the dog meat very much, but the Indians insisted upon cooking
it for him.

[Illustration: Hudson Feasting with the Indians.]

The Indians wanted him to stay overnight with them, and one Indian
arose, and gathering together all the arrows, broke them and threw
them into the fire. By this act he meant to show Hudson that he and
his tribe would do him no harm.

Hudson felt that he had no time to lose, but must go on and find out
whether this wonderful body of water would lead him into the Pacific.
So he bade the Indians good-by and sailed away.

He went on up the river until the place was reached where Albany now
stands. Here the little _Half Moon_ was anchored. Indians came running
down to the shore in wonder at the sight of the strange vessel. They
brought with them strings of beaver skins, which they gave Hudson in
exchange for pieces of gold lace, glass beads, and other trinkets.
Hudson was quick to see the importance of this fur trade, and took
back with him many valuable furs. Here the stream had become narrow,
and was so shallow that the captain feared his vessel might run aground.
He knew at last that the water was a river and not a strait, and that
he was not likely to find here a passage to China. So Hudson, turning
back, started down the river.

On the way down, an Indian who was in a canoe stole something from
the ship. One of the crew saw the Indian commit the theft, and, picking
up a gun, shot and killed him. This made the other Indians very angry,
and Hudson had several fights with them.

Nevertheless the expedition reached the mouth of the river in safety,
and early in October Hudson returned to Amsterdam. He had not found
a northwest passage, but he had secured a large tract of country in
the New World for Holland.

He told the Dutch about the rich furs to be found there, and they
immediately began to build trading posts where the cities of New York
and Albany now stand.

The next year Hudson made another voyage in search of a passage to
Asia. This time he sailed far north into Hudson Bay. Here his crew
mutinied and refused to obey him. They seized him and put him, together
with his son, into an open boat, and set them adrift in the icy water.

As Hudson was never heard of again, it is supposed that he perished
in the waters of the great bay which he discovered, and which still
bears his name.

End of Project Gutenberg's Discoverers and Explorers, by Edward R. Shaw

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