How still with all her towers and domesThe city sleeps on yonder shore,—How many thousand happy homesYon starless sky is bending o'er.Park Benjamin.
How still with all her towers and domesThe city sleeps on yonder shore,—How many thousand happy homesYon starless sky is bending o'er.
How still with all her towers and domes
The city sleeps on yonder shore,—
How many thousand happy homes
Yon starless sky is bending o'er.
Park Benjamin.
Park Benjamin.
[page 43]
The 42d Street Pieris 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 cents), shows both sides of the river from New York to Albany, accurately represented from 800 consecutive photographs. This new and complete object-guide will be of service to the tourist, and can be had at the steamers' news stands, head of grand stairway, or it will be sent by publishers, postpaid, on receipt of price."
Weehawkenwith its sad story of the duel between Hamilton and Burr is soon seen upon the west bank. A monument once marked the spot, erected by the St. Andrews Society of New York City on the ledge of rock where Hamilton fell early in the morning of the eleventh of July, 1804. The quarrel between this great statesman and his malignant rival was, perhaps, more personal than political. It is said that Hamilton, in accordance with the old-time code of honor, accepted the challenge, but fired into the air, while Burr with fiendish cruelty took deliberate revenge. Burr was never forgiven by the citizens of New York and from that hour walked its streets shunned and despised. Among the many poetic tributes penned at the time to the memory of Hamilton, perhaps the best was by a poet whose name is now scarcely remembered, Mr. Robert C. Sands. A fine picture of Hamilton will be found in the New York Chamber of Commerce where the writer was recently shown the[page 44]following concise paragraph from Talleyrand: "The three greatest men of my time, in my opinion, were Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles James Fox and Alexander Hamilton and the greatest of the three was Hamilton."
Where round yon capes the banks ascendLong shall the pilgrim's footsteps bend,There, mirthful heart shall pause to sigh,There tears shall dim the patriot's eye.Robert C. Sands.
Where round yon capes the banks ascendLong shall the pilgrim's footsteps bend,There, mirthful heart shall pause to sigh,There tears shall dim the patriot's eye.
Where round yon capes the banks ascend
Long shall the pilgrim's footsteps bend,
There, mirthful heart shall pause to sigh,
There tears shall dim the patriot's eye.
Robert C. Sands.
Robert C. Sands.
The plain marble slab which stood in the face of the monument is still preserved by a member of the King family. It is thirty-six inches long by twenty-six and a half inches wide and bears the following inscription: "As an expression of their affectionate regard to his Memory and their deep regret for his loss, the St. Andrew's Society of the State of New York have erected this Monument."
Quite a history attaches to this stone (graphically condensed by an old gardener of the King estate): "It stood in the face of the monument for sixteen years, and was read by thousands, but by 1820 the pillar had become an eyesore to the enlightened public sentiment of the age, and an agitation was begun in the public prints for its removal. It was not, however, organized effort, but the order of one man, that at length demolished the pillar. This man was Captain Deas, a peace-loving gentleman, strongly opposed to duelling and brawls, and on seeing a party approaching the grounds often interposed and sometimes succeeded in effecting a reconciliation. He became tired of seeing the pillar in his daily walks, and, in 1820, ordered his men to remove it and deposit the slab containing the inscription in one of the outbuildings of the estate. This was done. But a few months afterward the slab was stolen, and nothing more was heard of it until thirteen years later, when Mr. Hugh Maxwell, president of the St. Andrew's Society, discovered it in a junk shop in New York. He at once purchased it and presented it to Mr. James G. King, who about this time came into possession of the Deas property, where it has since been carefully preserved."
This mansion of Captain Deas afterward known as the "King House on the Cliff" was a stately residence where[page 45]Washington Irving used to come and dream of his fair Manhattan across the river. It was also the head-quarters of Lafayette, after the battle of Brandywine.
I was an admirer of General Hamilton, and I sickenwhen I think of our political broils, slanders and enmities.Washington Irving.
I was an admirer of General Hamilton, and I sickenwhen I think of our political broils, slanders and enmities.
I was an admirer of General Hamilton, and I sicken
when I think of our political broils, slanders and enmities.
Washington Irving.
Washington Irving.
The gardener also said: "the river road beneath us is cut directly through the spot. Originally it was simply a narrow and grassy shelf close up under the cliffs, six feet wide and eleven paces long. A great cedar tree stood at one end, and this sandbowlder, which we have also preserved, was at the other. It was about twenty feet above the river and was reached by a steep rocky path leading up from the Hudson, and, as there was then no road or path even along the base of the cliffs, it could be reached only by boats." The first duel at Weehawken of which there is any record was in 1799, between Aaron Burr and John B. Church (Hamilton's brother-in-law). The parties met and exchanged shots; neither was wounded. The seconds then induced Church to offer an apology and the affair terminated. The last duel was fought there September 28, 1845, and ended in a farce, the pistols being loaded with cork—a fitting termination to a relic of barbarism.
