"There is another story told of this foul-weather urchin," says the romancer, "by Skipper Daniel Ouselesticker, of Fishkill, who was never known to tell a lie. He dedared that, in a severe squall, he saw him seated astride of his bowsprit riding the sloop ashore, full butt against Anthony's Nose, and that he was exorcised by Dominie Van Giesen, of Esopus, who happened to be on board, and who sang the hymn of St. Nicholas, whereupon the goblin threw himself up in the air like a ball, and went off in a whirlwind, carrying away with him the night-cap of the dominie's wife, which was discovered the next Sunday morning hanging on the weather-cock of Esopus church steeple, at least forty miles off."

A sketch is given (p. 14) of one of those storm scenes at the Donder Berg, in made by the writer many years ago, when the steam-engine of an immense pumping apparatus of a coffer-dam was in operation at the foot of the great hill. The story of that coffer-damn, in all its details, forms one of the most remarkable of the romances of the Hudson. It may only be given here in faint outline.

Many years ago an iron cannon was by accident brought up by an anchor from the bottom of the river at that point. It was suggested that it belonged to the pirate ship of Captain Kidd. A speculator caught the idea, and boldly proclaimed, in the face of recorded history to the contrary, that Kidd's ship had been sunken at that point, with untold treasures on board.

The story went abroad that the deck had been penetrated by a very long auger, which encountered hard substances, and its thread was shown with silver attached, which, it was declared, had been brought up from the vessel. The story was believed. A stock company was formed to procure the treasures by the means of a coffer-dam around the sunken vessel. For days, weeks, and months the engine worked on the coffer-dam. One New York merchant put $20,000 into the enterprise. The speculator took large commissions, until the hopes of the stockholders failed and the work ceased. Nothing may be seen there now but the ruins of the works so began close at the water's edge. At that point a bateau was sunk by a shot from the Vulture while conveying the captured iron cannon from Stony Point to West Point after the victory by Wayne. The cannon brought up by the anchor was doubtless one of these.