Part 21 (2/2)

Softly the mist-mantled mountains arise Dim in the dawning of opal-hued skies, Nearer and clearer peaks burst on the view Lightened by silvery flashes of dew.

_James Kennedy._

=Stamford= is now at hand, seventy-six miles from the Hudson, about 1,800 feet above the sea, named by settlers from Stamford, Conn. Here are many large hotels, chief among them The Rexmere and Churchill Hall. Thirteen miles from Stamford we come to Hobart, four miles further to South Kortright, and then to--

=Bloomville=, eighty-nine miles from the Hudson, where a stage line of eight miles takes the traveler to Delhi. Pa.s.sing through Kortright, ninety-two miles from the Hudson, 1,868 feet above the tide, East Meredith, Davenport, West Davenport (where pa.s.sengers _en route_ for Cooperstown and Richfield Springs are transferred to the _Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley R. R._) and four miles bring us to

=Oneonta=, on the Susquehanna division of the _Hudson & Delaware R. R._ Returning to Phoenicia we take train through ”Stony Clove Notch,”

pa.s.sing Chichester, Lanesville, Edgewood and Kaaterskill Junction to--

=Hunter=, terminus of the Stony Clove Road. Resuming the eastward journey at Kaaterskill Junction we come to--

=Tannersville=, near which are Elka Park, Onteora Park and Schoharie Manor.

=Haines Corners= is another busy station, at the head of Kaaterskill Clove. On the slope of Mt. Lincoln have also been established ”Twilight,” ”Santa Cruz” and ”Sunset” Parks.

=Laurel House Station.=--Here the voice of a waterfall invites the tourist to one of the most famous spots in the Catskill region and a mile beyond is

=Kaaterskill Station=, 2,145 feet above the sea, the highest point reached by any railroad in the State, and half a mile or so further we alight on a rocky balcony, known for its beautiful view all over the world.

From greens and shades where the Kaaterskill leaps, From cliffs where the wood-flowers cling.

_William Cullen Bryant._

=Kingston to Catskill.=

=Rhinecliff=, with its historic Beekman stone house, is on the east bank of the river opposite Kingston. The old mansion, on the hillside, above the landing, was built before 1700 by William Beekman, first patroon of this section. It was used as a church and as a fort during the Indian struggles and still preserves the scar of a cannon ball from a British s.h.i.+p.

=Ferncliff=, a mile north of the Beekman House, is the home of John Jacob Astor, formerly the property of William Astor, and above this

=Clifton Point=, once known as the Garretson place, the noted Methodist preacher whose wife was sister of Chancellor Livingston, and above this Douglas Merritt's home known as ”Leacote.” Flatbush landing lies on the west bank opposite Ferncliff.

One might almost imagine from the names of places and individuals here grouped on both banks of the river, that this reach of the Hudson was a bit of old Scotland: Montgomery Place and Annandale with its Livingstons, Donaldsons and Kidds on the east side, and Glenerie, Glasgo and Lake Katrine on the west.

The Catskills to the northward rise With ma.s.sive swell and towering crest-- The old-time ”mountains of the skies,”

The threshold of eternal rest.

_Wallace Bruce._

<script>