Harper's New-York class-book

Front matter

I^)\^-YORK CLASS-BOOK

COMPRISING

OUTLINES or THE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF NEAV YORK;

Preface

The following explanatory remarks are respectfully submitted to the attention of parents and teachers, and of individuals whose official duties are connected with education.

The primary design of the present work, is, to furnish the youth of New York with a manual of reading lessons, embodying useful and interesting information regarding their native State. The subjects embraced in this volume, will, also, it is hoped, render it an entertaining and instructive course of reading for young persons, throughout the Union.

The time usually devoted, in schools, to exercises in reading, admits, in advanced classes, the introduction of various subjects, for which no separate assignment is made, in arranging the customary departments of instruction. The sphere of general knowledge may thus be enlarged, and taste and imagination cultivated, without encroaching on hours otherwise appropriated ; while a special opportunity is afforded for the immediate application of principles of elocution previously acquired, and the formation of a correct and appropriate style of reading, as a useful accomplishment.

To secure these results, no expedient is more effectual than that of furnishing the proper materials for the practice of the requisite exercises. These should combine a sufficient proportion of solid fact, for the exercise of the understanding, and for the application of distinctive

IV PREFACE.

emphasis, pausing, antl inflections, in the plain style of narration, clescription, and remark; while they are not left deficient in tojiics addressed to feeling and imagination, in forms of expression which call for the varying tones of sentiment and emotion. History, biography, and descriptive writing, in general, are the most appropriate sources from which instructive and interesting subjects for reading exercises can be derived.

The contents of the following pages, have been selected in accordance with these views ; and the compiler trusts that they lose nothing of their value by being drawn from local sources. They are thus invested with an additional attraction to young minds, and favor the acquisition of an animated and impressive style of reading; at the same time that they supply a want hitherto felt, as regards the useful intelligence which education should furnish, in relation to the scenes and associations of actual life.

The author would, by no means, claim a paramount importance for subjects of only an immediate and restrictive utility. A nari'ow feeling of exclusive preference for home scenes and mere local information, is no proper fruit of education. But an early and enlightened attachment to local associations, while it forms a distinctive basis of social character, in communities, is, in no respect, incompatible with that enlarged and liberal regard to national interests and relations, which should ever distinguish the citizens of the United States. Local preferences may be justly cherished, without incurring the faults of local prejudice ; and it would seem to be one of the proper offices of education to cultivate, in the young mind, a desire for knowledge on whatever subjects are likely to prove most useful or interesting, in years subsequent to the period of school instruction.

PREFACE. V

No part of general information can ultimately be more serviceable to any individual, than that which concerns the community of which he is, ere long, to become an active member ; and no scenes possess, for him, a truer interest than those in which he is to occupy the successive periods of his life, in the pursuit of his daily duties.

There can be, it is thought, but one opinion as to the importance of having all our youth well informed regarding their native State ; and the form of a class-book, adapted to the exercise of reading, in schools, would seem to be the most convenient vehicle for such information, which might, in this way, be furnished without overburdening teachers and pupils, by multiplying the branches of education, or making additions to the established routine of school instruction.

The whole book, it is hoped, — while, by the instructive and interesting character of its subjects, it may serve to cherish an early taste for knowledge, — will be found not less adapted, by variety of matter and style, to aid young persons in acquiring the invaluable habit of true and animated expression, in the exercise of reading aloud ; since a large part of the volume is, from the nature of its subjects, occupied with descriptions of interesting scenes and objects, narratives of striking events, and delineations of noble characters.

How far the compiler has succeeded in the selection of topics, and in the requisite adaptation of expression to his subject, and to the minds of youthful readers, others will decide. His endeavor has been to furnish a volume substantially useful, and, at the same time, pleasing and aiti-active, — whether for the purpose of being read aloud, as a series of exercises, in practical elocution, or perused silently, for mental occupation, in leisure hours.

The plan which has been adopted, in compiling the following pages,, comprises a concise view of the

PREFACE.

geography"^ of the state of New York; the narrative of its civil liistory ; hiograpMcal notices of its eminent puhlic characters; sketches of scenery and modes of living ; local outlines of natural history ; and accounts of public institutions. — The prominent features, only, of subjects so extensive, could be presented in a volume limited to the usual compass of a schoolbook. But care has been taken not to omit particulars important to elementary knowledge, or to the wants of the young mind. Selection has not always, in this respect, been found an easy task. The compiler's endeavor, however, has uniformly been to avoid an accumulation of uninteresting and dry details, on the one hand, and the style of merely puerile amusement, on the other.

