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COLLECTIONS 
 
 3 ^/ 
 "NEW-YORK ^^^ 
 
 HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 SECOND SERIES 
 
 VOLUME I 
 
 Is het schoonste landt om te bouwen als ick oijt mijn leven met voeten betrat. — 
 It IS the finest countn' for cultivation that I ever in my life set foot upon. 
 
 Hudson's Journal, qcoted by De Laet. 
 
 NE W-Y O R K: 
 PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY, 
 
 BV H. LUDWIG, 72 VESEY-STREET. 
 1841. 
 
Fii^ 
 
 
 Entered according So Act of Congress, in tlic year 1841, 
 By GEORGE FOLSOM, 
 
 FOR THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 in the District Court of the Southern Dtstriet of New-York. 
 
 Mf umnriar 
 9 ielflOl 
 
PREFACE. fV 
 
 The volume now presented to the public, the first in a new se- 
 ries of the Collections of the New-York Historical Society, is 
 almost exclusively taken up with the annals of the Dutch colonists 
 by whom the arts of civilization were originally planted on the 
 banks of the Hudson. A noble commonwealth has sprung up with- 
 in the limits of their ancient jurisdiction, now rivalling in popula- 
 tion and extent some of the monarchies of the old world. Be- 
 ginning with the first glimpses of a discovery of our sea-coast, it 
 has been our aim to bring together the earliest notices of Hudson's 
 memorable voyage that disclosed the existence of ' the great river 
 of the mountains,' now better known under the name of the naviga- 
 tor himself, and to collect the scattered traces of the first attempts 
 to colonize the country. The primitive settlements on Manhattan 
 island and near Albany — the gradual spread of population into the 
 interior — the perils and hardships — the difficulties and embarrass- 
 ments, with which the early colonists had to contend, and their 
 final triumph over them all — respectively come under consideration 
 in the following pages. Yet it should be recollected, that we give 
 in most instances only the materials of history — the original docu- 
 ments to which historians must resort for their guidance — and 
 therefore naked facts and unembellished statements are all that can 
 be expected in the volume.* 
 
 It is remarked by Grahame, in his recent elaborate work upon 
 the history of North America, that " Founders of ancient colo- 
 nies have sometimes been deified by their successors. New-York 
 is perhaps the only commonwealth whose founders have been 
 covered with ridicule from the same quarter." Whatever may be 
 thought of the wit and talent displayed in the well-known travesty 
 here alluded to, the regret has oftenbeen expressed that asonof New 
 
 * Lambrechtsen's work would be an exception to this remark in point of 
 style, had it been translated with the elegance of the original. See a fine 
 article upon it, in the ninth volume of the North American Review, (June* 
 1819,) from the pen of Mr. Verplanck. 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 York should have seen fit to make the fathers of the republic the 
 subjects of a ' coarse caricature,' in which the inventive ingenuity of 
 the author is only equalled by the grossness of his conceptions. 
 The efibrt was well suited to the English notions of the Dutch char- 
 acter, too common, perhaps, among ourselves, and thus easily ac- 
 quired an ill-deserved popularity. 
 
 " English writers," says Mr. Verplanck, in his learned dis- 
 course before this Society, " have long been accustomed to 
 describe the manners and customs of Holland with a broad and 
 clumsy exaggeration. This is a little injudicious in them, because 
 most of their wit, if wit it may be called, recoils back upon their 
 own country, and strikingly resembles the flippant ridicule which 
 their own more lively neighbours have lavished upon the hard 
 drinking, the oaths, the gross amusements, the dingy coflfee-houses, 
 the boxing matches, the beer, and the coal-smoke of the proud and 
 melancholy islanders. Their old maritime contests and commer- 
 cial rivalry may serve to excuse this misrepresentation in English- 
 men, but for us there is no apology." 
 
 The task of preparing and editing the present volume has devolved 
 exclusively upon the subscriber; and if performed in a manner satis- 
 factory to the public, and to those he has the honor to represent, he 
 will be abundantly compensated for the trouble it has cost him. 
 Much labour has been bestowed upon a careful revision of the va- 
 rious translations and in collating them with the original works; more 
 perhaps, than will be apparent to the reader. But in such a variety 
 of materials it is scarcely lo be expected that mistakes should not 
 sometimes occur, and he must crave the usual indulgence in such 
 cases. 
 
 GEO. FOLSOM, 
 OJ the Publishing Committee 
 New- York, Juno 1st., 1841. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 I. Chancellor Kent's Anniversary Discourse, .... 9 
 
 II. Verrazzano's Voyage, A.D. 1524, 37 
 
 III. Indian Tradition of the first arrival of the Dutch on Manhat- 
 
 tan Island, 69 
 
 IV. Lambrechtsen's History of New-Netherlands, ... 75 
 V. Van der Donck's Description of New-Netherlands, . . 125 
 
 VI. Extracts from the Voyages of De Vries, .... 243 
 
 VII. Extracts from De Laet's New- World 281 
 
 VIII. Juet's Journal of Hudson's Voyage, 317 
 
 IX. Argall's Expedition, A.D. 1613 332 
 
 X. Letter of Thomas Dermer, &c. 343 
 
 XI. Correspondence between New-Netherlands and New-Ply- 
 mouth, A.D. 1627, 355 
 
 XII. Charter of Liberties and other Documents, .... 369 
 
 Xin. A Catalogue of Dutch Church Members, A.D. 1686, . . 389 
 
 XIV. New-Sweden, by Rev. Israel Acrelius 401 
 
 Report of A. Hudde, 428 
 
 Governor Rising's Report, 443 
 
 XV. A few particulars respecting the Dutch Governors, . . 449 
 
 XVI. Historical Sketch of the Society, 457 
 
 Complete List of Officers, 471 
 
 List of present Resident Members, . - . . 474 
 
 List of Honorary Members, 476 
 
 Index, 481 
 
@[F [F a © 1 ^ i 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 ^Elected Jan nary, 184:1. 
 
 PRESIDENT, 
 
 PETER AUGUSTUS JAY, LL.D. 
 
 FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT, 
 
 WILLIAM BEACH LAWRENCE. 
 
 SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT, 
 
 THOMAS DE WITT, D D. 
 
 CORRESPCNDIKS SECRETARY, 
 
 FREDERIC DE PEYSTER. 
 
 RECOP.DING SECRETARY, 
 
 BENJAMIN ROBERT WINTHROP. 
 
 TREASURER, 
 
 ARCHIBALD RUSSELL. 
 
 LIBRARIAN, 
 
 GEORGE FOLSOM. 
 CommiUee of Publication, 
 
 FRANCIS L. HAWKS, D.D. 
 PETER A. JAY, LL.D. 
 HON. JAMES KENT, LL.D. 
 GEORGE FOLSOM, 
 WILLIAM BEACH LAWRENCE. 
 
 Standing Commitlees. 
 
 ON PRINTED PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 GEORGE GIBBS, 
 ARCHIBALD RUSSELL, 
 JOHN R. BARTLETT. 
 
 ON MANUSCRIPTS, 
 
 GOUVERNEUR MORRIS WILKINS, 
 GEORGE B. RAPELYE, 
 PROSPER M. WETMORE. 
 
AN 
 
 ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE, 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE 
 
 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 HON. JAMES KENT, LL.D. 
 
 (President of the Society,) 
 DECEMBER 6tH, 1828. 
 
 [reprinted.] 
 
Rooms of the New Youk Historical Society, 
 December 9th, 1828. 
 
 Resolved, Tliat the thanks of the Society be presented to the Honorable 
 James Kent, f )r his able, appropriate, and highly interesting Discourse, de- 
 livered in the Hall of Cohimbia College, on the 6th of December instant ; and 
 that he be requested lo furnish a copy of the same for publication. 
 
 Re-fohed That Dr John VV Francis, Rev. Dr. U'ainwright, and Charles 
 Kijig. Esq , be a Committee to carry the foregoing resolution into effect. 
 
 F.om the Minutes JOSEPH BLUNT, 
 
 Recording Secretary, 
 
DISCOURSE, &c, 
 
 GENTLEMEN OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 It is a subject of just congratulation, that we now find this 
 Society in a condition to pursue, with success, the patriotic 
 design of the founders of the institution. By means of the 
 bounty of the legislature, and the public spirit of several of the 
 members, we are relieved from our embarrassments, and are 
 enabled to display, to great advantage, the valuable collection of 
 books and historical documents which we possess. 
 
 Our collections heretofore lay in such disorder, that few per- 
 sons were aware of their intrinsic value. They have been re- 
 deemed from confusion, and made conveniently accessible to the 
 scholar and the antiquary ; and can now, with great satisfaction, 
 be presented to the view of our own citizens, and of intelligent 
 strangers. For this improvement, our thanks are especially 
 due to Mr. Delafield, the Treasurer ; and it is to his industry, 
 taste, and zeal, that we are indebted for this new and beautiful 
 arrangement of our historical materials. 
 
 When we advert to what has been done in other States, and 
 particularly in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and perceive 
 how much they have hitherto surpassed us in the extent and 
 value of their researches, I trust we shall feel an additional 
 stimulus to acquit ourselves of our duty, and throw back upon 
 our own annals some of the light and lustre which emanate 
 from the spirit of the age. 
 
 As the object of the Society is to discover, collect, and pre- 
 serve materials calculated to illustrate the history of our countr}?-, 
 it has appeared to me to be suitable to the design of this anni- 
 versary meeting, to call your attention to some reflections, arising 
 upon a view of the domestic history of this State. If I do not 
 greatly deceive myself, there is no portion of the history of this 
 country, which is more instructive, or better calculated to em- 
 bellish our national character. 
 
 The eastern descendants of the pilgrims are justly proud of 
 their colonial ancestors ; and they are wisely celebrating, on all 
 
12 CHANCELLOR RENTES DISCOURSE. 
 
 proper occasions, the memory and merits of the original found- 
 ers of their repubhcs, in productions of great genius and classi- 
 cal taste. Why should we, in this state, continue any longer 
 comparatively heedless of our own glory, when we also can 
 point to a body of illustrious annals ? Our history will be found, 
 upon examination, to be as fruitful as the records of any other 
 people, in recitals of heroic actions, and in images of resplen- 
 dent virtue. It is equally well fitted to elevate the pride of an- 
 cestry, to awaken deep feeling, to strengthen just purpose, and 
 enkindle generous emulation. 
 
 Such historical reviews have a salutary influence upon the 
 morals and manners of the times ; for they help us to detect 
 pretended merit, to rebuke selfish ambition, to check false pa- 
 triotism, and humble arrogant pretension. 
 
 The discovery of the Hudson, and the settlement of our an- 
 cestors upon its borders, is a plain and familiar story, on which 
 I shall not enlarge. Our origin is within the limits of well- 
 attested history. This at once dissipates the enchantments of 
 fiction ; and we are not permitted, like the nations of ancient 
 Europe, to deduce our lineage from super-human beings, or to 
 clothe the sage and heroic spirits who laid the foundations of 
 our empire, with the exaggerations and lustre of poetical inven- 
 tion. Nor do we stand in need of the aid of such machinery. 
 It is a sufficient honour to be able to appeal to the simple and 
 severe records of truth. The Dutch discoverers and settlers of 
 New-Netherlands, were grave, temperate, firm, persevering 
 men, who brought with them the industry, the economy, the 
 simplicit)^, the integrity, and the bravery of their Belgic sires ; 
 and with those virtues they also imported the lights of the Ro- 
 man civil law, and the purity of the Protestant faith. To that 
 period we are to look with chastened awe and respect, for the 
 beginnings of our city, and the works of our primitive fathers 
 — our Alhani patres, atque altcB moenia Romce. 
 
 It does great credit to the just and moderate views of the 
 Dutch during their government in this colony, that though they 
 selected and settled on some of the best bottom-lands on the 
 shores of the Hudson and its tributary waters, they lived upon 
 friendly terms with the powerful confederacy of the Five Na- 
 tions of Indians, whose original dominion extended over all the 
 lands occupied by the Dutch. They were, at times, involved 
 in hostilities with restless clans of neighbouring Indians, but the 
 original and paramount lords of the soil, and generally the Long 
 Island Indians, gave them no disturbance.* The reason was. 
 
 • Smith's History of New- York, vol. i. 23. Tnimbull's History of Connec- 
 ticut, vol. i. 138 — 140. Collodions of the New-York Historical Society, vol. iii. 
 324, 357. Wood's Sketch of the First Settlement on Long Island, p. 29—32. 
 
CHANCELLOR KENT's DISCOURSE, 13 
 
 tliat the Indian right to the soil was recognized by the Dutch, 
 and always regarded by them, as well as by the English, their 
 successors, with the best faith ; and they claimed no lands but 
 such as were procured by purchase.* The speech of the In- 
 dian called Good Peter to the commissioners of Fort Schuyler, 
 in 1788, is a strong attestation of this fact. He observed, that 
 when the white men first came into the country, they were 
 few and feeble, and the Five Nations numerous and powerful. 
 The Indians were friendly to the white men, and permitted 
 them to settle in the country, and protected them from their 
 enemies ; and they had wonderfully increased, and become like 
 a great tree overshadowing the whole country.! 
 
 The Dutch colonial annals are of a tame and pacific charac- 
 ter, and generally dry and uninteresting. The civil officers, as 
 well as the ministers of the Dutch churches, were well-educated 
 men, who imbibed their religion and learning in Holland ; and 
 in their long and sharp controversies with the New England 
 Colonies, the governors of this Colony showed themselves to 
 be no ways inferior in their discussions to the most sagacious 
 of the Puritans, either in talent, doctrine, or manners. Their 
 disputes were concerning territorial jurisdiction, and particu- 
 larly in respect to the country on Connecticut river, and they 
 also had contentions concerning fugitives from justice, and in- 
 terferences with the Indian trade. Strength and arrogance of 
 deportment were evidently on the side of the English. Gover- 
 nor Keift, in his letter to the commissioners of the United Colo- 
 nies of New-England, in 1646, observed, that their complaints 
 of ill-usage were the complaints of the wolf against tlie lamb.| 
 Governor Stuyvesant also observed, in his letter to the Dutch 
 West India Company, in 1660, that the New-Englanders were 
 in the ratio of ten to one, and able to deprive the Dutch of their 
 country. II The' Dutch governors charged the English, in di- 
 rect terms, with an insatiable desire of possessing their lands ; 
 and whatever might have been the real merits of the Dutch 
 title to lands on Connecticut river, founded on assumed prior 
 discovery and prior Indian purchase, it appears, at least from 
 the diplomatic papers of the time, that their manner of vindi- 
 cating their claim, and repelling accusation, and remonstrating 
 against aggression, was forcible, sagacious, and temperate. 
 
 Peter Stuyvesant administered the Dutch government from 
 1647 to the surrender of the Colony to the English, in 1664, 
 
 * Wood's Sketch, p. 12, 22, 23, gives the names of the several tribes from 
 whom all the lands on Long Island, whether settled by the Dutch or English, 
 were purchased. 
 
 t Collections of the New York Historical Society, vol. iii. 326. 
 
 X Hist. Coll New- York Society, vol. i, 196. 
 
 \\ Smith's Hist, of New-York, vol. i. 21. 
 
14 CHANCELLOR KENT's DISCOURSE. 
 
 and he held his power m difficult limes, and was surrounded 
 with perils ; but he was a man of military skill, and of great 
 firmness, judgment, and discretion. He manifested his desire 
 for peace, and showed the magnanimity of his character, in 
 going, in proper person, in 1650, to Hartford, to meet and ne- 
 gotiate with the commissioners of the New-England Colonies. 
 Though standing alone in the midst of a body of keen and well- 
 instrvicted opponents, lie conducted himself with admirable ad- 
 dress and firmness. The correspondence between him and 
 the commissioners, is embodied and preserved in the collections 
 of this Society, and it does credit to his memory.* The com- 
 missioners took offence at the date of his first diplomatic note, 
 which, though written on the spot, was dated New-Nether- 
 
 ands. Governor Stuyvesant consented to date it at Connec- 
 ticut, leaving out New-Netherlands, provided the commission- 
 aT s would date theirs at Hartford, leaving out New-England, 
 
 ■nd to this they assented. Both parties managed the contro- 
 ^ersy with great discretion and good sense. When the com- 
 missioners complained of the vagueness and harshness of some 
 parts of his letters. Governor Stuyvesant replied, that he came 
 there from the love of peace, and not for altercation ; and that 
 they all knew he could not deliver himself so promptly and clear- 
 ly in the English as in his own native tongue, and no advantage 
 ought to be taken of any inaccuracy of expression. The meet- 
 ing adjourned without any decisive results ; and he afterwards, 
 in the year 1653, sent an elaborate vindication of his rights to 
 the New-England commissioners at Boston, which contained 
 sound expositions of national law. The English had complain- 
 ed of the exaction of duties upon them in their trade and pur- 
 chases at New- Amsterdam ; and he in his turn insisted, that 
 every civil government had aright to make what laws it thought 
 fit, and every person who came within a foreign jurisdiction, 
 must expect to find, and not to bring laws with him. He resent- 
 ed, in proper terms of indignation, the atrocious charge of be- 
 ing concerned in a conspiracy with the Indians to plunder his 
 neighbours, and shed innocent blood ; and he said that he re- 
 posed on the mens conscia recti, and despised the tongue of 
 calumny. Though he sought nothing but peace and neigh- 
 bourly intercourse, yet, if he must be driven to extremities, he 
 had confidence that a just God would smile on and bless a 
 righteous defence. 
 
 With that wise and good man terminated the Dutch power 
 
 in this Colony. 
 
 * Collections, vol. i. 189 — 290, taken from Hazard's Historical Collections, 
 vol. ii. 
 
CHANCELLOR KENT S DISCOURSE. 15 
 
 The English took possession of the government in 1664, and 
 administered it in the name, and under the authority of the 
 Duke of York, who was the patentee. The terms of surrender 
 of the Dutch power were exceedingly liberal. The inhabitants 
 were made secure in their persons, property, and religion.* 
 Their titles to land were previously free from the appendages 
 and services of feudal bondage.! The conquest of the Colony 
 proved to be a very fortunate event for the Dutch. They were 
 relieved from perilous controversies with their eastern neigh- 
 bours, and they became entitled to the privileges of English 
 subjects. In a few years they participated in the blessings of 
 a representative government, and they exchanged their Roman 
 jurisprudence for the freer spirit, the better security, and more 
 efficient energy of the English common law. The Dutch and 
 English inhabitants became thoroughly united and formed but 
 one indivisible people. The Dutch race in this colony kept at 
 least equal pace with their English brethren, in every estima- 
 ble qualification of good citizens. Through all the subsequent 
 periods of our eventful story, down to the present day, they 
 have furnished their full proportion of competent men. This 
 they have done in every variety of situation in which our coun- 
 try was placed, whether in peace or in war; and whatever was 
 the duty in which they were engaged, whether in the civil or 
 mihtary, political or professional departments 4 
 
 Within twenty years from the conquest of the Colony, a free 
 government, upon the plan of the English constitution, was 
 given to it, consisting of a Governor and Legislative Council, 
 appointed by the Crown, and a House of Assembly, chosen by 
 the people. II The Assembly was composed, in the first in- 
 stance, of seventeen members only, and it was never enlarged, 
 even down to the period of the American war, beyond the num- 
 ber of twenty-seven. The members, during the earlier periods 
 of our colony history, were elected for an indefinite period ; and 
 new elections seemed to have been held only upon the dissolution 
 
 * Smilh's History of New- York, vol. i. 32. 
 
 t This is to be inferred from the conditions which had been offered by the 
 Burgomasters of Amsterdam, in 1656, to the settlers in New-Netherlands, one 
 of which was, that every farmer should have a free, fast, and durable property 
 in his lands — 'New-Yo'k Historical Collections, vol i. 291. 
 
 \ It is worthy of notice, that the only two regiments of infantiy from this 
 state, in the line of the army of the United States, at the close of the Ameri- 
 can war, were commanded by Dutchmen. I allude to the regiments com- 
 manded by Col Van Cortlandt and Col. Van Schaick And I hope I may be per- 
 mitted to add, without meaning any invidious comparisons, that we have now 
 living in this state, in advanced life, three lawyers of Dutch descent, who are 
 not surpassed any where in acuteness of mind, in sound law learning, and in 
 moral worth. The reader will readily perceive that I have in my eye Egbert 
 Benson, Peter Van Schaack and Abraham Van Vechten. 
 
 II Smith's History, vol. i. 43. 58. 
 
16 CHANCELLOR KENT S DISCOURSE. 
 
 of the legislature by the act of the governor. After long strug- 
 gles for triennial elections, the assembly finally succeeded in 
 1743, to have the assembly made septennial by law. But we 
 should be greatly mistaken if we were to conclude that so small 
 a body of representatives, and chosen for such indefinite or 
 protracted periods, was unable to withstand the influence of the 
 executive branch of the government. The house, almost as 
 soon as it was organized, began to feel its strength, and to dis- 
 play its independent genius. Through the whole period of our 
 colonial history, the general assembly rarely ceased to sustain 
 its rights, and assert its dignity with becoming spirit, against 
 the whole weight and influence of the delegated powers of 
 royalty. This character of the house, was a consequence nat- 
 urally flowing from the healthy and vigorous principle of popu- 
 lar election, which, like the touch by Antaeus of his mother 
 Earth, in his struggles with Hercules, always communicated 
 fresh strength and courage to renew the contest. 
 
 The house of assembly, from the very beginning of it, exer- 
 cised its discretion as to the grant of supplies for the support of 
 government, both in respect to extent and the duration of the 
 grants. The governors, however, constantly complained, and in- 
 sisted upon a permanent provision for the ofiicers of government, 
 and tliey interposed royal instructions, and sharp remonstrances, 
 for that purpose. Governor Fletcher, in 1695, first began the 
 struggle with the assembly upon that point, and the contest 
 was continued down to the era of our revolution ; but the as- 
 sembly retained the control of their funds with inflexible firm- 
 ness. As the governor and council were appointed by the 
 crown, and held their offices at its pleasure, and as the judges 
 were appointed by the governor and held at his pleasure, the 
 colonial assembly had good reason to be tenacious of reserving 
 to themselves some check upon the executive and judicial de- 
 partments, by means of their support. 
 
 In 1708 the house of assembly declared that it was the un- 
 questionable right of every freeman in the colony to have a 
 perfect and entire property in his goods and estate ; and that 
 the imposing and levying of any moneys upon the subjects of 
 the colony, under any pretence or coloiu- whatsoever, without 
 their consent, in general assembly, w^as a grievance, and a vio- 
 lation of right. They further declared that the king could not 
 erect a court of equity in the colony without the consent of the 
 legislature. This last resolution was again and again adopted, 
 between 1702 and 1735, in despite of the influence and menaces 
 of the royal representative.* In 1749, the claim upon the as- 
 sembly to pass a permanent supply bill, was renewed in the 
 
 * Colony Journale, vol. i. 223, 
 
CHANCELLOR KENT S DISCOURSE. 17 
 
 most imperious and offensive manner. The governor told the 
 assembly that he had the king's instructions for a law render- 
 ing the provision for the support of government permanent ; 
 and the house calmly replied, that tliey would never recede 
 from the method of an annual support. The governor then 
 went so far as to deny their authority to act, except by the royal 
 commissions and instructions, alterable at the king's pleasure, 
 and subject to his limitations ; and that there was a power 
 able to punish them, and would punish them, if they provoked 
 it by their misbehaviour. He proceeded to such extremities 
 that the assembly, without swerving in the least from iheir de- 
 termined purpose, declared his conduct to be arbitrary, illegal, 
 and a violation of their privileges.* 
 
 It would be difficult to find in any of the legislative records 
 of this country, a clearer sense of right, or a better spirit to de- 
 fend it. There were also considerations arising from the pecu- 
 liarity of their local condition, which serve greatly to elevate 
 the character of our colonial ancestors. 
 
 Whenever war existed between Great Britain and France, 
 the province of New- York was the principal theatre of colonial 
 contest. It became the Flanders of America, and it had to sus- 
 tain, from time to time, the scourge and fury of savage and 
 Canadian devastation. We need only cast an eye upon our 
 geographical position, and read the affecting details of the for- 
 midable expeditions, and the frightful incursions which laid 
 waste our northern and western frontiers, between 1690, and 
 the conquest of Canada, in 1760, to be deeply impressed with 
 a sense of the difficulties which this colony had to encounter, 
 and of the fortitude and perseverance with which they were 
 overcome. The leading men, who swayed the house of assem- 
 bly, or directed the popular voice, never wanted valour and vir- 
 tue adequate to the crisis. 
 
 But I hasten to cast a rapid glance over the great events in 
 our domestic history, subsequent to the peace of 1763, 
 
 The colony took an early and distinguished stand against the 
 claims of the British parliament, to raise a revenue from their 
 American colonies without their consent. If she was not in 
 advance, New-York was at least equal in point of time, in point 
 of spirit, and in pomt of argument, to any of the colonies, in 
 the use she made of the monitory language of remonstrance. 
 In March, 1764, the English house of commons passed a de- 
 claratory resolution, that it would be proper to impose certain 
 stamp duties in the colonies for the purpose of raising revenue, 
 and other resolutions passed at the same time, laying new duties 
 
 • Smith's Hist, of New- York, vol. ii. 106 — 110. Colony Journals, vol. ii. 
 244-274. 
 
 3 
 
18 CHANCELLOR KF.NT's DTSCOURSE. 
 
 upon the trade of the colonies. In October, 1764, the house of 
 assembly of this colony, addressed the king and each house of 
 parliament against all such schemes of taxation. They con- 
 tended that the power of taxing themselves was interwoven fun- 
 damentally in their constitution, and was an exclusive and in- 
 extinguishable right ; and that the people of the colony could 
 not be rightfully taxed without their consent, given by their 
 representatives in general assembly. They declared that they 
 received with the bitterness of grief, the intimation of a design 
 in the British parliament to infringe that inestimable right. 
 They complained also of the extension of the powers of the 
 Vice-Admiralty courts, which led to a dangerous diminution of 
 trial by jury. The assembly reasoned the question of taxation, 
 with the British parliament, in the most eloquent and mas- 
 terly manner ; they declared that the people of the colony no- 
 bly disdained to claim exemption from foreign taxation as a 
 privilege ; they challenged it, and gloried in it as a right. It 
 was a right enjoyed by their fellow-subjects in Great Britain, 
 and was the grand principle of the independence of the British 
 house of commons ; and they very significantly asked, " Why 
 such an odious discrimination ? Why should it be denied to those 
 who submitted to poverty, barbarian wars, loss of blood, loss of 
 money, personal fatigues, and ten thousand unutterable hard- 
 ships, to enlarge the trade, dominion, and wealth of the nation ?" 
 
 In October, 1 765, the house of assembly were represented 
 by a select committee, in a congress of the northern colonies, 
 which met in this city, on the subject of the grievous claims 
 and laws of the British parliament. The chairman of that 
 committee was Judge Livingston, the father of the late Chan- 
 cellor of that name ; and he reported to the house the proceed- 
 ings of the congress, and the house approved of the conduct 
 and services of the committee. They then united in fresh re- 
 monstrances to the king, and each house of parliament, against 
 the stRmp act and other statutes imposing taxes upon the colo- 
 nies without their consent, and against the imwarrantable juris- 
 diction of the Vice- Admiralty courts. They declared that they 
 were not, and could not, be represented in parliament ; and 
 their addresses were spirited and determined, and they cer- 
 tainly were urged with weighty and pathetic exhortation. 
 
 At the close of the year 1768, the house of assembly again 
 remonstrated in the most decided style, and in animated ad- 
 dresses to the king and parliament, against the claims of the 
 British government. They specified their essential rights, and 
 enumerated their grievances. They complained of the recent 
 st-^tntes imposing duties and raising revenue from the colonies 
 without their consent, as being utterly subversive of their con- 
 stitutional rights. They insisted that the authority of the colo- 
 
CHANCELLOR KENT S DISCOURSE. 19 
 
 nial legislatures could not lawfully be suspended, abridged, or ab- 
 rogated ; and they considered the suspension of their legislative 
 power, until they should have made provision for the accommo- 
 dation of the king's troops, as a most dangerous assumption of 
 unlawful power. They strongly urged their complaints of the 
 erection of courts dependent upon the will of a royal governor ; 
 of Admiralty courts in which they were deprived of trial by jury, 
 so deservedly celebrated by Englishmen, in all ages, as essential 
 to their safety ; and of the parliamentary claim of a right to give 
 away their estates, and bind them in all cases whatsoever. They 
 asserted, in the most manly terms, their claim to a participa- 
 tion in those rights and liberties, which had been declared by 
 Magna Charta, and re-asserted in the petition and bill of rights, 
 and confirmed at the accession of the house of Orange ; and 
 they reminded the king and parliament of their former loyalty 
 and services, and how often it had been confessed that their 
 zeal had carried them to make contributions beyond their pro- 
 portion, and that the excesses had been reimbursed. 
 
 These state papers were produced in December, 1768, and 
 they resemble very much in matter, spirit, and style, the reso- 
 lutions and addresses of the first continental congress, in 1774, 
 and they rival them in dignity and value. They were forward- 
 ed to the colonial agent at the court of Great Britain, and that 
 agent was Edmund Burke. And yet for those very proceed- 
 ings, the assembly was severely rebuked by the governor, Sir 
 Henry Moore, and the legislature was dissolved. 
 
 As the disputes between the mother country and the colonies 
 grew more serious, and were evidently approximating to an ap- 
 peal to arms, the house of assembly began to pause in its ca- 
 reer. The influence of the crown upon the legislature of the 
 colony was sensibly felt, and it tended, in a considerable degree, 
 to damp their future zeal, and neutralize their measures. But 
 the spirit of the people kept equal pace with the views and 
 wishes of their brethren in the other colonies ; and the promi- 
 nent and splendid luminaries in the great scenes of the revolu- 
 tion, now began to ascend above the horizon. The names of 
 Philip Schuyler and George Clinton, appear on the journals of 
 the colony assembly, as members of the house during those 
 noble efforts in the year 1768 ; and they were constantly main- 
 tained in that station, by their constituents of Albany and 
 Ulster counties, from that year down to the termination of the 
 existence of the colony legislature in April, 1775. The Dutch 
 family of Schuyler stands conspicuous in our colonial annals. 
 Colonel Peter Schuyler was mayor of Albany, and commander 
 of the northern militia, in 1690. He was distinguished for 
 his probity, and activity in all the various duties of civil and 
 mihtary life. No man understood better the relation of the 
 
20 CHANCELLOR KENt's DISCOURSE. 
 
 colony with the Five Nations of Indians, or had more decided 
 influence with that confederacy. He had frequently chastised 
 the Canadian French for their destructive incursions upon the 
 frontier settlements ; and his zeal and energy were rewarded 
 by a seat in the provincial council ; and the house of assembly 
 gave their testimony to the British court of his faithful services 
 and good reputation. It was this same vigilant officer who 
 gave intelligence to the inhabitants of Deerfield, on the Con- 
 necticut river, of the designs of the French and Indians upon 
 them, some short time before the destruction of that village, in 
 1704.* In 1720, as president of the council, he became acting 
 governor of the colony for a short time, previous to the acces- 
 sion of Governor Burnet.t His son. Colonel Philip Schuyler, 
 was an active and efficient member of assembly, for the city 
 and county of Albany, in 1743. But the Philip Schuyler to 
 whom I particularly allude, and who in a subsequent age shed 
 such signal lustre upon the family name, was born at Albany in 
 the year 1733, and at an early age he began to display his ac- 
 tive mind, and military spirit. He was a captain in the New- 
 York levies at Fort Edward, in 1755, and accompanied the 
 British army in the expedition down lake George, in the sum- 
 mer of 1758. He was with Lord Howe when he fell by the 
 fire of the enemy, on landing at the north end of the lake ; and 
 he was appointed (as he himself informed me) to convey the 
 body of that young and lamented nobleman to Albany, where 
 he was buried, with appropriate solemnities, in the Episcopal 
 church. 
 
 We next find him, under the title of Colonel Schuyler, in 
 company with his compatriot George Clinton, in the year 1768, 
 on the floor of the house of assembly, taking an active share 
 in all their vehement discussions. Neither of them was to be 
 overawed or seduced from a bold and determined defence of the 
 constitutional rights of the colonies, and of an adherence to the 
 letter and spirit of the councils of the union. The struggle in 
 the house of assembly, between the ministerial and the whig 
 parties, was brought to a crisis in the months of February and 
 March, 1775 ; and in that memorable contest, Phihp Schuyler 
 and George Clinton, together with Nathaniel Woodhull, of 
 Long Island, acted distinguished parts. On the motions to give 
 the thanks of the house to the delegates from the colony in the 
 continental congress of September, 1774; and to thank the 
 merchants and inhabitants of the colony, for their adherence to 
 the non-importation and the association recommended by con- 
 
 • Smith's History of New. York, vol. i. 92. 94. 137, 138. Hoyt's Indian 
 Wars, p. 185. 
 
 t Colony Journals, vol. i. 438. 
 
CHANCELLOR KENt's DISCOTJRSE. 21 
 
 gress, those patriots found themselves in the minority. But their 
 courage and resolution gained strength from defeat. On the 
 3d of March, Colonel Schuyler moved declaratory resolutions 
 that the act of 4 Geo. III. imposing duties for raising a 
 revenue in America ; and for extending the jurisdiction of Ad- 
 miralty courts ; and for depriving his majesty's subjects in 
 America of trial by jury ; and for holding up an injurious dis- 
 crimination between the subjects of Great Britain and those of 
 the colonies, were great grievances. The government party 
 seem to have fled the question, and to have left in the house 
 only the scanty number of nine members, and the resolutions 
 were carried by a vote of seven to two. But their opponents 
 immediately rallied, and eleven distinct divisions, on different 
 motions, were afterwards taken in the course of that single day, 
 and entered on the journal ; and they related to all the momen- 
 tous points then in controversy, between Great Britain and the 
 United Colonies. It was a sharp and hard-fought contest for 
 fundamental principles ; and a more solemn and eventful debate 
 rarely ever happened on the floor of a deliberative assembly. 
 The house consisted on that day of twenty-four members, and 
 the ministerial majority was exactly in the ratio of two to one ; 
 and the intrepidity, talent, and services of the three members 
 I have named, and especially of Schuyler and Clinton, were 
 above all praise, and laid the foundation for those lavish marks 
 of honour and confidence which their countrymen were after- 
 wards so eager to bestow. 
 
 The resistance of the majority of the house was fairly broken 
 down, and essentially controlled by the eff'orts of the minority 
 and the energy of public opinion. A series of resolutions, de- 
 claratory of American grievances, were passed, and petitions 
 to the king and parliament adopted, not indeed in all respects 
 such as the leaders of the minority wished, (for all their 
 amendments were voted down,) but they were nevertheless 
 grounded upon the principles of the American revolution. They 
 declared that the claims of taxation and absolute sovereignty, 
 on the part of the British parliament, and the extension of ad- 
 miralty jurisdiction, were grievances, and unconstitutional meas- 
 ures ; and that the act of parliament, shutting up the port of 
 Boston, and altering the charter of that colony, was also a 
 grievance. 
 
 These were ihe last proceedings of the general assembly of 
 the colony of New-York, which now closed its existence for 
 ever. More perilous scenes, and new and brighter paths of 
 glory, were opening upon the vision of those illustrious pa- 
 triots. 
 
 The delegates from this colony to the first continental con- 
 gress in 1774, were not chosen by the general assembly, but by 
 
22 CHANCELLOR KENT's DISCOURSE. 
 
 the suffrages of the people, manifested in some sufficiently au- 
 thentic shape in the several counties. Among these delegates, 
 and indeed among the whole list of persons in this first memo- 
 rable convention, which assembled at Philadelphia with more 
 than Amphictyonic dignity, there is but the name of a single 
 survivor. He now lives in an adjoining county, in tranquil re- 
 tirement, with his faculties sound, his health comfortable, che- 
 rished by his children, cheered by his friends, and displaying in 
 his conversation and manners the wisdom of a sage, and the 
 faith and resignation of a Christian. John Jay was one of the 
 committee in that earliest congress, who drew and reported the 
 address to the people of Great Britain, I was assured, in very 
 early life, that he had a special share in its composition. At 
 any rate, it bears the impression of his genius, and it is a pro- 
 duction that stands without a rival. The public papers of that 
 congress were, all of them, in every point of view, of a mas- 
 terly character. Lord Chatham declared in his place, in the 
 House of Lords, that those productions had never been sur- 
 passed in any age or nation, for solidity of reasoning, force of 
 sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion. 
 
 The delegates to the second continental congress, which met 
 in May, 1775, were chosen by a provincial congress, which the 
 people of the colony had already created, and which was held 
 in this city, in April of that year, and had virtually assumed the 
 powers of government. The names of the delegates from this 
 colony, to this second congress, were, John Jay, John Alsop, 
 James Duane, Philip Schuyler, George Clinton, Lewis Morris, 
 and Robert R. Livingston ; and the weight of their talents and 
 character may be inferred from the fact, that Mr. Jay, Mr. Liv- 
 ingston, Mr. Duane, and Mr. Schuyler, were early placed upon 
 committees, charged with the most arduous and responsible du- 
 ties.* We find Washington and Schuyler associated together 
 in the committee, appointed on the 14th of June, 1775, to pre- 
 pare rules and regulations for the government of the army. 
 This association of those great men, commenced at such a criti- 
 cal moment, was the beginning of a mutual confidence, respect, 
 and admiration, which continued, with uninterrupted and unaba- 
 ted vividness, during the remainder of their lives. An allusion is 
 made to this friendship in the memoir of a former president of this 
 society, and the allusion is remarkable for its strength and pathos. 
 After mentioning General Schuyler, he adds, "I have placed 
 thee, my friend, by the side of him who knew thee ; thy intel- 
 ligence to discern, thy zeal to promote thy country's good, and 
 knowing thee, prized thee. Let this be thy eulogy. I add, 
 
 * Journals of Congr:FS, vol i. 99. 106. 
 
CHANCELLOR KENT's DISCOURSE. 23 
 
 and with truth, peculiarly thine — content it should be mine to 
 have expressed it."* 
 
 The congress of this colony, during the years 1775 and 
 1776, had to meet difficulties and dangers almost sufficient to 
 subdue the firmest resolution. The population of the colony 
 was short of 200,000 souls. It had a vast body of disaffected 
 inhabitants within its own bosom. It had numerous tribes of 
 hostile savages on its extended frontier. The bonds of society 
 seemed to have been broken up, and society itself resolved into 
 its primitive elements. There was no civil government but 
 such as had been introduced by the provincial congress, and 
 county committees, as temporary expedients. It had an ene- 
 my's province in the rear, strengthened by large and well-ap- 
 pointed forces. It had an open and exposed sea-port, without 
 any adequate means to defend it. In the summer of 1776, the 
 state was actually invaded, not only upon our Canadian, but 
 upon our Atlantic frontier, by a formidable fleet and army, cal- 
 culated by the power that sent them, to be sufficient to annihi- 
 late at once all our infant republics. 
 
 In the midst of this appalling storm, the virtue of our people, 
 animated by a host of intrepid patriots, the mention of whose 
 names is enough to kindle enthusiasm in the breasts of the 
 present generation, remained glowing, unmoved, and invincible. 
 It would be difficult to find any other people who have been 
 put to a severer test, or on trial gave higher proofs of courage 
 and capacity, 
 
 On the 19th of June, 1775, Philip Schuyler was appointed 
 by Congress the third Major General in the armies of the Uni- 
 ted Colonies ; and such was his singular promptitude, that in 
 eleven days from his appointment, we find him in actual service, 
 corresponding with congress from a distance, on business that 
 required and received immediate attention. In July, 1775, he 
 was placed at the head of a Board of Commissioners for the 
 northern department, and empowered to employ all the troops 
 in that department at his discretion, subject to the future orders 
 of the commander-in-chief. He was authorized, if he should 
 find it practicable and expedient, to take possession of St. Johns 
 and Montreal, and pursue any other measures in Canada hav- 
 ing a tendency, in his judgment, to promote the peace and se- 
 curity of the United Colonies. 
 
 " The Memoir of Judge Benson, from which this is extracted, has never 
 met with the reception due to its intrinsic merits. This has probably arisen 
 from the style and manner peculiar to that venerable man, whose habit has 
 been to treat matters of fact with the dryness, precision, and severity of a 
 special pleader. But the Memoir is nevertheless replete with shrewd re- 
 marliB, Bound principles, just criticism, keen satire, and accent patriutit^m. 
 
24 CHANCELLOR KENt's DISCOURSE. 
 
 In September, 1775, General Schuyler was acting under 
 positive instructions to enter Canada, and he proceeded, with 
 Generals Montgomery and Wooster under his command, to the 
 Isle au Noix. He had at that time become extremely ill, and 
 he was obliged to leave the command of the expedition to de- 
 volve upon General Montgomery. The latter, under his orders, 
 captured the garrisons of Chambly and St. Johns, and pressed 
 forward to Montreal and Quebec. Montreal was entered on 
 the 12th of November, 1775, by the troops under the immedi- 
 ate orders of Montgomery, and in the same month a committee 
 from congress was appointed to confer with General Schuyler, 
 relative to raising troops in Canada for the possession and secu- 
 rity of that province. His activity, skill, and zeal shone con- 
 spicuously throughout that arduous northern campaign ; and 
 his unremitting correspondence with congress received the 
 most prompt and marked consideration. 
 
 While the expedition under Montgomery was employed in 
 Canada, General Schuyler was called to exercise his influence 
 and power in another quarter of his military district. On the 
 30th December, 1775, he was ordered to disarm the disaffect- 
 ed inhabitants of Tryon County, then under the influence of 
 Sir John Johnson; and on the 18th of January following, he 
 made a treaty with the disaflected portion of the people in that 
 western part of the state. The continental congress were so 
 highly satisfied with his conduct in that delicate and merito- 
 rious service, as to declare, by a special resolution, that he had 
 executed his trust with fidelity, prudence, and despatch ; and 
 they ordered a publication of the narrative of his march in the 
 depth of winter, into the regions bordering on the middle and 
 upper Mohawk. The duties imposed upon that oflUcer were so 
 various, multiplied, and incessant, as to require rapid move- 
 ments suflftcient to distract and confound an ordinary mind. 
 Thus, on the 30th of December, 1775, he was ordered to dis- 
 arm the tories in Tryon county. On the 8th of January, 1776, 
 he was ordered to have the river St. Lawrence, above and be- 
 low Quebec, well explored. On the 25th of January, he was 
 ordered to have the fortress of Ticonderoga repaired and made 
 defensible ; and on the 17th of February, he was directed to 
 take the command of the forces, and conduct the military opera- 
 tions at the city of New-York. All these cumulative and con- 
 flicting orders from congress were made upon him in the course 
 of six weeks, and they were occasioned by the embarrassments 
 and distress of the times.* 
 
 In March, 1776, congress changed their plan of operations, 
 and directed General Schuyler to establish his head quarters at 
 
 -<<^ Journals of Cosgress, vola. L and ii. 
 
CHANCELLOR KENT S DISCOURSE. 25 
 
 Albany, and superintend the army destined for Canada. He 
 ' was instructed to take such orders as he should deem expe- 
 dient, respecting the very perplexing and all-important subject 
 of the supplies for the troops in Canada ; and those orders as 
 to the supplies were repeated in April, and again in May, 1776. 
 The duty of procuring supplies, though less splendid in its 
 effects, is often more effectual to the safety and success of an 
 army than prowess in the field. General Schuyler, by his 
 thorough business habits, his precise attention to details, and 
 by his skill and science in every duty connected Avith the equip- 
 ment of an army, was admirably fitted to be at the head of the 
 commissariate ; and he gave life and vigour to every branch of 
 the service. His versatile talents, equally adapted to investi- 
 gation and action, rendered his merits as an ofiicer of transcend- 
 ent value. 
 