Riverside Drive and Park.Riverside Drive, on the east bank starting at 72d Street, is pronounced the finest residential avenue in the world. Distinguished among many noble residences is the home of Charles M. Schwab at 73d Street, which cost two million dollars; built on the New York Orphan Asylum plot for which he paid $860,000.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, 89th Street, a memorial to the citizens of New York, who took part in the Civil War, a beautiful work of art, circular in form, with Corinthian columns, erected by the city at a cost of a quarter of million of dollars was dedicated May 30, 1902. The corner-stone was laid in 1900 by President Roosevelt, at that time Governor. The location was well selected, and it presents one of the most attractive features of the river front.
We celebrate our hundredth yearWith thankful hearts and words of praise,And learn a lasting lesson hereOf trust and hope for coming days.Wallace Bruce.
We celebrate our hundredth yearWith thankful hearts and words of praise,And learn a lasting lesson hereOf trust and hope for coming days.
We celebrate our hundredth year
With thankful hearts and words of praise,
And learn a lasting lesson here
Of trust and hope for coming days.
Wallace Bruce.
Wallace Bruce.
[page 46]
Columbia University, on Morningside Heights, has a fine outlook, crowning a noble site worthy of the old college, whose sons have been to the fore since the days of the Revolution in promoting the glory of the state and the nation. President Low has happily styled "Morningside," which extends from 116th to 120th Streets, "The Acropolis of the new world." The Library Building which he erected to his father's memory, is of Greek architecture and cost $1,500,000. It contains 300,000 volumes and is open night and day to the public. It also marks the battle ground and American victory of Harlem Heights in 1776.
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine(Protestant Episcopal), now in process of erection, occupies three blocks from 110th Street to 113th between Morningside Park and Amsterdam Avenue. The corner stone was laid in 1892 to be completed about 1940 at a cost of $6,000,000. The crypt quarried out of the solid rock has been completed and services are held in it every Sunday. Near at hand will be seen the beautiful dome of St. Luke's Hospital.
Grant's Tomb, Riverside Drive and 123d Street, has the most commanding site of the Hudson River front of New York. The bluff rises 130 feet and still retains the name of Claremont. The apex of the memorial is 280 feet above the river. Ninety thousand people contributed to the "Grant Monument Association fund" which, with interest, aggregated $600,000. The corner stone was laid by President Harrison in 1892 and dedicated April 27, 1897, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of Grant's birth, with a great military, naval and civil parade. The occasion was marked by an address of President McKinley and an oration of Gen. Horace Porter, president of the Grant Monument Association.
An attempt to remove Grant's body to Washington was made in Congress but overwhelmingly defeated. The speech by Congressman Amos Cummings in the House[page 47]of Representatives, was a happy condensation of the facts. He fittingly said: "New York was General Grant's chosen home. He tried many other places but finally settled there. A house was given to him here in Washington, but he abandoned it in the most marked manner to buy one for himself in New York. He was a familiar form upon her streets. He presided at her public meetings and at all times took an active interest in her local affairs. He was perfectly at home there and was charmed with its associations. It was the spot on earth chosen by himself as the most agreeable to him; he meant to live and die there. It was his home when he died. He closed his career without ever once expressing a wish to leave it, but always to remain in it.
"Men are usually buried at their homes. Washington was buried there; Lincoln was buried there; Garibaldi was buried there; Gambetta was buried there, and Ericsson was buried, not at the Capital of Sweden, but at his own home. Those who say that New York is backward in giving for any commendable thing either do not know her or they belie her. Wherever in the civilized world there has been disaster by fire or flood, or from earthquake or pestilence, she has been among the foremost in the field of givers and has remained there when others have departed. It is a shame to speak of her as parsimonious or as failing in any benevolent duty. Those who charge her with being dilatory should remember that haste is not always speed. It took more than a quarter of a century to erect Bunker Hill Monument; the ladies of Boston completed it. It took nearly half a century to erect a monument to George Washington in the City founded by him, named for him, and by his act made the Capital of the Nation; the Government completed it. New York has already shown that she will do far better than this."
His glory as the centuries wide,His honor bright as sunlit seas,His lullaby the Hudson tide,His requiem the whispering breeze.Wallace Bruce.
His glory as the centuries wide,His honor bright as sunlit seas,His lullaby the Hudson tide,His requiem the whispering breeze.
His glory as the centuries wide,
His honor bright as sunlit seas,
His lullaby the Hudson tide,
His requiem the whispering breeze.
Wallace Bruce.
Wallace Bruce.
The Thirteen Elm Trees, about ten or fifteen minutes' walk from General Grant's Tomb, were planted by Alexander[page 48]Hamilton in his door-yard, a century ago, to commemorate the thirteen original States. This property was purchased by the late Hon. Orlando Potter, of New York, with the following touch of patriotic sentiment: "These famous trees are located in the northeast corner of One Hundred and Forty-third street and Convent Avenue; or, on lots fourteen and fifteen," said the auctioneer to the crowd that gathered at the sale. "In order that the old property with the trees may be kept unbroken, should the purchaser desire, we will sell lots 8 to 21 inclusive in one batch! How much am I offered?" "One hundred thousand dollars," quietly responded Mr. Potter. A ripple of excitement ran through the crowd, and the bid was quickly run up to $120,000 by speculators. "One hundred and twenty-five thousand," said Mr. Potter. Then there were several thousand dollar bids, and the auctioneer said: "Do I hear one hundred and thirty?" Mr. Potter nodded. He nodded again at the "thirty-five" and "forty" and then some one raised him $250. "Five hundred," remarked Mr. Potter, and the bidding was done. "Sold for $140,500!" cried the auctioneer. Mr. Potter smiled and drew his check for the amount. "I can't say what I will do with the property," said Mr. Potter. "You can rest assured, however, that the trees will not be cut down."
