USA > New York > History of the state of New-York : including its aboriginal and colonial annals, vol. pt 1 > Part 22
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After this digression upon an interesting traditional fact, the occurrence of which, though perhaps not strictly susceptible
* Mr. Heckewelder.
.
259
$ $2.] Hudson-Tradition of first Interview.
of location at any particular spot of Hudson's visit, has nevertheless reference to his arrival, we shall return to his progress while in this river.
'The boat which had been dispatched in the morning (22d) was absent until ten o'clock at night, when, during a shower of rain, it returned, the men having found the greatest depth of water se- ven feet only, and " unconstant soundings." The exact distance they had gone was not known. The journalist says, they had been seven or cight leagues ; consequently, they went at least as far as Troy, Lausingburgh, and Waterford, and per- haps beyond. They had no doubt passed the sprouts of the Mohawk, and may have gone northerly towards Stillwater. Had they followed the Mohawk to the Cohoes, so great a curiosity would probably have been mentioned. Hudson now made preparations to retrace his voyage. Before we re- sume his journal, we will inquire what proportions of the ri- ver, its branches, and the territory through which they flow- ed, remained undiscovered by him, and by others for a long time afterwards.
.. $$ 52.
An exact knowledge of the northern sources of the Uudson, and its branches, has hardly yet been acquired, in consequence of the wild condition of the region which embraces them. But this knowledge is far more accurate and extensive, than that which prevailed at the respective periods, when De Laet published his " Nieuw Wereldt," Vander Donck described " Nieuw Nederlant," Smith wrote his brief " History of the province of New-York," or still later when the Swedish na- turalist Kalm,* visited and described the river.
De Laet, whom we before quoted, in mentioning to the courses of the river, as far as the island; on which the fort was erect-
* See his Travels in 17-19 in Vol. XII. Pinkerton's Collections, 575, &c. opd 737 of those of the Rev. And. Burnaby in 1739 ju ib.
+ Near Albany
260 European Discoveries and Claims to New- York. [PARTI.
ed in 1614, to which, he said, the shipping came, but further up the river sloops could scarcely sail in consequence of its shallowness, observes, that from afar, certain high hills were seen, from which the waters of the river proceeded, and " to all appearance it reaches to the great river St. Lawrence, in Canada ; for our skippers testify, that to this fort Indians come from St. Lawrence, and even from Quebec and " Ta- dousac." Vander Donck, was somewhat better informed on this subject, but it seems that he also derived his informa- tion from the natives.
In his day," it will appear that the Dutch settlements were confined mainly to the borders of this river, and that the ex- istence of the northern sources of the Hudson, and the great interior lakes, was the subject matter of vague description, founded upon the reports of Indians, and upon the flights of birds. It will appear that the French were probably the first European discoverers of the north-western interior of our State, and of the great chain of lakes. For while the Dutch were confined to some favourite spots, such as Manhattan, Fort Orange, and hardly extended their geographical know- ledge beyond the beautiful Kills, as Vander Donck names them, of the little and great Esopus, Kats-Kill, Slaper haven, Colendonck's Kill, or Sagh-Kill, and Wappinghs Kill, the French will appear to have had establishments in the territory of the Iroquois as early as 1655, and missionaries among the Onondagas, according to Charlevoix as carly as 1054. But still earlier, it will appear, that Champlain had a knowledge at least of Lake Ontario, if not of the falls of Niagara, f and
* About Anno 1655, when the first edition of his work was published.
