NEW YORK, Pop. 5,261,151. Grand Central Terminal. (Train 51 leaves
8:31a; No. 3, 8:46a; No. 41, 1:01p; No. 25, 2:46p; No. 19, 5:31p.
Eastbound: train 6 arrives 9:22a; No. 26, 9:40a; No. 16, 4:00p; No. 22,
5:25p.)[1]
[1. Throughout this handbook the time is given at which trains are
scheduled to leave or pass through the cities or towns mentioned.
From New York to Chicago, Train No. 51 is the Empire State
Express; No. 3, the Chicago Express; No. 41, The Number
Forty-one; No. 25, the Twentieth Century, and No. 19, the Lake
Shore Limited. In the reverse route, from Chicago to New York,
No. 6 is the Fifth Avenue Special; No. 26 is the Twentieth
Century; No. 16, the New York and New England Special, and No.
22, the Lake Shore Limited. The time given is Eastern Standard
Time at all points east of Toledo, and Central Standard Time,
which is one hour slower, at Toledo and all points west. (When
Daylight Saving Time is adopted during the summer it is one hour
faster than _Standard_ time, but all time given in this booklet
is Standard time.) The time between 12.01 o'clock midnight and
12.00 o'clock noon is indicated by light face type; between 12.01
o'clock noon and 12.00 o'clock midnight by dark face type. The
use of an asterisk (*) indicates places recommended as especially
worth visiting. Population figures are those of the 1920 U.S.
Census.]
Fifty years ago when Commodore Vanderbilt began the first Grand Central
Station--depot, they called it, in the language of the day--he made one
error of judgment. His choice of a site proved to be magnificently
right, though he selected a spot that was practically open country, then
technically known as 42nd St. The story goes--it is a typically American
story--that his friends laughed at him, remarking that a person might as
well walk to Boston or Albany as go away up to 42nd St. to take a train
for those cities. But the people did come, and they admired the
commodore's new station, which is perhaps not surprising, since the
commodore had set himself to build the greatest terminal in the world.
Many Americans considered the new "depot" as only second to the capitol
at Washington, and it served as an excellent show place when visitors
came to town. Europe might have its cathedrals, but it had no Grand
Central Station!
The commodore's one mistake lay in thinking that his fine new station
would last a century. Within ten years an addition had to be built; in
1898 it had to be entirely remodeled and enlarged, and fifteen years
later it was entirely demolished to make way for the present building
which would be adequate for handling the city's ever-increasing
millions.
There seems to be little doubt that the city of N.Y. and its
environs has become within the last decade larger even than London.
The population of greater London (including all the separate
administrative entities within the Metropolitan Police District) is
estimated at 7,435,379. Jersey City, Hoboken, and the other N.J.
cities on the west, as well as Yonkers, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle,
etc., on the north, although politically detached, are included in
the "city" of N.Y. in the larger sense, their political detachment
being in a certain sense accidental. Including these, the population
of N.Y. area corresponding to the Metropolitan London area is
7,583,607. The population of N.Y. City proper is 5,261,151. The
London area comparable with this, viz., the part of London governed
by the London County Council has a population of 5,028,974.
Comparing the areas of the two--N.Y.C. with 327 sq. miles and London
with 692 sq. miles, it is hard to understand how the respective
populations should approximate each other so nearly until it is
remembered that New York grows perpendicularly instead of
horizontally, that it usurps more air rather than more land. In some
of the downtown business streets, such as Wall or Rector, the
buildings tower so high above the narrow thoroughfare that they form
a kind of deep canyon along which the wind is drawn as through a
tunnel.
In the colonial period Philadelphia was the most important city,
commercially, politically and socially, while just before the War of
Independence, Boston, with a population of 20,000 was the most
flourishing town in all the colonies. During the Revolutionary War,
N.Y.C. had fallen to a population of 10,000 and in 1790 it had
barely gained a position of leadership with 33,131, but by 1840
N.Y.C. had grown to be a city of 313,000 while Philadelphia had
95,000 and Boston 93,000.
[Illustration: Commodore Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) at the age of 16 bought a sailboat
in which he carried farm produce and passengers between Staten
Island, where he lived, and N.Y. He was soon doing so profitable a
business that in 1817, realizing the superiority of steam over
sailing vessels, he was able to sell his sloops and schooners, and
became the captain of a steam ferry between N.Y. and New Brunswick.
His projects grew enormously. He inaugurated steamship lines between
N.Y. and San Francisco, N.Y. and Havre, and other places. In
1857-1862 he sold his steamships and turned his attention more and
more to the development of railways, with the result that before his
death he had built up and was a majority share owner in the N.Y.
Central & Hudson River, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, the
Harlem, and the Michigan Central & Canada Southern railways, and had
holdings in many others. He died at N.Y. in 1877.]
Today one of the most remarkable features of New York is the Grand
Central Terminal. The exterior finish is granite and Indiana lime-stone;
the style somewhat Doric, modified by the French Renaissance. Over the
entrance to the main building is a great arch surmounted by a statuary
group wherein Mercury, symbolizing the glory of commerce, is supported
by Minerva and Hercules who represent mental and moral force.
Within, the main concourse of the station proper is an immense room with
a floor space of 37,625 sq. ft. where the New York City Hall might be
set and yet leave room to spare. It is covered with a vaulted ceiling
125 ft. high, painted a soft cloudy blue and starred over with the
constellations of heaven. Great dome-shaped windows, three each at the
east and west ends, furnish light.
[Illustration: The Main Concourse, Grand Central Terminal]
The entire site of the Grand Central Terminal comprises 30 blocks and 80
acres which above the surface are covered with a great variety of
buildings, making almost a city in itself. Moreover, there is direct
subway entrance to three large hotels, capable of housing as many as
10,000 persons, and to all these conveniences is added that of
comfortable temperature throughout the terminal, no matter how cold the
weather.
[Illustration: Map of New York City, 1775
This survey, made in the winter of 1775, shows the city proper as
it existed during the Revolutionary War. Places indicated by the
lettering are described under the original as follows: A, Fort
George. B, Batteries [at the two points of the island]. C,
Military Hospital [south of Pearl St.]. D, Secretary's Office
[near Fort George]. E, [Not Shown]. F, Soldiers' Barracks [at
extreme right]. G, Ship Yards [lower right hand corner]. H, City
Hall [Broad and Wall streets, site of present Sub-Treasury
building]. I, Exchange. J, K, Jail and Workhouse [both situated on
the "intended square or common," now City Hall Square]. L, College
[Church and Murray streets; this was King's College, now Columbia
University]. M, Trinity Church [the present Trinity was built on
1839-46, though it stands on the site of the old church built in
1696]. N, St. George's Chapel. O, St. Paul's Chapel [built in
1756, the oldest edifice still standing in N.Y.C.]. P to Z,
various churches.]
As distinctively "New York" as the sky-scrapers, are the hotels and
apartment houses. Of the latter, there are more than in any other
city in the world, and the number of persons who are giving up their
houses and adopting this manner of life is steadily increasing. The
first thing, in fact, that impresses a visitor on his arrival is the
seemingly endless amount of buildings adopted for transients. A few
of the largest hotels have space for several thousand persons at one
time.
[Illustration: New Amsterdam (Now New York City) in 1671
The point of land in the foreground is now known as the Battery.
The large building inside the stockade is a church. In the middle
foreground is a gallows. The hills in the background form the
approach to the present Morningside Heights.]
The old station in 1903-'12 was torn down, brick by brick, while at the
same time the new building was being erected--and all without disturbing
the traffic or hindering the 75,000 to 125,000 people that passed
through the station each day. This was an extraordinary engineering
feat, for not only were 3,000,000 yards of earth and rock taken out to
provide for the underground development, but hundreds of tons of
dynamite were used for blasting. Among the improvements introduced in
the new station are ramps instead of stairways, the division of
out-going from in-going traffic and the elimination of the cold
trainshed. The substitution of electricity for steam as a motive power
in the metropolitan area made possible the reclamation of Park Avenue
and the cross streets from 45th St. to 46th St.--about 20 blocks in
all--by depressing and covering the tracks.
At 56th St. the tracks begin to rise from the long tunnel and pass
through the tenement district of the upper East Side. The side streets
seem filled with nothing but children and vegetable carts, while along
the pavements shrill women with shawls over their heads are bargaining
for food with street-vendors. As the railroad tracks rise higher still,
we run on the level with the upper-story windows out of which the
tenants lean and gossip with one another.
[Illustration: The Jumel Mansion, New York City]
4 M. HARLEM STATION (125th St.). (Train 51 passes 8:41a; No 3, 8:57a;
No. 41, 1:12p; No. 25, 2:56p; No. 19, 5:41p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes
9:11a; No. 26 9:29a; No. 16, 3:49p; No. 22, 5:25p.)
Old Harlem was "Nieuw Haerlem," a settlement established in 1658 by Gov.
Peter Stuyvesant in the northeastern part of Manhattan Island. It
existed for 200 years but is now lost under modern Harlem, which centers
about 125th St. In this neighborhood to the west occurred the battle of
Harlem Heights--a lively skirmish fought Sept. 16, 1776, opposite the
west front of the present Columbia University, and resulting in a
victory for the forces of Gen. Washington, who up to that time had
suffered a number of reverses on Long Island and elsewhere. The battle
was directed by Washington from the Jumel mansion*, 160th St. and
Amsterdam Ave., the most famous house, historically, on the island of
Manhattan. It is still standing.
[Illustration: Peter Stuyvesant and the Cobbler
Peter Stuyvesant, Dutch Governor of N.Y. from 1647 to 1664 and a
valiant member of the Reformed Church, had an intense prejudice
against all other sects. At Flushing a Baptist cobbler, William
Wickendam, ventured to preach "and even went with the people into
the river and dipped them." He was fined 12,500 guilders ($5,000)
and ordered to be banished. As he was a poor man the debt was
remitted, but he was obliged to leave the province.]
The house was built in 1763 by Roger Morris for his bride, Mary
Philipse of Yonkers, for whose hand, it is said, Washington had
been an unsuccessful suitor. The house was subsequently owned by
John Jacob Astor and then passed into the hands of Stephen Jumel,
a French merchant, who, with his wife Eliza, added new fame to
the old house. They entertained here Lafayette, Louis Napoleon,
Joseph Bonaparte and Jerome Bonaparte. Aaron Burr (1756-1836) in
his old age, appeared at the mansion with a clergyman, and
married Mme. Jumel, then a widow. She divorced him shortly
afterward, and he died in poverty on Staten Island, 1836.