Rest in peace by stately rivers martyred soldiers of the free,Rest brave captain, at our threshold, where the Hudson meets the sea.Wallace Bruce.
Rest in peace by stately rivers martyred soldiers of the free,Rest brave captain, at our threshold, where the Hudson meets the sea.
Rest in peace by stately rivers martyred soldiers of the free,
Rest brave captain, at our threshold, where the Hudson meets the sea.
Wallace Bruce.
Wallace Bruce.
Edgewater, opposite Grant's Tomb on the west bank, lies between Undercliff on the north and Shadyside on the south. The latter place was made historic by Anthony Wayne's capture of supplies for the American army in the summer of 1780 which formed the basis of a satirical poem by Major Andre, entitled"The Cow Chase."
The steamer is now approaching 129th street, and we turn again with pride to the beautiful tomb of General Grant which fittingly marks one point of a great triangle of fame—the heroic struggle of the American soldiers in 1776, the home of Alexander Hamilton, and the burial place of the greatest soldier of the Civil War.
Woodman, spare that tree!Touch not a single bough!In youth it sheltered me,And I will protect it now.George P. Morris.
Woodman, spare that tree!Touch not a single bough!In youth it sheltered me,And I will protect it now.
Woodman, spare that tree!
Touch not a single bough!
In youth it sheltered me,
And I will protect it now.
George P. Morris.
George P. Morris.
[page 49]
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
Trinity Cemetery's Monumentssoon gleam along the wooded bank. Among her distinguished dead is the grave of General John A. Dix whose words rang across the land sixty days before the attack on Fort Sumter: "If any man attempts to pull down the American flag shoot him on the spot." The John A. Dix Post of New York comes hither each Decoration Day and garlands with imposing ceremonies his grave and the graves of their comrades.
Near Carmansville was the home of Audubon, the ornithologist, and the residences above the cemetery are grouped together as Audubon Park. Near at hand is the New York Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, and pleasantly located near the shore the River House once known as West-End Hotel.
Washington Heightsrise in a bold bluff above Jeffrey's Hook. After the withdrawal of the American army from Long Island, it became apparent to General Washington and Hamilton that New York would have to be abandoned. General Greene and Congress believed in maintaining the fort, but future developments showed that Washington was right. The American troops, so far as clothing or equipment was concerned, were in a pitiable condition, and the result of the struggle makes one of the darkest[page 50]pages of the war. On the 12th of November Washington started from Stony Point for Fort Lee and arrived the 13th, finding to his disappointment that General Greene, instead of having made arrangements for evacuating, was, on the contrary, reinforcing Fort Washington. The entire defense numbered only about 2000 men, mostly militia, with hardly a coat, to quote an English writer, "that was not out at the elbows." "On the night of the 14th thirty flat-bottomed boats stole quietly up the Hudson, passed the American forts undiscovered, and made their way through Spuyten Duyvil Creek into Harlem River. The means were thus provided for crossing that river, and landing before unprotected parts of the American works."
Faith's pioneers and Freedom's martyrs sleepBeneath their shade: and under their old boughsThe wise and brave of generations pastWalked every Sabbath to the house of God.Henry T. Tuckerman.
Faith's pioneers and Freedom's martyrs sleepBeneath their shade: and under their old boughsThe wise and brave of generations pastWalked every Sabbath to the house of God.
Faith's pioneers and Freedom's martyrs sleep
Beneath their shade: and under their old boughs
The wise and brave of generations past
Walked every Sabbath to the house of God.
Henry T. Tuckerman.
Henry T. Tuckerman.
According to Irving, "On the 15th General Howe sent a summons to surrender, with a threat of extremities should he have to carry the place by assault." Magaw, in his reply, intimated a doubt that General Howe would execute a threat "so unworthy of himself and the British nation; but give me leave," added he, "to assure his Excellency, that, actuated by the most glorious cause that mankind ever fought in, I am determined to defend this post to the very last extremity."
"Apprised by the colonel of his peril, General Greene sent over reinforcements, with an exhortation to him to persist in his defense; and dispatched an express to General Washington, who was at Hackensack, where the troops from Peekskill were encamped. It was nightfall when Washington arrived at Fort Lee. Greene and Putnam were over at the besieged fortress. He threw himself into a boat, and had partly crossed the river, when he met those Generals returning. They informed him of the garrison having been reinforced, and assured him that it was in high spirits, and capable of making a good defense. It was with difficulty, however, they could prevail on him to return with them to the Jersey shore, for he was excessively excited."
Hark! Freedom's arms ring far and wide;Again these forts with beacons gleam;Loud cannon roar on every side—I start, I wake; I did but dream.Wallace Bruce.
