The Hudson | Page 2

the centennial of the first successful steamer in
1807, with the tri-centennial of the discovery of the river in 1609. In
fact, these three centuries of navigation, with rapidly increasing
development in later years, might be graphically condensed--_
"Half Moon," 1609; "Clermont," 1807;
"Hendrick Hudson," 1906.
_Singularly enough the discovery of Hendrick Hudson, and the
invention of Robert Fulton are also similar in having many adverse
claimants who forget the difference between attempt and
accomplishment._
_Everyone knows that Verrazano entered the Narrows and harbor of
our river in 1524, and sailed far enough to see the outline of the
Palisades; that Gomez visited its mouth in 1525; Cabot still earlier in
1498; and various Norsemen, named and nameless, for several
centuries before them, coasted along the shore and indenture of the
"River of the Manhattoes," but failed to acquire or transmit any
knowledge of the river's real course or character, and it was left for
Hendrick Hudson to be its first voyager and thereby to have and to hold
against all comers the glory of discovery._
* * *
A century vast of Hudson-fame Which Irving's fancy seals; Whose
ripples murmur Morse's name And flash to Fulton's wheels.
Wallace Bruce.

* * *
_So Robert Fulton had several predecessors in the idea of applying
steam to navigation--John Fitch in 1785, William Symington in 1788
and many others who likewise_ coasted along the shore and indenture
of a great idea, _marked by continual failure and final abandonment. It
was reserved for Fulton to complete and stamp upon his labor the seal
of service and success, and to stand, therefore, its accepted inventor._
_In addition to the invention of Fulton who has contributed so much to
the business and brotherhood of mankind, the telegraph of Morse
occupies a prominent page of our Hudson history, and it is said that
Morse left unfinished a novel, the incidents of which were associated
with the Highlands, in order to work out his idea which gave the
Hudson a grander chapter._
_Fulton's and Morse's inventions are also happily associated in this,
that the steamboat was necessary before the Atlantic cable, born of
Morse's invention, could be laid, and, singularly enough, the laying of
the cable, largely promoted by Hudson River genius and capital, by
Field, Cooper, Morse and others on August 5, 1857, marks the very
middle of the centennial which we are now observing._
* * *
A cycle grand with wonders fraught That triumph over time and space;
In woven steel its dreams are wrought, The nations whisper face to
face.
Wallace Bruce.
* * *
[Illustration: Hendrick Hudson's "Half Moon."]

THE HUDSON

Among all the rivers of the world the Hudson is acknowledged queen,
decked with romance, jewelled with poetry, clad with history, and
crowned with beauty. More than this, the Hudson is a noble threshold
to a great continent and New York Bay a fitting portal. The traveler
who enters the Narrows for the first time is impressed with wonder, and
the charm abides even with those who pass daily to and fro amid her
beauties. No other river approaches the Hudson in varied grandeur and
sublimity, and no other city has so grand and commodious a harbor as
New York. It has been the privilege of the writer of this handbook to
see again and again most of the streams of the old world "renowned in
song and story," to behold sunrise on the Bay of Naples and sunset at
the Golden Gate of San Francisco, but the spell of the Hudson remains
unbroken, and the bright bay at her mouth reflects the noontide without
a rival. To pass a day in her company, rich with the story and glory of
three hundred years, is worth a trip across a continent, and it is no
wonder that the European traveler says again and again: "to see the
Hudson alone, is worth a voyage across the Atlantic."
* * *
A very good land to fall in with and a pleasant land to see!
Hendrick Hudson
* * *
How like a great volume of history romance and poetry seem her bright
illumined pages with the broad river lying as a crystal book-mark
between her open leaves! And how real this idea becomes to the Day
Line tourist, with the record of Washington and Hamilton for its
opening sentence, as he leaves the Up-Town landing, and catches
messages from Fort Washington and Fort Lee. What Indian legends
cluster about the brow of Indian Head blending with the love story of
Mary Phillipse at the Manor House of Yonkers. How Irving's vision of
Katrina and Sleepy Hollow become woven with the courage of
Paulding and the capture of Andre at Tarrytown. How the Southern
Portal of the Highlands stands sentineled by Stony Point, a