Alexander Hamilton whom Burr killed in the famous duel at
Weehawken, N.J. (July 11, 1804) owned a country place in the
neighborhood, "Hamilton Grange," which now stands at 140th St.
and Convent Ave.
Leaving Manhattan, that extraordinary island which Peter Minuit,
director-general of New Netherlands, bought in 1626 from the Indians for
sixty guilders' worth of goods (about $24), we cross the Harlem River to
the Borough of the Bronx, named for Jonas Bronck, the first white
settler, who made his home in 1639 near the Bronx Kills (where the
Harlem River flows into Long Island Sound).
The original price paid for the Bronx--or a large share of it--was
"2 gunns, 2 kettles, 2 coats, 2 shirts, 2 adzes, 1 barrel of
cider, and 6 bitts of money." The assessed value of Manhattan
today is $5,116,000,000 and that of the Bronx $732,000,000
(realty).
The Hudson River Division of the New York Central turns to the left and
follows the course of the Harlem River, 7 M. long, which separates
Manhattan Island from the mainland and connects the Hudson with the East
River. On the south bank of the Harlem are Washington Heights, with the
Speedway on the immediate bank, and Fort George (near 193d Street) named
from a Revolutionary redoubt. The Speedway was built at a cost of
$3,000,000 for the special use of drivers of fast horses. On the right,
after passing the High Bridge, which carries the old Croton aqueduct,
one of the feeders of the city water supply, and the Washington Bridge,
are University Heights and (farther to the west) the township of
Fordham, where the cottage in which Edgar Allen Poe lived from 1844 to
1849 and wrote _Ulalume_ and _Annabel Lee_, is still preserved.
New York University, on University Heights, was founded in 1832;
the principal buildings include Gould Hall, a dormitory; the
library, designed by Stanford White, and the Hall of Fame,
extending around the library in the form of an open colonnade,
500 ft long, in which are preserved the names of great Americans.
11 M. SPUYTEN DUYVIL. (Train 51 passes 8:51a; No. 3, 9:09a; No. 41,
1:23p; No. 25, 3:06p; No. 19, 5:53p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 8:57a; No.
26, 9:17a; No. 16, 3:37p; No. 22, 5:02p.)
Spuyten Duyvil is situated on Spuyten Duyvil Creek, celebrated by
Washington Irving, which connects the Harlem and Hudson Rivers. In
recent years the creek has been enlarged into a ship canal.
The town and stream receive their curious name from the following
story, according to Irving. In 1664, when the Dutch were being
threatened by the British, Anthony van Corlear, Dutch trumpeter
to Gov. Stuyvesant, was despatched to sound the alarm. It was a
stormy night and the creek was impassable. Anthony "swore most
valourously that he would swim across it 'in spite of the devil'
(en spuyt den duyvil) but unfortunately sank forever to the
bottom." The "duyvil" had got him. "His ghost still haunts the
neighborhood, and his trumpet has often been heard of a stormy
night."
Across the Hudson, along which our route now lies for nearly 150 M., can
be seen the Palisades, an extraordinary ridge of basaltic rock rising
picturesquely to a height of between 300 and 500 ft. and extending along
the west bank of the Hudson about 12 M. from a point north of Ft. Lee,
N.J., to Palisades, N.Y.
The peculiar hexagonal jointing of the rock, which has given rise
to the name Palisades, is an unusual geological formation; the
only other important places where it is found are at Fingal's
Cave in Scotland and the Giant's Causeway in Ireland. The beauty
of the Palisades was threatened by quarrying and blasting
operations until N.Y. and N.J. agreed to the establishment of the
Palisades Interstate Park which comprises 36,000 acres (1,000
acres in New Jersey and 35,000 in New York State).
"The spacious and stately characteristics of the Hudson from the
Palisades to the Catskills are as epical as the loveliness of the
Rhine is lyrical. The Hudson implies a continent beyond. No
European river is so lordly in its bearing, none flows in such
state to the sea. Of all the rivers that I know, the Hudson, with
this grandeur, has the most exquisite episodes."--George William
Curtis.
[Illustration: The Half Moon at Yonkers
In September, 1609, Henry Hudson started up the Hudson in the
"Half Moon," which attracted frequent visits from the natives
along the route.]
To the right, just north of Spuyten Duyvil, is a high promontory, upon
which stands a lofty monument to Henry Hudson, who had his first
skirmish here with the Indians after entering N.Y. Bay in Sept. 1609.
With an excellent harbour at its mouth, and navigable waters leading 150
M. into a fertile interior, the Hudson River began to attract explorers
and settlers soon after the discovery of America. Verrazano, the
Florentine navigator, sent out by the French king, Francis I, ventured a
short distance up the Hudson in 1524, almost 100 years before the
Pilgrim Fathers, and in 1609 Henry Hudson sailing in the "Half Moon"
nearly up to the site of Albany demonstrated the extent and importance
of the river that bears his name.
[Illustration: New York Slave-Market--About 1730
Slaves were introduced into N.Y. as early as 1626 when the West
India Co. (a Dutch company), which had large establishments on the
coast of Guinea, brought negroes to Manhattan, and practiced the
slave trade here "without remorse." It is said that in proportion
to population N.Y. imported as many Africans as Virginia. That New
York did not become a slave-state like Carolina was, according to
Bancroft, "due to climate and not to the superior humanity of its
founders. [Gov.] Stuyvesant was instructed to use every exertion
to promote the sale of negroes. They were imported sometimes by
way of the West Indies, often directly from Guinea, and were sold
at auction to the highest bidder. The average price was less than
$140." With the extension of English rule to N.Y. in 1664 the
slave trade in this colony passed into the hands of the British.
It is estimated that the total import of slaves into all the
British colonies of America and the West Indies from 1680 to 1786
was 2,130,000. The traffic was then carried on principally from
Liverpool, London and other English ports; the entire number of
ships sailing from these ports then engaged in the slave traffic
was 192, and in them space was provided for the transport of
47,146 negroes. The native chiefs on the African coasts took up
the hunt for human beings and engaged in forays, sometimes even on
their own subjects, for the purpose of procuring slaves to be
exchanged for western commodities. They often set fire to a
village by night and captured the inhabitants when trying to
escape. Out of every lot of 100 shipped from Africa, about 17 died
either during the passage or before the sale at Jamaica, while not
more than 50 lived through the "seasoning" process and became
effective plantation laborers. Slavery in N.Y. was continued till
1827. It was then abolished by terms of an act passed by the N.Y.
Assembly ten years earlier.]
Henry Hudson, English navigator, made four important voyages to
find a passage to China by the northeast or northwest route; it
was on the third venture undertaken at the instance of the Dutch
East India Co., that he found the Hudson, probably a greater
discovery than the one he undertook to make. With a mixed crew of
18 or 20 men he started on his voyage in the "Half Moon," April
6, 1609, and soon was among the ice towards the northern part of
Barents Sea. His men mutinied and he was forced to seek the
passage farther south. Thus eventually he entered the fine bay of
what is now N.Y. harbour, Sept. 3, 1609. John Fiske says: "In all
that he attempted he failed, and yet he achieved great results
that were not contemplated in his schemes. He started two immense
industries, the Spitzbergen whale fisheries and the Hudson Bay
fur trade; and he brought the Dutch to Manhattan Island. No
realization of his dreams could have approached the astonishing
reality which would have greeted him could he have looked through
the coming centuries and caught a glimpse of what the voyager now
beholds in sailing up the bay of New York." The Dutch called the
Hudson the North River (a name which is still used) in
contra-distinction to the Delaware which they called the South
River.
The lower Hudson is really a fiord--a river valley into which ocean
water has been admitted by the sinking of the land, transforming a large
part of the valley into an inlet, and thus opening it to commerce as far
as Troy (about 150 M.), up to which point the river is tidal and,
therefore, partly salt. The Hudson extends above Troy for 150 M.
farther, but navigation is interrupted by shallows and swift currents.
Below Troy the fall is only five feet in a distance of 145 M. This
lower, navigable portion of the Hudson was the only feasible route
through the Atlantic highlands, and in consequence it has been one of
the most significant factors in the development of the United States.
New York City likewise owes its phenomenal development largely to this
great highway of commerce.
The invention and successful operation of the steamboat, the first line
of which was established on the Hudson by Fulton in 1807, gave early
impetus to the importance of N.Y.C., and the building of the Hudson
River R.R., one of the first successful railways, now a part of the New
York Central Lines, and the opening of the Erie Canal (1825) connecting
the Hudson with the Great Lakes and the far interior, were among other
contributory factors in the city's growth.
15 M. YONKERS, Pop. 100,226. (Train 51 passes 8:56a; No. 3, 9:15a; No.
41, 1:29p; No. 25, 3:11p; No. 19, 5:59p. Eastbound No. 6 passes 8:52a;
No. 26, 9:12a; No. 16, 3:31p, No. 22, 4:56p.)
When the Dutch founded New Netherlands, the present site of Yonkers was
occupied by an Indian village, known as Nappeckamack, or "town of the
rapid water," and a great rock near the mouth of the Nepperhan creek (to
the north of the station) was long a place of Indian Worship.
In the early days, the Hudson River Valley from Manhattan to
Albany was occupied by Algonquin tribes, while the central part
of the state along the Mohawk Valley had been conquered by the
famous Iroquois Confederation, of which the Mohawks were the most
warlike. The Mohawks soon drove out the Mohicans, who claimed as
their territory the east bank of the Hudson. On the whole, the
Dutch lived peaceably with their Indian neighbors, but an attempt
of Gov. Kieft to collect tribute from them led to an Indian war
(1641), which resulted in the destruction of most of the outlying
settlements. Later a treaty of alliance was made with the
Iroquois Confederation, which protected the early settlements in
N.Y. from those attacks which occurred so frequently elsewhere in
this period. The treaty was renewed when the British took
possession of New Netherlands, and lasted until the Revolutionary
War.
The land where Yonkers now stands was part of an estate granted in 1646
by the Dutch government to Adrian Van Der Donck, the first lawyer and
historian of New Netherlands. The settlement was called the "De
Jonkheer's land" or "De Yonkeer's"--meaning the estate of the young
lord--- and afterwards Yonkers. Subsequently the tract passed into the
hands of Frederick Philipse, the "Dutch millionaire," as the English
called him, some of whom alleged that he owed a large part of his
fortune to piratical and contraband ventures. The suspicion was strong
enough to force Philipse out of the governing council of the colony, and
he returned to his manor where he died (1702) at the age of 76.
It was even charged that he was one of the backers of Capt.
