SOURCE OF THE HUDSON.

Hear what the gray-haired woodmen tellOf this wild stream and its rocky dell.William Cullen Bryant.

Hear what the gray-haired woodmen tell

Of this wild stream and its rocky dell.

William Cullen Bryant.

Bluff Point.—On a commanding site 200 feet above the lake some three miles south of Plattsburgh, stands the superb "Hotel Champlain" commanding a view far-reaching and magnificent, from the Green Mountains on the east to the Adirondacks on the west. The hotel grounds comprise the same number of acres as the islands of Lake George, 365. The hotel is 400 feet long. We condense the following description from the "Delaware and Hudson Guide-book," which we can heartily endorse from many personal visits:

"Resolute has been the struggle here with nature, where rocks, tangled forest and matted roots crowned the chosen spot; but upon the broad, smooth plateau finally created the Hotel Champlain has been placed, and all the surrounding forest, its solitudes still untamed, has been converted into a superb park, threaded with drives and bridle paths. At the foot of the gradual western slope of the ridge the handsome station of Bluff Point has been located beside the main line of theDelaware & Hudson Railroad, the chief highway of pleasure and commercial travel between New York, Saratoga, Lake George, the Adirondacks and Canada.

[page 200]

"From the station where the coaches of the hotel await expected guests, a winding pike, the very perfection of a road, leads up the hill. From the carriage, as it rises to the crest, a wondrous outlook to the westward is opened to view. Nearly a thousand square miles of valley, lake and mountain are within range of the eye or included in the area encircled by visible peaks. As the porch of the hotel is reached, the view, enhanced by the fine foreground, is indeed beautiful, but still finer is the grandeur of the scene from the arches of the tall central dome of the house.

"To the southward we see Whiteface, showing, late in spring and early in autumn, its coronet of almost perpetual snow; and in a grand circle still more southward we see in succession McIntyre, Marcy (both over 5,000 feet high), Haystack, Dix, the Gothic peaks, Hurricane and the Giant. This noble sisterhood of mountains rises from the very heart of the wilderness, and yet the guests at the Hotel Champlain may reach any portion of their environment within a few hours."

The fine equipment and frequent train service of theDelaware &Hudsonbetween New York and Bluff Point without change, by daylight or at night, and the direct connection of the same line with the Hudson River steamboats, places this resort high upon the list of available summering points in the dry and healthful north for families from the metropolis. Travel from the west, coming down the St. Lawrence River, or through CanadaviaMontreal, will find Bluff Point easy to reach; while from the White Mountains and New England seashore resorts it is accessible by through trainsviaSt. Albans or Burlington.

The western shore of Lake Champlain forms the margin of the most varied and altogether delightful wilderness to be found anywhere upon this continent east of the Rocky Mountains. The serried peaks to the westward are in plain view from its shores, their foot-hills ending[page 201]in lofty and often abrupt ridges where they meet the lake. Three impetuous rivers, the Saranac, the Salmon and the Ausable, flow down from the cool, clear lakes, hidden away in the wildwood, and, breaking through this barrier at and in the vicinity of Plattsburgh, contribute not only to the lucid waters of Lake Champlain but greatly to the picturesque variety of the region.

There lie broad acres laced with rillsAnd gemmed with lake and pondBehind a wave of wooded hillsAnd mountain peaks beyond.Benjamin F. Leggett.

There lie broad acres laced with rillsAnd gemmed with lake and pondBehind a wave of wooded hillsAnd mountain peaks beyond.

There lie broad acres laced with rills

And gemmed with lake and pond

Behind a wave of wooded hills

And mountain peaks beyond.

Benjamin F. Leggett.

Plattsburgh, 168 miles from Albany, at the mouth of the Saranac, is a delightful threshold to the Adirondacks. The northern part of Lake Champlain offers special attractions to camping parties. The shores and islands abound in excellent sites. Lake Champlain is also replete with interest to the historian. The ruins of Fort St. Anne are still seen on the north end of the Isle La Mott, built by the French in 1660. Valcour Strait, where one of the battles of '76 was fought; Valcour's Island, where lovers came from far and near, built air castles, wandered through these shady groves for a season or two, and then vanished from sight, bankrupt in everything but mutual affection; Cumberland Bay, with its victory, September, 1814, when the British were driven back to Canada; and many other points which can be visited by steamer or yacht.

It is thirty years since I made my first trip to the Saranacs and I remember well the long journey of those early days, but now we can step aboard a well equipped train at Plattsburgh and in five or six hours stand by the bright waters of the Lower Saranac, which might to-day be called the centre and starting point for all resorts and camping grounds in the eastern lake district of the Adirondacks. Floating about the Saranac Islands of a summer evening, roaming among forest trees, strolling over to the little village one mile distant, and absorbing the rich exhilaration of a life of untrammeled freedom, with a perfect hotel, and blazing fire-places if the weather happens to be unpleasant, form a grand combination, alike for tourists or seekers after rest.