 On the 14th of June, 1776, he was ordered by congress to 
 hold a treaty with the Six Nations, and engage them in the in- 
 terest of the colonies, and to treat with them on the principles, 
 and in the decisive manner, which he had suggested. His pre- 
 parations for taking immediate possession of Fort Stanwix, and 
 erecting a fortification there, received the approbation of con- 
 gress, and their records afford the most satisfactory evidence 
 that his comprehensive and accurate mind had anticipated and 
 suggested the most essential measures, which he afterwards dili- 
 gently executed throughout the whole northern department. 
 But within three days after the order for the treaty, congress 
 directed his operations to a different quarter of his command. 
 He Avas ordered on the 17th of June, to clear Wood Creek, 
 and construct a lock upon the creek at Skeensborough, (now 
 Whitehall,) and to take the level of the waters falling into the 
 Hudson at Fort Edward, and into Wood Creek. There can 
 be no doubt that those orders were all founded upon his previ- 
 ous suggestions, and they afford demonstrative proof of the 
 views entertained by him, at that early day, of the practicabili- 
 ty and importance of canal navigation. He was likewise di- 
 rected to cause armed vessels to be built, so as to secure the 
 mastery of the waters of the northern lakes. He was to judge 
 of the expediency of a temporary fortification or intrenched 
 camp on the heights opposite Ticonderoga. Captain Graydon 
 visited General Schuyler early in the summer of 1776, at his 
 head-quarters on Lake George ; and he speaks of him, in the 
 very interesting Mernoirs of his own Life, as an ofiicer thor- 
 oughly devoted to business, and being, at the same time, a gen- 
 tleman of polished and courteous manners. On the 1st of 
 August following, he was on the Upper Mohawk, providing 
 for its defence and security, and again in October we find liim 
 4 
 
2& CHANCELLOR KENt's DISCOURSE. 
 
 on the upper Hudson, and calling upon the Eastern Slates for 
 tlieir militia. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the northern frontier, in the 
 campaign of 1776, was indebted for its extraordinary quiet aixt 
 security, to the ceaseless activity of General Schuyler. At the 
 close of that year he was furtlier instructed to build a floating 
 batter}' on the lake, and a fort on Mount Independence^ and 
 also to strengthen the works at Fort Stanwix, 
 
 In the midst of such conflicting and harassing services, he 
 had excited much popular jealousy and ill will, arising from the 
 energy of his character, and the dignity of his deportment. He 
 was likewise disgusted at what he deemed injustice, in the ir- 
 regularity of appointing other and jimior officers in separate 
 and independent commands within what was considered to be 
 his military- district. He accordingly, in October, 1776, ten- 
 dered to congress the resignation of his commission. But when 
 congress came to investigate his services, they found them, 
 says the liistorian of Washington,* far to exceed in value any 
 estimate which had been made of them. They declared that 
 they could not dispense with his services during the then situ- 
 ation of afiairs ; and they directed the president of congress to 
 request him to continue in his commaml., and they declared their 
 high sense of his services, and their unabated confidence in his 
 attachment to the cause of freedom. 
 
 On the 9th of July, 1776, the provincial congress of the 
 colony ratified the Declaration of Independence, and they im- 
 mediately assumed the title of the Convention of this state. 
 On motion of Gouvemeur Morris, seconded by William Duer, 
 a committee was appointed, on the 1st of August, to prepare 
 and report the form of a constitution ,- but it was not reported 
 and finally adopted until the 20th of April, 1777. The delib- 
 erations of the convention were conducted under the excitement 
 of great public anxiety and constant alarm ; and that venera- 
 ble instrument, which was destined to be our guardian and 
 pride, and to command the confidence and attachment of the 
 people for upwards of forty years, was produced amidst the 
 hurry and tumult of arms. The convention was constantly 
 changing its place of residence to meet the exigencies of the 
 day. From this city it removed successively to Harlem, to the 
 White Plains, to Fishkill, to Poughkeepsie, and to Kingston. 
 The members were harassed by variety of avocation and duty. 
 Some were with the troops in the field ; others were members 
 of the continental congress ; others were absorbed in attention 
 to local concerns, and the wants of their exiled families. Gene- 
 ral Woodhull, who acted a noble part in the colonial assembly, 
 
 * Marshall's Life of Washington, vol. iii. 231. 
 
CHANCELLOR KENT 3 DISCOURSE. 27 
 
 attd was president of the New- York Convention when it rati- 
 fied the Declaration of Iiviependence^ commanded the Long 
 Island militia, and was slain b}' the enemy on Long Island, at 
 the close of the battle, in August, 1776. The dralt of the con- 
 stitution was in the hand-writing of Mr. Jav, and it was re- 
 ported by Mr. Duane. Those individuals, together witJi Gou- 
 Terneur Morris and Robert R. Livingston, were probably 
 among the most efEcient professional members of tlie conven- 
 tion in the production of the instrument ; though the names of 
 other members stand in bold relief upon the records of our re- 
 volutionary contest, for their wisdom in council, and their ener- 
 gy in action. 
 
 When the constitirtion was promulgated, and the convention 
 were about to dissolve, they created a Council of Safetv' ; and 
 by their resolution of the 8th of Mav, 1777, they invested that 
 council with all tlie poicers requisite for the safety aiid preser- 
 vation of the state, until a governor and legislature should be 
 duly chosen, and in a condition to act under the provisions of 
 the constitution. The council, thus clothed for a season with 
 absolute power, consisted of only fifteen men ; but they were 
 not smishine patriots. Their souls were formed of nobler ma- 
 terials. They had every claim to public confidence, and they 
 did not abuse it. Their names, in the order in which they 
 stand in the resolution of the convention, were, John Morrin 
 Scott, Robert R. Livingston, Cliristopher Tappen, Abraham 
 Yates, junior, Goiiverneur ]Morris, Zephaniah Piatt, Jolm Jav, 
 Charles De Witt, Robert Harper, Jacob Cuyler, Thomas Tred- 
 well, Pierre Van Cortlandt^ ^latthew Cantine, John Sloss Ho- 
 bart, and Jonathan D. Tompkins. 
 
 A governor and legislature were chosen in the summer of 
 1777, and in that tr^-ing season, there was not a county in this 
 state, as it then existed, which escaped a visit from the arms of 
 the enemy. To add to the embarrassment of our councils in 
 the extremits' of their distress, the inhabitants of the north-east 
 part of the state, (no\v Vermont,) wliich had been represented 
 in the convention, and just then ingrafted into the constitution, 
 under the names of the counties of Ciunberland and Glouces- 
 ter, renounced their allegiance, and set up for an independent 
 state. On the 30th of June, in that year, they were knocking 
 at the door of congress for a recognition of their independence, 
 and an admission into the Union. 
 
 The memorable campaign of 1777 was opened by an expedi- 
 tion of the enemy from Xew-York to Danbiu^' in Connecticut, 
 and the destruction of large quantities of proAisions and military 
 means collected and deposited in that town. In the northern 
 quarter, General Burgovne advanced from Canada, through the 
 lakes, with a well-appointed army of 10,000 men, and for a 
 
28 CHANCELLOR KENT's DISCOURSE, 
 
 time he dissipated all opposition, and swept every obstacle be- 
 fore him. General Scliuyler was still in the command of the 
 whole northern department, and he made every exertion to 
 check the progress of the enemy. He visited in person the 
 different forts, and used the utmost activity in obtaining sup- 
 plies to enable them to sustain a siege. While at Albany,, 
 (which was his head-quarters as previously fixed by congress,) 
 busy in accelerating the equipment and march of troops, Ti- 
 conderoga being assailed, was suddenly evacuated by General 
 St. Clair. General Schuyler met on the upper Hudson the 
 news of the retreat, and he displayed, says the candid and ac- 
 curate historian of Washington,* the utmost diligence and judg- 
 ment in that gloomy state of things. He effectually impeded 
 the navigation of Wood Creek. He rendered the roads impas- 
 sable. He removed every kind of provision and stores beyond 
 the reach of the enemy. He summoned the militia of New- 
 York and New-England to his assistance ; and he answered 
 the proclamation of Burgoyne by a counter proclamation, 
 equally addressed to the hopes and fears of the country. Con- 
 gress, by their resolution of the 17th of July, 1777, approved 
 of all the acts of General Schuyler, in reference to the army at 
 Ticonderoga. But the evacuation of that fortress excited gi'eat 
 discontent in the United States, and General Schuyler did not 
 escape his share of the popular clamour, and he was made a 
 victim to appease it. It was deemed expedient to recall the 
 general officers in the northern army, and in the month of Au- 
 gust he was superseded in the command of that department by 
 the arrival of General Gates. The laurels which he was in 
 preparation to win by his judicious and distinguished efforts, 
 and which he would very shortly have attained, were by that 
 removal intercepted from his brow. 
 
 But the advance of General Burgoyne's army was not the only 
 evil that av^^aited us. Col. St. Leger, with a large force of regu- 
 lars and Indians, pressed upon our western border, and invested 
 Fort Schuyler, at the head of the Mohawk. The whole southern 
 district of the state was at the same time in secure possession of 
 the enemy. There was never, perhaps, in the history of a free 
 people struggling for their liberties, amore portentous crisis. We 
 were driven in on every side. The extremities of the state were 
 destroyed. There was no pulsation but at the heart. Every thing 
 seemed to be lost but hope, virtue, and trust in the providence of 
 God. In that gloomy season, the country rose, met, and repelled 
 the danger, with an ardour and vigour that can scarcely be con- 
 
 * Marshall's Life of Washington, vol. iii. 247. 
 
CHANCELLOR KENT S DISCOURSE, 29 
 
 ceived.* Brigadier General Herkimer commanded the militia 
 on the Mohawk, and in his efforts to relieve Fort Schuyler, he 
 was attacked in the Oriskany woods by a detachment of the 
 enemy under Sir John Johnson, and after a sanguinary and 
 disastrous conflict, he fell fighting gallantly in defence of his 
 country. His memory was honoured with the deep regrets 
 of his countrymen, and the Congress of the United States 
 voted a monument to his fame. Fort Schuyler, under the com- 
 mand of Colonel Gansevoort, was defended with great braver)^, 
 perseverance, and success. Colonel Marinus Willet distin- 
 guished himself likewise, by his zeal and daring enterprise 
 during the operations of the siege, and the enemy were com- 
 pelled to retire with loss and disgrace. Those distinguished 
 ofl&cers received a warm eulogy from congress, and strong 
 public expressions of gratitude from their own state. 
 
 George Clinton, who had recently been elected governor, 
 met the legislature, for the first time, at Kingston, on the 10th 
 of September. It was then and there that the constitution of 
 this independent state first received the principle of life. But 
 so rapid and so violent were the vicissitudes of events, that, 
 about a month from that time, the village in which they were 
 assembled was burnt by the enemy. The members of the 
 legislature were dispersed in a few days after the session was 
 opened, and the governor flew to the defence of the posts in 
 the Highlands, to the command of which he had been assigned 
 by congress in the spring preceding. They were assailed by 
 a very superior land and naval force under Sir Henry Clinton, 
 and when a summons for surrender was sent to Fort Montgo- 
 mery, the governor peremptorily refused. He defied an assault, 
 and made a gallant resistance.! It is well known that the 
 fort was taken at the point of the bayonet, and in the midst of 
 the confusion of the evening, the governor and a considerable 
 part of the garrison secured their retreat. This was the first 
 time that this eminent man fairly disclosed to his countrymen 
 
 * The convention of this state, at the close of the year 1776, had prepared 
 the minds of the people for the trials of the cnsuinfj- campaign, by the admira- 
 ble Address to their constituents, which they published at Fishkill, on the 23d 
 of December of that year. It was understood at the time to have been 
 drafted by Mr. Jay. The object was to cheer the country in its season of 
 distress, and to rouse it to vigorous exertion. The address was plain, senten- 
 tious, and solemn, fitting the object and the crisis; but it carried its appeal 
 with irresistible force to the noblest affections of the human breast, and the 
 strongest principles of action. 
 
 t The enemy sustained a severe loss, at least in the fall of Count Grabo- 
 uski, a Polish nobleman, and aid to the British commander, and in the still 
 greater loss of Lieutenant Colonel Campbell and Major Alexander Grant. 
 The latter was an accomplished officer, and in the war of 1756, was a lieu- 
 tenant in the 42d Highland regiment. 
 
80 CHANCELLOR KENT's DISCOURSE. 
 
 his military spirit. I knew him in the midst of the American 
 war. He had a boldness and inflexibility of purpose, and de- 
 cision and simplicity of character, which resembled the hardy 
 sons of antiquity in the best days of Roman freedom, when 
 her sages and heroes displayed the majestic port and stern de- 
 fiance of " the lords of human kind."* 
 
 But the successive defeats and final capture of Burgoyne 
 and his army at Saratoga, dissipated the angry elements which 
 menaced our destruction. The independence of the United 
 States was from that time forward, regarded by us, and by the 
 friendly nations of Europe, as immoveably established. The 
 history of the campaign of 1777, and especially the condition 
 of this state at the lowest point of its depression, the energy 
 with which it rose, the efforts of our heroes, and the spirit of 
 our people, would together form one of the noblest subjects for 
 the graphic pen of the historian. lean speak of the events of 
 that year with some of the impressions of a cotemporary wit- 
 ness. I heard the noise and fury of the assault upon the 
 fortresses on the Hudson ; t and I perfectly recollect the gene- 
 ral distress, terror, and bitterness of grief, that were visible in 
 the earlier part of the campaign, as well as the tones of joy, 
 admiration, and gratitude, at our final and trium.phant deliver- 
 ance. 
 
 Having brought this rapid review of prominent events in our 
 domestic history, down to within time of memory, the limits 
 of this discourse will not permit me to contiime it. My desire 
 has been to place in fresh remembrance before you, the merits 
 of your ancestors ; and to rescue some of their names, though 
 it should be but for a moment, from the dust and " dumb forget- 
 fulness" of the record. The distinguished men of the last 
 age have nearly all passed away, and a new generation have oc- 
 cupied their places, and are enjoying the rich inheritance of 
 public freedom and prosperity, bequeathed to them by the 
 fathers of the revolution. Amid such a bright constellation of 
 worthies, it is difficult to discriminate. General Montgomery, 
 General Woodhull, and General Herkimer, sealed their devo- 
 tion to their country with their blood. Major General Alexan- 
 
 * In the full-length portrait of the elder Clinton, painted liy Colonel Trum- 
 bull, perhaps forty years ago, and in which Fort Montgomery, and the wild 
 seencry around it, appear on the back ground, the painter, with very great 
 skill and felicity, has thrown into the countenance and air of the hero, 
 touches of the character, which I have here attempted to pourtray, from my 
 own vivid recollections. 
 
 t I then resided almost in the neighbourhood of those scenes, for I was born 
 and nurtured m otie of the beautiful and picturesque valleys of the High, 
 lands. Its " humble happiness," and portions of its sacred soil, have never 
 been seen or remembered by me without the deepest interest. 
 
CHANCELLOR KENT S DISCOURSE. 31 
 
 der M'Dougall caused his early zeal and patriotism to be re- 
 corded, even on the colonial journals ; and after the war had 
 commenced, he rose rapidly in the military service of the 
 United States, and congress declared, by a special resolution, 
 their sense of his zeal and magnanimity.* John Jay, Robert 
 R. Livingston, and Gouverneur Morris, not only received marks 
 of the highest trust and conhdence in the service of this, and 
 of the United States, but at subsequent periods they displayed 
 their skill and fidelity as representatives of the nation at loreign 
 courts. Egbert Benson rendered eminent service to this state 
 throughout the whole period of the American war. He was 
 zealous, firm, active, and extensively useful, from the very be- 
 ginning of the contest. In 1777 he was appointed Attorney- 
 General, and in that office, in the legislature and in congress, 
 his devotion to the public interest was unremitted. The value 
 of his services as a member of the legislature throughout the 
 war, was beyond all price ; and in the able, constant, accurate, 
 and faithful discharge of the duties of that station, he has 
 scarcely had an equal in the legislative annals of this state. 
 
 Of the members of the provincial congress in 1776, in addi- 
 tion to those who have already been mentioned, the names of 
 John Morrin Scott, Philip Livingston, Abraham Ten Broeck, 
 Leonard Gansevoort, Robert Yates, Pierre Van Cortlandt, 
 John Sloss Hobart, Zephaniah Piatt, Ezra L'Hommedieu, 
 Isaac Roosevelt, Thomas Tredwell, Robert Van Rensselaer, 
 John Taylor, David Gelston, and John Broome, may be spe- 
 cially noticed, as receiving, in subsequent periods of our history, 
 prominent and continued marks of public confidence and es- 
 teem. There may be others of equal merit whose names I 
 may have unintentionally omitted, and I am obliged to confine 
 myself to the mention of those leading political and military 
 characters whom I have found, by my own imperfect re- 
 searches, to have left on record some striking memorial of 
 public honour and confidence as early as the year 1777. There 
 were many other individuals of this state, then in comparatively 
 subordinate stations in the civil and military service, who after- 
 wards rose to distinguished and deserved eminence. If I de- 
 part from the limits which I have prescribed for myself, and 
 select any one of them, my apology is to be found in the illus- 
 trious name of Alexander Hamilton. He was, even at that 
 early day, the confidential aid of Washington ; but it was not 
 until the latter part of the American war, that he began to at- 
 tract general attention, and to display, to the admiration of his 
 countrymen, the matchless resources of his mighty mind. He 
 was chosen a member of congress in July, 1782, .and he took 
 
 * Journals of Congress, vol. vii. 63. 
 
32 CHANCELLOR KENt's DISCOTJRSE. 
 
 his seat for the first time in November following. His efforts 
 to reanimate the languid powers of the confederation, and to 
 clothe congress with some essential credit and resources, were 
 great, splendid, but unavailing. From that period his time and 
 talents were almost exclusively consecrated to the service of 
 the United States ; and it would have gratified me exceedingly, 
 if the plan of this discourse would have permitted, to have at- 
 tempted to render some tribute of gratitude to his memory, by 
 a recital of his unrivalled exertions to give a constitution, and 
 financial credit, and security and prosperity, to the Union. His 
 transcendent services to the nation are sufficient to render his 
 name immortal. 
 
 John Jay, Egbert Benson, John Taylor, Thomas Tredwell, 
 and Marinus Willet, are the only persons, among those revolu- 
 tionary characters, whom I have hitherto mentioned, that are 
 now living ; and I perceive that one of them has this very week 
 been selected to execute a high public trust.* All these vene- 
 rable remnants of the last age, may be considered as now liv- 
 ing, in comparative seclusion, on the very verge of human life, 
 waiting, with a Christian's hope, for their " bright reversion in 
 the skies." But their fame accompanies them, and " enlight- 
 ens even the obscurity of their retreat."t 
 
 Suffer me to allude again to the history of General Schuyler. 
 He was too pre-eminent a character to allow any portion of his 
 valuable life to be left unnoticed. 
 
 ♦John Taylor was chosen an elector of the President of the Uailed States, 
 by the electoral collcg;e at Albany, on the 2d of December, 1828. He was 
 formerly first judge of the city and county of Albany, and continued in that 
 ofRce until he was obliged to retire from it, about twenty-six years ago, in 
 consequence of being disqualified to hold the office any longer by arriving at 
 sixty years of age. He was for many years afterwards Lieut. Governor, and 
 in that character lie was, ex-'ifficio, President of the Senate, and President of 
 the Court of Errors and Appeals, and he continued to occupy the office until 
 he was upwards of eighty years of age. His case showed the striking incon- 
 sistency of tile constitution, which would allow a person to preside over the 
 Court of Errors at tile age of eighty, and yet held him disqualified by age 
 at sixty to preside over a county court. Thomas Tredwell, also an Octoge- 
 narian, was for many years Judge of the Court of Probates, and he at present 
 fills the office of Surrogate of Clinton county. He was always distinguished 
 for singular simplicity of character, and I received satisfactory evidence, even 
 as far back as the American war, that he had well founded pretensions to 
 scholarship and classical taste. 
 
 t In looking over llii.s Address for rc-publication, it occurred to the Editor, 
 that all the revolutionary characters alluded to in it as being then living, have 
 since died, and all of them at very advanced ages : — 
 
 John Jay, in the year 1829, 83 
 
 John Taylor 87 
 
 Marinus Willet • ... 82 
 
 Thomas Tredwell, in 1831 88 
 
 &en. P Van Cortlandt 82 
 
 Richard Varick 78 
 
 Egbert Benson in 1833 87 
 
CHANCELLOR KEr^T S DISCOURSE. 33 
 
 General Schuyler felt acutely the discredit of being recalled 
 in the most critical and interesting period of the campaign of 
 1777 ; and when the labour and activity of making preparations 
 to repair the disasters of it had been expended by him ; and 
 when an opportunity was opening, as he ol ^vved, for that re- 
 sistance and retaliation which might bring glory upon our arms. 
 If error be attributable to the evacuation of Ticonderoga, says 
 the historian of Washington,* no portion of it was committed 
 by General Schuyler. But his removal, though unjust and 
 severe as respected himself, was rendered expedient, according 
 to Chief Justice Marshall, as a sacrifice to the prejudices of 
 New-England. 
 
 He was present at the capture of Burgoyne, but without any 
 personal command ; and the urbanity of his manners, and the 
 chivalric magnanimity of his character, smarting as he was 
 mider the extent and severity of his pecuniary losses, are attest- 
 ed by General Burgoyne himself, in his speech in 1778, in the 
 British House of Commons. He there declared that, by his 
 orders, " a very good dwelling-house, exceeding large store- 
 houses, great saw-mills, and other out-buildings, to the value 
 altogether perhaps of £10,000 sterling," belonging to General 
 Schuyler, at Saratoga, were destroyed by fire a few days be- 
 fore the surrender. He said further, that one of the first per- 
 sons he saw, after the convention was signed, was General 
 Schuyler, and when expressing to him his regret at the event 
 which had happened to his property. General Schuyler desired 
 him " to think no more of it, and that the occasion justified it, 
 according to the principles and rules of war. He did more," 
 said Burgoyne, " he sent an aid-de-campt to conduct me to 
 Albany, in order, as he expressed it, to procure better quarters 
 than a stranger might be able to find. That gentleman con- 
 ducted me to a very elegant house, and, to my great surprise, 
 presented me to Mrs. Schuyler and her family. In that house I 
 remained during my whole stay in Albany, with a table of more 
 than twenty covers for me and my friends, and every other pos- 
 sible demonstration of hospitality. "J 
 
 I have several times had the same relation in substance from 
 General Schuyler himself, and he said that he remained behind 
 a Saratoga, under the pretext of taking care of the remains of 
 his property, but in reahty to avoid giving fresh occasion for 
 cal mny and jealousies, by appearing in person with Burgoyne 
 at his own house. It was not until the autumn of 1778, that 
 
 * 3 Marshall, 274. 
 
 t The person alluded to by General Burgoyne was Col. Richard Varick, then 
 the military secretary to General Schuyler, ani now President of the Ameri- 
 can Bible Society. (Since deceased. — Ed.) 
 
 t Parliamentary History, vol. xix. p. 1182, 
 5 
 
34 CHANCELLOR KENT's DISCOURSE. 
 
 the conduct of General Schuyler, in the campaign of 1777, was 
 submitted to the investigation of a court-martial. He was ac- 
 quitted of every charge with the highest honour, and the sen- 
 tence was confirmed by congress. He shortly afterwards, up- 
 on his earnest and repeated solicitation, had leave to retire from 
 the army, and he devoted the remainder of his life to the service 
 of his country in its political councils. 
 
 If the military life of General Schuyler was inferior in bril- 
 liancy to that of some others of his countrymen, none of them 
 ever surpassed him in fidelity, activity, and devotedness to the 
 service. The characteristic of all his measures was utility. 
 They bore the stamp and unerring precision of practical science. 
 There was nothing complicated in his character. It was chaste 
 and severe simplicity ; and take him for all in all, he was one 
 of the wisest and most efficient men, both in military and civil 
 life, that the state or the nation has produced. 
 
 He had been elected to congress in 1777, and he was re- 
 elected in each of the three following years. On his return to 
 congress after the termination of his military life, his talents, 
 experience, and energy, were put in immediate requisition ; and 
 in November, 1779, he was appointed to confer with General 
 Washington, on the state of the southern department. In 1781, 
 he was in the senate of this state ; and wherever he was placed, 
 and whatever might be the business before him, he gave the 
 utmost activity to measures, and left upon them the impression 
 of his prudence and sagacity. In 1789, he was elected to a 
 seat in the first senate of the United States, and when his term 
 of service expired in congress, he was replaced in the senate of 
 this state. In 1792, he was very active in digesting and bring- 
 ing to maturity that early and great measure of state policy — 
 the establishment of companies for inland lock navigation. The 
 whole suggestion was the product of his fertile and calculating 
 mind, ever busy in schemes for the public welfare. He was 
 placed at the head of the direction of both of the navigation 
 companies, and his mind was ardently directed for years to- 
 wards the execution of those liberal plans of internal improve- 
 ment.* In 1 796, he urged in his place in the senate, and after- 
 wards published, in a pamphlet form,t his plan for the im- 
 
 * The act of the legis atureof this state of the 9th of March, 1793, ch. 49, 
 displayed unbounded confidence in General Schuyler. It amended the law- 
 relative to lock navigation, after reciting that " the President of the Board of 
 Directors of the Western and Northern Inland Lock Navigation Companies, 
 in their behalf, had signified to the legislature, that, in his opinion, the 
 alterations therein specified, might be made without material injury." 
 
 t The pamphlet was entitled, "Remarks on the Revenue of the State of 
 New-York, by Philip Schuyler, a member of the Senate of that State. Alba- 
 ny, 1796." The pamphlet was founded on a series of arithmetical calculations, 
 and General Schuyler was profoundly versed in mathematical science. He 
 had no superior in aptitude for such investigations. 
 
CHANCELLOR RENTS DISCOURSE. 35 
 
 provement of the revenue of this state, and in 1797, his plan 
 was ahxiosl hterally adopted, and to that we owe the institution 
 of the office of comptroller. In 1797, he was unanimously 
 elected, by the two houses of our legislature, a senator in con- 
 gress ; and he took leave of the senate of this state in a liberal 
 and affecting address, which was inserted at large upon their 
 journals. 
 
 But the life of this great man was now drawing to a close. I 
 had formed and cultivated a personal acquaintance with Gene- 
 ral Schuyler, while a member of the legislature in 1792, and 
 again in 1796 ; and from 1799 to his death in the autumn of 
 1804, I was inhabits of constant and friendly intimacy with 
 him, and was honoured with the kindest and most grateful at- 
 tentions. His spirits were cheerful, his conversation most emi- 
 nently instructive, his manners gentle and courteous, and his 
 whole deportment tempered with grace and dignity. His fa- 
 culties seemed to retain their unimpaired vigour and untiring 
 activity; though he had evidently lost some of his constitutional 
 ardour of temperament and vehemence of feeling. He was 
 sobered by age, chastened by affliction, broken by disease ; 
 and yet nothing could surpass the interest excited by the mild 
 radiance of the evening of his days. 
 
 It was observed at the beginning of this discourse, that we had 
 illustrious annals in this state to appeal to, and I humbly hope that 
 I have made good the assertion. The noble monument erecting 
 on Bunker's Hill to the memory of her early patriots, does honour 
 to the pride and zeal of the sons of New-England ; but the re- 
 cords of this state, in the hands of some future historian, are 
 capable of elevating a loftier monument, and one of less perish- 
 able materials, on which, not the rays of the setting sun, but the 
 rays of a nation's glory, as long as letters shall endure, will 
 continue " to play and linger on its summit." I do not wish, 
 however, to cherish or inculcate that patriotism which is purely 
 local or cx'clusive. My object is more disinterested and liberal. 
 It is to enkindle that generous zeal and ardent public virtue, 
 with which Scipio, and other citizens of Rome, are said to have 
 been inspired, as often as they beheld the domestic images of 
 their ancestors. The glory of each state is the common pro- 
 perty of the nation, and our freedom was established by the 
 united will, and consolidated efforts, of every part of the Union. 
 Our responsibility for the wise and temperate use of civil liber- 
 ty, is of general obligation ; and it is our example as a nation 
 that has sensibly affected the civilized world. The image of 
 personal freedom, of order, of security, of happiness, and of 
 national prosperity, which our country presents, has had its in- 
 fluence wherever learning and commerce have penetrated. 
 When our revolution began, despotism prevailed every where, 
 
36 . CHANCELLOR KENt's DISCOURSE. 
 
 except in Great Britain and her colonics ; or if civil liberty ex- 
 isted at all on the continent of Europe, it dwelt in timid retire- 
 ment, in the romantic valleys of Switzerland, within the shade 
 of the loftiest Alps. But we have lived to witness a visible im- 
 provement in the institutions and policy of nations, after the 
 tempest of the French revolution had subsided, and its ravages 
 were repaired. It left the nations upon which it had spent its 
 fury, in a better and healthier condition than it found them. 
 This was some compensation for the injustice and the miseries 
 which it had produced. Limited monarchies, resting on a re- 
 cognition of popular rights, and constitutional restrictions upon 
 power, and invigorated by the admission of the principle of 
 representation, arc now established in the kingdoms of France 
 and the Netherlands. The energy of the press and of popular 
 instruction, and the free and liberal spirit of the age, control or 
 mitigate the evils of a bad administration, or chastise its abuses 
 in every department of government, and they carry their influ- 
 ence to the highest ranks and summits of society. Those 
 mighty causes will gradually enlarge the sphere of their action, 
 and produce freer institutions, and a better administration of jus- 
 tice, in every part of Europe, At any rate, we are assured that 
 in our own hemisphere, from the head of the gulf of Mexico, 
 through all the good and bad forms of government in Spanish 
 and Portuguese America, down to "the farthest verge of the 
 green earth," the force of our great example is strongly felt, 
 and the eye is turned, with respect and reverence, to the char- 
 acter of our power, and the splendour of our rising greatness, 
 
II 
 
 THB 
 
 VOYAGE 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN DE VERAZZANO, 
 
 ALONG THE COAST OF 
 
 NORTH AMERICA, 
 
 FROM CAROLINA TO NEWFOUNDLAND, 
 
 A.D. 1524. 
 
 Translated from the original Italian, 
 
 BY JOSEPH G. COGSWELL, ESQ., 
 Member of the N. Y. Historical Socletjr, &c. 
 
PRELIMINARY NOTICE, 
 
 BY THE TRANSLATOR. 
 
 The following paper is a new translation of the letter writ- 
 ten by Verazzano, on his return frona his first voyage to the 
 Western Continent, giving an account of his discoveries to 
 Francis I. of France, by whose orders he had undertaken it. 
 It is made from a copy of the original manuscript, in the Mag- 
 liabecchian Library at Florence, which was presented to the 
 New-York Historical Society, by G. W. Greene, Esq., now 
 Consul of the United States at Rome. A translation of part 
 of the same letter is printed in the first volume of the Society's 
 Collections, which was taken from Hakluyt, who followed the 
 original as given by Ramusio ; but as that varies in substance 
 in some few instances from the Magliabecchian, and as Hak- 
 luyt's translation is throughout obscure and antiquated in lan- 
 guage, it seems requisite to publish the one which has been 
 made from the Society's copy. This letter is in itself highly 
 interesting and important, and is rendered still more so from the 
 fact of its being the earliest original account in existence of the 
 Atlantic coast of the United States, nearly the whole extent of 
 which was visited by Verazzano during the voyage described 
 in it. It is worthy of remark, that the name by which the 
 western continent is now known, is not used by Verazzano in 
 the account of his visit to it, owing, probably, to the recent 
 and not universal adoption of it ; it is possible even that he was 
 ignorant of its having been applied. 
 
 With respect to the comparative authenticity of the manu- 
 script used by Ramusio, and that from which our copy is taken, 
 we have nothing conclusive to offer ; we can only say, that the 
 internal evidence is greatly in favour of the latter. Mr. Greene, 
 who took up the whole subject, in an article in the North 
 American Review, for October, 1837, remarks, that there are 
 
40 PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 
 
 in Ramusio such variations from the Maghabecchian manu* 
 script, as can only be accounted for by supposing that the edi- 
 tor must have worked the whole piece over anew, correcting the 
 errors of language upon his own authority. Something of the 
 kind was evidently done ; the language of the two is very dif- 
 ferent, and that used in the manuscript from which the present 
 translation is made, has strong marks of being in the very form 
 in which it was moulded by Verazzano. It is throughout just 
 as sailors of little education commonly write ; little or no re- 
 gard is paid to grammar ; the sentences run into each other ; the 
 subjects are thrown together confusedly ; parenthetical clauses 
 constantly break the thread of the narrative, and there are no 
 points from beginning to end. From such a labyrinth of words, 
 it is not easy to affirm that the precise meaning has always been 
 unravelled, but all possible pains have been taken to render the 
 Italian original as exactly and as clearly as the barbarous style 
 in which that is written w^ould admit. The cosmographical 
 description at the close is not found in Hakluyt, and it was not 
 published in the volume of Collections before cited ; it is 
 now added, rather on account of the curious evidence it fur- 
 nishes of the state of nautical science at that time, than of any 
 valuable knowledge to be drawn from it. 
 
 J. G. C. 
 
 NewYork, Jan. 9th, 1841. 
 
VOYAGE, &LC 
 
 Captain John de Verazzano to His Most Serene Majesty 
 the King of France, writes : 
 
 Since the tempests which we encountered on the northern 
 coasts, I have not written to your most Serene and Christian 
 Majesty concerning the four ships sent out by your orders on 
 the ocean to discover new lands, because I thought you must 
 have been before apprized of all that had happened to us — that 
 we had been compelled by the impetuous violence of the winds 
 to put into Britany in distress with only the two ships Normandy 
 and Dolphin ; and that after having repaired these ships, we 
 made a cruise in them, well armed, along the coast of Spain, 
 as your Majesty must have heard, and also of our new plan of 
 continuing our begun voyage with the Dolphin alone ; from this 
 voyage being now returned, I proceed to give your Majesty an 
 account of our discoveries. 
 
 On the 17th of last January we set sail from a desolate rock 
 near the island of Madeira, belonging to his most Serene Ma- 
 jesty the King of Portugal, with fifty men, having provisions 
 sufficient for eight months, arms and other warlike munition and 
 naval stores. Sailing westward with a light and pleasant east- 
 erly breeze, in twenty-five days we ran eight hundred leagues. 
 On the 24th of February we encountered as violent a hurricane 
 as any ship ever weathered, from which we escaped unhurt by 
 the divine assistance and goodness, to the praise of the glorious 
 and fortunate name of our good ship, that had been able to 
 support the violent tossing of the waves. Pursuing our voyage 
 towards the west, a little northwardly, in twenty-four days 
 more, having run four hundred leagues, we reached a new coun- 
 try, which had never before been seen by any one, either in 
 ancient or modern times. At first it appeared to be very low, 
 but on approaching it to within a quarter of a league from the 
 shore we perceived, by the great fires near the coast, that it was 
 inhabited. We perceived that it stretched to the south, and 
 coasted along in that direction in search of some port, in which 
 we might come to anchor, and examine into the nature of the 
 countr> , but for fifty leagues we could find none in which we 
 could lie seciiiely. Seeing the coast still stretched to the south, 
 6 
 
42 VERAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 
 
 we resolved to change our course and stand to the northward, 
 and as we still had the same difficulty, we drew in with the 
 laud and sent a boat on shore. Many people who were seen 
 coming to the sea-side fled at our approach, but occasionally 
 stopping, they looked back upon us with astonishment, and 
 some were at length induced, by various friendly signs, to come 
 to us. These showed the greatest delight on beholding us, 
 wondering at our dress, countenances and complexion. They 
 then showed us by signs where we could more conveniently 
 secure our boat, and offered us some of their provisions. That 
 your Majesty may know all that we learned, while on shore, of 
 their manners and customs of life, I will relate what we saw as 
 briefly as possible. They go entirely naked, except that about 
 the loins they wear skins of small animals like martens fastened 
 by a girdle of plaited grass, to which they tie, all round the body, 
 the tails of other animals hanging down to the knees ; all other 
 parts of the body and the head are naked. Some wear gar- 
 lands similar to birds' feathers. 
 
 The complexion of these people is black, not much different 
 from that of the Ethiopians ; their hair is black and thick, and 
 not very long, it is worn tied back upon the head in the form of 
 a httle tail. In person they are of good proportions, of middle 
 stature, a little above our own, broad across the breast, strong 
 in the arms, and well formed in the legs and other parts of the 
 body ; the only exception to their good looks is that they have 
 broad faces, but not all, however, as we saw many that had 
 sharp ones, with large black eyes and a fixed expression. They 
 are not very strong in body, but acute in mind, active and swift 
 of foot, as far as we could judge by observation. In these last 
 two particulars they resemble the people of the east, especially 
 those the most remote. We could not learn a great many par- 
 ticulars of their usages on account of our short stay among 
 them and the distance of our ship from the shore. 
 
 We found not far from this people another whose mode of 
 hfe we judged to be similar. The whole shore is covered with 
 fine sand, about fifteen feet thick, rising in the form of little hills 
 about fifty paces broad. Ascending farther, we found several 
 arms of the sea which make in through inlets, washing the 
 shores on both sides as the coast runs. An outstretched coun- 
 try appears at a little distance rising somewhat above the sandy 
 shore in beautiful fields and broad plains, covered with immense 
 forests of trees, more or less dense, too various in colours, and 
 too delightful and charming in appearance to be described. I 
 do not believe that they are like the Hercynian forest or the 
 rough wilds of Scythia, and the northern regions full of vines 
 and common trees, but adorned with palms, laurels, cypresses, 
 and other varieties unknown in Europe, that send forth the sweet- 
 
VERAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 43 
 
 est fragrance to a great distance, but which we could not ex- 
 amine more closely for the reasons before given, and not on 
 account of any difficulty in traversing the woods, which, on the 
 contrary, arc easily penetrated. 
 
 As the " East " stretches around this country, I think it can- 
 not be devoid of the same medicinal and aromatic drugs, and 
 various riches of gold and the like, as is denoted by the colour 
 of the ground. It abounds also in animals, as deer, stags, hares, 
 and many other similar, and with a great variety of birds for 
 every kind of pleasant and delightful sport. It is plentifully sup- 
 plied with lakes and ponds of running water, and being in the 
 latitude of 34. the air is salubrious, pure and temperate, and free 
 from the extremes of both heat and cold. There are no violent 
 winds in these regions, the most prevalent are the north-west 
 and west. In summer, the season in which we were there, 
 the sky is clear, with but little rain : if fogs and mists are at 
 any time driven in by the south wind, they are instantaneously 
 dissipated, and at once it becomes serene and bright again. 
 The sea is calm, not boisterous, and its waves are gentle. Al- 
 though the whole coast is low and without harbours, it is not 
 dangerous for navigation, being free from rocks and bold, so 
 that within four or five fathoms from the shore there is twenty- 
 four feet of water at all times of tide, and this depth constantly 
 increases m a uniform proportion. The holding ground is so 
 good that no ship can part her cable, however violent the wind, 
 as we proved by experience ; for while riding at anchor on the 
 coast, we were overtaken by a gale in the beginning of March, 
 when the winds are high, as is usual in all countries, we found 
 our anchor broken before it started from its hold or naoved 
 at all. 
 
 We set sail from this place, continuing to coast along the shore, 
 which we found stretching out to the west (east ?) ; the inhabi- 
 tants being numerous, we saw everywhere a multitude of fires. 
 While at anchor on this coast, there being no harbour to enter, 
 we sent the boat on sliore with twenty-five men to obtain water, 
 but it was not possible to land without endangering the boat, on 
 account of the immense high surf thrown up by the sea, as it 
 was an open roadstead. Many of the natives came to the 
 beach, indicating by various friendly signs that we might trust 
 ourselves on shore. One of their noble deeds of friendship de- 
 serves to be made known to your Majesty, A young sailor was 
 attempting to swim ashore through the surf to carry them some 
 knick-knacks, as little bells, looking-glasses, and other like tri- 
 fles ; when he came near three or four of them he tossed the 
 things to them, and turned about to get back to the boat, but he 
 was thrown over by the waves, and so dashed by them that he 
 lay as it were dead upon the beach. When these people saw 
 
44 VERAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 
 
 him in this situation, they ran and took him up by the head, 
 legs and arms, and carried him to a distance from the surf ; the 
 young man, finding himself borne off in this way, uttered very 
 loud slirieks in fear and dismay, while they answered as they 
 could in their language, showing him that he had no cause for 
 fear. Afterwards they laid him down at the foot of a little hill, 
 when they took off his shirt and trowscrs, and examined him, 
 expressing the greatest astonishment at the whiteness of his 
 skin. Our sailors in the boat seeing a great fire made up, and 
 their companion placed very near it, full of fear, as is usual in 
 all cases of novelty, imagined that the natives were about to 
 roast him for food. But as soon as he had recovered his strength 
 after a short stay with them, showing by signs that he wished 
 to return aboard, they hugged him with gi-eat affection, and 
 accompanied him to the shore, then leaving him, that he might 
 feel more secure, they withdrew to a little hill, from which they 
 watched him until he was safe in the boat. This young man 
 remarked that these people were black like the others, that they 
 had shining skins, middle stature, and sharper faces, and very 
 delicate bodies and limbs, and that they were inferior in strength, 
 but quick in their minds ; this is all that he observed of them. 
 
 Departing hence, and always following the shore, which 
 stretched to the north, we came, in the space of fifty leagues, 
 to another land, which appeared very beautiful and full of the 
 largest forests. We approached it, and going ashore with 
 twenty men, we went back from the coast about two leagues, 
 and found that the people had fled and hid themselves in the 
 woods for fear. By searching around we discovered in the 
 grass a very old woman and a young girl of about eighteen or 
 twenty, who had concealed themselves for the same reason ; the 
 old woman carried two infants on her shoulders, and behind 
 her neck a little boy eight years of age ; when we came up to 
 them they began to shriek and make signs to the men who had 
 fled to the woods. We gave them a part of our provisions, 
 which they accepted with delight, but the girl would not touch 
 any ; every thing we offered to her being thrown down in great 
 anger. We took the little boy from the old woman to carry 
 with us to France, and would have taken the girl also, who was 
 very beautiful and very tall, but it was impossible because of the 
 loud shrieks she uttered as we attempted to lead her away ; 
 having to pass some woods, and being far from the ship, we 
 determined to leave her and take the boy only. We found them 
 fairer than the others, and wearing a covering made of certain 
 plants, which hung down from the branches of the trees, tying 
 them together with threads of wild hemp ; their heads are with- 
 out covering and of the same shape as the others. Their food 
 is a kind of pulse which there abounds, difiierent in colour and 
 
VERAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 45 
 
 size from ours, and of a very delicious flavour. Besides they 
 take birds and fish for food, using snares and bows made of hard 
 w^ood, with reeds for arrows, in the ends of which they put the 
 bones of fish and other animals. The animals in these regions 
 are wilder than in Europe from being continually molested by 
 tlie hunters. We saw many of their boats made of one tree 
 twenty feet long and four feet broad, without the aid of stone or 
 iron or other kind of metal. In the whole country, for the space 
 of two hundred leagues, which we visited, we saw no stone of 
 any sort. To hollow out their boats they burn out as much of 
 a log as is requisite, and also from the prow and stern to make 
 them float well on the sea. The land, in situation, fertility and 
 beauty, is like the other, abounding also in forests filled with 
 various kinds of trees, but not of such fragrance, as it is more 
 northern and colder. 
 
 We saw in this country many vines growing naturally, which 
 entwine about the trees, and run up upon them as they do in the 
 plains of Lombardy. These vines would doubtless produce ex- 
 cellent wine if they were properly cultivated and attended to, as 
 we have often seen the grapes which they produce very sweet 
 and pleasant, and not unlike our own. They must be held in 
 estimation by them, as they carefully remove the shrubbery 
 from around them, wherever they grow, to allow the fruit to 
 ripen better. We found also wild roses, violets, lilies, and many 
 sorts of plants and fragrant flowers different from our own. We 
 cannot describe their habitations, as they are in the interior of 
 the country, but from various indications we conclude they must 
 be formed of trees and shrubs. We saw also many grounds for 
 conjecturing that they often sleep in the open air, without any 
 covering but the sky. Of their other usages we know nothing ; 
 we believe, however, that all the people we were among live in 
 the same way. 
 