William Kidd (1645-1701), for whose buried treasure search has
been made along the Hudson, as well as in countless places along
the Atlantic Coast. Capt. Kidd began the career which made him
notorious under a commission from the British Government to
apprehend pirates. He sailed from Plymouth, England, in May 1696,
filled up his crew in N.Y. in the following year, and then set
out for Madagascar, the principal rendezvous of the buccaneers.
Deserting his ship, he threw in his lot with theirs and captured
several rich booties. Returning to N.Y., he was arrested, sent to
London, found guilty and hanged. Of his "treasure" about L14,000
was recovered from his ship and from Gardner's Island, off the
east end of Long Island. The stories of large hoards still
undiscovered are probably mythical.
The Philipse manor house*, one of the best examples of Dutch colonial
architecture in America, erected in 1682 and enlarged in 1745, was the
second residence built by the Philipses (the other is at Tarrytown) and
is now maintained as a museum for colonial and Revolutionary relics. It
was confiscated by the legislature in 1779 in reprisal for the
suspected "Toryism" of the third Frederick Philipse, the great grandson
of the first lord of the manor and his second successor. Before being
converted into a museum it served for many years as the City Hall of
Yonkers.
[Illustration: Philipse Manor House, Yonkers, 1682
This famous old house, said to be one of the best examples of
Dutch colonial architecture in America, was built by Frederick
Philipse, first lord of the manor of Philipsburg. It was
confiscated by the State of New York after the Revolutionary War
and for many years served as the City Hall of Yonkers. It is now
a museum.]
Yonkers has some important manufactures with an annual production of
$75,000,000 and 15,000 wage earners; its output includes passenger and
freight elevators, foundry and machine shop products, refined sugar,
carpets, rugs and hats. It has one of the largest carpet factories in
the world.
The country round Yonkers is dotted with fine estates. Conspicuous to
the right, 2 M. north of the station, is the battlemented tower of
"Greystone," once the home of Samuel J. Tilden and now owned by Samuel
Untermyer, the N.Y. lawyer.
Samuel J. Tilden (1814-1886), a lawyer and reformer, served one
term as governor of N.Y., and was later candidate for the
presidency against Rutherford B. Hayes. He had become famous for
his attacks on the notorious Tweed ring of N.Y.C., and later for
his exposure of the "Canal ring," a set of plunderers who had
been engaged in exploiting the N.Y. canal system. He was given
the Democratic nomination for president in recognition of his
services as a reformer. The Republicans nominated Hayes, and the
result was the disputed election of 1876, when two sets of
returns were sent to Washington from the States of Florida,
Louisiana, South Carolina and Oregon. As the Federal Constitution
contains no provision for settling a dispute of this kind, the
two houses of Congress agreed to the appointment of an
extra-Constitutional Body, the Electoral Commission, which
decided all the contests in favor of the Republican candidates.
Tilden's friends charged that they had been made a victim of a
political "steam roller," but he advised them to make no
protests. Tilden left more than $2,000,000 for a library in N.Y.
(now consolidated with the N.Y. Public Library).
Across the Hudson River from Hastings (19 M.) can be seen Indian Head,
the highest point on the Palisades, near which (about 1/2 M. farther
north) is the boundary between N.J. and N.Y.; from this point northward
both shores belong to N.Y.
20 M. DOBBS FERRY, Pop. 4,401. (Train 51 passes 8:58a; No. 3, 9:23a; No.
41, 1:37p; No. 25, 3:18p; No. 19, 6:07p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 8:45a;
No. 26, 9:05a; No. 16, 3:23p; No. 22, 4:48p.)
About the time of the Revolutionary War, a Swede named Jeremiah Dobbs,
established a ferry here connecting with the northern end of the
Palisades (visible on the left across the river). Originally only a
dugout or skiff, it was the first ferry north of Manhattan, and was kept
up by the Dobbs family for a century. In times past the residents have
often tried to change the name of the town to something more
"distinguished," but the old name could not be displaced.
The story goes that 50 years ago a mass meeting was held in the
village at which it was proposed to name the town after one of
the captors of Maj. Andr['e]--either Paulding or Van Wart. The
meeting came to nothing when an old resident suggested
Wart-on-Hudson.
The strategic position of Dobbs Ferry gave it importance during the War
of Independence. It was the rendezvous of the British after the battle
of White Plains in Nov. 1775 and a continental division under Gen.
Lincoln was stationed here in Jan. 1777. The American army under
Washington encamped near Dobbs Ferry on the 4th of July, 1781, and
started in the following month for Yorktown, Va., where the final story
of the war took place. Two years later (May 6, 1783) Washington and Sir
Guy Carleton met at Dobbs Ferry to negotiate for the evacuation of all
British troops, and to make terms for the final settlement recognizing
American Independence. Their meeting place was the old Van Brugh
Livingston house.
Peter Van Brugh Livingston (1710-1792), prominent merchant and
Whig political leader in N.Y., was one of the founders of the
College of N.J. (now Princeton), and was president of the first
Provincial Congress of N.Y. (1775). His brother, William, was the
first governor of N.J.
[Illustration: Reception of President Washington at New
York, April 23rd, 1789
After the ratifying of the federal constitution, Washington, in
1788, was unanimously elected president. On April 23, 1789, he
arrived from Virginia at New York, where he was received with a
frenzy of gratitude and praise, and was inaugurated at the Senate
hall which stood on the site of the present U.S. Sub-Treasury
building. The stone whereon Washington stood when he came out of
the house is preserved in the south wall of this building. He is
described as wearing suit of homespun so finely woven that "it was
universally mistaken for a foreign manufactured superfine cloth."
This, of course, was a high tribute to domestic industry.]
22 M. IRVINGTON, Pop. 2,701. (Train 51 passes 9:06a; No. 3, 9:25a; No.
41, 1:39p; No. 25, 3:21p; No. 19, 6:11p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 8:43a;
No. 26, 9:03a; No. 16, 3:21p; No. 22, 4:46p.)
"Sunnyside," a stone building "as full of angles and corners as a cocked
hat"* and situated behind a screen of trees a little north of the
station, was the home of Washington Irving, for whom the town was named.
First erected by Wolfert Acker in 1656, it was considerably enlarged
by Irving in 1835.
[Illustration: War and Merchant Ships of Revolutionary Days
These are authentic pictures, showing actual details, of the ships
used by the Americans and British at the time of the Revolutionary
War. They were originally engraved for the First Edition of the
Encyclopaedia Britannica (1768). In the centre is a first rate ship
of war, "the noblest machine that ever was invented," to quote the
First Edition; and the illustration below shows the interior
construction of the hull. It will be noticed that there are three
gun decks, below which is the poop, or storage deck. "A common
first rate man of war," says the First Edition, "Has its gun deck
from 159 to 178 ft. in length, and from 44 to 51 broad. It
contains from 1313 to 2000 tons; has from 706 to 1000 men, and
carries from 96 to 100 guns. The expense of building a common
first rate, with guns, tackling and rigging is computed at 60,000 L
sterling."]
The east end is covered with ivy said to be grown from a slip given to
Irving when he visited Scott at Abbotsford. At Irvington we come to
Tappan Zee (to be seen on the left), where the Hudson widens into a
lake-like expanse, 10 M. long and 3 to 4 M. wide. It is a favorite
cruising place for ghosts and goblins, according to popular legend.
[Illustration: "Sunnyside," Irving's Home After 1835
After a long sojourn abroad, Washington Irving returned in 1835 to
"Sunnyside" said to have been built originally in 1656. It was
considerably enlarged by Irving, who spent the remainder of his
life here. "Sunnyside" is now owned by Irving's descendants.]
There is, for example, Rambout van Dam, the roystering youth from
Spuyten Duyvil, who was doomed to journey on the river till
Judgment Day--all because he started to row home after midnight
from a Saturday night quilting frolic at Kakiat. "Often in the
still twilight the low sound of his oars is heard, though neither
he nor his boat is ever seen." Another phantom that haunts the
Tappan Zee is the "Storm Ship," a marvellous boat that fled past
the astonished burghers at New Amsterdam without stopping--a
flagrant violation of the customs regulation, which caused those
worthy officials to fire several ineffectual shots at her.
Across the river from Irvington is Piermont, and 2 M. to the southwest
of Piermont is the village of Tappan, where Maj. Andr['e] was executed Oct.
2, 1780. Lyndehurst, with its lofty tower, the home of Helen Gould
Sheppard, the philanthropist, a daughter of Jay Gould, is passed on the
right just before reaching Tarrytown.
24-1/2 M. TARRYTOWN, Pop. 5,807. (Train 51 passes 9:08a; No. 3, 9:27a;
No. 41, 1:41p; No. 25, 3:23p; No. 19, 6:13p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes
8:40a; No. 26, 9:00a; No. 16, 3:18p; No. 22, 4:43p.)
Situated on a sloping hill that rises to a considerable height above the
Tappan Zee, historic Tarrytown stands on the site of an Indian village,
Alipoonk (place of elms), burned by the Dutch in 1644. Irving explains
that the housewives of the countryside gave the town its name because
their husbands were inclined to linger at the village tavern, but
literal minded historians think it was more likely that the name came
from Tarwen dorp or Tarwetown, "wheat town." There were perhaps a dozen
Dutch families here in 1680 when Frederick Philipse acquired title to
Philipse Manor, several thousand acres, in what is now Westchester
county. Just above Tarrytown is the valley of the Pocantico creek, the
mouth of which is marked by the projection of Kingsland Point.
[Illustration: Washington Irving
Washington Irving (1783-1859) was intended for a legal profession,
but although called to the bar preferred to amuse himself with
literary ventures. The first of these, with the exception of the
satirical miscellany, "Salmagundi," was the delightful
"Knickerbocker History of New York," wherein the pedantry of local
antiquaries is laughed at, and the solid Dutch burgher established
as a definite comedy type. When the commercial house established
by his father and run by his brother began to go under in 1815,
Irving went to England to look into the affairs of the Liverpool
house, and as it was soon necessary to declare bankruptcy, his
misfortune forced him to write for his living. Returning to
America in 1832 after 17 years' absence, he found his name a
household word. The only interruption to his literary career was
the four years (1842-1846) he spent as ambassador to Spain. For
the rest, he passed some little time travelling, but in the main
kept retreat at "Sunnyside," where he died, Nov. 28, 1859.]