Niagara Falls. The period of the first discovery and the description of these falls, may beascertained by consulting Vol. VI. (new series) North Amer. Review, p. 116; Spafford's Gazetteer of N. Y. od EJ. 1824; Dr. Mitchill's Geol. of N. Amer. in Cuvier's Theory, Eaton's Geological Sur- veys, and various books of travels. Mr. Spafford says the height of the fall on the American side is 164 feet : on the Canada side 150; the results of several careful admeasurements. " I have been sometimes asked (says Co- Ionel Timothy Pickering in MS. communication. see ante p. 232 n. ) whatwas
62.] Unexplored sources and branches of the Hudson. 201
the lakes south-west of them. This inquiry, however, will be reserved until the accounts of the progressive discoveries and settlements of the State will be given ; in which, we may then refer to the travels of Champlain in the country of our Iroquois; those also of La Salle, who, in 1678, first formed the design of traversing the country from Lake Frontenac (Ontario) to the Gulf of Mexico,* those of Father Henne- pin in the same direction between 1679 and 1682,f and those of Baron La Hontan,t who performed pilgrimage between 1683 and 1694, among those " naked philosophers," the Iro- quois, proceeded as far as Huron, and published his professed- ly faithful account of the affairs between the English, French, and " Iroquese," in 1703.6 But to return to the sources and
the Indian pronunciation of Niagara. By the eastern tribes it was Ne-au gau-rat, or rather Ne-og-au-roh. The second syllable was short, with the accent upon it. The sound of the last syllable was indefinite, much as we pronounce the last syllable of the word America. I account for the sound of i as c in Niagara, and the broad sound of a, to its having been writ- ten by the Low Dutch of Albany, and the French in Canada. In writing the Indian names in my treaty of 1794, I took some pains to get their Indian sounds, and to express these by such a combination of letters as would have been given them had the names been English. Kon-on-dai-gua for instance, the place where the treaty was held ; the accent being on the syllable dai. The Senekas called the falls or river not Ne-og-au-roh, but Ne-auh-gate, the second syllable auh gutterally, with the accent upon it, and the last syl- lable long.
# See his expedition, Vol. II. N. Y. Ilist. Collec. 221. Vol. I. Archæ. Amer. 116.
i Who says he began his discoveries with M. La Salle, though he mo- destly observes that he had made the same discovery two years before. Ilis book (see New Discovery of a Vast Country in America. London. 1699) establishes his claim to the epithet of " great liar," with which the Canadians, according to Kalm, distinguished him.
# In New Voyages to N. America, translated from the French. London 1703.
§ Sce further Atwater in West. Antiquities Vol. I. Arche. Amer. p. 116. Schoolcraft's Journal reviewed, Vol. VI. (n. s.) N. Amer. Review. 225. &c. Gov. Clinton's Memoir on West. Antig. of N. Y.
262 European Discoveries und Claims. to New- York. [PART I.
branches of the Hudson. Vander Donck says, that " 44 miles (i. e. Dutch miles) from the sea shore, the " Noordt ririer," is divided into two branches, one of which runs with four streams to the great falls of the Macquas Kill, called Chahoos ; the other half, which is called and really is the river, is navigable for small vessels several miles further up, and as the Indians inform us (continues Vander Donck) extends very far, and has its source in a very great lake, which is also the source of the river Canada. This, he continues, would seem to be the lake of the 'Fracoys,' as large as the Mediterranean sea, nearly 40 (Dutch) miles wide, and where no eye, although in the midst of the lake, can discover the extent. And it hath also many large vallies, with cane and marsh lands, so wide and exten- sive as to be beyond the reach of the eye, and in the summer season they say, many water fowls frequent it to brecd. When the Indians pass over the lake, they know how to avail them- selves of their acquaintance with the islands in it, and sail by days' journeys from one island to another, sometimes to three or four, without which expedient they could not arrive at the place intended, but this we assert upon the information of the Indians.# Others say, that with small vessels it may be navi- gated through the lake to the river of Canada ; but that appears to me (Vander Donck continues) very improbable. The other branch of the North river runs, as has been said, with four branches to the great falls of the Marquas Kill, called by the Indians Chahoes, but our nation call it the great falls. Above the falls, the river is some hundred yards wide, and the fall of the water is conjectured to be 150 or 200 feet, and the water pours over a smooth precipice, as if it fell from a straight wall. The bottom is a firm blue rock, and just below the falls are some round rocks, resembling heaps of hay or turf, some of eight, sixteen, and thirty feet high, of a romantic and
* It is obvious that Vander Donck's informants confounded Lake Erie or some western lake with that of Locus Irocoisia. (Champlain, ) or that he mis- understood them.
263
Sources and Branches of the Hudson.
