The Hudson - free ebook by Wallace Bruce

Centennial Edition

ROBERT FULTON'S 'CLERMONT' 1807 ROBERT FULTON'S "CLERMONT" 1807 [page 7]...

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CENTENNIAL GREETING

Hendrick Hudson and Robert Fulton are closely associated in the history of our river, and more particularly at this time, as the dates of their achievements unite the centennial of the first successful steamer in 1807, with the tri-centennial of the discovery of the river in 1609. In fact, these three centuries of navigation, with rapidly increasing development in later years, might be graphically condensed— " Half Moon ," 1609 ; " Clermont ," 1807 ; " Hendrick Hudson ," 1906 . Singularly enough

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From the Albany Gazette, September, 1807.

"The North River Steamboat will leave Paulus Hook Ferry on Friday the 4th of September, at 9 in the morning, and arrive at Albany at 9 in the afternoon on Saturday. Provisions, good berths, and accommodation are provided. The charge to each passenger is as follows: [page 32] For places apply to Wm. Vandervoort, No. 48 Courtland street, on the corner of Greenwich street, September 2d, 1807." The wind blew over the land and the waves With its salt sea-breath, and a spicy balm, And it seemed to coo

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Extract from the New York Evening Post, October 2, 1807.

Mr. Fulton's new-invented steamboat, which is fitted up in a neat style for passengers, and is intended to run from New York to Albany as a packet, left here this morning with ninety passengers, against a strong head wind. Notwithstanding which, it is judged that she moved through the waters at the rate of six miles an hour....

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Extract from the Albany Gazette, October 5th, 1807.

Friday, October 2d, 1807, the steamboat (Clermont) left New York at ten o'clock a.m., against a stormy tide, very rough water, and a violent gale from the north. She made a headway beyond the most sanguine expectations, and without being rocked by the waves. Arrived at Albany, October 4th, at 10 o'clock p.m., being detained by being obliged to come to anchor, owing to a gale and having one of her paddle wheels torn away by running foul of a sloop. But see! the broadening river deeper flows, Its

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To Poughkeepsie from New York in Seventeen Hours.

—The first steamboat on the Hudson River passed Poughkeepsie August 17th, 1807, and in June, 1808, the owners of the boat caused the following advertisement to be published in prominent papers along the river: [page 33]...

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FOR THE INFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC.

The Steamboat will leave New York for Albany every Saturday afternoon exactly at 6 o'clock, and will pass: West Point, about 4 o'clock Sunday morning. Newburgh, 7 o'clock Sunday morning. Poughkeepsie, 11 o'clock Sunday morning. Esopus, 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Red Hook, 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Catskill, 7 o'clock in the afternoon. Hudson, 8 o'clock in the evening. She will leave Albany for New York every Wednesday morning exactly at 8 o'clock, and pass: Hudson, about 3 in the afternoon. E

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PRICES OF PASSAGE—FROM NEW YORK.

[page 34]...

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FROM ALBANY.

All other passengers are to pay at the rate of one dollar for every twenty miles, and a half dollar for every meal they may eat. Children from 1 to 5 years of age to pay one-third price and to sleep with persons under whose care they are. Young persons from 5 to 15 years of age to pay half price, provided they sleep two in a berth, and the whole price for each one who requests to occupy a whole berth. Servants who pay two-thirds price are entitled to a berth; they pay half price if they do not h

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SUGGESTIONS.

From the Hurricane Deck of the Hudson River Day Line Steamers can be seen, on leaving or approaching the Metropolis, one of the most interesting panoramas in the world—the river life of Manhattan, the massive structures of Broadway, the great Transatlantic docks, Recreation Piers, and an ever-changing kaleidoscope of interest. The view is especially grand on the down trip between the hours of five and six in the afternoon, as the western sun brings the city in strong relief against the sky. If t

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Desbrosses Street Pier to Forty-Second Street.

Our historic journey fittingly begins at Desbrosses Street, for here, near the old River-front, extending from Desbrosses along Greenwich, stood the Revolutionary line of breastworks reaching south to the Grenadier Battery at Franklin Street. Below this were "Jersey," "McDougall" and "Oyster" batteries and intervening earthworks to Port George, on the Battery, which stood on the site of old Fort Amsterdam, carrying us back to Knickerbocker memories of Peter Stuyvesant and Wowter Van Twiller. The

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Forty-Second Street to One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth.