This is the "Sleepy Hollow" of Irving's legend, where Ichabod
Crane, the long, thin school-master, whose conspicuous bones
clattered at any mention of ghosts, encountered the Headless
Horseman pounding by night through the little Dutch village. It
was after a quilting bee at Farmer Van Tassel's, where his
daughter Katrina and what would come with her in the shape of fat
farm-lands and well-stocked barns, aroused Ichabod's affections
to the boiling point. He had a rival, however, "Brom Bones," a
young black-headed sprig, who watched Ichabod's advances
uneasily. After the party Ichabod mounted his old horse,
Gunpowder, as bony as he, but no sooner was he well under way
than he heard hoof beats on the road behind him and saw,
glimmering in the dark, a white headless figure on horseback,
carrying in its arms a round object like a head.... Never before
or since was there such a chase in Sleepy Hollow. Perhaps the
hapless school-teacher might have escaped, had not the Huntsman,
just as they reached the Sleepy Hollow bridge, hurled his head
square at his victim. The next morning no Ichabod, only a pumpkin
lying on the road by the bridge, where the hoofmarks ceased. He
had completely disappeared. Some weeks later Brom Bones led
Katrina to the altar.
Through this valley, we get a glimpse of the site where Philipse
erected, partly of brick brought from Holland, a manor house,* a mill,*
and a church,* all of which are still standing.
"There is probably no other locality in America, taking into
account history, tradition, the old church, the manor house, and
the mill, which so entirely conserves the form and spirit of
Dutch civilization in the New World.... This group of buildings
ranks in historic interest if not in historic importance with
Faneuil Hall, Independence Hall, the ruined church tower at
Jamestown, the old gateway at St. Augustine, and the Spanish
cabildo on Jackson Square in New Orleans. And the time will come
when pilgrimages will be made to this ancient beautiful home of
some of those ideals and habits of life which have given form and
structure to American civilization."--Hamilton Wright Mabie.
[Illustration: Old Dutch Church (Built About 1686) at
Tarrytown, N.Y.
Irving says: "The sequestered situation of the church seems always
to have made it a favorite haunt of troubled spirits. It stands on
a knoll, surrounded by locust trees and lofty elms, from among
which its white-washed walls shine modestly forth, like Christian
purity beaming through the shades of retirement." The church is
still standing.]
During the War of Independence, Tarrytown was the scene of numerous
conflicts between the "cowboys" and "skinners," bands of unorganized
partisans who carried on a kind of guerilla warfare, the former acting
in the interest of the colonists, and the latter in that of the king. On
the old post road on Sept. 24, 1780, Maj. Andr['e] was captured by three
Continentals, John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac van Wart. The
spot where Andr['e] was captured is now marked with a monument--a marble
shaft surmounted by a statue of a Continental soldier.
Tarrytown lies principally along either side of a broad and
winding highway, laid out in 1723, from N.Y.C. to Albany. It was
called the King's Highway till the War of Independence, then
called Albany Post Road, and the section of it in Tarrytown is
known now as Broadway. The delights of traveling in the days
when the road was first laid out are suggested in the following
description: "The coach was without springs, and the seats were
hard, and often backless. The horses were jaded and worn, the
roads were rough with boulders and stumps of trees, or furrowed
with ruts and quagmires. The journey was usually begun at 3
o'clock in the morning, and after 18 hours of jogging over the
rough roads the weary traveler was put down at a country inn
whose bed and board were such as to win little praise. Long
before daybreak the next morning a blast from the driver's horn
summoned him to the renewal of his journey. If the coach stuck
fast in a mire, as it often did, the passengers must alight and
help lift it out."
[Illustration: Old Mill at Tarrytown Built in 1686
The Manor House, the Old Church and the Mill were erected by
Frederick Philipse, the lord of several thousand acres, in what is
now Westchester County. The mill, much dilapidated, still exists.]
Many of the stirring incidents of Fenimore Cooper's novel, _The Spy_,
occurred in this neighborhood, and the town is particularly described in
_The Sketch Book_ of Washington Irving who was for many years the warden
of the old church and is buried in the old Sleepy Hollow burying ground.
With Cooper and Washington Irving (1783-1859) American literature
first began to exist for the world outside our own boundaries.
The _Knickerbocker History of New York_, in which the Dutch
founders were satirized, was practically the first American book
to win appreciation abroad. This and later books "created the
legend of the Hudson, and Irving alone has linked his memory
locally with his country so that it hangs over the landscape and
blends with it forever."
Harvey Birch, the hero of _The Spy_, is a portrait from the life
of a revolutionary patriot who appears in the book as a peddler
with a keen eye to trade as well as to the movements of the
enemy. One of the best known incidents in the book is that in
which Harvey, by a clever stratagem, assists Capt. Wharton to
escape. James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was born at Burlington,
N.J., but was reared in the wild country around Otsego Lake, in
central N.Y., on the yet unsettled estates of his father. It was
here he learned the backwoods lore, which in combination with his
romantic genius, made him one of the most popular of authors.
Among the literary residents of Tarrytown have been Mrs. E. D. E. N.
Southworth, well known to a previous generation for her romantic novels,
John Kendrick Bangs, the humorist, and Hamilton Wright Mabie, editor and
essayist. Carl Schurz (1829-1906) is buried here in the Sleepy Hollow
churchyard. Tarrytown is the trading center of a prosperous agricultural
region; it also has about 100 manufacturing establishments with a large
output. Just north of Kingsland Point (seen at the left, on the east
bank of the river), the seat of William Rockefeller comes into view on
the right, and behind it, among the hills, is the estate of his brother,
John D. Rockefeller.
John D. Rockefeller was born in 1839 at Richford, Tioga Co.,
N.Y., but his family moved to Cleveland while he was still a boy,
and his career was begun there. In 1858 he went into the produce
commission business, and 4 years later his company invested in
an oil refinery. Mr. Rockefeller kept constantly adding to his
influence and possessions in this field until by 1872 the
Standard Oil Co. was organized with him as president, and a
practical control of oil production in America was secured. This
was the first great American "trust." Mr. Rockefeller himself
retired from active business in 1895. While his wealth is
enormous, his benefactions have been on an equal scale,
comprising gifts to the Baptist Church, the founding of
educational institutions and the supporting of those already
existent. Scientific research in medical fields has been a
particular object of his generosity.
Mr. Rockefeller's country estate is called "Kijkuit," meaning
look-out--a name given by the early Dutch settlers to the
beautiful hill on which it stands, and which, rising to a height
of 500 ft., gives a lovely view up and down the Hudson, across to
the distant mountain ridges of N.J., and inland over Westchester
County. The house and gardens are famous not only for their
splendour, but for the priceless works of art they contain. Among
the treasures which have been worked in as details of the
landscape gardening is a fountain which for years has been
considered unrivalled by experts. The huge basin, 20 ft. 8 in. in
diameter, was cut from a single block of granite weighing 50 tons
and brought on the deck of a schooner from an island on the Maine
coast to the dock at Tarrytown. The heroic figure at the top
represents Neptune, and the figures below symbolize the Atlantic,
Pacific and Indian Oceans.
In the "morning garden" at the rear of the house is a bronze
Victory (a facsimile of the Pompeiian Victory at Naples), which
stands on a marble column with a Byzantine capital brought from
Greece. The 13th century relief set in the wall of the pergola at
the left came from a church in Venice.
Descending a flight of steps to the westward, one comes upon the
Aphrodite temple. The style of this is Graeco-Roman, with columns
of marble supporting a dome decorated after the fashion of the
portico niches in the Massimi palace in Rome, which was designed
in the 16th century by Baldassare Peruzzi. Under a roof of copper
and bronze, on a high pedestal, stands "Aphrodite," resembling
the Venus de Medici, but so superior to her in line and
proportion that many critics believe it to be a Praxitilean
original from which the Venus de Medici was clumsily copied. This
is the greatest art-treasure in the garden.
30 M. OSSINING, Pop. 10,739. (Train 51 passes 9:15a; No. 3, 9:34a; No.
41, 1:48p; No. 25, 3:30p; No. 19, 6:21p. Eastbound: No. 6, passes 8:34a;
No. 26, 8:54a; No. 16, 3:11p; No. 22, 4:36p.)
Ossining was first settled in 1700, when it was part of Philipse Manor.
It was originally called Sing Sing, taking its name from the Sin Sinck
Indians, but in 1901 the name was changed to Ossining, on account of its
association with the Sing Sing prison, which can be seen to the left
near the water's edge. The prison is a low white-marble building, built
in 1826. Ossining has a public library, several private schools, the
Roman Catholic Foreign Missionary Seminary of America, and a soldiers'
monument.
Passing the Croton aqueduct (on the right), which is carried over a
stone arch with an 80-foot span, the train crosses the mouth of the
Croton River and intersects Croton Point. It was at the extremity of
this peninsula that the British sloop-of-war "Vulture" anchored when she
brought Andr['e] to visit Benedict Arnold at West Point. Six miles up the
Croton River is the Croton Reservoir, which supplies a large share of
N.Y. City's water. Across the river is Haverstraw Bay.
At the north end of Haverstraw Bay, on the west bank, is Stony
Point Lighthouse, the site of a fort which was the scene of one
of the most daring exploits of the Revolutionary War. Gen.
Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) had been forced, through political
necessity, to relinquish his regular command, and on the
recommendation of Washington, he organized a new Light Infantry
Corps, with which on the night of July 15, 1779, he stormed the
fort and recaptured it from the British at the point of the
bayonet. This well-planned enterprise aroused the greatest
enthusiasm through the country, and won for him the popular name
of "Mad Anthony." Later, in war with the Indians on the frontier,
Gen. Wayne further distinguished himself.
At this point is the greatest width (4 M.) in the river's course.
Shortly before reaching Peekskill we pass Verplanck's Point (on the
left), near which the "Half Moon" dropped anchor, Sept. 14, 1609.
40-1/2 M. PEEKSKILL, Pop. 15,868. (Train 51 passes 9:36a; No. 3, 9:55a;
No. 41, 2:09p; No. 25, 3:50p; No. 19, 6:43p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes
8:13a; No. 26, 8:33a; No. 16, 2:47p; No. 22, 4:14p.)
Peekskill means Peek's creek, and was named from the Dutch mariner, Jans
Peek, who established a trading post here in 1760. It will be noticed
that the Hudson turns abruptly to the left at this point, while the
creek branches off to the right. According to tradition, the adventurous
Jans, who had been voyaging up the Hudson, became confused and turned to
the right, following the creek with the idea that it was the main river,
until his boat ran aground. As a result of this accident he chose the
spot to set up a trading post. During the latter part of the
Revolutionary War Peekskill was an important post of the Continental
Army; and in Sept. 1777, the village was sacked and burned by the
British. To the north of Peekskill are Manito Mts., where the N.Y.
