Excerpt from Days Afield on Staten Island Thus with some of the members of that collecting and tramping fraternity, of which the Island possesses a goodly number, I went afield, but more often I rambled alone. Nature seems to speak more directly to a lone rambler, and to a number of persons in company she rarely says a word. Two, at most, can tread evenly the same path. Can be touched by the same sense, and echo to each other with pleasant minor changes, the in uences of the way. In character these pages are miscellaneous as were the excursions they commemorate, and they might have been much extended, but perhaps a small potion of an untried compound will be preferred by the reader. It is the fashion to condemn, and I do not expect the majority to be at variance with that mood, but perhaps to some loiterer by the hedge-rows, I may speak sincerely, and he will prize the result of my humble effort to write something of nature and old Staten Island. W. T. D. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

Located at the entrance to New York Harbor, Staten Island has had a front-row seat to many of the comings and goings of the New World. From the early European explorers, such as Verrazano and Hudson, to the waves of immigrants coming in steerage, the island would be part of a gateway to a great continent. Some visitors stayed briefly, while others would go no further and would make the island their forever home. Those who called Staten Island home would include inventors, business leaders, writers, athletes, politicians, and artists. Some famous islanders include industry titan Cornelius Vanderbilt; inventor Antonio Meucci; Central Park visionary Frederick Law Olmsted; poet Edwin Markham; silent film star Mabel Normand; and singers Christina Aguilera, Joan Baez, and members of Wu-Tang Clan. All these would play a role in the development of Staten Island, a borough of New York City and sister to one of the world's great metropolises.