of Hussey's Mountain, 1,000 feet high, are now at hand on the west, with the brick yards and ice-houses of Port Ewen at its base; and there presently opens beyond it a river, gorge crowded with shipping, and lined with buildings. This is * Rondout Creek and harbor, and The City of Kingston. — Originally, as will presently be noted, two flourishing towns grew up here in close contiguity — Bondout, at the river mouth, and Kingston, whose nucleus was three miles inland. Both increased in size until their borders nearly touched, whereupon they united (1878) as a corporate city, under the name of the latter. Kingston has now a population of about 25,000, is growing steadily, and has a strong commercial foundation. It is the most important station on the West Shore Railroad between Wee- hawken and Albany, and the eastern terminus of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad, and of the Wallkill Valley Railroad, the lat- ter connecting it with the Erie Railroad system at Goshen, N. Y. These three roads have a union station in the center of the town, 13^ miles from the landing, besides which the Ulster & Delaware sends its trains down to the steamboat wharf at Rondout as the port town and local postofflce is still familiarly POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. 143 called. The steam-ferry (fare, 13 cents) to RhinecUff, on the opposite bank of the Hudson, connects the town with the Hudson River Railroad, and with the Hartford & Connecticut Western Railroad, which gives a direct line into Dutchess County and east- ward to New England. Arrangements are nearly completed for the building of a new railroad, to be called "Philadelphia & New England," between Kingston and Ellenville, forming, with existing roads and a "link " or two to be constructed, a short and direct line, byway of Port Jervis, to Philadelphia and the Pennsyl- vania coal regions. Great things are anticipated from this new enterprise. Rondout is also the terminus of the Delaware & Hud- son Canal, and is the most important shipping-point on the whole river above New York. The Albany Day Line boats do not go into the river mouth, but receive and deliver passengers at the new wharves on Kingston Point, to which the railway has been extended. Kingston has, besides, several steamer lines of its own. This is the home and terminal port of that fast and favor- ite boat, Mary Powell, which has long been the queen of the Hudson. Here, also, are owned the steamers James W. Baldicin and William F. Homer, which are among the largest steamers on the river, and afford a daily night-line between Rondout and New York. The Newburgh day-line makes this a port-of-call, daily; and there are small steamers which pass back and forth between Kingston and Poughkeepsie, southward, and Saugerties north- ward, stopping anywhere, on both sides of the river, that passen- gers wish to land or embark, or any freight is offered. Lastl}^ this is the headquarters of the Cornell Steamboat Company, which owns about forty-five towboats and tugs, and is one of the largest concerns in the towing business. These varied means of transportation have made Kingston- Rondout a place of much commercial importance, and are encouraging the rise of manufactures. Three great industries are prominent: cement-making, hluestone, and coal-sliipping . CEMENT AND CEMENT-MAKING, BLUESTONE, ETC. The mining and manufacture of hydraulic cement, known more especially as Rosendale cement, from the suburb up the Rondout where it was first produced, is the peculiar industry of the locality. One can not fail to notice the openings of great caverns, picturesquely overhung with vines and shrubbery, in the cliffs above the harbor, and along the high banks of Rondout Creek. They reach far underground, and out of them, in hot weather, pours a draft of air as strong and chill and damp as that blown from the cavernous cheeks of old Boreas himself. Out of 12 144 POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. ^m these old excavations, and from newer mines, Kingston lias dug, and continues to dig, a large part of its wealth, and has built up an industry which brings in $2,500,000 annually, and furnishes employment to more than 2,000 men, besides the army of coopers, boatmen, etc., indirectly benefited. This cement is water-lime, or the material for hydraulic mortar — that is, a mortar which will harden under water. It is made from a magnesian limestone, containing more or less sand and clay, thus approximating it to the European artificial mixture of. 23 per cent carbonate of lime (chalk) and 77 per cent silicate of alumina (clay), which is called Portland cement. When, about 1828, the Delaware & Hudson Canal was building here, the engineers, casting about for a cement suitable for use in con- structing locks, discovered that a belter kind existed right here than was then known in the western part of the State; and the mining of it upon the outcrop for immediate use soon developed into a general industry. Since then a similar cement-rock has been discovered and worked in the neighborhood of Buffalo, opposite Louisville, Ky. , and near Allentown, Pa. At Allentown, in addition to the natural product, they are making an artificial " Portland" cement. In all these localities the rock is the very ancient Upper Silurian limestone. Here at Kingston, the partic- ular geological horizon is the Tentaculite, or water-lime, division of the Lower Helderberg series, which overlies the great Niagara group of limestones. The beds are massive, varying from fif- teen to thirty feet in thickness, and more or less interstratified with non-cementitious layers. They have been much disturbed, lie at all sorts of angles, and are broken here and there by faults. For the most part, only the edges appear at the surface, so that the rock must be removed by methods of mining similar to those pursued in excavating coal, rather than by quarrying, and many of the tunnels and shafts penetrate to the heart of the hills, and are sunk more than 100 feet below tide- water. The rock is somewhat harder to mine than coal, but there is no danger from liberated gases, and the roof is firm, requiring little timbering. The Upper Silurian rocks everywhere, as a rule, are crowded with the fossil remains of invertebrate sea life, as corals, crinoids, and a great variety of shellfish. In the series to which the cement-rock belongs, as it appears elsewhere, tentaculites (fossil pteropods of the molluscan family Tentaculitidce) are especially numerous, and give their name to the subdivision; but, curiously enough, the cement-beds here are almost entirely barren of these or any other fossils, although the adjacent, and even the inter- calated, strata are highly fossiliferous. The rock itself, no matter how finely crushed, will not act as a hydraulic cement, or even as a good mortar; it needs preparation to impart to it its valuable quality. This preparation consists in POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. 145 roasting or calcining it. The area of the beds is about ten miles in length, extending along a ridge from the northern part of Kingston, or its suburb Rosendale, southwestward, with a width varying from forty feet to five miles; and fifteen mills are now in operation, of wliich those of the Lawrence and Newark companies are the largest. At each of these establishments the rock is brought from the mines in cars, crushed into small pieces, and then placed in huge kilns, mixed with fine coal. The kilns having once been fired, the process of roasting the mass goes on continuously, new supplies being poured into the top as the calcined stone is removed at the base. When cooled, crushed, and placed in barrels the cement is ready for use. The process and character of the change, presumably chem- ical, which the stone undergoes in turning into cement are not clearly understood. Many theories have been advanced, but none are satisfactory. Beyond the fact that the calcining drives off the water, little is really known about the matter; and the hydraulicity of this substance is another one of the many facts of practical experience and utility which remains unexplained. This cement is sold all over the Atlantic States, and the extent and variety of its service are increasing. Not only is it required for all masonry exposed to water, as sea-walls, canal- locks, bridge-piers, and the like, but it is used almost entirely for every sort of underground masonry. It is the principal constitu- ent of " concrete." The foundations of all the great buildings in New York are laid on it, and it is extensively applied in fortifications. Its