National Guard has its summer encampment on a high cliff overlooking the
river. The summer home of Henry Ward Beecher was in Peekskill, and
ex-Senator Chauncey M. Depew was born here.
Peekskill on the east side of the Hudson, and Dunderberg Mt. (865 ft.)
on the west, stand at the lower gate of the Highlands, so named from
the steeply rising hills which border both sides of the river for the
next 16 M. At the foot of Dunderberg Mt. is Kidd's Point, one of the
numerous places where the notorious pirate is supposed to have concealed
treasure.
Our train passes too close to the hills on the east bank to give a
perspective, but on the west, where the Highlands are visible across the
Hudson, the outlook is very beautiful. This part of the Hudson, often
compared to the Rhine, has always been a source of artistic and poetic
inspiration.
[Illustration: Peekskill Landing--About 1815]
Close to Dunderberg Mt. the river takes a sharp turn to the left, and
just beyond the mountain can be seen Iona Island (near the west bank),
now occupied by the U.S. Government as a naval arsenal and supply depot.
Between the island and the eastern shore the river is so narrow that
this stretch is spoken of by boatmen as "The Race." A short distance
farther on the west bank is Bear Mt. Park, originally the gift of Mrs.
E. H. Harriman, which has been set aside by the Interstate Palisade Park
Commissioners as a vacation resort for the poor. Our train presently
passes by tunnel under the mountain known as "Anthony's Nose" (900 ft.),
so named, according to Diedrich Knickerbocker, from the "refulgent
nose" of Anthony van Corlear, Peter Stuyvesant's trumpeter. Across the
river is visible the mouth of Poplopen creek, on the north side, Ft.
Clinton.
These two forts were involved in the important maneuvers of 1777,
when the British, under Sir Henry Clinton, executed a brilliant
enterprise northward up the Hudson; they broke through the chains
which the Americans had stretched across the river in the hope of
checking the advance of British warships, captured Ft. Clinton
and Ft. Montgomery and destroyed the fleets which the Americans
had been forming on the river.
Three M. farther (on the right) is Sugar Loaf Mt. (765 ft.), noteworthy
as the place from which Benedict Arnold, whose headquarters were in the
Beverley Robinson House, near the south base of the mountain, made his
escape to the British man-of-war "Vulture" (1780) after receiving news
of Andr['e]'s capture. On the west shore near Highland Falls stands the
residence of the late J. Pierpont Morgan, standing somewhat back from
the river and partly hidden by trees.
John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) was born in Hartford, Conn., a
son of Junius S. Morgan, who was a partner of George Peabody and
the founder of the house of J. S. Morgan & Co. in London. After
his university training at G[:o]ttingen, he began his career in the
financial world, and by 1895, as the head of J. P. Morgan & Co.,
was the greatest American financier. His banking house became one
of the most powerful in the world, carrying through the formation
of the U.S. Steel Corporation, harmonizing the coal and railway
interests of Pennsylvania, purchasing the Leyland line of
Atlantic steamships and other British lines in 1902, effecting an
Atlantic shipping combine, reorganizing many large railways, and
in 1895 supplying the U.S. government with $62,000,000 in gold to
float a bond issue and restore the treasury surplus of
$100,000,000. Mr. Pierpont Morgan was a prominent member of the
Episcopal church, a keen yachtsman, a generous patron of
charitable and educational institutions, and a notable art and
book collector. As president of the Metropolitan Museum he gave
or loaned to it many rare and beautiful pictures, statues, and
art objects of all kinds. A memorial tablet was recently unveiled
in his honour at the museum.
Buttermilk Falls (100 ft.) are visible on the west bank after a heavy
rain; the buildings on the bluff above belong to Lady Cliff, a school
for girls.
49 M. WEST POINT (Garrison). (Train 51 passes 9:46a; No. 3, 10:04a; No.
41, 2:19p; No. 25, 4:00p; No. 19, 6:55p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 8:01a;
No. 26, 8:20a; No. 16, 2:34p; No. 22, 4:00p.)
Across the river from Garrison, the imposing buildings of West Point,
the "Gibraltar of the Hudson," come into view. The name "West Point"
properly belongs to the village located here, but in ordinary usage it
refers to the U.S. Military Academy,* America's training school for
officers, which at the present time has about 1,000 cadets.
[Illustration: West Point from an Aeroplane _Photo Brown Bros._
The academy furnishes for those who wish to become army officers a
splendid education of a standard equal to the best colleges and
without cost to the student. Each cadet is paid $1,028.20 a year,
an amount which, with proper economy, is sufficient for his
support. West Point, therefore, offers an excellent opportunity
for those who can meet the requirements and are capable of
successfully undergoing the mental and physical discipline of the
school. Each senator and congressman is entitled to nominate two
candidates, who are appointed as cadets by the Secretary of War
after passing the prescribed examination. There are also 82
appointments at large, and the law of 1916 authorized the
president to appoint cadets to the academy from among the enlisted
of the Regular Army and National Guard, though not more than 180
at any one time. This law was passed with the idea of introducing
a greater degree of democracy into army life. Candidates for
admission must be between 17 and 22 years, unmarried, free from
physical infirmity and capable of passing a somewhat rigorous
examination in high school or preparatory school subjects. The
course of instruction, which requires three years, is largely
mathematical and professional. From about the middle of June to
the end of August the cadets live in camp, engaged only in
military duties and receiving military instruction. In general the
education and discipline are so excellent that the business world
is always ready with its high pecuniary rewards to tempt men away
from their military vocation. The result is that graduates
frequently resign their commissions, and the army loses what is
gained by the world of affairs.]
The academy occupies a commanding position on a plateau 150 ft. above
the river. As we approach, the power house is in the foreground, with
the riding school, a massive building just beyond, while the square
tower of the Administration Building dominates the scene on the level of
the parade ground above. West Point was first occupied as a military
post during the Revolutionary War. In Jan. 1778, a huge chain, part of
which is still preserved on the parade ground, was stretched across the
river in the hope of blocking the progress of the British men-of-war,
and a series of fortifications, planned by the great Polish soldier,
Kosciusko, were erected on the site of the present academy.
Thaddeus Kosciusko (1746-1817) had a romantic and picturesque career.
An intended elopement with Ludwika, daughter of the Grand Hetman,
Sosnowski of Sosnowica, was discovered by the Hetman's retainers.
In the fight that followed, Kosciusko was badly wounded and flung
from the house. Shortly afterwards he left for America, where, as
he had been well grounded in military science, Washington soon
promoted him to the rank of colonel of artillery and made him his
adjutant. Kosciusko especially distinguished himself in the
operations about N.Y.C. and at Yorktown, and Congress conferred
upon him a number of substantial rewards. He returned to his
native land to participate in the gallant but unsuccessful effort
to free Poland (1794), and is now celebrated among the Poles as
one of their greatest heroes.
At West Point were the fortifications that Benedict Arnold, their
commander in 1780, agreed to betray into British hands.
Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) was, before his disgrace, perhaps the
most brilliant officer and one of the most honored in the
American army. It is true that shortly before he took command at
West Point a court martial had directed Washington to reprimand
him for two trivial offenses, but Washington couched the
reprimand in words that were almost praise. The court martial had
been ordered by Congress, against which Arnold had expressed his
indignation for what he regarded as its mistaken policies in
respect to the war. This conflict with Congress, together with
certain vexatious circumstances, rising out of his command in
Philadelphia--he had gone heavily into debt--led him into a
secret correspondence with the British general, Sir Henry
Clinton, and he asked for the assignment to West Point for the
very purpose of betraying this strategic post into the hands of
the British.
In order to perfect the details of the plot, Clinton's
adjutant-general, Maj. John Andr['e], met him near Stony Point on
the night of the 21st of Sept. In the meantime, the man-of-war,
"Vulture," upon which Andr['e] had arrived, was forced to move
farther downstream to avoid an impromptu bombardment by American
patriots. As a result Andr['e] had to start back to N.Y. by land. He
bore a pass issued by Arnold, but he made the fatal mistake of
changing to civilian clothes. Technically, therefore, he was a
spy. At Tarrytown he was challenged by three Continentals; he
offered them a purse of gold, a valuable watch, or anything they
might name if they would permit him to proceed to N.Y.C. His
offers were rejected and the incriminating papers were found in
his boots. He was carried before the commanding officer of the
lines, who, not suspecting his superior could be involved,
notified Arnold. The latter was at breakfast with Washington's
aides; pretending he had an immediate call from across the river,
he jumped from the table, told his wife enough to cause her the
greatest consternation, mounted a horse and rode to a barge which
took him to the "Vulture." In spite of the protest and entreaties
of Sir Henry Clinton and the threats of Arnold the unfortunate
Andr['e], against whose character no suspicion was ever uttered, was
hanged at Tappan, Oct. 2, 1780.
Maj. Andr['e] was 29 years old at the time, and his fate aroused
universal sympathy. It is said that Washington himself, whom some
historians censure because he did not save Andr['e], wept upon
hearing the circumstances of his death, but under military law
his execution was inevitable. Arnold, however, escaped the
punishment he so richly merited. He was commissioned
brigadier-general in the British army and received L6,315 for his
property losses. He was employed in several operations during the
remaining period of the war but later when he went to England he
met with neglect and scorn that probably hastened his death. In
1821 Andr['e]'s remains were taken to England and interred there; at
the same time a memorial was erected in Westminster Abbey.
[Illustration: Maj. Andr['e]
The picture was drawn by Andr['e] without the aid of a looking-glass
on the morning of the day fixed for his execution. A respite of
twenty-four hours was, however, given. To Maj. Tomlinson, then
acting as officer of the guard, Andr['e] presented the sketch.]
Some time later Washington recommended West Point to Congress as a site
for a military school, but it was not until 1802 that the academy was
established. There are many notable memorials of early days and
distinguished soldiers here.
By far the greater number of America's distinguished generals and
soldiers since the War of Independence have been graduates of
West Point. These include U. S. Grant, Philip Henry Sheridan,
William Sherman, George P. McClellan, Thomas J. (Stonewall)
Jackson (Confederate), Robert E. Lee (Confederate) and Richard
Henry Anderson (Confederate). Grant was appointed to West Point
in 1839; he was a good horseman and good in mathematics, but
graduated in 21t place in a class of 39. Sherman, on the other
hand, stood near the head of his class when he graduated in 1839.
