USA > New York > Columbia County > Hudson > History of the city of Hudson, New York : with biographical sketches of Henry Hudson and Robert Fulton > Part 2
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Proceeding, Hudson passed Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, and on August 18th arrived at the entrance of Chesapeake Bay. Here he was near the mouth of "Kings River," as the James was then called, on which the first English settlement had been made two years before, and named Jamestown. Hudson would have been delighted to pass up this river and visit his countrymen, and es-
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pecially his friend Captain John Smith in the wilds of America, but the wind was blowing a gale, so he passed on. After sailing south until he reached the thirty-fifth degree of latitude he changed his course to the north, having become convinced that there was no passage into the Pacific Ocean, and being desirous of making some discovery which might prove profitable to his employers.
On the 28th of August, after passing the shores of Maryland, Hudson discovered a great bay now known as Delaware Bay. "He examined here the currents and took soundings but did not land." For nearly a week he now sailed northward "passing along a low marshy coast, skirted with broken islands, and on the 2nd of Septem- ber he spied the highlands of Neversink." The sight pleased him greatly for he says, "it is a good land to ' fall in with, and a very pleasant land to see." On the morning of the 3rd the weather was dark and misty, but "Hudson having passed Long Branch sent his boat up to sound, and receiving a favorable report, in the afternoon, brought the 'Half Moon' within Sandy Hook." The next morning seeing that "there was good anchorage and a safe harbor" he passed farther up, and anchored within Sandy Hook Bay. Having observed great quantities of "salmon, mullet and rays in the water" he now sent his men ashore with a net. It is said they first landed on Coney Island, and found "plum trees loaded with fruit and embowered in grape-vines, while snipe and other birds were floating on the water." The fishing proved excellent, for they took "ten mullets a foot and a half long apiece, and a ray as great as four men could haul into the ship." While lying at anchor Indians from the Jersey shore came on board and "seemed greatly delighted to see their new visitors." "They were dressed in deer skins well cured, and had copper ornaments and pipes. They had an abundance of food, their land yielding a fine harvest of maize, or Indian corn, from which they
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made very good bread." "But they brought with them green tobacco which they wished to exchange for beads, knives and trinkets."
During the night a gale sprang up and the ship was driven ashore but fortunately without injury, being floated off at high tide the next morning. Hudson then sent a boat to sound the bay and soon the shores were lined with natives, men, women and children being drawn thither by curiosity. The men immediately landed and were treated with great kindness. Some of these Indians were more richly dressed than any they had seen, "wearing mantles made of fine fur or feathers and ornaments of copper around their necks."
Hudson now sent out five men who passed through the Narrows making soundings as they went, and discovered the hills between Staten Island and Bergen Neck, "which were covered with grass, trees and flowers, the fragrance of which was delightful." On their return to the ship at dusk they were attacked by two canoes full of Indians. It was raining hard and they could only trust to their oars to make their escape. Unfortunately one of the men, John Coleman, who had been with Hudson on his first hard voyages, was killed by an arrow, and two others were slightly wounded. It was now very dark and they lost their way, wandering to and fro all night, but the next morning they returned to the ship bringing the body of Coleman. Hudson ordered it to be taken ashore and buried at Sandy Hook, and in memory of the poor fellow who had met so sad a fate he called the place, Coleman's Point.
Hudson now prepared for an attack but nothing fur- ther came of it, the Indians indeed seeming to be entirely ignorant of any trouble, and after a week spent in explora- tion south of the Narrows, he passed through them into the Bay of New York, and "finding it an excellent harbor for all winds," cast anchor.
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We left the brave Explorer resting quietly upon the waters of New York Bay unconscious that he would win undying fame on the morrow by the discovery of the most beautiful river of the New World. His ship was lying off the entrance to that river and he was filled with won- der and delight as he watched its majestic waters rolling down to the sea. He thought too of the probability that this great body of water coming from the far north, might prove the long sought passage, to the gems and spices of the East Indies.
About noon on the 12th of September, with a heart full of hope he weighed anchor and moved into the stream he named, "The Great River of the Mountains."