strength and tenacity are far superior to that of the best mortar. When treated with water in the mass, it forms a stone more cohesive and trustworthy than ordinary sandstone. The 3,000,000 or so of barrels annually required by this in- dustry are made largely in this neighborhood, and cost only 10 cents apiece; they are formed mainly of spruce-wood, and are usually thrown away when emptied. Coal at Kingston. — The total amount of coal reaching tide- water here, from the canal, now averages about 900,000 tons during the season of navigation, nearly all of which is immediately reshipped. All of it comes from the anthracite fields in the Wyoming Yalley of Pennsylvania, and its transshipment here gives employment, on the average, to 350 men, with a large increase of that force at certain times. The storage docks for coal are the largest in the State. Bluestone is the name given to a more or less argillaceous sandstone of a bluish color, extensively quarried at various points along the Hudson River, and used for building purposes and for flagging. The quarries are scattered throughout the Catskills and along their base, and are in rock of Lower Silurian Age (Hud- son River group), and the stone is brought in, rudely shaped, by railway and by teams. The double line of stones set like a tramway in many of the country roads and some town streets on 146 POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. 'MM this side of the river, are to enable the horses to draw these loads of stone without sinking irretrievably into the mud; and they are as deeply rutted as the old chariot-tracks in Pompeii. The bluestone is to a great extent prepared for architectural or pave- ment use here in Rondout, and then reshipped by water, some of it going direct to Southern coast cities, the West Indies, etc. This industry involves a large capital and employs many men. The Rondout end of the city, apart from the picturesqueness of its river-mouth, is not very interesting. The queer little chain-ferry that plies between the city and Sleightburgh, on the southern bank, is quaint and ingenious, and gave Jervis McEntee a subject for a well-known painting. Huntington's brush has studied here, too, his painting, "On the Rondout," being con- sidered one of his best, A little steam launch runs up the river and canal some miles, offering an interesting excursion to the visitor. Rondout's best street lies along the top of the river's high southern bank; the leading hotel is the old Mansion House. The northern part of the town, or Kingston proper, is more attractive. It is a handsome, well-kept little city of itself, where every street and square can tell some story of the past which somehow seems longer ago than tlie seige of Jerusalem, Its streets give glimpses of the Catskill and Shawangunk mountains, or of sweet valley lands in all directions, and from its suburban eminences pictures may be obtained that are among the most charming in the Hudson Valley, One point of view is especially recommended, and may form the objective point of a delightful afternoon's walk. This is tbe Kiiyckuyet (a Dutch word pronounced kake-out, and meaning "the lookout"), the summit of a hill south of the city. It over- looks the broad valleys of the Rondout and Hudson, and gives one the best local picture of the mountains. The abrupt heights surrounding Lake Mohonk, in the northern Shawangunks, are plain in the southeast; then comes the hilly valley of the Ron- dout, northward, rising again, directly west" into the magnificent heights of the southern Catskills, where Slide, Cornell, and the Witlemberg dominate the range. The break occupied by the valley of the Esopus cuts this lofty group off from the main mass, northward, where dozens of well-known summits may be recognized around to the headlands of High Peak and South Mountain in the northern horizon. Manufactures, etc. — Kingston has many small factories (one of cigars employing 700 hands), and does a very large business in POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. 147 the manufacture and sale of brick, though many of its yards are elsewhere along the river. The wholesale and jobbing trade of the town is good, and its streets are animated. The city contains five national banks and three savings banks; issues three daily new^spapers; has a public hospital, well-equipped fire and police departments, and water brought from a mountain stream with a pressure sufficient for fire purposes without the aid of steamers. The city hall is a florid brick building, of the aldermanic school of architecture, midway between Rondout and old Kingston, in front of which is a "manufactured" soldier's monument not much better. Electric street-cars extend from the river side in Rondout to Kingston by two routes, and thence into the outskirts of the village. A line is about to be built northward along the Albany road to Lake Katrine. Historical Sketch of Kingston. — Few towns in the State were more patriotic than this, and none have a more thrilling story, or so many substantial relics of the beginnings of the com- monwealth; and the visitor may find along its streets the actual buildings where many of the momentous incidents occuired that have been so fully recorded by Schoonmaker in his History of the town. It was in 1609 that Hudson sailed up the river; in 1610, the first trading-ship followed; and in 1675, the New Netherland Company chose the mouth of the Rondout Creek as tlie site of one of their three fortified trading-posts. No proper settlement was made, however, until the levtd-headed Stuyvesant had come as governor to New York to correct the abuses of his greedy predecessors, and disentangle the Dutch colonists from the Indian troubles which they had brought upon themselves. In 1652, quarrels arose in Rensselserwyck over lands, the aristocratic Patroons claiming too much for the "common people" to endure; and it must not be forgotten that these Dutchmen, as well as the English Puritans, were, to a great extent, refugees from oppres- sion, political and religious, in the Old Country; and were as deeply imbued with the spirit of liberty as their Protestant breth- ren in New England; nor that, if it had not been for the unswerv- ing patriotism and self-sacrificing co-operation of these Hollanders along the Hudson, the English born colonists could never have won in their struggle for independence with Great Britain ; and [this spirit and help were nowhere more active and serviceable 1 than here. I In consequence of this quarrel with the Patroons, a band of I trader-colonists, led by Thomas Chambers, an Englishman, moved 148 POUGHKEEPSIE TO KiNaSTON. I down to the level prairie lands wliicli the Indians called Atkarka/r- ton, lying along the Esopus between the mountains and the Hudson (see map), where the red men at first gave, and later sold, lands to I hem. Settlers rapidly followed, disagreements and fatal con- flicts with the Indians speedily arose, and. in 1658, Governor Stuy- vesant thought it worth while to visit the place, and advise with the people as to the future. He at once ordered the scattered farmers to come together and erect a stockade large enough to contain all their buildings, into which they were to concentrate each night. With a military eye, he selected a level bluff of land on the southern border of the meadows, where the banks fell steeply away on three sides, and there was just room enough for the intended fort. Here a strong stockade was built with great rapidity, and it inclosed the ground now occupied by the business part of old Kingston. A name w^as officially given to the stock- ade and community by Governor Stuyvesant, when a charter was granted in 1661; this was Wildwyck. "Wild" was the Dutch term for Indians, meaning simply wild, or savage, and " wyck" denotes "a place," so that, literally, Wildwyck signifies "Indian place." The name was changed to Kingston on Septem- ber 25, 1679, in honor of Kingston Lisle in England, the place from which Lovelace, the colonial governor of the moment, had come. It is a great misfortune that the change was made, and it is worth mention that " Wiltwick" still survives as applied to a portion of the city. The early history of the colony differs little from that of most others in those days. The burghers and farmers behaved badly toward the Indians, who revenged themselves, and years of bor- der warfare ensued, in which both sides suffered. These were the "Esopus wars," during which, nevertheless, the colony increased and flourished, having a good road to the redout* at the "slrand,"or river-mouth (present Main Street), and a little outpost at Hurley, with a large area of grain and corn lands under j cultivation. This post, indeed, was regarded as the garden of I the Dutch possessions; and from the first devoted itself almost | wholly to farming, paying little attention to the trading which engrossed Fort Orange and New Amsterdam. Finally, the wars culminated in an adroit seizure of the stockade by the redskins, who massacred a great many men, women, and children, and burned down all the houses. Then troops were sent from below, | an active campaign was instituted against the Indians, who were* hunted and punished far and near, and no more such disasters occurred; but many years elapsed before the district was safe from occasional inroads. Meanwhile, the country went into J English hands, and the name was changed to Kingston, but other- 1 wise there was little alteration, and the settlement grew steadily | *It. is asserted that the name Rondout is a corruption of this word "redout" (there was another theie in revolutionary times); but that seems (re)doubtfal, and its origin is still obscure. IB 2 J POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. 