Lee was commissioned in the engineering corps upon his graduation
in 1829. The most notable commanding officers in the American
army during the World War, including, of course, Gen. Pershing,
were West Point graduates; the most conspicuous exception,
perhaps, was Maj.-Gen. Leonard Wood, who began his career as a
surgeon.
[Illustration: West Point and the Highlands, 1868
This picture, published shortly after the Civil War, gives a good
idea of the dress and uniform of the period, as well as a typical
battery. Note the lady's hoop skirt and the bearded officer to
whom she is speaking. The gun is one of the old muzzle-loaders,
and there is a mortar in the foreground.]
Above the cliff and towards the north and east of the plain is Fort
Clinton; on its east front stands a monument erected in 1828 by the
Corps of Cadets to Kosciusko, while "Flirtation Walk," on the river side
of the academy, leads to Kosciusko Garden, so named because it was much
frequented by the Polish hero. On the parade ground is Victory Monument
(78 ft. high), erected in 1874 as a Civil War memorial. The library--one
of the finest military libraries in existence--contains interesting
memorials by Saint Gaudens to J. McNeil Whistler and Edgar Allan Poe,
both of whom were cadets at the academy and both of whom were virtually
expelled.
Poe's neurotic temperament had led him into a number of
escapades, but he gave evidence of improvement after he enlisted
in the American Army at Boston in 1827. He served two years, and
was promoted sergeant-major. He was then 20 years old, and on the
basis of his army record, his uncle, John Allan, obtained for him
an appointment to West Point. As a student he showed considerable
facility for mathematics, but he incurred the displeasure of his
superiors by neglect of duty, and was expelled in 1830, one year
after he had been admitted. His temperament was of course
unsuited to West Point discipline. The military discipline of the
academy was equally odious to Whistler, the painter (1834-1903),
who was dismissed and transferred to the United States coast
survey. In his third year Whistler failed in chemistry. Col.
Larned, one of his instructors, gives the incident
thus--"Whistler was called up for examination in the subject of
chemistry, which also covered the studies of mineralogy and
geology, and given silicon to discuss. He began: 'I am required
to discuss the subject of silicon. Silicon is a gas,' 'That will
do, Mr. Whistler,' and he retired quickly to private life.
Whistler later said: 'Had silicon been a gas, I would have been a
major-general.'"
High above the academy on Mount Independence (490 ft.) still stands the
ruins of old Ft. Putnam, one of the original fortifications, from which
a magnificent view can be obtained of the academy, the river, and the
surrounding country.
Our route now lies across a peninsula called Constitution Island, which
is the site of a preparatory school for West Point.
For many years the Island was the home of the Misses Anna and
Susan Warner, authors of "The Wide, Wide World," and other
stories popular with children. Through the generosity of Miss
Susan Warner, who survived her sister, and Mrs. Russell Sage, the
island was presented to the government a few years ago, and is
now part of West Point.
We pass on the west bank Crow's Nest Mt. (1,396 ft.) associated with
Joseph Rodman Drake's fanciful poem, _The Culprit Fay_. Two M. farther
we leave the Highlands through the "Golden Gate," where Storm King Mt.
rises to a height of 1,340 ft. on the west side of the Hudson, and
Breakneck Mt. to a height of 1,365 ft. on the other. Near Storm King a
tunnel of the great new Catskill aqueduct, carrying water to N.Y.C.,
passes under the Hudson at a depth of 1,100 ft.--a depth made necessary
to reach solid rock at the bottom.
N.Y. City's Catskill Mt. water supply system is the greatest of
waterworks, modern or ancient. Three-quarters of the project has
been completed. The waters of the Esopus Creek in the Catskills
are stored in the Ashokan reservoir, an artificial lake twelve
miles long, situated about 14 miles west of the Hudson River at
Kings Mt. From this reservoir the aqueduct extends 92 M. to the
city's northern boundary, and supplies about 375,000,000 gallons
daily. From the Croton watershed New York receives a supply
almost as large--336,000,000 gallons daily. Construction on the
Catskill supply system was begun in 1907, and the total cost will
be about $177,000,000.
The river now widens and turns to the west; on the further bank is
Cornwall, near which is the estate of E. P. Roe, the writer, and
"Idlewild," the former home of N. P. Willis, likewise a writer of
importance in his day. The home of Lyman Abbott, editor of the _Outlook_
is also here. The proprietor of Bannerman's Island, which we now pass,
is a dealer in obsolete war material; he has built on the island a
number of castle-like store-houses of old paving stones taken from the
streets of New York.
58 M. BEACON, Pop. 10,996 & NEWBURGH, Pop. 30,366. (Train 51 passes
9:56a; No. 3, 10:17a; No. 41, 2:29p; No. 25, 4:10p; No. 19, 7:06p.
Eastbound: No. 6 passes 7:50p; No. 26 8:09a; No. 16, 2:22p; No. 22,
3:48p.)
Beacon was incorporated in May, 1913, by merging the villages of
Matteawan and Fishkill Landing, the latter of which lay closer to the
west. The first settlement in the township was made in 1690. During the
Revolutionary War it was an important military base for the Northern
Continental Army. At Fishkill Landing on May 13, 1783, Gen. Knox
organized the Society of the Cincinnati.
The Society of the Cincinnati was an organization of U.S.
officers who had served in the Revolutionary War. Besides the
general society of which Washington was president, another was
organized for each state. (The name is in reference to
Cincinnati, the Roman patriot who left the plough to serve his
country.) Membership was limited to officers, native or foreign,
of the Continental army who had either served with honour for
three years or had been honorably discharged for disability, and
to their descendants.
Because it included several European nobles, such as Lafayette
and Steuben, and because it was founded on the principle of
heredity the new society was denounced as the beginning of an
aristocracy and therefore a menace, by such Revolutionary leaders
as Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson, who were ineligible for
membership because they had not been in the army. There was
perhaps a real fear that it might become a military hierarchy
which would appropriate the important offices of the new
republic. At any rate, several states adopted resolutions against
it and so great was the antagonism at the first general meeting
in 1784 Washington persuaded the members to abolish the
hereditary feature. In spite of this condition, the excitement
did not die, and in 1789 the Tammany Society was founded in
N.Y.C. in opposition to the Cincinnati, and as a wherein "true
equality" should govern. This was the origin of Tammany Hall,
which became conspicuous in N.Y. politics.
Alexander Hamilton succeeded Washington as president, but by 1824
most of the state branches of the Cincinnati and the general
society itself were dead or dying. For a long time little was
left but a traditional dinner held each year in N.Y.C. In 1893
the general society made an effort to revive the state
organizations, with some little success. The hereditary feature
has been restored and the living members number about 980. The
motto is "Omnia relinquit servare rem publicam." (He abandons
everything to serve the republic.)
[Illustration: Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh
An early picture showing American soldiers on guard at the
headquarters of Gen. Washington at Newburgh. The house itself was
built about 1760 and was occupied by Washington from the spring of
1782 to August, 1783. It is now open to the public as a museum.]
Back of Matteawan are seen Beacon Mts., their name recalling
Revolutionary days when beacon fires were lighted as signals on their
summits. The summit of the highest of the group, Beacon Hill* (1,635
ft.) can now be reached by means of a cable railway, making possible a
very pleasant excursion. The Matteawan State Hospital for the Insane is
at Beacon on the north side of Fishkill Creek. Beacon's products include
hats, silks, woolens, rubber goods, engines, brick and tile; the total
annual value of manufactures is about $4,500,000. Four miles to the
northwest on Fishkill Creek is the village of Fishkill, notable for two
quaint old churches, both still standing, and interesting enough to
repay a visit: the First Dutch Reformed (1731), in which the New York
Provincial Congress met in Aug. and Sept., 1776, and Trinity (1769).
After Congress moved elsewhere, Trinity was used as a hospital,
and the Dutch church, being constructed of stone, was converted
into a prison. Its most famous prisoner was Enoch Crosby (who
served as the original for Cooper's hero in _The Spy_), a patriot
who twice escaped with the help of the Committee of Safety, the
only persons who knew his true character.
Across the river Newburgh is visible rising above the Hudson. From the
Spring of 1782 to Aug. 1783 Washington made his headquarters in the
Jonathan Hasbrouck house* (to the south of the city), built between 1750
and 1770. The house, a one story stone building with a timber roof, has
been purchased by the State of N.Y. and is open to visitors. It contains
many interesting Revolutionary weapons, documents and other relics. Here
in May, 1782, Washington wrote his famous letter of rebuke to Lewis
Nicola, who had written in behalf of a coterie of officers suggesting
that he assume the title of king.
Washington's reply was peremptory and indignant. They could not
have found, he said, "a person to whom their schemes were more
disagreeable," and charged them, "if you have any regard for
yourself or posterity, or respect for me, to banish these
thoughts from your mind, and never communicate, as from yourself
or any one else, a sentiment of like nature." Here also he made
his reply to the so-called Newburgh addresses written by John
Armstrong and calling for action on the part of the army to
redress its grievances.
Newburgh was still his headquarters when Washington by the force of his
influence secured the quiet disbandment of the Continental Army at the
close of the war. Upon the occasion of the centennial celebration (1883)
of this event, a monument called the Tower of Victory, 53 ft. high with
a statue of Washington, was erected.
Newburgh is the center of a rich agricultural region, but it is a
manufacturing center as well; its output comprises machine shop
products, plaster, cotton, woolen and silk goods, felt hats, furniture,
flour, lumber and cigars. Above Newburgh can be seen the lighthouse (on
the west bank) called the Devil's Danskammer, or Devil's Dance Hall,
recalling the time when Henry Hudson and his crew landed here to witness
an Indian pow-wow. The Dutch, who were considerably startled by the
affair, thought that it could be nothing less than a diabolical dance;
hence the name.
[Illustration: Robert Fulton's First Steamboat
(_From Fulton's own Sketch_)
On Sept. 1, 1807, the Albany "Gazette" announced that the "North
River Steamboat [i.e., the "Clermont"] will leave Paulus's Hook
[Jersey City] on Friday, the 4th of September, at 6 in the morning
and arrive at Albany on Saturday at 6 in the afternoon." The New
York Central train now takes only a few minutes more than three
hours to make the trip. The same paper on Oct. 5, 1807, announced
that "Mr. Fulton's new steamboat left New York against a strong
tide, very rough water, and a violent gale from the north. She
made headway against the most sanguine expectations, and without
being rocked by the waves."]
73 M. POUGHKEEPSIE, Pop. 35,000. (Train 51 passes 10:14a; No. 3,
10:38a; No. 41, 2:48p; No. 25, 4:27p; No. 19, 7:24p. Eastbound: No. 6
passes 7:32a; No. 26, 7:51a; No. 16, 2:02p; No. 22, 3:29p.)
