Part 5 (2/2)

Thy fate and mine are not repose, And ere another evening close Thou to thy tides shall turn again And I to seek the crowd of men.

_William Cullen Byrant._

=The ”Albany”= was built by the Harlan & Hollingsworth Co., of Wilmington, Del., in 1880. During the winter of 1892, she was lengthened thirty feet and furnished with modern feathering wheels in place of the old style radial ones. Her hull is of iron, 325 feet long, breadth of beam over all 75 feet, and her tonnage is 1,415 gross tons. Her engine was built by the W. & A. Fletcher Co., of New York, and develops 3,200 horse power. The stroke is 12 feet, and the diameter of the cylinder is 73 inches. On her trial trip she ran from New York to Poughkeepsie, a distance of 75 miles, in three hours and seven minutes. Steam steering gear is used on the ”Albany,” thus insuring ease and precision in handling her. The wood-work on the main deck and in the upper saloons is all hard wood; mahogany, ash and maple tastefully carved. Wide, easy staircases lead to the main saloon and upper decks. Rich Axminster carpets cover the floors, and mahogany tables and furniture of antique design and elegant finish make up the appointments of a handsomely furnished drawing room.

Lose not a memory of the glorious scenes, Mountains and palisades, and leaning rocks.

_William Wallace._

=The Old Reaches.=--Early navigators divided the Hudson into fourteen ”reaches” or distances from point to point as seen by one sailing up or down the river. In the slow days of uncertain sailing vessels these divisions meant more than in our time of ”propelling steam,” but they are still of practical and historic interest.

The Great Chip Rock Reach extends from above Weehawken about eighteen miles to the boundary line of New York and New Jersey--(near Piermont). The Palisades were known by the old Dutch settlers as the ”Great Chip,” and so styled in the Bergen Deed of Purchase, viz, the great chip above Weehawken. The _Tappan_ Reach (on the east side of which dwelt the Manhattans, and on the west side the Saulrickans and the Tappans), extends about seven miles to Teller's Point. The third reach to a narrow point called _Haverstroo_; then comes the _Seylmaker's_ Reach, then _Crescent_ Reach; next _Hoge's_ Reach, and then _Vorsen_ Reach, which extends to Klinkersberg, or Storm King, the northern portal of the Highlands. This is succeeded by _Fisher's_ Reach where, on the east side once dwelt a race of savages called Pachami. ”This reach,” in the language of De Laet, ”extends to another narrow pa.s.s, where, on the west, is a point of land which juts out, covered with sand, opposite a bend in the river, on which another nation of savages--the Waoranecks--have their abode at a place called Esopus. Next, another reach, called _Claverack_; then _Backerack;_ next _Playsier_ Reach, and _Vaste_ Reach, as far as Hinnenhock; then _Hunter's_ Reach, as far as Kinderhook; and Fisher's Hook, near Shad Island, over which, on the east side, dwell the Mahicans.” If these reaches seem valueless at present there are

=Five Divisions of the Hudson=--which possess interest for all, as they present an a.n.a.lysis easy to be remembered--divisions marked by something more substantial than sentiment or fancy, expressing five distinct characteristics:--

1. THE PALISADES, an unbroken wall of rock for fifteen miles--GRANDEUR.

2. THE TAPPAN ZEE, surrounded by the sloping hills of Nyack, Tarrytown, and Sleepy Hollow--REPOSE.

3. THE HIGHLANDS, where the Hudson for twenty miles plays ”hide and seek” with ”hills rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun”--SUBLIMITY.

4. THE HILLSIDES for miles above and below Poughkeepsie--THE PICTURESQUE.

5. THE CATSKILLS, on the west, throned in queenly dignity--BEAUTY.

On the deck Stands the bold Hudson, gazing at the sights Opening successive--point and rock and hill, Majestic mountain-top, and nestling vale.

_Alfred B. Street._

=SUGGESTIONS.=

From the Hurricane Deck of the Hudson River Day Line Steamers can be seen, on leaving or approaching the Metropolis, one of the most interesting panoramas in the world--the river life of Manhattan, the ma.s.sive structures of Broadway, the great Transatlantic docks, Recreation Piers, and an ever-changing kaleidoscope of interest. The view is especially grand on the down trip between the hours of five and six in the afternoon, as the western sun brings the city in strong relief against the sky. If tourists wish to fully enjoy this beautiful view they should remain on the Hurricane Deck until the boat is well into her Desbrosses Street slip.

=The Brooklyn Annex.=--The Brooklyn tourist is especially happy in this delightful preface and addenda to the Hudson River trip. The effect of morning and evening light in bringing out or in subduing the sky-line of Manhattan is nowhere seen to greater advantage. In the morning the buildings from the East River side stand out bold and clear, when lo! almost instantaneously, on turning the Battery, they are lessened and subdued. On the return trip in the evening, the effect is reversed--a study worth the while of the traveler as he pa.s.ses to and fro on the commodious ”Annex” between Desbrosses Street Pier and Brooklyn. Surely no other city in the world rises so beautiful from harbor line or water front as ”Greater New York,” with lofty outlines of the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn reminding one of Scott's tribute to Edinburgh:

”Piled deep and ma.s.sy, close and high, Mine own romantic town!”

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