To give unity and character to the v\^ork, and to adapt it to its special uses, the history has been written expressly for the purposes in view in the present volume. But, to avoid sameness of style, in a book designed for a class reader, extracts presei"ving the language of various authors, have been freely interspersed. A similar course has been adopted, in preparing the other portions of the work. Variety of style has thus, it is hoped, been secured, in conjunction with exactness of information. To adapt both matter and expi'ession, however, to young readers, some omissions of detail, and some changes of phraseology, were necessarily made, in transferring materials to the

* The author takes pleasure in refemug teachers, to Mather's Geography of New York, as a work well suited to the purposes of instraction, in this department. The book having been received, only within a few days, and after the body of our own work had passed through the press, it was not in our power to mention it more particulai'ly. But the care with which its subject has been investigated, and the thoroughly practical character of the whole work, Beem to render it a very desirable manual for instruction in chorography and topography, which are the true foundation of geographical science, in relation to the actual purposes of life.

PREFACE. Vll

pages of the present volume. These modifications, however, have been rendered as few as practicable ; and the compiler trusts that their design wall be fully understood by the writers to whose labors he stands indebted.

The subjects comprehended in the following work, are, in themselves, so ample, that, to have compiled from them several volumes, rather than one, would have been the easier task of the two. But, for the purposes of education, and, particularly, for those of a reading-book, it seemed preferable to furnish a volume which, while it should not prove deficient in information, should serve rather as an incitement to farther application in the pursuit of knowledge, than as a copious work for reference. Exactness as to facts, however, has, in all cases, been strictly regarded as indispensable in a volume like the present, designed as a source of correct information on subjects of moment.

The extent and variety of actual knowledge, requisite to constitute the compiler of such a volume as the present, a personal authority, on all its topics, no individual, it is believed, can be reasonably expected to possess. All, however, that seemed practicable has been done to secure accuracy in every important statement, by particular inquiry, or by recourse to the best sources and diligent collation. Much valuable aid has also been derived from individuals whose scientific labors and official duties have rendered thera competent to decide on the correctness of details, and who have taken a generous interest in the character and objects of the present work.

The style of expression which has been necessarily adopted, as a standard, in compiling the following pages, is, — so far as could be done, in justice to subjects and facts, — graduated wdth a view to readers of the age usually prevailing in the highest classes of schools. This circumstance will seiTe sufficiently, it is thought, to ex-

VI 11 PREFACE.

plain the modifications of language which have, it» „^...o' instances, been found necessary, in transferring passages from various works to the following pages. Such changes have, unavoidably, been, in some instances, too extensive to comport with the forms of expression being justly ascribed to the original authors. — The compiler would take this opportunity to express his full conviction that, whatever value his volume may be deemed to possess, is, so far as facts are concerned, due to the sources whence these are derived. He has therefore drawn freely from all that he could command; and the more so that the nature of this compilation, as a reading-book, permits a transfer of matter, without encroachment on the province of original writers. Many acknowledgments, on this score, are due to authors who have, with the utmost readiness, expressed their willingness to be thus laid under tribute to the common cause of education. To these the compiler would return his best thanks for the personal favor so conferred.

With these explanations, the author respectfully offers this volume as a contribution to the means of general education, — in the hope, also, that it may, in conjunction with other aids, subserve the purposes of that generous system of public instruction which distinguishes the state of New York.

Contents

Page

PREFACE 3

CONTENTS 9

Chap. I. Ai)origin.\l Period

Sec. I. Origin of the Indian Race 25-30

Sec. II. Geographical position of the Indians of New

Netherland 31-34

Sec. III. Character and Habits of the Indians ... 35, 36

Sec. IV. Indian Life 37-39

Sec. V. Indian Warfare 40-42

Sec. VI. Customs, superstitions, amusements . . . 42-46

Sec. VII. Treatment of the Indians 47, 43

Chap. II. Discovery and Exploration

Sec. I. Early Voyages 48-51

Sec. II. Exploration of the river 52, 53

Sec. III. Dtitch trading voyages. 1610-1620 . . . 53-57

Sec. IV. The Dutch West-India company ... 58, 59

Chap. III. New York, under the Dutch West-India company

Sec. L Administration of director Minuit. 1624-1C33 . 59-67

Sec. II. Administrationcf director Van Twiller. 1633-1637 67-73

Sec. in. Administration of director Kieft. 1638-1646. . 73-101

Sec. IV. Early history of Albany 101-106

Sec. V. Administration of director Stuyvesant. 1647-1664 106-111

Chap. IV. New York, under the supremacy of England

Sec. I. Administrations of governors Nicolls, Lovelace,

Sec. II. Administration of governor Dongan. 1683-1688 . 113-121

Sec. III. Administration of Leisler. 1688-1690 . . . 121-125 Sec. IV. Administrations of governors Sloughter, Fletcher,

