Hi Linda:

Reading your message, I recalled a reference to this I'd seen in one of the
Weise (Arthur) histories of Troy (Probably either Troy's Hundred Years, or
The City of Troy and Its Vicinity) and I hunted down the notes I'd taken at
the time. Here's what I took from Weise:

"A great freshet in March, 1647, caused the water in the river to rise  to
such a great height it was said that two whales ascended the river. One of
them allegedly beached on an island which is now covered by water just above
the state dam. It is said the ³fish² was ³tolerably fat² for though the
people of Rensselaerwyck broiled out a great quantity of train oil, still
the whole river--the current still being rapid -- was oily for three weeks
and covered with grease. While the whale lay rotting, the air was infected
with its stench to such a degree that the smell was offensive and
perceptible for a distance of two miles leeward."

Marianne Briggs

[log in to unmask]


on 3/28/02 5:21 AM, Poor House Lady at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Here is the link to a Christian Science Monitor newspaper article published
> today titled "A whale of a tale from old Albany" about a new musical score,
> "The Beverwijck Overture."  It is based on the account by Antony de Hooges,
> a Dutch colonial official, of the March 29, 1647, (355 years ago
> tomorrow)sighting of a snow-white whale which swam up the Hudson near what's
> now Albany, N.Y. http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0328/p11s03-algn.html
>
> Jim...anybody...know more about this?  I had never heard of it; and it
> sounds fascinating.
>
> Linda Crannell
> (aka=The Poorhouse Lady)