Where rosy zephyr lingersAll the livelong day,With health upon his pinionsAnd gladness on his way.George P. Morris.

Where rosy zephyr lingersAll the livelong day,With health upon his pinionsAnd gladness on his way.

Where rosy zephyr lingers

All the livelong day,

With health upon his pinions

And gladness on his way.

George P. Morris.

[page 202]

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;"viaLake George, Westport, and Elizabethtown, suited for carriage and pedestrian trips, andviaPlattsburgh, 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 Pleasant and Indian Lake, andviaSchroon Lake to Sanford and Lake Henderson—and four times to ascend the mountain trail of Tahawas to the tiny rills and fountains of the Hudson, but one trip abides in memory distinct and unrivalled, which may be of service to those who wish to visit in fact or fancy the head waters of the Hudson.

The Tahawas Club.—We took the cars one bright August morning from Plattsburgh to Ausable Forks, a distance of twenty miles, hired a team to Beede's, some thirty miles distant from the "Forks;" took dinner at Keene, and pursued our route up the beautiful valley of the Ausable.

From this point we visited Roaring-Brook Falls, some four hundred feet high, a very beautiful waterfall in the evening twilight. The next morning we started, bright and early, for the Ausable Ponds. Four miles brought us to the Lower Ausable. The historic guide, "old Phelps," rowed us across the lower lake, pointing out, from our slowly moving and heavily laden scow, "Indian Head" on the left, and the "Devil's Pulpit" on[page 203]the right, lifted about eight hundred feet above the level of the lake. "Phelps" remarked with quaint humor, that he was frequently likened to his Satanic Majesty, as he often took clergymen "up thar." The rocky walls of this lake rise from one thousand to fifteen hundred feet high, in many places almost perpendicular. A large eagle soared above the cliffs, and circled in the air above us, which we took as a good omen of our journey.

The rillsThat feed thee rise among the storied rocksWhere Freedom built her battle-tower.William Wallace.

The rillsThat feed thee rise among the storied rocksWhere Freedom built her battle-tower.

The rills

That feed thee rise among the storied rocks

Where Freedom built her battle-tower.

William Wallace.

After reaching the southern portion of the lake, a trail of a mile and a quarter leads to theUpper Ausable—the gem of the Adirondacks. This lake, over two thousand feet above the tide, is surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains. Our camp was on the eastern shore, and I can never forget the sunset view, as rosy tints lit up old Skylight, the Haystack and the Gothics; nor can I ever forget the evening songs from a camp-fire across the lake, or the "bear story" told by Phelps, a tale never really finished, but made classic and immortal by Stoddard, in his spicy and reliable handbook to the North Woods.

The next morning we rowed across the lake and took the Bartlett trail, ascending Haystack, some five thousand feet high, just to get an appetite for dinner; our guide encouraging us on the way by saying that there never had been more than twenty people before "on that air peak." In fact, there was no trail, and in some places it was so steep that we were compelled to go up on all fours; or as Scott puts it more elegantly in the "Lady of the Lake":

"The foot was fainAssistance from the hand to gain."

"The foot was fain

Assistance from the hand to gain."

The view from the summit well repaid the toil. We saw Slide Mountain, near by to the north, and Whiteface far beyond, perhaps twenty-five miles distant; northeast, the Gothics; east, Saw-teeth, Mt. Colvin, Mt. Dix, and the lakes of the Ausable. To the southeast, Skylight;[page 204]northwest, Tahawas, still foolishly styled on some of our maps, Mt. Marcy. The descent of Haystack was as easy as Virgil's famous "Descensus Averni." We went down in just twenty minutes. The one that reached the bottom first simply possessed better adaptation for rolling.

Eagles still claim the loftiest heights: from thereThey scan with solemn eyes the scenes below—The river and the hills which shall endureWhile man's frail generations come and go.E. A. Lente.

Eagles still claim the loftiest heights: from thereThey scan with solemn eyes the scenes below—The river and the hills which shall endureWhile man's frail generations come and go.

Eagles still claim the loftiest heights: from there

They scan with solemn eyes the scenes below—

The river and the hills which shall endure

While man's frail generations come and go.

E. A. Lente.

One mile from the foot of Haystack brought us to Panther Gorge Camp, appropriately named, one of the wildest spots in the Adirondacks. We remained there that night and slept soundly, although a dozen of us were packed so closely in one small camp that no individual could turn over without disarranging the whole mass. Caliban and Trinculo were not more neighborly, and Sebastian, even sober, would have been fully justified in taking us for "a rare monster" with twenty legs.