Poughkeepsie was the Apokeepsing of the Indians--"the pleasant and safe
harbour" made by the rocky bluffs projecting into the river, where
canoes were sheltered from wind and wave. The city is built partly on
terraces rising 200 ft. above the river, and partly on the level plateau
above. Poughkeepsie was settled by the Dutch in 1698. The most momentous
event in Poughkeepsie's history and one of the most important in that of
the whole Union, was the convention held here in 1788 at which the state
of N.Y. decided to ratify the federal constitution. The decision was
carried by three votes.
The credit for bringing N.Y. into the Union must go largely to
Alexander Hamilton and his supporters, John Jay and Chancellor
Robert R. Livingston. Of the three N.Y. delegates to the federal
convention, Hamilton was the only one to sign its report, and
when the state convention was called at Poughkeepsie, June 17,
1788, two-thirds of its members voted against the proposed U.S.
constitution. The opposition was led by Gov. George Clinton and
his party, known as the "Clintonians." Clinton, though he here
fought bitterly the proposed new constitution and government,
lived to be a Vice President of the U.S. (He should not be
confused with the DeWitt Clinton who later built the Erie Canal.)
The eloquence of Hamilton, Jay and Livingston, however, coupled
with the news that New Hampshire and Virginia had ratified,
finally carried the day, and the N.Y. Convention gave its
approval of the new Constitution by a vote of 30 to 27.
Vassar College, the oldest women's college in America, and one of the
most famous, occupies extensive grounds to the east of the city.
Vassar was founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar (1791-1868), an
Englishman who had established in Poughkeepsie in 1801 a brewery
from which he became rich. He got the idea of founding a woman's
college from his niece, Lydia Booth, a school teacher. His total
gifts to the institution amounted to about $800,000. His nephew,
Matthew Vassar, Jr., became manager of the brewery after his
uncle's death, and gave in all about $500,000 to the college.
Vassar now has a campus and farm of about 800 acres, and
possesses an endowment of $2,440,000. Its students number about
1,100.
The Hudson near Poughkeepsie furnishes the course for the
intercollegiate races in which American college crews, with the
exception of Harvard and Yale (which row on the Thames at New London)
have rowed practically every year since 1895. The river is spanned at
this point by one of the largest cantilever bridges in the world. It is
2,260 ft. long and 200 ft. above the water, and is the only bridge over
the Hudson south of Albany.
It required 4 years to build the bridge, which was finished in
1889 at a cost of $3,500,000. It connects New England directly
with the coal fields of Pennsylvania.
Poughkeepsie has more than 50 lines of manufacture, with products of a
total annual value of $15,000,000, including mill supplies, clothing,
cigars, candied fruit and preserves, cream separators, foundry products,
knit goods, ivory buttons, and piano and organ players.
Two miles beyond Poughkeepsie the red brick buildings of the Hudson
River State Hospital are passed on the right, and presently our route
skirts Hyde Park (79 M.) near which, to the north, can be seen the
estate of Frederick W. Vanderbilt. There are many beautiful
country-places in the district. A little beyond Hyde Park on the west
bank of the river is "Slabsides," the cabin home of John Burroughs, the
poet, philosopher, and widely known writer on natural history.
John Burroughs was born in 1837 at Roxbury, N.Y., the fifth son
of a farmer. His first books were bought with money he earned
from tapping maple trees, boiling the sap and selling the sugar.
One season, he tells us, he made twelve silver quarters, and has
never been so proud since. Although he has lived much in the
world and has travelled widely, the greater part of his time has
been divided between Riverby, in the little town of West Park,
N.Y., the famous "Slabsides," his cabin in the wooded hills back
of the Hudson, and, since 1908, an old farm house which he has
christened Woodchuck Lodge, 1/2 M. from the Burroughs homestead in
Roxbury. In his retreat at "Slabsides" he wrote some of his most
intimate and appealing studies of nature.
Esopus Island is now passed, on the high left bank of which, near the
water, stands the home of Alton B. Parker, Democratic candidate for the
presidency against Roosevelt in 1904. We now pass the estates of D.
Ogden Mills and W.B. Dinsmore, former president of the Adams Express
Company (on the right). Esopus Lighthouse is on the west bank where the
river curves sharply to the left. On the high ground on the east bank is
the country home of the late Levi P. Morton.
Levi P. Morton (1824-1920), American banker and politician, was
born at Shoreham, Vt. After some years in business at Hanover,
N.H., Boston and N.Y.C., he established in 1862 the banking house
of L. P. Morton & Co. (dissolved in 1899), with a London branch.
The American firm assisted in funding the national debt at the
time of the resumption of specie payments, and the London house
were fiscal agents of the U.S. government in 1873-1884, and as
such received the $15,500,000 awarded by the Geneva Arbitration
court in settlement of the "Alabama Claims" against Great
Britain. In 1899 Morton became president of the Morton Trust Co.
of N.Y.C. He was a Republican representative in Congress from
1879 to 1881, U.S. minister to France (1881-1885), vice-president
of the U.S. during the administration of Benjamin Harrison
(1889-1893) and governor of N.Y. state (1895-1896) signing in
that capacity the "Greater New York" bill and the liquor-tax
measure known as the "Raines law." In 1896 he was a candidate for
the presidential nomination in the Republican national
convention.
88 M. RHINECLIFF, Pop. 1,300. (Train 51 passes at 10:32a; No. 3, 10:56a;
No. 41, 3:07p; No. 25, 4:46p; No. 19, 9:39p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes
7:13a; No. 26, 7:31a; No. 16, 1:37p; No. 22, 3:09p.)
Across the river from Rhinecliff is Kingston (Pop. 26,688), most of
which lies on a plateau 150 ft. above the river. Rondout, once a
separate town, is now a part of the city of Kingston, the center of
which lies 3 M. inland. To the northwest is the noble scenery of the
Catskills, to the southwest are the Shawangunk Mts. and Lake Mohonk, and
in the distance on our right (that is, on the Rhinecliff side) are the
Berkshire Hills.
Kingston is one of the oldest towns in the state. In 1658 a stockade was
built here by order of Gov. Peter Stuyvesant, and although the Dutch had
built a fort here as early as 1614, it is from this event that the
founding of the city is generally dated. The town suffered a number of
murderous Indian attacks before it was taken over by the British in
1664.
[Illustration: The "Senate House" (1676), Kingston, N.Y.
Erected in 1676 as a private residence, the "Senate House" was one
of the few buildings left standing when the British sacked the
town of Kingston in October, 1777. It had been the meeting place
of the first State Senate in the earlier part of that year. The
house is now maintained as a colonial museum.]
The early history of Kingston reached a climax during the Revolution,
when the British under Sir John Vaughan sacked the town and burned the
buildings Oct. 17, 1777. The "Senate House"* erected in 1676, was the
meeting-place of the first State Senate during the early months of 1777.
At the time of the British occupation the interior was burnt but the
walls were left standing. The building is now the property of the state
and is used as a colonial museum. The present Court House, built in
1818, stands on the site of the old Court House, where New York's first
governor, George Clinton, was inaugurated, and in which Chief Justice
John Jay held the first term of the N.Y. Supreme Court in Sept. 1777.
John Jay (1745-1829), son of Peter Jay, a successful N.Y.
merchant, had a notable career. He was Chairman of the Commission
which drafted the N.Y. State Constitution in 1777. In the same
year he was made Chief Justice of the State. In negotiating peace
with Great Britain (1783) he acted with Benjamin Franklin, John
Adams, Jefferson and Henry Laurens, and he is credited with
having been influential in obtaining favorable terms for the
former colonies. In 1789 Washington appointed him chief justice
of the U.S. Supreme Court, in which capacity he served for six
years. In the meantime, 1794, he negotiated the famous Jay Treaty
with Great Britain, which averted a dangerous crisis in the
relations between the two countries, and settled such questions
as the withdrawal of British troops from the northwestern
frontier, compensation for the seizure of American vessels
during the Franco-British war of 1793, and the refusal of the
British up to that time to enter into a commercial treaty with
the U.S. From 1795 to 1798 he served as Governor of N.Y. Daniel
Webster said: "When the spotless ermine of the judicial robe fell
on John Jay, it touched nothing less spotless than itself."
Less than a mile beyond Rhinecliff we pass "Ferncliff," the beautiful
country-place of Vincent Astor, son of the late John Jacob Astor III,
who lost his life in the "Titanic" disaster. The large white building on
a hill nearby is the Astor squash court.
John Jacob Astor III (1864-1912) was the son of William B. Astor
II. The latter was the son of William B. Astor (1792-1875), known
as "the landlord of New York," because of his extensive real
estate holdings in New York City. He was the son of the founder
of the Astor fortune, John Jacob Astor (1763-1828). The latter
was born near Heidelberg, Germany, worked for a time in London,
came to N.Y.C. and took up fur trading, in which he amassed an
enormous fortune, the largest up to that time made by any
American.
[Illustration: Steps in the Development of the Steam-boat
The top figure represents a boat of the 15th Century propelled by
paddle wheels. Below is a steam tug, the design of Jonathan Hulls,
who received a patent on his invention from the British government
in 1736. It appears that some time later, in 1802, Robert Fulton,
who was then in England, actually rode in a tug of similar design
built by William Symington. Fulton, however, was the first to
construct a steam-boat in the modern sense of the term. The
illustrations used above were taken from the Supplement to the
Sixth Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.]
Six miles above Rhinecliff we pass Anandale on the right, the former
home of Gen. Richard Montgomery (b. 1736), who was killed Dec. 31, 1775,
while conducting the American attack on Quebec.
It is not always remembered that the Americans undertook an
expedition against Quebec during the first year of the
Revolutionary War. Gen. Montgomery was joined near Quebec by
Benedict Arnold, then a colonel, and they pushed on towards their
objective with barely 800 men. The assault met a complete defeat;
almost at the first discharge, Montgomery was killed, and many of
his men were taken prisoners. In 1818 Mrs. Montgomery, then a
gray-haired widow, sat alone on the porch of the house while the
remains of Gen. Montgomery were brought down the Hudson on the
steamer "Richmond" with great funeral pomp. A monument has been
erected in St. Paul's Chapel, N.Y.C., where his remains were
finally interred. General and Mrs. Montgomery, who was a daughter
of Robert R. Livingston, had been married only two years when he
went away on his expedition.
