felt close in shore; so with tide and wind against me, and the darkness
of night settling down gloomily upon the wide bay, I pulled a strong
oar for five miles to the entrance of Kill Van Kull Strait, which
separates Staten Island from New Jersey and connects the upper bay with
Raritan Bay.

The bright beams from the light-house on Robbin's Reef, which is one
mile and a quarter off the entrance of the strait, guided me on my
course. The head-sea, in little, splashy waves, began to fill my canoe.
The water soon reached the foot-rest; but there was no time to stop to
bale out the boat, for a friendly current was near, and if once reached,
my little craft would enter smoother waters. The flood which poured into
the mouth of Kill Van Kull soon caught my boat, and the head-tide was
changed to a favorable current which carried me in its strong arms far
into the salt-water strait, and I reached West New Brighton, along the
high banks of which I found my haven of rest. Against the sky I traced
the outlines of my landmark, three poplars, standing sentinel-like
before the house of the gentleman who had so kindly offered me his
hospitality. The canoe was emptied of its shifting liquid ballast and
carefully sponged dry. My host and his son carried it into the main hall
of the mansion and placed it upon the floor, where the entire household
gathered, an admiring group. Proud, indeed, might my dainty craft have
been of the appreciation of so lovely a company. Her master fully
appreciated the generous board of his kind host, and in present comfort
soon forgot past trials and his wet pull across the upper bay of New
York harbor.

My work for the next day, October 27th, was the navigation of the
interesting strait of the old Dutch settlers and the Raritan River, of
New Jersey, as far as New Brunswick. The average width of Kill Van Kull
is three-eighths of a mile. From its entrance, at Constable's Point, to
the mouth of Newark Bay, which enters it on the Jersey side, it is three
miles, and nearly two miles across the bay to Elizabethport. Bergen
Point is on the east and Elizabethport on the west entrance of the bay,
while on Staten Island, New Brighton, Factoryville, and North Shore,
furnish homes for many New York business men.

At Elizabethport the strait narrows to one eighth of a mile, and as
the mouth of the Rahway is approached it widens. It now runs through
marshes for most of the way, a distance of twelve miles to Raritan Bay