June the 12th. This morning we proceeded with the tide, but against the wind. The river was here a musket-shot broad. The country in general is low on both sides, consisting of low rocks, and stony fields, which are however covered with woods. It is so rocky, stony, and poor, that nobody can settle in it, or inhabit it, there being no spot of ground fit for a corn-field. The country continued to have the same appearance for the space of some miles, and we never perceived one settlement. At eleven o’clock this morning we came to a little island, which lies in the middle of the river, and is said to be half-way between New York and Albany. The shores are still low, stony, and rocky, as before. But at a greater distance we saw high mountains, covered with woods, chiefly on the western shore, raising their tops above the rest of the country; and still further off, the Blue Mountains rose up above them. Towards noon it was quite calm, and we went on very slow. Here, the land is well cultivated, especially on the eastern shore, and full of great corn-fields; yet the soil seemed sandy. [[238]]Several villages lay on the eastern side, and one of them, called Strasburg, was inhabited by a number of Germans. To the West we saw several cultivated places. The Blue Mountains are very plainly to be seen here. They appear through the clouds, and tower above all other mountains. The river is full an English mile broad opposite Strasburg.
They make use of a yellow Agaricus, or mushroom, which grows on maple-trees, for tinder; that which is found on the red-flowering maple (Acer rubrum) is reckoned the best, and next in goodness is that of the Sugar-maple (Acer saccarinum), which is sometimes reckoned as good as the former.
Rhinbeck is a place at some distance from Strasburg, further off from the river. It is inhabited by many Germans, who have a church there. Their clergyman at present was the Rev. Mr. Hartwig, who knew some Swedish, having been at Gothenburg for some time. This little town is not visible from the river-side.
At two in the afternoon it began again to blow from the south, which enabled us to proceed. The country on the eastern side is high, and consists of a well cultivated soil. We had fine corn-fields, pretty [[239]]farms, and good orchards, in view. The western shore is likewise somewhat high, but still covered with woods, and we now and then, though seldom, saw one or two little settlements. The river is above an English mile broad in most places, and comes in a strait line from the North, so that we could not sometimes follow it with our eye.
June the 13th. The wind favoured our voyage during the whole night, so that I had no opportunity of observing the nature of the country. This morning at five o’clock we were but nine English miles from Albany. The country on both sides the river is low, and covered with woods, excepting a few little scattered settlements. Under the higher shores of the river are wet meadows, covered with sword-grass (Carex), and they formed several little islands. We saw no mountains; and hastened towards Albany. The land on both sides of the river is chiefly low, and more carefully cultivated as we came nearer to Albany.
As to the houses, which we saw, some were of wood, others of stone. The river is seldom above a musket-shot broad, and in several parts of it are sands, which require great experience for governing the [[240]]yachts. At eight o’clock in the morning we arrived at Albany.
All the yachts which ply between Albany and New York, belong to Albany. They go up and down the river Hudson, as long as it is open and free from ice. They bring from Albany boards or planks, and all sorts of timber, flour, pease, and furs, which they get from the Indians, or which are smuggled from the French. They come home almost empty, and only bring a few merchandizes with them, among which rum is the chief. This last is absolutely necessary to the inhabitants of Albany; they cheat the Indians in the fur trade with it; for when the Indians are drunk, they will leave it to the Albanians to fix the price of the furs. The yachts are pretty large, and have a good cabbin, in which the passengers can be very commodiously lodged. They are commonly built of red Cedar, or of white Oak. Frequently, the bottom consists of white oak, and the sides of red cedar, because the latter withstands putrefaction much longer than the former. The red cedar is likewise apt to split, when it hits against any thing, and the river Hudson is in many parts full of sands and rocks, against which the keel of the yacht sometimes hits; therefore [[241]]they choose white oak for the bottom, as being the softer wood, and not splitting so easily: and the bottom being continually under water, is not so much exposed to putrefaction, and holds out longer.
The Canoes which the yachts have along with them, are made of a single piece of wood, hollowed out; they are sharp on both ends, frequently three or four fathoms long, and as broad as the thickness of the wood will allow. The people in it do not row sitting, but commonly a fellow stands at each end, with a short oar in his hand, with which he governs and brings the canoe forwards. Those which are made here at Albany, are commonly of the white Pine; they can do service for eight or twelve years, especially if they be tarred and painted. At Albany they make them of the white pine, since there is no other wood fit for them; at New York they are made of the tulip-tree, and in other parts they are made of red or white cedars: but both these trees are so small, in the neighbourhood of Albany, that they are unfit for canoes; there are no seats in the canoes, for if they had any, they would be more liable to be overset, as one could not keep the equilibrium so well. [[242]]
Battoes[66] are another kind of boats, which are much in use in Albany: they are made of boards of white pine; the bottom is flat, that they may row the better in shallow water; they are sharp at both ends, and somewhat higher towards the end than in the middle. They have seats in them, and are rowed as common boats. They are long, yet not all alike, commonly three, and sometimes four fathoms long. The height from the bottom to the top of the board (for the sides stand almost perpendicular) is from twenty inches to two feet, and the breadth in the middle about a yard and six inches. They are chiefly made use of for carrying goods, by means of the rivers, to the Indians; that is, when those rivers are open enough for the battoes to pass through, and when they need not be carried by land a great way. The boats made of the bark of trees, break easily by knocking against a stone, and the canoes cannot carry a great cargo, and are easily overset; the battoes are therefore preferable to them both. I saw no boats here like those in Sweden, and other parts of Europe.
The frost does frequently a great deal of [[243]]damage at Albany. There is hardly a month in summer during which a frost does not happen. The spring comes very late, and in April and May are numerous cold nights, which frequently kill the flowers of trees and kitchen-herbs. It was feared that the blossoms of the apple-trees had been so severely damaged by the frost, last May, that next autumn there would be but very few apples. The oak-blossoms are very often killed by the frost in the woods. The autumn here is of long continuance, with warm days and nights. However, the cold nights commonly commence towards the end of September, and are frequent in October. The people are forced to keep their cattle in stables, from the middle of November, till March or April, and must find them hay during that time[67].