The next morning we ascended Tahawas, but saw nothing save whirling clouds on its summit. Twice since then we have had better fortune, and looked down from this mountain peak, five thousand three hundred and forty-four feet above the sea, upon the loveliest mountain landscape that the sun ever shone upon. We went down the western slope of Tahawas, through a driving rain, to Camp Colden, where, with clothes hung up to dry, we looked like a party of New Zealanders preparing dinner, hungry enough, too, to make an orthodox meal of each other. The next day the weather cleared up, and we made a trip of two miles over a rough mountain trail to Lake Avalanche, whose rocky and precipitous walls form a fit christening bowl, or baptistery-font for the infant Hudson.

Returning to Camp Colden and resuming our western march, two miles brought us to Calamity Pond, where a lone monument marks the spot of David Henderson's death, by the accidental discharge of a pistol. Five miles from this point brought us to the "Deserted Village," or the Upper Adirondack Iron Works, with houses and[page 205]furnaces abandoned, and rapidly falling into decay. Here we found a cheery fireside and cordial welcome.

All the sad story of forest and flower,All the red glory of sunsetting hour,Comes till I seem to lie lapped in bright dreamsLulled by the lullaby murmur of streams.James Kennedy.

All the sad story of forest and flower,All the red glory of sunsetting hour,Comes till I seem to lie lapped in bright dreamsLulled by the lullaby murmur of streams.

All the sad story of forest and flower,

All the red glory of sunsetting hour,

Comes till I seem to lie lapped in bright dreams

Lulled by the lullaby murmur of streams.

James Kennedy.

Had I time to picture this level, grass-grown street, with ten or fifteen square box-looking houses, windowless, empty and desolate; a school-house with its long vacation of twenty-three years; a bank with heavy shutters and ponderous locks, whose floor, Time, the universal burglar, had undermined; two large furnaces with great rusty wheels, whose occupation was gone forever; a thousand tons of charcoal, untouched for a quarter of a century; thousands of bricks waiting for a builder; a real haunted house, whose flapping clap-boards contain more spirits than the Black Forests of Germany—a village so utterly desolate, that it has not even the vestige of a graveyard—if I could picture to you this village, as it appeared to me that weird midnight, lying so quiet,

"under the light of the solemn moon,"

you would realize as I did then, that truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and that Goldsmith inhis"Deserted Village" had not overdrawn the description of desolate Auburn.

By special request, we were permitted to sleep that night in the Haunted House and no doubt listened to the first crackling that the old fire-place had known for years. Many bedsteads in the old building were still standing, so we only needed bedding from the hotel to make us comfortable. As we went to sleep we expressed a wish to be interviewed in the still hours of the night by any ghosts or spirits who might happen to like our company; but the spirits must have been absent on a visit that evening, for we slept undisturbed until the old bell, suspended in a tree, rang out the cheery notes of "trout and pickerel." We understand that the Haunted House from that night lost its old-time reputation, and is now frequently brought into requisition as an "Annex," whenever the hotel or "Club House," as it is now called,[page 206]happens to be full. The "Deserted Village" is rich in natural beauty. Lakes Henderson and Sanford are near at hand, and the lovely Preston Ponds are only five miles distant.

Stately and awful was the form of Tahawas, the oldscarred warrior king of the mountains, and yet it ownspines that sing like the sea, brooks that warble like therobin, and flowers that scent the air like the orange-blossomsof Italy.Alfred B. Street.

Stately and awful was the form of Tahawas, the old

scarred warrior king of the mountains, and yet it owns

pines that sing like the sea, brooks that warble like the

robin, and flowers that scent the air like the orange-blossoms

of Italy.

Alfred B. Street.

Resuming our march through Indian Pass, under old Wall-Face Mountain, we reached a comfortable farmhouse at sunset, near North Elba, known by the name of Scott's. The next morning we visited John Brown's house and grave by the old rock, and read the beautiful inscription, "Bury me by the Old Rock, where I used to sit and read the word of God."

From this point we went to Lake Placid, engaged a lad to row us across the lake—some of our party had gone on before—and strapped our knapsacks for another mountain climb. We were fortunate in having a lovely day, and from its sparkling glacier-worn summit we could look back on all the mountains of our pleasant journey, and far away across Lake Champlain to Mount Mansfield and Camel's Hump of the Green Mountains, and farther still to the faint outlines of Mount Washington. We reached Wilmington that night, drove the next morning to Ausable Forks, and took the cars for Plattsburgh. The ten days' trip was finished, and at this late hour I heartily thank the Tahawas Club of Plattsburgh for taking me under their generous care and guidance. We took Phelps, our guide, back with us to Plattsburgh. When he reached the "Forks," and saw the cars for the first time in his life, he stooped down and, examining the track, said, "What tarnal little wheels." I suppose he concluded that if the ordinary cart had two large wheels, that real car wheels would resemble the Rings of Saturn. He saw much to amuse and interest him during his short stay in Plattsburgh, but after all he thought it was rather lonesome, and gladly returned to his lakes and mountains, where he slept in peace, with the occasional intrusion of a "Bar" or a "Painter." He knew the region about Tahawas as an engineer knows[page 207]his engine, or as a Greek professor knows the pages of his lexicon. He had lived so closely with nature that he seemed to understand her gentlest whispers, and he had more genuine poetry in his soul than many a man who chains weak ideas in tangled metre.

