OLD DESCRIPTION OF NEW YORK. 171 



They soon reduced the town and fort of New Amsterdam 

 upon conditions advantageous to his Majesty and easy for the 

 Dutch. 



I subjoin here a very old description of that country and 

 of New Amsterdam. 



&quot; It is placed upon the neck of the Island Manhattan, 

 looking towards the sea, encompassed with Hudson s River, 

 which is six miles broad ; the town is compact and oval, with 

 very fair streets, and several good houses ; the rest are built 

 much after the manner of Holland, to the number of about 

 four hundred houses, which in those parts is held considerable. 



Upon one side of the town is James 1 Fort, capable of 

 lodging- three hundred soldiers and officers ; it has four bastions, 

 forty pieces of mounted cannon ; the walls of stone have a thick 

 rampart of earth ; well accommodated with a spring of fresh 

 water. Distant from the sea seven leagues, it affords a safe 

 entrance even to unskilful pilots ; under the town side, ships of 

 any burthen may ride secure against any storms, the current 

 of the river being broken by the interposition of a small island, 

 which lies a mile distant from the town. 



About ten miles from the town is a place called Hell s 

 Gate, which being a narrow passage, there runneth a violent 

 stream both upon flood and ebb, and in the middle lie some 

 rocky Islands, which the current sets so violently upon, that it 

 threatens present shipwreck, and upon the flood is a large 

 whirlwind which continually sends forth a hideous roaring, 

 enough to fright any stranger from passing further, and to wait 

 for some Charon to conduct him through, yet, to those that 

 are well acquainted with the place, there is little or no danger. 

 It is a place of great defence against any enemy coming 

 that way, which a small fortification would absolutely prevent 

 and oblige them coming in, at the west of Long Island, 

 by Sandy Hook, where Nutten Island forces them within the 

 command of the Fort, at New Amsterdam, which is one of the 

 best pieces of defence in the north parts of America. The 

 inhabitants have a considerable trade w r ith the Indians for beaver, 

 otter, and racoon skins, with other furs, as also for bear, deer, 

 and elk skins, and are supplied with venison and fowl in the 

 winter, and fish in the summer, by the Indians from whom they 

 buy these commodities at an easy rate. 



The Manhattan, Great River, being the principal, having 

 two mouths, wash the mighty island Watomvaks, and falls into 

 the Ocean. The southern mouth is called Port May , or Godnys 

 Bay. In the middle thereof lies an Island called the Staten 