 After having remained here three days, riding at anchor on 
 the coast, as we could find no harbour, we determined to de- 
 part, and coast along the shore to the north-east, keeping sail 
 on the vessel only by day, and coming to anchor by night. 
 After proceeding one hundred leagues, we found a very pleas- 
 ant situation among some steep hills, through which a very large 
 river, deep at its mouth, forced its way to the sea ; from the 
 sea to the estuary of the river, any ship heavily laden might 
 pass, with the help of the tide, w^hich rises eight feet. But as 
 we were riding at anchor in a good berth, we would not ven- 
 ture up in our vessel, without a knowledge of the mouth ; 
 therefore we took the boat, and entering the river, we found 
 the country on its banks well peopled, the inhabitants not dif- 
 fering much from the others, being dressed out with the feath- 
 ers of birds of various colours. They came towards us with 
 
46 VERAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 
 
 evident delight, raising loud shouts of admiration, and showing 
 us where we could most securely land with our boat. We 
 passed up this river, about half a league, when we found it 
 formed a most beautiful lake three leagues in circuit, upon 
 which they were rowing thirty or more of their small boats, 
 from one shore to the other, filled with multitudes who came to 
 see us. All of a sudden, as is wont to happen to navigators, a 
 violent contrary wind blew in from the sea, and forced iis to 
 return to our ship, greatly regretting to leave this region which 
 seemed so commodious and delightful, and which we supposed 
 must also contain great riches, as the hills showed many in- 
 dications of minerals. Weighing ancher, we sailed fifty 
 leagues towards the east, as the coast stretched in that direc- 
 tion, and always in sight of it ; at length we discovered an 
 island of a triangular form, about ten leagues from the main- 
 land, in size about equal to the island of Rhodes, having many 
 hills covered with trees, and well peopled, judging from the 
 great number of fires which we saw all around its shores ; we 
 gave it the name of your Majesty's illustrious mother. 
 
 We did not land there, as the weather was unfavourable, but 
 proceeded to another place, fifteen leagues distant from the 
 island, where we found a very excellent harbour. Before en- 
 tering it, we saw about twenty small boats full of people, who 
 came about our ship, uttering many cries of astonishment, but 
 they would not approach nearer than within fifty paces ; stop- 
 ping, they looked at the structure of our ship, our persons and 
 dress, afterwards they all raised a loud shout together, signify- 
 ing that they were pleased. By imitating their signs, we in- 
 spired them in some measure with confidence, so that they 
 came near enough for us to toss to them some little bells and 
 glasses, and many toys, which they took and looked at, laugh- 
 ing, and then came on board without fear. Among them were 
 two kings more beautiful in form and stature than can possibly 
 be described ; one was about forty years old, the other about 
 twenty-four, and they were dressed in the following manner : 
 The oldest had a deer's skin around his body, artificially 
 wrought in damask figures, his head was without covering, 
 his hair was tied back in various knots ; around his neck he wore 
 a large chain ornamented with many stones of different colours. 
 The young man was similar in his general appearance. This 
 is the finest looking tribe, and the handsomest in their cos- 
 tumes, that we have found in our voyage. They exceed us in 
 size, and they are of a very fair complexion (?) ; some of them 
 inchne more to a white (bronze ?), and others to a tawny colour ; 
 their faces are sharp, their hair long and black, upon the adorning 
 of which they bestow great pains ; their eyes are black and sharp, 
 
VERAZZANO S VOYAGE. 47 
 
 their expression mild and pleasant, greatly resembling the an- 
 tique. I say nothing to your Majesty of the other parts of the 
 body, which are all in good proportion, and such as belong to 
 well-formed men. Their women are of the same form and 
 beauty, very graceful, of fine countenances and pleasing ap- 
 pearance in manners and modesty ; they wear no clothing ex- 
 cept a deer skin, ornamented like those worn by the men ; 
 some wear very rich lynx skins upon their arms, and various 
 ornaments upon their heads, composed of braids of hair, which 
 also hang down upon their breasts on each side. Others wear 
 different ornaments, such as the women of Egypt and Syria 
 use. The older and the married people, both men and women, 
 wear many ornaments in their ears, hanging down in the oriental 
 manner. We saw upon them several pieces of wrought cop- 
 per, which is more esteemed by them than gold, as this is not 
 valued on account of its colour, but is considered by them as 
 the most ordinary of the metals — yellow being the colour es- 
 pecially disliked by them ; azure and red are those in highest 
 estimation with them. Of those things which we gave them, they 
 prized most highly the bells, azure crystals, and other toys to 
 hang in their ears and about their necks ; they do not value 
 or care to have silk or gold stuffs, or other kinds of cloth, nor 
 implerjients of steel or iron. When we showed them our arms, 
 they expressed no admiration, and only asked how they were 
 made ; the same was the case with the looking-glasses, which 
 they returned to us, smiling, as soon as they had looked at 
 them. They are very generous, giving away whatever they 
 have. We formed a great friendship with them, and one day 
 we entered into the port with our ship, having before rode at 
 the distance of a league from the shore, as the weather was ad- 
 verse. They came off to the ship with a number of their little 
 boats, with their faces painted in divers colours, showing us 
 real signs of joy, bringing us of their provisions, and signifying 
 to us where we could best ride in safety with our ship, and 
 keeping with us until we had cast anchor. We remained 
 among them fifteen days, to provide ourselves with many things 
 of which we were in want, during which time they came every 
 day to see our ship, bringing with them their wives, of whom 
 they were very careful ; for, although tliey came on board 
 themselves, and remained a long while, they made their wives 
 stay in the boats, nor could we ever get them on board by any 
 entreaties or any presents we could make them. One of the 
 two kings often came with his queen and many attendants, 
 to see us for his amusement ; but he always stopped at the 
 distance of about two hundred paces, and sent a boat to inform 
 us of his intended visit, saying they would come and see our 
 ship — this was done for safety, and as soon as they had an an- 
 
48 VERAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 
 
 swer from us they came off, and remained awhile to look 
 around ; but on hearing the annoying cries of the sailors, the 
 king sent the queen, with her attendants, in a very light boat, 
 to wait, near an island a quarter of a league distant from us, 
 while he remained a long time on board, talking with us by 
 signs, and expressing his fanciful notions about every thing in 
 the ship, and asking the use of all. After imitating our modes 
 of salutation, and tasting oiur food, he courteously took leave 
 of us. Sometimes, when our men staid two or three days on 
 a small island, near the ship, for their various necessities, as 
 sailors are wont to do, he came with seven or eight of his at- 
 tendants, to inquire about our movements, often asking us if we 
 intended to remain there long, and offering us every thing at his 
 command, and then he would shoot with his bow, and run up and 
 down with his people, making great sport for us. We often went 
 five or six leagues into the interior, and found the country as 
 pleasant as is possible to conceive, adapted to cultivation of every 
 kind, whether of corn, wine or oil ; there are open plains 
 twenty-five or thirty leagues in extent, entirely free from trees 
 or other hinderances, and of so great fertility, that whatever is 
 sown there will yield an excellent crop. On entering the 
 woods, we observed that they might all be traversed by an army 
 ever so numerous ; the trees of which they were compose^, were 
 oaks, cypresses, and others, unknown in Europe. We found, 
 also, apples, plumbs, filberts, and many other fruits, but all of 
 a different kind from ours. The animals, which are in great 
 numbers, as stags, deer, lynxes, and many other species, are 
 taken by snares, and by bows, the latter being their chief 
 implement ; their arrows are wrought with great beauty, and for 
 the heads of them, they use emery, jasper, hard marble, and 
 other sharp stones, in the place of iron. They also use the 
 same kind of sharp stones in cutting down trees, and with 
 them they construct their boats of single logs, hollowed out 
 with admirable skill, and sufficiently commodious to contain 
 ten or twelve persons ; their oars are short, and broad at the 
 end, and are managed in rowing by force of the arms alone, 
 with perfect security, and as nimbly as they choose. We saw 
 their dwellings, which are of a circular form, of about ten or 
 twelve paces in circumference, made of logs split in halves, 
 without any regularity of architecture, and covered with roofs 
 of straw, nicely put on, which protect them from wind and 
 rain. There is no doubt that they would build stately edifices 
 if they had workmen as skilful as ours, for the whole sea- 
 coast abounds in shining stones, crystals, and alabaster, and 
 for the same reason it has ports and retreats for animals. 
 They change their habitations from place to place as circum- 
 stances of situation and season may require ; this is easily 
 
VERRAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 49 
 
 done, as they have only to take with them their mats, and they 
 have other houses prepared at once. The father and the 
 whole family dwell together in one house in great numbers ; in 
 some we saw twenty-five or thirty persons. Their food is pulse, 
 as with the other tribes, which is here better than elsewhere, 
 and more carefully cultivated ; in the time of sowing they are 
 governed by the moon, the sprouting of grain, and many other 
 ancient usages. They live by hunting and fishing, and they 
 are long-lived. If they fall sick, they cure themselves without 
 medicine, by the heat of the fire, and their death at last comes 
 from extreme old age. We judge them to be very affectionate 
 and charitable towards their relatives — making loud lamenta- 
 tions in their adversity, and in their misery calling to mind all 
 their good fortune. At their departure out of life, their relations 
 mutually join in weeping, mingled with singing, for a long 
 while. This is all that we could learn of them. This region 
 is situated in the parallel of Rome, being 41^^ 40' of north 
 latitude, but much colder from accidental circumstances, and 
 not by nature, as I shall hereafter explain to your Majesty, and 
 confine myself at present to the description of its local situa- 
 tion. It looks towards the south, on which side the liarbour is 
 half a league broad ; afterwards, upon entering it, the extent 
 between the coast and north is twelve leagues, and then en- 
 larging itself it forms a very large bay, twenty leagues in cir- 
 cumference, in which are five small islands, of great fertility 
 and beauty, covered with large and lofty trees. Among these 
 islands any fleet, however large, might ride safel)^, without fear 
 of tempests or other dangers. Turning towards the south, at 
 the entrance of the harbour, on both sides, there are very pleas- 
 ant hills, and many streams of clear water, which flow down to 
 the sea. In the midst of the entrance, there is a rock of free- 
 stone, formed by nature, and suitable for the construction of 
 any kind of machine or bulwark for the defence of the harboiu:.* 
 Having supplied ourselves with every thing necessary, on 
 the fifth of May we departed from the port, and sailed one hun- 
 dred and fifty leagues, keeping so close to the coast as never to 
 lose it from our sight ; the nature of the country appeared much 
 the same as before, but the mountains were a little higher, 
 
 *Tlie above description applies to Narraganset bay and the harbour of New- 
 port in Rhode Island, although mistaken hy Dr. Miller, in his Discourse before 
 this Societ}^ as published in the first volume of the former series of Collections, 
 for the bay and harbour of New- York. The latter are briefly described in a 
 preceding paragraph of this translation, p. 45, with sufficient clearness to ad. 
 mit of their being easily recognized. The island " of a triangular form, 
 resembling the island of Rhodes," which Verrazzano mentions as fifty leagues 
 to the east of New- York, p. 46, is doubtless Block Island. — Kd. 
 
 7 
 
50 VERRAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 
 
 and all in appearance rich in minerals. We did not stop to land 
 as the weather was very favourable for pursuing our voyage, 
 and the country presented no variety. The shore stretched to 
 the east, and fifty leagues beyond more to the north, where we 
 found a more elevated country, full of very thick woods of fir 
 trees, cypresses and the like, indicative of a cold climate. The 
 people were eiitirely diifcrent from the others we had seen, 
 whom we had found kind and gentle, but these were so rude and 
 barbarous that we were unable by any signs we could make, to 
 hold communication with them. They clothe themselves in the 
 skins of bears, lynxes, seals and other animals. Their food, as 
 far as we could judge by several visits to their dwellings, is ob- 
 tained by hunting and fishing, and certain fruits, which are a sort 
 ol root of spontaneous growth. They have no pulse, and we 
 saw no signs of cultivation ; the land appears sterile and unfit for 
 growing of fruit or grain of any kind. If we wished at any 
 time to traffick with them, they came to the sea shore and stood 
 upon the rocks, from which they lowered down by a cord to our 
 boats beneath whatever they had to barter, continually crying 
 out to us, not to come nearer, and instantly demanding from us 
 that which was to be given in exchange ; they took from us onl}'' 
 knives, fish hooks and sharpened steel. No regard was paid to 
 our courtesies ; when we had nothing left to exchange with 
 them, the men at our departure made the most brutal signs of 
 disdain and contempt possible Against their will we penetrated 
 two or three leagues into the interior with twent3^-five men ; 
 when we came to the shore, they shot at us with their arrows, 
 raising the most horrible cries and afterwards fleeing to the 
 woods. In this region we found nothing extraordinary except 
 vast forests and some metalliferous hills, as we infer from see- 
 ing that many of the people wore copper ear-rings. Departing 
 from thence, we kept along the coast, steering north-east, and 
 found the country more pleasant and open, free from woods, 
 and distant in the interior we saw lofty mountains, but none 
 which extended to the shore. Within fifty leagues we discovered 
 thirty-two islands, all near the main land, small and of pleasant 
 appearance, but high and so disposed as to afford excellent har- 
 bours and channels, as we see in the Adriatic gulph, near Illy- 
 ria and Dalmatia. We had no intercourse with the people, but 
 we judge that they were similar in nature and usages to those 
 we were last among. After sailing between east and north the 
 distance of one hundred and fifty leagues more, and finding our 
 provisions and naval stores nearly exhausted, we took in wood 
 and water and determined to return to France, having discovered 
 502, that is 700 (sic) leagues of unknown lands. 
 
 As to the religious faith of all these tribes, not understanding 
 their language, we could not discover either by sign or gestures 
 
VERRAZZANo's VOYAGE. 51 
 
 any thing certain. It seemed to us that they had no rehgion 
 nor laws, nor any knowledge of a First Cause or Mover, that 
 they worshipped neither the heavens, stars, sun, moon nor other 
 planets ; nor could we learn if they were given to any kind of 
 idolatry, or offered any sacrifices or supplications, or if they have 
 temples or houses of prayer in their villages ; — our conclusion 
 was, that they have no religious belief whatever, but live in this 
 respect entirely free. All which proceeds from ignorance, as they 
 are very easy to be persuaded, and imitated uswith earnestness 
 and fervour in all which they saw us do as Christians in our acts 
 of worship. 
 
 It remains for me to lay before your Majesty a Cosmogra- 
 phical exposition of our voyage.* Taking our departure, as 
 I before observed, from the above mentioned desert rocks, which 
 lie on the extreme verge of the west, as known to the ancients, 
 in the meridian of the Fortunate Islands, and in the latitude of 
 32 degrees north from the equator, and steering a westward 
 
 • In the remainder of this letter, which is chiefly cosmographical, Ver- 
 razzano shows how many degrees farther westward he had sailed, than the 
 knowledge of the ancients extended, and how erroneous were their notions 
 about the relative proportions of land and water on the earth's surface. 
 As to the first point, the whole calculation it will be observed is based upon 
 an error in estimating his meridional distance, which ia too large by nearly 
 one half, and of course his difference of longitude in the same proportion ; but 
 this is no disparagement to his nautical skill, for navigation was in its infancy 
 at the time of his voyage, and he had not the aid of a lunar observation 
 or a chronometer to correct his dead reckoning. Nor does it appear from 
 the letter precisely in what way he determined his ship's progress ; he says 
 only that he took observations of the sun (probably with an artrolabe as 
 the quadrant had not then been invented,) and that he kept notes of his 
 daily run ; but the whole account, and particularly his deductions respecting 
 the relative proportion of land and water, prove how very imperfect all 
 such knowledge then was. This part of the letter is now we believe, for 
 the first time, translated into English ; in giving it this new dress, we have 
 endeavoured to keep as close as possible to the original, but such is its ob- 
 scurity and confusedness of expression, that we do not venture to assert we 
 have derived the exact meaning of every passage, still we are confident 
 that no essential idea has been omitted or mistranslated. In the numerical 
 computations the fractional parts are neglected, as they were found to be 
 often wrong, owing most likely to the copyist's carelessness, and as they are 
 not important to the right understanding of the statements. 
 
52 VERRAZZANO'S VOYAGE, 
 
 course, we had run, when we first made land, a distance of 1200 
 leagues or 4800 miles, reckoning, according to nautical usage, 
 four miles to a league. This distance calculated geometrically, 
 upon the usual ratio of the diameter to the circumference of the 
 circle, gives 92 degrees ; for if we take 1 14 degrees as the chord 
 of an arc of a great circle, we have by the same ratio 95 deg., 
 as the chord of an arc on the parallel of 34 degrees, being that 
 on which we first made land, and 300 degrees as the circum- 
 ference of the whole circle, passing through this plane. Allowing 
 then, as actual observations show, that 62| terrestrial miles cor- 
 respond to a celestial degree, we find the whole circumference of 
 300 deg., as just given, to be 18,759 miles, which divided by 360, 
 makes the length of a degree of longitude in the parallel of 34 
 degrees to be 52 miles, and that is the true measm'e. Upon this 
 basis, 1200 leagues, or 4800 miles meridional distance, on the 
 parallel of 34, give 92 degrees, and so many therefore have we 
 sailed farther to the west than was known to the ancients. 
 During our voyage we had no lunar eclipses or like celestial 
 phenomenas, we therefore determined our progress from the 
 difference of longitude, which we ascertained by various instru- 
 ments, by taking the sun's altitude from day to day, and by cal- 
 culating geometrically the distance run by the ship from one 
 horizon to another ; all these observations, as also the ebb and 
 flow of the sea in all places, were noted in a little book, which 
 may prove serviceable to navigators ; they are communicated to 
 your Majesty in the hope of promoting science. 
 
 My intention in this voyage was to reach Cathay, on the ex- 
 treme coast of Asia, expecting however, to find in the new^ly dis- 
 covered land some such an obstacle, as they have proved to be, 
 yet I did not doubt that I should penetrate by some passage to 
 the eastern ocean. It was the opinion of the ancients, that our 
 oriental Indian ocean is one and without any interposing land ; 
 Aristotle supports it by arguments founded on various probabili- 
 ties ; but it is contrary to that of the moderns and shown to be 
 erroneous by experience ; the country which has been discover- 
 ed, and which was unknown to the ancients, is another world 
 compared with that before known, being manifestly larger than 
 our Europe, together with Africa and perhaps Asia, if we right- 
 ly estimate its extent, as shall now be briefly explained to your 
 Majesty. The Spaniards have sailed south beyond the equator 
 on a meridian 20 degrees west of the Fortunate Islands to the 
 latitude of 54, and there still found land ; turning about they 
 steered northward on the same meridian and along the coast to 
 the eighth degree of latitude near the equator, and thence along 
 the coast more to the west and north-west, to the latitude of 21^, 
 without finding a termination to the continent ; they estimated 
 the distance run as 89 degrees, which, added to the 20 first run 
 
VBRRAZZANO'S VOYAOE. 53 
 
 west of the Canaries, make 109 degrees and so far west ; they 
 sailed from the meridian of these islands, but this may vary 
 somewhat from truth ; we did not make this voyage and there- 
 fore cannot speak from experience ; we calculated it geometri- 
 cally from the observations fm-nished by many navigators, who 
 have made the voyage and afhrm the distance to be 1600 leagues, 
 due allowance being made for the deviations of the ship from a 
 straight course, by reason of contrary winds. I hope that we 
 shall now obtain certain information on these points, by new 
 voyages to be made on the same coasts. But to return to our- 
 selves ; in the voyage which we have made by order of your 
 Majesty, in addition to the 92 degrees we run towards the west 
 from our point of tleparture, before we reached land in the lati- 
 tude of 34, we have to count 300 leagues which we ran north- 
 east-wardly, and 400 nearly east along the coast before we 
 reached the 50th parallel of north latitude, the point where we 
 turned our coiurse from the shore towards home. Beyond this 
 point the Portuguese had already sailed as far north as the Arctic 
 circle, without coming to the termination of the land. Thus 
 adding the degrees of south latitude explored, which are 54, to 
 those of the north, which are 66, the sum is 120, and therefore 
 more than are emlDraced in the latitude of Africa and Europe, 
 for the north point of Norway, which is the extremity of Europe, 
 is in 71 north, and the Cape of Good Hope, which is the south- 
 ern extremity of Africa, is in 35 south, and their sum is only 
 106, and if the breadth of this newly discovered country corre- 
 sponds to its extent of sea coast, it doubtless exceeds Asia in 
 size. In this way we find that the land forms a much larger 
 portion of our globe than the ancients supposed, who maintain- 
 ed, contrary to mathematical reasoning, that it was less than the 
 water, whereas actual experience proves the reverse, so that we 
 judge in respect to extent of surface the land covers as much 
 space as the water ; and I hope more clearly and more satisfac- 
 torily to point out and explain to your Majesty the great extent 
 of that new land, or new world, of which I have been speaking. 
 The continent of Asia and Africa, we know for certain is joined 
 to Europe at the north in Norway and Russia, which disproves 
 the idea of the ancients that all this part had been navigated 
 from the Cimbric Chersoncsus, eastward as far as the Caspian 
 Sea. They also maintained that the whole continent was sur- 
 rounded by two seas situate to the east and west of it, Avhich 
 seas in fact do not surround either of the two continents, for as 
 we have seen above, the land of the southern hemisphere at the 
 latitude of 54 extends eastwardly an unknown distance, and that 
 of the northern passing the 66th parallel turns to the east, and 
 has no termination as high as the 70th. In a short time, I hope, 
 we shall have more certain knowledge of these things, by the aid 
 
54 TERRAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 
 
 of your Majesty, whom I pray Almighty God to prosper in last- 
 ing glory, that we may see the most important results of this 
 our cosmography in the fulfilment of the holy words of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 On board the ship Dolphin, in the port of Dieppe in Normandy, 
 the 8th of July, 1524. 
 
 Your humble servitor, 
 
 Janus Verrazzanus. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 The foregoing account of.the celebrated voyage of the Floren^ 
 tine navigator Verrazzano, is fairly entitled to a place in this vol- 
 ume, from the circumstance of its containing the earliest notice of 
 the bay and harbour of New-York that has come to our knowledge. 
 It was originally published about forty years after the completion of 
 the voyage, in the third volume of Ramusio's Collection of Voy- 
 ages and Travels, in the Italian language, at Venice. An English 
 translation of it first appeared in the year 1600, published by Hak- 
 luyt in his well-known Collection. The discovery by our country- 
 man, George W. Greene, Esq., at Florence, of what appears to be 
 a genuine manuscript copy of the original letter, as written by 
 Verrazzano, differing in several respects from the one in Ramusio, 
 forms an interesting event in the history of American discovery. 
 For the purpose of enabling the critical reader to compare the 
 two texts in the original language, the manuscript copy furnished 
 to the Society by the attentions of Mr. Greene, is now published. 
 This is believed to be its first appearance in print.* Editor. 
 
 II Capitano Giovanni da Vkrrazzano, fioTentino di Nor- 
 mandia alia Serenissima corona di Francia dice : 
 
 Da poi la fortuna passata nelle spiagge settentrionali, Ser"?."* 
 Signore, non scrissi a vostra serenissima et cristianissima 
 Maesta quelle che era seguito delli quattro legni clie quella 
 mando per lo oceano ad iscoprir nuove terre, pensando di tulto 
 sia stata certificata come dalle impetuose forze de' venti fummo 
 costrctti con sola la nave Normanda e Dalfina afflitti ricorrere 
 in bretlagna dove restaurati avra V. S. M. inteso il discorso 
 facemmo con quelle armate in guerra per li lidi di Spagna, di 
 
 * For a full account of the researches of Mr. Greene, in reference to this 
 subject, and their valuable results, see the North American Review, for Octo- 
 ber, 1837 : Article — " The Life and Voyages of Verrazzano." 
 
66 VERRAZZANo's VOYAGE. 
 
 poi la nuova disposizionc con sola la dalfina in scguirc la prima 
 navigazione, dalla quale essendo ritornato daro adviso a V. S. 
 M. di quello abbiamo trovato. 
 
 Dallo deserto scopulo propinquo alia isola di Madera del 
 Ser"?." re di Portogallo con la delta dalfina alii 17. del passato 
 mese di gennajo con cinquanta uomini forniti di vettovaglie, 
 arme et altri strumenti bellici e munizione navale per otto 
 mesi partimmo navigando per zeffiro spirando subsolano con 
 dolce e soave levita, in venlicinque giorni corremmo legho 
 800, e il di 14 dl Fcbbrajo passammo una tormenta tanto 
 aspera quanto mai alcuno die navigasse passassc. Delia quale 
 con lo divino ajuto e bontade c laude, del glorioso nome e 
 fortunato latti atti a sopportare la violenta onda del marc, 
 fuimno liberi, c seguimmo nostra navigazione continuando 
 verso I'occidente pigliando alquanto del seltentrione, e in venti 
 cinque altri giorni corremmo piu oltre leghe 400, dove ci 
 apparse una nuova terra mai da alcuno antico o moderno vista. 
 Mostravasi alquanto bassa al principio, ma approssimatici a un 
 quarto di lega conosccmmo quella per li grandissimi fuoclii 
 facevano al lito del mare essere abitata : vedemmo correva 
 verso TAustro, lustrandola per Irovar alcuno porto dove potes- 
 simo con la nave sorgere per investigare la natura di quella in 
 spazio di leghe 50 non trovammo porto prossimo alcuno dove 
 sicuri potessimo posare, e visto che continuo scendeva verso 
 I'Austro deliberammo lornare a rigarla verso il settentrione 
 donde il medesimo trovammo sorgendo alia costa, mandando il 
 battello a terra avemmo vista di molta gente che venivano al 
 •lido del mare ct vedendo approssimarci fuggirono, alcuna volta 
 fermandosi si voltavano addietro con grande ammirazione ris- 
 guardando, ma assicurandoli noi con vary segni, venivano 
 alcuni di quegli, mostrando grande allegrezza, a vederci mara- 
 vigliandosi di nostri abiti e figure e bianchezza facendone varj 
 segni dove col battello dovcssimo piu commodamente sccndere 
 offerendone di loro vivande : fummo alia terra e quello potes- 
 simo di loro vita e costumi conoscere con brevita diro a V. 
 S. M. Vanno del tuto nudi salvoche alle parti pudibunde 
 portano alcune pelli di piccoli animali simili a martori, con una 
 cintura d'erbe tessute con code d'altri animali che pcndono cir- 
 cuendo il corpo sino alle ginocchia, il resto nudo, il capo 
 simile. Alcuni di loro portano certe ghirlande simili di penne 
 d'uccelli. Son di colore neri non molto dagli Etiopi difformi i 
 capelli neri e folti non molto lunghi, i quali legano insieme 
 dietro alia testa in forma d'una piccola coda. Quanto alia 
 similitudine dell' uomo sono bene proporzionati di mezza sta- 
 tura e piii presto a noi eccedono in nel petto ampli, nelle 
 braccia disposte le gambe e I'altroMel corpo bene composti : non 
 hanno altro salvo alquanto nel viso lendono in larghezza, non 
 
VERRAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 57 
 
 pero lutti chc a molti vedemmo il viso profilato, gli occhi neri e 
 grandi la guardatura fissa, non sono di molta forza ma di 
 iiigenio aculi agili e grandissimi corridori per quello potemmo 
 per espcrienza conoscere. 8omigliano per due eslremi agl' 
 orienlali massimc a quegli delle ultime regioni. Non po- 
 lemmo di loro coslumi mollo in parliculare coniprcndere per la 
 poca stanza faccmino alia terra, per essere suso I'ondc alia 
 piaggia. Trovammo non lungi di quegli altri populi de quali 
 pensiamo il vivere sia confoniie, e il lito e coperto tutto di una 
 minuta rena alto piedi quindici, estendendosi in forma di piccoli 
 colli largo passi cinquanta. Poi ascendendo si trovano alcuni 
 bracci di mare clie entrano per alcune foci rigando il lito dall' 
 una air altra parte come corre il lito di quello. A presso si 
 mostra la terra lata tanto eminente die ecccde il lito arenoso, 
 con belle campagne e province piene di grandissime selve, 
 parte rare e parte dense, vestite di varj colori di arbori di tanta 
 vaghezza e dilettevole guardatura quanto esprimere sia pos- 
 sibile, ne credo quelle sieno come la ercinea selva o le aspre 
 solitudini di scitia o piaggie scttentrionali piene di vi\\ e arbori, 
 ma ornate di palme, lauri, e cipressi e altre varieta d' arbori 
 incogniti alia nostra Europa quali da lungo spazio spirano 
 sLiavissimi odori i quali non possemmo conoscere per la causa 
 sopra narrata non clie a noi fosse difficile per le solve dis- 
 correre che tutte sono penetrabili, ne pensiamo participando 
 dello oriente per la circumferenza sieno senza qualche drog- 
 heria o liquore aromatico et altre divitie oro ed altro del quale 
 colore la terra tutta tende, e copiosa di molti animali daini, 
 cervi, lepre, e simili. Di laghi e stagni di viva acqua copiosa 
 con varj numeri d' uccelli atti e commodi a ogni dilettevole pia- 
 cere di venagione. Sta questa terra gTadi 34, I'aria salubre 
 pura e temperata dal caldo e dal freddo. Venti non impetuosi 
 in quella rcgione spirano, e quelli che piii continui regnano 
 sono coro e zeffiro. Al tempo estivo del quale noi fummo il 
 ciclo e sercno con rara pluvia, e se alcuna volta da venti 
 australi I'aria incorre in qualche pruina o caliggine in imo 
 stante non durando e disfatta tornando pura e chiara, il mare 
 tranquillo e non fiuttuoso le onde del quale sono placide ancora 
 che il lito tutto renda in bassczza, e nudo di porti non pero e 
 infesto a naviganti essendo tutto netto e senza alcuno scopulo e 
 profondo che per insino a 4 o 5 passi si trova presso alia terra 
 senza flusso o riflusso piedi venti d'acqua crescendo tal pro- 
 porzione uniforme alia profondita nel pelago con tanto buono 
 tenitorio che qualsivoglia nave da tempesta afflilta mai in 
 quelle parti non rompcndo le funi potra perire, e qiiesto abbi- 
 amo provato per espcrienza. Imperocche per valcre nel 
 principio di Marzo come sempre ogni regione essere suole le 
 forze de venti sendo noi in alto mare surti da procella oppressi 
 8 
 
58 VERRAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 
 
 prima trovammo la ancora rotla clie ncl fondo arasse o facesse 
 movinieiito alcuno. 
 
 Partimmo di qucsto luogo continuo scorrendo la cosla qual 
 trovanimo tornava alio occidente veggeiido per tutta quella 
 grandissimi fuoclii per la moltitudine delli abitatori. Surgendo 
 in quella alia piaggia per non tenere porto alcuno, per neces- 
 sita d'acqua mandammo il battello a terra con 25 uomini, per 
 le grandissime onde gittava il marc al lito per essere la piaggia 
 aperta non fu possibilc senza pericolo di perdere il battello die 
 alcuno potesse in terra scendere, vedemmo molta gente veni- 
 vano al lito facendo varj segni d'amista mostrando fussimo a 
 terra, fra quali vidi uno atto magnifico come intendera V. S. M. 
 Mandando noi a nuoto uno giovane de' nostri marinari a terra 
 portando a quegli alcune fantasie come sonagli specchi ed altrc 
 gentilezzc, ed essendo 3 o 4 giunti prossimo a quegli gittando 
 loro le merce e volendo adictro tornarsi fu tanto dalle onde 
 rimosso che quasi morto cadde trasportato alia riva del lito 
 quale visto la gente della terra. Subito corsono pigliandolo 
 per la testa e gambe e braccia lo portarono alquanto lontano, 
 onde veggendo il giovane in tal forma portarsi da terrora spa- 
 ventato metteva grandissimi gridi — il che loro in loro lingua 
 simile facevano dimostrando non temesse — di poi quelle in terra 
 a pie d'uno colletto posto facevano grandissimi atti di ammi- 
 razione guardando la bianchezza delle sue carni per tutto lin- 
 eandolo e spogliandogli la camicia ed i calzamonti e restato 
 nudo feciono appresso di quello uno grandissimo fuoco appros- 
 siraandolo al calore. II che visto i marinari che erano al bat- 
 tello restati pieni di spavento come in ogni caso nuovo e co- 
 stume di quelli pensavano che per cibo lo volessero arrostire, 
 riavuto lui le forze, con quelli alquanto dimorato per segni 
 dimostro volersi tornare alia nave e quelli con grandissimo 
 amore tenendolo sempre stretto, con varj abbracciamenti 1' ac- 
 compagniorno fino al mare e per piu assicurarlo allargandosi 
 in uno colle eminente stettero a riguardarlo fino che quello fu al 
 battello. II giovane di queste gente conobbe che tali sono di 
 colore nero come gli altri e le carne molto lustre, di mediana 
 statura, il viso pid profilato, il corpo e 1' altre membra assai 
 piu dilicati di molta poca forza e piit presto d' ingegno altro 
 non vide. 
 
 Di qui partiti seguendo sempre il lito che tornava verso set- 
 tentrione pervenimmo in spazio di leghe 50 a un' altra terra 
 che molto si mostrava bella c plena di gi'andissime selve. 
 Guignemmo a quella andando 20 uomini cirea due leghe fra 
 terra e trovammo le genti che per paura s'erano fuggitc alle 
 solve, cercando per tutto sconlrammo una femina molto vec- 
 chia cd una giovane d' anni 18 in 20, le quali per timore si 
 crano asrosc fra 1' erbc. Aveva la vccchia due fanciullettc 
 
VERRAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 59 
 
 quale portava sopra Ic spallc e dielro al collo iino fanciullo 
 tutti d' eta d' anni VIII in circa, giunti noi a quelli cominciunio 
 a gridare e fame «egni agli uomini che s'erano fuggiti alle 
 selve. Donammoli noi a mangiare delle nostra vivande quale 
 con gran gusto accettorno, la giovane tutto rinunziava e con ira 
 a terra gittava e pigliammo il fanciullo alia vecchia per menare 
 in Francia, e volendo prendere la giovane quale era di molla 
 bellezza, e d' alta slatura, non fu mai possibile per i grandis- 
 simi gridi spandeva la potessimo condurre al mare avendo a 
 passare per alcune selve ed esscndo dalla nave lungi deliberammo 
 lasciarla portando solo il fanciullo. Trovammo costoro ])iu 
 bianchi che i passati, vestiti di certe erbe che stavano pendenti a' 
 rami degli alberi quale tessono con varie corde di canape silves- 
 tra, il capo nudo nella medesima forma degli altri, il vivere lore in 
 gcnere e di legumi de quali abondano differenti nel colore a 
 grandezze de' noslri di ottimo e dilettevole sapore. In oltre di 
 venazione pesci ed ucelli quali pigliano con lacci ed archi fanno 
 di duro legno, le freccie di calamo e nella estremita mettono 
 ossi di pesci, e d' altri animali. Sono in questa parte le fiere 
 piu salvattiche che non sono in la nostra Europa per la continua 
 molesta hanno dei venatori. Vedemmo molte delle loro bar- 
 chette construtte d' un solo albero lunghe piedi 20 larghe picdi 
 4 non con ferro o pietra o altro genere di metallo sono fabbricate 
 imperocche tutta quella terra in spazio di leghe dugento che vi 
 corremnio alcuna pietra d' alcuna sorta mai da noi fu vista. 
 Auitansi del quarto elemento del legno tale parte quanto basti 
 alia concavita dela barca ed il simile della prora e poppa tanto 
 che navigando possa solcare le onde del mare. La terra del 
 sito, bonla e bellezza e come 1' altre selve vare di vario genere 
 d' alberi piene ma non di tanto odore per essere piu settentri- 
 onale e fredda. Vedemmo in quelle molte vite dalla natura 
 produtte, quali alzandosi avvoltano agli alberi come nella cisal- 
 pina Gallia costumano, le quali se dagli agricoltori avessino il 
 perfetto ordine di cultura senza dubbio produrrebbono ottimi 
 vini, perche piu volte il frutto di quelle beendo, veggendo suave 
 e dolce non dal nostro differente sono da loro tenuti in estima- 
 zione imperocche per tutto dove nascono levano gii arbuscoli 
 circustanti ad causa il frutto possa germinare. Trovammo rose 
 silvestre e viole gigli e molte sorte di erbe c fieri odoriferi da nostri 
 differenti. Le abitazioni loro non conoscemmo per essere dentro 
 infra terra, estimiamo per molti segni vedemmo sieno di legno e 
 di erbe composte, credendo ancora per varie congetture e vestigii 
 molti di quegli dormire alia campagne ed altra che il cielo non 
 abbiano per copertura. Altro di costoro non conoscemmo, pensia- 
 mo tutti gli altri della passata terra vivino nel medesimo mode. 
 Essendo in questa terra dimorati tre giorni, surti alia costa per 
 la rarita de' porti deliberammo partire scorrendo sempre al lito 
 
60 VERRAZZANO'S VOYAGE, 
 
 infra settentrione eel orientc, il di solamente navigando e la 
 notte posando la ancora in termini di leghe cento trovamnio un 
 sito molto amcno posto infra piccoli colli eminenti nel mezzo 
 de' quali correva al mare una grandissima riviera, la quale 
 dentro alia foce era profonda e dal marc all' eminenza di quella 
 col ricrescimento delle acque quali trovammo piedi otto e vi 
 saria passata ogni oneraria nave e per essere surti nella costa in 
 buono obbligo non volemmo senza intelligenza dclla foce av- 
 venturarci fummo col battello ed entrando nella riviera alia ter- 
 ra quale trovammo molto populata e le genti quasi confonne all' 
 altre vestiti di penne d' uccelli di varj colori venivano verso di 
 noi allegramente mettendo grandissimi gridi di ammirazione 
 mostrandone dove col battello avessimo piu sicuramente a 
 posare, entrammo in detta riviera dentro alia terra circa mezza 
 lega dove vedemmo faceva un bellissimo lago di circuito di leghe 
 tre in circa, per lo quale andavano discoiTendo dall' una all' altra 
 parte al mniicro di trenta di loro barchette con infinite genti che 
 passavano dall' una all' altra terra per vederci. In uno stante 
 come advenire suole nel navicare movendosi impctuoso contra- 
 rio vento dal mare fammo forzati tornarci alia nave lasciando 
 la detta terra con molto dispiacere per la commodita e vaghezza 
 di quella pensando non fosse senza qualche facolla di prezzo 
 mostrandosi tutti li colli di quella minerali. Levata T ancora 
 navicammo verso 1' oriente che cosi la terra tornava, discorse 
 leghe ottanta. Sempre a vista di quella discoprimmo una isola 
 in forma triangolare lontano dal continente leghe X di gran- 
 dezza simile alia isola di rodi plena di colli, coperta d' alberi, e 
 molto populata per li continui fuochi, per tutto intorno al lito 
 vedemmo che facevano. Battezzammolo in nome della voslra 
 clarissimagenitrice. Non surgendo a quella per la opposizione 
 del tempo venimmo a un' altra terra distante dalla isola leghe 
 XV trovammo uno bellissimo porlo e prima in quelle entrassi- 
 mo vedemmo circa XX barchette di genti che venivano con 
 varj gridi e maraviglie intorno alia nave non approssimandosi 
 piu che cinquanta passi fermavansi vedendo lo edifizio nos- 
 tro effigie ed abiti : di poi tutti insieme spandevano un altro 
 grido, significando rallegrarsi, assicuratigli alquanto imitando 
 loro gcsti si approssimorno tanto che gittammo loro alcuni so- 
 nagli e specchj e molte fantasie quale prese con riso e riguar- 
 dandole sicuramente nella nave entrorno. Erano infra quelli 
 duo re de tanta bella statura e forma quanto narrare sia pos- 
 sibile il prime d' anni 40 in circa 1' altro d' anni 24 F abito de' 
 quali tale era — il piCi vecchio sopra il corpo nudo aveva una 
 pelle di cervo lavorata artifiziosamente alia damaschina con 
 varj ricami, la testa nuda, li capelli aditro avolti con varic 
 Icgaturc, al collo una catena larga ornata di molte pietre di di- 
 versi colori. II giovane quasi nella medesima forma. Era ques- 
 
VERRAZZANo's VOYAGE. 61 
 
 ta la piu bella gente e la piii gentile di costumi abbiamo 
 trovata in qiiesta navigazione, eccedono noi di grandezza, sono 
 di colore bianchissimo, alcuni pendono piii in bianchezza ma 
 altri in colore flavo, il viso profilato, i capegli lunghi e neri nei 
 quali pongono grandissimo studio in adornargli, gli occhi neri e 
 pronti, la aria dolce e soave imitando molto 1' antico. Dellc altre 
 parti del corpo non diro a V. S. M. tenendo tutte le propor- 
 zione del corpo 1' appartiene a uno bene composto. Le donne 
 loro sono dclla medesima forma e belleza molto graziose e di ve- 
 niista aira e grato aspetto di costumi e continentia, nude con solo 
 una pelle di cervo ricamata come gli uomini alcune alle braccia 
 portano pelle di lupi cervieri molto ricche, il capo con varj orna- 
 menti di treccie composte de' medesimi capegli che pendono dall' 
 uno e r altro lato del petto. Alcune hanno altre acconciature 
 come le donne d' Egitto e di soria usano, e queste sono quelle 
 che eccedono alia eta e giunte in sposalizio agli orecchi tengono 
 varie fantasie pendenti come gli orientali costumano cosi gli 
 uomini come le donne a quali vedemmo molte lamine di rame 
 lavorate da quelli tenute in pregio piu che I'oro ; il quale per il 
 colore non stimano : imperocche fra tutti i metalli da loro per 
 il piu vile e tenuto per il giallo colore che aborrono, lo azzurro 
 ed il rosso sopra ogni altro esaltando. Quelle che da noi gli 
 fn donato che piii tenessino in prezzo erano sonagli, cristal- 
 lini azzurri ed altre fantasie da tcnere agli orecchj cd al collo, 
 non prezzano drappi di seta o di'oro o di'oltri gcneri di drappi, 
 ne si curano quelli avere, simile de' metalli come acciajo 
 ferro, perche piu volte mostrandoli delle nostre armi non ne 
 pigliavano ammirazione e di quelle domandavano solo lo arti 
 fizio risguardando — delli speech] il simile facevano subito 
 quelli guardando, ridendo renunziavano. Sono molto liberali 
 che tutto quelle hanno donato. Facemmo con loro grande 
 amista ed uno giorno avanti entrassimo con la nave nel porto 
 stando per li tempo adversi una lega nel mare surti venivano 
 con un numero di loro barchette alia nave puntata ed acconci 
 il viso con varj colori mostrandoci vero segno di allegrezza, por- 
 tandone delle loro vivande, facendoci segno dove per salva- 
 zione della nave nel porto avessimo a surgere di continue ac- 
 compagnandone perfino a quelle posammo la ancora, pel quale 
 posamma giorni quindici restaurandone di molta opportunita, 
 dove ogni giorno veniva gente a vedere alia nave menando le 
 loro donne delle quali sono molto curiosi imperocche entrando 
 loro in quella dimorando lungo spazio facevano le loro donne 
 aspettare nolle barchette e con quanti pri'eghi li facessimo of- 
 ferendo donare loro varie cose non era possibile che laciassino 
 quelle in nave entrare e molte volte venendo uno delli duo re 
 con la regina e molti gentili uomini per suo piacerc a vedere, 
 
62 VERRAZZANo's VOYAGE. 
 
 in prima si fermava scmpre a una terra distantc da noi 200 
 passi, mandando una barchetta, ad avisarne della sua venuta, 
 diccndo volare venire a vedere la nave, qucsto facendo in spe- 
 zie di sicurta, e come da noi avevano la risposta subito venivano 
 e stati alquanto a risguardare senlcndo il nojoso clamore della 
 turba marillima mandava la regina con le sue damigelle in una 
 barchetta molto Icggiera a riposare ad una isola distante da 
 noi un quarto di lega restando in grandissimo spazio ragio- 
 nando per segni e questi di varie fantasic riguardando lutte le 
 sostanze della nave domandando in particolare la proprieta di 
 quelle, imitando i noslri sahiti, guslando i nostri cibi, di poi 
 benignamente da noi si partiva ed alcuna volta due e tre 
 giorni stando le nostre genti ad una isola piccola vicina alia 
 nave per varie necessita come e costume de' Marinaj veniva 
 con 7 o 8 de suoi gentili uomini in quella guardando nostre 
 opcrazioni, domandandone piCi A'^olte se volevamo restar quivi 
 per lungo tempo offerendone ogni sua faculta, di poi tirando 
 con r arco correndo faceva can li suoi gentili uomini varj giuo- 
 chi per dame piacere fummo piu volte in fra terra V o VI 
 leghe quale trovammo tanto amena quanto narrare sia possibile, 
 atta a ogni genere di cultura, frumento, vino, olio imperocclie 
 in quella sono campagne larglie XXV in XXX leghe aperte 
 e nude d' ogni impedimento d' arbori, di tanta fcrtilita che 
 qualsivoglia seme in quella produrebbe ottimo frutto. Entrando 
 poi nolle selve tulte a ogni numeroso esercito in qual modo 
 sia sono penetrabili, delle quali gli arbori sono quercie, cipressi, 
 ed altri incogniti nella Europa. Trovammo pomi lucuUiane 
 prune, avellane e molte altre frutte. II genere di esse e differ- 
 ente dalle nostre. Animali vi sono di grandissimo numero, 
 cervi, daini lupi cervieri, e di altre spezie quali nel modo degli 
 altre pigliano can lacci, archi, che sono per loro principale arme, 
 le freice de quali sono con molta pulchritudine lavorate po- 
 nendo nella estremita per ferro smeriglio, diaspro e dure mar- 
 more ed altre taglienti pietre, delle quali si servono per fcrro 
 nel tagliare alberi e fabricare le loro barchette di un solo fiisto 
 di legno con mirabile artifizio concave, nella quale commoda- 
 mente andra X o XII uomini, ed il remo corto nella estremita 
 larga operando quel solo con forza di braccia in pclago senza 
 alcuno pericolo, con tanta velocita quanto a loro piace e sten- 
 dendoci vedemmo loro abitazionc in forma circolarc di X in 
 XII passi di ambito fabricate di scmicircoli di legno sepa- 
 rate I'una dall altra sensa ordine d' architectura, coperte di 
 tele di paglia sottilmente lavorate che da vento e pioggia li di- 
 fendono, non e dubbio se avessimo la perfezione degli artifizj, 
 noi abiamo che conducessino magni edifizj, imperocche tutto 
 il lito marittimo di vive pietre d' auralee e cristalline e di ala- 
 bastro e pieno e per tale causa e copioso di porti e riceltacoli 
 
Verrazzano's voyage. G3 
 
 di animali. Permutano le detle cose di uno in altro luogo se- 
 condo la csperienza del cito ed il tempo in quello dimorati — - 
 levano solo le tele, in uno stante hanno altre abitazioni fabri- 
 cate, e dimora in ciascheduna padre e fainiglia in grandissimo 
 numero e in qualche una vedemmo XXV o XXX anime ed 
 il vivere loro e come gli altri di legumi i quali producono con 
 pill ordine di cultura, degli altri asservando nolle scmenze lo 
 influsso lunare il nascimento delle biade e molti modi dall an- 
 tichi dati — in oltre di venagione e pesci — vivono lungo tempo. 
 In egritudine incorrono se da * * * * * * 
 sono oppressi senza flemito col fuoco da loro medesimi si 
 sanano ed il fine loro e della ultima vecchiezza giudichiamo 
 sieno di loro prossimi molto pietosi e caritativi, facendo nolle 
 advcrsita gran lamenti, nolle miserie ricordando tutte le loro 
 fclicita ed i parenti 1' uno con 1' altro nel fine di loro vita 
 usano il pianto siciliano misto con canto per lungo tempo 
 durando. E questo e quanto di loro potessimo conoscere. 
 Questa terra e situata nel paralello di Roma in gradi 41 § ma 
 alquanto piu fredda per accidente, non per natura, come in altra 
 parte narrero a V. S. M. descrivendo al presente il sito di detto 
 posto guarda verso lo austro angusta mezza Icga dipoi entran- 
 do in quello infra oriente e settentrione s'estende leghe XIT 
 dove allargandosi causa uno amplissimo seno di circuito di 
 leghe XX in circa nel quale sono V isolette di molta fertilita 
 6 vaghezza piene di alti e spatioso alberi infra le quali isole 
 ogni numero di classe senza timore di tempesta o di altro im- 
 pedimento di fortuna sicura puo quiescere. Tornando por 
 verso meridio alia entrata del porto all' uno e 1' altro lato sono 
 amenissimi colli con molti rivi che dalla eminenza al mare 
 scaturiscono chiare acque. Nel mezzo dcUa bocca si trova 
 uno scoglio di viva pietra dalla natura prodotto atto a fabbri- 
 carvi qual si vuole macchina o propugnacolo per cuslodia di 
 quello. 
 
