the entire waters of the Atlantic, were excluded from the field of its operations. The company, during the less than seven years of its existence, had enjoyed extraordinary success, and its earnings now represented seventy-five per cent, of profit. In resolving upon a voyage for the long desired " northwest passage," the company adopted a decidedly conservative plan. There was to be no visionary exploration for a possibly existing route through the coastline of America, but a direct entrance into Arctic waters in the region of Nova Zembla. in the hope that an open sea, or continuous passage, would there be found. Hudson, an Englishman, was chosen for the undertaking because he was known to be familiar with the northern seas — no Dutch navigator of like experience being available. On the 4th of April, 1609, he sailed from Amsterdam in the " Half-Moon," a vessel of some eighty tons burden, with a crew of twenty Dutch and English sailors. Pursuant to his instructions from the company, he set a direct course for the northeast coast of America, which he reached in the latitude of Nova Scotia. Here, however, he abruptly departed from the plans laid out for him, turned southward, passed along the shores of Maine and Cape Cod, and proceeded as far as Chesapeake Bay. Returning northward from that region, he followed the windings of the coastline until, on the 2nd day of September, he sighted the Highlands of Navesink. Dropping anchor in the Lower Bay on the 3rd, he remained there ten days, meantime exploring with his ship's boat the surrounding waters. Although his intercourse with the Indians was friendly, the men whom he sent out in the boat provoked a conflict with them, in which one of the exploring party, John Coleman, was killed and two men were wounded. On the 12th of September he steered the " Half Moon " through the Narrows, anchoring that evening somewhere in the Upper Bay, probably not far from the lower extremity of Manhattan Island. The next day he began his voyage up the river, and after making a distance of eleven and one-half miles again came to anchor. It was at this stage of his journey that he attempted to detain two of the natives, who, however, jumped overboard, swam to the shore, and cried back to him " in scorn." Brodhead, in his " History of New York," locates the scene of this incident opposite the Indian village of Nappeckamack, now the City of Yonkers. But from the details given in the Journal of Hudson's mate, Robert Juet, it appears probable that the point of anchorage on the 13th was not above the confines of Manhattan Island. It is significant that the formidable attack on Hudson's vessel when he was returning down the river, an attack in retaliation for his treacherous act upon this occasion, occurred at Spuyten Duyvil Creek, and was clearly made by Manhattan Island Indians, the Indian fortress in that locality being on the southern shore of the creek. The question, of course, is not important enough to require any serious discussion, but upon its determination depends the fixing of the date of Hudson's entrance into Westchester waters — that is, the date of discovery of our county and of the mainland of New York State. To our mind, after a careful study of the records of the voyage, it scarcely admits of doubt that the " Half-Moon's " arrival above Spuyten Duyvil is to be assigned not to the first but to the second day of its progress up the stream.
Leaving his anchorage below Spuyten Duyvil on the morning of the 14th of September, 1605), Hudson traversed on that day the entire Westchester shore, entering the Highlands before nightfall. The record of the day's sailing is thus given in Juet's Journal: " In the morning we sailed up " the river twelve leagues . . . and came to a strait between two points, . . . and it (the river) trended north by one league. . . . The river is a mile broad; there is very high land on both sides. Then we went up northwest a league and a half, deep water; then northeast five miles; then northwest by north two leagues and a half. The land grew very high and mountainous." The "strait between two points," where they found the stream " a mile broad," was manifestly that portion of the river between Verplanck's and Stony Points. Continuing his voyage, Hudson sailed until he reached the site of Albany, where, finding the river no longer navigable, he was constrained to turn back, emerging from the highlands into the Westchester section about the end of September. Here for the first time since leaving the Lower Bay blood was shed. The ship was becalmed off Stony Point, in the " strait " described by Juet, and the natives, animated solely by curiosity, came out in their canoes, some of them being received on board. The occupant of one of the canoes, which kept " hanging under the stern," was detected in pilfering from the cabin windows, having secreted " a pillow and two shirts and two bandaliers." Whereupon the " mate shot at him, and struck him on the breast, and killed him." The visitors now fled precipitately, those on board the " Half-Moon " jumping into the water. A boat was lowered from the ship to recover the stolen property, and one of the Indians in the water had the temerity to take hold of it, at which " the cook seized a sword and cut off one of his hands, and he was drowned." It is difficult to characterize the shooting of the Indian thief otherwise than as wanton murder, and this whole episode stands to the serious discredit of Hudson and his companions. At Spuyten Duyvil the next day was fought the historic encounter with the Indians of that locality, who, harboring bitter resentment because of Hudson's attempted forcible detention of two of their people on his journey up-stream, now met him with a fleet of canoes and most valorously gave him battle. The details of this fight have been given in our chapter on the Indians, and need not be repeated here. It is noticeable that the only Sanguinary incidents of Hudson's exploration of the river occurred along the Westchester coast.
