The measured flashing of the oars
Broke harshly on the ear;
And eye asked eye—for lips were mute—
What Holland hearts should fear;
For true it is our hearts were soft,
Save his, who held the flag aloft.
And suddenly our unshaped dread
Took direful form and sound.
For from a near nook's rocky shade,
Swift as pursuing hound,
A savage shallop sped, to hold
From stranger feet that strand of gold.
And rageful cries disturbed the peace
That on the waters slept;
And Echo whispered on the hills,
As though an army crept,
With flinty axe and brutal blade,
Through the imperforate forest shade.
"What! are ye cravens?" Colman said;
For each had shipped his oar.
He waved the flag: "For Netherland,
Pull for yon jutting shore!"
Then prone he fell within the boat,
A flinthead arrow through his throat!
And now full many a stealthy skiff
Shot out into the bay;
And swiftly, sadly, pulled we back
To where the Half Moon lay;
But he was dead—our master wept—
He smiled, brave heart, as though he slept.
Then to the seaward breeze our sail
With woful hearts we threw;
And anchored near a sandy strip
That looks o'er ocean blue:
And there we kissed and buried him,
While surges sang his funeral hymn.
And many a pitying glance we gave,
And many a prayer we said,
As from that grave we turned, and left
The dark sea with her dead;
For—God of Waves!—none could repress
One choking thought—the loneliness!
Thomas Frost.
Hudson ascended the river to a point a little above the present town of Albany, then turned back and returned to Holland. His report of the rich country he had discovered was received with enthusiasm there, and preparations were begun on an extensive scale to colonize the new country. Dutch voyagers explored all the adjacent coasts, among the most active being Adrian Block.
ADRIAN BLOCK'S SONG