 Essendo di ogni nostra opportunita rcstaurati il giorno sci 
 di maggio partimmo dal detto porto continuando il lito non 
 perdendo mai la vista della terra navigammo leghe 150, trovan- 
 dola di una medesima natura ed alquanto piu alta con alcune 
 montagne die tutte si mostravano mineral!, non posammo a 
 quella per la prosperita del tempo ne serviva in rigare la costa 
 pensainmo fosse all' altra conforme — correva il lito alio oriente, 
 in spazio di leghe 50 tenando piu al settentrione trovammo 
 una terra alta plena di selve molto folte delle c^uali li alberi fu- 
 rono abeti, cipressi, e simili che si generano in regione fredda, 
 le gente tutte dalle altre difforme e quanto i passati erano d' 
 ogni gesto gentili, questi erano di ruvidezza e visi tanto bar- 
 bari, che mai potemmo con quanti segnali li facessimo avere 
 con loro conversazione alcuna. Vestono di pcUe di orsi, di 
 
64 VERRAZZANo's VOYAGE. 
 
 lupi, cervieri nuiriui e d' altri animali. 11 viverc loro per qiiello 
 potemmo consocere, andando piu volte dove avevano la abila- 
 tazione stimiamo le piu volte sia di venagione e pesci e di alcu- 
 ni frutti die sono spezie di radici quale la terra per se niedesi- 
 ma produce. Non hanno legumi ne vedemnio segno alcuno 
 di cultura nemmeao farebbe la terra per la sterilita non atta a 
 producere frutto o seme alcuno. Se da quegli alcuna volta re- 
 nunziando volevarao delle loro cose ne venivano al lilo del 
 mare sopra alcune pietre dove, piu frangeva e slando noi nel 
 balello con una corda, quelle che vole van dare ci mandcvano, 
 continuo gridando alia terra non ci approssimassimo, doman- 
 dando subito il cambio alio incontro,*non pigiiando se non col- 
 telli, lami da pescare e metallo tagliente, ne stimavano gentili- 
 ezza alcuna, e quando non avevamo piu che permutare da loro 
 partendo gli uomini ne facevano tutti gii atti di dispregio e vere 
 condia che puo fare ogni brutta creatura. P\immo contra loro 
 volonta dentro fra terra due o tre leghe XXV uomini e quando 
 scendevano al lito ci tiravano con loro archi mettando gridi 
 grandissimi, poi si fuggivano nelle solve. Non connoscemmo 
 in questa terra facolta di momento alcuno se non grandissime 
 selve con alcuni colli possono avere qualche metallo che a molti 
 vedemmo pater nostri di rame alii orecchi. Partimmo scor- 
 rendo la costa infra oriente e settentrione quale trovammo piu 
 bella, aperta e nuda di selve con alte montagne dentro infra 
 terra diminuendo verso il lito del mare — in leghe cinquanta dis- 
 coprimmo XXXII isole tutte propinque al continente, piccole 
 e di grata prospettiva, alte tenendo la verzura della terra fra le 
 quali si causava bellissimi porti e canali come nel seno adriat- 
 ico, nella Illirede e Dalmazia fanno. Non avemma con la gente 
 conoscenza e stimiamo come le altre lasciate di costumi e natu- 
 ra siano. Navigando infra '1 subsolano ed acquilone in spazio 
 di leghe 150 e di gia avendo consumato tutte le nostre sostanze 
 navali e vcttovaglie, avendo discoperto leghe 502 cioe leghe 
 700 piu di nuova terra fornendoci di acque e legne deliberammo 
 di tornare in Francia. 
 
 Quanto alia fede tengono tutti questi popoli abbiamo trovati 
 per mancamento di lingue non possemmo conoscere ne per 
 segni o gesti alcuni. Consideriamo tenessino legge o fede 
 alcuna, ne conoscono una per una causa e motore ne venera- 
 sino cielo o stelle, sole luna o altri pianeti, ne manco tenessino 
 spezie di idolatria ne conoscemmo facessino sagrificio o altre 
 preci ne in la loro populazione hanno tempj o case di orazione. 
 Stimiamo non lenghino fede alcuna ma vivino in questa liberta, 
 e tutto dalla ignoranza precede perche sotk) raolti facili a 
 persuadere tutto quelle hanno i cristiani circa il culto divino 
 vedcvano fare e facevano con quelle stimolo e fervore che noi 
 facciamo. 
 
VERRAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 65 
 
 Restami a narrare a V. S. M. I'ordine di detta navigazione 
 circa la cosmografia. Come di sopra dissi partendo dalli prefati 
 scoperti che son situati nel fine dello occidente alii antichi noto, 
 e nel meridiano descritlo per le insule fortunate in latitiidine 
 gradi 32 dallo equatore del nostro emisperio navigando alio 
 occidente perfino alia prima terra trovammo leghe 1200, che 
 contengouo miglia 4800, computando miglia quattro per lega 
 secondo lo uso marittimo degli navilerii geometrice giusta la 
 proporzione tripla settima del diametro alia circonferenza 
 gradi 925-f -|;-f fg con cio sia die essendo la corda del arco del 
 massimo circolo gradi 114/^ e la corda del paralello gradi 34, 
 della prima terra da noi trovata alia medesima proporzione gradi 
 95||f, essere si mostra I'ambito di tutto il circolo gradi 300yV7'5 
 che dando per ogni grade come confermano la maggiore parte di 
 quelli che hanno sperimentato rispondere in terra alia propor- 
 zione del cielo, miglia 62| fariano miglia 18759 j^^-^ quale 
 ripartite in 360 perveneria per ciascheduno miglio 52i||| e 
 tanto vale uno grado di longitudine in detto paralello di gradi 
 34. Sopra il quale per la retta del meridiano di detti scoperti 
 che stanno in gradi 32 abbiamo calculata la ragione in questo 
 che le dette leghe 1200 per retta linea in gradi 34 da occidente 
 in oriente abljiamo trovato, perverria adunque per quella gradi 
 924 fill 3- e tanto abbiamo navigato piu alio occidente e non fu 
 cognito alii antiche, nel detto paralello di gradi 34, questa dis- 
 tanza a noi fu nota per la longitudine con varj strumenti na- 
 vigando senza cclissi lunari o altro aspetto per al moto solare 
 pigliando sempre la elevazione a qual si voglia ora per la dif- 
 ferenza faceva dall uno all' altro orizzonte correndo la nave 
 geometrice, ne era noto lo intervallo dall uno meridiano all' altro 
 come in un libretto tutto amplamente notato insieme col cresci- 
 mento del mare in qualsivoglia clima ad ogni tempo ed ora il 
 quale non inutile stimo abbia a essere anaviganti, spero meglio 
 per la teorica conferirlo a V. S. M. Mia intenzione era di 
 pervenire in questa navigazione al Cathaj alio estremo oriente 
 dell Asia pensando trovare tale impedimento di nuova terra 
 quale ho trovata, e se per qualche ragione pensava quella trovare 
 non senza qualche futo di penetrare alio oceano orientale essere 
 stimava questa opinione di tutti gli antichi e stata credendo cer- 
 tamente il nostro oceano orientale di India uno essere senza 
 interposizione di terra questo afferma Aristotile argomentando 
 per varie similitudini la quale opinione e molto contraria 
 a moderni e la esperienza falsa imperocche la terra e stata 
 trovata da quegli antichi incognita un altro mondo a rispetto di 
 quella a lore fu noto — manifestamente essere si mostra e di 
 maggiore della nostra Europa, della Africa e quasi della Asia 
 se rettamente speculiamo la grandezza di quella come sotto 
 brcvita ne faro un poco di discorso a V. S. M. Oltre lo 
 9 
 
66 VERRAZZANO'S VOYAGi;. 
 
 equatore distante dal meridiano dalle insulc fortunate verso lo 
 occidente gradi 20|f ||f gli spani verso lo austro gradi 54, 
 hanno navigato dove hanno trovato terra scnza fine tornando 
 poi al settentrione giusta la detta linea meridionale correndo 
 il lito perfino in 8 gradi propinqui alio equatore piii alio occi- 
 dente partecipando piu al settentrione giusta la detta linea 
 meridionale continuando il lito perfino in gradi 21, non trovando 
 termine gradi 89||^|| hanno navigato quali giunti con gradi 
 20ff-?|y, fanno gradi 110|i-f|| e tanto hanno navigato del 
 detto meridiano dalle isole fortunate piu alio occidente nel 
 paralello gradi 21 della altitudine, questa distanza da noi non e 
 stata sperimentata per non avere fatta detta navigazione potria 
 variare poco piu o manco abbiamo quella calcolata geometrice 
 per la notizia di molti navicalieri che la hanno frequentata 
 quali affermano essere leghe 1600 giudicando per lo arbitrio il 
 discorso della nave secondo la qualita del vento per la continua 
 navigazione spcro in breve ne avremo ottima certitudine dalF 
 altra parte noi in questa nostra navigazione fatta per ordine di 
 V. S. M. oltra i gradi 92 che dal detto meridiano verso lo occi- 
 dente dalla prima terra trovammo gradi 34 navigando leghe 300 
 infra oriente e settentrione leghe 400 quasi alio oriente continuo 
 il lito della terra siamo pervenuti per infino a gradi 50, lasciando 
 la terra clie piu tempo fa trovorno li Lusitani quali seguirno piu 
 al settentrione pervenendo sino al circulo artico il fine lascicndo 
 incognito. Giunta adunque la latitudine settenlrionale con la 
 meridionale videlicet i gradi 54 con li gradi 66 fanno gradi 120 
 che tanto conticne di latitudine la Africa con la Europa perche 
 giungendo lo estremo della Em'opa che sono i limiti di Norvegia 
 che stanno in gradi 71 con lo estremo dell' Africa che e il pro- 
 montorio di capo di Buona Speranza in gradi 35, faranno solo 
 gradi 106 e se lo equestrc di detta terra in parte corresponde 
 al lito marittimo non e dubbio di grandezza la Asia ecceda in 
 tal forma troviamo il globo della terra molto maggiore non 
 hanno tenuto gli antichi a ripugnanza matematici quelle rispetto 
 alia acqua sia minima il che per esperienza lo opposite veggiamo 
 c quanto alio aree corporale, di spazio non meno la terra che la 
 acqua possederc giudichiamo come alia prcsenza meglio spero 
 c con pui ragione esperimentare c mostrare a V. S. M. tutta 
 quella nuova terra o nuovo mondo che disopra abbiamo narrate 
 contiene. Insieme congiungendo alia Asia ed Africa et che 
 sappiamo certo porria giungerc alia Europa con la Norvegia e 
 Russia che sarebbe false secondo gli antichi quali dal promon- 
 torio de cimbri quasi tutto il settentrionale dicono essere state 
 navigato alio oriente circuendo circa il marc caspio il medcsimo 
 affermano resterebbe adunque solo interclusa da due mari 
 situati dalle orientaleed occidentale, e equclle due ne chiude Tuno 
 e I'altro perche oltre a' gradi 54 della equinoziale verso lo austro 
 
VERRAZZANO'S VOYAGE. 67 
 
 s'estende alio oricnte per lungo spazio e dal setlentrionale pas- 
 sando i gradi 66. Segue tornando in verso lo oriente giun- 
 gendo perfino a gradi 70. Spero con lo ajuto di V. S. M. ne 
 avremo in breve migliore certiludine, la quale Dio omnipossente 
 prosperi in diuturna fama ad causa veggiamo ottime fine di 
 questa nostra cosmografia che si adempie la sacra voce dello 
 evangelio — nella nave Delphina in Norniandia in porto di Diepa, 
 a di 8 Luglio, 1524. 
 
 Humilis Servitor, 
 
 Janus Verazzanus. 
 
III. 
 
 INDIAN TRADITION 
 
 FIRST ARRIVAL OF THE DUTCH, 
 
 MANHATTAN ISLAND, 
 
 NOW NEW-YORK. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 The following paper is derived from the manuscripts deposited 
 among the collections of the Society by the Rev. Samuel Miller, 
 D. D., to vi^hom it was communicated by the Rev. John Hecke- 
 WELDERj for many years a Moravian missionary to the Indians of 
 Pennsylvania. In a letter accompanying it, dated at Bethlehem, 
 Jan. 26th, 1801, Mr. Heckewelder says, " As I receive my infor- 
 mation from Indians, in their language and style, I return it in 
 the same way. Facts are all I aim at, and from my knowledge of 
 the Indians, I do not believe every one's story. The enclosed ac- 
 count is, I believe, as authentic as any thing of the kind can be ob- 
 tained." 
 
 A voluminous correspondence of Mr. Heckewelder with Mr. 
 Du Ponceau, concerning the languages of the Indians, together 
 with an account of the history, manners, and general character of 
 the native tribes, derived from personal observation, was published 
 by the American Philosophical Society, at Philadelphia, in 1819. 
 This paper, in a somewhat altered, perhaps improved, form in re- 
 spect to its phraseology, was comprehended in that publication; 
 but as the original draft is more likely to convey accurately the 
 language and style of Mr. Heckewelder's Indian informants, there 
 seems to be a manifest propriety in adopting it for publication in 
 the present connexion. 
 
 Editor. 
 
INDIAN TRADITION, &c 
 
 The following account of the first arrival of Europeans at 
 York Island, is verbatim as it was related to mc by aged and 
 respected Delawares, Momcys and Mahicanni, (otherwise 
 called Mohigans, Mahicanders,) near forty years ago. It is 
 copied from notes and manuscripts taken on the spot. They 
 say: 
 
 A long time ago, when there was no such thing known to 
 the Indians as people with a ivhite skin, (their expression,) 
 some Indians who had been out a-fishing, and where the sea 
 widens, espied at a great distance something remarkably large 
 swimming, or floating on the water, and such as they had 
 never seen before. They immediately returning to the shore 
 apprised their countrymen of what they had seen, and pressed 
 them to go out with them and discover what it might be. 
 These together hurried out, and saw to their great surprise 
 the phenomenon, but could not agree what it might be ; some 
 concluding it either to be an uncommon large fish, or other 
 animal, while others were of opinion it must be some very 
 large house. It was at length agreed among those who were 
 spectators, that as this phenomenon moved towards the land, 
 whether or not it was an animal, or anything that had life in it, 
 it would be well to inform all the Indians on the inhabited 
 islands of what they had seen, and put them on their guard. 
 Accordingly, they sent runners and watermen off to carry the 
 news to their scattered chiefs, that these might send off in 
 every direction for the warriors to come in. These arriving in 
 numbers, and themselves viewing the strange appearance, and 
 that it was actually moving towards them, (the entrance of the 
 river or bay,) concluded it to be a large canoe or house, in 
 which the great Mannitto (great or Supreme Being) himself 
 was, and that he probably was coming to visi* them. By this 
 time the chiefs of the different tribes were assembled on York 
 Island, and were counselling (or deliberating) on the manner 
 they should receive their Mannitto on his arrival. Every step 
 had been taken to be well provided with a plenty of meat for a 
 sacrifice ; the women were required to prepare the best of 
 victuals ; idols or images were examined and put in order ; 
 
72 INDIAN TRADITION. 
 
 and a grand dance was supposed not only to be an agreeable 
 entertainment for the Mannitto, but might, with the addition of 
 a sacrifice, contribute towards appeasing him, in case he was 
 angry with them. The conjurors were also set to work, to 
 determine what the meaning of this phenomenon was, and 
 what the result would be. Both to these, and to the chiefs 
 and wise men of the nation, men, women, and children were 
 looking up for advice and protection. Between hope and fear, 
 and in confusion, a dance commenced. While in this situation 
 fresh runners arrive declaring it a house of various colours, 
 and crowded with living creatures. It now appears to be cer- 
 tain that it is the great Mannitto bringing them some kind of 
 game, such as they had not before; but other runners soon 
 after arriving, declare it a large house of various colours, full 
 of people, yet of quite a different colour than they (the Indians) 
 are of; that they were also dressed in a different manner from 
 them, and that one in particular appeared altogether red, which 
 must be the Mamtitio himself. They are soon hailed from 
 the vessel, though in a language they do not understand ; yet 
 they shout (or yell) in their way. Many are for running off to 
 the woods, but are pressed by others to stay, in order not to 
 give offence to their visiters, who could find them out, and 
 might destroy them. The house (or large canoe, as some will 
 have it,) stops, and a smaller canoe comes ashore with the red 
 man and some others in it ; some stay by this canoe to guard 
 it. The chiefs and wise men (or councillors) had composed a 
 large circle, unto which the red-clothed man with two others 
 approach. He salutes them with friendly countenance, and 
 they return the salute after their manner. They are lost in 
 admiration, both as to the colour of the skin (of these whites) as 
 also to their manner of dress, yet most as to the habit of him 
 who wore the red clothes, which shone* with something they 
 could not account for. He must be the great Mannitto (Su- 
 preme Being,) they think, but why should he have a lohite 
 skin ?! A large hockhackj: is brought forward by one of the 
 (supposed) Mannitto's servants, and from this a substance is 
 poured out into a small cup (or glass) and handed to the Man- 
 nitto. The (expected) Mannitto drinks ; has the glass filled 
 again, and hands it to the chief next to him to drink. The 
 chief receives the glass, but only smelleth at it, and passes it 
 on to the next chief, who does the same. The glass thus 
 passes through the circle without the contents being tasted by 
 any one ; and is upon the point of being returned again to the 
 red-clothed man, when one of their number, a spirited man and 
 
 * Lace. 
 
 t Their own expression. 
 
 t Their word for gourd, bottle, decanter, &c. 
 
INDIAN TRADITION. 73 
 
 great warrior jumps up — harangues the assembly on the im- 
 propriety of returning the glass with the contents in it ; that 
 the same was handed them by the Mannitto in order that they 
 should drink it, as he himself had done before them ; that 
 this would please him ; but to return what he had given to 
 them might provoke him, and be the cause of their being de- 
 stroyed by him. And that, since he believed it for the good of 
 the nation that the contents offered them should be drank, and 
 as no one was willing to drink it he would, let the consequence 
 be what it would ; and that it was better for one man to die, 
 than a whole nation to be destroyed. He then took the glass 
 and bidding the assembly a farewell, drank it off. Every eye 
 was fixed on their resolute companion to see what an effect this 
 would have upon him, and he soon beginning to stagger about, 
 and at last dropping to the ground, they bemoan him. He falls 
 into a sleep, and they view him as expiring. He awakes 
 again, jumps up, and declares that he never felt himself before 
 so happy as after he had drank the cup. Wishes for more. 
 His wish is granted ; and the whole assembly soon join him, 
 and become intoxicated.* 
 
 After this general intoxication had ceased, (during which 
 time the whites had confined themselves to their vessel,) the 
 man with the red clothes returned again to them, and dis- 
 tributed presents among them, to wit, beads, axes, hoes, stock- 
 ings, &c. They say that they had become familiar to each 
 other, and were made to understand by signs ; that they now 
 would return home, but would visit them next year again, when 
 they would bring them more presents, and stay with them 
 awhile ; but that, as they could not live without eating, they 
 should then want a little land of them to sow some seeds in or- 
 der to raise herbs to put in their broth. That the vessel arrived 
 the season following, and they were much rejoiced at seeing 
 each other; but that the whites laughed at them (the Indians,) 
 seeing they knew not the use of the axes, hoes, &c., they had 
 
 • The Delawares call this place (New- York Island) Mannahattamnk or 
 Mannahachtanink to this day. They have frequently told me that it derived 
 its name from this general intoxication, and that the word comprehended the 
 same as to say, the island or place of general intoxication. 
 
 The Mahieanni, (otherwise called Mohi^gans by the English, and Mahic- 
 anders by the Low Dutch,) call this place by the same name as the Delawares 
 do ; yet think it is owing or given in consequence of a kind of wood which 
 grew there, and of which the Indians used to make their bows and arrows. 
 This wood the latter (Mohicanni) call " gawaak." 
 
 The universal name the Monseys have for New-York, is Laaphawachkingr, 
 which is interpreted, the place of stringing heads (wampum). They say this 
 name was given in consequence of beads beinsf here distributed among them 
 by the Europeans ; and that after the European vessel had returned, wherever 
 one looked, one would see the Indians employed in stringing tlie beads or 
 wampum the whites had given them. 
 
 10 
 
74 INDIAN TRADITION. 
 
 given them, they having had these hanging to their breasts as 
 ornaments ; and the stockings they had made use of as tobacco 
 pouches. The whites now put handles (or helves) in the 
 former, and cut trees down before their eyes, and dug the 
 ground, and showed them the use of the stockings. Here 
 (say they) a general laughter ensued among them (the Indians), 
 that they had remained for so long a time ignorant of the use 
 of so valuable implements ; and had borne with the weight of 
 such heavy metal hanging to their necks for such a length of 
 time. They took every while man they saw for a Mamiitto, 
 yet inferior and attendant to the supreine Mannitto, to wit, to 
 the one which wore the red and laced clothes. Famiharity 
 daily increasing between them and the whites, the latter now 
 proposed to stay with them, asking them only for so much 
 land as the hide of a bullock would cover (or encompass,) 
 which hide was brought forward and spread on the ground 
 before them. That they readily granted this request ; where- 
 upon the whites took a knife, and beginning at one place on 
 this hide, cut it up into a rope not thicker than the finger of a 
 little child, so that by the time this hide was cut up there was 
 a great heap. That this rope was drawn out to a great dis- 
 tance, and then brought round again, so that both ends might 
 meet. That they carefully avoided its breaking, and that upon 
 the whole it encompassed a large piece of ground. That they 
 (the Indians) were surprised at the superior wit of the whites, 
 but did not wish to contend with them about a little land, as 
 they had enough. That they and the whites lived for a long 
 time contentedly together, although these asked from time to 
 time more land of them ; and proceeding higher up the Mahi- 
 canittuk (Hudson river), they believed they would soon want 
 all their country, and which at this time was already the case. 
 [Here ends this relation.*] 
 
 * At the head of this article there is a typographical error in the name of a 
 tribe of Indians, — Momeys should be Monseys, often written Minsis. For an 
 exact account of this and other Delaware nations, see Gallatin's " Synopsis 
 of the Indian Tribes," a work of extraordinary ability, contained in Trans, 
 actions of American Antiquarian Society, vol. ii. p. 44, &.c. 
 
IV. 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OF TUB 
 
 NEW NETHERLANDS, 
 
 BY 
 
 Sir N. C. LAMBRECHTSEN, 
 Knight, &c. 
 
 Translated from the original Dutch, 
 
 BY TUB LATE 
 
 FRANCIS A DU I AN Van der KEM P, 
 Honorary Member of the N. Y. Iliitorical Society, 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE 
 
 It is with peculiar satisfaction that the following translation of 
 the Chevalier Lambrechtsen's History of the New Netherlands is 
 submitted to the public. Locked up in a language too often 
 regarded as semi-barbarous, the authentic account which it 
 contains of the early discovery and colonization of the Hud- 
 son, and the noble tribute paid by its distinguished author to 
 the enterprising character and manly virtues of the hardy pioneers 
 on our soil, have been wholly lost to most readers on this side of 
 the water, for whom the work possesses an especial and high de- 
 gree of interest. A copy of it was received by the Society as 
 long ago as the spring of 1818, from the author himself, and a 
 translation was furnished, in manuscript, by Mr. Van der Kemp the 
 following year ; but with the exception of two or three historical 
 writers into whose hands the manuscript translation has passed,* 
 few among us, it is believed, even of those who profess an interest 
 in historical inquiries, have given themselves the trouble to obtain 
 a knowledge of the only complete history of the first European 
 colony on the banks of the Hudson. Under these circumstances, 
 the present attempt to introduce the Chevalier's labours to an 
 American, and especially to a New-York public, is made, as before 
 remarked, with peculiar satisfaction. 
 
 The author, who is believed to be still living, is a gentleman 
 of considerable rank and reputation in his own country, having 
 been Grand Pensionary of Zealand, and connected with many 
 learned societies in Europe ; he is also well known to many of 
 our countrymen who have visited Holland. In 1816, he applied 
 to this Society, through a gentleman at Amsterdam, for informa- 
 tion concerning the early history of this city and state, when the 
 Corresponding Secretary was directed to forward to him a copy 
 of the two volumes of Collections then published. He was at the 
 same time elected an Honorary Member ; from which circum- 
 stance he was probably led to dedicate his work to the Society, 
 together with others to which he sustained a similar relation. 
 
 * Bancroft, MouUon, and perhaps others. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 77 
 
 The work was handsomely printed, in a volume of duodecimo 
 size, accompanied by a large map of the New Netherlands ; and 
 the copy sent to the Society, was enclosed to John Pintard, Esq., 
 with the followinsf letter : — 
 
 MiDDELBouRG, 25 JuUlcf, 1818. 
 M. Pintard, 
 
 Secretaire de VAcademie Historique, d New- York : — 
 
 Monsieur, — Supposant que vous aurez re9u avec ma lettre du 
 18 Avril dernier un exeraplaire de mon Histoire abregee de la 
 decouverte et des evenemens de Nieuw-Nederland, ci-devant 
 Colonie de la Republique des Provinces Unies en Amerique, j'ai 
 I'honneur de vous faire passer la Carte Geographique relative a 
 cette piece, d'accepter I'un etl'autre pour a''Ous, et de presenter a 
 la Societe Historique a New-York un autre exemplaire plus de- 
 cent, joint dans ce paquet. 
 
 Je vous prie de remettre a mon cousin Van Polanen demeurant 
 dans votre ville la lettre ci-jointe, et de faire passer un autre a M. 
 Van der Kemp. 
 
 lime sera agreable d'apprendre, que mon travail n'a pas ete en- 
 tierement inutile, et a ete bien accueilli par votre respectable So- 
 ciete. 
 
 En I'assurant de mon respect, j'ai I'honneur d' etre, Monsieur, 
 avec la consideration la plus distinguee, 
 
 Votre tres humble serviteur, 
 
 N. C. Lambrechtsen, 
 
 Van Ritthem. 
 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 MiDDLEBouRG, [HoLLAND,] July 25, 1818. 
 Mr. Pintard, 
 
 Secretary of the Academy of History at New- York : — 
 
 Sir, — Supposing that you will have received with my letter of 
 18th April last, a copy of my brief History of the discovery and 
 affairs of the New Netherlands, formerly an American colony 
 of the Republic of the United Provinces, I have the honour to 
 
78 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 transmit a map illustrative of that work, begging you to accept 
 both for yourself, and to present to the Society another copy, 
 of a more decent exterior, enclosed in the same packet. 
 
 I pray you forward one of the accompanying letters to my 
 cousin. Van Polanen, a resident of your city, and the other to Mr. 
 Van der Kemp. 
 
 It will aflbrd mo great pleasure to learn that my labours have not 
 proved entirely useless, and that the work has met with a faA^oura- 
 ble reception from your respectable Society. 
 
 With the assurance of my respect for the Society, I have the 
 honour to be, sir, with the most distinguished consideration, 
 Your very humble servant, 
 
 N. C. Lambrechtsen, 
 
 Of Ritthem. 
 
 The translator, the late Francis Adrian Van der Kemp, Esq., was 
 the same gentleman to whom the task of translating the records of 
 the Dutch Colony was committed by Gov. De Witt Clinton, in 1818, 
 which he is believed to have executed with great clearness and 
 accuracy. These documents, filling twenty-live folio volumes, de- 
 posited in the office of the Secretary of State at Albany, form an 
 invaluable repository of materials for the future historian. Mr. 
 Van der Kemp was originally from Holland, but resided for many 
 years at Oldenbarneveldt, a village about two miles from Trenton 
 Falls, near Utica, where, with his friend. Col. Mappa, he was among 
 the original proprietors of the soil. He is said by Mr. Spafibrd to 
 have been " a fine classical scholar, and a volunteer patriot m the 
 cause of America while struggling for independence."* 
 
 Editor. 
 
 ♦ Gazetteer of the State of Nevv-Yovk, (second edit.) Article, — Trenton. 
 
SHORT DESCRIPTION 
 
 DISCOVERY 
 
 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY 
 
 NEW NETHERLANDS, 
 
 A COLONY IN AMERICA, 
 (at an early period,) 
 
 OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS. 
 
 By N. C. LAMBRECHTSEN, 
 
 Of Ritthem, 
 
 Knight of tlie Equestrian Order of the Nethe.Iand Lion, President of the Zealand Society of 
 Sciences, Honorary Member of the New-York Historical Society, &c. 
 
 MIDDELBURG: 
 
 S. VAN BENTIIEM, Printer of the Zealand Society of Sciences. 
 M DCCC XVIII. 
 
TO 
 
 THE SOCIETY OF SCIENCES IN ZEALAND; 
 
 THE SECOND CLASS OF THE ROYAL NETHERLAND INSTITUTE ; 
 
 THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND BELLES LETTRES 
 AT BRUSSELS ; 
 
 THE NETHERLAND SOCIETY AT LEYDEN : 
 
 THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AT NEW YORK ; 
 
 THE RESPECTFUL ACKNOWLEDOMENT 
 
 OF HIS RELATION, 
 
 AND IN TESTIMONY OF HIS RESPECT. 
 
 By their Associate, 
 
 N. C. LAMBRECHTSEN, 
 Of Ritthem. 
 
SHORT DESCRIPTION, &c 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 As often as I recall the illustrious periods of the history of 
 our Fatherland, and contemplate the heroic achievements of our 
 ancestors, I cannot avoid being enraptured by them to such a 
 degree that they overpov^rer my v^rhole soul, and keep my 
 curiosity and ardour for inquiry bound, as it were, by the spell 
 of enchantment. The great associations of the East and West 
 India Companies, who imported such immense treasures into 
 the Fatherland, were the happy results of bold and often hazard- 
 ous individual enterprises, which immortalized the names of 
 those noble Netherlanders who directed or executed them. 
 
 Money, the sinew of war, was required to resist the power- 
 ful forces of Philip ; and what could be better undertaken at that 
 period, than, following the advice of the French Admiral de 
 Coligny, to try their fortune at sea, and endeavour to take from 
 the enemy what he had acquired in distant countries, at the 
 risk of his life and an immense expense. This was successfully 
 executed by the Water geuzen, (water beggars,)* while others 
 preferred to assail the enemy in his foreign possessions, conquer 
 these and his ships on foreign coasts, and plant colonies where 
 thus far the name of Netherlands was unknown. Instructed in 
 the defence of the noble cause of liberty, so boldly and success- 
 fully undertaken, and longing to share in the profits with which 
 the transatlantic countries enriched that nation, they pursued 
 him into every part of the globe. 
 
 * Thus were the confederated Dutch nobles, headed by Brederode, stigma, 
 tized before Margaret of Parma, by the count of Barlaimont, to assuage the 
 fears of the Dutchess, " ces no sont que de Gueux." Hooft Hist. 77. 
 Strada, p. 223. By drinking a nappe, (goblet,) which was with a beggar's-bag 
 hung by eacli guest in his turn on his neck, they pledged themselves, one 
 to another, with these words : — 
 
 " Par ce pain, par ce sel, et par cette besnce — 
 Jamaii les Gueux ne changerons, pour chose que Ton fasse."— Z>tttcA iyr.— Trans. 
 11 
 
82 lambreciitsen's 
 
 The mariners ceased to be a band of poor fishermen, a 
 gang of pirates or stragglers, and became soldiers, who en- 
 dured perils on land and at sea, under the Boisots, the de Moors, 
 and other naval commanders, and were trained up by them, 
 eagerly fastening on spoil, with a deep inveterate hatred 
 against Spain and the Inquisition. 
 
 Such were the inhabitants of our seaports. If men of war or 
 privateers were to be equipped against the enemy, or fishing 
 vessels to be despatched, to collect the treasures of the North 
 Atlantic or Frozen seas ; were there required expert steersmen, 
 and undaunted sailors, the merchants, as well as the states, 
 found here always a rich supply. 
 
 It is true, many, very many perished in these perilous expedi- 
 tions, but their loss could not be observed in the seaports. On the 
 contrary, these became the refuge to other nations, who smarted 
 and sighed under the iron sceptre of despotism and the Inquisi- 
 tion, and were lured hither, partly by the advantages of commerce 
 and navigation, partly by their prospect of enjoying tolerance in 
 religion. How many reformed families arrived here from 
 Flanders and Hainault, forming congregations yet bearing their 
 name, and transporting hither with their virtues and industry, 
 their manufactures and commerce. How many Englishmen 
 sought a refuge in the tolerant Netherlands, to save themselves 
 from episcopalian power and insufferable domination.* 
 
 It is not my province to detail the beginning, the progress, 
 and struggles of the societies of commerce in our Fatherland, 
 particularly those of the once powerful East and West India 
 Companies. Several authors have recorded their glorious un- 
 dertakings, and preserved the memory of many brave Nether- 
 landers, who opened the richest springs of commerce, either by 
 the discovery of unknown coasts, or by the conquest of trans- 
 atlantic countries. 
 
 The East India Company was indeed more fortunate than 
 that of the West Indies. The latter made important conquests 
 in the Brazils, but was finally compelled to surrender the 
 whole again to the Portuguese, the first conquerors. They pos- 
 sessed in North America such an extensive country, that they 
 were justly entitled to give to it the name of New-Netherlands ; 
 but this the Netherlanders were obliged to give up to the Eng- 
 lish, who established themselves there, and thus exchanged the 
 name of New-Netherlands for that of New-England. t 
 
 * The same remark is made by Lucy Aikin in her Memoirs of Queen Eliza, 
 beth, wilh regard to the Dutch emigrants at Norwich, where they found pro- 
 tection, (vol. ii. p. 53.) — Trans. 
 
 t More correctly, New- York. — Ed. 
 
NEW NETHERLANDS. 83 
 
 Discovery of New-Netherlands. 
 
 The events relative to the New-Netherland possessions in 
 the Brazils, and along the coast of Guiana, are recorded by- 
 several historians in the Netherlands ; but what is the reason 
 that we know so little of the events in New-Netherlands, in a 
 connected view and chronological order, although this beautiful 
 and extensive country was in the possession of the Netherlands 
 during a period of more than fifty years ? Why is there so 
 little, deserving any notice, preserved of it in the records of the 
 West India Company, at least in so far as it was in my power to 
 inquire ? or was it the department of Amsterdam alone* that 
 superintended the commerce of New-Netherland, while Zea- 
 land had appropriated to herself that on the Brazils ? I am in- 
 clined to believe this, as I discovered several proofs of the jeal- 
 ousy of the merchants in Holland in respect to the commerce 
 of those of Zealand, to which unhappy propensity, agreeably to 
 the observation of impartial historians, the loss of the Brazils 
 ought to be ascribed, since those of Holland declined to assist 
 that colony, notwithstanding those of Zealand [solicited it most 
 earnestly. t 
 
 But whatever may be the fact, I feel a pleasure in fixing my 
 attention on that beautiful and blessed country in North Ame- 
 rica, formerly named New-Netherlands ; and in preparing, as far 
 as my abilities extend, a short description of its discovery, colo- 
 nization, and events relative to it, till that period in which it 
 changed its ancient name for that of New-England. 
 
 I shall for this purpose make use of the most accredited his- 
 torians, and endeavour to execute my plan in a chronological 
 order, by comparing them carefully one with another. 
 
 I flattered myself to be much benefited by a little but rare 
 work, having the title of " Description of Netv-Netherlands as 
 it noio is, hy Adrian Van der Donck, loho resides yet 
 in New-Netherlands,^^ with documents and a small map ; the 
 second edition published at Amsterdam in 1656 ; but I was 
 disappointed, as it contained chiefly a description of the pro- 
 ducts of the soil, its climate, customs (maimers) of the savages, 
 animals, &c. ; while the reader is referred^ with regard to the 
 right of possession of our nation in New-Netherlands to a cer- 
 tain " Exposition ( Vertoog) of the Community in New-Nether- 
 lands," which was published ; while the author further mentions 
 a small Treatise on the North river, and a Letter of Johannis 
 
 * This is made evident by the colonial Dutch records, preserved yet in the 
 Secretary's office of the State of New- York.— Trans. 
 
 t Zealand and Holland are provinces of the Netherlands ; but with us the 
 name of Holland is commonly used for the whole country, instead of Nether. 
 lands — Ed. 
 
 \ The work of Van der Donck is in the library of the University of Leydcn. 
 
84 lambrechtsen's 
 
 Megapolensis, junior, formerly a minister of the gospel in the 
 colony of Rensselaerwyck ;* but I could not obtain either of 
 those three pieces.! 
 
 The work of A. Van der Donck contains, nevertheless, a few 
 particulars, and is adorned with a small map, which deserves 
 attention for the Dutcli names therein appearing. 
 
 The commerce to the Indies, whose rich products were thus 
 far imported from Portugal, originated before the end of the 
 16th century. The voyage was undertaken along the cape 
 (the Good Hope) to India, and so on to China. The first 
 trials were successful, but the voyages tedious by their length. 
 The merchants of Zealand had already attempted, before those 
 of Amsterdam, to discover a passage to India through the 
 north, or along the strait of Way-gats. 
 
 The enterprise was more than once rendered void. Jacot) 
 Heemskerk, encouraged by munificent gifts, engaged in this 
 expedition for the third time, in the year 1596, but was equally 
 unsuccessful. 
 
 Now the prospect was given up in our Fatherland of reaching 
 India by such a perilous course, although neither here nor in 
 England were they utterly deterred from attempting it.| 
 
 Henry Hudson, seyit out hy the Netherland East India Com- 
 pany on a voyage, discovers New -Netherlands. 
 
 A certain Henry Hudson, a bold Englishman, offered his 
 services to the directors of the Netherland East India Com- 
 pany in the year 1609, to search once more for a passage to 
 China by the north or northeast. Hudson was, no doubt, a most 
 proper person for such an enterprise. He had already under- 
 taken a voyage, in the year 1607, in behalf of a few English 
 merchants, and arrived at the Island Spitzhergen, previously 
 dicovered by the Hollanders. He had gained the confidence 
 of his masters, in so far, that they sent him again to sea the 
 next year (1608) with the same view.|| 
 
 * Probably the treatise of Megapolensis here alluded to is the same pub- 
 lished in the first volume of Hazard's State Papers, under the title of " A 
 Short Account of the Maquaas (Mohawk) Indians, in New-Netherlands, &c. ; 
 written in the year 1644, by John Megapolensis, jun., Minister there. Trans, 
 lated from the Dutch." — Ed. 
 
 + Compare the interesting work of the industrious Scheltema, lately pub. 
 lished, Russia and the Netherlands, torn. i. p. 41, 42. 
 
 t Compare VVitzen's "Voyage to Tartary," d. ii.p. 899 Holland Mer. 
 cury, 1664, p. 155. Rymer's Acta Publica Regum Angl., torn. vii. p. 2 
 p. 156. Robertson's History of America, v. 5, p. 12. 
 
 II The journale of both these voyages of Hudson are from Purchas' Pil. 
 grims, vol. iii. p. 567 — 610. London fol. ed. 1625. Inserted in the Coll. of 
 the New-York Hist. Soc. vol. i. p. 61—102. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 85 
 
 The inclinations of the directors of the East India Company 
 were much at variance upon the proposals of Hudson. The 
 directors of Zealand opposed it ; they were probably dis- 
 couraged by the fruitless results of former voyages, con- 
 cerning which they could obtain sufficient information from 
 their colleague Balthasar Moucheron, who long before had 
 traded to the north.* It was, said they, throwing money 
 away, and nothing else. If private merchants would run 
 the risk they had no objection, provided the Company was 
 not injured by it. The Amsterdam directors, nevertheless, 
 would not give up their plan, and sent Henry Hudson, in the 
 same year, 1609, with a yacht called the Half-Moon,\ man- 
 ned by sixteen Englishmen and Hollanders, again to sea. 
 
