4.94 Natural History Tour 
storm, was upset, and all hands perished. A calm spectator 
would have found no difficulty in discriminating the character 
of many on this occasion. The captain, whose bold, placid, 
determined look, broad shoulders, and masculine figure, indi- 
cated any thing but fear, was solicited to run back into port: 
he was not, however, to be daunted with a black cloud, the 
pealings of thunder, or signs of a gale, and guessed we éshould 
be in Newburgh by daybreak. 
At 10 P.M. the wind had risen almost to a hurricane, and 
veered unpropitiously to the north ; the thunder and lightning 
were tremendous, and the rain fell in torrents. We were 
now making a great deal of lee-way, and instead of reaching 
Newburgh at daybreak, as our worthy captain had guessed, 
we were driven back to within a few miles of New York. 
Contrary to the feelings of many of my fellow-passengers, I 
was not sorry at this circumstance ; ; the bustle and confusion 
of last evening had rendered it difficult to collect any inform- 
ation, or sketch the romantic scenery which the shore of this 
place presented, and which I was so anxious to obtain. 
The following, though a rough picture (fg. 124.), will, how- 
ever, convey to you a ‘better idea of this place than any thing 
I should be able to add in any other way. 
124 
Near the place marked 1 is Hoboken Ferry, the duelling 
eround, and the monument of General Hamilton. At 2 are 
found in a state of great purity the hydrate and carbonate of 
magnesia in secondary limestone, and in connection with rich 
veins of serpentine and soapstone, or talcose rock, about 15 ft. 
or 20 ft. below the surface. Native magnesia also occurs on 
Siaten Island, in the bay of, and about fifteen miles from, New 
York. But what makes this place still more interesting to 
the naturalist, beautiful specimens of amianthus, and other 
varieties of asbestos, traverse in interrupted veins the serpen- 
tine stratum. 3, the Bluffs of Weehawk, and the com- 
mencement of what is called the Palisado Ridge. This ridge 
extends about forty miles north on the west side of the river, 