The 42d Street Pier is now at hand, convenient of access to travelers, as the 42d Street car line crosses Manhattan intersecting every "up and down" surface, subway or elevated road in the City, as does also the Grand, Vestry and Desbrosses Street at the lower landing. While passengers are coming aboard we take pleasure in quoting the following from Baedeker's Guide to the United States: "The Photo-Panorama of the Hudson, published by the Bryant Union Publishing Co., New York City (price 50 cent

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One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Street to Yonkers.

This upper landing of the Hudson River Day Line has a beautiful location and is a great convenience to the dwellers of northern Manhattan. On leaving the pier the steel-arched structure of Riverside Drive is seen on the right. The valley here spanned, in the neighborhood of 127th Street, was once known as "Marritje Davids' Fly," and the local name for this part of New York above Claremont Heights is still known as "Manhattanville." The Convent of the Sacred Heart is visible among the trees, and

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Yonkers to West Point

Passing Glenwood, now a suburban station of Yonkers, conspicuous from the Colgate mansion near the river bank, built by a descendant of the English Colgates who were familiar friends of William Pitt, and leaders of the Liberal Club in Kent, England, and "Greystone," once the country residence of the late Samuel J. Tilden, Governor of New York, and presidential candidate in 1876, we come to Hastings , where a party of Hessians during the Revolutionary struggle were surprised and cut to pieces by

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West Point to Newburgh.

The steamer passes too near the west bank to give a view of the magnificent plateau with parade ground and Government buildings, but on rounding the point a picture of marvelous beauty breaks at once upon the vision. On the left the massive indented ridge of Old Cro' Nest and Storm King, and on the right Mount Taurus, or Bull Hill, and Break Neck, while still further beyond toward the east sweeps the Fishkill range, sentineled by South Beacon, 1,625 feet in height, from whose summit midnight gle

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Newburgh to Poughkeepsie.

Newburgh , 60 miles from New York. Approaching the city of Newburgh, we see a building of rough stone, one story high, with steep roof—known as Washington's Headquarters. For several years prior to, and during the Revolution, this was the home of Jonathan Hasbrouck, known far and wide for business integrity and loyalty to liberty. This house was built by him, apparently, in decades; the oldest part, the northeast corner, in 1750; the southeast corner, in 1760, and the remaining half in 1770. It

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Poughkeepsie to Kingston.

Leaving the Poughkeepsie dock the steamer approaches the Poughkeepsie Bridge which, from Blue Point and miles below, has seemed to the traveler like a delicate bit of lace-work athwart the landscape, or like an old-fashioned "valance" which used to hang from Dutch bedsteads in the Hudson River farm houses. This great cantilever structure was begun in 1873, but abandoned for several years. The work was resumed in 1886 just in time to save the charter, and was finished by the Union Bridge Company

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Kingston to Catskill.

Rhinecliff , with its historic Beekman stone house, is on the east bank of the river opposite Kingston. The old mansion, on the hillside, above the landing, was built before 1700 by William Beekman, first patroon of this section. It was used as a church and as a fort during the Indian struggles and still preserves the scar of a cannon ball from a British ship. Ferncliff , a mile north of the Beekman House, is the home of John Jacob Astor, formerly the property of William Astor, and above this Cl

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Catskill to Hudson.

Leaving Catskill dock, the Prospect Park Hotel looks down upon us from a commanding point on the west bank, while north of this can be seen Cole's Grove, where Thomas Cole, the artist, lived, who painted the well-known series, the Voyage of Life. On the east side is Rodger's Island, where it is said the last battle was fought between the Mahicans and Mohawks; and it is narrated that "as the old king of the Mahicans was dying, after the conflict, he commanded his regalia to be taken off and his s

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Hudson to Albany.