149 for a century, until it had become the most important place between New York and Albany, Then again its peace and prosperity were disturbed by the discontent among the Indians, that finally swelled into the French and Indian wars, in which the American colonists were trained to a soldier's life, taught their strength, and given self-confidence for the impending tight with Great Britain, Many of the houses still standing and occupied in Kingston date from this period. The monumental old Senate House, to be more particularly spoken of presently, is such an one. A part of the present Court House (Kingston is the shire town of Ulster) was built for that purpose long before the Revolution. Another relic is the Coonradt Elmeudorf Tavern, on the southeast corner of Maiden Lane and Fair Street, which bears the date of its erec- tion (1723) upon its gable; it witnessed memorable political deeds during the Revolution. At the lower end of Wall Street is the Van Steenhurgh House, not only an excellent example of the old Dutch cottage, but noteworthy as the only building which escaped at the burning of the town by the British in 1777. The present home of the Hon, Augustus Schoonmaker, the large square building at John and Crown streets, formerly the Kingston Academy, and other antiquated but still servicable structures may be pointed out, whose heavy walls withstood the historic conflagration. Another object of interest is the Dutch Glmrch, now remodeled out of all resemblance to the original structure, but standing on the same spot. Here was organized, in 1657, the oldest congregation holding an unbroken line of services on the same spot that can be found in the State of New York, and probably in the United States. It was, of course, Protestant Dutch Reformed, and the present structure is the fourth that has stood on the spot, not counting the log building which temporarily was used by the settlers in the beginning. The foundations, greatly extended to meet the growth of the congregation, have included part of the surround- ing grave-yard. The families whose past generations filled the first graves still worship in the church, and in the last reconstruc- tion of the edifice their pews were placed over the tombs of their ancestors, each family over its own dead. When the old Middle Dutch Church on Nassau Street, New York City, was torn down, the stones bearing the inscription in Dutch were taken to Kings- ton, and set in the walls of this church, where they now are. The church has the two original communion cups that were, according to tradition, presented by Queen Anne. The com- 150 POUGHKEEPSrE TO KINGSTON. munion table is said to have been used by the Prince of Orange, whose coat-of-arms is over the church door, and the walls are covered with tablets commemorating the early pastors and distin- guished citizens who sat in the congregation. THE SENATE HOUSE. But the particular object of historical interest and curiosity in Kingston is the Senate House, which is well worth examina- tion, not only for itself but for what it contains. It stands upon Clinton Avenue just around the corner from the postoflSce and both of the principal hotels — Eagle and Clinton — and derives its distinction from the fact that here the first sessions of the State Legislature were held. Originally built by Wessel Ten Broeck, in 1676, it later became the dwelling-place of that sturdy patriot Abraham Yan Gasbeek, and was the gathering-place of the patriots of "the time that tried men's souls." It shared in the burning of the city by Vaughan, but its | wall remained firm, and it was repaired and afterward became ' the home of Gen. John Armstrong, Madison's Secretary of War, and, later, United States Minister to France. A few years ago the property was bought by the State, to be preserved as a memorial of the past. With great propriety it has been placed under the care of the historian, Marius Schoonmaker, a descendant of one of the oldest and most prominent local families; and is gradually being furnished and filled up as a museum of the heroic past of the town and county. The Kingston branch of the Daughters of the Kevolution is especially interested in this laud- able undertaking, and holds each year an anniversary celebration which keeps public interest alive. The Museum contains documents, books, pictures — including many studies and portraits by John Van der Lyn — costumes, furni- ture, military equipments, etc., calculated to illustrate the story of the past. The collection is especially interesting as an expo- nent of the daily life and condition of the Dutch burghers, whose real character, manners, and customs have been so obscured by the veil of drollery that Washington Irving threw over them, that few understand the practical good sense and sterling virtue which characterized these excellent and patriotic founders of New York. This building was chosen as the first State House under peculiar pressure. During the sunlmer of 1776 a constitution POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. 151 and form of State goveroment had been formulated. The meet- ings of delegates who had accomplished this preliminary work had been held at Fishkill; but that village was too small and exposed, and after considerable search Kingston was selected as the proper place for subsequent meetings. The Provincial Con- vention therefore gathered at Kingston in March, 1777, and held its sessions in the Court House until April 20, 1777, when the constitution was finally agreed upon and signed. This occurred on Sunday. The exigencies of the times admitted of no delay on account of the sacredness of the day. Two days afterward, on April 22d, the constitution was formally proclaimed from the front door of the Court House with great pomp and rejoicing, the elections followed, and George Clinton was chosen governor. The first Legislature got together on September 10th, and on the preceding day the first court ever held in the State of New York, under the constitution, convened at the Court House at Kingston, and was presided over by the newly appointed Chief Justice, John Jay — scholar, statesman, diplomat, and jurist — equally dis- tinguished for his virtues and his talents, who had been a mem- ber of the Constitutional Convention, and was the principal draughtsman of that instrument. This first Legislature consisted of seventy members of the Assembly and twenty-four Senators. The Assembly convened at a house which then stood on the corner of Fair Street and Maiden Lane, and the Senate sat in this building. The joint body continued its deliberations until October 7th, when, on account of the threatened invasion of British troops, it adjourned. This, however, was not the last session of the Legislature in King- ston. It met again in 1779, and sat from August 18th to October 25th. It was at this session that the famous act was passed con- fiscating the property of adherents to the British side, or Tories, as tliey were termed. The Legislature again met in Kingston in 1780, and sat from April 22d to July 2d. It met for the fourth time here in 1783, and sat from January 27th to March 27th. THE BURNLNG OP KINGSTON BY THE BRITISH. After the capture of the Highland forts, the British fleet sailed up the river, firing at almost every prominent house on the shores as it went along. On the evening of October 15, 1777, the vessels came to Esopus Island and anchored there. The next morning, about 9 o'clock, they reached the mouth of the Rondout, where