Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919). New York. 1906.
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| anchor off Manhattan Island lost his vessel by fire. He at once set about building another, and being a man of great resource and resolution, succeeded. Creating everything for himself, and working in the heart of the primeval forest, he built and launched a forty-five-foot yacht which he christened the Onrest (the Restless), fit name for the bark of one of these daring, ever-roaming adventurers. This primitive pioneer vessel was the first ever launched in our waters, and her keel was the first which ever furrowed the waters of the Sound. |
| The first trading and exploring ships did well, and the merchants saw that great profits could be made from the Manhattan fur-trade. Accordingly, they determined to establish permanent posts at the head of the river and at its mouth. The main fort was near the mouth of the Mohawk, but they also built a few cabins at the south end of Manhattan Island, and left therein half a dozen of their employees, with Hendrik Christiansen as head man over both posts. The great commercial city of New York thus had its origin, not unfittingly, in a cluster of traders’ huts. From this obscure beginning was to spring one of the mightiest cities of any age, marvelous alike for its wonderfully rapid growth and its splendid material prosperity. From the outset the new town, destined to be the largest in the New World, |