Morning journal and courier., 1891-02-03
(Copyrighted.1 LONG ISLAND SOUND.

CCopyrighted3
 LONG ISLAND SOUND. Its Early Approaches-An Interest ing Historical Discovery Made In London - Touching Our Coast - A Valuable Paper Read by Captain 0. HI. Townshend Before the New Haven Colony Historical Society.
 (CoNTINUED.) find from journal under date of Jan uary and June, 1889, of the third voyage to New England of David Peterson de vries, master of artillery in the united province of Holland, to erect colony on Staten Island for himself and Frederick de Vries, secretary of the city of Amsterdam and director of the Dutch West India com pany, the following entries, which add their mite to the early history of Long Island sound and the settlement of Roodeberg New Haven) and Connecticut (Hartford): {.
 January Q663), send my people to Sta ten Island to commence the colony and @ yacht Cup the Versche rivier Connecticut river), where the West India company pos sessed small fort called huys de Hoop, and anchored about even in the eastern haven, being large commodious haven on the north of Long Island. This haven is in the island and is upward of two miles wide. We found fine oysters there also. The Dutch call it Oyster bay or haven. We arrive next evening, June 5, at Roodeberg, fine haven, and found the English were building fine town, having already erect handsome church. The July following the ship St. John, Captain Russell, with Whitfield and Fenwick, arrived, according to Davenport's letters to Lady We're, and our harbor was named the Fair haven. This was the first English ship we have record of as entering our port; the next one was the Castle and then probably Gov ernor Eaton's ship, the Fellowship.1 In the morning of the 7th we came opposite the Versche river. We went up the river and on the 9th arrived with my yacht at the Fort Het Huys de Hoop, where we found one Guisbert Van Dyck as commander, with fourteen or fifteen soldiers. This fort is situated near the river and small creek, forming there fall. The English had also begun to build there town (Hartford) against our will and had al- ready fine church and more than hun dred houses erected. The commander gave me orders to protest against their proceedings. He added that some of his soldiers had prohibited them to to put 8 plough into the ground, as it was our land that we had bought of the Indians and paid for; but they opposed them, and had giv- en a drubbing to the soldiers. When I came to the settlement the English gov ernor (Haynes) invited me to dinner. | told him during dinner that he acted very | improperly in taking the lands of the com | pany, which were bought and paid for by them. He answered me that these lands | were laying uncultivated; that we had been here already several years, and noth- ing was done to improve the ground; that | it was sin to leave 70 valuable land un- | cultivated, such fine crops could be raised upon them; that they had now already built three towns on this river, in which was an abundance of salmon, etc. The English here live soberly. They drink only three times at every meal, and those who become drunk are whipped on pole, as the thieves are | in Holland.
 l June 14.-I took leave of the Huys de Hoop, and arrived the next morning at the mouth of the river. We passed several places where the English were building, and arrived about evening at the Manattes, l opposite Fort Amsterdam, when we learned the arrival of two vessels from Holland; the one a company's ship, den Harnink, | Trogen, from Hoorn, laden with cattle, be- longing to Joachim Prieterz,a a former com l mander in the East Indies for the king of | Denmark.
 The distinguished Dutch colonist and author, Adrian Wander Donck, IL. D. l (who enjoyed the distinction of having been the first lawyer at New Amsterdam l where he arrived in barke of the Patroo1 Kellern Van Ransselar in the autumn o1 1642) In his history of the New Neither lands he mentions the East river Qone Island sound) known now to the citizens of Connecticut and New York as tn, sound. The East river of our day is tha part of this arm of the sea which reache from Throg's Neck Fort Schuyler) to Gov ernor's Island, off the battery in the ba, of New York.
 ! Of the East river, Long Island sound he says, ''the river is thus named becaus it extends eastward from the city of Ney Amsterdam. By some, this river is helt to be the arm of the sea or a bay becaus it is very wide in some places and because both ends of the same are connected witl and empty into the ocean. This subtilt, notwithstanding, we adopt the common opinion and hold it to be river. Be then river or bay, as men will please tt name it, still is one of the best, most fit most convenient places and most advan tageous accommodation which countr, can possess or desire for the followin, reasons: Long Island, which is about fort miles in length, makes this river. Thi river and most of the creeks, bays and in lets joining the same are navagable in win ter and in summer without much danger The river Uong Island soun0 also afford safe and convenient passage at all sea sons to those who desire to sail east o | and fhn ioy the outside passage is more dangerous Most of the English (of New England) wh, wished to go south, to Virginia, t, South river Delaware bay) or t. other southern places, passed througl this river, which brings no smal traffic and advantage to the city of Ney Amsterdam. This also causes the Englis] to frequent our harbors to which they ar invited for safety. Lastly; this river i famous on account of it's convenient bays inlets, havens, rivers and creeks on botl and on the side of the fast or main land In the Netherlands no such place known"
 "But let us return to the continent Here first bay discloses itself, (whicl some consider a river) called Nassa, (Buzzards Bay) six miles wide at it's en trance, which is obstructed by islands and about eight fathoms deep; afterward it becomes narrower terminating as i were in point, with depth of four, ant five, and sometimes nine fathoms, excep in the extreme recess where it is nor shallow. It is surrounded by pleasan and fertile country inhabited by sturd, Barbarians who are difficult of access, no being accustomed yet to intercourse witl strangers. At the distance of twenty-on miles west of this bay, there i another bay divided by an isl and at Rhode Island) it's en trance, so that 1t has two names for the part on the east is called Anchor and that on the west Sloope Bay. Th savages who dwell around this bay ar called Wapenokes, though it is said b, others that the western side is inhabite, by the Narragansetts. Twenty-four mile or thereabouts beyond we enter a yer, large bay Long Island sound, enclosed b land for long distance, or rather b islands intersected by channels, of whicl there is great number, until we reache, the mouth of the great river Hudson There are also numerous small islands, t which no particular names have beel given; navigators take the liberty o changing them arbitrarily. Near tn ~~cA L T.