Chapter II: Part 2

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

(_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.

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.

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.)

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.

ALBANY TO SYRACUSE

142 M. ALBANY, Pop. 113,344. (Train 51 passes 11:32a; No, 3, 12:05p; No. 41, 4:15p; No. 25, 5:46p; No. 19, 8:55p. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 5:58a; No. 26,6:30a; No. 16, 12:25p; No. 22, 2:05p.)

Across the river from Rensselaer on sharply mounting hills is the city of Albany. We cross the river by a suspension bridge, passing over Rensselaer Island and seeing ahead of us the handsome new freight houses of the D. & H.R.R., and to right and left the boats of the Hudson River Steamship lines lying against the wharves. Once over the bridge the tracks swerve to the right, and soon lead into the Union Station.

Almost under the shadow of the present Capitol, on a meadow to the north, Ft. Orange was built in 1624, when 18 families of Dutch Walloons selected this site for a permanent settlement in the New World. The history of Albany, however is usually dated from ten years earlier when Dutch traders built Ft. Nassau on Castle Island, the present Rensselaer Island.

According to some writers a temporary trading post was
established here by the French as early as 1540--80 years before
the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. But it is on the date 1614 that
Albany lays claim to being the second oldest settlement in the
colonies, Jamestown, founded in 1607 by Capt. John Smith and
Christopher Newport, being the first. It is interesting to note
that the Pilgrim Fathers narrowly missed making a settlement
somewhere along the Hudson River. William Bradford, second
governor of the Plymouth colony, tells in his history, how, at
one point in the _Mayflower's_ voyage, they determined "to find
some place about Hudson's river for their habitation." But, after
sailing half a day, "they fell amongst dangerous shoulds and
roving breakers," and so decided to bear up again for Cape Cod.

During the early days Albany held high rank among American settlements. As a center of trade and civilization it rivalled Jamestown, Manhattan and Quebec. In 1618 the Dutch negotiated here the first treaty with the Iroquois, which tended to preserve friendly relations with the Indians for more than a century to come.

The territory of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, the most
celebrated of Indian confederations, extended from Albany to
Buffalo, that is, over just the country through which the New
York Central runs. The name is that given to them by the French
and is said to be formed of two ceremonial words constantly used
by the tribesmen meaning "real adders." The league was originally
composed of five tribes or nations--the Mohawks, Oneidas,
Onondagas, Senecas and Cayugas. The confederation probably took
place about 1580. In 1722 the Tuscaroras were admitted, the
league then being called that of the Six Nations. Without
realizing the far-reaching effect of his action, Samuel D.
Champlain (1567-1635), the French explorer, probably changed the
entire course of history by joining the Algonquins and Hurons in
an attack in 1608 on the Iroquois near the present town of
Ticonderoga. The Iroquois never forgave the French for the part
they played in this battle and naturally turned first to the
Dutch and then to the English for allies. "Thus did New France,"
says Parkman, "rush into collision with the redoubted warriors of
the Five Nations. Here was the beginning, and in some measure
doubtless the cause, of a long series of murderous conflicts,
bearing havoc and flame to generations yet unborn." Parkman
estimates that in the period after the Tuscaroras joined the
Iroquois, the Six Nations had a population of about 12,000 with
not more than 2,150 fighting men. It is a matter of some surprise
that so small a fighting force could wield so great a power in
the early days. But Theodore Roosevelt, in speaking of the
Indians as warriors, says: "On their own ground they were far
more formidable than the best European troops. It is to this day
doubtful whether the superb British regulars at Braddock's battle
or the Highlanders at Grant's defeat a few years later, were able
to so much as kill one Indian for every hundred of their own men
who fell." Although up to that time they had been loyal friends
of the colonists, in the War of Independence the Iroquois fought
on the English side, and by repeated battles their power was
nearly destroyed. From very early times a silver "covenant chain"
was used as a symbol of their treaties with the Whites, and each
time a new treaty was signed the covenant chain was renewed or
reburnished. There are perhaps 17,000 descendants of the Iroquois
now living in reservations in New York State, Oklahoma, Wisconsin
and Canada.

Stephen Van Rensselaer was the eighth patroon and fifth in
descent from Killiaen, the first lord of the Manor. He was
lieutenant governor of N.Y., an ardent promoter of the Erie
Canal, a major general in the War of 1812 (during which he was
defeated in the Battle of Queenstown Heights), and represented
N.Y. in Congress from 1822 to 1829. In 1824 he founded a school
in Troy, which was incorporated two years later as the Rensselaer
Polytechnic institute.]

In 1629 the Dutch government granted to Killiaen van Rensselaer, an Amsterdam diamond merchant, a tract of land, 24 Sq. M., centering at Ft. Orange, over which he was given the feudal powers of a patroon.

The patroons, under the Dutch r['e]gime, were members of the Dutch
West India Co., who received large grants of land, called Manors,
in New Netherlands. These grants carried with them semifeudal
rights, and the patroon could exercise practically autocratic
powers in his domain. The first of the patroons, Killiaen van
Rensselaer (1580-1645), never came to this country, but he sent
over numerous settlers as tenants. The Manor was called
Rensselaerswyck, and comprised all of the present counties of
Albany and Rensselaer, and part of Columbia.

This was the first manorial grant in New Netherlands and was destined to endure the longest. The colonists sent to this country by van Rensselaer were industrious and the town prospered, although in 1644, it was described by Father Jogues, a Jesuit priest, as "a miserable little fort called Fort Orange, built of logs, with four or five pieces of Breteuil cannon and as many swivels; and some 25 or 30 houses built of boards, and having thatched roofs." On account of its favorable commercial and strategic position at the head of navigation on the Hudson and at the gateway of the Iroquois country and the far west, it maintained its importance among colonial settlements for a century and a half. Its early name, Beverwyck, was changed to Albany--one of the titles of the Duke of York, afterwards James II.--when New Netherlands was transferred to the English (1644). Albany was granted a charter in 1686, and the first mayor (appointed by Gov. Dongan) was Peter Schuyler, who was likewise chairman of the Board of Indian Commissioners.

Peter Schuyler (1657-1724) was a son of Philip Pieterse Schuyler
(d. 1683), who migrated from Amsterdam in 1650. The family was
one of the wealthiest and most influential in the colony, and it
was closely related by marriage to the van Rensselaers, the van
Cortlandts and other representatives of the old Dutch
aristocracy.