Sec. V. Administrations of lords Cornbury and Lovelace, and

lieutenant-governors Ingoldsby and Beekman. 1702-1711 . 133-137 A*

X CONTENTS.

HISTORY— continued. Fage

Sec. VI. Administration of governor Hunter. 1711-1720 . 137-142

. Sec. VII. Admmistration of governor Burnet. 1720-1728 . 142-147

Sec. VIII. Governors Montgomerie and Cosby. 1728-1736 . 147-151

Sec. IX. Lieutenant-governor Clarke. 1736-1743 . . 151-157 Sec. X. Governors Clinton and Sir Danvers Osborn. 1743-

Sec. XI. First administration of lieutenant-governor Delan-

Sec. XII. Administration of governor Hardy. 1755-1757 . 178-186 Sec. XIII. Second adnunistration of lieutenant-governor De-

Sec. XIV. Lieutenant-governor Golden, and governors Monck-

Sec. XV. Governors Dunmore and Try on. 1770-1774 . 205-213

Chap. VIII. Events from 1814 to 1847. . 302-304 BIOGRAPHY. Captain Willet 307, 308

Lion Gardiner 308-311

Capt. John Underhill 311-314

Lieutenant-governor Colden 315-.323

Madame Schuyler 323-353

Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson 354

Hon. Philip Livingston 355

Dr. Jacob Ogden 355, 356

General Woodhuli 356-307

Samson Occom 367

Lewis Morris 368

Philip Schuyler 369

General James Clinton ........ 372, 373

General Montgomery 374

Governor George Clinton 375-377

Stephen Sayre 377-379

John Jay 379-381

Hon. Egbert Benson 381-385

CONTENTS.

XI

BlUGMAVny—cnntinued.

Capt. Caleb Brewster Goiiverneur Morris Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge General Morgan Lewis Hon. Rufus King Alexander Hamilton General Armstrong .

Colonel Burr Brockholst Livingston Dr. Macneven Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill Edward Livingston Thomas Addis Emmet Robert Fulton James Wadsworth Dr. Hosack De Witt Clinton Cadwallader D Colden Mrs. Frances P. Lupton Rev. Dr. John M. Mason Dr. Ad rain General Brown Jesse Buel William L. Stone .

Robert C. Sands Henry Inman William Leggett Lucretia Davidson Willis Gaylord Clarke Margaret Davidson

PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE.

Modes of living in Albany

Style of living among the wealthy landholders of Colonial New York

NOTICES OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS, INLAND TOWNS, AND VILLAGES

Migration and Settling . .

SKETCHES OF SCENERY.

The Hudson River

Otsego Lake

The Catskill Mountains

Fall on the Kaaterskili

Adirondac Pass

LOCAL OUTLINES OF NATURAL HISTORY.

Animals.

Reptiles

Fishes

Quadrupeds

Birds

Appendix

Institutions connected with education Constitution of the State

456, 457

467, 468

509-^35 535-546

547-564 564-574

575-579 580, 581

582, 583

583, 584 585-588

643-647 649-669

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION, APPLIED TO THE READING OF HISTORY.

i^ The attention of teachers is respectfully solicited to the following rules, as indispensable to the right performance of tho exercise of reading aloud, in classes.

I. The proper style of readiug, in geographical description and historical narrative, requires attention, in the ^st place, to distinctness of utterance, without which the reader cannot be understood, or the facts be impressed upon tho mind.

II. Distinctness of style in reading, depends on, 1st, due loudness of voice ; 2d, proper slowness of utterance ; 3d, exactness and energy in articulation; 4th, attentive observance of pauses, so as to regulate the sense of what is read, and renew the reader'' s supply of breath.

