now lies for nearly 150 M., can
be seen the Palisades, an extraordinary ridge of basaltic rock rising
picturesquely to a height of between 300 and 500 ft. and extending along
the west bank of the Hudson about 12 M. from a point north of Ft. Lee,
N.J., to Palisades, N.Y.

The peculiar hexagonal jointing of the rock, which has given rise
to the name Palisades, is an unusual geological formation; the
only other important places where it is found are at Fingal's
Cave in Scotland and the Giant's Causeway in Ireland. The beauty
of the Palisades was threatened by quarrying and blasting
operations until N.Y. and N.J. agreed to the establishment of the
Palisades Interstate Park which comprises 36,000 acres (1,000
acres in New Jersey and 35,000 in New York State).

"The spacious and stately characteristics of the Hudson from the
Palisades to the Catskills are as epical as the loveliness of the
Rhine is lyrical. The Hudson implies a continent beyond. No
European river is so lordly in its bearing, none flows in such
state to the sea. Of all the rivers that I know, the Hudson, with
this grandeur, has the most exquisite episodes."--George William
Curtis.

[Illustration: The Half Moon at Yonkers

In September, 1609, Henry Hudson started up the Hudson in the
"Half Moon," which attracted frequent visits from the natives
along the route.]

To the right, just north of Spuyten Duyvil, is a high promontory, upon
which stands a lofty monument to Henry Hudson, who had his first
skirmish here with the Indians after entering N.Y. Bay in Sept. 1609.
With an excellent harbour at its mouth, and navigable waters leading 150
M. into a fertile interior, the Hudson River began to attract explorers
and settlers soon after the discovery of America. Verrazano, the
Florentine navigator, sent out by the French king, Francis I, ventured a
short distance up the Hudson in 1524, almost 100 years before the
Pilgrim Fathers, and in 1609 Henry Hudson sailing in the "Half Moon"
nearly up to the site of Albany demonstrated the extent and importance
of the river that bears his name.

[Illustration: New York Slave-Market--About 1730

Slaves were introduced into N.Y. as early as 1626 when the West
India Co. (a Dutch company), which had large establishments on the
coast of Guinea, brought negroes to Manhattan, and practiced the
slave trade here "without remorse." I