William Elliot Griffis

“ The columnar lines of the Palisades, frowning on the upper river's front and casting early and long afternoon shadows, mightily impressed men from a flat and sunken land. Their own writings show how handsomely the Netherlanders appraised their new possessions. ”

“ When Skipper Block's vessel caught fire and became ashes and scrap iron, the doughty Dutchman built a new yacht, the pioneer craft of the Empire State, the Onrust, or Restless, of sixteen tons. The map-makers had not yet known of the long sound stretching from Manhattan to Montauk. They had pictured New England as coming down to the ocean. From a hilltop on Manhattan, Block may have seen the agitated waters glistening in the morning sun, and named their place "Helder-Gat," or Shining Gate ”

“ So long as the wild animals, easily trapped or shot, carried a fortune on their backs, and the Indian demand was for metal goods and trinkets, nothing else paid like peltry. Besides, to fight the Spaniards and set Patria permanently free, ready cash was the first requirement.
Yet there were those who heeded the beckoning of the shining waters and listened to the call of the woods. Block left off "trucking," to win the prize promised to discoverers of new lands. We shall soon find him afloat. A new map meant credentials to fame. ”

“ Judging from the many sentimental names, such as Lapwing's Point, Vale of Swans, Clover Nook, Children's Corner, given by the Dutch in America, it is just as likely that the name "Hell" Gate (as in Helderberg, the Shining Hills) suggests heaven and its light, as their opposites. Yet it may be only the rough sailors' dubbing of a place difficult of navigation. He found the water, like the Hudson, salt, but he also learned by tasting that the big stream flowing in a rush from the north was sweet.
Spending several weeks in exploration, Block put down on his map the Fresh (Connecticut) River ”