In 2009, New York observed the 400-year anniversary of Henry Hudson's September 1609 discovery of Manhattan Island. This book chronicles the event from the perspective of the people who met Hudson's boat-which they at first thought was surely a great waterfowl-floating. Using all available sources, including oral history passed down to today's Algonquins, Evan Pritchard tells the story from various perspectives: that of Hudson's body guard, scribe, and personal Judas, Robert Juet; that of Hudson himself; and that of the Eastern Algonquins who greeted Hudson as the fulfillment of ancient prophecies.