small earth-works, armed with light cannon, had been erected upon high ground overlooking the northern extension of the 15S POtJGHKEEPSlE TO KINGSTON. present city along the Hudson River front called PonhocUe. These opened lire, but were soon silenced and captured by assault, but the little garrison escaped. In the harbor lay an armed galley and a hulk which had been used as a military prison. These and some sloops were captured and burned, together with several houses in the neighborhood, after which the British troops, led by Vaughan in person, and guided by Jacobus Lefferts, a resident Tory, marched up from the "strand" to Kingston, encountering no more resistance than a stray shot now and then from some exasperated American, and arrived at the village to find it deserted by almost every one except a few slaves. The villagers, who had not men enough to make even a show of resistance, had fled, taking away such valu- ables only as they could hastily stow into wagons, while some had left nearly everything in Iheir houses, refusing to believe that the town would be burned. The soldiers were immediately scattered about the town, looting and firing the houses and barns, filled with the stores of the harvest. This done, they hastily withdrew, not daring to wait until the American troops, hurry- ing from New Paltz, should come up, and the enraged people should gather in force. Clinton's advanced guard reached the Kuyckuyt in time to witness the expiring conflagration, and to see the last of the redcoats hastening back to their vessels; and the general relieved his feelings by hanging on the spot that spy, Lieutenant Taylor, who had been captured at New Windsor, some days before, with the silver bullet in his gorge. Here are the reasons which account for the unexampled and entirely needless destruction of this town in 1777. One of the distinct objects Howe had in view, in his expedition up the river in that year, was the devastation of Esopus, and General Vaughan wrote a falsehood when, to justify his act in the eyes of the neutral world, he alleged in his dispatches that he was fired upon from the houses of the village. Quoting Augustus Schoon- maker: "In no part of the United Colonies did the fires of liberty burn more brightly, or the spirit of patriotism animate more manly breasts, than in the new State of New York and in the little hamlet of Kingston. The best evidence of this is found in the report made by General Vaughan, the British commander, on October 17, 1777, in which he denounces the place as ' a nursery POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. 153 for almost every villain in the country.' . . . Lord North, the Prime Minister of George III., complained to Sir William Howe, then commanding the royal forces in New York, of * the pestiferous nest of rebels clustered about the banks of the Esopus.' Howe had already been stung by the signing of the Articles of Association by the inhabitants of Kingston and Marbletown, and by the fact that the Committee of Safety found refuge at Kingston when driven from New York and Fishkill." A few words more will complete the story of Vaughan's marauding expedition, which was so noteworthy an incident in the war history of the Hudson Valley. The vessels proceeded up the river a few miles, landing to burn the houses of several Whigs, among which was the manor of Robert R. Livingston, notwithstanding the fact that Mrs. Livingston was then enter- taining two or more British officers (prisoners on parole) who were ill or wounded. The surrender of Burgoyne was now known, however, and Continental troops were hurrying to the river to cut off and destroy the invaders, if possible. The red- coats therefore turned back, and on the 24tli of October passed through the Highlands, and returned to New York. The record of Kingston since those days has been one of pros- perous but uneventful growth. The town broadened its acres and extended more and more widely its streets. In 1805 it was incorporated as a village, and remained so until it consolidated with Rondout as a city in 1873. The town has always been ambitious and progressive. It founded a school of higher learn- ing as early as 1664, and for many years the Kingston Academy was the only institution of its kind north of New York, graduating many men of note. One of its principals was that John M. Pome- roy who became a standard authority upon international law. It is now the city high school. Earnest efforts were made to found here a State university; and also to make this town the capital of the United States, Among its citizens have been many of eminence in State affairs, and some who have acquired world-wide reputations. Here was born (October 15, 1775) John Van der Lyn, the painter of The Landing of Columbus in the rotunda of the capitol at Washington — a picture still more widely popular as the ornament of the back of the United States five- 154 POUGHKEEPSIE TO KINGSTON. dollar note, and of the two-cent postage-stamp in the Columbian memorial issue of 1893. , Having early exhibited a decided taste and talent for drawing, Van der Lyn spent some months, under the patronage of Aaron Burr, in the ariist Stuart's studio at Philadelphia, where, among other things, he made a copy of Stuart's Washington, which now hangs in the Senate House. Burr also enabled him to go to Paris in 1798, where he studied four years. In 1801 he returned to the United States, but in 1803 went again to Europe, and painted his first historical sketch. The Murder of Jane McCrea, an incident of the Saratoga campaign. In 1805 he moved to Rome, and there painted his master-piece, Marius on the Ruins of Carthage, for which he was awarded the first gold medal by Napoleon at an exhibition in the Louvre. He remained in Europe until 1816, during which time he painted liis figure-pieces Ariadne and Cleopatra. The former is in the gallery of the Academy of Arts at Philadelphia, while his Cleo'patra is owned in Kingston. He painted a full-length portrait of Washington for the United States House of Representatives, for w^hich the House bad appro- priated $1,000; but when it was unveiled in the House, such was its merit that the House immediately and unanimously voted an additional compensation of $1,500. In 1839 he received the com- mission for his rotunda painting above mentioned, the studies and primary sketches for which are preserved here, as also is the principal part of his panorama of the Garden of Versailles, painted here in 1816, from sketches made by him when in Paris. At Kingston, too, lived and studied the landscape painter Jerms McEntee, whose brush was much occupied in this truly picturesque region; and literature is now represented in the city by Henry Abbey, whose poems have given his name an enviable notoriety. Kingston is a favorite place of residence for summer visitors from the city, and the excellent Eagle Hotel, near the square, entertains many such. Its streets and the surrounding roads are excellent for cycling and driving. THE TOUR OF THE CATSKILLS. The writer lias yet to appear who, taking the Catskili Mount- ains as his theme, shall adequately and truthfully deal with the group in all its aspects. The magic of Washington Irving's pen, by the relation of the tale of Bip Van Winkle, has endowed the whole region with poetic charm, and has given us the impression that every glen must be haunted by the " little people," and each peak have some story. The fact is, on the contrary, that the legendary lore of the Catskills is scanty, and historical incidents of popular interest are almost as scarce. Again, if one w^ere to believe wholly the perfervid pictures contained in the books issued annually by the local railway companies— excellent and trustworthy as these pamphlets are coming to be in many respects— he must conclude that nowhere else in the world were such grandeur and beauty of scenery, such perfection of hotel and boarding-house accommodation, such supernal excellence of air and water; but these must not be taken literally. The Catskills are not mountains, of course, in any proper sense — only big hills. Not to suggest the contrast between them and the Rockies or the Alps, they will not compare in mount- ainous size, nor in their approach to mountainous scenery, with the White Hills of New Hampshire, nor with the Smoky or Black ranges of the Carolinas; nor are their hotels better or worse than the average along the whole line of Appalachian summer resorts, from Moosehead Lake to Chattanooga. Nevertheless, it is a wholesome and beautiful region, easily accessible, offering opportunities for an outing, cither in the wilderness