Hark! Freedom's arms ring far and wide;Again these forts with beacons gleam;Loud cannon roar on every side—I start, I wake; I did but dream.
Hark! Freedom's arms ring far and wide;
Again these forts with beacons gleam;
Loud cannon roar on every side—
I start, I wake; I did but dream.
Wallace Bruce.
Wallace Bruce.
[page 51]
"Early the next morning, Magaw made his dispositions for the expected attack. His forces, with the recent addition, amounted to nearly three thousand men. As the fort could not contain above a third of its defenders, most of them were stationed about the outworks."
About noon, a heavy cannonade thundered along the rocky hills, and sharp volleys of musketry, proclaimed that the action was commenced.
"Washington, surrounded by several of his officers, had been an anxious spectator of the battle from the opposite side of the Hudson. Much of it was hidden from him by intervening hills and forest; but the roar of cannonry from the valley of the Harlem River, the sharp and incessant reports of rifles, and the smoke rising above the tree-tops, told him of the spirit with which the assault was received at various points, and gave him for a time hope that the defense might be successful. The action about the lines to the south lay open to him, and could be distinctly seen through a telescope; and nothing encouraged him more than the gallant style in which Cadwalader with inferior force maintained his position. When he saw him however, assailed in flank, the line broken, and his troops, overpowered by numbers, retreating to the fort, he gave up the game as lost. The worst sight of all, was to behold his men cut down and bayoneted by the Hessians while begging quarter. It is said so completely to have overcome him, that he wept with the tenderness of a child."
"Seeing the flag go into the fort from Knyphausen's division, and surmising it to be a summons to surrender, he wrote a note to Magaw, telling him if he could hold out until evening and the place could not be maintained, he would endeavor to bring off the garrison in the night. Capt. Gooch, of Boston, a brave and daring man, offered to be the bearer of the note. He ran down to the river, jumped into a small boat, pushed over the river, landed under the bank, ran up to the fort and delivered the[page 52]message, came out, ran and jumped over the broken ground, dodging the Hessians, some of whom struck at him with their pieces and others attempted to thrust him with their bayonets; escaping through them, he got to his boat and returned to Fort Lee."
Up and down the valley of the Hudson the contendingarmies surged like the ebbing and flowing of the tides.William Wait.
Up and down the valley of the Hudson the contendingarmies surged like the ebbing and flowing of the tides.
Up and down the valley of the Hudson the contending
armies surged like the ebbing and flowing of the tides.
William Wait.
William Wait.
Washington's message arrived too late. "The fort was so crowded by the garrison and the troops which had retreated into it, that it was difficult to move about. The enemy, too, were in possession of the little redoubts around, and could have poured in showers of shells and ricochet balls that would have made dreadful slaughter." It was no longer possible for Magaw to get his troops to man the lines; he was compelled, therefore, to yield himself and his garrison prisoners of war. The only terms granted them were, that the men should retain their baggage and the officers their swords.
Fort Lee, directly across the river, had a commanding position, but was entirely useless to the Revolutionary army after the fall of Fort Washington. It was therefore immediately abandoned to the British, as was also Fort Constitution, another redoubt near at hand.
It will be remembered that the American army after long continued disaster in and about New York, retreated southward from Fort Lee and Hackensack to the Delaware, where Washington with a strategic stroke brought dismay on his enemies and restored confidence to his friends and the Patriots' Cause.
The Palisades, or Great Chip Rock, as they were known by the old Dutch settlers, present the same bold front to the river that the Giant's Causeway does to the ocean. Their height at Fort Lee, where the bold cliffs first assert themselves, is three hundred feet, and they extend about seventeen or eighteen miles to the hills of Rockland County. A stroll along the summit reveals the fact that they are almost as broken and fantastic in form as the great rocks along the Elbe in Saxon-Switzerland.
The Palisades in sterner prideTower as the gloom steals o'er the tide,For the great stream a bulwark meetThat laves its rock-encumbered feet.Robert C. Sands.
The Palisades in sterner prideTower as the gloom steals o'er the tide,For the great stream a bulwark meetThat laves its rock-encumbered feet.
The Palisades in sterner pride
Tower as the gloom steals o'er the tide,
For the great stream a bulwark meet
That laves its rock-encumbered feet.
Robert C. Sands.
Robert C. Sands.
As the basaltic trap-rock is one of the oldest geological[page 53]formations, we might still appropriately style the Palisades "a chip of the old block." They separate the valley of the Hudson from the valley of the Hackensack. The Hackensack rises in Rockland Lake opposite Sing Sing, within two or three hundred yards of the Hudson, and the rivers flow thirty miles side by side. Some geologists think that originally they were one river, but they are now separated from each other by a wall more substantial than even the 2,000 mile structure of the "Heathen Chinee."
