Although we may commence the history of New York with the arrival of the first Europeans in 1609–or the men accompanying Verrazzano in 1524–the Munsee branch of the Lenape (later named by Europeans the Delaware Indians) could argue for a date far earlier. Manhattan is a phonetic interpretation of a word in the Munsee dialect meaning (among other offered etymologies) “hilly island.” Some of the Lenape trails would survive as urban thoroughfares, while others would be obliterated by the grid plan. But from the Dutch and English perspective, Henry Hudson and the crew of the Half Moon “discovered” New York.

Presented below is an extract from the journal of Robert Juet. The next post will offer an early (1614) account of the voyage; the post after that will detail Hudson’s arrival from the Native American point of view. Juet, by the way also sailed with Hudson on his next–the fourth and final–journey to the New World; he was one of the mutinneers who sent his captain off in an open boat to meet his fate.

Journal aboard the Half Moon, 1609

Sept. 4: In the morning as soon as the day was light, we saw that it was good riding farther up. So we sent our boat to sound, and found that it was a very good harbour; and four and five fathoms, two cables length from the shore. Then we weighed and went in with our ship. Then our boat went on land with our net to fish, and caught ten great mullets, of a foot and a half long a piece and a ray as great as four men could haul into the ship. So we trimmed our boat and rode still all day. At night the wind blew hard at the north-west, and our anchor came home, and we drove on shore, but took no hurt, thanked be God, for the ground is soft sand and ooze. This day the people of the country came aboard of us, seeming very glad of our coming, and brought green tobacco, and gave us of it for knives and beads. They go in deer skins loose, well dressed. They have yellow copper. They desire clothes, and are very civil. They have great store of maize or Indian wheat, whereof they made good bread. The country is full of great and tall oaks.

Sept. 5: In the morning as soon as the day was light, the wind ceased and the flood came. So we heaved off our ship again into five fathoms water, and sent our boat to sound the bay, and we found that there was three fathoms hard by the southern shore. Our men went on land there, and saw great store of men, women and children, who gave them tobacco at their coming on land. So they went up into the woods, and saw great store of very goodly oaks, and some currants. For one of them came aboard and brought some dried, and gave me some, which were sweet and good. This day many of the people came aboard, some in mantles of feathers, and some in skins of divers sorts of good furs. Some women also came to us with hemp. They had red copper tobacco pipes, and other things of copper they did wear about their necks. At night they went on land again, so we rode very quiet, but durst not trust them.

Sunday, Sept. 6: In the morning was fair weather, and our master sent John Colman, with four other men in our boat over to the north side to sound the other river, being four leagues from us. They found by the way shoal water two fathoms; but at the north of the river eighteen, and twenty fathoms, and and very good riding for ships; and a narrow river to the westward between two islands. The land they told us were as pleasant with grass and flowers, and goodly trees, as ever they had seen, and very sweet smells came from them. So they went in two leagues and saw an open sea, and returned; and as they came back, they were set upon by two canoes, the one have twelve, the other fourteen men. The night came on and it began to rain so that their match went out; and they had one man slain in the fight which was an Englishman, named John Colman, with an arrow shot into his throat, and two more hurt. It grew so dark that they could not find the ship that night, but laboured to and fro on their oars. They had so great a stream that their grapnel would not hold them.

Sept 7: Was fair, and by ten o’clock they returned aboard the ship, and brought our dead man with them, whom we carried on land and buried, and named the point after his name. Colman’s Point. Then we hoisted in our boat and raised her side with waste boards for defence of our men. So we rode still all night, having good regard to our watch.

Sept. 8: Was very fair weather, we rode still very quietly. The people came aboard us, and brought tobacco and Indian wheat, to exchange for knives and beads, and offered us no violence. So we fitting up our boat did mark them, to see if they would make any show of death of our man; which they did not.

Sept. 9: Fair weather. In the morning, two great canoes came aboard full of men; the one with their bows and arrows, and the other in show of buying of knives to betray us; but we perceived their intent. We took two of them to have kept them and put red coats on them and would not suffer the other to come near us. So they went on land, and two others came abord in a canoe; we took the one and let the other go; but he which we had taken, got up and leaped over-board. Then we weighed and went off into the channel of the river, and anchored there all night.

Sept. 10: Fair weather, we rode till twelve o’clock. Then we weighed and went over, and found it shoal all the middle of the river, for we could find but two fathoms and a half, and three fathoms for the space of a league; then we came to three fathoms, and anchored, and rode all night in soft oozy ground. The bank is sand.

Sept.11: Was fair and very hot weather. At one o’clock in the afternoon, we weighed and went into the river, the wind at south-south-west, little wind. Our soundings were seven, six, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, twelve, thirteen and fourteen fathoms. Then it shoaled again, and came to five fathoms. Then we anchored and saw that it was a very good harbour for all winds, and rode all night. The people of the country came aboard of us, making show of love, and gave us tobacco and Indian wheat, and departed for that night; but we durst not trust them.

Sept. 12: Very fair and hot. In the afternoon at two o’clock we weighed, the wind being variable, between the north and the north-west; so we turned into the river two leagues and anchored. This morning at our first rode in the river, there came eight and twenty canoes full of men, women and children to betray us; but we saw their intent, and suffered none of them to come aboard us. At twelve o’clock they departed. They brought with them oysters and beans, whereof we bought some. They have great tobacco pipes of yellow copper, and pots of earth to dress their meat in. It floweth south-east by south within.

Sunday, Sept. 13: Fair weather; the wind northerly; at seven o’clock in the morning, as the flood came we weighed and turned four miles into the river; the tide being done we anchored. Then there came four canoes aboard, but we suffered none of them to come into our ship; they brought very great store of very good oysters aboard, which we bought for trifles. In the night I set the variation of the compass, and found it to be 13 degrees. In the afternoon we weighed and turned in with the flood two leagues and a half further and anchored all night, and had five fathoms soft oozy ground, and had a high point of land, which shewed out to us, bearing north by east five leagues of us.

Sept. 14: In the morning being very fair weather, the wind south-east, we sailed up the river twelve leagues, and had five fathoms and five fathoms and a quarter less, and came to a strait between two points, and had eight, nine and ten fathoms; and it trended north-east by north one league, and we had twelve, thirteen and fourteen fathoms; the river is a mile board; there is very high land on both sides. Then we went up north-west, a league and a half deep water; then north-east by north five miles; then north-west by north two leagues and anchored. The land grew very high and mountainous; the river is full of fish.

Sept. 15: The morning was misty until the sun arose, then it cleared; so we weighed with the wind at south, and ran up into the river twenty leagues, passing by high mountains. We had a very good depth, as six, seven, eight, nine, ten, twelve, and thirteen fathoms, and great store of salmon in the river. This morning our two savages got out of a port and swam away. After we were under sail they called to us in scorn. At night we came to other mountains, which lie from the river’s side; there we found very loving people, and very old men, where we were well used. Our boat went to fish, and caught great store of very good fish.