The wind was not fair, so after making only two leagues he anchored for the night. The next day the wind still being ahead, he managed by the help of the flood tide to ascend a little over three leagues farther, which brought him to Yonkers, and again he cast anchor. The day fol- lowing, on September 14th, a fine breeze sprang up from the southeast and Hudson passed up through Tappan and Haverstraw bays. "The river" the journal says "being a mile wide"-and "in a region where the land was very high and mountainous." He was evidently in the vicinity of the Highlands and his anchorage was probably off West Point.
The ship continued on up the river until they "came at night in sight of other mountains which lie from the river side." This was doubtless Katskill Landing. Here they found "great stores of very fine fish, and very lov- ing people who brought on board Indian corn and pump- kins."
The next day, September 16th, the wind being fair they sailed two leagues farther and anchored in the west- ern channel directly opposite the site of Hudson City.
Let us pause for a moment to contemplate the scene that then for the first time met the gaze of civilized man.
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The bold bluffs that guard the broad South Bay, then twice as broad as now and unmarred by the unsightly railway, were wooded from shore to summit with the "forest primeval," and the air was filled with music and fragrance from myriads of birds and flowers.
The purpling Katskills welcomed the first beams of day with answering glow, and held with lingering clasp his last departing ray.
The noble river ebbed and flowed, laughing and dimp- ling to the sun, or paling with tender constancy to the moon.
'While o'er it all with shining eyes The silent stars looked down.'
That the doughty mariner was not insensible to beauty is evidenced by many entries in his journals, and we can- not suppose he viewed this scene of surpassing loveliness without a responsive thrill .-
The "Half Moon" lay off the shore one whole day, and Hudson describes at length a visit to the hospitable in- habitants, as follows: "I sailed to the shore in one of their canoes with an old man who was Chief of a tribe consisting of forty men and seventeen women. These I saw there in a house well constructed of oak bark, and circular in shape, so that it had the appearance of being built with an arched roof. It contained a great quantity of Indian corn and beans of the last year's growth, and there lay near the house for purpose of drying enough to load a ship."
"On our coming into the house two mats were spread out to sit upon, and some food was immediately served in well made red wooden bowls. Two men were also dispatched at once with bows and arrows in quest of game, who soon returned with a pair of pigeons which they had shot. They likewise killed a fat dog, and skinned it in great haste with shells which they had got out of the water.
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"They supposed that I should remain with them for the night, but I returned after a short time on board the ship.
"The land is the finest for cultivation that I ever in my life set foot upon, and it also abounds in trees of every description."
"These are a very good people for when they saw that I would not remain with them, they supposed that I was afraid of their bows, and taking their arrows, they broke them in pieces and threw them in the fire."
Thus ends the record of the first entrance of the white man upon the site of the City of Hudson. It would have been interesting to look in upon that first function of one of our very "first families." Doubtless conversation was limited to the very smallest of small talk, but they had eloquent gestures, and that of breaking their arrows spoke louder than words.
The fact that this banquet was held on the site of the present City of Hudson, was substantiated by finding the unmistakable remains of an Indian village on this spot, when excavating for building purposes at the foot of Warren street.
The weather was warm and Hudson determined to take advantage of the cool hours of the morning, therefore at dawn on September 18th he weighed anchor and ran up six leagues farther, but "finding shoals and small islands in the middle of the river," he stopped, this time at the present village of Castleton. After running aground re- peatedly notwithstanding continual soundings, he finally reached the site of Albany, and sending a boat with the mate and four men to explore the upper waters of the river, he awaited their return. It is said they went as far as Waterford. While here Hudson was visited by "an old savage, a governor of the country, who carried him to his house and made him good cheer." Great crowds of Indians came on board the ship, and were here
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given their first taste of "fire water." Hudson is said to have grown suspicious of them and fearing treachery plied their chiefs with wine and brandy, thinking that in their inebriation the truth would be divulged, but he dis- covered nothing. It is fair to presume that Hudson was wrongly influenced to this action by the strong prejudices of his crew, but it is unfortunate that his fame should have incurred this stigma, for with this single exception, he was notably fair and kindly in his treatment of the Indians.