It might also be interesting to note Prof. Newberry's idea that in pre-glacial times this part of the continent was several hundred feet higher than at present, and that the Hudson was a very rapid stream and much larger than now, draining as it did the Great Lakes: that the St. Lawrence found its way through the Hudson Channel following pretty nearly the line of the present Mohawk, and the great river emptied into the Atlantic some 80 miles south of Staten Island. This idea is confirmed by the soundings of the coast survey which discover the ancient page of the Hudson as here indicated on the floor of the sea far out where the ocean is 500 feet in depth. A speculation of what a voyager a few million years ago would have then seen might, however, as Hamlet observes, be "to consider somewhat too curiously" for ordinary up-to-date tourists. But even, granting all this to be true, the Palisades were already old, thrown up long ages before, between a rift in the earth's surface, where it cooled in columnar form. The rocky mould which held it, being of softer material, finally disintegrated and crumbled away, leaving the cliff with its peculiar perpendicular formation.
A recent writer has said: "The Palisades are among the wonders of the world. Only three other places equal them in importance, but each of the four is different from the others, and the Palisades are unique. The Giant's Causeway on the north coast of Ireland, and the[page 54]cliffs at Kawaddy in India, are thought by many to have been the result of the same upheaval of nature as the Palisades; but the Hudson rocks seem to have preserved their entirety—to have come up in a body, as it were—while the Giant's Causeway owes its celebrity to the ruined state in which the Titanic forces of nature have left it. The third wonder is at Staffa, in Scotland, where the rocks have been thrown into such a position as to justify the name of Fingal's Cave, which they bear, and which was bestowed on them in the olden times before Scottish history began to be written. It is singular how many of the names which dignify, or designate, favorite spots of the Giant's Causeway have been duplicated in the Palisades. Among the Hudson rocks are several 'Lady's Chairs,' 'Lover's Leaps,' 'Devil's Toothpicks,' 'Devil's Pulpits,' and, in many spots on the water's edge, especially those most openly exposed to the weather, we see exactly the same conformations which excite admiration and wonder in the Irish rocks."
Where the mighty cliffs look upward in their glory and their glowI see a wondrous river in its beauty southward flow.Thomas C. Harbaugh.
Where the mighty cliffs look upward in their glory and their glowI see a wondrous river in its beauty southward flow.
Where the mighty cliffs look upward in their glory and their glow
I see a wondrous river in its beauty southward flow.
Thomas C. Harbaugh.
Thomas C. Harbaugh.
Under the base of these cliffs William Cullen Bryant one Sabbath morning wrote his beautiful lines:
"Cool shades and dews are round my way,And silence of the early day;Mid the dark rocks that watch his bed,Glitters the mighty Hudson spread,Unrippled, save by drops that fallFrom shrubs that fringe his mountain wall;And o'er the clear, still water swellsThe music of the Sabbath bells.All, save this little nook of land,Circled with trees, on which I stand;All, save that line of hills which lieSuspended in the mimic sky—Seems a blue void, above, below,Through which the white clouds come and go;And from the green world's farthest steepI gaze into the airy deep."
"Cool shades and dews are round my way,And silence of the early day;Mid the dark rocks that watch his bed,Glitters the mighty Hudson spread,Unrippled, save by drops that fallFrom shrubs that fringe his mountain wall;And o'er the clear, still water swellsThe music of the Sabbath bells.
"Cool shades and dews are round my way,
And silence of the early day;
Mid the dark rocks that watch his bed,
Glitters the mighty Hudson spread,
Unrippled, save by drops that fall
From shrubs that fringe his mountain wall;
And o'er the clear, still water swells
The music of the Sabbath bells.
All, save this little nook of land,Circled with trees, on which I stand;All, save that line of hills which lieSuspended in the mimic sky—Seems a blue void, above, below,Through which the white clouds come and go;And from the green world's farthest steepI gaze into the airy deep."
All, save this little nook of land,
Circled with trees, on which I stand;
All, save that line of hills which lie
Suspended in the mimic sky—
Seems a blue void, above, below,
Through which the white clouds come and go;
And from the green world's farthest steep
I gaze into the airy deep."
A mellow sunset was settling upon the hills andwaters and a thousand flashes played over the distantcity as its spires and prominent objects caught its glow.N. P. Willis.
A mellow sunset was settling upon the hills andwaters and a thousand flashes played over the distantcity as its spires and prominent objects caught its glow.
A mellow sunset was settling upon the hills and
waters and a thousand flashes played over the distant
city as its spires and prominent objects caught its glow.
N. P. Willis.
N. P. Willis.
[page 55]
There are many strange stories connected with the Palisades, and one narrator says: "remarkable disappearances have occurred in the vicinity that have never been explained. On a conical-shaped rock near Clinton Point a young man and a young woman were seen standing some half a century ago. Several of their friends, who were back some thirty feet from the face of the cliff, saw them distinctly, and called out to them not to approach too near the edge. The young couple laughingly sent some answer back, and a moment later vanished as by magic. Their friends rushed to the edge of the cliff but saw no trace of them. They noticed at once that the tide was out, and at the base three or four boatmen were sauntering about as though nothing had happened (forgetting even, as Bryant did, that a vertical line from the top of the cliff on account of the crumbling debris of ages makes it impossible for even the strongest arm to hurl a stone from the summit to the margin of the river). A diligent search was instituted. Friends and boatmen joined in the search, but from that day to this they have never been heard from, no trace of them has been found, and the mystery of their disappearance is as complete now as it was five minutes after they vanished—a more tragical termination than the story of the old pilot on a Lake George steamer, who, surrounded one morning by a group of tourist-questioners, pointed to Roger Slide Mountain, and said: "A couple went up there and never came back again." "What do you suppose, captain," said a fair-haired, anxious listener, "ever became of them?" "Can't tell," said the captain, "some folks said they went down on the other side."