in some secluded hamlet, or amid the holiday -keeping crowd, in a manner costly and luxurious, or simple and cheap, as you prefer; and the Catskills are year by year attracting not only more holiday visitors, but more home-makers. The teudencj'', indeed, of late years has been decidedly toward the building of cottages and the increase of villages, rather than the patronage (155) 156 THE TOUR OF THE CATSKILLS. of great hotels, many former patrons having purchased extensive tracts of land and built upon them cottages for permanent occupancy. In these associations, the houses and their surround- ing grounds are owned individually, of course, yet are mutually connected by some simple regulations, which enable the com- munity, as .a whole, to say who shall and who shall not be admitted to the neighborhood, and to make rules of local police. Such are Onteora, Sunset, Twilight, Schoharie, Elka, Santa Cruz, and other "parks," Fleischmann's pretty village, and similar! aggregations of friendly summer residents. The striking beauty and salubrity of this part of the mountains has contributed to the prosperity of these parks, and the pleasantest social intercourse prevails among the cottagers, many of whom own their forest homes, and return to them year after year. To those who are in search of health and vigor, no more promising place of sojourof can be found, within the same distance from New York, than on or near the summit of its highest points. People who are weary of noisy, restless city life may be reasonably certain of peaceful and comfortable living among the tree-clad hills and fertile valleys of the famous Rip Van Winkle country. An alphabetical list of hotels will be found on pages 227-232. A complete list of boarding houses may be secured by addressing the general passenger agent of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad at Rondout, also from the general passenger agent West Shore Railroad, 5 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York City. T-wo principal entrances to the Catskill Mountains exist, but both admit to the two lines of valleys in which the tourist may find nearly all of the hotels, and the great body of summer travel and residents. One of these entrances is along the route of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad from Kingston west across the south- ern part of the group; the other is from Catskill by rail to the resident parks and Tannersville, and thence down Stony Clove.j just behind the line of peaks which form the eastern front of tha range. The latter (see the next chapter) is the older approach,! but the former comes first in our progress up the river. | The Ulster & Delaware Railroad has a terminal station inS Rondout, at the water-side, where passengers arriving or depart- HAINES' FALLS. f THE TOUR OF THE CATSKILLS 157 ing by the Rhinebeck ferry, can change to and from the cars with- out trouble. It skirts old Rondout on high ground, giving a good view of the old town, and stops at the junction station of the West Shore Railroad, a mile inland, where passengers from that line are received in the union station. A third halt is then made at Fair Street, the upper city, or Kingston station proper. The railroad then finds its way across the southern part of the mountains, through the valley of the Esopus on the east and the headwaters of the Delaware on the west. Its devious course gives as good an idea of the scenery of the range as can easily be obtained. The Hudson-Delaware divide is crossed near the summit of Pine Hill, at Grand Hotel station, 1,886 feet above tide- water, after which the line bends northward along the water- shed of the Delaware and ends at Hobart, seventy-eight miles from Kingston. From Hobart to Bloomville, nine miles beyond, a little road has been built, which is leased and operated by the Ulster & Delaware, so that, practically, the line and its trains extend to Bloomville, eighty-seven miles from Kingston. A gap of less than twenty miles remains between Bloomville and the Cooperstown & Charlotte Railroad; but as this would bring this company into connection with the railway system of the interior of the State, subject it to competition, and compel it to share through rates, and reduce its present large, non-competitive charges, the gap will probably not be bridged. At present the charges on the mainline of i he Ulster & Delaware road are at the rate of 'S cents a mile; and on its branches at the rate of 10 cents a mile! Leaving Kingston, finally, at the upper city station (Fair Street), the train crosses the Esopus, or Kingston Creek, and ascends the valley called Stony Hollow. At West Hurley, nine miles west, 540 feet of altitude have been gained, and a broad farming valley is opened to view. The mountain on the right (northward) is Overlook (altitude, 3,500 feet). At its base is the village of Woodstock, five miles distant; half-way up stands Mead's "Mountain House," one of the oldest resorts of the region; and two miles farther brings one to the Overlook House, near the top, and having an observa- tory upon the very crest. The breezes are always cool, the sur- roundings are wild, and the view is truly an " over-look," reach- ing far away across the Hudson, and north and south for a long distance, including, it is advertised, parts of seven States; but the long stage-ride for passengers, and the necessity of hauling supplies over a rough road from this station, or from Tanners- 13 158 THE TOUR OF THE CATSKILLS. ville, have proved too large a handicap, and the hotel was closed with the season of 1891. Stages from West Hurley leave daily, except Sunday, throughout the year: For Woodstock, 5 miles, fare 50 cents; Bearsville, 7 miles, fare 60 cents; Lake Hill, 10 miles, fare 75 cents. During the summer months only, for Mead's Mountain House, 8 miles, fare $1.00; Overlook Mountain House (when open), 9 miles, fare $1.50. j bl Olive and one or two small stations in this broad valley having been passed, Esopus Greek is again reached and crossed at Broadhead's Bridge, where the line turns up the stream and keeps close to its western bank almost as far as the source. This is the principal easterly stream of the middle Cat skills, collecting all the water from the Pine Hill summit, Big Indian, Stony Clove, Beaverkill, Woodland, Shokan, Woodstock, and Platter- kill valleys. It is divided from the Catskill and Schoharie, on the north, by the water-shed rauge that extends from High Peak to Hunter, and from the Rondout, on the south, by the peaks of which Slide Mount is the highest; and in old times was known as the " Little" Esopus, while the Rondout was " Big " Esopus. The next two or three stations, Shokan, Boiceville, Mount Pleasant, etc., as far as Phoenicia, are quiet little villages, each provided with a small hotel and surrounded by farmers who keep boarders. A continuous line of hills on the right cuts off the view of the mountains proper with the exception of a distant glimpse of the Overlook from Olive Branch, above that portion of the hills called Little Tonche. The central and highest point is named Ticetenyck, and the most western, near Boice- ville, Tonche Hook. In approaching Shokan, the beautiful High Point Mountain, 3,100 feet in height, is seen at the left side of the cars, in a southerly direction. At Shokan the hills shut in rather closely, and nowadays the place is invariably referred to as "at the gateway of the Cats- kills" — a phrase originating in the title of a magazine article by the present writer in Harper's for February, 1876. The region has not greatly altered since that time, such changes as have occurred being a loss of rusticity in the people which is accom- panied by the loss of a picturesqueness that it will be interesting to recall. Following is an extract: THE TOUR OF THE CATSKILLS. 