 This vessel left the Texel on the 6th of April, 1609, sailing 
 towards the north. Prevented by the ice from reaching the 
 latitude of Nova Zembla, they went to New-Foundland, and 
 from there to Acadia or New-France, till they were driven into 
 a bay known only to the French, who arrived there annually to 
 purchase hides and furs from the savages. Hudson, unwilling 
 to approach these chilling shores, returned to sea, and steering 
 southwest discovered land, which was first considered to be an 
 island, but which was soon discovered to be a part of the con- 
 tinent, named Cape Cod.^ 
 
 This industrious navigator felt (although born in England) 
 so sensibly his relation to the Holland East India Company, 
 who had employed him in discoveries, that he could not have 
 hesitated a moment to give the name of his adopted Father- 
 land to this newly discovered country. He called it New- 
 Holland. But not wishing to fix his permanent residence on 
 this spot, Hudson preferred the sea, taking a southwest course 
 till he discovered a flat coast in 37° 35', which he followed in 
 an opposite direction. 
 
 At this time he discovered a bay, in which several rivers 
 were emptying, which, no doubt, must have been the South 
 river, afterwards named Delaware. It has a projecting 
 point, which then, or afterwards, obtained the name of Cape 
 Henlopen, probably from the family name of the first dis- 
 coverer. Now the bay was again left, and they steered N.E. 
 along the coast at 40° 18', where between Barndegat and 
 Godinspunt, named thus afterwards in remembrance of him 
 who first discovered this Cape, there was a good anchorage, to 
 
 * Balthasar Moucheron was one of the firet founders of the East India 
 Company, and one of the first trading merchants in Muscovy. His name 
 is perpetuated in the Mouchcron's river, on which is Archangfel. 
 
 t This yacht is named in the Notulen of the Departm. of XVII., the Good 
 Hope. 
 
 X Robertson, t. v. p. 42. 
 
86 Laaibrechtsen's 
 
 explore the country, and to open a communication with the 
 inhabitants. But Hudson's curiosity was not so easily satisfied. 
 He went again to sea, following the coast in the same direc- 
 tion, till the mouth of a large river was discovered, which then 
 was named by the sailors the North river, and afterwards, in 
 honour of the name of the first discoverer, Hudson's river. 
 
 This river was sailed up as far as could be effected, viz. to 
 43°. They became acquainted with the natives, and fully 
 persuaded, as far as their inquiries went, that this river and 
 country had never been visited by any Europeans. I dare 
 not, nevertheless, decide if in this they were correct. The 
 Rev. S. Miller, D.D., one of the ministers of the first Pres- 
 byterian church at New-York, and member of the Historical 
 Society in that city, mentioned in a discourse delivered before 
 that Society in 1809, that one John de Verrazzano, a Florentine, 
 who was in the service of the French king, Francis the First, 
 must have discovered, in the year 1524, in the ship Dolphin, 
 the American coast in the latitude of 31", and followed it to 
 41° ; that he entered a large bay containing five islands, which 
 may be taken, with great probability, for the present Neiv- 
 York ; that he stayed there fifteen days, conversing much with 
 the natives. The Rev. Mr. Miller refers to the journal of Verraz- 
 zano of July 8, 1524, which he borrowed from Hackluyfs 
 Voyages, vol. ii. 295 — 300, which, with the conclusions of the 
 Rev. Mr. Miller, is inserted in the Collections of the Neio- 
 York Historical Society, vol. i. 19 — 60. 
 
 Certain it is, that Van der Donck, who resided several years 
 in New-Netherlands, asserts, that he often heard the ancient 
 inhabitants, who yet recollected the arrival of the ship, the 
 Half-Moon, in the year 1609, saying, that before the arrival 
 of the Netherlanders they were entirely ignorant of the exist- 
 ence of any other nation besides their own, and that they looked 
 at the ship as a huge fish or sea monster.* 
 
 The evidences of this WTitcr, nevertheless, as well as those 
 of Hudson himself, render it not improbable that Verrazzano 
 landed in the bay of the present New-York, but the event must 
 have taken place eighty-five years before, and might have 
 been obliterated by the departure of a whole generation. 
 
 But whatever may have been the case, the vigilant Hudson 
 resolved to return to Amsterdam, to communicate his report 
 of the voyage to the directors. 
 
 The voyage was prosperous. But when he approached the 
 English coast a mutiny was stirring among the crew, among 
 which were several Englishmen. They compelled the skipper 
 
 * Van der Donck's Description of New-Netherlands, p. 3. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 87 
 
 to enter Dartmouth, from which the rumour of his discoveries 
 ere long reached the capital. 
 
 Nothing was more averse from the views of King James, 
 than of allowing to the Netherlanders 'any advantages from 
 transmarine colonies, while he, in imitation of Queen Elizabeth, 
 desired to convert the whole to the profit of his own subjects. 
 Hudson was considered as a person of importance, and he was 
 forbidden to pursue his voyage towards Amsterdam, with the 
 intention, ere long, to make use of his services. 
 
 I could not discover that a voyage to the South or North 
 river was ever repeated by Hudson, but well, that he dis- 
 covered, in the year 1610, a narrow pass of the sea to the 
 North of Terra Labrador, called by him the Strait of Hudson, 
 and a large bay to the south of Canada, to which he gave 
 the name of Hudson's bay. This was the last voyage of this 
 man. He was placed, with his son and five men, by a muti- 
 nous crew, in an open boat, a prey to the sea, and never was 
 heard of any more.* 
 
 Account of the Discovery. 
 
 After the ship, the Half-Moon, had been detained"at Dart- 
 mouth for some time, it was at length permitted to return to the 
 Fatherland, where it arrived in the beginning of the year 1610. 
 
 And now did the directors obtain such favourable reports of 
 the countries discovered by Hudson, that, in their opinion, 
 these were a full compensation for their disappointment in 
 their principal aim, the passage to India by the north. 
 
 De Laet, one of the Holland directors of the West India 
 Company, who published in the year 1624 a history of the 
 West Indies, t preserved a part of Hudson's journal, and made 
 us further acquainted with the country of New-Netherlands, 
 its inhabitants, climate, and natural productions. 
 
 It was yet, like other climates to which no Europeans had 
 penetrated, in a state of nature, as it was formed by the hand 
 of the Creator, or left by unknown events. Immeasurable 
 woods with numerous swamps covered the soil. The savages 
 lived along the rivers, and covered themselves with the skins 
 
 * Burke, Hist, des Colonies Europ^ennes dans I'Am^rique, torn. ii. p. 326. 
 Raynal Hist. Philos. et Polit. tom.^vi. p. 289. There is an extract of the journal 
 of Hudson's last voyage in the Collections of the New- York Hist. Soc. torn. i. 
 146—188. 
 
 + De Laet, 1. c. p. 100. Van Meteren, Ned. Hist. p. 626. The first 
 writer has a small map, entitled Nova Anglic, Novum Belgium, et Virginia. 
 (This map was not contained in the edition referred to, but in a subsequent 
 on». — Ed.) 
 
88 lambreciitsen's 
 
 of wild beasts, increasing in the forests with great rapidity. 
 These precious furs, so highly valued by luxurious Euro- 
 peans, were the first objects of trade. The same woods 
 supplied an inexhaustible provision for the construction of 
 vessels. The soil's fruitfulness exceeded the warmest imagina- 
 tion, principally so along the rivers, when overflowing their 
 borders, they left a rich loam behind. There was found not 
 only Indian wheat, but grapes too, with other fruits. 
 
 The rivers were replenished with every sort of fish, and the 
 adjoining seas were rich in cod-fish, tunn)^s, and whales. In 
 short, New-Netherland, to make use of Hudson's own words, 
 was the most beautiful country on which you could tread 
 with your feet. The natives were good-natured, peace- 
 able, and obliging ; the climate pretty near at par with ours ; 
 so that therefore New Netherland was very properly adapted 
 for our nation, to be settled by it, as there seemed nothing 
 wanting but domestic cattle. 
 
 Several tribes of savages inhabited this uncultivated terri- 
 tory, and were in continual warfare one with another. Sus- 
 taining themselves by hunting, they roved along the numerous 
 immeasurable plains of America, to return to the borders of 
 rivers and bays, laden with the furs of beavers, otters, and 
 other wild beasts, where the Netherland colonists and mariners 
 were ready to barter other articles of comfort for these furs, 
 then so highly valued in Europe. 
 
 Further Voyages to New-Netherlands in 1610 and 1614. 
 
 Hudson's favourable account of the country which he visited 
 in America, was favourably received in our Fatherland, and 
 inflamed the zeal of some merchants to equip a ship thither, 
 which was carried into execution in the year 1610. They 
 addressed too the States General of the United Netherlands, 
 soliciting their privilege and encouragement, so that their 
 High Mightinesses satisfied their desires by a placard of the 
 17th April, 1614, granting to the discoverers of thus far unknown 
 countries, the exclusive right, besides other advantages, to 
 make four voyages towards such lands.* 
 
 Hendrick Christianse and Jacob Helkens seem to have 
 been the first who, in virtue of this grant, undertook a voyage 
 to New-Netherlands, followed or assisted by Adrian Blok, 
 Godin, and others,t 
 
 * Gr. Placard Book i. D. f. 5G3. 
 
 f Hendrick Christianse and Adrian Blok gave tlieir names to two islands 
 on the coast of America. The two caoes on the South river are probably 
 taken from Jelmer Hinlopen, (Scheltcma i. 53.) and Cornells Jacob Mey — 
 being named Cape Hinlopen and Cape May, and the west cape of the North 
 river Godin's Point. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 89 
 
 They constructed, in the year 1614, a small fort on an island 
 on the west side of the North river, of very little significance 
 in itself, but fully sufficient to protect the colonists in their 
 trade, and keep the natives in awe. 
 
 This fort was encircled by a moat eighteen feet wide, armed 
 with two pieces of cannon, twelve stone-pieces, {steen-stuk- 
 ken*) and ten or twelve men, under the command of the 
 aforesaid Hendrick Christianse, and in his absence by Jacob 
 Helkens. 
 
 If we may depend on De Laet,t the company must have 
 established itself on a special grant of the States General, 
 and built this fort in the year 1614. But as the West India 
 Company did first obtain their grant {octrooy) in the year 1621, 
 it is probable that it ought to be understood of a society of 
 merchants who traded to the West Indies, and were the cause 
 of the establishment of the West India Company. 
 
 Settling of the Swedes in Neio-Netherlands. 
 
 It cannot be well ascertained when the Swedes first visited 
 this country. Agreeably to Sprengel they must have settled 
 on both sides of the South river in the year 1631, while Raynal 
 asserts that it happened about the year 1636. J 
 
 Burke places the Swedes in the same rank with the Hol- 
 landers, saying, " It is not certainly known at what time the 
 Swedes and Dutch made their first establishment in North 
 America; but it was certainly posterior to our settlement in 
 Virginia, and prior to that of New-England. The Swedes, 
 who were no considerable naval power, had hardly fixed the 
 rudiments of a colony there, ere they deserted it. The inhabi- 
 tants, without protection or assistance, were glad to enter into 
 a coalition with the Dutch, who had settled there upon a better 
 plan, and to submit to a government of the States." || 
 
 The author of the British Empire in America acknow- 
 ledges too,^ that the first Europeans who settled in the Jerseys 
 were Swedes, who constructed there a few small forts, as 
 Christiana, Helsingburg, and Gothenburg, and that their prin- 
 
 * Steen-stukken, as defined by Holtrop, CDutch and English Diet., 1824,) 
 means " pedereros, or swivel guns used in ships." — Ed. 
 •f De Laet's Description of the West Indies, p. JOG. 
 
 i Sprengel Geschichte der Europccrs in America, i. D. p. 93. Raynal, t. vi. 
 p. 362. 
 
 II Burke's Account of the first European Settlements in America, vol. ii. 184. 
 Ed. 1765.) The author quotes a French translation. — Ed. 
 (§ British Empire in America, 113. 
 12 
 
90 lambrechtsen's 
 
 cipal possessions were situated on the borders of Pennsylvania, 
 opposite Helsingburg,* 
 
 If we can trust the naiTative of Thomas Campanius Holm, 
 whose grandfather had been a minister of the iirst Swedish 
 settlers in America, the first colonization must have taken 
 place in the reign of Gustavus Adolphus, who, upon the favour- 
 able reports which he received, did give a grant on the 2d 
 July, 1626, to erect a West India Company, with intentions to 
 navigate to New Sweden, (as this author calls it.) 
 
 The first colonists, as this author says, desired to live in 
 peace with the natives, purchasing therefore from them the 
 whole country between Cape Henlopen, and the large waterfall 
 on the South river ; while the English renounced, upon the 
 entreaties of the ambassador Oxenstiern to king Charles I., in 
 the year 1631, their claim arising from more early discoveries, 
 and the Swedes succeeded in pacifying the Hollanders, who 
 had constructed three forts in that district, but which had been 
 destroyed by the natives, when they purchased every claim 
 from the States, to which the Netherlanders, in virtue of prior 
 possession, were supposed to be entitled ; and the aforesaid 
 author, T. C. Holm, appeals, in proof of these facts, to two 
 reports of Governor John Rising.! 
 
 Although there are several reasons to question the accuracy 
 of these reports, I will nevertheless believe, that the vSwedcs 
 receiving no succours, after the death of king Gustavus Adol- 
 phus, in the year 1632, from their government, and thus of 
 course, threatened with expulsion from the country by the na- 
 tives, were obliged to call for the aid of their Holland neigh- 
 bours, and at last to place themselves under their protection, 
 after a trial of sixteen years, as reported by Raynal.f 
 
 If the Swedes acted in this manner by necessity, it had in 
 the end a tendency to promote their welfare, as they now 
 shared with the Hollanders in the fur trade, which diminished 
 from time to time, and was never the most flourishing in the 
 vicinity of the rivers ; so that, which however happened at a 
 later period, they were obliged to look out for a more profitable 
 trade with the savages in Canada. 
 
 The want of mutual harmony between the two nations must 
 in the mean time have increased, and have given birth to dis- 
 trust and quarrels ; of which the English, no doubt, took 
 advantage, and at length open hostilities ensued, as will appear 
 in the sequel. 
 
 • This Helsingburg is misnamed in our mnps Elzenhurg. Some other 
 Swedish colonies existed on the west side of the South river, as Finland, Up- 
 land, Gripsholm, New Vasa, and others. 
 
 t This is borrowed frona a treatise named, " An extract from a translation of 
 the History of New Sweed-land, m America, written in Sweed by Thomas 
 Campanius Holm," &.c. in the Collections of the Historical Society of New- 
 York, tom. ii p. 315, &c. 
 
 t Raynal, 1. c. tom. vi. p. 382, 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 91 
 
 The Netherland West India Company engaged in voyages to 
 New-Netherlands. 
 
 What thus far, viz. in ten or twelve years after the discovery 
 of Hudson, was effected by Holland merchants or adventurers, 
 neither corresponded to the great hopes that had been raised 
 nor overcame the jealousy felt towards the more successful 
 English and other neighbours, to whose competition they were 
 exposed. 
 
 It was reserved for the West India Company, when ac- 
 knowledged by the States General, in the year 1621, and 
 authorized to send all vessels to tlie countries in America and 
 the West Indies, beginning from the south of Newfoundland, 
 and empowered to plant colonies and construct forts, and make 
 treaties with the natives, to transform New-Netherlands into a 
 fruitful and flourishing countr3^ 
 
 It cannot be doubted that the great advantages which the 
 English received from Virginia, were contemplated in the 
 Fatherland with envy, as the tobacco was transported from there 
 in large quantities to Holland and Zealand, particularly to 
 Middleburg and Vlissingen, in both which cities magazines 
 were erected for tobacco.* 
 
 Some vessels were then equipped to the North river, not 
 only to make new discoveries, but to settle the country and 
 provide it with dwellings. 
 
 A negociation was opened with the natives for the purchase 
 of several tracts on the continent and islands, at a settled, and 
 no doubt very moderate price. In this manner were acquired 
 Staten and Nut islands, Pavonia, Hoboken, and the island Man- 
 hattan on the North river, well situated for trade, and provided 
 with a safe anchorage. 
 
 The West India Company made a farther purchase near 
 Cape Henlopen from the natives, of a large tract of la]id, named 
 Zwanendaal, (Swan-vale,) while they built on the cast side of the 
 same river a small fort, known by the name of Fort Nassau. 
 
 Construction of Neio- Amsterdam and Fort Orange. 
 
 A fort was constructed on the island Manhattan, now the 
 property of the company, under the superintendence of the first 
 governor, Hendrick Christianse, which was named Fort Am- 
 sterdam. But commerce required very soon the enlargement 
 of the capital. Many houses were built, and ere long a small 
 city was laid out. It w^as secured by walls and moats, a church 
 
 * Robertson, 1. c. torn. v. p. 83r 
 
92 lambrechtsen's 
 
 was built, a prison, and a mansion for the governor, besides 
 several houses for individuals, chiefly merchants of Amsterdam. 
 It was natural that the new city obtained the name of New- 
 Amsterdam.* 
 
 A large tract of land to secure the fur-trade was purchased 
 from the natives on the west side of the North river, at a distance 
 of one hundred and seventy miles from the capital, where a 
 fort was constructed, named Fort Orange, afterwards Albany. 
 Here a lucrative trade was opened in Canadian furs with the 
 Iroquois, then at war with the French, with which they cheer- 
 fully parted for brandy and small trinkets, but chiefly for gun- 
 powder and fire-arms. 
 
 The honesty with which the Netherlanders traded with the 
 savages, was unquestionably a great cause of the profit which 
 they obtained from this trade. They kept their word in all 
 their contracts, and never tried to impose upon the ignorance of 
 these barbarians. 
 
 Opposite to the continent was Long Island situated; sepa- 
 rated from it by the East river and stretching itself to the mouth 
 of the North river. Its fertility was known, which induced the 
 company to obtain its property, partly by purchase, partly by 
 taking possession of the remainder, so as clearly appears by 
 the names of several villages, known on the maps, as New- 
 Utrecht, Amcrsfoort, Breukelen,Hccmstcde,Vlissingen, s'Grave- 
 zandc, and others ; not to mention the islands along the coast, 
 distinguishable by their Netherland denominations. 
 
 So many fruitful districts were no doubt very important as 
 well as extensive. These were neverthless yet increased in the 
 3''ear 1633 by the purchase of the territory of Connecticut, situ- 
 ated to the west of Fresh-water river, {the Conneciiciit,) twenty 
 to twenty-one miles from the sea-coast, being a most beautiful 
 and fertile tract of land.f The Governor General van Twiller 
 made that purchase from the Pequatos, who conc^uered it from 
 other tribes. He too constructed at a very early period a block- 
 house in its defence, named Fort Good Hope.| 
 
 * An engjraving of New-Amsterrlam may be seen in Montanus, in his De- 
 scription of the now or unknown World, p. 124, and at the foot of the Map 
 in Van der Donck's New-Netherlands. (Both of these now rare books are 
 contained in the library of this Society.— Ed.) 
 
 t With regard to the beauty and fertility of the Connecticut see Brissot'a 
 Voyage to America, t. i. p. 142. 
 
 \ I have followed in my narrative chiefly the description of the borders of 
 New-Netherlands, joined to a memoir on the limits of its jurisdiction, being 
 anApp. to a Mem. of the directors of the West India Company to the States 
 General on the 29th Sept. 1634, to be found in Beverningk, p. 604. 
 
NBW-NETHERLANDS. 93 
 
 First form of gove?'nment. 
 
 Of whatever importance to the prosperity of the Fatherland 
 were the conquests in the West Indies, from the Spanish, Por- 
 tuguese, and natives, they were not left to the arbitrary whims 
 of the conquerors and naval commanders ; no, the States Gene- 
 ral established about the year 1629, some articles of order and 
 government, whose prompt and faithful execution they required 
 in the conquered places. 
 
 They authorized the different departments of the West India 
 Company to appoint a Council of nine persons, who should be 
 entrusted with the command of the whole.* The precautions 
 which had been taken to secure its success, may seen from 
 the privileges and exemptions for patrons, masters, and private 
 individuals, who shall plant colonies in New-Netherlands, or 
 import there any cattle, &c., from the 10th of March, 1628.t 
 The following were the principal points : — • 
 
 The West India Company should reserve to itself besides the 
 fur-trade, the island of Manhattan also, both to cultivate it, and to 
 erect there a staple place for commerce, while the colonists were 
 privileged to settle four miles along the coast, or along navigable 
 rivers, or two miles on both sides of these, provided they did sat- 
 isfy the natives for the lands, of which they had taken possession. 
 
 The colonists might navigate along the whole coast of Flo- 
 rida to Newfoundland, provided they imported their merchan- 
 dise to the Manhattans and paid a recognition of 5 per cent. 
 
 They were privileged to sail for fishing cod all along the 
 coast of New-Netherlands, provided they carried it directly to 
 Italy, and paid six guilders per last to the company. 
 
 Wherever they took any vessels of the enemy, within the 
 limits of this grant, they were holden to conduct them to the 
 Fatherland, enjoying then two-thirds of their value. 
 
 The colonics were farther entitled to send from each river or 
 island, a deputy to the council of the Director General and his 
 Councillors in New-Netherlands. 
 
 The States General added another restriction to these mea- 
 sures of the West India Company, for the encouragement of 
 merchants and colonists, viz., when they published in the year 
 1633, an order and regulation in conformity with which all armed 
 vessels, privateers, were permitted to sail from the United 
 Netherlands within the limits of the grant to the West 
 India Company, " except the coast of Africa, New-Nether- 
 
 ♦JGreat Placard Book, t. ii. p. 1235. 
 
 t This is to be found in the Notulen of the department of XIX, in March, 
 1628. These too were separately published at Amsterdam, 1631. 
 
94 lambrechtsen's 
 
 lands, and all other places whatever, to which the Company 
 was tradinff."* 
 
 Extension of New-Netherlands, and delineation of its districts. 
 
 To form an idea of the situation and extent of New-Nether- 
 lands, one ought to inspect the annexed map, which, to prevent 
 geographical mistakes, I ordered to be drawn on the scale of the 
 new map of North America by Arrowsmith, adopting the Low- 
 Dutch names of the maps of Montanusf and Van der Donck, at 
 least in so far as these in my opinion might be subservient to il- 
 lustrate history; while the sea-coast and islands in the same 
 direction are given in the sea-atlas of Arend Hoogeveen4 
 
 The country, as far as it was discovered and taken posses- 
 sion of by the Netherlanders, extended from 38 deg. 53 min. 
 to 42 deg. north, beginning on the south-west, at the South 
 river or Delaware, and ending on the north-east at Cape Cod, 
 including Long Island, Nut Island, Staten Island, Manhattan 
 Island, and diiferent other islands, as well along the coast, as in 
 the bays and on the rivers.il 
 
 It is more difficult to determine the inland extent of New- 
 Netherlands. On the North river it may, at least, be calcu- 
 lated to extend as far as the colony Rensselaerwyck and Fort 
 Orange, one hundred and fifty miles from its capital New- 
 Amsterdam, and on the Fresh-water river, (the Connecticut,) 
 to Fort Good Hope. The other limits are uncertain. 
 
 No doubt it was a happy choice of the Netherlanders in lay- 
 ing the foundation of their possessions on the island Manhattan, 
 and on both sides of the North river, a charming deep stream, 
 navigable for sea vessels till above Fort Orange, as it opened 
 the most favourable prospects ; but the jealousy of their English 
 neighbours, on either side, obscured soon these bright pros- 
 pects, and finally extinguished them. 
 
 The West India Company, so gloriously victorious over 
 the Spanish silver fleet, by their admiral Piet Hein, spared no 
 
 • Gr. Placard Book, t. i. p. 599. 
 
 t The map of Montanus includes the country between 37° and 49° north, and 
 is thus much larger than the small map of Van der Donck. In the ii. t. of the 
 Atlas of Blauw is another map with the inscription, " Nova Belgica et Anglia 
 Nova." 
 
 t Arend Hoogeveen published his maps in 1G75, under the title of "Brandend 
 vecn" (Burning peat-soil) ; among these are Nr. 27 — 28 — 29, relative to New- 
 Netlierlands. He obtained authority from the States General to navigate to the 
 Australian Sea, on which he published a treatise at Middelburg in 1676. 
 
 II The coasts and limits of New-Netherlands would probably be better distin- 
 guished on the figurative map, which the directors of the West India Com- 
 pany presented on the 26th September, 1654, to their H. M., as Beverningk 
 mentions, but I could iiever discover it. 
 
XEW-NBTHEIlLAIfDS. 95 
 
 longer any expense to secure the possession of New-Nether- 
 lands by the construction of forts and fortifications around the 
 capital. But its extensive possessions, both in America and 
 on the coast of Guinea, with the equipment of numerous armed 
 vessels, required such vast sums of money, and the warnings 
 of sound politics, so much prudent circumspection towards 
 England, that it seems they were more anxious to defend 
 themselves against the natives than against their neighbours ; 
 trusting rather on their mutual interest, and on measures of 
 equity and discretion. But the event proved soon that in 
 this they miscalculated. 
 
 England's relation to North America and its Einigrations 
 
 thither. 
 
 If Virginia, (discovered by Walter Raleigh in 1584,) was 
 at first scantily peopled, and at last abandoned, the English 
 king (James I.) soon took notice of the advantages of trans- 
 marine colonies. He established in the 3^ear 1606 two com- 
 panies, one in London and the other at Plymouth, of which 
 the one should direct the trade to Virginia, the other that on 
 the northern part of America, afterwards called New-England 
 by his son. 
 
 The Plymouth company was less successful than that of 
 London. The first ship was taken by the Spanish ; and a 
 small fort, constructed in the following year at Sagadahoc, a 
 cape at 44° north,* abandoned ; the climate being so severe, 
 that the whole enterprise was confined to a few small vessels 
 to assist the fishing at Cape Cod. 
 
 The famous English sea-commander, John Smith, who visited 
 Cape Cod in 1607, surve3red again in 1614 the higher coast 
 of North America, between the bay of Penobscot and the 
 aforesaid Cape Cod, and made himself a map of this coast. 
 But however favourably his report was received in England, 
 it seemed they were not inclined there as yet to exchange 
 the paternal soil for the savage and bare countries of North 
 America.! But ere long the disputes in England about the 
 public exercise of religion gave it a new spur. Queen Eliza- 
 beth, although inclining towards the Protestant religion, would 
 nevertheless preserve many ceremonials of the Romish church, 
 nothwithstanding the contrary opinion of a large number of 
 
 » Robertson, 1. c. t. v. p. 129. 
 
 t An account of Smith's voyage and discovery is to lie met with in the 
 famous voyages to the East and Westlndies, Leyden, by Van dcr Aa, in fol. t. 
 ii., in which is a small map of the eeacoast of North America, between Cape 
 Cod and Penobscot, visited by John Smith. 
 
96 lambrechtsen's 
 
 her subjects, who preferred the simple system of Calvin, and 
 hence were called Puritans. 
 
 They rejected the usages and discipline of the English 
 church — the form of prayer — the kneeling at the Lord's sup- 
 per — the prayers for the dead — the prayers and thanksgivings 
 in the churches — calling- all these antichristian abominations.* 
 
 Quarrels among the English emigrants considered as the 
 cause of their dispersion. 
 
 The successors of Queen Elizabeth on the throne, James I. 
 and Charles I., adopted imprudently these and yet more severe 
 measures, and this v^^as the cause of the violent religious con- 
 tests, persecutions, and emigrations. 
 
 From the Puritans were distinguished the adherents of the 
 Brownists, or Independents, among whom were men of probity 
 and letters, but every one of them zealously attached to their 
 principles. They exceeded all the other puritans in their ob- 
 stinate contempt of the hierarchy, by a spirit of independence 
 and intolerance. 
 
 The Brownists had left their country long before the end of 
 the 16th century, and lead by Johnson, Ainsworth, Smith, 
 and Robinson, established congregations in conformity to their 
 tenets at Middelburg, Amsterdam, and Leyden. 
 
 Robert Brown, the chief of that sect, and formerly a minister 
 of the Bishoprick of Norwich, emigrated before, with some of 
 his sectarians, in the year 1588, to Middelburg, established 
 there a congregation, which was, however, soon dissolved, 
 partly by their natural dissensions, as by the departure of 
 Brown to England in the following year ; although it was 
 afterwards re-established by the arrival of new members, but 
 it adopted at last the liturgy of the Netherland churches. t 
 
 The congregation of Brownists established at Amsterdam in 
 the beginning of the 17th century by Johnson and x\insworth 
 was of a longer duration, but was at last entirely destroyed ;t 
 while the congregation at Leyden, establislied about the same 
 time on the principles of the Brownists, by Dr. Robinson, and 
 directed by him with much prudence, was already dissolved, 
 partly by the death of the aged members, partly through the 
 
 * Compare] about their doctrine, Neal's Hist, of the Puritans, t. i. ch. 6 ; 
 Hume's Hist, of Great Britain, vol. v. p. 155, &c. ; Wendeborn's State of 
 Sciences in Great Britain, t. ii. p. 233. 
 
 t Nomenclature of the English Congregation at Middelburg, p. 1, &c. ; 
 Neal, t. i. 1. c. 1 div. p. 56. 
 
 X Wagenaer's Defen. of Amsterdam, t. iii. b. ii., and sec. 15 of t. ii, p. 174, 
 in fol. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 97 
 
 apprehension of Robinson and otlier leaders, tliat the discovery 
 of the truth, as made in the Holy Scriptures, was in danger of 
 becoming limited, after the example of the Protestant churches, 
 whose doctrine, as pure, he otherwise respected. 
 
 It was then agitated to leave Holland, and transfer their 
 doctrine and morals to another hemisphere ; at last, in the 
 year 1620, after a solemn fasting and praying, it was con- 
 cluded upon by the younger part of the congregation to remove 
 to America, under the protection of the king of England. They 
 particularly had in contemplation that part of North America 
 which was already inhabited by some English families, viz., 
 Massachusetts ; and now it was not a difficult task to associate 
 with a few English merchants, and obtain as well the consent 
 of the king of England as of the Virginia Company to estab- 
 lish themselves there, save their civil and religious liberties. 
 
 Whether any members of the congregation of that sect in 
 Amsterdam and Middelburg, or members of other puritanical 
 churches in Holland* joined the Brownists at Leydcn, it has 
 not been in my power to ascertain ; neither does it appear pro- 
 bable, as the emigrants only made use of two ships, one of sixty 
 and the other of one hundred and eighty tons for this voyage, 
 taking with them many necessaries for this new colony, 
 besides that their number is only calculated at one hundred 
 and twenty. 
 
 When every preparation was made for their departure to 
 North America, a fast and prayer day was celebrated, when 
 Robinson took his leave of the remaining members of the con- 
 gregation with a sermon, preserved by Neal.f He declared 
 that he bewailed the Protestant churches, that they would not 
 go further than the reformers Luther and Calvin. They had 
 been, indeed, burning and shining lights, but did not penetrate 
 the whole counsel of God ; and would, were they yet alive, 
 cheerfully embrace a greater illumination, just as they had 
 showed themselves in receiving that which they first accepted. 
 He, therefore, admonished the congregation to leave behind 
 the name of Brownists, and be always ready, in conformity 
 with the rules of their society, to embrace every truth, which 
 should be communicated to them from the written word of 
 God ; provided, that they should be always on their guard, 
 trying and comparing what they ought to accept as truth, &c. 
 
 * Many Puritans, abhorring the abuse of clerical power, had left England, 
 legether with their ministers, and established themselves in Amsterdam, Rot. 
 terdam, the Hague, Lcyden, Utrecht, and other places, where English 
 churches of the Presbyterian caste had been established, and which were 
 maintained by the government. Neal, 1. c. d. i. p. 2, .31, [This valuable 
 work, was republished by Dr. J. Toulmin ; and at Newburyport, 1816, in 5 
 vols. 8vo. — Trans.] 
 
 t Neal, t. i. p .2. p. 66, 87. 
 13 
 
98 lambrechtsen's 
 
 In August, 1620, they left Holland, with the view, as Rob- 
 ertson says,* to establish themselves on the Hudson river ; 
 but, by an unfortunate accident, they arrived much farther to 
 the north, and in November, about the beginning of it, at 
 Cape Cod. 
 
 They unloaded their goods in an opposite bay, and began to 
 build a city, to which they gave the name of New-Ply- 
 mouth. 
 
 It was about this time that the English king (James) re- 
 formed the Plymouth Company, who had effected scarcely any 
 thing to facilitate an establishment in North America, by found- 
 ing the Great Council of Plymouth, granting to it the power by 
 letters-patent, to settle a colony in New-England, and to dis- 
 tribute lots among the colonists. He died in the year 1625, 
 but no alteration took place, by his death, in the politics of 
 England with respect to the Puritans. They united therefore 
 in larger numbers, and resolved to search for an asylum in 
 North America, and to solicit the favour of the Great Council 
 of Plymouth. This company, too, made them a gift of an 
 extensive tract of land to the north of the river Merrimack, and 
 three miles to the south of Charles river, and along the breadth 
 of the Atlantic to the South Sea ; while King Charles I., not 
 less liberal than the Plymouth council, authorized them to 
 govern their own colony. 
 
 Increased about the year 1629 to the number of three hun- 
 dred persons, chiefly zealous Puritans, they left England, and 
 settled in America, on a spot which they called Salem, in the 
 bay of Massachusetts. Somewhat later the foundation was 
 laid of Boston, Charlestown, Dorchester, Roxborough, and 
 other cities ; to pass by the settlements in Providence, Rhode 
 Island, New-Hampshire, &c. 
 
 Thus far it seems the English emigrants settled and extended 
 themselves rather to the north and east of the South river, 
 without encroaching upon the districts, possessed by the Nether- 
 land West India Company, particularly not in the district of 
 Connecticut ; but the unhappy intolerance and fanaticism of 
 the puritans in Massachusetts caused soon the disturbance of 
 this peace. It might have been expected, that they in gratitude 
 for the Dutcli hospitality, which they had enjoyed during such 
 a long period, at Lcydcn, Amsterdam, and other cities in Hol- 
 land and Zealand, would have left the Netherland colonies un- 
 molested ; but pride and self-interest had eradicated entirely 
 all sentiments of discretion and gratitude from their hearts. 
 
 It can scarce be believed, that men, so conscientious, that 
 they considered themselves in duty bound not to make the least 
 
 * Robertson, p. 148. Nea], t. i. b. iv. p. 36. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 99 
 
 concession in any disputed point about religious rituals ; men, 
 so highly reveling the Holy Scriptures, that they considered 
 themselves in duty bound to distinguish their cities and villages 
 by Biblical names, should so little care about their Netherland 
 neighbours of the same religious profession, should so little re- 
 spect their anterior possession. 
 
 Tvv^o ministers at Salem, a small city in Massachusetts, per- 
 haps unequal in talents, but both obstinate in the defence of 
 their principles, occasioned such excessive broils, that a sepa- 
 ration became unavoidable, so that the Rev. Mr. Hooker with 
 his followers left the city of Salem in the year 1633, retiring to 
 the country of Connecticut, and the plantations of the Nether- 
 landers, leaving the congregation at Salem under the care of his 
 colleague. Cotton.* 
 
 Deplorable consequences of ignorance and intolerance, so much 
 more pernicious, yea, so much more contemptible, in men who 
 had tasted by experience their bitter fruits. 
 
 The emigrants from Salem on the west shore of the great 
 river in Connecticut, without paying any regard to the more 
 early possession of the Dutch colonists, much less even to the 
 local grant, in behalf of the colony of Massachusetts, expelled 
 two English noblemen who had settled there before their 
 arrival. t 
 
 They built on a spot, which appeared to them convenient, a 
 few miles above the Netherland fort Good Hope, a small city 
 named Hartford, afterwards the capital of Connecticut's colony, 
 and the irreconcileable enemy of the Dutch. 
 
 Encouraged by so much success, and perhaps guided by the 
 advices of Cromwell, who corresponded continually with the 
 leaders in each colony, | they threw away their mask, declined 
 to acknowledge the authority of the original colony, and formed 
 a government for themselves. Confiding in their numbers, they 
 drove off their peaceable neighbours, as far as power could go. 
 They built a fort on the Fresh-water river, calling it Tamhert 
 Fort, to defend by it their colony against the east, having 
 stretched themselves out towards the west, to the Bay of 
 Greenwich, so that ere long the puritans of Salem approached 
 the capital of New-Netherlands, within eightmiles.il 
 
 Even Long Island, separated by the East river from the 
 continent, and without any question first discovered and settled 
 by the Netherlanders, yea, as they declare, bought from the 
 Indians, and adorned with several Netherland villages and forts, 
 was a fertile country and blessed with several good harbours. 
 
 * Robertson, p. 179. Neal, p. 176. 
 
 t Robertson, p. 180. 
 
 t lb. p. 200. 
 
 II About twenty.four English miles. Tamhert is probably a corruption of 
 Stamford, which is not, however, on Connecticut river, but within less than 
 forty miles of the city of New-York.— Ed. 
 
100 lambrechtsenV 
 
 Such a favourable situation, so desirable for the fishery, was 
 alluring to the increasing English. Thus several of them set- 
 tled on the east of that island, building two villages there, 
 South Hampton and Southold, from which they afterwards 
 claimed the half of the island.* 
 
 It is not here the proper place to give an account of the set- 
 tling and progress of the English colonies in North America, 
 but it ought to be remembered, liow the revolution in England 
 in the year 1642 animated the courage of the emigrants, since 
 they now embracing the same religious principles with the po- 
 pular party in both houses, might expect a firm support from 
 them. 
 
 Four of the principal colonies formed themselves, ere long, 
 into a political body ; Boston and Plymouth in Massachusetts, 
 and New-Haven and Hartford in Connecticut, concluding with 
 another in the j^ear 1 643 a Treaty of Union, similar to that of 
 the Union of Utrecht, with which the Brownists, during their 
 residence in Holland, had become acquainted.! 
 
 Behold, as was foreseen by sagacious men, the founda- 
 tion laid for the Republic of the United States of North Ame- 
 rica, which we, after a severe struggle, have seen increased in 
 population, respectability and prosperity, and at last, in the year 
 1782, acknowledged as a free and independent state ; and which 
 we yet lately, after a short but obstinate warfare, have seen 
 concluding a peace with that same potent realm, which two 
 centuries before laid the foundation of that independence by its 
 religious intolerance. 
 
 If Elizabeth, and still more, if both her successors on the 
 throne of England, James and Charles, had followed other 
 politics, and been less attached to the outward solemnities of 
 religion and the authority of bishops, they would not have 
 compelled their subjects, among whom Avere many excellent 
 and learned men, to fly to the barren soil of North America ; 
 and the fertile lands between the Hudson and the Comiecticut, 
 (Fresh-water river,) might have remained perhaps a part of 
 New-Netherlands. 
 
 But Providence had determined it otherwise — and its plans 
 are always wise and beneficial, however dark and injudicious 
 her wa^^s and means may appear to us. If a true and increas- 
 ing civilization was destined to take place in the wilderness of 
 America, and an illustrious republic of different independent 
 states to be formed, it required inhabitants Avho carried with 
 them industry and religion, and who might perhaps be instru- 
 mental in communicating the doctrine of the gospel to the sa- 
 
 * Narrative of Beverningk, p. 607 — 9. 
 t RobertBon, p. 196. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 101 
 
 vage tribes of lliat extensive country. This was promoted by 
 the emigrations from England, Scotland, Ireland, and many 
 other realms and states ; and the intolerance of the English 
 government, as well as the fanaticism of the emigrated pmi- 
 tans, who, persecuting one another, spread themselves over the 
 country of America, and co-operated to effect what a sound 
 policy seemed to forbid. 
 
 Had Charles and Philip his son known the advantages of 
 tolerance and exercised it, as recommended by religion and 
 sound policy, never would the Republic of the United Nether- 
 lands have obtained existence and a rank among the powers of 
 Europe, and rescued themselves from the dominion of intoler- 
 ant Spain. 
 
 Had Louis XIV. consulted more his sacred duty, and the 
 rights of his Protestant subjects, nor listened to the insinua- 
 tions of his courtiers and priests, and not repealed the edict of 
 Nantes, our Fatherland w^ould never have received so many 
 French emigrants in its bosom, who, by their industry, valour, 
 and scientific endowments, were, agreeably to the plan of Pro- 
 vidence, ordained to extend the population, promote the com- 
 merce and manufactures of Netherlands, and to maintain its in- 
 dependence ; never would European discipline, brought hither 
 by the French exiles, and eagerly adopted, have been intro- 
 duced in the armies of Peter the Great, at least not at such a 
 momentous period ; and thus that intelligent monarch would 
 have been unable to support his own authority, to protect his 
 extensive empire, and execute his gigantic plans, so that 
 he could not have laid the foundation for that greatness and 
 power, of which France, in our days, felt all the energy, and to 
 which the existence of that famous Holy Alliance must be 
 ascribed. 
 
 Intolerance in religion finds at last its own gi'ave in itself, 
 and is, in the hand of Providence, the efficacious means to pro- 
 duce the most glorious effects in behalf of other nations to her 
 glory. 
 
 But let us return from this digression to New-Netherlands — 
 to contemplate there the development of great events, which 
 English intolerance prepared against her will. 
 
 Mutual Jealousy between the Netherlander s and E?iglish. 
 
 The extension of the English colonies in North America, and 
 the arbitrary measures of their leaders, must have disquieted 
 the Directors of the West India Company, who received from 
 there continued complaints, as much as the States General ; 
 but they were too well acquainted with the pernicious effects of 
 the envy and jealousy of their neighbours, on account of the in- 
 
102 lambrechtsen's 
 
 crease and extension of the prosperity of Netlierland, to expect 
 much good from serious representations. 
 
 Oh, had not this unhappy propensity betrayed itself on the 
 first discovery of this land by Henry Hudson, when, being in 
 England, he was prevented from making his report of his voy- 
 age and discovery to his masters, what influence might Nether- 
 land's increasing prosperity and sound politics have had on the 
 commerce and manufactures of England ! If we credit respec- 
 table authority, the Netherlanders possessed then thrice as 
 many vessels as the English : their navy was equal. The 
 Netherlanders made use of six hundred vessels in their trade to 
 England, and England with no more than sixty to Holland.* 
 The whale fishery, thus far only in the possession of the Eng- 
 lish, awoke the thirst for gain in the merchants of Netherland, 
 and was favoured by a grant of the States, against which the 
 English made a fruitless opposition.! What dissensions ori- 
 ginated between the two nations about the trade in cloth, in 
 which the city of Middleburg was so highly interested ! there 
 the English cloth was imported. But King James, imagining 
 that the colouring of the cloth, as well as the wearing, ought to 
 be performed in his realm, it occasioned coloured cloth to be 
 imported from England into this country, which in the beginning 
 was opposed, but was yielded at length.| 
 
 If the trade in cloth caused a misunderstanding, not less did 
 that of the redemption of the cities Vlissengen and the Briel, 
 with the Fort Rammekens ; a masterpiece of politics, by 
 which Oldenbarneveld artfully surprised the English king, 
 and delivered his Fatherland from bondage. II 
 
 I pass by the establishment of the West India Company, 
 in 1621 ; the famous controversy about the events at Am- 
 boyna ;^ Trong's heroic attack on the Spanish fleet at the 
 Downs ;T[ many other gallant and glorious enterprises against 
 the Spanish and Portuguese in Asia, on the coast of Guiana, 
 yea, even in Africa, which rendered the name of the Nether- 
 lands formidable ; but these also awoke the jealousy of the Eng- 
 lish, their competitors in so many places and pursuits. To 
 these general reasons of jealousy must be joined, particularly 
 with regard to North America, the displeasure of the English 
 government at the exportations of tobacco from that country to 
 Middleburg and Vlissengen, and somewhat later, the smuggling 
 trade between Virginia and New-Netherlands.** 
 
 » Hume's Hist, of England, t. vi. p. 136, 7, 
 
 t Wagnaer Vadert. Hist. H. t. x. p. 67—71. Rapin Thoyras, Hist. D'An- 
 gletere t. z. p. 122. 
 
 t Luzac, Holland's Riches, t. i. p. 856. Vad. Hist. t. x. p. 105. 
 
 II Hume's Hist, of Great Britain, t. vi. p. 25, and Vad. Hist. t. x. p. 101. 
 § Vad. Hist. t. xi. p. 21. 
 
 IT Aitema Trans, of State and Wat, t. ii. p. 529. 
 •♦Robertson, p.83— 117. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 103 
 
 I will not, however, deny that the Nctherlanders might, now 
 and then, have given a handle to strengthen such suspicions. It 
 must be confessed, that at first, the English controlled the com- 
 merce of Muscovy ; but it lasted not long, as the Hollanders 
 and Zealanders not only were at their side, but possessed suf- 
 ficient strength to press them out of the road. So that after 
 the death of Charles I., the English lost all the advantages of 
 commerce in Muscovy, while their competitors retained them.* 
 
 Netherlands compelled not to offend England. 
 