Lake Avalanche with rocky wallAnd Henderson's dark-wooded shore,Your echoes linger still and callUnto my soul forevermore.Wallace Bruce.

Lake Avalanche with rocky wallAnd Henderson's dark-wooded shore,Your echoes linger still and callUnto my soul forevermore.

Lake Avalanche with rocky wall

And Henderson's dark-wooded shore,

Your echoes linger still and call

Unto my soul forevermore.

Wallace Bruce.

INDIAN HEAD.INDIAN HEAD.

Since that first delightful trip I have visited the Adirondacks many times, and I hope this summer to repeat the excursion. To me Tahawas is the grand centre. It remains unchanged. In fact, the route I have here traced is the same to-day as then. Even the rude camps are located in the same places, with the exception that the[page 208]trail has been shortened over Tahawas, and a camp established on Skylight. With good guides the route is not difficult for ladies in good health,—say sufficient health to endure half a day's shopping. Persons contemplating the mountain trip need blankets, a knapsack, and a rubber cloth or overcoat; food can be procured at the hotels or farm houses.

The old English ballads have all the sparkle, theenergy and the rhythm of our mountain streams, butChaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare and Bunyan are thecrystal lakes from which flow the river, ay, the Hudsonof our language.Wallace Bruce.

The old English ballads have all the sparkle, the

energy and the rhythm of our mountain streams, but

Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare and Bunyan are the

crystal lakes from which flow the river, ay, the Hudson

of our language.

Wallace Bruce.

In this hasty sketch I have had little space to indulge in picture-painting. I passed Bridal-Veil Fall without a reference. I was tempted to loiter on the banks of the Feld-spar and the bright Opalescent, but I passed by without even picking a pebble from the clear basins of its sparkling cascades. I passed the "tear of the clouds," four thousand feet above the tide—that fountain of the Hudson nearest to the sky, without being beguiled into poetry. I have not ventured upon a description of a sunrise view from the summit of Tahawas, of the magic effect of light above clouds that clothe the surrounding peaks in garments wrought, it seems, of softest wool, until mist and vapor dissolve in roseate colors, and the landscape lies before us like an open book, which many glad eyes have looked upon again and again. I have left it for your guides to tell you, by roaring camp-fires, long stories of adventure in trapping and hunting, of wondrous fishes that grow longer and heavier every season, although captured and broiled many and many a year ago—trout and pickerel literally pickled in fiction, served and re-served in the piquant sauce of mountain vocabulary. In brief, I have kept my imagination and enthusiasm under strict control. But, after all, the Adirondacks are a wonderland, and we, who dwell in the Hudson and Mohawk valleys, are happy in having this great park of Nature's making at our very doors.

It has charms alike for the hunter, the angler, the artist, the writer, and the scientist. Let us rejoice, therefore, that the State of New York is waking at last to the fact, that these northern mountains were[page 209]intended by nature to be something more than lumber ranches, to be despoiled by the axe, and finally revert to the State for "taxes" in the shape of bare and desolate wastes. Nor can the most practical legislator charge those, who wish to preserve the Adirondack woods, with idle sentiment; as it is now an established scientific fact that the rainfall of a country is largely dependent upon its forest land. If the water supply of the north were cut off, to any perceptible degree, the Hudson, during the months of July and August, would be a mere sluice of salt water from New York to Albany; and the northern canals, dependent on this supply, would become empty and useless ditches. Our age is intensely practical, but we are fortunate in this, that so far as the preservation of the Adirondacks is concerned, utility, common sense, and the appreciation of the beautiful are inseparably blended.

Wild umbrage far around me clingsTo breezy knoll and hushed ravine,And o'er each rocky headland flingsIts mantle of refreshing green.Henry T. Tuckerman.

Wild umbrage far around me clingsTo breezy knoll and hushed ravine,And o'er each rocky headland flingsIts mantle of refreshing green.

Wild umbrage far around me clings

To breezy knoll and hushed ravine,

And o'er each rocky headland flings

Its mantle of refreshing green.

Henry T. Tuckerman.