III. The dignity and importance of historical and biographical subjects, forbid any approach to careless familiarity and negligence of style in pronunciation, and demand a becoming attention to propriety and refinement, as the standards of good usage.

IV. The interest which naturally belongs to scenic description aiid historical narration, I'^quires, in reading, an animated, energetic, and varied style of expression, in the voice, and is quite incompatible with flatness and sameness of tone, unmeaning utterance, and " schoolboy" style.

V. To read any passage well, the reader must himself understand tt fully, and enter into its spirit, that his reading may give the meaning and sentiment of the author, by appropriate emphasis, injltctions, and pauses. Hence the necessity that every lesson should be carefully studied, before it is read aloud.

VI. It will be of great assistance in securing a correct style of reading, if the teacher adopts the practice of, every day, attracting the attention of his pupils to those words in the lesson of the following day, ■which are most liable to be mispronounced. Such words may be either repeated orally, at the moment, or marked with a pencil.*

* Teachers who wish to give their pupils the advantage of systematic and progressive instruction in elocution, are referred to the author's Elementary and Common-School Series of Reading-books, or to his Orthophony and his American Elocutionist.

NEW.YORK CLASS-BOOK.

GEOGRAPHY .

OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

Reading Lesson I.

Position and Boundaries of the State.

The o-eographical position of the state of New York, is defined, on the map, by the Atlantic ocean, and the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which bound it, on the south ; the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, on the east; the river St. Lawrence and lake Ontario, which separate it from Canada, on the north and northwest; the Niagara river, on the west; and lake Erie, on the west and northwest. Chatauque county, in the southwestern part of the state, has a portion of the state of Pennsylvania for its western boundary. The form of the state, as projected to the eye, is that of a rude triangle, with its base on the northwest, and its apex, or peak, at the southwest. If viewed from the eastern toward the western boundary, the delineation of the surface presents the shape of one side of an irregular and broken pyramid, bisected.

The state is situated between forty degrees, thirty minutes, and forty-five degrees of north latitude, and between five degrees, five minutes of east, and two degrees, fifty-five minutes of west longitude, from the city of Washington.

The area of the state is upwards of foKty-six thousand square miles, — nearly equal to that of all England. The state is divided into fifty-nine counties. The population of the state amounted, by the census of 1840, to two millions, four hundred and twenty-eight thousand, nine hundred, and twenty-one.

14 NEVV-VORK CI-ASS-BOOK.— LESSON II.

The climate of New York, although the latitude of the state coincides with that of the warmer regions of Europe, corresponds, rather, in its mean annual temperature, with that of European countries lying from fifteen to twenty degrees farther north. The mean duration of winter, for the city of New York, is about five months. The warmth of the summer exceeds that of even the southern parts of Eui'ope.

A broad view of the surface of the state of New York, as it would present itself to the eye of an observer, elevated to a suflScient height in the air, would coincide, most nearly, with that sketched by Dr. De Kay, in the preface to his copious and instructive Report on the zoology of the state. By the aid of the map and imagination combined, his description is rendered remarkably clear aud impressive. It is, in substance, as follows.

" The surface of New York is considerably elevated ; much of it lying on the great Alleghany table land. The diversity of surface is, however, so great, -that, for the purposes of more intelligible description, we may consider it as divided into four principal districts, — each suflBciently distinct in itself, but, of course, so much blended, at the lines of separation, as not to be contradistinguished."

Reading Lesson II.

Geographical Division of the State.

" Tlie Western District, the first of the four which have been mentioned, includes that portion of the state which is bounded, on the west and north, by lakes Erie and Ontario, and, on the south, by the boundary line sejjarating it from the state of Pennsylvania. It extends eastwardly until it is lost in the valley of the Mohawk, on the north, and the mountainous part of the Hudson district.

" A large portion of this district, is an elevated region, furrowed by valleys running in a north and south direction ; supposed ©nee to have been the outlets of a great inland ocean, but now the beds of rivers, which, pursuing opposite courses, discharge themselves, on the one hand, through lake Ontario into the gulf of St. Lawrence, and, on the other, into the Delaware and Chesapeake bays, and into the gulf of Mexico.