 It would have been a wonder indeed, if the descendants of 
 two such nations, settled in a foreign country, so near one 
 another, and dissimilar in power, had lived together in an un- 
 interrupted peace ; not less wonderful indeed would it have 
 been, if proposals for accommodation and harmony by the 
 weaker had been adopted by the stronger. 
 
 In proportion as the English increased in numbers, to which 
 the continued emigrations of the Puritans and other mal-con- 
 tents very much contributed, they vv^ere obliged indeed to ex- 
 tend the limits of their plantations. Had now the Netherland 
 West India Company possessed the power to defend their 
 possessions with an adequate military force, and to impress 
 their neighbours with respect, perhaps the English colonists 
 might have looked out for other districts. 
 
 But how great were the advantages of the Company in the 
 beginning, so that even they paid fifty per cent. ! How im- 
 mense was the spoil which the conquests of the Spanish silver 
 fleet poured into her bosom in the year 1628 ! The preserva- 
 tion, nevertheless, of the Netherland Brazils, New-Netherlands, 
 Tobago, St. Eustatius, and many other possessions and strong- 
 holds along the river Essequibo, and on the coasts of Guiana, 
 required such enormous sums of money, that it seems they 
 were compelled to confine themselves to the fortification of 
 the capital. New Amsterdam, the preservation of the forts on 
 the rivers, on Long Island, and Fort Nassau on the east of the 
 South river, Fort Orange on the North river, and more particu- 
 larly Fort Good Hope on the Fresh-water river, (Connec- 
 ticut,) confiding for the rest in measures of equity and discre- 
 tion as well towards the natives as English. 
 
 The States General were obliged to treat the English with 
 deference, as long as the war with Spain continued, more so dur- 
 ing the troubles between Charles I. and the parliament, while 
 
 • Scheltema, Russia and the Netherlands, t. i. p. 70. 80. 168. 207. and 379. 
 405. 
 
104 lambrechtsen's 
 
 the king himself, who by the compact concluded on the 17th 
 April 1632, at St. Germain, surrendered all the places in New- 
 France, Acadia and Canada to the French, was to be careful 
 in not displeasing his subjects by any concessions to the claims 
 of this state or New-Netherlands.* 
 
 After the peace was concluded at Munster, some misunder- 
 standing arose with Cromwell, which soon ended in an open 
 war. What then remained for the West India Company, 
 which had work enough at hand with the defence of Brazil 
 against the Portuguese, but the way of negotiation, and how 
 little success might be promised by it ? 
 
 Disputes loith the English colonists about the limits. 
 
 The most serious disputes had in the mean while arisen in 
 America between the director and council in New-Netherlands, 
 and the commissioners of the United Colonies of Boston, New- 
 Plymouth, New-Haven and Hartford, partly on the settling of the 
 limits, partly on account of mutual insults to the inhabitants, 
 which threatened open hostilities. The directors of the West 
 India Company commanded the director, Peter Stuyvesant, to 
 endeavour to prevent it by reasonable proposals for a provisional 
 division of the limits. 
 
 In consequence of this the aforesaid Director, who went to 
 Hartford in the year 1650, appeared before the legislature, as- 
 sembled for this purpose, where very courteously was negotia- 
 ted a provisional division of the limits between the Dutch and 
 English possessions. 
 
 It appears, that after the departure of Stuyvesant, this affair was 
 seriously considered, as three commissionei-s were despatched 
 to New- Amsterdam, to enter into a further deliberation with the 
 director on this subject, and endeavour to bring the division of 
 the limits to a final conclusion. This happened so indeed — 
 although with the loss of an indisputable right and previous 
 possession of the Netherlanders. 
 
 A line was to be drawn on the continent from the bay of 
 Greenwich, four miles from Stamford — towards the north, 
 twenty miles long, provided it remained at a distance of ten 
 miles from the North river. 
 
 The Netherlanders were not to build within six miles from 
 the division of the boundary. 
 
 The inhabitants of Greenwich were to remain as yet under 
 the Dutch govermnent, and the Netherlanders to retain the land 
 
 • Conduit des Franrais par raport a la Nouvelle France, traduit de I'Ang- 
 lois, avcc des Notes d'un Franr-ais. Londrcs 1735. p. 103. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 105 
 
 which they actually possessed, as far as Hartford, while all the 
 lands on both sides of the Fresh-water river (Connecticut,) should 
 belong to the English. And thus it should remain, till a final 
 decision should have been made between England and Holland.* 
 
 The Director Stuyvesant made his report of this agreement, 
 as equitable as circumstances permitted him to obtain, to the 
 Department of XIX, in a letter of 26th November, 1650. 
 
 During these disputes between the Netherland and English 
 colonies in America, the dissensions in England burst out in open 
 war. The parliament triumphed over the king. The unhappy 
 Charles lost his head on the scaffold the 9th February, 1649, 
 while the helm of government was entrusted to the hands of 
 the fanatic and obstinate Cromwell, a man whom the acknow- 
 ledged independence and prosperity of Netherlands so much 
 displeased, that it was to be foreseen that open war must 
 ere long be the consequence ; especially when the States Ge- 
 neral refused an audience to his ambassadors, and had per- 
 mitted the Prince of Wales, (afterwards Charles H.,) so near 
 allied to the house of Orange, a residence in this country. 
 
 These were the circumstances of the times in the beginning 
 of the year 1651, when the letter of the Director Stuyvesant 
 was brought before the States General. 
 
 The embassy sent to England in the latter part of this year, 
 to put an end to the already begun hostilities, was authorized 
 also to propose to the English parliament the adjustment of the 
 limits in North America. But there was so little inclination to 
 negotiate with this Republic a treaty upon any equitable terms, 
 that entirely new and most unreasonable proposals were made, 
 which had nothing less in view than the entire annihilation of 
 Netherland commerce and naval power, and even looked to- 
 wards the dominion over the sea. 
 
 In this manner the negotiations were drawn out till the end 
 of May, 1 652, when the well known rencontre happened be- 
 tween the Netherland and English Admirals Tromp and Blake, 
 before Dover, and the ambassadors of Holland were compelled 
 to depart, without having attained their object.! 
 
 After an obstinate war of two years' duration, both parties, 
 weaiy of fighting, concluded, after Holland had resolved on the 
 act of seclusion, which was delivered to the English Protector, a 
 treaty of peace between the State and England of the 15th 
 April, 1654, without any express mention in the prelimi- 
 
 * Great Placard Book, t. ii. p. 1278. 
 
 t Father!. Mist. xv. p. 215—219 comp. the Not. of Zealand in Febr. 1G52. 
 Their High Might, resolved, on the fourth of IVIarch, 10.^.3, that no mandamus 
 of appeal should be admitted of any judgments given in New-Ncthcrlands. 
 
 14 
 
106 lambrechtsen's 
 
 naries of the American convention with regard to the settle- 
 ment of the Kmits.* 
 
 The subject, nevertheless, was not forgotten in our Fatherland. 
 The directors communicated to the States General, by a letter 
 of the 29th Sept., the provisional division of the limits of 1650, 
 with a figurative map, soliciting that this might be delivered to 
 the ambassadors, who in the meanwhile remained in England 
 to negotiate a treaty relative to navigation and the compensation 
 of damages, to make use of it at a proper season,! to which 
 their High-Mightinesses agreed, without approving the divi- 
 sion of the limits concluded at Hartford ; eitiier because they 
 had some objections against it, or that they deemed it improper 
 to explain themselves upon it. 
 
 The ambassadors of the Netherlands proposed then to the 
 English commissioners, provided that it should be reciprocally 
 approved, either to sanction the aforesaid division of the limits, 
 or to leave it to the decision of the two governments of the colo- 
 nies in America, as they were better informed of this affair, 
 and so in their opinion would be most likely to promote their 
 mutual peace and welfare, but with the approbation of both Re- 
 publics.:!: They communicated this to the States General by a 
 letter of 27th Nov. 1654, complaining, however, that they had 
 not been provided with the necessary proofs relative to the first 
 occupation of the Netherlanders, and the subsequent purchase 
 of those districts from the natives, nor with the legal evidence 
 of the concluded division of the limits, while the English pre- 
 tended to be ignorant that this state had any possession in that 
 district, or that any division of limits had taken place. || 
 
 I find nothing farther about this negotiation, except that the 
 States General on the 22d Nov., 1656, approved that division, 
 probably with the view to promote the negotiations between the 
 West India Company and the city of Amsterdam, with regard 
 to the transfer of a part of New-Netherlands. § 
 
 New-Netherlands transferred to the city of Amsterdam. 
 
 The department of Amsterdam, to which it seems the govern- 
 ment of New-Netherlands was transferred by the department of 
 
 * Gr. Plac. Book, t. ii. p. 522. Verbal of Beverningk, p. 357. 
 
 t Verbael van Beverningk, p. 602. 
 
 X lb. p. 688. 
 
 II lb. p. 693. 
 
 § Gr. Plac. Book, t. ii. p. 1378. After I had written this narrative, I met 
 with the Coll. of the Hist. Soc. in New-York, t. i. p. 189—303, in which is a 
 collection of the letters and other documents, interchanged between the Nethcr- 
 laud and English government in North America, taken from Ebcnezer Haz- 
 ard's Hist. Coll., which spread much light upon the history of that period. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 107 
 
 XIX, finding the task too difficult to provide for all the expenses 
 of its government, and believing that the authority of the city 
 of Amsterdam would obtain from the States General more effi- 
 cacious means to support the colony, and possess influence 
 enough to remove the disputes about the division of the limits, 
 determined to transfer a part of their possession in New- 
 Netherlands to the city of Amsterdam ; and clearly, as it appears 
 to me, pointed to that part which was situated between the 
 South and North rivers, and which justly was possessed titulo 
 emptionis by the West India Company, as is evident from the 
 resolution of the Council of Amsterdam of 3 March, 1656. 
 
 The magistrates, acquainted with the interests of that colony, 
 presumed that by its cultivation all products were obtainable, 
 which now were imported from the eastern seas, even masts, soon 
 negotiated with the directors so successfully, that the purchase 
 was concluded in the spring of 1656, for 700,000 guilders.* 
 
 As soon as this transaction was approved by the States 
 General, six commissioners were chosen by the burgomasters, 
 who should direct the concerns of the colony. f The magis- 
 trates of Amsterdam adopted some further measures in behalf 
 of those who were willing to settle in that colony. J 
 
 Here again religious intolerance offered its ready aid. More 
 than three hundred Waldenses, (inhabitants of the pays dc 
 Vaud,) had taken refuge in Amsterdam, to avoid the perse- 
 cution of the Duke of Savoy. They were there provided with 
 necessaries, and departed, yet before the winter season, to 
 New-Netherlands. They were followed in the next spring by 
 three hundred more, and somewhat later by a respectable 
 number of persons of different ranks. 
 
 Troubles between the colonists in Virginia and the Swedes. 
 
 There had existed, as we have already seen, serious dis- 
 putes between the Netherlanders and their northern neigh- 
 bours ; but peace had been preserved between them and the 
 southern colonies in Virginia. || 
 
 * Le Clercq Hist, of the United Netherl., t. iii. p. 129 ; the agreement itself 
 is Inserted in the Muniment Reg. of Amsterdam, b. 1. p. 118, &.c. So it is said 
 in Not. of the council of 12th July 1656, p. 121. 
 
 t The directors of New-Netherlands were Messrs. Conrad Burch, Coun- 
 cillor and late Alderman, (o«rf-5'cAe;)en,) in Amsterdam ; Hendrick Rosters, 
 first commissary of Bank of exchange ; Edward Man, Isaac Van Beek, Hec- 
 tor Pietersz, and John Tayspil. 
 
 t These conditions were inserted among the documents of the Description of 
 New-Netherlands, by A. Van der Donck, and in the Collections of the New- 
 York Hist. Soc, vol. i. 291 
 
 II Van Beverningk, p. 603. 
 
108 lambrechtsen's 
 
 Mutual interests probably co-operated in this, and perhaps 
 a coincidence in political principles, principally so after tiie 
 death of King Charles, whose favours they so highly valued 
 that they reliised to acknowledge the authority of Cromwell. 
 And when he, in 1651, had despatched a strong fleet to keep 
 the Virginians in awe, the Netherland colonists did not hesi- 
 tate to support with their vessels the resistance of their 
 brethren, although it proved to be in vain.* 
 
 History leaves us more in darkness with regard to the 
 Swedes, who settled on both sides of the South river, and in 
 New-Jersey. It appears, nevertheless, that they united with 
 the Netherlandcrs unwillingly, only looking out for a favour- 
 able opportunity to recover their ancient rights, and defend 
 their independence ; that they, to obtain this end, profited of the 
 confusion, which, by the fall of Charles I., in the year 1649, 
 took place in the government of Virginia, and still more in 
 England ;t that they further endeavoured to hire the natives to 
 enter with them into a separate treaty of amit}^, so that they 
 succeeded in the year 1654 ; and lastly, that they took posses- 
 sion of and repaired the forts, from whicli the Netherlandcrs had 
 been expelled by the savages, before the arrival of the Swedes. 
 
 Fort Casimir was one of these. It was situated on the 
 western shore of the South river, (the Delaware,) towards the 
 lower part, and opposite to Helsingburg. It was in a state of ut- 
 ter decay, although for us of great importance . It was, of course, 
 resolved to repair it, and probably to conquer the other forts 
 situated on that river. I could not discover if they succeeded 
 in this, neither if any hostilities took place between the Nether- 
 land and Swedish colonists ; but I found that the Virginian 
 planters, (either that they were instigated by the Swedes, or 
 that the repair of Fort Casimir appeared to them full of dan- 
 ger,) headed by Colonel Nathaniel Utie, assaulted and level- 
 led it to the ground in the fall of 1654|. 
 
 If we can place confidence in the narrative of a Swedish 
 writer, II these quarrels between the Netherlandcrs and Swedes 
 would have been terminted through the intervention of the 
 governors, Stuyvesant and Rysing, with no further conse- 
 quence, had not the former, notwithstanding the treaty of peace, 
 renewed hostilities the following year ; and having sailed up 
 
 * Hist, de la Virginic, p. 31, Amst. 1707. 
 
 t Bachiene on Hubner's General Geography, t. v. p. 673. 
 
 t See the documents in the city hall at Amsterdam, named the Declaration 
 and Manifesto to tlic Governor and Council of Maryland, 6th Oct., 1659 ; 
 and Extract from the Journal of Augustine Ileerman, relative to the preten- 
 sions of Colonel N. Utie on the South river. 
 
 II Thos. Camp. Holm, in vol. ii. of the Collections of the New-York Hist. 
 Soc, p. 357. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 109 
 
 the South river (the Delaware) with seven ships and six or 
 seven hundred men, captured all the Swedish forts, particu- 
 larly the fortress Christiania, after a siege of foiurteen days, 
 taking all the military officers and the principal inhabitants 
 into custody, who were conveyed to New- Amsterdam, and 
 afterwards to Holland. 
 
 This was unquestionably a severe measure, and perhaps 
 not undeserving of reproach ;* at least, the King of Sweden 
 complained to the Slates General on the capture of these forts. 
 It appears, nevertheless, to me highly probable that the con- 
 duct of our countrymen was justified by circumstances, as the 
 alliance between the Swedes and the Indians seems to have 
 been the cause of this renewed quarrel. And it is a fact, that 
 in the fall of 1655, Fort Casimir was assaulted by more than 
 five hundred Indians, instigated, as it may be presumed, by 
 the Swedes. It was so far off that they could compel the for- 
 tress to surrender,! but it was brought by its defenders into a 
 secure state of defence, and called New-Amstel ; while the 
 command of it, in 1656, was given to John Alrichs, by the 
 directors of New-Netherlands, at Amsterdam. He, however, 
 arrived there only in the spring of the following year, having 
 been shipwrecked on Long Island.^ 
 
 Situation of New -Netherlands since the uiar hetiveen the 
 Netherlander s and the English. 
 
 The expenses of this colony were in the meanwhile far 
 exceeding the calculations of the magistrates at Amsterdam, pro- 
 bably on account of the means employed for its defence, so 
 that they deliberated, in the year 1660, respecting the surren- 
 der of New-Netherlands to the West India Company, who^ 
 nevertheless, declined its acceptance ; there were, therefore, 
 some sacrifices unavoidable in the hope of harvesting some 
 fruits. The affairs, indeed, of this colony bore ere long a 
 more favourable aspect, and some profits were of course ob- 
 tained. The navigation and commerce to this part of the 
 country soon increased so much that, if the war with Great 
 Britain had not been rekindled again in the year 1664, 
 New-Netherlands, whose riches and products could, as it was 
 wildly thought, be compared with the East India possessions, || 
 
 * Kalm's Travels in North America, d. i. p 6. 218 — 223, where he throws 
 some light on the poor situation of the first Swedish planters, their manners, 
 and customs. 
 
 t Not. of Holland, 24th March, 1658. 
 
 I Holland Merc, 1658, p. 43. 
 
 II In the opinion of the directors of the West India Company. See Bever- 
 ningk, p. 604. 
 
110 lambrechtsen's 
 
 might have become a gold mine for Amsterdam and the States 
 of the United Netherlands.* 
 
 But whatever may have been the truth, the commissioners 
 and directors on the South river, (the Delaware,) in New- 
 Netherlands, felt themselves inclined, in the year 1663, to sur- 
 render the half of the colony to the city. The Comit d'Es- 
 trades wrote, in one of his letters,! to the commissioners at 
 Amsterdam, that it was not in the power of the States to 
 transfer New-Netherlands to them, of which they, above the 
 purchase money of seven hundred thousand guilders, had ex- 
 pended yet two millions, and of which the city of Amsterdam, 
 after a deduction of all the expenses, collected more than sixty- 
 three thousand guilders in rents annually. 
 
 But these splendid prospects were exactly the causes of the 
 loss of this colony ; as already, in the beginning, this dis- 
 covery in the year 1609, by Henry Hudson, as well as the 
 settlement and extension of the country, had excited the jeal- 
 ousy of the English, degenerating soon, and still more since 
 the time of Cromwell, into a bitter hatred between the two 
 nations, which, though unequal in power and population, and 
 obliged by the mutual bonds of religion and politics to respect 
 one another, nevertheless eradicated these softer feelings 
 through envy and avarice, and the colonists eagerly imbibed 
 similar impressions. 
 
 The director of New-Netherlands left in the meanwhile 
 nothing untried to preserve the peace, maintaining the bound- 
 ary division of 1650, and providing by an express proclamation 
 against the abuses which had crept in by the obtaining and 
 alienation of the soil.| 
 
 Prudence and wisdom may by such means have prevailed 
 here and there over open force ; but the people of Hartford 
 gradually became more obstinate, so that all endeavours to 
 bring about an amicable settlement became fruitless. It was 
 in vain that the director general Stuyvesant complained to the 
 congress of the general assembly of the four English colonies, 
 convened at Boston, in October, 1663, which he visited in per- 
 son ; it was in vain that the transactions of the people of Hart- 
 ford were disapproved by the deputies of Boston, New-Ply- 
 mouth, and New-Haven. They remained unmoved, pretending 
 that their disputes had no respect to the general assembly, and 
 related exclusively to their own colony. It was equally vain 
 that the deputies of the director and council in New-Nether- 
 
 * Wagenaer's Descrip. of Amsterdam, t. p. 594, &c. 
 
 t It is a letter of the Count d'Estrades to Lionne, of 17th Sept., 1665. See 
 Mem. d'Estrades, t. ii. p. 329. 
 t HoU. Mercurius, 1653, p. 43. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. Ill 
 
 lands went thither, where they left nothing untried to preserve 
 peace and harmony. It was in vain, too, that the people of 
 Hartford declared that they knew no New-Netherlands, con- 
 sidered the possession of the West India Company unlawful, 
 as not supported by any grant of the king of England, and 
 therefore were resolved to extend their plantations as far as 
 they pleased, yea, to take the whole of New-Netherlands by 
 force, if they were opposed. A few zealots endeavoured, 
 during the negotiations at Boston, to stir the Dutch villages to 
 mutiny, while the savages of Esopus committed the grossest 
 cruelties, by murdering several Netherlanders in their neigh- 
 bourhood, hanging their heads before their huts. s'Grave- 
 zande and Heemstede, {Gravesend and Hempstead,) villages on 
 Long Island, were lured to acknowledge the king of England. 
 Those of the village of Vlissingen, {Flushing,) though chiefly 
 consisting of English, remained faithful to their ancient mas- 
 ters, saying, that, having always been well-protected by the 
 States Ge]ieral, they were averse to acknowledge others, and 
 thus sprung up in the colony the greatest discord and confusion.* 
 
 What a deep sensation this misconduct of the English 
 caused in the colony, may be seen in a letter of the West In- 
 dia Company, of 21st January, 1664, as literally inserted in 
 the Holland Mercury of that year, and its principal contents 
 by Aitzema.t 
 
 Foreseeing that a similar lot threatened them as the colonists 
 in the Brazils, who, naked and plundered, were finally left at 
 the mercy of the Portuguese, they despatched a few depu- 
 ties to the Hague, to make the most solemn entreaties, as well 
 to the States General as to the directors, soliciting that they 
 might be soon relieved in their distresses by the arrangement 
 of a just division of the limits, and that efficacious measures 
 might be taken to stop the threatened violence. 
 
 These complaints were presented in the beginning of Janu- 
 ary, in the year 1664, and it was resolved to make an inquiry 
 by a committee, but the received accounts of the conquests of 
 the English Admiral Holmes soon put a stop to all further 
 deliberations. 
 
 But let us return to Europe and take a view of events there. 
 
 Neiu-Netherlands conquered by the English in 1664, and 
 abdicated in 1667. 
 
 It might justly have been expected after King Charles II. 
 had ascended the throne, in 1660, that peace with this state, to 
 
 * Holl. Merc. 1663, p. 168, and that of 1664, p. 10—13. 
 t Aitzema, t. v. p. 64. Holl. Merc. 1664, p. 13, 14. Riches of Holland, (E. 
 Luzac,) t. ii. p. 146. 
 
lis lambrechtsen's 
 
 which his majesty did lay under such high obhgations, would 
 have been perpetuated. But it appeared very soon that the 
 refusal to elect the young prince stadtholder displeased highly 
 the king, and that he reluctantly concluded the treaty between 
 the two states in 1662.* 
 
 The government, to protect itself against the malice of Eng- 
 land, and on that account little inclined to execute the con- 
 cluded treaty, entered into engagements with the French king, 
 Louis XIV. ; but this monarch, discontented at a secret nego- 
 tiation between this republic and Spain, stirred in secret 
 Charles II. against this state. 
 
 Ere lon^ hostilities were commenced out of Europe. The 
 Duke of York, the king's brother, had been despatched with a 
 few vessels in the year 1663 to the coast of Africa, and was 
 instructed! to take Cape Cors, and afterwards New-Nether- 
 lands. The enterprize was successful. Several Netherland 
 ships and forts on the coast of Africa, were in Februar}'^, 1664, 
 conquered by the enemy, who then steered for America. The 
 English fleet was respectable ; a successful resistance was ut- 
 terly impossible ; so that New- Amsterdam was surrendered to 
 the English in August, 1664, without a single blow. They con- 
 quered ere long all New-Netherlands, with the islands of To- 
 bago and St. Eustatius-I They called the conquered countr}'" 
 New- York, and gave the same name to the capital, New^- 
 Amsterdam. 
 
 The directors of the West India Company, as soon as they 
 were informed of it, reported the event to the States General, 
 24th October, 1664. Their High Mightinesses received this 
 report with regret, and transmitted copies of the memorial of 
 the directors to the different provinces, admonishing them to 
 promote, b}'' their speedy consents, the negotiation of money to 
 prosecute the war, and avert further calamities, as Avell in as 
 out of Europe ; while the ambassador. Van Goch, in England, 
 was commanded to make the most serious representations to 
 the king to restore the captured colonies and prevent similar 
 enterprises. With deep regret, however, this loss was heard 
 in this country, since, as it had not been in their power to pre- 
 vent it, they were not prepared to re-conquer what w^as lost. It 
 seemed further that Amsterdam acquiesced in this loss, in the 
 prospect of gaining three times as much, as orders had been 
 issued to assail the possessions of the English in the East 
 
 * Vadcr. Hist., d. xiii. p. 47. 
 
 t This was openly acknowledged by the king. Letters of the Coiu't, t. iv. 
 p. 387. 
 
 t Vad. Hist t.xiii. p. 118. The conditione of the capitulation in New-Neth. 
 erlands are inserted in the Holl. Merc, 1664, p. 153 ; and in a Short Narra- 
 live of the English Ware, Amst., 1667, p. 28 and 29. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 113 
 
 Indies, of which they either would retain the possession or ex- 
 change them again for New-Netherlands.* The hope was fos- 
 tered, indeed, that the Repubhc of the United Netherlands 
 would, at the conclusion of the negotiations for a treaty of 
 peace, commenced in 1665, under the guidance of French 
 deputies, and at the particular entreaties of Louis XIV., be 
 re-established in the possession of New-Netherlands, whose 
 loss was yet so deeply regretted. 
 
 The king of France proposed, in the meanwhile, on his own 
 authority, to the states, to make a cession of New-Netherlands 
 to the king of Great Britain, provided he left them the posses- 
 sion of the island Pouleron, &c. Such proposals were unac- 
 ceptable in this country, more so, as the hope was fostered that 
 France would, at last, declare itself against England.f 
 
 This war was continued for years : they fought bravely on 
 both sides, and at last peace was concluded at Breda, on the 
 31st July, 1667, and by it stipulated that each should preserve 
 the places, cities, and forts, which during the war had been 
 taken, the one from the other, till the 20th of the preceding 
 May.t 
 
 New-Netherlands, which had been during three years in the 
 possession of the English, was now completely and finally 
 relinquished, and so was lost, at once, the fruit of more than 
 fifty years' labour, with all the innumerable sums of money be- 
 stowed in the Fatherland in settling and improving this colony, 
 the most flattering prospects of commerce and prosperity ren- 
 dered vain, and numerous Netherland families reduced to 
 poverty, whose support depended on the preservation of the 
 colony. 
 
 However deeply the loss of this respectable colony was de- 
 plored, it was nevertheless in some respect lessened by the 
 capture of the English colony Surinam, in April, 1667, by a 
 Zealand captain, Abraham Krynzoon,|| despatched thither with 
 three vessels by the states of Zealand ; which colony of course 
 was brought, in virtue of the treaty of peace at Breda, under 
 the dominion of this state. ^ 
 
 As often as Ave reflect on Surinam, the only New-Nether- 
 land colony on the coast of Guiana, we remember with 
 gratitude the memory of its conqueror, Abraham Krynzoon, 
 
 * D'Estrades' Mem., b. ii. p. 294. 
 
 t The kiiifr excuses himself on this point in a letter to d'Estrades, of 17th 
 August, 1663, saying, " That the condition of peace had been proposed to 
 him by the Grand Pensionary De Witt, which his majesty desired that, with 
 the knowledge of De Witt, at a convenient season, should be communicated to 
 the States to prevent mistrust." Oeuvr. de Louis XIV., t. iii. p. 31.5. 
 
 t Vad. Hist., t. xiii. p. 265. 
 
 II See on this valiant Zealander, De la Rue Her. Zealand, p. 190. 
 
 § Vad. Hist., p. 406. Hartzink's Dcscrip. of Guiana. 
 15 
 
114 lambrechtsen's 
 
 our Zealand countryman, who annexed it in compensation for 
 lost New-Netherlands to the crown of our Fatherland, which it 
 yet adorns. 
 
 It is, nevertheless, a difficult task to give a fair decision, 
 whether the loss of New-Netherlands was, in the course of 
 time, compensated by the conquest of Surinam This is cer- 
 tain, at least, that the surrender of the first named colony caused 
 a great joy in England ; and well might it have this effect, 
 as by this the division wall, which prevented the union 
 of the southern colonies of England in Virginia with those of 
 the north, was removed ; by this a new spring of agriculture 
 and commerce was opened, and a dangerous neighbouring rival 
 turned adrift. 
 
 The uncertainly of sublunary affairs and speculations was 
 made evident in these prospects. It was suspected, when the 
 English concluded this treaty, that it would not last long. It 
 was not long before a dispute arose about striking the colours, 
 when the war fire burned with far greater violence than even 
 before. 
 
 Neiv-Netherlands recovered by the Netherlanders and re- 
 stored. 
 
 The State was assaulted in the year 1672, not only by the 
 crowns of England and France, but by the bishops of Cologne 
 and Munster too. 
 
 The losses on land were immense, but at sea the honour of 
 our flag was maintained valiantly. 
 
 Captain Cornelius Evertsen, son of the vice-admiral of the 
 same name who fell in battle, being in the latter part of the 
 year 1672 despatched by the states and admiralty of Zealand 
 with a small fleet to the West Indies, steered towards the 
 English colony in Virginia, where he took and burned a num- 
 ber of vessels. Meeting at Martinique a small squadron of 
 four men-of-war, sent to sea by the admiralty of Amsterdam, 
 under the command of Commodore Jacob Binkes,* he united 
 with it, taking a large number of English and French vessels. 
 
 And now Evertsen and Binkes steered for New-Nether- 
 lands. The city of New-York was provided with forty pieces 
 of cannon, but the governor was absent, so that confusion took 
 place, and the conquest was made without great opposition. 
 
 Every seaport was taken, and ere long the whole colony, to 
 which, by the conqueror, the ancient name of New-Nether- 
 
 * Jacob Binkes was a bold seaman, and fell in battle 1677, in the conquest of 
 Tobaicro, by the Count d'Estrades. Vad. Hist. t. xiv. p. 376. 401. 443. Lives 
 of Sea Heroes, p. 438. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 115 
 
 lands was restored. This happened on the 9th August, of the 
 year 1673.* 
 
 It is easily to be conceived what joy this illustrious triumph 
 occasioned among the Netherland colonists, who had remained 
 there. The valiant Everlsen, anxious and solicitous for the 
 preservation of the colony, provided for a regular adminis- 
 tration, and sufficient garrisons which had been sent with him, 
 for the forts, the capital, and all such places as necessity 
 required ; taking a further precaution of leaving there two 
 armed vessels for its greater security. 
 
 The government of conquered New-York, now named New- 
 Orange, on the Island Manhattan,! communicated, in a letter 
 of 8th November, 1673, to their High Mightinesses notice of 
 this important event, despatching with it Cornelis Van Ruy- 
 ren, Esq., who had been invested with different respectable 
 offices in the colony, and was thoroughly acquainted with all 
 its affiiirs ; but having been compelled by a very heavy gale, 
 which threatened the loss of his ship and life, to enter a har- 
 bour in New-England, he was despatched again with another 
 letter, of the 10th of January, 1674, to the Netherlands. 
 
 It was said in that letter, that it had pleased God to bless 
 the arms of the State in such a manner that the whole Province 
 of New-Netherlands, consisting of three cities and more than 
 thirty villages, was brought again under the obedience of their 
 lawful sovereign, to the great joy of the inhabitants, and that 
 great advantages might be foreseen from this event, especially if 
 some families, who by the invasion of the French were nearly 
 bereft of every thing, should be willing to settle in New-Neth- 
 erlands, and some support might be afforded them during the 
 first year ; that this province, which scarcely wanted anything 
 to promote its agriculture but seUlers, would increase so much 
 in value that, in process of time, it might become the magazine 
 of grain and other necessaries for the Fatherland, which were 
 now carried thither from the Sound, as the district of Esopus, 
 consisting of three villages, produced already and delivered 
 about 25,000 schepels of grain ; that in the meanwhile Ca- 
 raccas and Surinam might supply the wants of New-Nether- 
 lands, and trade there with their products ; that New-Nether- 
 
 * Not. of Zealand, 1673, p. 176—179, and of 1674, p. 21. 24. Holl. Merc, 
 1673, p. 170—263. Obs. on the Vaderl. Hist., t. xiv. p. 102. 
 
 t The magistrates called themselves the burgomasters and schepens of the 
 city of New-Orange, on the island Manhattan, in New-Nelherlands, and were 
 the following persons : Anthony de Mill, Johannis de Pyster, Aegidius Luyck, 
 Johannis Van Brug of Burg, Michiel Beekman, Jeronimus Ebbinck, Jacob 
 Kip, Laurens Van de Spiegel, Guilliam Verplanck. This letter was kindly com- 
 municated to me by Jonkheer J. C. de Jonge, Adjunct Archivarius of the Realm 
 of the Netherlands, whom I cordially thank for this and other communi- 
 cations. 
 
116 lambrechtsen's 
 
 lands was favourably situated for vessels cruising along to the 
 west to bring their prizes there ; that above all, an oversight 
 might be exercised there on the conduct of England, which, 
 being once the mistress of the northern parts of America, 
 would be enabled to equip there men-of-war, without the 
 knowledge of other potentates, with which to assail our state 
 and her allies ; to all which ought to be added the great 
 advantages of the beaver and fur trade, besides other objects, 
 which would be communicated by Mr. Van Ruyven. 
 
 They concluded, that for the recovery and preservation of 
 the Province of New-Netherlands, immediate assistance and 
 provisions were unavoidably required, without which they re- 
 mained in danger of the machinations of their English and 
 French neighbours, by whom they were surrounded, and who 
 would continue to exert every nerve to take their revenge for 
 the triumph of their High Mightinesses in this part of the 
 world, by which the Netherland nation, being in that country 
 only 6000 to 7000 strong, could expect nothing else than utter 
 ruin and devastation. They therefore solicited their High 
 Mightinesses to interest themselves in the preservation of this 
 province, and to afford it all such aid, as might be deemed re- 
 quisite for its safety. 
 
 Evertsen had, in the meanwhile, departed with his small 
 squadron towards Cadiz, where he arrived in safety in De- 
 cember of the same year, after he had conquered the island of 
 St. Eustatius. 
 
 The struggle of the allied powers had been, during this expe- 
 dition, very violent and bloody. No wonder then, that the 
 states, who had no other ally but the king of Spain, were in- 
 clined to peace. They made their various proposals to King 
 Charles H., among others, to surrender New-Netherlands with- 
 out any compensation. 
 
 A more flattering lure could not have been offered to the Bri- 
 tish prince. He accepted it without delay ; and peace was 
 concluded under this proviso on the 19th of February, 1674, at 
 Westminster.* 
 
 The States General resolved on the 16th of April to surrender 
 New-Netherland to the English, which the West India Com- 
 pany was authorised to perform,! while the inhabitants of the 
 colony were referred with their petitions to the king of Eng- 
 land.J Thus New-Netherlands became once more an English 
 colony, and separated for ever from the Fatherland ; while the 
 Island of St. Eustatius, and the colony of Surinam, remaining 
 till this day possessed by this state, are unquestionable monu- 
 
 • Vad. Hist. t. xiv. p. 298, 299. Valckenier, t. ii. App. No. 12. p. 68. 
 t Not. of T. H. M. 5. 11. 13. June, 1674. 
 t lb. 4 June, 1674, 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS, 117 
 
 ments of the heroic courage and prudence of the heroes of Zea- 
 land, Krynsoon and Evertsen. 
 
 Among the numerous heroic achievements of the Evertsens, 
 this triumph deserves our gratitude. The Commodore Cornehs 
 Evertsen,* not degenerating from the courage and valour of his 
 father and uncle, v^^ho both died in battle in the same year with 
 glory, would have recovered New-Nctherland for his Father- 
 land, had its preservation been possible, and this sacrifice not 
 been required for the restoration of peace.! 
 
 Inquiry into the right of possession of Neiu-Netherlands. 
 
 Here the concatenation of events, relative to New-Nether- 
 land, might be concluded, if it was not desirable to devote a 
 few moments to the claims of right, on which the Republic of 
 the United Netherlands defended their possession of New- 
 Netherlands. 
 
 Nothing, indeed, more substantial can be brought forward in 
 its defence, than the reasons by which the English government 
 controverted them. 
 
 It pretended, that King James made a gi-ant of this land to 
 the Earl of Stirling by letters patent, under the great seal of 
 England ; that the Scots, long before the arrival of the Holland- 
 ers, made a beginning of cultivating that colony ; that the Duke 
 of York purchased the right of the heirs of the Earl of Stirling, 
 and that of course the country calledNew-Netherlands, belonged 
 legally to the English ; that besides they only connived at the 
 settling of the Hollanders, even as when they had settled in Eng- 
 land or anywhere else, without acquiring by it any right of sove- 
 reignity for their Fatherland.^ 
 
 These then are the grounds on which, as D'Estrades relates, 
 the chancellor of England tried to defend the rights of his 
 master ! Let us bring these shortly and fairly to the test. 
 
 If it was the question, whether King James had granted, at 
 an earlier period than the States General, among his other gifts, 
 the country named afterwards New-Netherland, for settling and 
 cultivation, then perhaps the decision might be in his favour, as 
 it is known, that King James, in his extravagant zeal to form 
 transmarine colonies, granted as early as 1606, to two different 
 societies of commerce, the exclusive right to trade in America, 
 
 • Cornells Evertsen, born at Flissingen, 16th Nov. 1642, was the sixth son 
 of the Lt. Admiral Cornelis Evertsen. Sec Dc la Rue, Heroic Zealand 
 p. 154, and J. de Kanter, Phil. i. 
 
 t Oration for the repair of the tomb of the Lt. Admirals Johan and Cor- 
 nellB Evertsen, delivered at Midd^urg, 18th April, 1818. 
 
 t Mem. D'Estrades t. ii. p. 289. 
 
118 lambrechtsen's 
 
 which he divided into two equal parts, between 35 and 45 deg., 
 and thus from Nova Scotia to the south-western shore of Caro- 
 lina, calhng the one part, "The first colony of Virginia," or the 
 Southern colony, and the other, " The second," or the Northern 
 colony.* Neither can it be disputed, that King James approved 
 and confirmed by different letters patent, the authority and 
 privileges of these colonies, which he afterwards extended 
 or limited ;that he even in the year 1620, granted to the 
 Duke of Lenox, the Marquis of Buckingham and other 
 grandees, a more extensive right, than before, incorporating 
 them under the title of " The great Council of Plymouth," to 
 settle a colony in New-England.f But it is not less certain, 
 that all the king's endeavours were fruitless, and that the enter- 
 prizes of this new company remained unsuccessful ; | and why 
 should, without a direct possession, the grant of navigation, trade 
 and land-holding between the 34 and 45 degrees, by King James, 
 even if it had been of an earlier date, be of more value and in- 
 terest than that of the States General of the United Netherlands, 
 who granted similar rights to the West India Company in the 
 year 1621, between the 37| degr. and 4H, when there existed 
 already at that period Dutch plantations and forts ? 
 
 Both these grants possess, in my opinion, except with an 
 actual possession, no more value than those of the Romish pope 
 Alexander VI., when he in his bull of 1493 divided all South 
 America between Portugal and Spain. The whole unquestion- 
 ably depends upon the original discovery and possession. These 
 are the only titles of right, which nations can bring forward, the 
 one against the other, to justify their permanent possession. || 
 
 For this reason I made no mention of the voyage of discovery 
 of John and Sebastian Cabot, who, sailing by the authority of 
 Henry VII., king of England, to discover a passage through -the 
 North-west, probably did see the coasts of America, although 
 they did not visit them.^ 
 
 As on this basis, therefore, cannot be doubted the right of 
 the English to the colonies of Virginia, which they first dis- 
 covered and took possession of, much less could that realm dis- 
 pute the right of the West India Company, which the Nether- 
 landers acquired by the discovery, settling, and cultivation of 
 New-Netherlands , 
 
 In respect to the grant by letters patent in the year 1621, to 
 the Earl of Stirhng, secretary of state in Scotland, these were 
 
 * Robertson's Hist, of Amer., t. v. p. 46. Britt. Domin. in Amer., p. 172. 
 
 t Robertson, ib. p. 62. 71. 93. 152. 
 
 t Robertson, p. 156. Sprengel, Gesch. der Europ. in Amerika, p. 178. 
 
 II Puffendorf, Droit de la Nat. et des Gent, 1. iv. cap. 6. §. 4. 
 
 § Disc, of Dr. S. Miller in the Coll, of the N. Y. Hist. Soc, t, i. p. 22. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 119 
 
 confined to Acadia, or Nova Scotia, as it had pleased King James 
 to denominate that country, situated between 42 and 44 deg.* 
 
 This gi'ant had been farther hmited by the express clause, 
 " if these lands were uninhabited or possessed by infidels." The 
 author of the British Dominions in America! mentions, it is true, 
 that King James rewarded the Earl of Stirling with Long Island, 
 but observes at the same time, that it happened at a period 
 when the Netherlanders had already settled that colony, and that 
 the colonists transported by the said Earl to Long Island, were 
 driven away to its eastern parts by the Hollanders. 
 
 But, can it be, that the Scots, as England's chancellor pre- 
 tended, had made an earlier discovery of that country, and took 
 possession of it before the Netherlanders ? Nothing at first sight 
 is more improbable. The ghost of the Scottish nation, when 
 James ascended the throne of England, did not contemplate dis- 
 coveries of lands, or commercial calculations. Even the atten- 
 tion of the prince was more fixed on China and Japan, to which 
 he presumed to discover a passage by the North.| Neither could 
 I discover any evidence that any naval expedition was under- 
 taken by the Scots towards America. Before the obstinate sup- 
 port of the episcopal church-discipline, with the emigrations 
 from Scotland as well as from England, seemed to render it ne- 
 cessary, and at that period the Hollanders a long time had been 
 established in New-Netherlands. 
 
 Robertson, the accurate historian of America, acknowledges 
 in so many words, that the Hollanders, having discovered the 
 island of Manhattan, and the river Connecticut, with the districts 
 along its shores, acquired all the rights to these which can be 
 given by the first possession. || 
 
 And Burke, who wrote a history of the English colonies in 
 America, does admit, that the land-possessions of the Hol- 
 landers and Swedes were anterior to those of New-England. § 
 
 To sav, that they had only been permitted, even as foreigners, 
 who settle in England and elsewhere, without acquiring by it in 
 behalf of their Fatherland, the right of sovereignity, is ludicrous 
 indeed ; as would it be permitted to any foreigner in any realm 
 to build a city, to construct fortresses, and secure them by an 
 armed force ! 
 
 The oldest natives of New-Netherlands, who did yet remember 
 the arrival of the ship, the Half-Moon, in the year 1609, often 
 
 * Although I have not found the grant, not even in Rymer, it is mentioned 
 in the work entitled, Conduite des Franjais par rapport a la Nouvelle Ecosse, 
 p. 29 ; and by Sprengel, i. t. p. 40. 
 
 t P. 104. 
 
 t Rymer, Acta Publ., t. vii. p. 115. IIG. 
 
 II History of America, t. v. p. 180. 
 
 § Hist, des Colonies Europeennes daas rAm^rlque, t. ii. p. 207 
 
120 lambrechtsen's 
 
 declared, as observed before, that, before the arrival of the 
 Netherlanders, they were utterly ignorant of the existence of 
 any other nation, besides their own, and that they took the ship 
 for a huge fish or sea-monster, while Hudson and his crew were 
 convinced, that never before them any Christian nation landed on 
 this shore. 
 
 There is no greater weight in what the author of the Bri- 
 tish Dominions in America* relates, that the Hollanders pur- 
 chased their right to New-Netherlands in 1608, of Captain Hud- 
 son, which purchase, as made without the consent of the king, 
 was always considered as null and void ; — that the Puritans, 
 who settled afterwards the colony of New-Plymouth, first in- 
 tended to settle along the bay of Nev\^-Haven and on Long Island, 
 but had been steered to the north by the skipper, who, being a 
 Hollander, and bought by his countrymen, had compelled them 
 to abandon their plan ; that the Hollanders, having made a be- 
 ginning of settling that country, had been expelled from there 
 by the Knight Argal, then governor of Virginia, when they ad- 
 dressed themselves to King James I., and obtained liberty, to 
 construct some cottages along the shore, to assist their vessels, 
 sailing to the Brazils, with water and victuals ; of which pretext 
 they had made use, to settle there gradually with so much suc- 
 cess, that the}^ built several cities and forts, cultivated planta- 
 tions, and within a short period increased to a large and popu- 
 lous colony. Thus far the anonymous English author. Let us 
 now see, what truth there is in his narrative. 
 
