rip van winkle and the legend of sleepy hollow 14

new York in the 1800s

Mr van tasel writes a letter to his brother in Holland.read the letter and learn about new York in the 1800s.

sleepy hollow October 28 1820 Dear peter

here I am in sleepy hollow in the state of new York.it is very quite place and it is full of farmers.my farm is very big.I have a lot of animals.vegetables and fruit trees. but I must work very hard.

every week I go to the city of new York to sell my products.I sell apples.pears.pumpkins.vegetables.milk.butter.cheese and eggs.I put them all on a boat and then go down the Hudson river to new York city.the people there like good food from the country.Of course I take food to a big market.because New York city is really big.about 150000 people live there.everyone moves about very quickly.the streets are wide with many horse drawn carriages.

I like looking at the big shops and tall buildings.especially in the business area.It is called Wall Street.New York has an important harbor with many factories near it.the ships in the harbor come from other american states or from Europe.

I am always surprised by the big number of immigrants from Ireland. Germany and other countries.there are not many Indians on the streets.but the once you can see still wear their native dress.

I hope you can come to visit me soon and see this cosmopolitan city.your brother B.