n front of
the lantern, and turning to the boy nodded and grinned good-naturedly.
The signal fires must have talked to some purpose, for the next day a
delegation paddled out from the shore to invite the great captain, his
son and his chief officers to a feast.

When the party arrived at the house of the chief, which was a round
building, or pavilion, of saplings sheathed with oak bark, mats were
spread for them to sit upon, and food was served in polished red wooden
bowls. Two hunters were sent out to bring in game, and returned almost
at once with pigeons which were immediately dressed and cooked by the
women. One of the hunters gave John one of the arrowheads used for
shooting small birds; it was no bigger than his least fingernail and
made of a red stone like jasper. A fat dog had also been killed, skinned
and dressed with shell knives, and served as the dish of honor. Hudson
hastily explained in English to his companions that whether they
relished dog or not, it would never do to refuse it, as this was a
special dish for great occasions.

"Dad," said John that night, "do you think any ship with white men ever
came up here before?"

"No," said Hudson.

"I hope they'll call this the Hudson."

The water was now hardly more than seven feet deep, and the tide rose
only a few inches. Hudson came reluctantly to the conclusion that there
was no proceeding further in a ship. He sent a boatload of men several
leagues up-stream, but they came back with the report that the river was
much the same so far as they had gone.

During the voyage they had often seen parties of the savages, usually
friendly but sometimes hostile. Flights of arrows occasionally were
aimed at the _Half Moon_, and the crew replied with musket-shots which
sometimes but not always hit the mark. The painted warriors had a way of
disappearing into the woods like elves. Once, in spite of all endeavors
to shake him off, a solitary Indian in a small canoe followed along
under the stern till he saw the chance of climbing up the rudder to the
cabin window. He stole the pillow off the commander's bed, two shirts,
and two bandoliers (ammunition-belts), the tinkle of which betrayed him.
The mate saw him making off with his plunder and shot him, whereupon the
other Indians paddled off at top speed, some even leaping from their
canoes to swim ashore. A boat put out and recovered the stolen property,
and when a swimming Indian caught the side of it to overturn i