Just north of Tivoli (98 M.) is the site of the Manor House of the
Livingston family, "Clermont," after which Robert Fulton named his first
steamboat.
The Livingston Manor comprised the greater part of what are now
Dutchess and Columbia Counties. The founder of the family was
Robert Livingston (1654-1725) who was born at Ancrum, Scotland,
emigrated to America about 1673 and received these manorial
grants in 1686. He was a member of the N.Y. Assembly for several
terms. The Livingston Manor was involved in anti-rent troubles
which began in the Rensselaer Manor.
109 M. GREENDALE, Pop. 1,650. (Train 51 passes 10:54a; No. 3, 11:19a;
No. 41, 3:32p; No. 25, 5:08p; No. 19, 8:10p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes
6:49a; No. 26, 7:09a; No. 16, 1:07p; No. 22, 2:44p.)
From Greendale a very fine view is obtained of the noble scenery of the
Catskill Mountains. The village of Catskill (Pop. 4,461) across the
river, was at one time the only point of entrance for visitors to the
mountains--now reached chiefly by railway from Kingston. Catskill
Station, however, is still a point of departure for this favorite summer
resort. In clear weather it is possible to get a glimpse of the deep
gorge of the Kaaterskill Cove (about one mile west of Catskill village)
where Rip Winkle strayed into the mountains, discovered Hendrick Hudson
playing at skittles, and, bewitched by the wine supplied by the ghostly
sportsmen, slept for 20 years. On the high crest back of the station
(about 10 M. from the river) the Mountain House (Alt. 2,225 ft.) and
Kaaterskill House, famous old hotels, can be seen in clear weather.
The Catskill Mts.,* a group possessing much charm and beauty, run
parallel with the Hudson for about 15 miles, at a distance of
from 5 to 9 miles from the shore line, on the west bank; they
cover an area of about 500 Sq. M. On the side visible from the
train they rise steeply to a height of 2,000 to 3,000 feet though
on the other sides the slopes are gradual. The highest summits
are those of Slide Mt. (4,205 ft.) and Hunter Mt. (4,025 ft.).
The summits of several of these mountains are reached by inclined
railways that afford splendid views. A number of deep ravines
known as "cloves," a word derived from the Dutch, have been cut
into the mountains by streams. The name Catskill, formerly
Kaatskill, is a word of Dutch origin, referring, it is said, to
the catamounts, or wild cats, formerly found here. The Indians
called the mountains "Onti Ora" or Mts. of the Sky. Washington
Irving in his introduction to the story of _Rip Van Winkle_ says,
"Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember the
Kaatskill Mts. They are a dismembered branch of the great
Appalachian family, and are seen away to the west of the river,
swelling up to a noble height, and lording it over the
surrounding country. Every change of season, every change of
weather, indeed every hour of the day, produces some change in
the magical hues and shapes of these mountains, and they are
regarded by all the good housewives far and near as perfect
barometers. When the weather is fair and settled, they are
clothed in blue and purple, and print their bold outlines on the
clear evening sky; but sometimes when the rest of the landscape
is cloudless, they will gather a hood of gray vapors about their
summits, which in the last rays of the setting sun, will glow and
light up like a crown of glory."
114 M. HUDSON, Pop. 11,745. (Train 51 passes 11:00a; No. 3, 11:26a; No.
41, 3:37p; No. 25, 5:14p; No. 19, 8:16p. Eastbound No. 6 passes 6:44a;
No. 26, 7:04a; No. 16, 1:02p; No. 22, 2:39p.)
[Illustration: Hudson, N.Y. (1835)
Showing one of the early passenger trains on what is now the New
York Central route.]
Hudson, picturesquely situated on the slope of a hill and commanding a
fine view of the river and the Catskill Mts., was originally known as
Claverack Landing, and for many years it was nothing more than a landing
with two rude wharfs and two small storehouses, to which the farmers in
the neighborhood brought their produce for shipment on the river. Late
in 1783, the place was settled by an association of merchants and
fishermen, mostly Quakers, from Rhode Island, Nantucket, and Martha's
Vineyard. These enterprising people had been engaged in whaling and
other marine ventures, but when these industries were crippled by
British cruisers during the War of Independence, they came to Hudson to
find a more secluded haven. They were methodical and industrious; they
even brought their houses, framed and ready for immediate erection, on
their brig, the "Comet." The settlers opened clay pits, burned bricks
and built a first class wharf. In 1785 the port was the second in the
state in the extent of its shipping. Two shipyards were established and
a large ship, the "Hudson" was launched. Toward the end of the 18th
century it was the third city in the state, and had one of the three
banks then existing in N.Y. State.
The War of 1812 caused a decline, but modern industry has revived the
town, and its manufactures include Portland cement (one of the largest
manufactories of that product in the United States is here), knit goods,
foundry and machine shop products, ice machinery, brick and furniture.
Huge ice houses are seen along this part of the Hudson River, and
the question sometimes arises why the river, being partly salt,
can yield ice fit for domestic or commercial use. The explanation
is that the water, in freezing, rejects four-fifths or more of
its content of salt.
Four miles above Hudson we pass the estuary of Stockport, on the north
bank of which, at Kinderhook, once lived Martin Van Buren, eighth
president of the U.S.
The son of a farmer and tavern keeper, Van Buren (1782-1862) was
born at Kinderhook, N.Y., of Dutch descent. He obtained a scanty
education, and it is said that as late as 1829, when he became
secretary of state, he wrote crudely and incorrectly. He was
admitted to the bar in 1803 in N.Y., allied himself with the
"Clintonians" in politics and later became a leading member of
the powerful coterie of Democratic politicians known as the
"Albany regency," which ruled N.Y. politics for more than a
generation, and was largely responsible for the introduction of
the "Spoils System" into state and national affairs. Van Buren's
proficiency in this variety of politics earned him the nickname
of "Little Magician." In 1821 he was elected to the U.S. Senate,
and in 1828 governor of N.Y., and in the following year was made
secretary of state by President Jackson, who used his influence
to obtain the nomination of Van Buren for president in 1836.
William Henry Harrison, the Whig candidate, was his principal
opponent, and the popular vote showed a plurality of less than
25,000 for Van Buren. Van Buren's administration was compelled
to bear the weight of errors committed by Jackson, his
predecessor, and though he showed unexpected ability and firmness
in his administration, he was defeated for re-election by
Harrison.
130 M. SCHODACK LANDING, Pop. 1,215. (Train 51 passes 11:17p; No. 3,
11:45p; No. 41, 3:55p; No. 25, 5:30p; No. 19, 8:37p. Eastbound: No. 6
passes 6:24p; No. 26, 6:45p; No. 16, 12:41p; No. 22, 2:20p.)
Schodack was the Dutch rendering of the Indian word "Esquatack," meaning
"the fireplace of the nation." The island opposite the station was the
site of the first council fire of the Mohican Indians, who were grouped
about their "fire place" in 40 villages. They inhabited the Hudson
Valley and their domain extended into Mass.
In consequence of attacks by the Mohawks the Mohicans moved from
their council fire to what is now Stockbridge, Mass., in 1664.
Later many migrated to the Susquehanna Valley and became absorbed
into the Delawares. The descendants of those who were left at
Stockbridge are now assembled with some of the Munsees on a
reservation at Green Bay, Wis. They are truly the "last of the
Mohicans." Cooper's story of that name dealt with the earlier
period of their dispersal.
In the early days Douw's Point on the right bank, a few miles below
Albany, was the head of steamboat navigation. Passengers for Albany used
to transfer at this point to the stage. It was here that the "Half Moon"
reached its farthest point on its northward trip up the Hudson.
Theodore Roosevelt in his _History of New York_ says: "During the
"Half Moon's" inland voyage her course had lain through scenery
singularly wild, grand and lonely. She had passed the long line
of frowning battlemented rock walls that we know by the name of
the Palisades; she had threaded her way round the bends where the
curving river sweeps in and out among cold peaks--Storm King,
Crow's Nest, and their brethren; she had sailed in front of the
Catskill Mts., perhaps thus early in the season crowned with
shining snow. From her decks the lookouts scanned with their
watchful eyes dim shadowy wastes, stretching for countless
leagues on every hand; for all the land was shrouded in one vast
forest, where red hunters who had never seen a white face
followed wild beasts, upon whose kind no white man had ever
gazed."
In modern days the channel has been enlarged, deepened and protected by
concrete dykes, which are seen at intervals along the upper river, so
that the Hudson is now utilized for navigation as far as Troy. On the
left bank just above Parr's Island is the estuary of the Normans Kill,
which flows through the valley of Tawasentha, where, according to Indian
tradition, once lived the "mighty Hiawatha."
Hiawatha (the word means "he makes rivers") was a legendary
chief, about 1450, of the Onondaga Tribe of Indians. The
formation of the League of Five Nations, known as the Iroquois,
is attributed to him by Indian tradition. He was regarded as a
sort of divinity--the incarnation of human progress and
civilization. Longfellow's poem "Hiawatha" embodies the more
poetical ideas of Indian nature-worship. In this version of the
story, Hiawatha was the Son of Mudjekeewis (the West Wind) and
Wenonah, the daughter of Nakomis, who fell from the moon.
142 M. RENSSELAER, Pop, 10,823. (Train 51 passes 11:30a; No. 3, 12:02p;
No. 41, 4:12p; No. 25, 5:44p; No. 19, 8:53p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes
6:00a; No. 26, 6:32a; No. 16, 12:27p; No. 22, 2:07p.)
Rensselaer, originally called Greenbush, lies directly across from
Albany. It was first settled in 1631 and the site formed part of a large
tract of land bought from the Indians by agents of Killiaen Van
Rensselaer. On the lower edge of the town Ft. Cralo,* built in 1642 for
protection against the Indians, still stands; the fort has a special
interest in being connected with the origin of Yankee Doodle.
Some writers claim that Cralo is the oldest fort still preserved
in the U.S. Its white oak beams are said to be 18 inches square;
its walls are 2 to 3 ft. thick, and some of the old portholes
still remain. According to tradition there were once secret
passages connecting the fort with the river. About 1770, during
the French and Indian Wars, Maj. James Abercrombie had his
headquarters here.
Yankee Doodle is said to have been composed at the fort by Dr.
Schuckburgh, a British surgeon, as a satire on the provincial
troops, who did not show to advantage among the smartly dressed
British soldiers. The Yankees, however, adopted the words and the
tune, and less than 20 years later the captured soldiers of
Burgoyne marched behind the lines of the victorious Continentals
to the same melody.
[Illustration: Albany from Van Rensselaer Island in 1831]