 Hudson sold his right to the Hollanders, and the king never 
 sanctioned this purchase ! But where is there a shadow of 
 proof of such a negotiation ? Hudson was despatched with a 
 ship of the Netherland East Lidia Company. He w^as un- 
 questionably the first who discovered the North river with its 
 adjacent coasts, but not the first who took possession of them. 
 This was performed by other Netherlanders at a later period, 
 probably first in the year 1674, as we observed before. 
 
 That the Puritans, in their passage to North America, should 
 have been imposed upon by a Holland skipper, is founded upon a 
 tale without any proof. But even if such could be produced, 
 this certainly would not invalidate the occupancy of the Neth- 
 erlanders, which had taken place six years before. 
 
 Lastly, as it regards the expulsion of the Netherlanders from 
 North America by the knight Samuel Argal, Governor of Vir- 
 ginia, it is possible that this man in his zeal for extending the 
 English colonies, when he on his own authority undertook to 
 drive the French from Canada, permitted himself some depre- 
 dations upon the Netherland plantations upon the Hudson river, 
 
 * Hist, des Colonies Europ^cnnes dans I'Am^rique, t. ii. p. 100. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 121 
 
 but this proves nothing against the right of the Netherlanders 
 to an earher possession, as they, as well as the French, being 
 at peace with the English, had not deserved such violence. 
 Neither was the conduct of Governor Argal approved, as he 
 was the next year recalled to England, and removed from his 
 .office.* 
 
 Or shall it be said that the right of possession by the Neth- 
 erlanders is of no value, because the country of which they 
 took possession was inhabited by barbarous nations ? the same 
 would be of force against the English. Besides that, as the 
 Directors of the West India Company declared in their memo- 
 rial of 29th September, 1654, (to be found in the Verbael of 
 Beverningk, page 604,) her ministers as soon as the grant was 
 obtained, exerted themselves to purchase from the natives sev- 
 eral islands and districts ; so that they then, by way of pur- 
 chase, became the legal proprietors of various spots along the 
 North river, as Pavonia, Iloboken, Staten and Nut Islands, the 
 Island of Manhattan, a large tract of land named Zwonendaal, 
 not far from Cape Henlopen, on the South river, and the 
 whole territory of Connecticut. 
 
 We may thus conclude with safety that the English cannot 
 make out any pretence of a right of possession to the countries 
 in North America which were occupied by the Netherland 
 West India Company, but rather that these countries ought to 
 be regarded as a Netherland colony, with the same right as 
 Virginia was entitled to the name of an English colony ; and 
 that, indeed, nothing else than jealousy with regard to com- 
 merce on the part of the English, and weakness and want of 
 power of the Netherlanders, were the causes of the loss of a 
 colony, which unquestionably would have become a rich 
 source of wealth to our fatherland, and fully compensated the 
 loss of the Brazils. 
 
 Co7iclusion. 
 
 Thus have I fulfilled the task which I took upon me, per- 
 suaded that it contains many defects, notwithstanding my exer- 
 tions. If I could have obtained the treatise or the remon- 
 strance of the community of New-Netherlands, mentioned by 
 Van der Donck ; or could I have obtained access to the ancient 
 records {Notelen) of the West India Company Department of 
 Amsterdam, I might probably with greater accuracy have de- 
 lineated as well the voyages to, as the increasing population, 
 civihzation ; and further history of New-Netherlands, but in this 
 
 * British Empire ir\ America, p. 184. 
 16 
 
122 lambrechtsen's, etc. 
 
 I was disappointed. Perhaps some particulars relative to that 
 part of the colony which was transferred to the city of Am- 
 sterdam, might be discovered in the documents preserved 
 among the state papers of Amsterdam, in the Muniment Re- 
 gister, B, folio 26, and D, folios 89 and 148 ; but I do not 
 believe that these would be very interesting with regard to the 
 events in New-Netherlands. 
 
 The English authors, perhaps, to whom Robertson refers in 
 the fifth volume of his History of America, may throw some 
 light upon my narrative. But my endeavours to consult them 
 having proved fruitless, I was compelled to acquiesce in what 
 I possessed, fostering the hope that my labour may be improved 
 by a more expert hand.* 
 
 Postscript. 
 
 After I had written, in the years 1813 and 1815, this sketch 
 of the origin and history of New-Netherlands, I had the honour 
 of receiving in the year 1817, my election as an honorary mem- 
 ber of the Historical Society of New-York, while at the same 
 time was transmitted, as a present, a copy of the two published 
 volumes of their transactions, under the title of Collections of the 
 New-York Historical Society, printed at New-York, 1811 and 
 1814. 
 
 I discovered in this Collection several documents which 
 spread light over the great events on which my attention had 
 been fixed, and therefore made use of them either to illustrate 
 or extend my narrative, referring to them in the notes. 
 
 And whereas, I respectfully thank the Historical Society of 
 New-York for the honour bestowed upon me, so I am confident 
 that the Society, in consequence of its general invitation, will 
 accept my remarks, however defective otherwise, as well-inten- 
 tioned endeavours for the discovery of truth and illustration 
 of history ; albeit I have been unable to answer the several 
 questions whose investigation the Society has proposed, and 
 which came first to my notice after I had written this memoir. 
 
 * Fruitless, too, was my inquiry of one of the members of the family of Van 
 Rensselaer, resident here, whose ancestors settled a respectable colony in New- 
 Netherlands, named Rens^elaerwyck, to discover if any documents to illustrate 
 the history were yet preserved ; as I was informed that all those a few yeara 
 past had been delivered to Mr. R. S. Van Rensselaer, on his return to America, 
 where that gentleman, as I am informed, is j'et residing. 
 
CORRECTIONS. 
 
 In translating the foregoing work, Mr. Van der Kemp laboured under 
 the disadvantage of an imperfect knowledge of our language ; and on this 
 account, his sentences and phraseology are often obscure, following the 
 idiom of his own vernacular tongue rather than the English. Frequent 
 alterations were thus rendered absolutely necessary, in order to make the 
 sense of the author intelligible ; and the Editor, in performing this duty, 
 has been compelled to resort constantly to the original work. In conse- 
 quence of these alterations, and the general obscurity of the Translator's 
 handwriting, a critical eye may discover occasional errors of the press. 
 
 On page 109, there is an omission of a note by the Translator, which 
 in the original work is as follows : — Blijkens Papieren ten Raadhuize van 
 Amsterdam. Alrichs was in December, 1656, uit Texel vertrokken, en 
 na geleden Schipbreuk op 7 Lange-Eilandin April, 1647, met 128 Zielen 
 in ''tfort Casimir aangekomen. Correcting the misprint, 1647, it may be 
 translated as follows: — See Documents in the City Hall, at Amsterdam. 
 Alrichs left the Texel in December, 1656, and after the above-mentioned 
 shipwreck on Long Island, in April, 1657, with 128 souls, arrived at 
 Fort Casimir, {on the Delaware.) This note should have been inserted in 
 the place of the third note, on page 109 ; the third note should take 
 place of the second; and the reference to the second be placed at the 
 end of the ninth line on that page, after the word ''forts.'' The reference 
 to Holland Merc, on the same page should be p. 113, instead of p. 43. 
 
 On page 120, in the note, the reference should be to the " British Em- 
 pire in America." On jiage 104, near the middle, instead oiuncourteously, 
 read very courteously. This error was corrected in the greater part of 
 the edition. — Ed. 
 
V. 
 
 DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW NETHERLANDS, 
 
 BY 
 
 ADRIAEN VAN der DONCK,j.ud. 
 
 Translated from the oiiginal Dutch, 
 BY 
 
 HON. JEREMIAH JOHNSON, 
 
 Of Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 
 
 The following work is the production of a Dutch scholar who in early 
 times joined a colony of his countrymen on the banks of the Hudson. 
 As his little volume has never appeared until now in an English dress, it 
 has been less known and appreciated, probably, by succeeding writers, 
 than its merits deserve. It is, indeed, rather a description of the nat- 
 ural features of the country, for the purpose of commending it to the 
 attention of a Netherland public with a view to promote emigration, than 
 an account of its civil condition, or of what had previously transpired in 
 relation to its affairs. Such as it is, however, it will not be found desti- 
 tute of interest either to the historical student, or to those descendants of 
 the ancient burghers, who, having lost their ancestral tongue, are only 
 able to converse with their forefathers through the medium of an inter- 
 preter. 
 
 The author, Adriaen Van der Donck, enjoys the distinction of having 
 been the first lawyer in the Dutch colony. He was educated at the Uni- 
 versity of Leyden, and, after pursuing a course of legal study, received 
 the usual degree of Juris lUriusque Doctor; or as the title-page of his 
 book has it, Beyder Rechten Doctoor — Doctor of both laws, that is, 
 the civil and canon. He Avas subsequently admitted to the practice of an 
 advocate in the supreme court of Holland. His standing and reputation 
 in the Fatherland may be inferred from his having been appointed by the 
 patroon of Rensselaerwyck, who must have known something of his 
 character, to the important office of Sheriff of that colony. 
 
 Van der Donck arrived here in a bark of the patroon Killian Van 
 Rensselaer, in the autumn of 1642, and immediately entered upon the 
 discharge of the duties of his office. The colony of Rensselaerwyck, 
 which embraced an extensive territory on either side of the Hudson, 
 was yet in its infancy. Van Rensselaer himself had been only five 
 years in the country ; and although a trading-house was established in the 
 same quarter as early as 1614, yet the first successful efforts to plant a 
 colony were not made until 1630, when the patroon through an agent 
 obtained his first title from the Indians, and despatched a body of colo- 
 nists from Holland under a liberal charter of privileges from the West 
 India Company. He followed them himself in 1637. The seat of the 
 
PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 127 
 
 colony was at Fort Orange, where Albany is now situated, and there our 
 author at first resided.* 
 
 A few years after, Van der Donck purchased an estate on the Hudson near 
 the upper extremity of Manhattan Island, about sixteen miles from this city, 
 afterwards known as Yonkers. One of his grants of land at that place was 
 made to him in 1648, under the name of Jonker (pronounced Yonker) Van 
 der Donck, and it appears that he was familiarly called the Yonker, a com- 
 mon appellation for a gentleman among the Dutch farmers. His land was 
 spoken of, as we find in the Colonial Records, as the Yonker's land, and 
 there can be little doubt that the name of the present town of Yonkers 
 was in this way derived from him.f Van der Donck made several pur- 
 chases from the Indians in that neighborhood, and altogether acquired an 
 extensive tract of land, bounded on the south by the creek Paprimenin, to 
 which the Dutch name of Spyten-duyvel was afterwards given. On the 
 north was the Zaeg Kil, or Saw-Mill creek, at the mouth of which is the 
 present village of Yonkers, or Phillipsburg, where our author erected 
 mills and laid out a plantation. The land and river of Bronck, or Bronx, 
 another Dutch planter, bounded the estate on the east. Nearly twenty 
 years after, in 1666, when the New-Netherlands had passed into the 
 hands of the English, this estate was re-granted, or confirmed, to the 
 widow of Van der Donck, who had married a second husband of the name 
 of Oneale. 
 
 A controversy arose at that period between the government of the 
 colony and several of the colonists, among whom was our author, 
 which led to a remonstrance, addressed to the States General, against 
 the powers exercised by the West India Company, in which the ad- 
 ministrations of Kieft and Stuyvesant were violently assailed. This 
 document, signed by Van der Donck and a few others, was printed in 
 Holland, in 1650, and formed a small quarto volume of about fifty pages, 
 entitled, Vertoogh van Nieuw Nederlandt, wegkens de Ghelegenheydt, 
 Vruchtbaerheydt, en soheren Staet desselfs. In s^ Graven Hage, 1650. 
 (An Exposition of the New Netherlands, in respect to the situation, 
 fertility, and wretched condition of ihe country. At the Hague, 1650. )J 
 
 * For a clear and comprehensive sketch of the colony and manor of Rens- 
 selaerwyck, see the Discourse of D. D. Barnard, on the life and services of the 
 late patroon, Stephen Van Rensselaer. 
 
 + See a Memoir read before this Society, in 1816, by the late Judge Egbert 
 Benson, second edition, page 56. Mr. Moulton, author of a volume relating 
 to the early history of New- York, has furnished the editor with several ex- 
 tracts from the Colonial Records in reference to this matter. 
 
 I This is the volume referred to by Lambrechtsen, p. 83, which he regrets 
 not having been able to procure. It is also mentioned by Van der Donck in 
 the following work. A copy of it has been recently imported from Holland 
 by H. C. Murphy, Esq., of Brooklyn, which the Editor has had an opportunity 
 of examining. ^Vertoogh ' is sometimes translated remonstrance. 
 
128 PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 
 
 Whatever gave rise to this attempt to shake the authority of the West 
 India Company, on the part of Van der Donck and his associates, it 
 proved entirely fruitless in its results, and only served to re-act unfavora- 
 bly upon the disaffected parties. In consequence of it, he was permitted 
 only a limited access to the records of the colony for the composition of 
 the present work ; and on his application to the Directors of the West 
 India Company for leave to pursue the practice of his profession, he was 
 only allowed to give advice, being forbidden to plead, on the novel ground 
 that, " as there was no other lawyer in the colony, there would be no one 
 to oppose him." This was in 1653.* 
 
 It does not appear with certainty in what year the first edition of the 
 present work was published ; the second, from which the following transla- 
 tion is made, was issued from the press in 1656, under the auspices of 
 Evert Nieuwenhof, a bookseller at Amsterdam. As the privilege, or 
 copyright, bears date May 14th, 1653, it is highly probable that the first 
 edition appeared about that time. 
 
 A translation of the work was prepared some years ago by the late Eev. 
 John Bassett, D.D., formerly of Albany, who issued printed propo- 
 sals to publish it by subscription ; but sufficient encouragement not being 
 afforded to induce him to give it to the press, Dr. Bassett offered to dispose 
 of his manuscript to this Society for publication. The subject was 
 referred to a committee, who reported, at the August meeting in 1820, that 
 the expense of printing an edition of one thousand copies would be from 
 eight liundrcd to a thousand dollars.^ Nothing further appears to have 
 been done on the subject, although a volume of Collections was published 
 by the Society the ensuing year. 
 
 The present translation is from the pen of the lion. Jeremiah Johnson, 
 late Mayor of Brooklyn, a gentleman who combines with Dutch descent 
 a familiar acquaintance with the language of his colonial ancestors. The 
 translation was made by him several years ago, and the Editor having ap- 
 plied for permission to insert it in the present volume, the request was at 
 once cheerfully acceded to, and a copy subsequently furnished, from which 
 the publication is now made. Editor. 
 
 * The answer to this application of Van der Donck is among the Albany 
 Records. 
 
 t Minutes of the Society. The memoir on the Mohawk Indians by Rev. J. 
 Megapolensis, jr., was included in the estimate ; but that essay is so brief as 
 to occupy only eight or nine pages of Hazard's State Papers, published 
 in 1792. 
 
A 
 
 DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW NETHERLANDS, 
 
 (as the same are at the present time;) 
 
 COMPKEHENBING 
 
 THE FRTJITFULXESS AND NATURAL ADVANTAGES OF THE COUNTRY, 
 AND THE DESIRABLE OPPORTUNITIES WHICH IT PRE- 
 SENTS, WITHIN ITSELF, AND FROM ABROAD, FOR 
 THE SUBSISTENCE OF MAN ; WHICH ARE 
 NOT SURPASSED ELSEWHERE. 
 
 TOGETHER WITH REMARKS ON THE CHARACTER AND PECULIAR 
 CUSTOMS OF THE SAVAGES, OR NATIVES OF THE LAND : 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 A PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE WONDERFUL NATURE 
 AND HABITS OF THE BEAVER. 
 
 WITH 
 
 A DIALOGUE BETWEEN A NETHERLAND PATRIOT 
 
 AND A NEW NETHERLANDER, ON THE 
 
 ADVANTAGES OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 WRITTEN BY 
 
 ADRIAEN VAN der DONCK, 
 
 Doctor of both Laws, at present in tlic New Netherlands. 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 
 
 THE REGULATIONS OF THE AFFAIRS OF THE COUNTRY, BY THE 
 
 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AMSTERDAM, CtC 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION, 
 
 With a Map of the Country. 
 
 At Amsterdam, publislied by Evert Nieuwenliof, Bookseller. 
 
 AN.NO DOMINI, 1656. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 Following the title page in the original work there is, in the first place, 
 an extract from the Privilege or Copyright, granted to the Author by the 
 States-General of the United Netherlands for the term of fifteen years, 
 on condition that he obtain a like authority from the Province or Provinces 
 in which the book shall be printed and sold : Dated at the Hague, May 
 24th, 1653. 
 
 Next succeeds a similar lieense from the States of Holland and West 
 Friesland, in which the book was published : Dated at the Hague, July 
 21st, 1653. 
 
 Lastly, an extract from the Mmutes of the Directors of the West India 
 Company, at the Chamber of Amsterdam, February 25th, 1655, setting 
 forth the request of Evert Nieuwenhof, bookseller, for the approbation of 
 the Company in reference to the same work, which was accordingly 
 granted. Certified in the absence of the Advocate, by E. Van Seventer, 
 1655. Editor. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 To the Illustrious, Most Wise, and Prudent Lords, the 
 Honourahle Ruling Burgomasters of the far-famed com- 
 mercial City of Amsterdam, 
 
 John Huydekooper, Knight, Lord of Maerseveen and 
 
 Neerdyck, &c., 
 Cornelius de Graef, Free Lord of Soutli-Poelsbrook, 
 John vande Pol Hermansz, 
 Hendrick Dircksz Spiegel: — 
 
 My Lords, 
 
 The glory and renown of this good city of Amsterdam are 
 not only spread throughout the world by reason of the extensive 
 commerce of which it is the seat, but also, in an especial man- 
 ner, from the fact that a great number of far distant lands have 
 been sought, discovered, and visited by sea from its port. Amongst 
 those by whom such discoveries have been made in this last cen- 
 tury, not the least in consideration are the two Companies of the 
 East and West Indies, under whose direction voyages have been 
 performed ; and although the West India Company seems to be now 
 in a declining condition, yet that part of North America called New- 
 Netherlands, (of which this book treats,) possesses so great an in- 
 trinsic value, that it deserves to be held in high estimation, as well 
 as on account of the extensive trade with it, which is constantly on 
 the increase. For which cause, and especially in view of the 
 good and noble disposition manifested by your Honours, more and 
 more every day, for the support and restoration of the, alas ! almost 
 ruined West India Company, I have ventured to dedicate to you, 
 with becoming reverence, this little and inconsiderable treatise, 
 containing a description of that part of the world ; trusting that it 
 will not be taken ill of me for so doing, inasmuch as it is a sincere 
 expression of respect from one who is, and ever will be, 
 My Lords, 
 Your Lordships' very humble, faithful. 
 
 And obedient citizen and servant, 
 
 E. Nikuwenhof. 
 
LIKEWISE TO 
 
 Their High Mightinesses, the Lords Proprietors of the West- 
 India Company, at the Council Cliamhers of Amsterdam. 
 
 My Lords, — As soon as this History came to hand, I deemed 
 it necessary and proper to print and publish the same, thereby to 
 make known the beauties and advantages of the flourishing Colony 
 of New-Netherlands, which, under your wise and careful direc- 
 tion, is advancing in prosperity, all of which should be publicly 
 known, particularly in Amsterdam. And when your Honours, 
 with great care and vigilance, are providing to increase the power 
 of the Colony by settlers therein, (which in all ages has been con- 
 sidered the firmest bond to secure conquered countries, as well as 
 newly discovered lands,) it therefore appeared proper to make it 
 known to my countrymen, particularly to many of my brave and 
 faithful fellow-citizens, to the end that they may be invited by the 
 pure air and fruitfulness of the New-Netherlands to go thither, 
 where (if they be not fastidious, lazy plodders) they may, with in- 
 dustry and economy, acquire property and gain wealth, and enjoy 
 the fruits of the earth and of their industry, in as healthy a climate 
 as can be found on the surface of the globe. 
 
 And inasmuch as your Honourable Company provide for the ne- 
 cessary intercourse with the Colony, supplying the inhabitants and 
 settlers with the articles which are required, and not yet produced 
 therein, and have provided for the establishment of the true Chris- 
 tian religion, and for extending light from the Word of God in the 
 country to those who sit in darkness — all of which is worthy and 
 commendable : Therefore I trust that this notice may not be imac- 
 ceptable in regard to the work which is now preparing for the press, 
 as the same will be published by a sincere well-wisher of the Com- 
 pany, and of the Chamber over which your Honours do most wise- 
 ly and carefully preside. With which I remain, 
 Most honoured Lords, &c. 
 
 Your obedient and obligated servant, 
 
 Evert Nieuwenhof. 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 Honoured Reader, — As I have remarked the great zeal shown 
 by our High and Venerable Lords Burgomasters of this City, 
 together with the Most Worshipful Directors of the West India 
 Company, in respect to the affairs of the New-Netherlands, which 
 their Worships, as Founders and Patroons, for the benefit of the 
 public, have taken much to heart ; I also have become inflamed with 
 a like zeal, to republish the Description of those countries, and for 
 the better understanding thereof, have added a small map of the same. 
 Besides the accurate description of the nature and qualities of the 
 soil, it also contains the excellent regulations of their Worships, 
 tending to the special advantage of those who are disposed to emi- 
 grate thither ; to whom they have granted as much land as each 
 shall be able to improve for pasture or cultivation, under the same 
 restrictions as are imposed on landholders at home. The under- 
 standing reader will learn from the articles comprised in these 
 regulations, the sincere desire of their Worships to make a liberal 
 provision for those countries; and thus will be exhibited new proofs 
 of their wisdom. 
 
 May you receive my labours with favour. Farewell. 
 
 E. NiEUWENHOF. 
 
 [The dedication to the Burgomasters, and the address to the Reader, are 
 translated by the Editor, not being included in the translation of Mr. 
 Johnson.] 
 
ON THE PATRONS AND THE HISTORY OF 
 NEW-NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Still Amstel's faithful Burgher- Lords do live, 
 Who East and West extend their faithful care; 
 
 To lands and men good laws they wisely give, 
 That like the beasts ran wild in open air. 
 
 With aged care Holland's gardens still they save — 
 And in New-Netherlands their men will ne'er be slaves. 
 
 Why mourn about Brazil, full of base Portuguese ? 
 
 When Van der Donck shows so far much better fare ; 
 Where wheat fills golden ears, and grapes abound in trees ; 
 
 Where fruit and kine are good with little care ; 
 Men may mourn a loss, when vain would be their voice, 
 But when their loss brings gain, they also may rejoice. 
 
 Then, reader, if you will, go freely there to live, 
 We name it Netherland, though it excels it far ; 
 
 If you dislike the voyage, pray due attention give. 
 
 To Van der Donck, his book, which, as a leading star. 
 
 Directs toward the land where many people are, 
 
 Where lowland Love and Laws all may freely share. 
 
 Evert Nikuwenhof. 
 
DESCRIPTION, &c 
 
 Where New-Netherlands is situated. 
 
 This country is situated in the New American World, be- 
 ginning north of the Equinoctial Line, 38 deg. and 53 min., ex- 
 tending north-easterly along the sea-coast, to the 42d deg., and 
 is named Neio-Netherlands, by the Netherlanders, for reasons 
 to be related hereafter ; lying in the latitude of Sardinia and 
 Corsica, in the Mediterranean Sea, and of Spain and France 
 along the Ocean ; the South River* corresponding exactly with 
 the Flemish Islands, with the rivers of Lisbon, with the south 
 point of the Island of Sardinia, and of the Punctimi Meridionale] 
 of the Orientals, reckoning an easterly course from the Canary 
 Islands by west, upon the 316th degree, or counting due west 
 44 degrees from the Punctum Meridonale, whereon we hold the 
 Canary Islands, being 660 miles, corresponding with Cape 
 Mesuratta on the Barbary coast in Africa, in the kingdom of 
 Tripoli, and with Cape Spartivento, being the uttermost corner 
 of Italy against the Mediterranean Sea. New-Netherlands is a 
 fine, acceptable, healthy, extensive and agreeable country, 
 wherein all people can more easily gain a competent support, 
 than in the Netherlands, or in any other quarter of the globe, 
 which is known to me or which I have visited. 
 
 When, and by lohom, New-Netherlands loas first discovered. 
 
 This countr)'^ was first found and discovered in the year of 
 our Lord 1609 ; when, at the cost of the incorporated East In- 
 
 * The river Delaware. 
 
 t The Punctum Meridionale of the orientals, is probably the meridian as- 
 sumed by Ptolemy, which passed through the farthest of Ihe Canary Islands. 
 The Dutch geographers and mariners pitched upon the Peak of TenerifTe for 
 their meridian. See Chambers. The. Arabitn geographers chose to fix their 
 meridian upon the utmost sliore of the Western ocean, which was then the 
 most westerly jiart of the known world, and may be the Oriental Meridian re- 
 ferred to, and adopted by Ptolemy, who flourished 150 years before Christ, and 
 reduced Geography to a regular system. After the fall of the Roman empire, 
 Europe was enveloped in darkness, when the arts and sciences were preserved 
 bv the Arabians and the orientals of Asia. — Tuans. 
 
136 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 dia Company, a ship named the Half-Moon was filled oul to 
 discover a wcslerly passage to the kingdom of China. This ship 
 was commanded by Hendrick Hudson, as captain and super- 
 cargo, who was an Enghshman by birth, and had resided many 
 years in Holland, during which he had been in the employment 
 of the East India Company. This ship sailed from the Canary 
 Islands, steering a course north by west ; and after sailing twenty 
 days with good speed, land was discovered, which, by their 
 calculation, lay 320 degrees by west. On approaching the land, 
 and observing the coast and shore convenient, they landed, and 
 examined the country as well as they could at the time, and as 
 opportunity offered ; from which they were well satisfied that 
 no Christian people had ever been there before, and that they 
 were the fu-st who by Providence had been guided to the dis- 
 covery of the country. 
 
 Why this country is called New Netherlands. 
 
 We have before related, that the Netherlanders, in the year 
 1 609, had first discovered this country, of which they took pos- 
 session as their own in right of their discovery, and finding the 
 country fruitful and advantageously situated, possessing good 
 and safe havens, rivers, fisheries, and many other Avorlhy ap- 
 purtenances corresponding with the Netherlands, or in truth 
 excelling the same ; for this good reason it was named New 
 Netherlands, being as much as to say, another or a new-found 
 Netherlands. Still the name depended most upon the first dis- 
 covery, and upon the corresponding temperatures of the climates 
 of the two countries, which to strangers is not so observable. 
 We notice also that the French in the same quarter of the new 
 world, have named their territory Canada or Nova Francia, only 
 because they were the first Em'opeans who possessed the lands 
 in those parts, for the temperature of the climate is so cold and 
 wintry, that the snow commonly lies on the earth four or five 
 months in succession and from four to five feet deep, which 
 renders it costly to keep domestic animals there ; and although 
 this country lies no farther than fifty degrees north, still the air 
 in winter is so fine, clear and sharp there, that when the snow 
 once falls, which it commonly does about the first of December, 
 it does not thaw aAvay except by the power of the sun in April.- 
 If a shower of rain happens to fall in winter, (which is seldom,) 
 then it forms a hard crust on the surface of the snow, that 
 renders the travelling difficult for man and beast. The air there 
 is clear and dry, and the snow seldom melts or thaws away 
 suddenly. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 137 
 
 river, which they name New-Sweden. The chmate of this 
 place by no means corresponds with that of Sweden, as it hes in 
 latitude 39 degrees north. But, although they have formed a 
 settlement there, still their title is disputed, for they can show no 
 legal right or claim to their possessions. 
 
 The country having been first found or discovered by the 
 Netherlanders, and keeping in view the discovery of the same, 
 it is named the New-Netherlands. That this country was first 
 found or discovered by the Netherlanders, is evident and clear 
 from the fact, that the Indians or natives of the land, many of 
 whom are still living, and with whom I have conversed, declare 
 freely, that before the arrival of the Lowland ship, the Half- 
 Moon, in the year 1609, they (the natives) did not know that 
 there Avere any other people in the world than those who were 
 hke themselves, much less any people who differed so much in 
 appearance from them as we did. Their men on the breasts 
 and about the mouth were bare, and their women like ours, 
 hairy ; going unclad and almost naked, particularly in summer, 
 while we are always clothed and covered. When some of them 
 first saw our ship approaching at a distance, they did not know 
 what to think about her, but stood in deep and solemn amaze- 
 ment, wondering whether it were a ghost or apparition, coming 
 down from heaven, or from hell. Others of them supposed her 
 to be a strange fish or sea monster. When they discovered men 
 on board, they supposed them to be more like devils than human 
 beings. Thus they differed about the ship and men. A strange 
 report was also spread about the country concerning our ship 
 and visit, which created great astonishment and surprise amongst 
 the Indians. These things we have frequently heard them de- 
 clare, which we hold as certain proof that the Netherlanders 
 were the first finders or discoverers and possessors of the New- 
 Netherlands. There are Indians in the country, who remember 
 a hundred years, and if there had been any other people here 
 before us, they would have known something of them, and if 
 they had not seen them themselves, they would have heard an 
 account of them from others. There are persons who believe 
 that the Spaniards have been here many years ago, when they 
 found the climate too cold to their liking, and again left the 
 country ; and that the maize or Turkish corn, and beans found 
 among the Indians, were left with them by the Spaniards. This 
 opinion or belief is improbable, as we can discover nothing of 
 the kind from the Indians. They say that their corn and beans 
 were received from the southern Indians, who received their 
 seed from a people who resided still farther south, which may 
 well be true, as the Castihans have long since resided in Florida. 
 The maize may have been among the Indians in the warm ch- 
 mate long ago ; however, our Indians say that they did eat roots 
 18 
 
138 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 and the bark of trees instead of bread, before the introduction 
 of Indian corn or maize. 
 
 Of the limits of the Neio-Netherlands, and how far the 
 same extend. 
 
 New-Netherlands is bounded by the ocean or great sea, which 
 separates Europe from America, by New-England and the Fresh 
 (Connecticut) river, in part by the river of Canada, (the St. 
 Lawrence,) and by Virginia. Some persons who are not well 
 informed, name all North- America Virginia, because Virginia 
 from her tobacco trade is well known. These circumstances, 
 therefore, will be observed as we progress, as admonitions to 
 the readers. The coast of New-Netherlands extends and stretch- 
 es mostly north-cast and south-west. I'he sea-shore is mostly 
 formed of pure sand, having a dry beach. On the south side, 
 the country is bounded by Virginia. Those boundaries are not 
 yet well defined, but in the progress of the settlement of the 
 country, the same will be determined without difficulty. On 
 the north-east the New-Netherlands abut upon New-England, 
 where there are differences on the subject of boundaries which 
 we wish were well settled. On the north, the river of Ca- 
 nada stretches a considerable distance, but to the north-west it 
 is still undefined and unknown. Many of our Netherlanders 
 have been far into the country, more than seventy or eighty miles 
 from the river and sea-shore. We also frequently trade with 
 the Indians, who come more than ten and twenty days' journey 
 from the interior, and who have been farther off to catch beavers, 
 and they know of no limits to the country, and when spoken to 
 on the subject, they deem such enquiries to be strange and sin- 
 gular. Therefore we may safely say, that we know not how 
 deep, or how far we extend inland. There are however many 
 signs, which indicate a great extent of country, such as the land 
 winds, which domineer much, with severe cold, the multitudes 
 of beavers, and land animals which are taken, and the great 
 numbers of water-fowl, which fly to and fro, across the country 
 in the spring and fall-seasons. From these circumstances we 
 judge that the land extends several hundred miles into the in- 
 terior ; therefore the extent and greatness of this province 
 are still unknown. 
 
 Of the forelands and sea-havens. 
 
 The coast of New-Netherlands extends south-west and north- 
 east, as before mentioned, and is mostly clean and sand}^ dry- 
 ing naturally ; and although the bare, bleak and open sea breaks 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 139 
 
 on the beach, still there is good anchorage in almost everyplace, 
 because of the clean, sandy bottom. There seldom are severe 
 gales from the sea, except from the south-east, with the spring 
 tides. When the winds blow from the north-west, which domi- 
 neer the strongest, then there is an upper or windward shore, 
 with smooth water and little danger. For those reasons, the 
 coast is as convenient to approach at all seasons, as could be 
 desired. The highlands, which are naturally dry, may be seen 
 far at sea, and give timely warning. 
 
 The forelands are generally double, and in some places 
 broken into islands, (affording convenient situations for the 
 keeping of stock,) which would lead seamen to suppose, on 
 approaching the shore, that the same were the main land, when 
 the same arc islands and forelands, within which lie large 
 meadows, bays, and creeks, affording convenient navigable 
 passages, and communications between places. 
 
 It has pleased God to protect against the raging sea those 
 parts of the coast which have no double foreland, with natural 
 barriers of firm, strong, and secure stone foundations, that 
 preserve the coast from the inundations of the mighty ocean, 
 (which are ever to be feared,) where the coast, if not thus pro- 
 tected, might be lessened and destroyed ; particularly the 
 nearest sea lands, against which the sea acts with most vio- 
 lence. Nature has secured those positions with firm, high, 
 and accommodated rocky heads and cliffs, which are as perfect 
 formations, as the arts and hands of man, with great expense, 
 could make the same. 
 
 There are many and different sea havens in the New-Neth- 
 erlands, a particular description of which would form a work 
 larger than we design this to be ; we will therefore Ijriefly no- 
 tice this subject, and leave the same for the consideration of 
 mariners and seamen. Beginning at the south and terminting 
 at Long Island, first comes Godyn's bay, or the South (Dela- 
 ware) bay, which was the first discovered. This bay lies 
 in 39 degrees north latitude, being six (Dutch) miles wide 
 and nine miles long, and having several banks or shoals, 
 but still possessing many advantages ; convenient and safe 
 anchorages for ships, with roomy and safe harbours. Here 
 also is a good whale fishery. Whales are numerous in the 
 winter on the coast, and in the bay, where they frequently 
 ground on the shoals and bars ; but they are not as fat as the 
 Greenland whales. If, however, the fishery was well-managed, 
 it would be profitable. After ascendizig the bay nine miles, it 
 is terminated in a river, which we name the South river, to 
 which we will again refer hereafter, and pass on to the bay, 
 wherein the East and North rivers terminate, and wherein 
 Staten Island lies ; because the same is most frequented, and 
 
140 VAN DER DONCK S 
 
 llie country is most populous, and because the greatest nego- 
 tiations in trade are carried on there ; and also because it is 
 situated in the centre of the New-Netherlands. Hence it is 
 named quasi per excellentiam, " The Bay." But before we 
 speak more at large of this place, we will attend to the places, 
 and their advantages, which lie between this bay and the 
 South bay. 
 
 Between those two bays, the coast, almost the whole dis- 
 tance, has double forelands, with many islands, which in some 
 places lie two or three deep. Those forelands as well as 
 the islands, are well situated for seaboard towns, and all kind of 
 fisheries, and also for the cultivation of grain, vineyards, and 
 gardening, and the keeping of stock, for which purposes the 
 land is tolerably good. Those lands are now mostly over- 
 grown with different kinds of trees and grape-vines ; having 
 many plums, hazel-nuts and strawberries, and much grass. 
 The waters abound with oysters, having many convenient banks 
 and beds where they may be taken. 
 
 Besides the many islands which lie between the aforesaid 
 bays, many of which are highland, there are also several fine 
 bays and inland waters, which form good sea harbours for those 
 who are acquainted with the inlets and entrances to the same, 
 which at present are not much used ; particularly the Bear-gat, 
 Great and Little Egg Harbours, Barnegat, &c., wherein the 
 anchorages arc safe and secure. But as New-Netherlands is 
 not yet well peopled, and as there are but few Christians set- 
 tled at those places, these harbours are seldom used, unless 
 the winds and weather render it necessary for safety. 
 
 The before-mentioned bay, wherein Staten Island lies, is the 
 most famous, because the East and North rivers empty therein, 
 which are two fine rivers, and wall be further noticed hereafter. 
 Besides those, there are several kills, inlets, and creeks, some 
 of which resemble small rivers, as the Raritan, Kill van Col, 
 Ncuversinck, &c. Moreover, the said ba)^ affords a safe and 
 convenient haven from all winds, wherein a thousand ships 
 may ride in safety inland. The entrance into the bay is rea- 
 sonably wide or roomy, without much danger, and easily found 
 by those who have entered the same, or are well instructed. 
 We can also easily, if the wind and tide suit, in one tide sail 
 and proceed from the sea to New-Amsterdam, (which lies five 
 miles from the open sea,) with the largest ships fully laden ; 
 and in like manner proceed from New-Amsterdam to sea. 
 But the outward bound vessels usually stop at the watering- 
 place under Staten Island, to lay in a sufficient supply of wood 
 and water, which are easily obtained at that place. We also 
 frequently stop far in the bay behind Sand Point (Sandy Hook) 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 141 
 
 in waiting for the last passengers and letters, and to avail our- 
 selves of the wind and tide. 
 
 Along the seacoast of Long Island, there are also several 
 safe, commodious inlets for small vessels, which are not much 
 frequented by us. There also are many spacious inland bays, 
 from which, by the inlets, (at full tide,) the sea is easy of 
 access ; otherwise those are too shallow. The same also are 
 not much frequented by us. With population several of the 
 places would become important, which now, for brevity's sake, 
 we pass over. 
 
 Between Long Island and the main land, there are through- 
 out many safe and convenient places for large and small ves- 
 sels ; Avhich may be occupied, if necessary. For in connec- 
 tion with the whole river Avhich is held b}^ many to be a hsj, 
 there are in the main land and in the island opposite to the 
 same, many safe bays, harbours, and creeks, which are but 
 little known to us, and which the English, by their devices 
 have appropriated. Although this subject is spoken of in the 
 remonstrances of the New-Netherlands, we will pass over it 
 without waking the sleepe7's, and attend briefly to the most 
 important rivers, waters, and creeks. 
 
 Of the South River {Delaware River). 
 
 The right which the Netherlanders have to the South River, 
 and how they acquired their right, has been sufficiently shown 
 already, which it is unnecessary to recapitulate at length 
 again. This is the first place of which the men of the Half 
 Moon took possession, before any Christian had been there. 
 There we have built our forts, commenced agriculture, and 
 have driven trade many years in succession, without the inter- 
 vention or molestation of any persons ; until by wrong meas- 
 ures (which we design to notice) a small band of Holland- 
 Swedes set themselves down along the river. We acknow- 
 ledge freely that w^e arc unable fully to describe the value and 
 the advantages which this river possesses, for in addition to 
 the negotiation and trade, which are great, and not to be 
 despised, there are fourteen navigable rivers, creeks, and 
 streams which fall into this river. Some of the same are 
 large and boatable a great distance, and may w^ell be named 
 rivers, as the ordinary tides flow several miles up the same, 
 where the waters meet and are fresh, and still remain wide 
 and tolerably deep. There arc also many streams presenting 
 rich and extensive valleys, which aflbrd good situations for vil- 
 lages and towns. The river itself is roomy, wide, clean, clear 
 and deep, not foul or stony, with good settings and anchorage. 
 
142 VAN DER DONCK'S 
 
 The tides are strong and flow up near to the falls. The land 
 is fine and level on both sides, not too high, but above the 
 floods and freshets, except some reed-land and marshes. Above 
 the falls the river divides into two large boatable streams, 
 which nui far inland, to places unknown to us. There are 
 several fine islands in this river, with many other delightful 
 advantages and conditions, which are estimated by those who 
 have examined the river, and who have seen much of the 
 world, not to be siurpassed by any other river which is known. 
 Equalling in many respects the celebrated river of the Ama- 
 zons, although not in greatness, yet in advantages with which 
 this river and the neighbouring land is favoured, we would 
 regret to lose such a jewel by the devices and hands of a few 
 strangers.* 
 
 Of the North River. 
 
 We have before noticed the name of this river, with the 
 population and advantages of the country ; and, inasmuch as a 
 particular and ample account of the same is preparing for publi- 
 cation, we will at once say, that this river is the most famous, 
 and the country the most populous of any in the New-Nether- 
 lands. There are also several colonies settled, besides the city 
 of New-Amsterdam, on the island of Manhattan, where the 
 most of the trade of this river centres. The river carries flood 
 tides forty miles up the same.f Several fine creeks empty 
 into this river, such as the Great and Small Esopus kills, Kats 
 kill. Sleepy Haven kill, Colondonck's kill or Saw kill, Wap- 
 pincke's kill, &c. We can also pass from the North river be- 
 hind Manhattan island by the East river, without approaching 
 New- Amsterdam. This river still remains altogether in the 
 possession and jurisdiction of the Netherlanders, without being 
 invaded ; but if the population did not increase and advance, 
 there would be great danger of its long continuation. This river 
 is rich in fishes : sturgeon, dunns, bass, sheep-heads, &c. I 
 cannot refrain, although somewhat out of place, to relate a very 
 singular occurrence, which happened in the month of March, 
 1647, at the time of a great freshet caused by the fresh water 
 flowing down from above, by which the water of the river be- 
 came nearly fresh to the bay, when at ordinary seasons the salt 
 water flows up from twenty to twenty-four miles from the sea. 
 At this season, two whales, of common size, swam up the river 
 
 ♦ Van der Donck alludes to the Swedes. They were subdued by Governor 
 Stuyvesaat. — Trans. 
 
 t A Dutch mile is about three English miles. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 143 
 
 forty miles, from which place one of them returned and stranded 
 about twelve miles from the sea, near which place four others 
 also stranded the same year. The other run farther up the river 
 and grounded near the great Cliahoos falls, about forty-three 
 miles from the sea. This fish was tolerably fat, for although the 
 citizens of Rensselaerwyck broiled out a great quantity ol train 
 oil, still the whole river (the current being still rapid) was oily 
 for three wxeks, and covered with grease. As the fish lay rot- 
 ling, the air was infected with its stench to such a degree that 
 thesmell was ofiensive and perceptible for two miles to leeward. 
 For what purpose those whales ascended the river so far, it 
 being at the time full forty miles from all salt or brackish water, 
 it is difficult to sa}^ unless their great desire for fish, which were 
 plent}?" at this season, led them onward. 
 
 Forty-four miles from the sea this North river is divided. 
 One part by four sprouts ascends to the great falls of the Ma- 
 quas kill, which is named the Chahoos, of which we will 
 treat presently. The other part which retains the name of the 
 North river, is navigable for boats several miles farther, and, 
 according to the information of the Indians, rises in a great 
 lake, from which the river of Canada also proceeds. This 
 should be the lake of the Iracoysen (lake Ontario), which is as 
 great as the Mediterranean sea, being about forty miles wide, 
 w^hen in the middle of the sea, no eye can see land or see over 
 it. The lake also has extensive reed and brocklands of great 
 breadth, wherein great multitudes of water-fowl breed in sum- 
 mer. When the Indians intend to cross this lake, they know 
 certain islands which lie therein, and proceed from one to 
 another by daylight, to the number of three or four, without 
 which they could not find their way over the same. This, 
 however, we relate on the information of the Indians. They 
 also assert that we can proceed in boats to the river of Canada, 
 which we deem incrcdil)le. 
 
 The other arm of the North river runs by four sprouts (as w^e 
 have related) to the great fallsof the Maquas A'?7/(Mohawk river), 
 which the Indians name the Chahoos, and our nation the Great 
 Falls ; above which the river is again several hundred yards wide, 
 and the falls we estimate to be one hundred and fifty or two hun- 
 dred feet high.* The water glides over the falls as smooth as if 
 it ran over an even w^all and fell over the same. The precipice 
 is formed of firm blue rock ; near by and below the falls there 
 stand several rocks, which appear splendid in the water, rising 
 above it like high turf-heaps, apparently from eight, sixteen, to 
 thirty feet high ; very delightful to the ajc. This place is well 
 
 * This is careless guessing, the falls being seventy feet liigh. — Tkaxs. 
 
