hat was their first taste of the deadly
"fire water" of the whites, which has killed thousands of the red men
since then.

Captain Hudson and the Dutch no doubt thought that this was great fun.
People often do much harm without stopping to think. But on up the river
went the "Half Moon."

At some places they saw fields of green corn on the water's edge.
Farther on were groves of lofty trees, and for miles great cliffs of
rock rose like towers. It was all very grand and beautiful.

"It was a very good land to fall in with," said Captain Hudson, "and a
pleasant land to see."

As they sailed on and on, they came to mountains, which rose on both
sides the river. After passing the mountains, the captain went ashore to
visit an old chief, who lived in a round house built of bark. The
Indians here had great heaps of corn and beans. But what they liked
best was roast dog. They roasted a dog for Captain Hudson and asked him
to eat it, but I do not know whether he did so or not. And they broke
their arrows and threw them into the fire, to show that they did not
mean to do harm to the white men.

After leaving the good old chief the Dutch explorers went on up the
river till they reached a place about 150 miles above the sea, where the
city of Albany now stands. Here the river became so narrow and shallow
that Captain Hudson saw he could not reach the Pacific by that route, so
he turned and sailed back to the sea again.

A sad fate was that of Captain Hudson, "the bold Englishman." The next
year he came again to America. But this time he went far to the north
and entered the great body of water which we call Hudson Bay. He thought
this would lead to the Pacific, and he would not turn back, though the
food was nearly all gone. At last the crew got desperate, and they put
the captain and some others into an open boat on the wide waters, and
turned back again. Nothing more was ever heard of Captain Hudson, and he
must have died miserably on that cold and lonely bay.

But before his last voyage he had told the Dutch people all about Hudson
River, and that the Indians had many fine furs which they would be glad
to trade for beads, and knives, and other cheap things. The Dutch were
fond of trading, and liked to make a good bargain, so they soon began to
send ships to America. They built a fort and some log huts on Manhattan
Island, and a number of them stayed there to trade with the red men.
They paid the Indians for the island w