Ft. Nassau on Castle Island, the present Rensselaer
Island.

According to some writers a temporary trading post was
established here by the French as early as 1540--80 years before
the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. But it is on the date 1614 that
Albany lays claim to being the second oldest settlement in the
colonies, Jamestown, founded in 1607 by Capt. John Smith and
Christopher Newport, being the first. It is interesting to note
that the Pilgrim Fathers narrowly missed making a settlement
somewhere along the Hudson River. William Bradford, second
governor of the Plymouth colony, tells in his history, how, at
one point in the _Mayflower's_ voyage, they determined "to find
some place about Hudson's river for their habitation." But, after
sailing half a day, "they fell amongst dangerous shoulds and
roving breakers," and so decided to bear up again for Cape Cod.

During the early days Albany held high rank among American settlements.
As a center of trade and civilization it rivalled Jamestown, Manhattan
and Quebec. In 1618 the Dutch negotiated here the first treaty with the
Iroquois, which tended to preserve friendly relations with the Indians
for more than a century to come.

The territory of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, the most
celebrated of Indian confederations, extended from Albany to
Buffalo, that is, over just the country through which the New
York Central runs. The name is that given to them by the French
and is said to be formed of two ceremonial words constantly used
by the tribesmen meaning "real adders." The league was originally
composed of five tribes or nations--the Mohawks, Oneidas,
Onondagas, Senecas and Cayugas. The confederation probably took
place about 1580. In 1722 the Tuscaroras were admitted, the
league then being called that of the Six Nations. Without
realizing the far-reaching effect of his action, Samuel D.
Champlain (1567-1635), the French explorer, probably changed the
entire course of history by joining the Algonquins and Hurons in
an attack in 1608 on the Iroquois near the present town of
Ticonderoga. The Iroquois never forgave the French for the part
they played in this battle and naturally turned first to the
Dutch and then to the English for allies. "Thus did New France,"
says Parkman, "rush into collision with the redoubted warriors of
the Five Nations. He