CHAPTER II

THE  NATIVE  INHABITANTS   OF  MANHATTAN  AND
ITS  INDIAN  ANTIQUITIES
 

MANHATTAN   ISLAND   IN   THE   SIXTEENTH   CENTURY.
 

ESCRIBING the voyage of the Half-
Moon, while exploring the river which
now bears the name of its first European navigator, Juet,
Hudson's mate, writes in his journal that, on the return
voyage from the head waters of the stream which had been dis¬
covered, the vessel was anchored on the night of October 2, 1609,
in the bay now known as Hoboken, and fixes the locality specifically
by noting that it was upon "that side of the river that is called
Manna-hata," where " there was a cliff that looked of the color of a
white green.'' This cliff,^ which he supposed was composed of copper
or silver ore, is near the " Elysian Fields," at Hoboken, and is a sub¬
ject of study for mineralogists. The significance of the reference to
it, however, is not that it more clearly defines the place of anchorage.
 

1 Now known as Castle Point, the residence of Mrs. Edwin A. Stevens.
Vol. I.—3.                                                 33
 

Editor.