Peter Stuyvesant, the Last Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam. John S. C. Abbott

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       all sail and steered off again into the main sea."

      It is very evident that Sir Henry Hudson was by no means a good disciplinarian. The authority he exercised over his crew, was very feeble. A mutinous spirit began already to prevail, and we are told that they threatened him savagely. It would appear that Sir Henry and his mate wished to repair to Newfoundland, and after having passed the winter, which was close upon them, there to resume their voyage, in search of a northwest passage, through Davis's Straits. But the turbulent crew would not consent. They compelled the captain to turn the prow of his ship towards Europe. After the voyage of a month the Half Moon cast anchor in the harbor of Dartmouth, England, on the 9th of November, 1609.

      It will be remembered that Sir Henry Hudson was an Englishman, though he was sailing in the service of the Dutch East India Company. When the Dutch Directors heard of his arrival in England, and of the important discoveries he had made, they sent orders for him immediately to repair to Amsterdam. At the same time the Dutch government claimed, by the right of discovery, all that portion of the North American continent along whose coasts Hudson had sailed and upon whose shores he had occasionally landed, taking possession of the same in the name of the Dutch government.

      The English government, jealous of the advantage which had thus been gained by the flag of Holland, peremptorily forbade Hudson to leave his native country; and for several months the Half Moon was detained at Dartmouth.

CHAPTER II.—THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY.

       Table of Contents

      Value of the Territory Discovered.—Fate of Hudson.—The

       Conspiracy.—Aspect of Manhattan Island.—The Trail which

       has Widened into Broadway.—The Opening Commerce.—The Fur

       Trade.—Visit of the English Man of War.—Exploring the

       Sound.—Commercial Enterprise Receives a New

       Stimulus.—Erection of Forts.—Character of the Fur Trade.

      The Half Moon was detained in England eight months, and did not reach Amsterdam until the summer of 1610. The Dutch Directors, though disappointed in not finding in the region they had explored the much hoped-for Northwest Passage to the Indies, were somewhat elated by the magnificent discoveries which had been made. The territory they claimed, by virtue of these discoveries, extended from the mouth of the Delaware on the South, to Cape Cod on the Northeast. The grand river of Canada, the St. Lawrence, was deemed its northern frontier. Its western boundaries were unexplored and unknown.

      This was indeed a princely territory to be owned by any power. The climate was as favorable as any to be found upon the globe. The soil was fertile, the landscape being picturesquely diversified by mountains and valleys. Vast forests, of the most valuable timber, covered immense portions. Wild fruits and nuts in great variety were found in profusion. The territory was watered by several truly magnificent rivers. The region was filled with game; and furs, of the richest kind and apparently in exhaustless quantities, could be purchased of the natives, at an almost nominal price.

      It may be worthy of notice, that Sir Henry Hudson never revisited the pleasant region which he had discovered, and which he had pronounced to be 'as beautiful a land as the foot of man can tread upon.' In the summer of 1610, Hudson entered the service of a London company and sailed from the Thames in the "Discovery," in search of either a Northwest or Northeast passage to the Indies. Passing Iceland, appropriately so called, he gazed with astonishment upon Hecla in full eruption, throwing its fiery flood and molten stones into the air. Doubling the Cape of Greenland, he entered Davis's Straits. Through these he passed into the gloomy waters beyond.

      After spending a dismal winter, in the endurance of great privation, exposed to severe Arctic storms, his mutinous crew abandoned him, in the midst of fields of ice, to perish miserably. The following artless account of this tragedy, which is taken from the lips of one of the mutineers, will be read with interest. The ship was surrounded with ice and the crew in a starving condition.

      "They had been detained at anchor in the ice," says Pricket,

      "about a week, when the first signs of the mutiny appeared.

       Green, and Wilson the boatswain, came in the night to me, as

       I was lying in my berth very lame and told me that they and

       several of the crew had resolved to seize Hudson and set him

       adrift in the boat, with all on board who were disabled by

       sickness; that there were but a few days' provisions left;

       that the master appeared entirely irresolute, which way to

       go; that for themselves they had eaten nothing for three

       days. Their only hope therefore was in taking command of the

       ship, and escaping from these regions as quickly as

       possible.

       "I remonstrated with them in the most earnest manner,

       entreating them to abandon such a wicked intention. But all

       I could say had no effect. It was decided that the plot

       should be put into execution at daylight. In the meantime

       Green went into Hudson's cabin to keep him company, and to

       prevent his suspicions from being excited. They had

       determined to put the carpenter and John King into the boat

       with Hudson and the sick, having some grudge against them

       for their attachment to the master. King and the carpenter

       had slept on deck this night, but about daybreak, King was

       observed to go down into the hold with the cook, who was

       going for water. Some of the mutineers ran and shut down the

       hatch over them, while Green and another engaged the

       attention of the carpenter, so that he did not observe what

       was going on.

       "Hudson now came from the cabin and was immediately seized

       by Thomas and Bennet, the cook, who had come up from the

       hold, while Wilson ran behind and bound his arms. He asked

       them what they meant, and they told him that he would know

       when he was in the shallop. Hudson called upon the carpenter

       to help him, telling him that he was bound. But he could

       render him no assistance being surrounded by mutineers. The

       boat was now hauled along side, and the sick and lame were

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