—WASHINGTON IRVING, A History of New York from the Beginnings of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, 1809 The Dutch who came to New Netherlands fell in love with the lower Hudson and especially the island of Manhattan. Beginning with those first few days in the harbor on the three-masted Halve Maen, ecstatic descriptions began to flow. One of the officers, Robert Juet, wrote of the “pleasant” grass and flowers, the “goodly Trees,” and the “very sweet smell.” On the first day they rounded Sandy Hook and entered New York Harbor, he wrote in his journal, “This is a very good land to fall with, and a pleasant land to see.” The poet Jacob Steendam, who lived in New Netherlands from 1650 to 1660, called the area Eden. He wrote of “the purity of the air.” Several other Dutch and English made similar comments about Manhattan’s air, noting that as soon as a ship rounded Sandy Hook, a wind would blow a fresh breeze consistently described as sweet. There was considerable discussion of what could be the cause of this extraordinarily pleasant air.