The report of the mate being unfavorable to a farther ascent of the river, Hudson on September 23rd, prepared for his return, his journal says, "greatly disappointed at not finding the hoped for passage to the East, but cheered by the reflection, that he had passed up a great river nearly one hundred and fifty miles, and discovered a beau- tiful and fertile region for the future enterprise of his employers."
Returning down the river he again anchored off this City, and was detained four days, as previously men- tioned, by contrary winds. Hudson "had a visit from his old friend the Chief bringing another Chief with him, also his wife and three Indian women. He treated them all very kindly, giving them presents and inviting them to dine with him, which they did, 'the women being as modest as one could wish to see.'"
The origin of the American Indian is lost in the dim mysteries of the past, their traditions differing in many particulars and all equally untrustworthy. Those inhabit- ing this region, with whom the Discoverer exchanged such cordial hospitalites, were the Mohicans, the last of whose tribe, is endeared to later generations, by the genius. of Fenimore Cooper.
They were originally a powerful tribe of mighty war- riors, having their Council seat at Schodack, called in
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their tongue, "Esquitak" "the fire-place of the nation" and were in possession of a wide domain. This was wrested from them by the Mohawks who joined with other fierce Iroquois nations, and drove them to the eastern side of the river. Here Hudson found them much weakened in numbers but still at enmity with these powerful foes. Obtaining an alliance with the Wappingers, the Minsis and other river tribes the war continued, until the final struggle took place in 1628, tradition has it on what is now known as Rogers Island, situated between Hudson and Catskill. After a day of desperate fighting, and when the Mohicans were almost victorious, they were decoyed into a trap by the feigned retreat of the Mohawks, and most of them were killed or captured. The overthrow of the Mohicans was complete.
In the year 1736, the pathetic remnant of the once powerful braves drifted into the mission founded by the Rev. John S. Sergeant at Stockbridge, Mass. Later on a few of them were found fighting with the patriots in the American Revolution. . Their old enemies the Mohawks were on the opposite side.
On September 27th, Hudson continued his journey, an- choring off what is now Red Hook and also at the site of Newburgh, of which he writes, "this is a very pleasant place to build a town on."
He at length arrived at Manhattan Island. Here he was attacked by unfriendly Indians and it was not until nine of their number had been killed that he was suffered to proceed.
Hudson's next anchorage was at the present location of Hoboken, where he was detained by a storm, but the morning of October 4th, dawned clear, with a fair wind, and the "Half Moon" with all sails set passed out to sea, carrying away her brave Commander, who was destined
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never again to behold the stately river that bears his name.
Hudson's Soliloquy.
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"Fifty leagues we drew a furrow on that waterway un- known,
Past the bowered outer islands under cliffs of living stone,
Skirting sunlit fields that billowed to the shores of inland seas,
Under shadowed rocky ranges with their crests of noble trees,
Till the channel shoaled and narrowed in a reach of high- land plain
And the brackish water sweetened and we knew our quest was vain.
'Twas the River of the Mountains, where the silver sal- mon play,
And o'er yet untraversed waters lies the passage to Cathay.
"So; aboard again my trusties! for the spirit will not rest;
We must find the golden passage, be it East or be it West.
With a seaman's craft and courage, with a single heart and soul,
We shall search that ocean fairway from the Tropics to the Pole.
Yet, when softly lap the surges, in my cabin I may dream
Of the mighty mountain river, of that broadly-rolling stream,
Where I heard the hum of nations in the whisper of the shrouds,
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While, as breath of future cities, rose the white Septem- ber clouds.
What is all the dazzling treasure that the jeweled East may give
To our new-discovered countries where the sons of men shall live !
But the off-shore breezes freshen and the tide-rush will not stay;
So unmoor and set the tiller for the sea-road to Cathay !"
After an absence of a little more than seven months from Amsterdam, Henry Hudson arrived safely on the 7th of November at Dartmouth, England, his English sailors having mutinied and compelled him to land at an English port.