To those persons who do not desire long mountain jaunts, who simply need some quiet place for rest and recuperation, I would suggest this: Select some place near the base of these clustered mountains, like the tasty Adirondack Lodge at Clear Pond, only seven miles from the summit of Tahawas, or Beede's pleasant hotel, high and dry above Keene Flats, near to the Ausable Ponds, or some pleasant hotel or quiet farm-house in the more open country near Lake Placid and the Saranacs. But I prophesy that the spirit of adventure will come with increased strength, and men and women alike will be found wandering off on long excursions, sitting about great camp-fires, ay, listening like children to tales which have not gathered truth with age. If you have control of your time you will find no pleasanter months than July, August and September, and when you return to your firesides with new vigor to fight the battle of life, you will feel, I think, like thanking the writer for having advised you to go thither.

To shut up a glen or a waterfall for one man's exclusiveenjoying; to fence out a genial eye from anycorner of the earth which nature has lovingly touched;to lock up trees and glades shady paths and hauntsalong rivulets, would be an embezzlement by one manof God's gifts to all.N. P. Willis.

To shut up a glen or a waterfall for one man's exclusive

enjoying; to fence out a genial eye from any

corner of the earth which nature has lovingly touched;

to lock up trees and glades shady paths and haunts

along rivulets, would be an embezzlement by one man

of God's gifts to all.

N. P. Willis.

I have written in this article the Indian name,Tahawas,[page 210]in the place of Mt. Marcy, and for this reason: There is no justice in robbing the Indian of his keen, poetic appreciation, by changing a name, which has in itself a definite meaning, for one that means nothing in its association with this mountain. We have stolen enough from this unfortunate race, to leave, at least, those names in our woodland vocabulary that chance to have a musical sound to our imported Saxon ears. The name Tahawas is not only beautiful in itself, but also poetic in its interpretation—signifying "I cleave the clouds." Coleridge, in his glorious hymn, "Before sunrise in the vale of Chamouni," addresses Mount Blanc:

"Around thee and aboveDeep is the air and dark, substantial, black—An ebon mass. Methinks thou piercest it.As with a wedge!"

"Around thee and above

Deep is the air and dark, substantial, black—

An ebon mass. Methinks thou piercest it.

As with a wedge!"

The name or meaning of Tahawas was never made known to the great English poet, who died sixty years ago. Is it not remarkable that the untutored Indian, and the keenist poetic mind which England has produced for a century, should have the same idea in the uplifted mountains? There is also another reason why we, as a State, should cherish the name Tahawas. While the Sierra Nevadas and the Alps slumbered beneath the waves of the ocean, before the Himalayas or the Andes had asserted their supremacy, scientists say, that the high peaks of the Adirondacks stood alone above the waves, "the cradle of the world's life;" and, as the clouds then encircled the vast waste of water, Tahawas then rose—"Cleaver" alike of the waters and the clouds.

Tahawas, rising stern and grand,"Cloud-sunderer" lift thy forehead high,Guard well thy sun-kissed mountain landWhose lakes seem borrowed from the sky.Wallace Bruce.

Tahawas, rising stern and grand,"Cloud-sunderer" lift thy forehead high,Guard well thy sun-kissed mountain landWhose lakes seem borrowed from the sky.

Tahawas, rising stern and grand,

"Cloud-sunderer" lift thy forehead high,

Guard well thy sun-kissed mountain land

Whose lakes seem borrowed from the sky.

Wallace Bruce.

[page 211]

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 developed in belts running nearly across the State in an east and west direction, lying undisturbed as originally laid down.

"The rock of New York Island is gneiss, except a portion of the north end, which is limestone. The south portion is covered with deep alluvial deposits, which in some places are more than 100 feet in depth. The natural outcroppings of the gneiss appeared on the surface about 16th Street, on the east side of the city, and run diagonally across to 31st Street on 10th Avenue. North of this, much of the surface was naked rock. It contains a large proportion of mica, a small proportion of quartz and still less feldspar, but generally an abundance of iron pyrites in very minute crystals, which, on exposure, are decomposed. In consequence of these ingredients it soon disintegrates on exposure, rendering it unfit for the purposes of building. The erection of a great city, for which this island furnishes a noble site, has very greatly changed its natural condition. The geological age of the New York gneiss is undoubtedly[page 212]very old, not the Laurentian or oldest, nor the Huronian, but it belongs to the third or White Mountain series, named by Dr. Hunt the Montalban. It is the same range which is the basis rock of nearly all the great cities of the Atlantic coast. It crosses New Jersey where it is turned to clay, until it appears under Trenton, and it extends to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and Richmond, Va., and probably Boston, Massachusetts, is founded on this same formation.

Oh, river! darkling river! what a voiceIs that thou utterest while all else is still!William Cullen Bryant.

Oh, river! darkling river! what a voiceIs that thou utterest while all else is still!