The old Palisade Mountain House, a few miles above Fort Lee, had a commanding location, but was burned in 1884 and never rebuilt. Pleasant villas are here and there springing up along this rocky balcony of the lower Hudson, and probably the entire summit will some day abound in castles and luxuriant homes. It is in fact within the[page 56]limit of possibility that this may in the future present the finest residential street in the world, with a natural macadamized boulevard midway between the Hudson and the sky.
What love yon cliffs and steeps could tellIf vocal made by Fancy's spell!Robert C. Sands.
What love yon cliffs and steeps could tellIf vocal made by Fancy's spell!
What love yon cliffs and steeps could tell
If vocal made by Fancy's spell!
Robert C. Sands.
Robert C. Sands.
It grieves one to see the gray rocks torn away for building material, but, as fast as man destroys, nature kindly heals the wound; or to keep the Palisade figure more complete, she recaptures the scarred and broken battlements, unfolding along the steep escarpment her waving standards of green. It sometimes seems as if one can almost see her selecting the easiest point of attack, marshalling her forces, running her parallels with Boadicea-like skill, and carrying her streaming banners, more real than Macbeth's "Birnam-Wood" to crowning rampart and lofty parapet.
The New York side from the Battery to Inwood, the northern end of Manhattan Island, is already "well peopled." Until recently the land about Fort Washington has been held in considerable tracts and the very names of these suburban points suggest altitude and outlook—Highbridgeville, Fordham Heights, Morris Heights, University Heights, Kingsbridge Heights, Mount Hope, &c. The growth of the city all the way to Jerome and Van Cortlandt's Park during the last few years has been marvelous. It has literally stepped over the Harlem to find room in the picturesque county of Westchester.
The Island of Manhattan.—As we approach the northern limit of Manhattan we feel that in the preservation of the beautiful name "Manhattan," distinctive of New York's chief borough, Irving's dream has been happily realized. The meaning of this Indian word has been the subject of much discussion. It is, however, simply the name of a tribe. As the old historian De Laet says, "On the east side, on the main land dwell the Manhattoes," and again from the "Documentary History of New York." "It is so called from the people which inhabited the main land on the east side of the river."
Pleasant it is to lie amid the grass,Under these shady locusts half the day,Watching the ships reflected in the Bay,Topmast and shroud, as in a wizard's glass.Thomas Bailey Aldrich.
Pleasant it is to lie amid the grass,Under these shady locusts half the day,Watching the ships reflected in the Bay,Topmast and shroud, as in a wizard's glass.
Pleasant it is to lie amid the grass,
Under these shady locusts half the day,
Watching the ships reflected in the Bay,
Topmast and shroud, as in a wizard's glass.
Thomas Bailey Aldrich.
Thomas Bailey Aldrich.
INDIAN HEAD, PALISADESINDIAN HEAD, PALISADES
[page 57]
The word Manhattan signifies also it is said: "The People of the Islands," and it was evidently used by the Indians as a generic term designating the inhabitants of the island itself, and also of Long Island and the Neversink. This is in accordance with the testimony of Van der Donck. With Irving we all recognize the music and poetry of the name and are proud that our river of beauty is so happily heralded.
Spuyten Duyvil Creek.—Above Washington Heights, on the east bank, theSpuyten Duyvilmeets the Hudson. This stream is the northern boundary of New York Island, and a short distance east of the Hudson bears the name of Harlem River. Its course is south-east and joins the East River at Randall's Island, just above Hell Gate. It is a curious fact that this modest stream should be bounded by such suggestive appellations as Hell Gate and Spuyten Duyvil. This is the first point of special legendary interest to one journeying up the Hudson and it takes its name according to the veracious Knickerbocker, from the following incident: It seems that the famous Antony Van Corlear was despatched one evening with an important message up the Hudson. When he arrived at this creek the wind was high, the elements were in an uproar, and no boatman at hand. "For a short time," it is said, "he vapored like an impatient ghost upon the brink, and then, bethinking himself of the urgency of his errand, took a hearty embrace of his stone bottle, swore most valorously that he would swim acrossen spijt en Duyvil(in spite of the Devil), and daringly plunged into the stream. Scarce had he buffeted half way over when he was observed to struggle violently, as if battling with the spirit of the waters. Instinctively he put his trumpet to his mouth, and giving a vehement blast—sank forever to the bottom."
O legends full of life and health,That live when records fail and die,Ye are the Hudson's richest wealth,The frondage of her history!Wallace Bruce.
O legends full of life and health,That live when records fail and die,Ye are the Hudson's richest wealth,The frondage of her history!
O legends full of life and health,
That live when records fail and die,
Ye are the Hudson's richest wealth,
The frondage of her history!
Wallace Bruce.
Wallace Bruce.
