172 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER. 



General himself who breaks all his own horses. He is an excellent and 

 bold horseman, leaping the highest fences, and going extremely quick, 

 without standing upon his stirrups, bearing on the bridle, or letting his 

 horse run wild ; circumstances which our young men look upon as so 

 essential a part of English horsemanship, that they would rather break a 

 leg or an arm than renounce them. 



" It was off Verplanck's Point that Hudson's vessel, the ' Half Moon,' 

 came to an anchor on the 1st of October, 1609,® 



"Here he was visited by the native Highlander's, 6 who came nocking 

 to the ship, expressing their wonder and astonishment to behold a ves- 

 sel so superior to their canoes, and weapons so much more terrible than 

 their own. Anxious to carry away to their friends some part of this 

 floating world of wonders, and not satisfied with the trifles they received 

 in return for skins, one of the canoes with one man in it lurked about 

 the stern with a thievish tardiness, notwithstanding he was warned off. 

 Watching an opportunity, he at length crawled up the rudder into the 

 cabin window, and stole a pillow and a few articles of wearing apparel. 

 The mate, little anticipating that justice, though slow, is sure, and 

 would follow him even to the Arctic circle, shot at the poor pilferer and 

 killed him. The rest fled; panic struck, and in their precipitance, some 

 leaped into the water. The ship's boat was manned and sent to re- 

 cover the articles ; one of those who had leaped into the water got hold 

 of the boat for the purpose of overturning it, as was thought, but the 

 cook stood ready with his sword, and with one blow cut off one of his 

 hands, and he was drowned. This was the first Indian blood shed during 

 the voyage. With this mighty revenge for a trifling injury, they returned 

 to the ship, and weighed anchor near Teller's Point, off the mouth of 

 Croton river, near the entrance into Tappan Sea." 



Parsonage or Montrose's Point, sometimes styled "Parsonage Farm,'' 

 is separated from Verplanck's Point, on the north, by the creek Mea- 

 nagh. This Point or Farm, which originally consisted of one hundred 

 and seventy-two acres, was held simply by permission or lease, under 

 James Van Cortlandt, (the son of John, grandson of Stephen, the son of 

 De Herr Stephanus Van Cortlandt,) by the consistory of the Dutch Re- 

 formed church, until at last the law of limitation had given the latter 

 peaceable possession of the property, a claim which was strengthened by 

 an order of the Court of Chancery issued in 1835-6 giving the consistory 

 permission to sell. The "Parsonage Farm," was subsequently sold to 

 Stephen Lent for the sum of $2,750/ who disposed of it to different 

 proprietors. 



The old Dutch church, of Cortlandt Manor, stood on the Brotherson 

 farm at Montrose's Point, now owned by Frederick W. Seward, Assistant 



a Moulton & Yates Hist. N. Y., page 271. 



b The Wickapy Indians, whose principal settlements were in the vicinity of Anthony's Nose, 

 c Another account states that the title of the church became involved, after the Revolution- 

 ary war, and the property was sold to satisfy quit-rent. 