Oh, river! darkling river! what a voice

Is that thou utterest while all else is still!

William Cullen Bryant.

"On the opposite side of the river may here be seen for many miles the Palisades, a long, rough mountain ridge close to the water's edge. Its upper half is a perpendicular precipice of bare rock of a columnar structure from 100 to 200 feet in height, the whole height of the mountain being generally from 400 to 600 feet, and the highest point in the range opposite Sing Sing 800 feet above the Hudson, and known as the High Torn. The width of the mountain is from a half mile to a mile and a half, the western slope being quite gentle. In length it extends from Bergen Point below Jersey City to Haverstraw, and then westward in all 48 miles, the middle portion being merely a low ridge. The lower half of the ridge on the river side is a sloping mound of detritus, of loose stones which has accumulated at the base of the cliff, from its weathered and wasted surface.

"Viewed from the railroad or from a steamboat on the river, this lofty mural precipice with its huge weathered masses of upright columns of bare rock, presenting a long, straight unbroken ridge overlooking the beautiful Hudson River, is certainly extremely picturesque. Thousands of travelers gaze at it daily without knowing what it is. This entire ridge consists of no other rock than trap traversing the Triassic formation in a huge vertical dike. The red sandstone formation of New Jersey is intersected by numerous dikes of this kind, but this is much the finest. The materials of this mountain have undoubtedly burst through a great rent or[page 213]fissure in the strata, overflowing while in a melted or plastic condition the red sand-stone, not with the violence of a volcano, for the adjoining strata are but little disturbed in position, although often greatly altered by the heat, but forced up very slowly and gradually, and probably under pressure. Subsequent denudation has laid bare the part of the mountain now exposed along the river. The rock is columnar basalt, sometimes called greenstone, and is solid, not stratified like water-formed rocks, but cracked in cooling and of a crystalline structure. Here is a remarkable but not uncommon instance of a great geological blank. On the east side of this river the formations belong to the first or oldest series of Primary or Crystalline rocks, while on the west side they are all Triassic, the intermediate Cambrian, Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous formations being wanting. This state of things continues all along the Atlantic coast to Georgia, the Cretaceous or Jurassic taking the place of the Triassic farther south.

Like thine, O, be my course—nor turned aside,While listening to the soundings of a land,That like the ocean call invites me to its strand.Mrs. Seba Smith.

Like thine, O, be my course—nor turned aside,While listening to the soundings of a land,That like the ocean call invites me to its strand.

Like thine, O, be my course—nor turned aside,

While listening to the soundings of a land,

That like the ocean call invites me to its strand.

Mrs. Seba Smith.

"Montrose to Cornwall. This celebrated passage of the Hudson through the Highlands, is a gorge nearly 20 miles long from 3 miles south of Peekskill to Fishkill, and is worn out of the Laurentian rocks far below mean tide water. The hills on its sides rise in some instances as much as 1,800 feet, and in many places the walls are very precipitous. The rock is gneiss, of a kind that is not easily disintegrated or eroded, nor is there any evidence of any convulsive movement. It is clearly a case of erosion, but not by the present river, which has no fall, for tide water extends 100 miles up the river beyond the Highlands. This therefore was probably a work mainly performed in some past period when the continent was at a higher level. Most likely it is a valley of great antiquity.

"Opposite Fishkill is Newburgh, which is in the great valley of Lower Silurian or Cambrian limestone and slate. North of that, on the west side of the river, the[page 214]formations occur in their usual order, their outcrops running northeast and southwest. On theN. Y. C. & H. R. R. R., on the east side, the same valley crosses, and the slates from Fishkill to Rhinebeck are about the same place in the series; but being destitute of fossils and very much faulted, tilted and disturbed, their precise geology is uncertain. See the exposures in the cuts at Poughkeepsie. The high ground to the east is commonly called the Quebec group.

Amid thy forest solitudes one climbsO'er crags, that proudly tower above the deep,Along the verge of the cliff, and he can hearThe low dash of the wave with startled ear.Fitz-Greene Halleck.

Amid thy forest solitudes one climbsO'er crags, that proudly tower above the deep,Along the verge of the cliff, and he can hearThe low dash of the wave with startled ear.

Amid thy forest solitudes one climbs

O'er crags, that proudly tower above the deep,

Along the verge of the cliff, and he can hear

The low dash of the wave with startled ear.

Fitz-Greene Halleck.

"A series of great dislocations with upthrows on the east side traverse eastern North America from Canada to Alabama. One of these great faults has been traced from near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, keeping mostly under the water up to Quebec just north of the fortress, thence by a gently curving line to Lake Champlain or through western Vermont across Washington County, N. Y., to near Albany. It crosses the river near Rhinebeck 15 miles north of Poughkeepsie and continues on southward into New Jersey and runs into another series of faults probably of a later date, which extends as far as Alabama. It brings up the rocks of the so called Quebec group on the east side of the fracture to the level of the Hudson River and Trenton.

