Show UP THE HUDSON oceanside L I 1 sept 28 1897 the hudson river has no doubt formed the theme of many articles in your paper since its first publication but I 1 trust a few more observation on that subject will be of interest to most of your readers in response to a kind invitation from sister clough of cohoes nr I 1 left my place of labor on long lg island for a few days by permission and paid her a visit she and sister adey are the only remaining church members in that part of the country and they had not seen the face of a latter day saint since the s visit of elder S W richards and wife ft 41 year ago so it happened that on the dinst I 1 had the pleasure of eling about miles up the beautiful hudson on the new york of the albany day line on that very day years ago so the guide book informed me henry hudson in ex boring 01 oring the newly found river came in sight of that most admired martof pal bof HO course the highlands and ass as we glided up stream at the rate of twenty miles an hour in our pretty up to date paddle steamer of passenger capa capacity eAty with its fine orchestra and elegant furnishings I 1 was struck with the contrast between our condi tion and that of the ancient navigator doubtless he was quite proud of his high pooped broad bottomed dutch yacht half moon as the quaint old vessel slowly ascended the river before the breeze or tacked awkwardly from bank to bank against it many perhaps have tried to imagine his thoughts and feelings of this noble stream for the first time but it is not unlikely that being a strange country with sava sav wes aares anywhere around he was thinking more than anything else of the dangers of his position ambus cades and arrows mohawks and tom if he admired at all we could judge to some extent what his impressions were by our own as we viewed the landscape on that same september day for although nearly three centuries have rolled away the river scenery is practically the same today as it was then the same cliffs and lowlands the same profusion of stately woods of grassy slopes of undulating du hills repeated into the misty distance civilization has indeed added u a few features to the landscape but diminished dimin shed none of its beauty but let us step on board our modern craft and do a little exploring our pelves elves emerging from the shelter of the pier at desbrosses Debr street new york we at once join the busy traffic of thin the north river or mouth of the hud hudson son this is the working ground of numerous ferry boats which ply day and night between new york and the jersey side this is also the thoroughfare for the ships of the civilized world laden with the products of many lands through this interesting scene of commercial activity we thread our way carefully and presently pass into freer waters we pass on the left jersey city hoboken and weehawken Wee hawken on the right that unromantic business end of new york city Manhat manhattan island with its motley array of skyscrapers sky scrapers and fringed quite appropriately with masts and steamer stacks and now we are in the domain of nature adorned the hudson of the poet and the painter we wil briefly examine its points of chief interest the first object to attract the artist is the palisades a natural wall of rock extending some twenty miles along the western riverfront and varying in height from fifty to several hundred feet the vertical dip of the strata gives a ribbed or fende fence like appearance to the formation and hence the name beyond on take the other side of the river is the pretty village of irvington the village is in named after washington irving who used to live there in a castle not far from the waters edge the castle was purchased and enlarged by the late jay gould and it looks very picturesque tur esque as its white old fash fashioned boned tower peers over the trees in irving ton tol tarrytown yonkers and neligh neighboring boring country on either side of the american rhine are located the summer resi residences dencen of many of new yorks aristocracy millionaire estates stretch out for miles in woods and parks and lawns like on an immense garden while here and there a stately mansion peeps from rom its cluster of green to break the solitude A few miles up the river and we pass from the sublime to the ridiculous from irvings castle to sing sing thoughts of cheque red suits and careers life sentences and electrocution cross the mind at sight oi of those grim looking state buildings along the river side aide proceeding still toward we pass through the widest wt art of the river haverstraw B bay s and nd enter the far famed Hig highlands bian d IF bere lore we view the mountain scenery t the he new yorker and of course the is quite a change to him vie monotonous level of the lian heights Heigh tW or the bowery ta some of the cliffs and hills such as anthonys nose stony point storm kink and sugar loaf are very pretty As we turn a bend in the river we suddenly see the great cranston hotel before us on a high bank and immediately beyond it we see a glimpse of that military school of national repute west point As its name implies it is situated on the west side of the river on a point of land around which the hudson sweeps majestically and commands a fine view of its winding course in either direction ten miles from west point and sixty from new york city we pass the town of newburgh where still stands plainly visible to the river tourist the old house that general washington used as headquarters while campaigning in those parts the scenery north of newburgh in mediocre with the exception of the catskills the legendary long resting place 0 of f rip van winkle it is indeed quite a treat to see a few hills after gazing pensively for months over the flatlands of long island still when it comes to grand mountain scenery the highlands and catskills are rather tame to a westerner they may bunch together all their big hills and little mountains and still our old wasatch with its sky born twin peaks would tower above them all and now while far down the river we can already see the colossal form of the new capitol building standing out in the bold relief within an hour we are landed on the wharf our ten hours ride is over and we stand in the capital city of new york state albany perhaps a few words about the state building may not be uninteresting in form it reminds me of the salt lake city and county building but the size of course is much larger the difference in size however is 18 not at all proportionate to the difference in cost statistics inform me that over twenty two million dollars have been already spent in its construction and it is still far from being finished it seems to be one of those political jobs of eternal duration whenever there has been a change in state government there has been a corresponding changes in bosses workmen and plans when the building was begun I 1 found no eyewitness eye witness old enough to tell me perhaps I 1 did not inquire around enough at any rate it is many years ago I 1 was told that the job Is now under contract to be completed in a specified time two years I 1 believe so perhaps the edifice will thus be rescued from everlasting incompleteness from albany I 1 went by way of troy to cohoes I 1 was much interested in cohoes both in the name and place the name is of uncertain derivation and equally uncertain seems to be the spelling of it A history of cohoes states that a local postal clerk compiled a list of the different spellings of the name on letters passing through the mail and he found variations all given in the history and yet shakespeare asked in a name but then of course he knew nothing ag of cohoes and its unsettled orthography cohoes is called the spindle city because of its numerous spinning factories cotton cloth is the chief product I 1 enjoyed my trip very much the aged sisters were glad to see an elder to converse upon the gospel and exchange testimonies I 1 administered the sacrament to them and encouraged them in the work of god saints in their condition fully appreciate the society of their brethren and sisters and church privileges which are sometimes treated with 3 ence are under such circumstances valued beyond price D J WATTS |