A quarrel with the Indians inaugurated the first day’s work at the mouth of the Hudson, as it had done that on the Penobscot; but the death of one Englishman, a certain John Colman, was in this case the only untoward result. The whole of the shores of the Bay of New York were thoroughly explored, and the great river itself, named after its discoverer, was then entered. Past the low shores of Manhattan Island, and into the vast expanses of the Tappan Zee and Haverstroo, sailed the _Half Moon_, entering beyond them the lovely scenery of the Highlands, which rise abruptly to a height of some 1,200 to 1,600 feet on either side of the broad waters of the Hudson, until at last the mighty Catskill Mountains, stretching away in silent grandeur on the right bank of the river near its junction with the Mohawk, were sighted, and navigation became difficult, the stream daily growing shallower and shallower. Illustration: THE HALF MOON AT THE MOUTH OF THE HUDSON. On the 18th August, 1609, Hudson landed near the site of a town now bearing his name, where he was most hospitably entertained by an old chieftain. On the 19th he passed the site of the present Albany, and on the 22d he came to the rocky promontory close to which the modern village of _Half Moon_ now stands, at which point he decided to retrace his steps, the river being apparently too shallow for further navigation. The return trip down the Hudson was, alas! darkened by a terrible act of oppression on the part of the white men. An Indian, one of a crowd of visitors who had come down from the mountain to see the wonders on board the _Half Moon_, was carrying off a few trifling articles he had stolen, when he was detected by the mate, who at once shot him dead. A general _mêlèe_ ensued, the natives were hotly pursued by Hudson’s men, and, though only one other was then killed, the next day a party of dusky warriors bore down upon the European vessel; a fierce struggle took place, and though the Dutch were victorious, all hope of further exploration was at an end. Differences with his superior officers, and quarrels among his crew, added to the difficulties of Hudson; and when, in November, 1609, he put into Dartmouth Harbor after having made one of the greatest discoveries of the day, he found himself in disgrace both with the English Government and his Dutch employers, who were each jealous of the other. To make our story complete, we may add that, after a vexatious delay at Dartmouth, Hudson resumed service under the Muscovy Company, and, with its sanction, sailed in the spring of 1610 on the fatal voyage which resulted in the discovery of the great bay bearing his name. Sailing north-westward, in an English vessel, with a crew of twenty-three men, Hudson reached Greenland in June, and made his way thence without delay to the wide strait giving access to the vast inland sea now known as Hudson’s Bay.