Sailing away from the scene of this bloody conflict, the " Half Moon " passed out of the Narrows on the 4th of October, just one month and a day after its arrival in the Lower Bay, and proceeded direct to Europe, reaching the port of Dartmouth, England, on the 7th of November. The English authorities, reluctant to concede to Holland the right to Hudson's important discoveries, detained the vessel for several months on the strength of its commander's British nativity, and though it was ultimately released to its Dutch owners Hudson himself was not permitted to return to the Netherlands. As we have seen, he embarked under English patronage the next year upon another chimerical adventure after the northwestern passage, and ended his career in 1611 as a miserable castaway on the shores of Hudson's Bay. The " Half-Moon " was destined for a somewhat like melancholy fate, being wrecked five years later in the East Indies.
By the delimitations of its charter granted in 1602, the Dutch East India Company was excluded from all commercial operations in America; and accordingly no steps were taken by that corporation to develop the promising country found by Henry Hudson. But the alert and enterprising private traders of Holland were prompt in seeking to turn the new discoveries to profitable uses. While Hudson and his ship were held at Dartmouth, that is, during the winter of 1609-10, an association of Dutch merchants was organized with the object of sending out a vessel to these lands, and for a number of years voyages were annually made. Of the first ship thus dispatched Hudson's mate was placed in command, having under him a portion of the crew of the " Half-Moon." These early private undertakings were mainly in connection with the fur trade, which offered especial advantages on the shores of the Hudson, where at that period fur-bearing animals, notably the beaver and otter, were very numerous. So abundant, indeed, was the beaver in this part of the country that for a long period of years beaver-skins formed one of the principal items in every cargo sent to Europe. A representation of the beaver was the principal feature of the official seal of New Netherland.
In 1612 a memorable voyage was made to Hudson's River by Henry Christiansen and Adrian Block, two hot landers, in a vessel which they owned jointly. They returned with a goodly cargo of furs, carrying with them to the home country two sons of Indian chiefs, by one of whom Christiansen, several years subsequently, was murdered on a Hudson River island. In 1613, with two vessels, the " Fortune " and the " Tiger," they came back. Christiansen, commanding the " Fortune," decided to pass the winter on Manhattan Island, and built several houses of branches and bark. Upon the spot where his little settlement stood (now 39 Broadway) the Macomb mansion, occupied by Washington for a time while President, was constructed; and the officers of the Netherlands-American Steamship Line are now located on the same site. Block's ship, the " Tiger," took fire and was completely destroyed while at her anchorage in the harbor. This great misfortune operated, however, only to stimulate the enterprise of the resourceful Dutchmen, who forth with, in circumstances as unfavorable for such work as can well be conceived, proceeded to build another, which was named the " Onrust," or " Restless," a shallop of sixteen tons' burden, launched in the spring of 1614. With the " Restless " Block now entered upon an exploration almost as important as Hudson's own, and certainly far more dangerous. Steering it through the East River, he came suddenly into the fearful