$ 52.]
pleasing appearance ; and if poets frequented the place, they would invent many wonderful and agreeable fables respecting it, for which purpose it seems to be well calculated. Hence the water rushes foaining, dashing, and twirling, among the rocks for the distance of one, or one and an half musket shots, when it begins to be composed and to flow gently. Above the falls, the water is broad and navigable, and is called the Mac- quas Kill. It extends quite through the land of the Macquas and Senckas, and proceeds from a lake at a distance of at least sixty (Dutch) miles, to which it continues navigable; it washi- es very many beautiful lands, and abounds with fish. When the Indians travel by water to trade, they descend this kill with their canoes constructed of the bark of trees, and when they arrive at the falls, they must carry their boats a consider- able distance by land, otherwise they would be driven down the current and be wrecked, as it happened to an Indian in our time."*
** " It chanced that an Indian, with whom I myself (says Vander Donck) was well acquainted, accompanied by his wife and child, with about sixty beaver skins, was descending the river in the spring, when the stream is most rapid, intending to trade with the Netherlanders. Not being careful to come too in time, not regarding the current enough, and relying too much upon his own powers, before he was aware, was carried down by the stream, and notwithstanding he exerted himself to the utmost when it was too late, the rapid precipitated him with his bark canve, his wife and child, his beaver skins and other packages which he had with him, from the topto the bottom of the falls. His wife and child were killed, most of his goods lost, and his canoe dashed in pieces ; but he saved his life, and I have fre- quently conversed with him since, and heard him relate the story." Van- der Donck further say , in his description of the "Noordt Rivier," that " it abounds with fish, such as sturgeon, bass, dertien, sheep-head, &c. Here I cannot omit (he says) to relate, although something out of the way, that in the spring of 1647, when the water in the river was fresh almost to the bay, occasioned by the abun lance of the water coming down the river, (the fresh water in ordinary tides extending only about twenty or twenty-four miles* from the sea-shore,) to whales of a reasonable size swam up the river more than 40 miles,* returned and stranded about ten or twelve miles* from the
264 European Discoveries and Claims to New- York. [PARTI.
From Vander Donck, we learn how limited and inaccurate was the information upon this subject, more than forty years after the foundation of New-Netherlands. The knowledge of the lakes, we perceive, was founded on rumour. The grand cataracts of Niagara and Genessee, the several falls on the upper Hudson, * with all the romantic, picturesque, and magnificent scenery around them, were so far from being known or noticed, that the Cohoes, then within a few miles of " Fort Orangie," were conjectured to descend 150 or 200 feet.
Even Smith, f who wrote a century after Vander Douck, is also erroneous in some particulars of his description. The sources of the river, however, had not then been discovered. We know, says he, in general, that the source is in the moun- tainous, uninhabited country, between lakes Ontario and Champlain.
But the Saucondauga river, which, in his description, is supposed to be the Hudson, may be considered as a distinct
sea shore, where others also the same year stranded and afterwards esca- ped. The other remained stranded not far from the great Cahoc's falls, about forty-three miles from* the sea shore.f The fish was very fat ; for notwithstanding that the inhabitants of Rensselaerwyck boiled of it a large quantity of train oil, the river (the current of which was at the time very rapid) for three weeks afterwards continued very oily and covered with grease. Yea, sometimes while the fish was de- caying, the stench infected theair so much, that to the leeward it might have been perceived at the distance of two miles. I cannot say (con- tinues Vander Donck, sagely,) what could have induced this fish to ascend the river so high, being at that time upwards of forty miles from all salt or brack water, and out of his usual course, except it might be that he was al- lured by the numerous shoals of fishes which he met with." Peter Kalm in his travels observes that though the region of porpoises seldom extends high- er than salt water, (beyond which is that of sturgeons, ) yet it has sometimes happened that porpoises have gone up as far as Albany.
* See Dr. Mitchill's Geology in Cuvier p. 353. 305. Spafford's Gazetteer.
i Hist. of the province of N. Y. from its first discovery to 1732. Publish- od London, 1757.
* Dutch miles.
: That is, on Whale Teland, opposite the upper part of the city of Troy. See Spafford's G3.