159 The valley [of the Esopus, here] is several miles long and irregularly broad, but with a level surface. The soil is coarse drift-bowlder material, and water-worn stones from an ounce to a ton in weight are everywhere to be seen. Stone walls, conse- quently, almost entirely take the place of fences. These become browned by exposure to the weather, embroidered with varicol- ored lichens, entangled in thickets of briers, where lightly rests a mantle of snow-blossoms, or droop rich clusters of delicious berries, or glow sunburned masses of foliage; and they tumble into piles exceeding picturesque the year round. They are the favorite resort of sparrows and wrens, whose lithe bright forms dodge in and out of hiding-places with ceaseless activity, or choose some taller bush near by as a pedestal for joyous song. On every side rise hills to the height of 1,500 or 2,000 feet, culminating at Sliokan in the two mountains Ticetenyck and High Point, that stand over against one another at the head of the vallej'", like two giant warders guarding the portal to the mysteries of the Catskills, which the far blue summits beckon feet and imagination to explore. Through this huge gate and down the valley winds the Esopus, ... a brawling mountain stream, such as the painters go to Scotland to find; or rather, it was before the for- ests on its banks were felled, and its waters were befouled by refuse from the tanneries, mills, and villages which, attracted by its bark and lumber, have grown up on its banks. But to follow up any of its small tributaries, like the Little Beaverkill or the Bushkill, or to work your way to its source, is to penetrate the primeval forest, where, now that the bark-peelers have departed, rarely wanders any but the trapper or trout-fisher, or an occa- sional tramp like the writer, who would seek for love of them the inmost recesses of the wilderness. Through this gateway, about the beginning of the century, passed many of the settlers of Delaware County — which lies thirty miles to the northwest — coming from Long Island, Connect- icut, and from the counties beyond the Hudson. Down through it now comes a large part of the produce, mainly butter, from that county to market. The settlers beyond the mountains have also sent back a man or two into the world, who emerged from these mountain portals. . . . If searching varied scenery nearer the village of Shokan, you must not fail to walk two miles down to Bishop's Falls, to which I alluded a moment ago, where the Esopus leaps into its little canon. To get the complete picture, you must climb down to the foot of the falls, cautiously, for the rocks are slippery with spray and slimy confervoid growths. Beside you is the deep dark pool where the fish love to lie ; over your head, the long, cov- ered, age-colored Olive Bridge, spanning the chasm from abut- ments of living rock; in front, the rock amphitheater, raised still higher by a log dam at the top, down whose steps rushes the 16^0 THE TOUR OP THE CATSKILLS. tumultuous water, white with the foam of its mad leap and hoarse with the thunder of its breaking waves. On your right is an old tannery, on your left a still older mill. This ancient mill is historic. Through its decayed and moss-grown flume the water has flowed to grind a hundred harvests. Could its wallsl repeat the stories they have listened to, tell the events they have* seen, no other chronicle of the neighborhood were needed, for there have been few inhabitants within a circle of a dozen miles who have not driven under its roadway shed. . . . About a century ago a man named Bishop, with a baker's dozen of children, came down from Delaware County — curiously enough — to settle here. The space about these falls was all " commons," and Mr. Bishop bought a large tract on one side of the river for a few cents an acre. His first move was to take advantage of the magnificent water-power, and erect a small mill, building so well that the solid oaken timbers stand to day as firmly as when first put up, but browned by the lights and shadows of the long years which have soaked into their pores. The first machinery, an undershot wheel and simple gearing, was made entirely of wood whittled out by Bishop himself; where he got his buhr-stones, or whether he had any, I do not know. These contrivances lasted some years, but one winter were torn away by ice. Then a workman from Kingston made a wooden tub-wheel. This also stood a long time, but a few years ago was replaced by a turbine wheel, and the primitive gearing by the iron shafts and cog-wheels in present use. Meanwhile, under the ceaseless turning of the stream of life, the owner wore out along with his wheels, and Mr. Bishop was laid aside. Some would think this pioneer might have said, "My life is one dem'd horrid grind"; but we have no record that he even thought of his stay on the earth thus harshly. The old mill, in its stability, regularity, and slow movement, is not a bad type of the men who bring their harvests to be crushed; and while waiting, grind between tbe stones of each other's com- ments the grist of neighborhood gossip. They differ mainly iu the cut of their coats from those who came when the old mill was new, for they have preserved the traditions and customs of their forefathers with great tenacity. Their faces show the mixture of Yankee and Dutch blood which flows in their veins, and the thrift in their farming and their incessant whittling further attest the double parentage. All the farms have been in the families of those who now own them for several generations, but still yield abundantly. The aged orchards, the pieces of large second- growth timber, the occasional ruin where once stood a home- stead, the many low, old-style, tumble-down houses, show how long the valley has been under the plow. Thus far, these paragraphs remain a fair account of life all along this and the neighboring valleys and mountain slopes, but THE TOUR OP THE CATSKILLS. 161 the following picture can no longer be realized by a visitor to the Esopus Valley, where the old self-sufficiency has been replaced by worldly notions, ambitions, and materials, introduced by the summer boarder and the fast mail. " The simplest mechanical arts," I recorded in the Centennial year, "never had much foot-hold here, for every young man learns all the trades as well as the methods of agriculture, and by the time he is twenty-four is supposed to be proficient in every handicraft likely to be of use to an independent farmer. He is a wheelwright, a blacksmith, a house-carpenter, a stone-mason, a shoemaker; can patch his harness, repair his gun, or intelli- gently tinker the few pieces of machinery which have forced their way from the outside world of labor-saving inventions into these quiet precincts. You find a workshop on every farm and a more or less complete set of tools for each of the trades. The cutting and splitting of hoop-poles occupies profitably many a rainy day, after the farmer has seen that his hoes lack no handles and his ox-yoke does not need a new bow. "On the other hand, the women are skilled in all those household industries which were considered the accomplish- ments of the Puritan maidens, and are slow to displace the spin- ning-wheel by the sewing-machine. Of course the testimony of their proficiency as cooks is 'new every morning and fresh every evening.' In the long August afternoons, when the mel- low sun glances upon the circles of ruddy cider apples under the broad orchard trees, and Ihe cat drowses on the door-step, guard- ing the immaculate kitchen from the invasion of the chickens, is heard the loud rhythmic purring of the spinning-wheel, rising and dying away like the droning of the giant bee. Watching the plainly attired woman walking back and forth beside her whirring wheel, guiding with dextrous hands the fleecy lengths she holds, one can easily think himself back in the ' good old colony times,' wiien the maidens paused in their spinning to chat of the news brought in the last ship from England, or guided their yarn with tremulous hands and beating hearts while their lovers were silently watching them through the misty spokes of the flying wheel. The carding-bee has been out- grown, but the idea remains, and the people still find their pleasures in combining play Avith work; husking-bees, quiltings, and raisings are yet the enthusiastic occasions of tremendous labor and equal fun. In the fall there is an occasional nutting party, or hunt for wild honey by ' lining ' the bees home to their treasure. Hundreds of pounds of fine honey are thus got every year out of these woods." The mountains which now appear grandly in the south and southwest are the loftiest of the Catakills, and the wildest and 16S THE TOUR OF THE CATSKILLS. most picturesque part of the group lies in and about them — a region almost uninhabited, and penetrated by only a few old wood roads usually ending in nothing, or continued by some grown-up bark-peeler's track of long ago, or an obscure foot- path known only to the local mountaineers, who tramp it once or twice late in the fall and winter to hunt bears and foxes, and to gather wild honey. These peaks are about four miles distant, and form a half-circle with long converging spurs. The central one of this group is Slide (4,220 feet), the highest and most Alpine of all the Catskills, and next to it are Peakamoose (altitude, 3,875 feet) and Table Mountain (altitude, 3,865 