Excerpt from The Van Gelder Papers: And Other SketchesMany years ago a friend of mine, Mr. John Quod, prepared to write a history of Long Island. He was a man of thorough research, and did not confine his investigations to books alone. He examined the whole country from Coney Island to Montauk Point, and in particular, visited the spots therein rendered classic by the deeds of departed worthies.The information thus derived he committed to paper - nor did he reject certain portions of it because they happened to be of an unusual character.He did not live to complete his work. After his death his papers came into my hands, and in compliance with his written request, I submit a portion of them to the public, by whom I hope they will be properly appreciated.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis 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.