Athens. —Directly opposite Hudson, and connected with it by ferry, is the classically named village of Athens. An old Mahican settlement known as Potick was located a little back from the river. We are now in the midst of the great "Ice Industry," which reaches from below Staatsburgh to Castleton and Albany, well described by John Burroughs in his article on the Hudson: "No man sows, yet many men reap a harvest from the Hudson. Not the least important is the ice harvest, which is eagerly looked

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Albany to Saratoga. Delaware and Hudson Railway.

A pleasant tour awaits the traveler who continues his journey north from Albany, where the Delaware and Hudson train for Saratoga is ready at the landing on the arrival of the steamer. A half hour's run along the west bank gives us a glimpse of Troy across the river with the classical named hills Mount Ida and Mount Olympus. Two streams, the Poestenkill and the Wynant's Kill, approach the river on the east bank through narrow ravines, and furnish excellent water power. In the year 1786 it was ca

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Saratoga to the Adirondacks.

The Adirondack Railway division of the Delaware and Hudson furnishes one of the pleasantest excursions to the north woods. The traveler passes along the romantic and picturesque valley of the upper Hudson—through King's, South Corinth, Jessup's Landing to Hadley (the railroad station for Luzerne, a charming village at the junction of the Hudson and the Sacandaga); then through Stony Creek, Thurman, thirty-six miles from Saratoga Springs, at the junction of the Schroon and the Hudson; the Glen, f

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Saratoga to Lake George.

The traveler will find trains and excursions to suit his convenience from Saratoga to our fairest lake. His route takes him through Gansevoort and Fort Edward to Glens Falls with the narrowing and bright-flowing Hudson for a companion. About one mile beyond Fort Edward Station, near the railway on the right, stood, until recently, the tree where Jane McCrea was murdered by Indians during the Revolution. From Glens Falls the tourist proceeds over the well-conducted Lake George division of the Del

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Lake George to the Adirondacks.

The reader who does not visit Lake George may feel that he is switched off on a side-track at Fort Edward; so, coming to his rescue, we return and resume our northern journey via the main line, through Dunham's Basin, Smith's Basin, Fort Ann, and Comstock's Landing, to— Whitehall , at the head of Lake Champlain. From this point north the Delaware &amp;Hudson crosses all thresholds for the Adirondacks, and shortens the journey to the mountain districts. It passes through five mountain ranges,

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SOURCE OF THE HUDSON.

In our journey from Albany to Plattsburgh, we have indicated various routes to the Adirondacks: By way of Saratoga and North Creek to Blue Mountain Lake following the course of the Hudson which might therefor be called "The Hudson Gateway;" via Lake George, Westport, and Elizabethtown, suited for carriage and pedestrian trips, and via Plattsburgh, which might be termed "The Northern Portal." In addition to these it has been my lot to make several trips up the valley of the Sacandaga to Lake Plea

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GEOLOGY OF THE HUDSON.

In addition to various geological references scattered through these pages the following facts from an American Geological Railway Guide, by James Macfarlane, Ph.D., will be of interest. "The State of New York is to the geologist what the Holy Land is to the Christian, and the works of her Palæontologist are the Old Testament Scriptures of the science. It is a Laurentian, Cambrian, Silurian and Devonian State, containing all the groups and all the formations of these long ages, beautifully devel

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(Condensed from article by permission of writer.)

The tide in the Hudson River is the continuation of the tide-wave, which comes up from the ocean through New York Bay, and is carried by its own momentum one hundred and sixty miles, growing, of course, constantly smaller, until it is finally stopped by the dam at Troy. The crest of this wave, or top high water, is ten hours going from New York to Troy. A steamer employing the same time (ten hours) for the journey, and starting at high water in New York, would carry a flood tide and highest wate

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As Seen on the Hudson River Day Line Steamers.

Desbrosses Street Pier. On leaving landing a charming view is obtained of New York Harbor with Bartholdi Statue to the south. Stevens Castle. Above Jersey City docks on the west, crowning a commanding site. St. Michael's Monastery , or Monastery of the Passionist Fathers, on west bank above Elysian Fields; distinguished by large dome and towers of the St. Paul (London) style of architecture. This dome is 300 feet high, and its summit is 515 feet above the Hudson. 42d Street Pier. Midway to the d

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