feet); but none of these three is to be seen from here. Their two great compan- ions, visible on this side, are Mount Cornell, 3,920 feet in altitude, and crowned by a circle of cliffs, and TJie Wittenberg at its right, 3,824 feet high. Both are rough, densely wooded, and rocky, but they can be climbed from almost any approach. Mr. John Bur- roughs and the present writer once walked to the top of the Wittenberg from Boiceville, w^itli no great diflQculty, by ascend- ing Traver Hollow from Boiceville, and keeping along the ridge of Cross Mountain, that long spur which reaches down almost to the railway. The ascent was very steep near the top, and the descent into the head of Woodland Hollow, on the other side, was a continual scramble down rocky ledges. Not a path was seen the whole trip; and its adventures, which included a night spent on the summit under an extemporized hut of hemlock boughs, formed the subject of two articles in The Christian Union for June 18 and 25, 1891, in which some details may be found of service to any one who cares to repeat the ramble. These mount- ains show grandly from this side, but as the train advances beyond Sliokan presently become hidden by the nearer mass of Mount Pleasant at the mouth of the Beaverkill, which comes in from the northeast, and up whose valley you see Sugar Loaf, Roundtop, High Peak, and other heights that look down on the Kaatc rskill Clove. Here is the Mount Pleasant station, and from. it a road runs up the Beaverkill and through .-to the populous Sawkill Valley, and so down to Saugerties, passing many farms and little villages. Phoenicia is the next stopping place, important mainly as the junction of the Ulster & Delaware and Stony Clove railroads. THE TOUR OF THE CATSKILLS. 163 The valley is liere closely environed by shaggy mountains, which are broken northeastward by a great gulch called Stony Clove — the latter term an old Dutch word meaning a ravine, still in use all along the Hudson River, and appearing commonly in South Africa in the modified form kloof. As you face the Clove, Tremper Mountain is close overhead on the right, its spurs forming the right-hand wall of the Clove, and Mount Sheridan (2,490 feet) is opposite on the left; while Mount Garfield (2,650 feet) is directly westward, and Mount Romer southward, behind the observer. Esopus Creek and the Ulster & Delaware Railroad, therefore, come down to Phoenicia between Mounts Garfield and Sheridan, and continue southward between Tremper and Romer. Looking westward, between Romer and Garfield, one sees some ten miles distant the bulky mass of Panther Mountain (3,800 feet) and the "giant ledge " reaching southward from its shoulder at the head of Panther Kill. Panther Mountain is a vast elevated plateau of dense rough forests, abounding in big game, and utterly destitute of roads, paths, or people. Those in search of a wilderness, and desirous of "roughing it," can be recommended to go thither, and work their way along to Slide and the head of the Ronclout until they get enough of it. Phoenicia contains, besides several boarding-houses, the great Tremper House, the first large hotel to be built in this part of the mountains. Its elevated situation above the surrounding plain gives it perfect drainage; accommodates 800 guests. A good path leads to the great out-look-ledge on Mount Sheridan, and a carriage road ascends to the summit of Mount Tremper, while just over the hills, at the left, is the pleasant Woodland Valley, as they now call Snyder Hollow, which is some nine miles long, and reaches backward, parallel with the railroad, to the very foot of the Wittenberg. STONY CLOVE, HUNTER, AND TANNERSVILLE. Stony Clove is a deep and narrow ravine, where many ledges of bare rock break the monotony of the steep and wooded mountain-sides. A little stream comes cascading down its clef t, and the old wagon road still climbs beside it. It is perhaps true that it "has long been regarded as one of the great scenic attraciions of the Catskills"; but it is by no means so interesting as Kaaterskill Clove, nor does it compare with some of the 164 THE TOUR OF THE CATSKILLS. railway passes in the mountains of Virginia or East Tennessee. The railway, built about 1880, is a narrow-gauge line called Stony Clove & Gatskill Mountain Bailtcay^ leased by the Ulster & Delaware Co. All passengers must change cars, but freight- cars are lifted from their wheels, balanced upon the little narrow-gauge trucks, and hauled through without unloading. The terminus is Hunter. Tiiree miles below Hunter a connect- ing narrow-gauge line called Kaaterskill Railroad, and the property of the Ulster «& Delaware Co., diverges to the east five miles, to a terminus at Otis Summit station, at the head of the Otis Elevating Ry. The fare on these lines is 10 cents a^ mile; and on many of the trains are run open cars similar to those between Brooklyn and Coney Island. Three small stations, two of which are little more than chair factorieSi are passed in the ascent of the cafion, where an elevation of 1,273 feet is gained in ten miles, and in some places the grade is as high as 187 feet to the mile. One of the stations, Chichester's, is at the mouth of a side ravine called Ox Clove, The summit is reached in an especially narrow pass named The Notch, where there is scarcely room in the bottom for the wagon road and railroad together, and the rocky walls are sleep but beautifully overhung with vines and shrubbery. Four miles beyond, and around at the left, is the village of Hunter, forming a long street along the base of Hunter Mountain, next to Slide the highest of the Catskill peaks. It is an old place, and has churches, fac- tories, a weekly newspaper, etc., but has become prominent as a summer resort since the completion of the railway, and has several large hotels and so many boarding-houses that "nearly 2,000 visitors can be entertained in this locality." Mount Hunter (altitude, 4,038 feet) and The Colonel's Chair (altitude, 3,165 feet) overshadow the town, and are ascendible by good paths. Stages leave Hunter daily, except Sunday, for Lexington, 9 miles, fare 75 cents; Hensonville, 7 miles, fare 75 cents; Windham, 9 miles, fare $1. These are pretty villages along the Schoharie, of which Windham is the best known, and has long been a favorite with the migrants who scatter through these mountains in summer. The vicinity is especially noted for its excellent and shady roads, especially that to the cleared summit of Mount Pisgah, whence a landscape of unusual breadth and variety is spread before the gaze. THE TOUK OF THE CATSKILLS. 165 Five miles east of Hunter, by the turnpike, or six by the rail- road (Kaaterskill branch), is Tannersville, which is distinctively a summer resort. It abounds in small hotels and boarding-houses, as well as a great number of small cottages, scattered over a wide area of uplands, pretty thoroughly cleared of trees, so that there is a lack of shade and a plenitude of dust. Able and willing to accommodate anybody vying with other places in point of cheap- ness, and accessible by rail and stage from both Kingston and Catskill, Tannersville has become the resort of a very mixed and rapidly moving summer population, and is a great resort, in par- ticular, of our Israelitish brethren, who love to gather where they can be together. A great circle of high mountains surrounds the town. On the east are North and South mountains. High Peak (or Mount Lincoln), and Roundtop; on the south, Sugar Loaf, half hidden by Clum Hill (the ascent of which is a favorite walk, and about as much mountaineering as the visitors there care to under- take, or would better try, if they depend upon their fanciful imita- tions of the alpenstock); and westward rise the bulky masses of Plateau and Hunter mountains; while northward is Mount Parker (or Spruce Top), and more distant, and the only really interesting peaks of the lot, are Black Dome and Blackhead. If one goes to the mountains simply to join a rollicking, highly varied crowd, which is bent upon having a *' good time" without much expense or attention to conventionalities, the Tanners- ville district will suit him; but it is not the place for quiet folk, who seek in the hills something else than a cheap copy of the noise and amusements of the city they have left behind. Tannersville is the station for several of the elegant and exclusive of the associations of cottagers that are annually becom- ing more numerous in the Catskills, including Elka Park, Scho- harie Manor, and Onteora Park. Onteora Park is a preserve of some 2,000 acres on a hill-slope a mile or more north of Tannersville, and separated from it by a valley which was selected originally as a summer homestead by Mrs. F. B. Tlmrber of musical fame, and the wife of one of New York's leading merchants, with Mrs. Candace Wheeler and Miss Dora Wheeler, the artists, as neighbors. It was a place, we are told, where daisied meadows rolled away from their feet, and fir forests climbed the heights behind them ; I6u THE TOUR OP THE CATSKILLS. 