"Catskill Mountains. For many miles on this railroad are beautiful views of the Catskill Mountains, 3,800 feet high, several miles distant on the opposite or west side of the river, and which furnish the name for the Catskill formation. The wide valley between them and the river is composed of Chemung, Hamilton, Lower Helderberg and Hudson River. The geology on the east or railroad side is entirely different.

"Albany. The clay beds at Albany are more than 100 feet thick, and between that city and Schenectady they are underlaid by a bed of sand that is in some places more than 50 feet thick. There is an old glacial clay and boulder drift below the gravel at Albany, but Professor Hall says it is not the estuary stratified clay."

There has that little stream of water been playingamong the hills since He made the world, and noneknow how often the hand of God is seen in a wildernessbut them that rove it for a man's life.James Fenimore Cooper.

There has that little stream of water been playingamong the hills since He made the world, and noneknow how often the hand of God is seen in a wildernessbut them that rove it for a man's life.

There has that little stream of water been playing

among the hills since He made the world, and none

know how often the hand of God is seen in a wilderness

but them that rove it for a man's life.

James Fenimore Cooper.

[page 215]

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 water all the way, and have an up-river current of about three miles an hour helping her. On the other hand, the same steamer starting six hours later, or at low tide, would have dead low water and an ebb tide current of about three miles against her the entire way. The average rise and fall of the tides in New York is five and one-half feet, and in Troy, about two feet.

Flood tide may carry salt water, under the most favorable circumstances, so that it can be detected at Poughkeepsie; ordinarily the water is fresh at Newburgh.

To those who have not studied the tides the following will also be of interest.

The tides are the semi-diurnal oscillations of the ocean, caused by the attraction of the moon and sun.

The influence of the moon's attraction is the preponderating one in the tide rising force, while that of the sun is about two-fifths as much as that of the moon. The tides therefore follow the motion of the moon, and the average interval between the times of high water is the half length of the lunar day, or about twelve hours and twenty-five minutes.

Nor lives there one whose boyhood's daysOf happiness were passed beneath that sun,That in his manhood-prime can calmly gazeUpon that Bay, or on that mountain stand,Nor feel the prouder of his native land.Fitz-Greene Halleck.

Nor lives there one whose boyhood's days

Of happiness were passed beneath that sun,

That in his manhood-prime can calmly gaze

Upon that Bay, or on that mountain stand,

Nor feel the prouder of his native land.

Fitz-Greene Halleck.

[page 216]

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 dwellers of Greater New York and convenient to all Elevated, Subway and Trolley Lines.

Weehawken, on the west bank, about opposite 50th Street. Near the river bank was the scene of the Hamilton and Burr duel, 1804.

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, 89th Street, New York. Dedicated May 30, 1902. Corner stone laid in 1900 by President Roosevelt when Governor.

Columbia University.Stately buildings on east bank.

St. Luke's Hospital.Beautiful dome in the distance southeast of college.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, now in construction, will be one of the finest structures in the world.

General Grant's Tombat Riverside Drive and 123d Street.

129th Street Pier.Above this landing is the Steel Viaduct of the Boulevard Drive.

The land that from the rule of kingsIn freeing us itself made free,Our old world sister to us bringsHer sculptured dream of liberty.John G. Whittier.

The land that from the rule of kingsIn freeing us itself made free,Our old world sister to us bringsHer sculptured dream of liberty.

The land that from the rule of kings

In freeing us itself made free,

Our old world sister to us brings

Her sculptured dream of liberty.

John G. Whittier.

[page 217]

Carmansville(where Audubon, the ornithologist lived), a city suburb at 152d Street.

Trinity Cemetery, 152d Street, and above this Audubon Park.

Old Fort Washingtononce crowned the hills on the east bank. Fort Lee was almost opposite on the southern point of the Palisades.

Stewart Castle, east bank, formerly owned by A. T. Stewart.

University of City of New Yorkwith dome, in distance.

Inwood.Station on the Hudson River Railroad, above the heights. Place once known as Tubbie Hook.

Palisades, on west bank, extend fifteen miles from Fort Lee to Piermont, a sheer wall of trap rock from 300 to 500 feet high.

Spuyten Duyvil, on east bank northern boundary of Manhattan Island.

Site of Fort Independence, east bank, on height north of Spuyten Duyvil.

Riverdale Station.Station on the Hudson River Railroad above Spuyten Duyvil. Yonkers rising on the green slope to the north; and the Palisades blending in the far distance with green headlands of the Ramapo Range.

Convent of Mount St. Vincent.The gray, castle-like structure in front, was once the home of Edwin Forrest.