The main branch of the Hudson River Railroad, with its station at Forty-second Street and Fourth Avenue, crosses the Harlem River at Mott Haven, and, following[page 58]its northern bank, meets the Hudson at this point, where the 30th Street branch, following the river, joins the main line. The steamer now passes Riverdale, with its beautiful residences and the Convent of Mount St. Vincent, one of the prominent landmarks of the Hudson, located on grounds bought of Edwin Forrest, the tragedian, whose "Font Hill Castle" appears in the foreground, and we come to
Yonkers, on the east bank, seventeen miles from New York, at the mouth of the Nepperhan. West of the creek is a large rock, called A-mac-lea-sin, the great stone to which the Indians paid reverence as an evidence of the permanency and immutability of their deity. The Mahican Village at the mouth of the creek was called Nappechemak. European settlements were made as early as 1639, as shown by deeds of purchase. Here are many important manufacturing industries: carpet, silk, and hat factories; mowers and reapers, gutta percha, rubber and pencil companies. Its "Recreation Pavilion" on the pier was a noble thing for the city to build—costing $50,000. The structure is of steel and capable of accommodating 5,000 people.
It is said that Yonkers derived its name from Yonk-herr—the young heir, or young sir, of the Phillipse manor. Until after the middle of the seventeenth century the Phillipse family had their principal residence at Castle Phillipse, Sleepy Hollow, but having purchased "property to the southward" from Adrian Van der Donck and obtained from the English king a patent creating the manor of Phillipsburgh, they moved from their old castle to the new "Manor Hall," which at this time was probably the finest mansion on the Hudson. This property was confiscated by act of Legislature in 1779, as Frederick Phillipse, third lord of the manor, was thought to lean toward royalty, and sold by the "Commissioners of Forfeiture" in 1785. It was afterwards purchased by John Jacob Astor, then passed to the Government, was bought[page 59]by the village of Yonkers in 1868, and became the City Hall in 1872. The older portion of the house was built in 1682, the present front in 1745. The woodwork is very interesting, also the ceilings, the large hall and the wide fire-place. In the room still pointed out as Washington's, the fire-place retains the old tiles, "illustrating familiar passages in Bible history," fifty on each side, looking as clear as if they were made but yesterday.
Once more I walk in the dark old streetWearily to and fro:—But I sit no more on the desolate pierWatching the river flow.Richard Henry Stoddard.
Once more I walk in the dark old streetWearily to and fro:—But I sit no more on the desolate pierWatching the river flow.
Once more I walk in the dark old street
Wearily to and fro:—
But I sit no more on the desolate pier
Watching the river flow.
Richard Henry Stoddard.
Richard Henry Stoddard.
Mary Phillipse, belle of the neighborhood, and known in tradition as Washington's first love, was born in the "Manor House" July 3, 1730. Washington first met her on a visit to New York in 1756, after his return from Braddock's campaign, as guest of Beverly Robinson, who had married her elder sister.
It has been claimed by some writers that he proposed and was rejected, but it is doubtful whether he ever was serious in his attentions. At least there is no evidence that he ever "told his love," and she finally married Col. Roger Morris, one of Washington's associates on Braddock's staff. The best part of residential Yonkers lies to the northward, beautifully embowered in trees as seen from the Hudson. A line of electric street cars run north along Warburton Avenue. The street known as Broadway, is a continuation of Broadway, New York. Many of the river towns still keep this name, probably prophetic as a part of the great Broadway which may extend some day from the Battery to Peekskill.
Almost opposite Yonkers a ravine or sort of step-ladder cleft, now known as Alpine Gorge, reaches up the precipitous sides of the Palisades. The landing here was formerly called Closter's, from which a road zigzags to the top of the cliff and thence to Closter Village. Here Lord Grey disembarked in October, 1778, and crossed to Hackensack Valley, "surprising and massacring Col. Bayler's patriots, despite their surrender and calls for mercy."
Indian Head (510 feet) about two miles north of Alpine Gorge, is the highest point of the Palisades.
Eve o'er our path is stealing fast;Yon quivering splendors are the last;His latest glories fringe the heightBehind us with their golden light.Robert C. Sands.
Eve o'er our path is stealing fast;Yon quivering splendors are the last;His latest glories fringe the heightBehind us with their golden light.
Eve o'er our path is stealing fast;
Yon quivering splendors are the last;
His latest glories fringe the height
Behind us with their golden light.
Robert C. Sands.
Robert C. Sands.
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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 troops under Colonel Sheldon. It was here also that Lord Cornwallis embarked for Fort Lee after the capture of Fort Washington, and here in 1850 Garibaldi, the liberator of Italy, whose centennial was observed July 4, 1907, frequently came to spend the Sabbath and visit friends when he was living at Staten Island. Although there is apparently little to interest in the village, there are many beautiful residences in the immediate neighborhood, and the Old Post road for two miles to the northward furnishes a beautiful walk or driveway, well shaded by old locust trees. The tract of country from Spuyten Duyvil to Hastings was called by the Indians Kekesick and reached east as far as the Bronx River.
