Captain Hudson and the Dutch no doubt thought that this was great fun. People often do much harm without stopping to think. But on up the river went the "Half Moon."
At some places they saw fields of green corn on the water's edge. Farther on were groves of lofty trees, and for miles great cliffs of rock rose like towers. It was all very grand and beautiful.
"It was a very good land to fall in with," said Captain Hudson, "and a pleasant land to see."
As they sailed on and on, they came to mountains, which rose on both sides the river. After passing the mountains, the captain went ashore to visit an old chief, who lived in a round house built of bark. The Indians here had great heaps of corn and beans. But what they liked best was roast dog. They roasted a dog for Captain Hudson and asked him to eat it, but I do not know whether he did so or not. And they broke their arrows and threw them into the fire, to show that they did not mean to do harm to the white men.
After leaving the good old chief the Dutch explorers went on up the river till they reached a place about 150 miles above the sea, where the city of Albany now stands. Here the river became so narrow and shallow that Captain Hudson saw he could not reach the Pacific by that route, so he turned and sailed back to the sea again.
A sad fate was that of Captain Hudson, "the bold Englishman." The next year he came again to America. But this time he went far to the north and entered the great body of water which we call Hudson Bay. He thought this would lead to the Pacific, and he would not turn back, though the food was nearly all gone. At last the crew got desperate, and they put the captain and some others into an open boat on the wide waters, and turned back again. Nothing more was ever heard of Captain Hudson, and he must have died miserably on that cold and lonely bay.
But before his last voyage he had told the Dutch people all about Hudson River, and that the Indians had many fine furs which they would be glad to trade for beads, and knives, and other cheap things. The Dutch were fond of trading, and liked to make a good bargain, so they soon began to send ships to America. They built a fort and some log huts on Manhattan Island, and a number of them stayed there to trade with the red men. They paid the Indians for the island with some cheap goods worth about twenty-four dollars. I do not think any of you could guess how many millions of dollars that island is worth now. For the great city of New York stands where the log huts of the Dutch traders once stood, and twenty-four dollars would hardly buy as much land as you could cover with your hand.
The country around is now all farming land, where grain and fruit are grown, and cattle are raised. But then it was all woodland for hundreds of miles away, and in these woods lived many foxes and beavers and other fur-bearing animals. These the Indians hunted and killed, and sold their furs to the Dutch, so that there was soon a good trade for both the red and the white men. The Dutch were glad to get the furs and the Indians were as glad to get the knives and beads. More and more people came from Holland, and the town grew larger and larger, and strong brick houses took the place of the log huts, and in time there was quite a town.
Men were sent from Holland to govern the people. Some of these men were not fit to govern themselves, and the settlers did not like to have such men over them. One of them was a stubborn old fellow named Peter Stuyvesant. He had lost one of his legs, and wore a wooden leg with bands of silver around it, so that he was called "Old Silver Leg."
While he was governor an important event took place. The English had a settlement in Virginia and another in New England, and they said that all the coast lands belonged to them, because the Cabots had been the first to see them. The Cabots came from Italy, but they had settled in England, and sailed in an English ship.