§ 52.] Sources and Branches of' the Hudson. 265
river or a branch of the Hudson. Its course from its source," is first southerly, and then northerly and casterly, until it falls into the Hudson, a few miles south-westerly from the south end of Lake George.f From this junction, the course of the Hudson is first south, somewhat east six or eight miles ; then northerly and easterly eight or ten miles, and then generally south about 12º or 15° west to the bay at New- York. Several miles north of where it receives the Sau- condauga, it is divided into two nearly equal branches, the one called the northeast, and the other the north branch. His supposition also, that the Hudson is navigable for bat- teaux from Albany to Lake George, except two portages of half a mile cach, is incorrect, and contrary to the note on the same sentence, in which it is said : " In the passage from Al- hany to Fort Edward, the whole land carriage is about 12 or 13 miles." The Hudson passes a few miles west of the south end of Lake George. The northeast branch in its course, approaches nearer to the lake.}
This branch is called Scaroon river, flowing from Scaroon Jake, which is about eight miles long and one broad, twelve miles west of the north end of Lake George, and is partly in Essex and partly in Warren county. Saucondauga rises in Johnsburgh, Warren county, and in the wilds of Hamilton county, in a great many ponds and streams little known. But the northern branch, which, from its being the longest and principal branch, is considered as entitled to the name of Hud- son, hasits limit in latitude 44° 05' in the mountainous region west of Lake Champlain, and in the same region of lakes, which are not only the sources of the other branches above named, but those of Grass and other rivers of the St. Law-
* According to Samuel Jones, Esq. in his remarks on Smith's History of N. Y. III. N. Y. Hist. Coll. p. 357.
+ Spafford says about & miles S. W. of the south end of L. George.
# According to Samuel Jones's Remarks, ib. But sce Spafford's Gazet- teer, art. Hudson River, &c.
Vor. I.
31
266 Europeun Discoveries und Claims to New- York. [PART L.
rence, and of the Saranac of Lake Champlain. The country is yet wild and little known ; but the Hudson (or northern branch) pursues a southerly course about sixty miles, where it meets the Scaroon, eight miles north west of Caldwell, at the south end of Lake George ; twelve miles further, the Sau- condauga; thence continues south and eastward, passes Glen's Falls, and at Sandy Hill makes a short bend to the south, bearing a little west, which course it pursues to the Atlantic. Its whole course to Sandy Hill has been reckoned 100 miles ; descending Baker's Falls, and afterwards passing several others, it receives, between Waterford and Troy, (which last is 44 miles from Sandy Hill) its great western branch, the Mo- hawk, which rises in the northeast of Oneida county, and pur- sues its winding channel of about 135 miles to the Hudson .* The whole course of this noble river, from its northern limits 10 Albany, is about 150 miles, and thence to the Narrows 150 more, making, in its whole length, 300 miles. The extent of one half of the river, therefore, was explored by its discove- rer, whose return we shall now proceed to trace from Alba- ny to Europe.
$ 53.
Hudson, on the report of those whom he had sent to ex- plore the river, found that it would be useless to proceed with his ship any further, or to delay his return. He had passed several days in a profitable traffic, and a friendly intercourse with the natives, among whom were probably those from each side of the river, the Mahicanni as well as the Mohawks. At noon of the 23d September, he therefore went down six miles to a shoal. Having but little wind, the tide laid his ship on the bar until the flood came, when she crossed it, and was an- chored for the night.
The next day, after proceeding seven or eight leagues, she grounded on a bank of ooze in the middle of the river,
* See Spafford's Gazetteer of N. Y. 1924.
267
Hudson's Return.
3, 03.]
where she was detained till the ensuing morning, when the food at ten o'clock enabled Hudson to anchor her in deep water. Thus the ship once more was interrupted in her passage, opposite the spot where a city* now commemorates the name of Hudson.
Here he remained, by reason of adverse winds, four days. On the day of his arrival, " they went on land and gathered good store of chestnuts," but whether on the cast or west side of the river, is not mentioned. But the day following they went on land " to walk on the west side of the river, and found good ground for corne, and other garden herbs, with good store of goodly oakes, and walnut trees, and chestnut trees, cwe trees, and trees of sweet wood, in great abundance, and great store of slate for houses, and other good stones."> Nothing is said of any inhabitants, while they were thus visiting the site, which is now that of the village of Athens. "But next morning (26th,) after the carpenter, mate, and four of the company, had gone on shore to cut wood, while the vessel lay at anchor, two canoes came up the river, from the place where they first found "loving people," (Catskill landing, ;) and in one of them was the old Chief whom Hudson had caused to be made intoxica- ted, (at Albany). He had followed our strange visitors thirty miles, to the base of the Catskill mountains, with the double view of again testifying to Hudson the sincerity of his friend- ship, and of gratifying the love of the marvellous, by relating his own adventures to the mountaineers, and drawing them from their retreat to witness the floating phenomenon. The old Chief now introduced with him, " an old man who brought more stropes of beads, and gave them to our master, and shewed him all the countrey thereabout, as though it were at his command !"+ They tarried, greatly pleased with the unac- countable curiosities they discovered on board. Hudson " made the two old men dine with him, and the old man's wife : for they brought two old women, and two young maidens of
* Thirty miles below Albany ; a distance comprising the nine or ten leagnes which the ship had advanced in the two days.
