Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/38

 30 HUDSON RIVER HUE the beautiful hills called the Highlands, which rise abruptly from the water ;. in some places vessels following the channel pass so near the shore that one can almost touch the cliffs from their decks. The most remarkable of these hills are Breakneck (1,187 ft. in height), Bea- con, so named from the signal fires which used to burn on its summit during the revo- lutionary war (1,685 ft.), Butter (1,500 ft.), Crow Nest (1,428 ft.), Sugarloaf mountain, Bull hill, Anthony's Nose (1,128 ft.), and Dunderberg (Thunder Hill) or Donderbarrack (Thunder Chamber). The Highlands cover an area of about 16 by 25 m., and the river flows through them with many windings, which add greatly to its beauty. In the midst of them, on a bold promontory commanding magnificent views both N. and S., is West Point, the seat of the United States military academy. Fort Putnam, the ruins of which remain, was built here during the war of inde- pendence by the Americans, and a chain was stretched across the river at this place to pre- vent the passage of British ships. Several other sites memorable in the history of that period are pointed out to tourists in various parts of the river. Shortly after emerging from the Highlands the Hudson widens into the expanse known as Haverstraw bay, immediately below which is Tappan bay, extending from Teller's Point to Piermont, about 12m. long and 3 to 4; m. wide. On the W. shore a range of trap rock called the Palisades rises perpendicularly from the water's edge to a height of from 300 to 500 ft., extending from the New Jersey boun- dary just below Pierrnont to Fort Lee, 9 m. from New York bay, the range being thus about 15 m. long. From this place to its mouth the Hudson is between 1 and 2 m. wide. It falls into New York bay in lat. 40 42' N., Ion. 74 1' 30" W., its whole length being a little over 300 m. Its fall from Albany to its mouth, according to the United States coast survey reports, is only about 5 ft. On the E. side of its mouth lies New York city, on the W. side Jersey City and Hoboken. The Hud- son has few tributaries, the largest being the Hoosac, Mohawk, Walkill, and Croton. Spuyten Duyvil creek connects it with the Harlem river, which flows into the East river, forming the N. boundary of Manhattan island. The basin of the Hudson occupies about two thirds of the E. border of the state, and a large part of the interior. The principal cities and towns on its banks are Lansingburgh, Troy, Hudson, Pough- keepsie, Peekskill, Sing Sing, Tarrytown, Yon- kers, and New York, on the east, and Water- ford, West Troy, Albany, Catskill, Kingston, Rondout, Newburgh, Haverstraw, Nyack, Pier- mont, Hoboken, and Jersey City on the west. It is navigable by ships to Hudson, by steamboats to Troy, and by sloops, by means of a dam and lock, to Waterford, at the mouth of the Mo- hawk. The passenger steamers from New York to Albany and Troy are noted for their elegance and fine proportions. A little below Albany the navigation is at times obstructed by shifting sands called the Overslaugh, for the removal of which large expenditures have been made by the United States government. New York is indebted for much of its prosperity to this river, which forms one of the principal channels of communication between the east and west, and is connected with the great lakes by the Erie canal and the Erie and New York Central railroads, with Lake Champlain and Canada by canal and railroad, and with the Delaware river and the Pennsylvania coal re- gion by the Delaware and Hudson canal. The Hudson River railroad runs along its east bank from New York to Troy, and a railroad has been commenced along its west bank from Jer- sey City to Albany. In 1524 Verrazzani, sail- ing under a commission from Francis I. of France, entered the bay of New York and sailed a short distance up the river in a boat. Henry Hudson discovered it Sept. 11, 1609, ex- plored it above the mouth of the Mohawk, and called it " river of the mountains." This name was soon changed to Mauritius, in honor of Prince Maurice of Nassau; and about 1682 it became generally known as the North river, to distinguish it from the Delaware or South river. The name Hudson's river had been applied to it by the English not long after its discovery in 1609. The Indians are said to have called it Shatemuc and Cahohatatea. The first success- ful attempt at steam navigation was made on the Hudson by Robert Fulton in 1807. HUDSON STRAIT, in British North America, connects Hudson bay with the ocean and Da- vis strait, between lat. 60 and 64 N., and Ion. 65 and 77 W. Its length is 450 in., its average breadth 100 m., and its least breadth 60 m. HUE, a city of Asia, capital of the empire of Anam, and of the province of the same name, on the Hn6 roadstead, about 10 m. from the China sea; lat. 16 28' N., Ion. 107 32' E. ; pop. estimated at from 80,000 to 100,000. It is composed of two cities, an outer and an in- ner. The former is surrounded by the river, and by walls 5 m. in circumference and 60 ft. high, fortified in the European manner. It is entered by ten bridges and as many correspond- ing gates, and contains the palaces of the king's near relatives, the different public offices, bar- racks, prisons, magazines, granaries, and the dwelling houses and shops of the citizens. In the centre of the outer city is the inner one, which is also walled, and in which are the pal- aces and seraglio of the king, the palace of his mother, the palace wherein the sovereign re- ceives his mandarins, and guard rooms for the sentinels on duty. Hu6 is a naval station, and has extensive ship yards and a largo cannon foundery. The streets are traversed by navi- gable canals. The roadstead is an excellent and well sheltered harbor. The citadel is for- tified after the European fashion, and would require 50,000 men to fully garrison it. The commercial and manufacturing activity of Ilud is extensive. In 1787 the city was formally