GEOGRAPHY. -NATURAL DIVISIONS. 15

" The central portion of this district, is a level table land, rising, in its southern parts, into elevations of from a thousand to twelve hundred feet above tide, and abruptly subsiding, on its western borders; to the level of the great

" In the western part, we have the Cataraugus and. Tonawanda streams, pouring into lake Erie and Niagara river; the sources of the Alleghany river, one of the branches of the Ohio, itself a tributary to the Mississippi ; and another branch of the Alleghany takes its rise from Chatauque lake, a sheet of water sixteen miles in length, twelve hundred and ninety-one feet above tide, and seven hundred and twenty-six above lake Erie.

" Eastward of these, is the Genesee river, which, taking its rise in Pennsylvania, crosses the whole district, in a north direction, and empties into lake Ontario. As we proceed eastwardly, we cross successively, in the southern portions of this district, the Canisteo, Conhocton, Chenango, and great western branch, or principal source, of the Susquehannah, which takes its rise in the Otsego lake, a sheet of water nine miles long, with a breadth varying from three quarters of a mile to three miles.

" The central portions of this district, are occupied by a series of from ten to twelve lakes, stretching, generally, to north and south, varying from fifteen to thirty-eight miles, in length ; all discharging themselves, by one common outlet, the Oswego river, into lake Ontario.

" On the extreme eastern border, rises the Mohawk, a tributary of the Hudson, which connects it, zoologically, with the Hudson river district. — The great inland seas of Erie and Ontario, — the one, two hundred and seventy miles in length, with a breadth from twenty to fifty miles, and the other, one hundred and ninety miles, with an average breadth of forty miles, — exercise a great influence on its climate and consequent zoological character. Lake Erie, the surface of which is three hundred and thirty-four feet above lake Ontario, discharges its waters, through the rapids and falls of Niagara river, into that lake, within a distance of thirty-six miles.

" This entire district is exceedingly fertile, and is covered by a vigorous growth of forest trees, in the uncultivated portions. Without entering into undue details, it will be perceived, that, while, on the one hand, the vicin-

16 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON III.

ity of such large masses of water must meliorate its climate ; its fertile soil, irrigated by so many streams, will furnish the means of subsistence to numerous species of animals. It is zoologicsClly connected, by its valleys and water courses, with the great basin of the St. Lawrence ; and we accordingly find, in this district, animals common to both, although not to so great an extent as in the region next to be described. Among the mammalia, we find the northern lynx, the deer, moose, and porcupine ; while all the lakes in the interior of this district, that empty into lake Ontario, formerly abounded with salmon, which found their way from the sea, through the gulf and river St. Lawrence. In its southern portions, it is similarly connected with the basin of the Mississippi ; and the intermediate regioiTS are watered by the streams which empty into the Delaware and Chesapeake."

Reading Lesson III.

Geographical Division of the State.

" 2. The NortJicm District comprises, as its name imports, the northern portion of the state, which forms au irregular truncated triangle, bounded, on its western side, by lake Ontario and the river St. Lawrence, — on its eastern side, by lake Champlain and lake George, — and lying north of the Mohawk valley.

" This district, — in its southern and southeastern portions, — rises into numerous conical peaks and short ranges, attaining, in some places, an elevation of more than five thousand feet. Towards lakes Champlain and George, these subside, suddenly, to the level of those sheets of water. To the north and northwest, this elevation descends, by a gradual and almost imperceptible slope, towards the river St. Lawrence. This slope is watered by the Oswegatchie, the Moose, and Black rivers, and by the Raquet, Grass, and St. Regis rivers ; all arising from numerous lakes embosomed in the mountainous regions of its southern parts.

" Lake Champlain, a part of its eastern boundary, extends, north and south, one hundred and forty miles, is twelve miles wide, in its broadest part, and discharges its waters through the Sorel river into the St. Lawrence. Into the southern part of this lake are also poured the

GEOGRAPHY-NATURAL DIVISIONS. 17

waters of lake George, or Horicon, thirty-seven miles lor.o", and varying from one to seven miles in breadth.

'°The cluster of mountains in its southeastern portions, may be considered as an offset frpm the great Appalachian system, which, descending through the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, passes southwestwardly between the western and Hudson river districts, and is continued under the name of the Alleghany range of mountains. In this region, too, we find the Sacondaga, Cedar, Jessup, and other tributaries of the Hudson, within a short distance of those which pour into the St. Lawrence. , . - c

" This mountainous region comprises the counties of Essex, Hamilton, Herkimer, and Warren, and the southern part of the counties of Clinton, Franklin, and St. Lawrence, and has been estimated to contain an area of about six thousand square miles. Its zoological character is strongly impressed by the features before described.