+ Journal
268 European Discoveries and Claims to New-York. [PART I.
the age of sixteene or seventeene yeeres with them, who behay- ed themselves very modestly."#
After dinner, and upon exchange of presents, the guests re- tired, inviting Hudson by signs, " to come down to them; for the ship was within two leagues of the place where they dwelt."i
At last (27th Sept.) the wind changing to the north, they weighed, set their foretopsail, but the " ship would not flat, and ran on the ozie bank at half ebbe :" remaining till half flood, they set their foresail and maintopsail and proceeded down the river. As they passed the Catskill landing, the old man came off, " and would have them anchor and go on land and eate with him ; but the wind being fair, they would not yield to his request, so hee left them, being very sorrowfull for their departure." Arriving in the afternoon in the vicinity of Red Hook, the wind came ahead, they anchored, and a part of the crew went to fish. They took in one hour " four or five and twen- tie Mullets, Breames, Bases, and Barbils." The two succeeding days they advanced slowly till they anchored a few miles be- Jow Poughkeepsie, "at the lower end of the long Reach ; for it is sixe leagues long." Here one canoe came off, but the natives would not come on board. The cance, however, after dinner, returned with other men, three of whom came on board, bringing Indian wheat, which was bought, as usual, for trifles .. The afternoon (29th) Hudson arrived at the head of the high- lands, "or the northermost of the mountains," and anchored for the night, in or near the Bay of Newburgh, or near New Windsor, not venturing, in consequence of violent contrary winds, to enter the highlands, "which had many points, a nar- row channel, and many eddey winds." The following day (30th) he had an opportunity of making observations on the country, and was particular in observing, that "this is a very pleasant place to build a towne on. The Road is very neere, and very good for all winds, save an east north-east wind."
* These visiters were either of the nation to which the old Mohawk chief belonged, or of the Wabingi
't Catskill.
-
§ 63.]
Hudson's return.
269
In this conjecture he was not mistaken. The flourishing appearance of Newburgh and the villages in its vicinity. have long since verified the prophetic anticipation of Hudson's remark. Could he now reappear, what would be his as- tonishment in beholding upon the borders of the river he dis- covered, not a few towns placed here and there at eligible positions, but four cities, (of which one is the largest on the continent) more than fifty villages, a multitude of seats the . seclusions of letters and of opulence, and hundreds of farm houses the abodes of comfort and contentment : all present- ing, in coup d'ail, the association of cultivation, luxury, elc- gance, refinement, and freedom ! What would be his exulta- tion, to find that Liberty had followed him across the Atlan- tic, and selected, as one of her choicest retreats, the banks and highland scenery of this beautiful river. That since that year (1609) when he saw her rise victorious from an unequal con- test, and wave her banners in triumph and defiance over the imperial diadem of Spain, she had, after a long and glorious ascendency, been exiled from the Republic of the United Pro- vinces, ejected from the cities of Italy, driven from the Can- tons of Switzerland, and finally expelled from Europe; that she had fled hither, and by her presence and influence, caused plenty and contentment to smile around ; changed the steril into the fertile, the wild into the richly variegated, the roman- tic into the picturesque : that here her altars were erected, her praises chanted, and her votaries welcomed with cordial enthusiasm, whether fleeing from the persecution which their attachment to her principles had provoked, or appearing here in the proud character of her invincible champions, to re- ceive the grateful benediction of millions of freemen !*
From a theme of so, much interest, let us revert to one which may seem more humble, but was scarcely less auspicious than the triumphs of liberty.
* The well-known subject of this last allusion must be reserved for the bright embellishment of a future page of our History. Then shall we trace the brilliant career of that hero to whom we are so greatly in- "lebted for possessing at this day the high privilege of relating the in-
270 European Discoveries and Claims to New- York. [PART I.
After remaining in the vicinity of Newburgh, receiving the visits of the natives, making his observations on the highland scenery before him, and the mineralogical appearance of some of the mountains ;* Hudson availed himself of a fair wind on the first of October, and sailed through the highlands, but on getting beyond the mountains, (having gone seven leagues)
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