3 where little brooks trickled through the shadows of the woods, and away to the left the hills stood aside to show a glimpse of the silver Hudson, beyond which rolled again blue billows of distant hills, which were the Berkshires. "Here is our home," they said, - Avithout more ado, and began to build mountain lodges of unhewn I spruce logs, with pillars of the silver-skinned birch, having! within great low-timbered rooms with wide fireplaces, floors? strewn with the skins of bear trapped in the forest behind them, and furnished and fitted in the rustic fashion suiting such a dwelling. Every autumn there were collected here parties of well-known artists, litterateurs, and musicians. These began to take envious counsel among themselves — seeing all this uncostly pleasure and simple beauty — and to say: " Why can't we have the same thing? " A land compan}^ was organized, wdiicli purchased 2,000 acres of the mountain, so that no intruders might come in and spoil the lovely environments of the place. A rustic and picturesque inn was built, christened the Bear and Fox. A good road to the top of the mountain was made through the woods, and a number of charming little cottages sprinkled about at odd intervals, all of logs and rustic in character, but individual in design. This club has a peculiar purpose. It is not meant for rich people, but for cultured and elegant ones. The land is sold, or cottages rented, or camping-places and board at the inn are offered to the right people at very low rates, and denied to unacceptable applicants at any price. Artists are numerous, and make it a point to leave in the club house some brush memento of their visit. Says a happy guest: "Famous people wdiose names are on the backs of well-known books, down on the right-hand corner of beautiful paintings, or signed to musical scores, lounge about in flannels all clay, reading, sketching, or simply 'inviting their souls,' and in the evening cluster about the great altar in front of the inn, where a huge log-heap blazes every evening, healthily wear}^ with out-of-door sports, tossing brilliant fancies about or trolling minstrel songs to a banjo. There is Gilder, the editor of the Century, with his slender dark face and cavernous eyes lit by the firelight. . . . Hamilton Bell, the young Englishman who designs all Daly's gorgeous stage-settings and the Rehau's picturesque costumes, has his note-book on his knees explaining to the noted pianist who makes her home with Mrs. Thurber how Mrs. Potter's CleqiDatra costumes are to look when he has finished them. It is 'the paradise of busy women. Whenever a clever, gifted girl is working for her living she finds the Onteora Club ready to make her entry here so reasonable that even her slender purse can afford it, and several of them have homes here already, simple as may be, but their own, where they can come and meet the most charming people in the whole of America, and yet not be overshadowed by the French dressmaker of richer women." t! THE TOUR OF THE CATSKILLS, 167 Elka Park is an organization of somewhat similar character and limitations which has latelj^ purchased a large tract of land on Spruce Top, at the source of the Schoharie, and a mile or so beyond Onteora Park. Its members are mainly the gentlemen of the Liederkranz Society, and others prominent in German society in New York; and it will doubtless perfect an encampment of summer residences as interesting and beautiful as Onteora. Schoharie Manor — having within its boundaries a large club house in the colonial style, termed the Schoharie Mansion — is a recent addition to cottage clubdom in the Catskills, occupying 300 acres adjacent to Elka Park. Another association, originating in the Twilight Club of New York, has a tract of land called Twilight Park, at the head of Kaaterskill Clove, upon which an excellent club-house and many pretty cottages have been built among the trees, whose windows look across and down the Clove, Still farther, along the steep acclivity of Roundtop, is a similar newer park, called Santa Cruz, nearly opposite the Hotel Kaaterskill. The station for both these parks and for Haines'' Falls is Haines'' Corners, a mile beyond Tannersville, and itself the center of a large number of small hotels and farm board- ing-houses, mostly possessed by some member of the old and numerous Haines family, whose farms join one another in a sort of continuous tribal possession all around the head of the Kaaterskill Clove. Two miles more brings the train to the Laurel House station, and just beyond to the station on South Lake, half-a-mile to the rear of the Hotel Kaaterskill, and less than a mile farther is the terminus {Otis Smmnit) at the head of the Otis Elevating Railway. This eastern group of hotels and lofty points of interest overlooking the Hudson belongs rather to Catskill (cit}^ than to the present connection, and will be spoken of more particularly hereafter (see Chap. YI), and it is necessary now only to point out, as has been done, that they are accessible in the rear, as it were, by this all-rail route from Kingston or the interior mountain towns via Stony Clove; and that they can be seen, or made halting-places, upon an interesting round-trip from Kingston to Catskill (city), or vice versa, by way of the Ulster & Delaware, Stony Clove, Otis Elevated, and Catskill Mountain 168 THE TOUIl OF THE CATSKILLS. railroads. This can be done in a single day, at a cost of fo to |7, by any one who can not afford more time, or whose curiosity will be satisfied b}- so rapid a glimpse; and it is well worth doing. The fare from the top of the Elevating Railway to Catskill city is 11.75. From Phomicia westward the. Ulster & Delaware Railroad I follows up the valley of theEsopus between Mount Sheridan oul the right and Panther Mountain on the left, making its first stop atl Sliandalcen, in a valley which already has many hotels and board- ing-houses, and seems destined to grow rapidly in population. Its most prominent hotel is Goodheim's "Palace," formerly widely known as Lament's, at the entrance to Beep Notch, through I which a road leads to the Westkill Valley, Vinegar Hill, and Lex- ington on the Schoharie. Stages from Shandaken run daily, except Sunday, throughout the year: For Bushnellville, 3 miles, fare 35 cents; Westkill, 7 miles, fare 75 cents; Lexington, 11 miles, fare $1. Making a sharp turn westward at that point, under the brow of Rose Hill (northward), the road winds its way through wild hills to Big Lidian (station), at the mouth of Big Indian' Creek, which is really the head of the Esopus, since it is a larger stream than that which comes more directly from Pine Hill and is followed by the railroad. This name "Big Indian" has been accounted for by a variety of fantastic stories, of which one given by Van Loan is as follows: In 1832 Theodore Guigou, founder of the family so closely identified with the history of this district since then, settled at Pine Hill, and was shown a stump of a large pine tree, carved in the form of an Indian, near the present site of the Big Indian station. He was then told by one of the old settlers that an Indian whose height was eight feet was buried near the stump. The Indian was chased by a pack of wolves and killed near this spot. The beautiful and wild valley just beyond was then named Big Indian. A more recent and elaborate tale makes this red giant the hero of a love affair in which he was shot by his white rival, and found afterward standing dead, but erect, in a hollow tree, whither he had crawled after receiving the fatal bullet. Big Indian Greek, or the Upper Esopus, rises high up on the northern slope of Slide Mountain, receiving the tribute of scores of springs and rivulets from Big Indian and Balsam mountains on the west, and from the Giant Ledge and Panther Mountain on the east, and it is a fine clear, cold Alpine stream, once alive ' iffl ih i lii V i """ I «i ^ s C JH[ O Uh A R 1 E h Willi»n,sbn,g Jefferson o L North Hurjiersflild ''^—■^^y'^^^^ir^ IJv W00K-IUCKM1. ^ S.Jeffor;,. ts, XX^TTER MT. MiNEMT.20!g \_-«Vffl, We*t Gilboa 'orpeistiild Center — ^>— _^V// )) Livingston'^ Broome Center o oMiu-kej's Highland Ho. 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