" The chief growth of trees, in this district, are the spruce, pine, larch, balsam, fir and cedar. We find here many of the fur-bearing animals, such as the sable, the fisher, and the beaver. Here, too, roam the moose, the wolverine, and others now only found in high northern latitudes. This district also forms the southern limits of the migration of many arctic birds ; and we accordingly meet here with the Canada jay, and the spruce ^grouse, the swan, the raven, and the Arctic woodpecker."

Reading Lesson IV.

Geographical Division of the State.

" 3. The Hudson Valley District, includes those counties watered by the river Hudson and its tributaries. Its chief tributary, the Mohawk, after a course of about one hundred and forty miles, enters the Hudson, from the west, at the distance of one hundred and sixty miles from its entrance into the ocean,

" The shape of this district is of course modified by the length and direction of the Mohawk river, and bears some resemblance to the letter rj inverted. Smaller than either of the two preceding, it is nevertheless of much zoological interest. At its upper portion, it is connected with

18 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON V.

the northern district, and contains many animals in common with the states bordering on the eastern margin.

" Along its western border, it becomes elevated into high ranges of mountains, called the Kaaterskills ; some of which attain an elevation of nearly four thousand feet; containing deei', wolves, panthers, and bears. By the valley of the Mohawk, it is zoologically connected with the western district ; and this connection is becoming daily more obvious, by the great artificial water channels which reflect so much honor on the zeal and enterprise of the inhabitants. Thus, the soft-shelled turtle and rock bass of lake Erie, are now found in the Hudson ; in the same way that the yellow perch, the muskallonghee, and others peculiar to the great lakes, have, by means of the Ohio canal, found their way into the Mississippi, through the Ohio.

'' On the south, this district is connected with the Atlantic ; and, accordingly, we find it teeming with the inhabitants of the ocean. On the other hand, the Hudson river appears to form a natural geographical limit to the extension of some species, — at least in any considerable numbers. Thus, the opossum of the South rarely, if ever, outsteps this boundary ; among reptiles, the chain snake and brown swift ; and the buzzai'd and many other species, among the birds. From the north, also, this river appears to be a barrier to their progress south."

Reading Lesson V.

Geograjyhical Division of (lie State.

" 4. TJie Atlantic District comprises Long Island, with a medium breadth of ten miles, extending in a northeasterly direction one hundred and fifty miles. Its insular position influences its climate ; and we accordingly find a great difference between its temperature and that of the main land. It is a low sandy region, with extensive plains, and rising, along its northern borders, into hills of moderate elevation, at but one point only exceeding three hundred feet in height.

" Although much smaller than any of the preceding districts, yet it possesses some zoological features of interest. Its insular position, and its early settlement, have occasioned the extirpation of some of the larger i

GEOGRArilV.-PRLMITIVE SCENERY, &c. 21.

quadrupeds, such as the otter, wolf, and bear; but deer are still numerous. It is more remarkable for the abundance and variety of its birds, than for the number of its mammalia. Here we find the extreme southern limits of the migrations of the arctic species, and the northernmost termination of the wanderings of the birds of the torrid zone. Thus we find, in winter, in this district, the eider duck, the little white goose, the great cormorant, tlie auk, and many others from the arctic ocean. During the heats of summer, we meet with the turkey buzzard and swallow-tailed kite, the fork-tailed flycatcher from the tropical wilds of Guiana, and numerous others from the south. This region seems, also, to be the boundary between the fishes and other classes of the northern and tropical seas, and occasionally furnishes specimens from either extremity."

Reading Lesson VI.

Original Features of the Country.

Boundaries claimed by the Dutch. — The voyage in which Hudson discovered and explored the river which bears his name, led him to visit the American coast, at various points between Penobscot bay and the Chesapeake. The Dutch, in whose service this voyage was undertaken, claimed, in virtue of the right of discovery and partial exploration, the whole region lying between cape Cod and Delaware bay.

Scenery. — The majestic rivers and capacious bays of this extensive region, not only gave a character of magnificence to its scenery, but indicated its peculiar adaptation to the purposes of traffic, — a consideration of great moment in the estimation of a people so devoted to commercial pursuits as the Dutch. The aspect of the whole country, however, was that of an unbroken wilderness, covered with primeval forests. The coast was principally low and sandy ; and the distant interior apparently rocky and mountainous. But the intervening soil, along the river courses, was rich and loamy.