Part 27 (1/2)
No wonder that his countrymen today, led by the Congress of this great Republic, celebrate the transaction and the scene where Was.h.i.+ngton refused to accept a crown.
_William M. Evarts._
And now, while waiting to ”throw out the plank,” which puts a period to our Hudson River division, we feel like congratulating ourselves that the various goblins which once infested the river have become civilized, that the winds and tides have been conquered, and that the nine-day voyage of Hendrick Hudson and the ”Half Moon” has been reduced to the _nine-hour system_ of the Hudson River Day Line.
Those who have traveled over Europe will certainly appreciate the quiet luxury of an American steamer; and this first introduction to American scenery will always charm the tourist from other lands. No single day's journey in any land or on any stream can present such variety, interest, and beauty, as the trip of one hundred and forty-four miles from New York to Albany. The Hudson is indeed a goodly volume, with its broad covers of green _lying open_ on either side; and it might in truth be called a _condensed_ history, for there is no other place in our country where poetry and romance are so strangely blended with the heroic and the historic,--no river where the waves of different civilizations have left so many waifs upon the banks. It is cla.s.sic ground, from the ”wilderness to the sea,” and will always be the poets' corner of our country: the home of Irving, Willis, and Morris,--of Fulton, Morse, and Field,--of Cole, Audubon, and Church,--and of scores besides, whose names are household words.
The Hudson's cable-tow of yore Bound gallant sire and st.u.r.dy son With hearty grasp from sh.o.r.e to sh.o.r.e For Robert Burns and Was.h.i.+ngton.
_Wallace Bruce._
THE UPPER HUDSON.
=Albany to Saratoga.=
_Delaware and Hudson Railway._
A pleasant tour awaits the traveler who continues his journey north from Albany, where the _Delaware and Hudson_ train for Saratoga is ready at the landing on the arrival of the steamer. A half hour's run along the west bank gives us a glimpse of Troy across the river with the cla.s.sical named hills Mount Ida and Mount Olympus. Two streams, the Poestenkill and the Wynant's Kill, approach the river on the east bank through narrow ravines, and furnish excellent water power. In the year 1786 it was called Ferryhook. In 1787, Rensselaerwyck. In the fall of 1787 the settlers began to use the name of Vanderheyden, after the family who owned a great part of the ground where the city now stands. January 9, 1789 the freeholders of the town met and gave it the name of Troy. The ”Hudson,” the ”Erie,” and the ”Champlain” Ca.n.a.ls have contributed to its growth. The city, with many busy towns, which have sprung up around it--Cohoes, Lansingburg, Waterford, etc., is central to a population of at least 100,000 people. The Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst.i.tute, the oldest engineering school in America, has a national reputation.
=Cohoes=, where the Mohawk joins the Hudson, has one of the finest water powers in the country. Its name is of Indian origin and signifies ”the island at the falls.” This was the division line between the Mahicans and the Mohawks, and when the water is in full force it suggests in graceful curve and sweep a miniature Niagara. The view from the double-truss iron bridge (960 feet in length), looking up or down the Mohawk, is impressive.
Oh, be my falls as bright as thine!
May heaven's relenting rainbow s.h.i.+ne Upon the mist that circles me, As soft as now it hangs o'er thee!
_Thomas Moore._
Pa.s.sing through Waterford, and Mechanicville which lies partly in the towns.h.i.+p of Stillwater, with its historic records of Bemis Heights and burial place of Ellsworth, the first martyr of the Civil war, we come to--
=Round Lake=, nineteen miles north of Troy, and thirteen south of Saratoga, near a beautiful sheet of water, three miles in circ.u.mference, called by the Indians Ta-nen-da-ho-wa, which interpreted, signifies Round Lake. The camp-meeting and a.s.sembly grounds consist of 200 acres. The air is pure and invigorating and the grove and cottages inviting. The drives in the vicinity are delightful to Saratoga Lake, to the Hudson River, to the historic battlefields of Bemis Heights and Stillwater.
=b.a.l.l.ston Spa=, thirty-one miles from Albany, is the county seat of Saratoga. Here are several well-known mineral springs, with chemical properties similar to the springs of Saratoga. Over ninety years ago Benjamin Douglas, father of Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, built a log house, near the ”Old Spring,” for the accommodation of invalids and travelers, and at one time it looked as if Saratoga would have a vigorous rival at her very doors; but its hotel glory has departed and the old ”Sans Souci” of the days of Was.h.i.+ngton Irving is a thing of the past.
A gallant army formed their last array Upon that field, in silence and deep gloom, And at their conqueror's feet, Laid their war-weapons down.
_Fitz-Greene Halleck._