It is said by the Dutch historians that England was jealous of their maritime enterprises, and would not per- mit Hudson to return to their shores. However that may be, it is certain that Hudson never saw Holland again.
The news of Hudson's successful voyage and the story of his discoveries created the wildest excitement in Eng- land, not only greatly enhancing his fame, but also arous- ing once more the flagging zeal of the London Company, and they at once recalled him to their service. Accord- ingly the ship Discovery, of 55 tons, was manned with a crew of 23 men, including John Hudson and Robert Juet, who was again made first mate, Hudson seeming not yet to understand his treacherous character.
On the 17th of April, 1610, Hudson sailed away on his fourth voyage, still in quest of the same elusive "Northwestern passage to the East," and by the 11th of May reached Iceland. Coasting along the Southern shore they witnessed an eruption of Mount Hecla. "The in-
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habitants of the island were wretchedly poor and miser- able, but they received them very kindly."
While here, struggling with head winds and icebergs, Hudson became aware of dissatisfaction among his crew, "and would have put back forty leagues to send Robert Juet home on a fishing boat, but being otherwise per- suaded he kept on to Greenland," where the ice closed in upon them and they had much difficulty in extricating the ships. Being at length successful they continued their course northwest for the American continent.
After innumerable encounters with "floating ice mountains," one of which toppled over as they passed, narrowly missing the ship, Hudson at length reached Davis' straits, crossing which, he entered a bay near the great straits that are called by his name. Here a terrific storm overtook him and the ice again closed in about them. The journal says "some of the men fell sick, I would not say it was of fear although I saw small sign of other grief." Even Hudson's heart failed him, as he gazed upon the desolate scene and could find no way of escape. "But his crew saw no sign of fear in him, for he carried a cheerful countenance while they were dis- mayed and broken spirited."
Hudson now brought out his chart and showed them that they had gone one hundred leagues farther than any other Englishmen had been before, and gave them their choice, whether they would proceed or turn back.
"But they could come to no decision, the majority not caring where they went provided they were clear of the ice." Hudson reasoned with them and tried to allay their fears, arouse their hopes, and inspire them with courage, until at length "they all set resolutely to work to bring the ship from the ice and free themselves."
"No scene" the historian says "in the life of Henry Hudson showed greater firmness and presence of mind than this; with his ship hemmed in by the ice and a des-
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perate crew on board, he rises bravely to the occasion, and calms and bends them to his will."
Having now entered Hudson Straits he spent the whole month of July in passing through them, giving quaint Puritanic names to the Capes and Islands, such as "De- sire Provoked," "Isles of God's Mercies," "Hold with Hope," and to the mainland, "Magna Britannia."
With renewed zeal, now that he saw as he supposed the long sought passage to the East lying clear before him, Hudson "sent a number of his men on shore to climb the hills and see the great ocean beyond." "The ground was covered with grass and they saw herds of deer feed- ing, and numerous fowls flying over their heads." A violent thunder storm drove them back to the ship, but they reported the supplies of game they found, and tried to pursuade Hudson to remain if only for a day or two until they could provision the ship, "but he would listen to no such request, being desirous of pressing on."
It was now the 10th of September and the whole of that and the following month were passed in exploration of the great inland sea that is so well known to us as "Hudson's Bay." They sailed to the southern extremity, as the sea was more open in that direction, meeting fierce tempests and serious mishaps, but all these were trivial to Hudson compared with his disappointment when he found he could proceed no farther. He retraced his course but being convinced that the end of navigation was at hand, it being now the 10th of November, he ran the ship into a small bay where they were soon com- pletely shut in for the winter.
They were now confronted, not only with the rigors of the extreme northern climate, but also with a scant supply of provisions, the ship having been victualled for only six months, and Hudson proceeded with a sad heart to put the men on an allowance; he also offered a re- ward for every "Beast, Fish and Fowl" they should kill.
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After being here about a fortnight one of the crew, a gunner named John Williams, died.