Yonkers, seventeen miles from Battery.

Greystone, on east bank, crowning hill, about one and a half miles north of Yonkers. Once property of Samuel J. Tilden.

Hastings, pleasant village on east bank.

Indian Head(510 feet), opposite Hastings, highest point of Palisades.

Dobb's Ferry, on east bank, named after an old Swedish ferryman.

Cottinet Place, on east bank, built of stone brought from France. Easily distinguished by light shade through trees.

George L. Schuyler's Residence, near east bank. The[page 218]late Col. James A. Hamilton's house almost east of Mr. Schuyler's. Stiner's place distinguished by its large dome.

From this brow of rockThat overlooks the Hudson's western marge,I gaze upon the long array of groves,The piles and gulfs of verdure drinking in the grateful heat.William Cullen Bryant.

From this brow of rockThat overlooks the Hudson's western marge,I gaze upon the long array of groves,The piles and gulfs of verdure drinking in the grateful heat.

From this brow of rock

That overlooks the Hudson's western marge,

I gaze upon the long array of groves,

The piles and gulfs of verdure drinking in the grateful heat.

William Cullen Bryant.

Ardsley, on east bank, just above Dobb's Ferry.

Ardsley Cluband Golf Links.

Irvington, 24 miles from New York, named after Washington Irving.

Piermont, on west bank, with pier almost one mile in length extending into river.

Sunnyside, home of Washington Irving, east bank, one-half mile north of Irvington Station, close to river bank and scarcely seen through the trees.

Helen M. Gould's Residence, east bank, prominent Abbey-like structure, known as "Lyndehurst."

Tarrytown, east bank, 26 miles from New York.

Nyack, west bank, opposite Tarrytown.

J. D. Rockefeller's New Homeon Kykuit or Kake-out Mt. back of Tarrytown.

Tappan Zee, reaching from Dobb's Ferry to Croton Point, is about three miles wide at Tarrytown.

Sleepy Hollow, east bank, north of Tarrytown; burial place of Washington Irving. The tall shaft visible from steamer, erected by the Delavan family, is near his grave.

Kingsland Point, east bank, above lighthouse.

Rockwood, home of William Rockefeller. One of the most imposing residences on the river.

Mrs. Elliot F. Shepard's Residence, on east bank.

Ramapo Mountains, on west side above Nyack, known as "Point No Point."

Ossining, on east bank, six miles north of Tarrytown. Prison buildings are near the river below the village.

Rockland Lake, opposite Sing Sing, between two hills; source of the Hackensack River.

Croton River, on east bank, meets the Hudson one mile above Sing Sing; crossed by drawbridge of the Hudson River Railroad.

Teller's Point.That part of Croton Point which juts[page 219]into the Hudson. This point separates Tappan Zee from Haverstraw Bay.

O Tappan Zee! with peaceful hills,And slumbrous sky and drowsy air,Thy calm and restful spirit stillsThe heart weighed down with weary care.Wallace Bruce.

O Tappan Zee! with peaceful hills,And slumbrous sky and drowsy air,Thy calm and restful spirit stillsThe heart weighed down with weary care.

O Tappan Zee! with peaceful hills,

And slumbrous sky and drowsy air,

Thy calm and restful spirit stills

The heart weighed down with weary care.

Wallace Bruce.

Haverstraw Bay, widest part of the river; over four miles in width.

West Shore R. R. Tunnelunder mountain.

West Shore Railroad, west bank, meets the Hudson south of Haverstraw.

Haverstraw, on west bank, with two miles of brickyards.

Treason Hill, where Arnold and Andre met at the house of Joshua Hett Smith, northwest of Haverstraw.

Stony Point, west bank. Lighthouse built on site and from the material of old fort captured from British by Anthony Wayne in 1778.

Verplank's Point, on east shore, full of brickyards. It was here Baron Steuben drilled the soldiers of '76.

Tompkin's Cove, on west bank. Lime kilns and quarries.

Peekskill, east bank, pleasantly located on Peekskill Bay.

New York State Encampment, on bluff north of Peekskill Creek.

Kidd's Point, on west bank, where steamer enters Highlands almost at a right angle.

Dunderberg Mountain, west bank, forming with Manito Mountain on the east southern portal of Highlands.

Iona Island, former pleasure resort for excursions, now converted to Government use.

The Race.The river channel is so termed by navigators, between Iona Island and the east bank.

Anthony's Nose, east bank, with railroad tunnel.

Montgomery Creek, on west side, empties into the Hudson about opposite the point of Anthony's Nose.Fort Clintonwas on the south side of this creek, andFort Montgomeryon the north side.

J. Pierpont Morgan's Residence, on west bank.

Sugar-Loaf, east bank, resembling an old "sugar-loaf" to one looking north from Anthony's Nose.

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