The narrative revolves around a historical dispute between New York and New Jersey over the ownership of Staten Island. The story centers around a race proposed by New York to determine the island's ownership. The race was to be completed in less than 24 hours, with the island going to the state that could encircle it in that time. Staten Island was the prize, described as the most commodious and richest land.
New Jersey, with its vast size and the slow speed of boats in the past, initially thought the island impossible to encircle in under a day. However, New York determined to expand her empire states and thought she had the man for the job - Captain Christopher Phillip. Captain Phillip lashed empty barrels to his ship to help catch the wind and make haste. This strategy made the difference, enabling him to win the race against time and encircle the island of Staten for New York in just over 23 hours.
This event earned Captain Phillip historical immortality in books, articles, and on Wikipedia. Today, the estate on Staten Island still stands, housing a Historical Museum and park for the local Staten Island Yorkers. The narrative also discusses the ambiguity of the race, whether it was individually or all islands at once, and the inconsistencies in the sources.
The narrative also delves into the confusion caused by the existence of two individuals named Christopher Billup, one a captain and the other a colonel, both living on Billet Manor, Staten Island. The narrator's investigation into the history of the race and the island's ownership leads to the discovery of the first written records of the tale being lost to history. The narrative concludes with the narrator's realization that the story is a tale, not a historical fact, and the end of the footnote trail.
1. The text is a narrative about a historical event involving New York and New Jersey, where islands between them were disputed territory.
2. The event was a race, proposed by New York, to determine which state could encircle the islands in less than 24 hours.
3. Staten Island was the main prize, described as the most commodious and richest land.
4. New Jersey initially thought the island was impossible to encircle in under a day due to the size of the island and the slow speed of boats in the past.
5. New York determined to expand her empire states and thought she had the man for the job, Captain Christopher Phillip.
6. Captain Phillip lashed empty barrels to his ship to help catch the wind and make haste.
7. This strategy made the difference, allowing New York to win the race against time and encircle the most commodious island of Staten for New York in just over 23 hours.
8. The event earned Captain Phillip historical immortality in books, articles, and on Wikipedia.
9. The ambiguity of the event is discussed, with questions about whether the race was around each island individually or all islands at once.
10. The text mentions a 200-year gap between the event and the time of the article, which raises questions about the reliability of the sources.
11. The text also discusses the confusion caused by the existence of two individuals named Christopher Billup, one a captain and the other a colonel, both living on Billet Manor, Staten Island.
12. The text mentions that the race took a little over 23 hours according to the New York Times, but the Staten Islander 1911 says the race took exactly 23 hours and 37 minutes.
13. The ship used in the race is sometimes described as an Atlantic crossing vessel with cannons, and sometimes as Captain Billup's personal boat.
14. The text mentions that the tale of the race has evolved over time, becoming more clever and cute, and has survived the centuries by being a "Lady Godiva" story.
15. The text discusses the search for the first written records of the event, which are lost to history.
16. The text mentions that the first tall tale teller about the event was a man named Dis Away, who lived from 1798 to 1868.
17. The text mentions that the first written records of the event are lost to history, and the search for them is described as a "footnote trail".
18. The text mentions that the only place on earth with surviving physical copies of the Richmond County Gazette, where the first story about Captain Phillip and the event was published, is the New York Public Library.
19. The text mentions that the lost volumes of the Richmond County Gazette are listed as missing in the library's archive of old and rare books.
20. The text mentions that the Billet Museum, where the event supposedly took place, is closed.
21. The text concludes with the narrator expressing disappointment that the event is over and that there is nothing else to see on the island of Staten.