considerable amount had been deposited, and proceeded up the river to commit similar ravages upon the towns of the adjacent counties. They were, however, soon compelled to return to New York. During the whole war of the revolution, this county was neu. tral ground between the two contending armies-the British lines being generally in the neighborhood of Kingsbridge, and those of the American army in the neighborhood of White Plains. The territory between these two armies was infested by a gang of marauders attached to each army. That belonging to the British army was principally composed of tories of the most infamous character, who were denominated "Cowboys." The American gang were equally unprincipled, and had received the title of" Skinners." The inhabitants of the county were plundered by each in turn, and dispirited by their sufferings and losses, looked on all whom they met, as foes. It was in this county that in September, 1780, Andre was captured, on his return from the interview in which Arnold had consummated his treason. The place of his capture was in the town of Greensburgh, about a fourth of a mile north of the village of Tarrytown. The names of his captors were Isaac Van Wart, John Paulding and David Williams. They were militia men, and had been on an expedition to rescue some property taken the previous night by the Cowboys. They were concealed for this object, when Andre, disguised as a citizen, passed on the road near them, on horseback. They stopped him, and, losing his presence of mind, he exclaimed, "Gentlemen, I hope you belong to our party." One of them enquired, "what party ?" Andre replied, "the lower party." They answered "we do," and Andre at once declared himself a British officer, on urgent business, and begged to be suffered to proceed without delay. Paulding then informed him that they were Americans, and Andre immediately produced the pass with which Arnold had furnished him, and professed that his former statement was a falsehood, invented to enable him to escape from arrest by the British patroles. Their suspicions, were, however, aroused, and they insisted upon searching him, and found papers in his stockings, proving his real character and his purposes. He offered them immense rewards if they would permit him to escape, but in vain. They delivered him to their commanding officer, Colonel Jamieson, then stationed at North Castle, who imprudently suffered him to apprise Arnold of his arrest. He was tried by a court martial and sentenced to be hung as a spy, and was accordingly executed at Tappan, October 2d, 1780. Each of his captors were rewarded by Congress with a farm worth $1250, an annuity of $200 for life, and an elegant silver medal with the inscription on one side "Fidelity," and on the other "Amor vincit Patriæ,"-The love of country conquers. VILLAGES. WHITE PLAINS, one of the county seats, is a pleasant village on the Bronx river. It has an academy and a female seminary, both in a prosperous condition. BEDFORD, the other half shire village, in the town of the same name, is a small place, only important as being the county seat. It has a female seminary. Singsing, in the town of Ossinsing, is delightfully situated on the bank of the Hudson. From the village, the prospect of Hudson river, forming Tappan bay, in connection with the distant mountains, and the lofty wall of the palisades, is hardly surpassed by any other in the Union. The Mount Pleasant academy and female seminary are both excellent institutions, well located, and occupying elegant edifices. The Croton aqueduct bridge, a noble structure, here crosses the Singsing creek by a single arch of eighty-eight feet span, and is 100 feet in height. There are several extensive quarries of marble, worked by convicts. The Mount Pleasant State Prison located here, on the bank of the Hudson, is an immense marble structure. The main building is 484 feet long, forty-four wide, and five stories high, containing 1000 cells. Connected with it are workshops of different kinds, and apartments for the keepers,-all built of marble. The female prison, also of marble, of the Ionic order, stands on elevated ground, and has nearly 100 cells, besides apartments for the matron. All these buildings were erected by the convicts. The name given to the town, Ossinsing, is of Indian origin, and signifies" the place of stone." Population about 2600. Peekskill, in the town of Cortland, is pleasantly situated on Peekskill bay, a beautiful expansion of the Hudson. It is famous for having been the head quarters of both Washington and Putnam. The small one story house occupied by the latter, is still standing. The Peekskill academy, located on Oak hill, near the village, is situated but a short distance from the spot where the tory spies, Strang and Palmer, already mentioned, were executed. The village has some manufactures. Population, 3,000. Tarrytown, in the town of Greensburgh, is finely situated on the Hudson, and contains the Irving Institute, and the Greenbank female seminary, both schools of high reputation. The village has some trade with New York city. Population about 1000. The capture of Andre near this village, has been already noticed. Near it too is the far famed "Sleepy Hollow," whose legend, Washington Irving has rendered immortal. Mr. Irving resides about two miles below the village, in an ancient Dutch mansion, known as the Van Tassel house, which the former proprietor forfeited by his adherence to the British interests. New Rochelle is pleasantly situated on Long Island Sound, and is a favorite resort for the fashionable from New York, during the summer months. Its first settlers were Huguenots, who named it from their native residence, Rochelle, in France. Many of their descendants still reside here. It has one male and two female boarding schools. Steamboats ply between the village and New York, daily. Dobb's Ferry is only worthy of notice from its historic interest. 