The cold increasing in severity, Hudson ordered the carpenter one Philip Staafe to go ashore and build a house for the crew, this he refused to do saying "that he could not work at it in such frost and snow, and moreover it was no work of his, he being a ship carpenter and not a house carpenter." However after having time for reflec- tion he not only built the house, which proved of little advantage, but he was ever after one of the commander's warmest friends. Ever since losing the opportunity of obtaining provisions when they were so plentiful, mur- merings and complaints had been rife among the crew and now a portion of them led by the first mate became so insolent that Hudson was compelled to act.
A court of inquiry was called to try Robert Juet, and he was proven guilty of having incited the crew to mutiny ever since leaving Iceland. The boatswain hav- ing been found to be equally guilty both were removed, and Robert Bylot and William Wilson were appointed in their place.
The winter closed in drearily enough, though in the matter of provisions they fared better during the first three months than they feared, having an abundance of white partridges, but when they left they could only occasionally find wild geese and ducks, which soon after disappeared entirely, and starvation stared them in the face.
"They wandered over the hills and valleys hunting for food, devouring even the moss off the ground and buds or bark off the trees."
"About the time the ice began to break up they were visited by a savage, the only one they saw during the winter and were greatly cheered by his coming." Hud- son treated him with great kindness making him many presents, and when he left he made signs that he would
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come again, which he did bringing his sled loaded with deer and beaver-skins, but no food. He made signs of many people both to the North and South, and promised after so many sleeps he would come again, but he came no more, and all hope of obtaining provisions through him were at an end.
"Fortunately when the ice was breaking up they caught five hundred fish in a net," and thought their sorrows were at an end so far as food was concerned, but they were doomed to disappointment, for "on no day there- after did they take one-quarter of that number."
Many of the crew were disabled from frozen feet, and all were enfeebled by hardships and exposure, but their sufferings only increased their irritability, until "they sought occasions of quarrel with their commander on the most flimsey pretexts. In this pitiable condition they were detained in their cold winter quarters until the middle of June. The ice having now broken up Hudson prepared to sail, but before hoisting the anchor, he "with an aching heart divided the small remnant of provisions among them, a pound of bread and three and a half pounds of cheese to each man." "And knowing the uncertainty of what might befall them, he gave to each a bill of return, which might be showed at home, if it please God that they came home and he wept when he gave it to them"
They were detained at their anchorage about a week and signs of open mutiny grew apace. Their plan was: to place Hudson and all the sick men in a shallup and set them adrift. Habbakuk Prickett and others, (among whom was the carpenter), who were friendly to Hudson, used every argument they could devise to induce them to desist, but it was all in vain." Prickett then pleaded for a delay of three days, two days, twelve hours even, but with no effect except to exasperate the men, "who became very violent and ordered him to
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his berth and would have thrown him in with Hudson save that although lame he was needed to sail the ship."
They also desired the carpenter to remain but he declared "he would not desert his commander or stay with such villians." The Rev. Samuel Purchas says of him, "Philip Staafe, an Ipswich man, their best purveyor on shore with his piece, and both a skillful carpenter and a lusty mariner on board, when he could by no pursuasions, seasoned with tears, divert them from their devilish de- signs, notwithstanding they entreated him to stay with them, yet chose rather to commit himself to God's mercy in the forlorn shallup than with such villians to accept of likelier hopes."
Their plan was now arranged to be executed at day- break on the morrow, and when Hudson came up from his cabin, some of the mutineers ran and closed down the hatchways while two others seized him, and a third bound his arms behind him. "He asked them what they meant" and was told "he should know when he was in the shallup." Severe encounters took place between the doomed men and their captors "but the boat was now quickly drawn alongside and the sick and the lame, to the number of six men, were brought up from their berths and put into it."
Hudson called Prickett to come to the hatchway to speak with him, and Prickett crawled up on deck, and on his bended knees "besought them for the love of God to remember themselves and do as they would be done unto."
Their only reply was to order him back to his berth "where Hudson continued to talk with him at the horn that gave light into his cabin."
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