Dobbs Ferryis now at hand, named after an old Swedish ferryman. The village has not only a delightful location but it is also beautiful in itself. In 1781 it was Washington's headquarters, and the old house, still standing, is famous as the spot where General Washington and the Count de Rochambeau planned the campaign against Yorktown; where the evacuation of New York was arranged by General Clinton and Sir Guy Carleton the British commander, and where the first salute to the flag of the United States was fired by a British man-of-war. A deep glen, known as Paramus, opposite Dobbs Ferry, leads to Tappan and New Jersey. Cornwallis[page 61]landed here in 1776. It is now known as Snedden's Landing.
A lovely country for a summer encampment, breezyhills commanding wide prospects, shady valleys wateredby bright pastoral streams, the Bronx, the Spraine andthe Neperan.Washington Irving.
A lovely country for a summer encampment, breezyhills commanding wide prospects, shady valleys wateredby bright pastoral streams, the Bronx, the Spraine andthe Neperan.
A lovely country for a summer encampment, breezy
hills commanding wide prospects, shady valleys watered
by bright pastoral streams, the Bronx, the Spraine and
the Neperan.
Washington Irving.
Washington Irving.
At Dobbs Ferry, June 14, 1894, the base-stone of a memorial shaft was laid with imposing ceremony by the New York State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, which erected the monument. There were one thousand Grand Army veterans in line, and addresses by distinguished orators and visitors. The Society and its guests, including members of the cabinet, officers of the army and navy, and prominent men of various States, accompanied by full Marine Band of the navy yard, with a detachment of Naval Reserves, participated in the event.
Voyagers up the river that day saw the "Miantonomoh" and the "Lancaster," under the command of Rear-Admiral Gherardi, anchored mid-stream to take part in the exercises. During the Revolution this historic house was leased by a Dutch farmer holding under Frederick Phillipse as landlord. After the war it was purchased by Peter Livingston and known since as the Livingston House. Arnold and Andre were to have met here but providentially for the American cause, the meeting took place at Haverstraw.
The Indian name of Dobbs Ferry was Wecquaskeck, and it is said by Ruttenber that the outlines of the old Indian village can still be traced by numerous shell-beds. It was located at the mouth of Wicker's Creek which was called by the Indians Wysquaqua.
Tappan Zee.—The steamer is now entering Irving's rich domain, and Tappan Zee lapping the threshold of "Sunnyside," seems almost a part of his very dooryard. The river, which has averaged about a mile in breadth, begins to gradually widen at Hastings, and almost seems like a gentle, reposeful lake.
Piermont, whose "mile-long-pier," built many years ago by the Erie Railroad, hardly mars the landscape so great is the majesty of the river, is seen on the west bank with Tower Hill rising above it from which four[page 62]states are seen. The view includes Long Island, the Sound and the Orange Mountains on the south, with the Catskills to the north and Berkshires to the northeast. Louis Gaylord Clark, a friend of Irving, and an early literary associate had a cottage on Piermont Hills.
We have a charming position for our French encampmentalong the Hudson among rocks and under magnificenttulip trees.Count Dumas.
We have a charming position for our French encampmentalong the Hudson among rocks and under magnificenttulip trees.
We have a charming position for our French encampment
along the Hudson among rocks and under magnificent
tulip trees.
Count Dumas.
Count Dumas.
Turning to the eastern shore, we see "Nuits," the Cottinet residence, Italian in style, built of Caen stone, "Nevis," home of the late Col. James Hamilton, son of Alexander Hamilton, the George L. Schuyler mansion, the late Cyrus W. Field's, and many pleasant places about Abbotsford, and come to
Irvington, on the east bank, 24 miles from New York, once known as Dearman's, but changed in compliment to the great writer and lover of the Hudson, who after a long sojourn in foreign lands, returned to live by the tranquil waters of Tappan Zee. In a letter to his brother he refers to Sleepy Hollow as the favorite resort of his boyhood, and says: "The Hudson is in a manner my first and last love, and after all my wanderings and seeming infidelities, I return to it with a heartfelt preference over all the rivers of the world." As at Stratford-on-Avon every flower is redolent of Shakespeare, and at Melrose every stone speaks of Walter Scott, so here on every breeze floats the spirit of Washington Irving. A short walk of half a mile north from the station brings us to his much-loved
"Sunnyside."Irving aptly describes it in one of his stories as "made up of gable-ends, and full of angles and corners as an old cocked hat. It is said, in fact, to have been modeled after the hat of Peter the Headstrong, as the Escurial of Spain was fashioned after the gridiron of the blessed St. Lawrence." Wolfert's Roost, as it was once styled (Roost signifying Rest), took its name from Wolfert Acker, a former owner. It consisted originally of ten acres when purchased by Irving in 1835, but eight acres were afterwards added. With great humor Irving put above the porch entrance "George Harvey,[page 63]Boum'r," Boumeister being an old Dutch word for architect. A storm-worn weather-cock, "which once battled with the wind on the top of the Stadt House of New Amsterdam in the time of Peter Stuyvesant, erects his crest on the gable, and a gilded horse in full gallop, once the weather-cock of the great Van der Heyden palace of Albany, glitters in the sunshine, veering with every breeze, on the peaked turret over the portal."