1. Hurley, 1789. Mountains. P. Shawangunk ⚫ termination of Kaatsbergs. Rivers, &c. C. Hudson river. V. Shawangunk. a. Esopus creek f. Rondout. g. Wallkill river. Falls. Honk's falls. Lakes. k. Shin's lake. Battle Fields. Kingston. Wawarsing. Villages. KINGSTON. Rondout. Saugerties, or Ulster. New Paltz. Wawarsing. BOUNDARIES. North by Delaware and Greene counties; East by the Hudson river; South by Orange county; and West by Sullivan county. SURFACE. Mountainous. The Shawangunk mountains enter the county from Orange, and traverse it in a north-easterly direction, for nearly thirty miles, approaching the Hudson at Kingston. The Blue mountains, a continuation of the Allegany chain, enter the county from Sullivan county, and spread over its western section, mingling in the northern part with the Catskill range. They are said to rise, in some places, to the height of 2000 feet. Between these and the Shawangunk mountains, is a broad valley through which flows the Rondout creek. RIVERS. Beside the Hudson which washes its eastern border, the principal streams of the county are the Wallkill and Shawangunk rivers, and Esopus and Rondout creeks, with their tributaries. The Nevisink river also takes its rise in this county. FALLS. The Rondout, at Honk's falls, descends by a succession of cascades, 200 feet, sixty feet of which is by a single cataract. LAKES. In the northern and western section of the county are several small lakes or ponds. One of the most important of these is Shin's lake, the source of one of the tributaries of Esopus creek. CANALS. The Delaware and Hudson Canal extends through the county. CLIMATE. The mountainous districts are somewhat cold and subject to early frosts. The climate in the valleys is mild and delightful. The county is considered salubrious. GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. Nearly the whole county belongs to the transition formation, being based upon slate, which is overlaid with limestone. The primary rocks, particularly granite, occasionally appear on the surface, but only in beds of small extent. The minerals are blue limestone, containing fossils, much used as a building material; hydraulic lime of fine quality, and in great abundance; excellent marble; marl, slate, sulphur, alum, plumbago, (usually called black lead,) zinc ore, several of the mineral pigments, millstones, said to be little inferior to the French, peat, &c. There are also several sulphur springs of some celebrity. A number of skeletons of the mastodon have been discovered in this county. SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil varies with the surface, being barren upon the mountains, fertile on the lower hills, and composed of a deep vegetable mould, of exhaustless fertility, in the extensive valleys. The application of marl, which is abundant in the county, would render those portions naturally sterile, highly productive. It is well adapted to grazing. The timber of the county is oak, hickory, black walnut, pine and hemlock. PURSUITS. A majority of the inhabitants are engaged in agriculture. More attention is devoted to the rearing of cattle and to the dairy, than to the grain culture, although corn, oats, and buckwheat are raised in considerable quantities. Manufactures are also a popular pursuit. The manufactures of the county amounted, in 1845, to nearly two and a half millions of dollars. Leather, lumber, flour, iron, cotton and woollen goods, hydraulic cement, oil, paper, furniture, white lead, and distilled and malt liquors, are the principal articles manufactured. Commerce. The Delaware and Hudson canal brings to tide water immense quantities of coal and lumber, most of which is shipped for New York, and other ports. This business gives employment to about 600 canal boats, and eighty sloops and schooners. Several steamboats are also owned in the county, and ply between the ports on the Hudson and New York city. Mines. The quarries of marble and limestone furnish employment to considerable numbers. STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Butter, corn, oats, buckwheat, wool, and lumber. SCHOOLS. There were in the county, in 1846, 181 district schoolhouses, in which schools were taught an average period of nine months each. 11,547 children received instruction at a cost for tuition of about $20,000. The district libraries contained 26,780 volumes. There were in the county, the same year, forty private schools, with 811 pupils; two academies and two female seminaries with 135 pupils. RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Dutch Reformed, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Friends, Episcopalians, and Roman Catholics. There are seventy churches, and sixty-one clergymen, of all denominations. HISTORY. A trading house, or fort, was probably erected in this county as early as 1615 or 16, in the neighborhood of Kingston. At how early a period settlements were made in other sections of the county is uncertain. The frequent references to the settlements at Esopus, as the vicinity of the fort was called in the Dutch records, show that it had early become a location of some importance. Situated about midway between the city of New Amsterdam and the colony of Rensselaerwyck, whose inhabitants did not always maintain the most friendly relations with each other, and with the Indians, it was more exposed to Indian hostilities than most of the other settlements. In 1657, Van der Donk, the ex-attorney general, who resided at Esopus, slew a squaw for stealing peaches from his garden, and her tribe revenged the murder by killing several of the |