144 VAN DEll DONCk's 
 
 calculated to exalt the fancy of the poets. The ancient fabulous 
 writers would, if they had been here, have exalted those works 
 of nature, by the force of imagination, into the most artful and 
 elegant descriptive illusions. The waters descend rapidly 
 downwards from the falls, over a stony bottom, skipping, foam- 
 ing and whirling boisterously about the distance of a gunshot or 
 more ; when it resumes an even course, and flows downwards. 
 We name this the Maquas Kill, but still it is wider in most 
 places than the Yssell of the Netherlands. It however always 
 runs one way ; is navigable for boats ; being tolerably deep and 
 not rapid ; but it extends above sixty miles, and runs through the 
 Maquas and Senecas countries to a lake, remaining boatable all 
 the way. The river passes through fine land, and abounds with 
 fish. The Indians, when they travel by water, and come to 
 trade, usually come in canoes made of the bark of trees, which 
 they know how to construct. When they come near the falls, 
 they land, and carry their boats and their lading some distance 
 below the falls, and proceed on their voyage ; otherwise, they 
 would be driven over the falls and destroyed. An occurrence 
 of this kind took place here in our time. An Indian, whom I 
 have known, accompanied by his wife and child, with sixty 
 beaver skins, descended the river in his canoe, in the spring, 
 when the water runs rapid and the current is strongest, for the 
 pm-pose of selling his beaver to the Netherlanders. This Indian 
 carelessly approached too near to the falls, before he discovered 
 his danger, and notwithstanding his utmost exertion to gain the 
 land, his frail bark with all on board was swept over by the 
 rapid currejit and down the falls ; his wife and child were killed, 
 his bark shattered to pieces, his cargo of furs damaged. But 
 his life Was preserved. I have frequently seen the Indian, and 
 have heard him relate the perilous occurrence or adventure. 
 
 Of the Fresh River [Connecticut river). 
 
 This river is called the Fresh river, because it affords more 
 fresh water than many other rivers. It has advantageous navi- 
 gable situations. It also has finely situated land, and the coun- 
 try affords a tolerably good fm: trade. But as this river with its 
 advantages is mostly in the occupancy of the English nation, 
 to the injurv and disadvantage of the Hon. the West India Com- 
 pany, which they continue to occupy, whereby the Company is 
 injured every year. It will be painful to us to recapitulate the 
 subject, as the same is stated in the remonstrance of the New- 
 Netherlanders ; where we leave the matter and pass to the East 
 river. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 145 
 
 Of the East River. 
 
 This river is thus named, because it extends eastward from 
 the city of New- Amsterdam. By some this river is held to be 
 an arm of the sea, or a bay, because it is very wide in some places, 
 and because both ends of the same are connected with, and 
 empty into the ocean. This subtility notwithstanding, we 
 adopt the common opinion and hold it to be a river. Be it then 
 a river or a bay, as men may please to name it, still it is one 
 of the best, most fit and most convenient places and most advan- 
 tageous accommodations, which a countiy can possess or desire, 
 for the following reasons : — Long Island, which is about forty 
 miles in length, makes this river. The river, and most of the 
 creeks, bays and inlets joining the same, are navigable in winter 
 and in summer without much danger. This river also affords 
 a safe and convenient passage at all seasons to those who desire 
 to sail east or west ; and the same is most used, because the 
 outside passage is more (dangerous. Most of the English (of 
 New-England) who wish to go south to Virginia, to South river, 
 or to other southern places, pass through this river, which brings 
 no small traffic and advantage to the city of New- Amsterdam. 
 This also causes the English to frequent our harbours, to which 
 they are invited for safety. Lastly, this river is famous on ac- 
 count of its convenient bays, inlets, havens, rivers, and creeks, 
 on both sides, to wit, on the side of Long Island and on the side 
 of the fast or main land. In the Netherlands, no such place is 
 known. Of this and the other rivers of New-Netherlands, enough 
 has been said, in oiu: opinion, for this time and for our purpose. 
 
 Of the several Waters, and their Diversity. 
 
 In this place we will briefly notice the waters, before we 
 notice other matters. In general, we say, to describe per specips 
 would take too long, and draw us from our original plan. We 
 find in New-Netherlands many fine waters, kills, brooks and 
 streams which are navigable, large and roomy, as well on the 
 sea-board as far inland : also many runs of water, sprouts, 
 stream-kills and brooks having many fine falls, which are suit- 
 able for every kind of milling work. Inland, there are also 
 several standing waters and lakes, as large as small seas, also 
 large rivers abounding with fish. The rivers have their origin 
 in sprouts which flow from valleys, and in springs, which con- 
 nected form beautiful streams. But inasmuch as a report has 
 already been published of a principal part of the waters, near 
 the sea, and of the rivers before mentioned, there still remain 
 19 
 
146 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 several which deserve the names of rivers. There are also 
 several inland waters ; some are Icirge, and others of less di- 
 mensions, which mostly lie near the sea-shores south of the 
 North River ; many of which are navigable and roomy kills 
 and creeks suitable for inland navigation ; and those by the in- 
 dustry of man are susceptible of great betterments and improve- 
 ments, as may be seen by the cTiart of the New-Netherlands. 
 There also are, as before remarked, several falls, streams and 
 running brooks, suitable for every kind of water-work for the 
 convenience and advantage of man, together with numerous small 
 streams and sprouts throughout the country, serving as arteries 
 or veins to the body, running in almost every direction, and 
 afibrding an abundance of pure living water. Those are not 
 numerous near the sea-shore, where the water in some places 
 is brackish, but still the same is of service, and is drank by the 
 wild and domestic animals. Many of the springs run into the 
 rivers, and thence into the sea. In addition to those, there are 
 also many fine springs and veins of pure water inland and in 
 places where no other water can be obtained, as upon the 
 mountains, high elevated rocks and cliffs, where like veins the 
 water flows out of fissures and pours down the cliffs and 
 precipices, some of which are so remarkable that they are es- 
 teemed as great curiosities. Other streams rise in bushy 
 woods, through which the summer sun never shines, which are 
 much trodden by the wild beasts, and wherein the decayed 
 leaves and rotting vegetation falls, all which tend to render the 
 water foul. Those however in their course again become clear 
 and wonderfully pure. Some of them possess the extraordinary 
 quality of never freezing in the bitterest cold weather, when 
 they smoke from their natural warmth, and any frozen article 
 immersed in those waters thaws immediately. If the unclouded 
 sun shone on those springs for whole days with summer heat, 
 the water would still remain so cold that no person would bear 
 to hold his hand in it for any length of time in the hottest 
 weather. This peculiarity makes these waters agreeable to 
 men and animals, as the water may be drank without danger ; 
 for however fatigued or heated a person may be who drinks of 
 these waters, they do no injury in the hottest weather. The 
 Indians, gunners, and other persons use those waters freely at 
 all seasons, and I have never heard that any pleurisy or other 
 disease had been caused by their use. 
 
 The Indians inform us that there are other waters in the 
 country differing in taste from the common water, which are 
 good for many ailments and diseases. As this is intimated by 
 the Indians, therefore we do not place full confidence in the in- 
 formation, not knowing the facts ; yet we deem the reports prob- 
 able, because the land aboimds in metals and minerals, through 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 147 
 
 which spring veins may filter and partake of the mineral quali- 
 ties, and retain the same. 
 
 It is a gi'eat convenience and ease to the citizens of New- 
 Netherlands, that the country is not subject to great floods and 
 inundations, for near the sea, or where the water ebbs and rises, 
 there are no extraordinary floods. The tide usually rises and 
 falls from five to six feet perpendicular, in some places more, 
 in others less, as by winds and storms aff"ected. The flood 
 and ebb tides are strong but not rapid. Sometimes where 
 the wind blows strong from the sea, at spring tides the water 
 rises a foot or two higher than usual ; but this is not common, 
 hence, of little inconvenience. But, at the colo'uy of Rensse- 
 laerwyck, Esopus, Catskill, and other places, from which the 
 principal upper waters flow, they are entirely fresh at those 
 places. The lowlands are sometimes overflowed once or tw^ice 
 in a year when the wind and current are in opposition ; but 
 even then, they Avho guard against those occurrences in time 
 suffer but little. Sometimes the water ma)'- wash out a little 
 in places, but the land is manured by the sediment left by the 
 water. Those floods do not stand long ; as they rise quick, 
 they also again fall off" in two or three days. 
 
 Of the Formation, Soil, and .Appearance of the Land. 
 
 Having spoken of the waters, we will now treat of the land, 
 with its natural, superficial appearance, beginning with the forma- 
 tions of the earth. Near and along the seashores, the soil is light 
 and sandy, with a mixture of clay, which enriches the land. The 
 productions are different kinds of wood, various fruits and vege- 
 tables. Barrens and sterile heath land are not here. The whole 
 country has a waving surface, and in some places high hills and 
 protrudmg mountains, particularly those named the Highlands, 
 which is a place of high, connected mountain land, about three 
 miles broad, extending in curved forms throughout the country ; 
 separated in some places, and then again connected. There also 
 is much fine level land, intersected with brooks, aff'ording 
 pasturage of great length and breadth, but mostly along the 
 rivers, and near the salt water side. Inland most of the coun- 
 try is waving, with hills which generally are not steep, but 
 ascend gradually. We sometimes in travelling imperceptibly 
 find ourselves on high elevated situations, from which we over- 
 look large portions of the country. The neighbouring eminence, 
 the surrounding valleys and the highest trees are overlooked, and 
 again lost in the distant space. Here our attention is arrested 
 in the beautiful landscape around us, here the painter can find 
 rare and beautiful subjects for the employment of his pencil. 
 
148 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 and here also the huntsman is animated when he views the en- 
 chanting prospects presented to the eyes ; on the hills, at the 
 brooks and in the valleys, where the game abounds and where 
 the deer are feeding, or gamboling or resting in the shades in 
 full view. 
 
 The surface of the land generally is composed of a black soil 
 intermixed with clay, about a foot or a foot and a half deep, in 
 some places more, and in some less ; below, the stratum is 
 white, reddish and yellow clay, which in some places is mixed 
 with sand, and in others with gravel and stones. Here and there, 
 large rocks and stones appear on the surface. There are also 
 hills of pm-e clay, but sand hills I have not seen, except near 
 the seashore, which have been cast up or formed by the ocean. 
 There also are very rocky places which our naturalists suppose 
 abound in minerals. The mountains and highlands are in some 
 places tillable and fertile, the soil being composed of clay inter- 
 mixed with stone. Other parts are composed of rocks, of vari- 
 ous colours, but all overgrown with wood, growing in the seams, 
 rents, clefts, and ravines. Such are the aspects of the moun- 
 tains, the hills and inland country. Near the rivers and water 
 sides there are large extensive plains containing sfeveral hundred 
 morgens;* in one place more and in another less, which are very 
 convenient for plantations, villages and towns. There also are 
 brooklands and fresh and salt meadows ; some so extensive that 
 the eye cannot oversee the same. Those are good for pasturage 
 and hay, although the same are overflowed by the spring tides, 
 particLdarly near the seaboard. These meadows resemble the 
 low and outlands of the Netherlands. Most of them could be 
 dyked and cultivated. We also find meadow grounds far in- 
 land, which are all fresh and make good hayland. Where the 
 meadows are boggy and wet, such failings are easily remedied 
 by cutting and breaking the bogs in winter and letting off the 
 water in the spring. There also would be much more meadow 
 ground, but as the soil is natural for wood, and as the birds and 
 the winds carry the seeds in every direction ; hence, those moist, 
 low grounds are covered with timber and underwoods which 
 we call cripple bushes. The situations are curious to behold 
 where those lands are cleared and cultivated. They are wonder- 
 fully fertile, which in short, is the general quality of such land, 
 and of most of the places we have noticed. Thus we tender 
 to the kind reader the frnitfulness of this land, sul)ject to his 
 own judgment. I admit that I am incompetent to describe the 
 beauties, the grand and sublime works, wherewith Providence 
 lias diversified this land. Our opinions are formed by the eye 
 alone, therefore we cannot do justice, and give assurance to the 
 heart. 
 
 * A Morgen is somewhat less than two acres . 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 149 
 
 Of the wood, the natural productions and fruits of the land. 
 
 The New-Netherlands, with other matters, is very fruitful, 
 and fortunate in its fine woods ; so much so, that the whole 
 country is covered with wood, and in our manner of speaking, 
 there is all too much of it, and in our way. Still it comes 
 to hand to build vessels and houses, and to enclose the farms 
 &c. The oak trees are very large ; from sixty to seventy feet 
 high without knots, and from two to three fathoms thick, being 
 ol various sizes. There are several kinds of oak, such as while, 
 smooth bark, rough bark, grey bark and black bark. It is all 
 durable wood, being as good as the oak of the Rhine or the 
 Weser when properly worked, according to the opinion of our 
 woodcutters, who are judges of timber and are sawyers. The 
 nut-Avood grows as tall as the oak, but not so heavy. It is prob- 
 able that this kind of wood will be useful for many purposes, it 
 grows straight and is tough and hard. We now use it for cogs 
 and rounds in our mills and for threshing-flails, swivel-trees and 
 other farming purposes. It also is excellent firewood, surpas- 
 sing every other kind, and setting at naught our old adage, 
 " The man is yet to come, who can find better wood to burn 
 than oak." This wood is far better as well for heat as duration. 
 It possesses a peculiar sap, which causes it to burn freely, 
 whether green or dry. If we draw it up out of the fresh water 
 where it has lain a long time, still, on account of its hardness, 
 it is even then uncommonly durable on the fire. We all agree, 
 that no turf, or other common fuel is equal to nut-wood. When 
 it is dry, it keeps fire and sparkles like matches. Our women 
 prefer nut-coals to turf for their stoves, because they last longer, 
 and are not buried in ashes. This knid of wood is found all 
 over the New-Netherlands in such abundance, that it cannot 
 become scarce in the first hundred years with an increased 
 population. There also is oak and ash enough to supply its 
 place for many purposes. The land also is so natural to pro- 
 duce wood, that in a few years large trees will be grown, which 
 I can say with certainty from my own observation ; and that 
 unless there be natural changes or great improvidence, there 
 can be no scarcity of wood in this country. 
 
 It has happened when I have been out with the natives, 
 ( Wilden, for so we name those who are not born of Christian 
 parents,) that we have come to a piece of young woodland. 
 When I have told them, in conversation, that they would do 
 well to clear off such land, because it would bear good corn, 
 that they said, " it is but twenty years since we planted corn 
 there, and now it is woods again." I asked them severally if 
 it were true, when they all answered in the affirmative. This 
 
160 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 relation was also corroborated by others. To return to the sub- 
 ject : this woodland was composed of oak, nut and other kinds 
 of wood, but principally of oak and nut ; and there were seve- 
 ral trees in the same which were a fathom in circumference. 
 The wood was so closely grown that it was difficult to pass 
 through it on horseback. As the wood appeared young and 
 thrifty, I give credit to the relation of the natives. I have also 
 observed that the youngest woodlands are always covered clos- 
 est with wood, and where the growth is small, the woods are 
 so thick as to render walking through the same difficult. But 
 where the woods are old, the timber is large and heavy, where- 
 by the underwood is shaded, which causes it to die and perish. 
 
 The Indians have a yearly custom (which some of our 
 Christians have also adopted) of burning the woods, plains and 
 meadows in the fall of the year, when the leaves have fallen, 
 and when the grass and vegetable substances are dry. Those 
 places which are then passed over are fired in the spring in 
 April. This practice is named by us and the Indians, " hush 
 burning," which is done for several reasons ; first, to render 
 hunting easier, as the bush and vegetable growth renders the 
 walking difficult for the hunter, and the crackling of the dry sub- 
 stances betrays him and frightens away the game. Secondly, 
 to thin out and clear the woods of all dead substances and grass, 
 which grow better the ensuing spring. Thirdly, to circum- 
 scribe and enclose the game within the lines of the fire, when 
 it is more easily taken, and also, because the game is more 
 easily tracked over the burned parts of the woods. 
 
 The bush burning presents a grand and sublime appearance. 
 On seeing it from without, we would imagine that not only the 
 dry leaves, vegetables and limbs would be burnt, but that the 
 whole woods would be consumed where the fire passes, for it 
 frequently spreads and rages with such violence, that it is awful 
 to behold ; and when the fire approaches houses, gardens, and 
 wooden enclosures, then great care and vigilance are necessary 
 for their preservation, for I have seen several houses which 
 have recently been destroyed, before the owners were apprized 
 of their danger. 
 
 Notwithstanding the apparent danger of the entire destruction 
 of the woodlands by the burning, still the green trees do not suf- 
 fer. The outside bark is scorched three or four feet high, which 
 does them no injury, for the trees are not killed. It however 
 sometimes happens that in the thick pine woods, wherein the 
 fallen trees lie across each other, and have become dry, that 
 the blaze ascends and strikes the tops of the trees, setting the 
 same on fire, which is immediately increased by the resinous 
 knots and leaves, which promote the blaze, and is passed by 
 the wind from tree to tree, by which the entire tops of the trees 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 151 
 
 are sometimes burnt off, while the bodies remain standing. 
 Frequently great injuries are done by such fires, but the burn- 
 ing down of entire woods never happens. I have seen many 
 instances of wood-burning in the colony of Rensselaerwyck, 
 where there is much pine wood. Those fires appear grand at 
 night from the passing vessels in the river, when the woods are 
 burning on both sides of the same. Then we can see a great 
 distance by the light of the blazing trees, the flames being dri- 
 ven by the wind, and fed by the tops of the trees. But the dead 
 and dying trees remain burning in their standing positions, 
 which appear sublime and beautiful when seen at a distance. 
 
 Hence it will appear that there actually is such an abundance 
 of wood in the New-Netherlands, that, with ordinary care, it 
 will never be scarce there. There always are, however, in 
 every country, some people so hnprovident, that even they may 
 come short here, and for this reason we judge that it should not 
 be destroyed needlessly. There, however, is such an abun- 
 dance of wood, that they who cultivate the land for planting and 
 sowing can do nothing better than destroy it, and thus clear off 
 the land for tillage, which is done by cutting down the trees and 
 collecting the wood into great heaps and burning the same, to 
 get it out of their way. Yellow and white pine timber, in all 
 their varieties, is abundant here, and we have heard the North- 
 erners say (who reside here) that the pine is as good here as 
 the pine of Norway, But the pine does not grow as well near 
 the salt water, except in some places. Inland, however, and 
 high up the rivers, it grows in large forests, and it is abundant, 
 and heavy enough for masts and spars for ships. There also 
 are chestnuts here, like those of the Netherlands, which are 
 spread over the woods. Chestnuts would be plentier if it were 
 not for the Indians, who destroy the trees by stripping off the 
 bark for covering for their houses. They, and the Netherland- 
 ers also, cut down the trees in the chestnut season, and cut off 
 the limbs to gather the nuts, which also lessens the trees. We 
 also find several kinds of beech trees, but those bear very little. 
 Amongst the other trees, the water-beeches grow very large 
 along the brooks, heavier and larger than most of the trees of 
 the country. When those trees begin to bud, then the bark 
 becomes a beautiful white, resembhng the handsomest satin. 
 This tree retains the leaves later than any other tree of the 
 woods. Trees of this kind are considered more ornamental 
 and handsomer than the linden trees for the purpose of planting 
 near dwelling-houses. We can give no comparison with this 
 species of trees, and can give the same no better name to make 
 the wood known.* There also is wild ash, some trees large ; 
 
 • The author undoubtedly refers to our buttonwood tree, (Platanua occiden. 
 talis) otherwise called Sycamore. — Trans 
 
152 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 and maple trees, the wood resembling cedar ; white-wood trees, 
 which grow very large, — the Indians frequently make their 
 canoes of this wood, hence we name it Canoe-wood ;* we use 
 it for flooring, because it is bright and free of knots. There 
 are also two kinds of ash, with linden, birch, yew, poplar, sa- 
 pine, alder, willow, thorn trees, sassafras, persimmon, mulberry, 
 wild cherry, crab, and several other kinds of wood, the names 
 of which are unknown to us, but the wood is suitable for a va- 
 riety of purposes. Some of the trees bear fruit. The oak 
 trees in alternate years bear many acorns of the chestnut spe- 
 cies. The nuts grow about as large as our persimmons, but 
 they are not as good as ours. The mulberries are better and 
 sweeter than ours, and ripen earlier. Several kinds of plums, 
 wild or small cherries, juniper, small kinds of apples, many 
 hazel-nuts, black currants, gooseberries, blue India figs, and 
 strawberries in abundance all over the country, some of which 
 ripen at half May, and we have them until July ; blueberries, 
 raspberries, black-caps, &c., with artichokes, ground-acorns, 
 ground beans, wild onions, and leeks like ours, with several 
 other kinds of roots and fruits, known to the Indians, who use 
 the same which are disregarded by the Netherlanders, because 
 they have introduced every kind of garden vegetables, which 
 thrive and yield well. The country also produces an abun- 
 dance of fruits like the Spanish capers, which could be preserv- 
 ed in like manner. 
 
 Of the Fruit Trees brought over from the Netherlands. 
 
 The Netherland settlers, who are lovers of fruit, on observing 
 that the climate was suitable to the production of fruit trees, 
 have brought over and planted various kinds of apple and pear 
 trees, which thrive well. Those also grow from the seeds, 
 of which I have seen many, w^hich, without grafting, bore de- 
 licious fruit in the sixth year. The stocks may also be grafted 
 when the same are as large as thorns, which, being cut off near 
 the root and grafted, are then set into the ground, when the 
 graft also strikes root : otherwise the fruit is somewhat hard. 
 But in general, grafting is not as necessary here as in the 
 Netherlands, for most of the fruit is good without it, which 
 there would be harsh and sour, or would not bear. The English 
 have brought over the first quinces, and we have also brought 
 over stocks and seeds which thrive well. Orchard cherries 
 thrive well and produce large fruit. Spanish cherries, fore- 
 runners, morellses, of every kind we have, as in the Nether- 
 
 ♦ The Liriodendron tulipifera. — Trans. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 153 
 
 lands ; and the trees bear belter, because the blossoms are not 
 injured by the frosts. The peaches, which are sought after in 
 the Netherlands, grow wonderfully well here. If a stone is put 
 into the earth, it Avill spring in the same season, and grow so 
 rapidl)^ as to bear fruit in the fourth year, and the limbs are 
 frequently broken by the weight of the peaches, which usually 
 are very fine. We have also introduced morecotoons (a kind 
 of peach,) sipricots, several sorts of the best plums, almonds, 
 persimmons, cornelian cherries, figs, several sorts of currants, 
 gooseberries, calissiens, and thorn apples ; and we do not doubt 
 but that the olive would thrive and be profitable, but we have 
 them not. Although the land is full of many kinds of grapes, 
 we still want settings of the best kinds from German}^, for 
 the purpose of enabling our wine planters here to select the 
 best kinds, and to propagate the same. In short, every kind of 
 fruit which grows in the Netherlands is plenty already in the 
 New-Netherlands, which have been introduced by the lovers 
 of agi'iculture, and the fruits thrive better here, particularly such 
 kinds as require a warmer climate. 
 
 Of the Grape Vines and Vineyards. 
 
 It will not readily be credited how numerous the vine stocks 
 are in the New-Netherlands, where they grow wild throughout 
 the country. We do not find a district or a nook of land with- 
 out grape vines. Many grow in the open fields ; many in the 
 woods under the wild trees ; many along the rivers and the 
 brooks ; many along the hills and at the foot of the mountains, 
 and run up the trees ; some run over the scrubby bushes, some 
 over the brush and weeds, some over the grass and ground, so 
 that we are frequently, on horseback ai\d on foot, entangled in 
 the vines, and are extricated with difficulty and with loss of 
 time. The vines which run up the trees bear grapes, but not 
 many except in some years, when they bear everywhere in 
 great abmidance, and then it is gratifying and wonderfid to see 
 tliese natural productions, and to observe such excellent and 
 lovely fruit growing wild ; and very little attention is paid to 
 the same. The country when the vines are in bloom, is 
 perfumed with the lovely fragrance of the blossoms, and it is 
 delightful to travel at this season of the year. It is a pitiful 
 sight to see the grape vines run up the trees, over the bushes, 
 and hidden among the weeds, neglected, untrimmed, and uncul- 
 tivated, where the roots never feel the svm, by reason of which 
 the grapes do not ripen in the proper season. This, however, 
 is true. j\Iany of the vines extend to the tops of the trees, and 
 to the outer branches, where they are hidden and covered by the 
 20 
 
154 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 leaves, and never nourished by the rays of the sun, which causes 
 the fruit to be sour, harsh, fleshy and strong, which with proper 
 attention would be good. As a proof of this subject, we find 
 that the vines which run up the dead and dry trees, (from which 
 the bark has been stripped by the Indians, to cover their dwell- 
 ings,) and are of course exposed to the sun, bear sweeter and 
 earlier grapes than ordinary. The like also occurs where the 
 vines run along the brooks in a southern exposure, where the 
 sun shines direct on the vine. I, with others, have seen this 
 difference, and in such situations have found, gathered, and 
 eaten, delicious ripe grapes in the middle of August. For the 
 grapes to ripen thus early is not common; but we may infer, 
 and it is our opinion, that the fruit would be much earlier, if 
 the vines were dressed, trimmed, and manured, than it now is, 
 but this is never done to the wild vines. That the wild vines, 
 with proper care and management, will produce as good grapes 
 and as good wine as is made in Germany and France, is clear 
 and undeniable. Proofs and examples of this fact are seen at 
 the South river, where the Swedes reside, who have laid down 
 vines from which others have sprung, which they name suck- 
 ers, from which they make delightful wine year after year. 
 The grapes and their juice arc not all of one kind or colour. 
 They have blue grapes, of different shades ; others are reddish, 
 and others entirely white, like the Muscatels ; hence the colovu' 
 of the wine is also different. The grapes and the clusters are 
 also of different sizes. The white and the reddish grapes grow 
 as large as the Netherland Muscatels. Of the blue grapes, 
 some are large, and others small ; the largest are commonly 
 fleshy, and are therefore called pork grapes by the citizens. 
 But those who have a proper knowledge of vineyards say, that 
 discreet cultivation will remove this objection, and that the juice 
 of the gi'ape may be as good as in other places. Some of the 
 native wine is white ; some is also reddish ; another kind is as 
 dark as the loine Frcmgaise, but this kind is only made from the 
 blue grapes, and to my knowledge from no others. They press a 
 juice out of the blue grapes, which runs thick and is of a dark 
 red colour, resembling dragon's blood more than wine ; a 
 small glass of this wine will colour a can of water as deep red 
 as the common red wine in Spain. 
 
 Our Netherlanders are unaccustomed to the management of 
 vineyards, and have not given much attention to the cultivation 
 of the vine. Some of them have occasionally planted vines, 
 but they have never treated them properly, and for this reason 
 they have derived very little profit from their labour. I have, 
 however, frequently drank good and well tasted domestic wine, 
 and remark, that the fault is in the people, not in the grapes. 
 Within the last few years, the lovers of the vineyard have paid 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 155 
 
 more attenion to the cultivation of the vine, and have informed 
 themselves on tlie subject. They have also introduced foreign 
 stocks, and they have induced men to come over from Heidelberg 
 who are vine dressers, for the purpose of attending to the vine- 
 yards ; and to remedy every defect in the management of the 
 grape, men are also coming over, who posses the most perfect 
 skill in the planting and management of vineyards. 
 
 At this time, they have commenced the planting in good 
 earnest, and with proper care. Several persons already have 
 vineyards and wine hills under cultivation, and Providence 
 blesses their labours with success, by affording fruit according 
 to the most favourable expectation. Hereafter, from year to 
 year, the cultivation of the vine will increase ; for every one 
 takes hold of the business — one man learns from another — and 
 as the population increases rapidl}^, it is expected that in a few 
 years there will be wine in abundance in the New-Netherlands.* 
 
 Of the Flowers, 
 
 The flowers in general which the Netherlanders have intro- 
 duced there, are the white and red roses of different kinds, the 
 cornelian roses, and stock roses ; and those of which there 
 were none before in the country, such as eglantine, several kinds 
 of gillyflowers, jenoffelins, different varieties of fine tulips, 
 crown imperials, white lilies, the lily frutularia, anemones, bare- 
 dames, violets, marigolds, summer sots, &c. The clove tree 
 has also been introduced ; and there are various indigenous trees 
 that bear handsome flowers, which are unknown in the Nether 
 lands. We also find there some flowers of native gowth, as for 
 instance, sun flowers, red and yellow lilies, mountain lilies, 
 morning stars, red, white, and yellow maritoffles, (a very sweet 
 flower,) several species of bell flowers, &c. ; to which I have 
 not given particular attention, but amateurs would hold them In 
 high estimation, and make them widely known. 
 
 Of the Healing Herbs, and the Indigo. 
 
 No reasonable person will doubt that there are not many 
 medicinal and healing plants in the New-Netherlands. A cer- 
 tain chirurgeon who was also a botanist, had a beautiful garden 
 there, wherein a great variety of medicinal wild plants were col- 
 lected, but the owner has removed and the garden lies neglected. 
 Because sickness does not prevail much, I suppose the subject 
 
 * A chapter on the products of kitchen gardens follows next in the original, 
 but having been omitted by the Translator, will be inserted hereafter. See p. 
 185.— Ed. 
 
156 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 has received less attention. The plants which are known to us 
 are the following, viz : Capihi veneris, scholopendria, angelica, 
 polypodium, verbascum album, calteus sacerdolis, atriplex 
 hortensis and marina, chortium, turrites, calamus aromaticus, 
 sassafras, rois Virginianum, ranunculus, plantago, bursa pas- 
 toris, malva, origaenum, geranicum, althea, cinoroton pseudo, 
 daphine, viola, ireas, indigo silvestris, sigillum salamonis, san- 
 guis draconum, consolidre, millefolium, noli me tangere, cardo 
 benedictus, agrimonium, serpcntariK, coriander, leeks, wild 
 leeks, Spanish figs, clatine, camperfolic, pelum male and fe- 
 male, and many other plants. The land is full of different kinds 
 of herbs and trees besides those enumerated, among which 
 there undoubtedly are good simplicia, with which discreet per- 
 sons would do much good ; for we know that the Tndians with 
 roots, bulbs, leaves, &c. cure dangerous wounds and old sores, 
 of which we have seen many instances, which, for the sake of 
 brevity, we pass by. 
 
 The Indigo silvestris grows naturally, without the attention 
 of any man, and there is no doubt but that with proper care and 
 attention, much profit might be derived from its cultivation. 
 We have seen proofs of this, in the colony of Renssclaerwyck, 
 where Kilian Van Rensselaer, (who always has been a zealous 
 lover of the New-lNctherlands,) sent seed, which was sown 
 late on Bear Island, which has not above a foot of soil above 
 the rock, and where no grass would grow well. The seed came 
 up fine, but the dry summer turned the crop yellow, and dried 
 the plants. We however saw, that if the seed had been sown 
 in season, in a proper place, the result would have been good. 
 Afterwards a certain citizen named Augustin Heerman, who is 
 a curious man, and a lover of the country, made an experiment 
 near New- Amsterdam, where he planted indigo seed, which 
 grew well and yielded much. Samples of this indigo were 
 sent over to the Netherlands, which were found to be better 
 than common. Ridge planting has not been tried, but as the 
 land is rich and strong, there is no doubt of success when the 
 experiment is made. Mr. Minuit writes that he has sown Ca- 
 nary seed, and that it grew and yielded well ; but he adds, 
 that the country is new, and in a state of beginning, and that 
 the time of the cultivators should not be spent on such experi- 
 ments, but to the raising of the necessaries of life; for which, 
 God be praised, there is plenty and to spare, for a reasonable 
 price. And we begin to supply provisions and drink in com- 
 mon with our Virginia neighbours to the West Indies and 
 the Caribbee Islands, which we expect will increase from year 
 to year, and in time become a fine trade, in connexion with our 
 Netherlands and Brazil commerce. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 157 
 
 Of the Agricultural Productions. 
 
 The pursuit of agriculture is not heavy and expensive there, 
 as it is in the Netherlands. First, because the fencing and en- 
 closing of the land does not cost much ; for instead of the 
 Netherlands dykes and ditches, they set up post and rail, or 
 palisado fences, and when new clearings are made, they com- 
 monly have fencing timber enough on the land to remove, 
 which costs nothing but the labour, which is reasonably cheap to 
 those who have their own hands, and without domestic labour 
 very little can be effected. The land whereon there are few 
 standing trees, and w^hich has been gi'ubbed and ploughed twice, 
 we hold to be prepared for a crop of winter grain. For sum- 
 mer grain one ploughing is sufficient, If it is intended to sow 
 the same field again with winter grain, then the stubble is 
 ploughed in, and the land is sowed with wheat or rye, which 
 in ordinary seasons will yield a fine crop. 
 
 I can affirm that during my residence of nine years in the 
 country, I have never seen land manured, and it is seldom 
 done. The land is kept in order by tillage, which is often done 
 to keep down weeds and brush, but for which it would have 
 rest. Some persons, (which I also hold to be good manage- 
 ment,) when their land becomes foul and weedy, break it up 
 and sow the same with peas, because a crop of peas softens 
 the land and makes it clean ; but most of the land is too rich for 
 peas, which when sown on the same grow so rank that the 
 crop falls and rots on the land. Some of the land must be re- 
 duced by cropping it with wheat and barley, before it is proper 
 to sow the same with peas. We have frequently seen the straw 
 of wheat and barley grow so luxuriant that the crops yielded 
 very little grain. 
 
 I deem it worthy of notice, that with proper attention, in or- 
 dinary seasons, two ripe crops of peas can be raised on the same 
 land in one season, in the New-Netherlands. It has frequent- 
 ly been done in the following manner, viz. The first crop was 
 sown in the last of March or first of April, which will ripen 
 about the first of July ; the crop is then removed, and the land 
 ploughed, and sowed again with peas of the first crop. The 
 second crop will ripen in September, or about the first of Oc- 
 tober, when the weather is still, fine and warm. The same 
 can also be done with buckwheat, which has frequently been 
 proved ; but the first crop is usually much injured by finches 
 and other birds, and as wheat and rye are plenty, therefore there 
 is very little buckwheat sown. The maize (Indian corn) is 
 carefully attended to, and is sufficient to the wants of the 
 country. 
 
158 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 The Turkey wheat, or maize, as the grain is named, many 
 persons suppose to be the same kind of grain which Jesse sent 
 parched by his son David to his other sons of the army of 
 Israel. This is a hardy grain, and is fit for the sustenance of 
 man and animals. It is easily cultivated, and will grow in al- 
 most every kind of land, in the worst and strongest in the 
 country, even in a foul and worn-out soil. It is a good crop 
 to subdue new land, and to prepare it for other purposes. 
 When the timber has been removed, and the brush burnt up, 
 then we take a broad hoe, and cut out hills about six feet apart, 
 and plant five or six grains in a hill, with which some persons 
 also plant Turkey beans (as before noticed). After the 
 grain shoots up and gi'ows, it requires two dressings. The 
 weeding and cleaning is done with a broad adze, without 
 breaking up the ground, and is not very laborious work. The 
 weeds and trash in the first dressing, are cut off and placed in 
 a row between the hills. The second dressing is easier. Then 
 the weeds and sprouts are cut off around the hills, and the 
 weeds and rubbish of the first cleaning, are drawn round the 
 corn-hills, which afterwards grow high and tall, and smother 
 all the weeds, stumps, and trash, and kill all other vegetation 
 except pumpkins ; those will grow among the maize. 
 
 When the land has been treated as above described for one 
 summer, it is fit for any other use ; or it may be planted with 
 maize again, which will then grow better than in the first year, 
 and be easier kept clean, and with less labour. Tobacco may 
 be planted on the land, or it may be ploughed and broken up 
 for other purposes, which can then be easily done, because the 
 roots are in a state of decay and easily broken up. After a 
 corn crop is gathered, the land may be sowed with winter 
 grain in the fall without previous ploughing. When this is 
 intended, the corn is gatliered, the stalks are pulled up and 
 burnt, the hills levelled, and the land sown and harrowed 
 smooth and level. Good crops are raised in this manner. I 
 have seen rye sown as before described, which grew so tall 
 that a man of common size would bind the ears together above 
 his head, which yielded seven and eight schepels* Amsterdam 
 measure, per vin of 108 sheaves, of Avhich two vms made a 
 wagon load. 
 
 The Rev. Johannis Megapolensis, Junior, minister of the co- 
 lony of Rensselaerwyck, in certain letters which he has written 
 to his friends, which were printed (as he has told me) without 
 his consent, but may be fully credited, he being a man of truth 
 and of great learning, who wi'ites in a vigorous style, — states, 
 with other matters, that a certain farmer had cropped one field 
 
 * A gchepel is three pecks English. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 159 
 
 with wheat eleven years in succession, which to many persons 
 will seem extraordinary, and may not be credited. Still it is 
 true, and the residents of the place testify to the same, and 
 they add, that this same land was ploughed but twelve times 
 in the eleven seasons — twice in the first year, and once in 
 every succeeding year, when the stubble was ploughed in, the 
 wheat sown and harrowed under. I owned land adjoining the 
 land referred to, and have seen the eleventh crop, which was 
 tolerably good. The man who did this is named Brandt Pelen ; 
 he was born in the district of Utrecht, and at the time was a 
 magistrate (schepen) of the colony of Rensselaerwyck. We 
 acknowledge that this relation appears to be marvellous, but in 
 the country it is not so, for there are many thousand morgens 
 of as good land there, as the land of which we have spoken. 
 
 During the period when I resided in the New Netherlands, 
 a certain honorable gentleman, named John Everts Bout, (who 
 was recommended to the colonists by their High Mightinesses, 
 &c.) laid a wager that he could raise a crop of barley on a 
 field containing seven morgens of land, which would grow so 
 tall in every part of the field, that the ears could easily be tied 
 together above his head. I went to see the field of barley, and 
 found that the straw, land by land, was from six to seven feet 
 high, and very little of it any shorter. It has also been stated 
 to me as a fact, that barley has frequently been raised, although 
 not common, which yielded eleven 5cAepe/, Amsterdam measure, 
 per vin of 108 sheaves. Therefore, all persons who are ac- 
 quainted with the New-Netherlands, judge the country to be as 
 well adapted for the cultivation of grain, as any part of the 
 world which is known to the Netherlanders, or is in their pos- 
 session. 
 
 With the other productions of the land we must include to- 
 bacco, which is also cultivated in the country, and is, as well 
 as the maize, well adapted to prepare the land for other agri- 
 cultural purposes, which also, with proper attention, grows fine, 
 and yields more' profit. Not only myself but hundreds of 
 others, have raised tobacco, the leaves of which were three- 
 fourths of a yard long. The tobacco raised here is of different 
 kind, but principally of the Virginia kind, from which it differs 
 little in flavour, although the Virginia is the best. Still it does 
 not differ so much in quality as in price. Next to the Virginia 
 it will be the best ; many persons esteem it better, and give it 
 a preference. It is even probable, that when the people extend 
 the cultivation of the article, and more tobacco is planted, that 
 it will gain more reputation and esteem. Many persons are 
 of opinion that the defect in flavour arises from the newness 
 of the land, and hasty cultivation, which will gradually be 
 removed. 
 
160 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 Barley grows well in the country, but it is not much needed. 
 Cuinni*in seed, canary seed, and the like, have been tried, 
 and Commander Minuit testifies that those articles succeed 
 well, but are not sought after. Flax and hemp will grow fine, 
 but as the women do not spin much, and the Indians have 
 hemp in abundance in the woods from which they make strong 
 ropes and nets, for these reasons very little flax is raised ; but 
 the persons who do sow the seed, find that the land is of the 
 proper quality for such articles.* 
 
 Of the Minerals, Earths, and Stones. 
 
 To the persons who will please to notice the formation of 
 the country of the New Netherlands, which is mostly elevated 
 above the floods, and free from the overflowings of its upper 
 waters ; and that it is mountainous in many places, and that 
 it is situated in a temperate climate, such persons will, on con- 
 templation, readily conclude that the country possesses mine- 
 rals ; although the Netherlanders have not been at much 
 cost or trouble to examine and search for mines and minerals, 
 which has not happened so much from ignorance and negli- 
 gence as may be imagined, but from other good considerations. 
 The prevailing opinion of the common people has been, 
 that the country abounds in minerals ; and it is true and cer- 
 tain that it possesses many valuable minerals, including gold 
 and other precious metals. But such must be sought for by 
 men of science. It cannot be done by the common people, 
 which our rulers have had no disposition to encourage ; while, 
 on the other hand, the common citizens have other employ- 
 ments. 
 
 Considering that the Netherlanders are not numerous in the 
 country, the discovery of minerals of more value than iron 
 would attract the attention and cupidity of powerful and 
 jealous friends, who in time might easily oust us, and shut the 
 door against us, and then occupy and rule in our possessions. 
 Passing by such speculative probabilities, and to satisfy the 
 
 * The peas referred to on paf^e 157 of this translation, the autlior says, are 
 the large grey kind, called Old Wives, having blue and white large pods or 
 shells. Few are sown on an acre, but most in the gardens. The author docs 
 not state wliat kind of barley lie refers to, whether it was winter or summer ; 
 but wc judge it to have been winter barley. We have seen oat straw six feet 
 long, but have never seen barley above five feet high. We, however, have seen 
 ten acres of winter barley, which yielded 600 bushels of merchantable grain, 
 and sixteen acres of summer barlej', which yielded 42 bushels per acre. We 
 have alec conversed with a respectable farmer of Yates county, (Mr. Dox,) 
 who stated that he had cropped one field with wheat seven years in succession, 
 and that the last crop was fine wheat. Van der Donck's relation on the subject 
 of wheat and barley may therefore be credited. — Trans. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 161 
 
 inquiries of our real friends, we will describe more particularly 
 some facts and occurrences which have passed at several 
 places, on the subject of minerals. It is now placed beyond a 
 doubt that valuable minerals abound in the country, as experi- 
 ments and satisfactory proofs have been made to establish those 
 facts by the direction of Governor Kieft, in several instances, 
 as well of gold as of quicksilver. I was present, and an eye- 
 witness to the experiments, when the minerals proved to be 
 rich and good, and know that specimens of the same from time 
 to time were sent for the Netherlands which were all lost in the 
 sea. In the year 1645, a mine was discovered on the Raritan, 
 by accident or chance, which is held to be richer and better 
 than any other before known. This discovery was the subject 
 of much conversation at the time. For the information of the 
 curious, we will briefl}'- relate an account of another occurrence 
 according to the truth. 
 
 In the year 1645, we were employed with the officers and 
 rulers at the colony of Rensselaerwyck in negotiating a 
 treaty of peace with the Maquas, (Mohawk Indians,) who 
 then were and still are the strongest and fiercest Indain na- 
 tion of the country ; whereat the Director General, William 
 Kieft, of the one part, and the chiefs of the Indian nations of 
 the neighbouring country, on the other part, attended. To 
 proceed with the treaty, the citizens of Rensselaerwyck pro- 
 cured a certain Indian, named Agheroense, to attend and serve 
 as an interpreter, who was well known to the Christians, hav- 
 ing been much among them, and who also spoke and under- 
 stood all the Indian languages which were spoken by the 
 parties that attended the negotiations. As the Indians are 
 generally disposed to paint and ornament their faces with se- 
 veral brilliant colours, it happened on a certain morning that this 
 Indian interpreter, who lodged in the Director's house, came 
 down stairs, and in presence of the Director and myself sat 
 down, and began stroking and painting his face. The Director 
 observed the operation, and requested me to inquire of the 
 Indian what substance he was using, which he handed to me, 
 and I passed it to the Director, who examined the same atten- 
 tively, and judged from its weight and from its greasy and 
 shining appearance, that the lump contained some valuable 
 metal, for which I commuted with the Indian, to ascertain what 
 it contained. We acted with it, according to the best of our 
 judgment, and gave the same to be proved by a skiltul doctor 
 of medicine, named Johannes La Montagne, of the Council in the 
 New-Netherlands. The lump of mineral was put into a cru- 
 cible, which was placed in a fire, and after the same according 
 to my opinion) had been in the fire long enough, it was taken ^ 
 21 
 
162 VAN DER DONCIC'S 
 
 out, when it delivered two pieces of gold worth about three 
 guilders. This proof was kept secret.* 
 
 After the peace was made, an officer with a few men were 
 sent to the Berg mountain, to which the Indian directed them, 
 for a quantity of the mineral, who retui^ncd with about a bucket 
 full, intermingled with stones, as they deemed best. They did 
 not observe that the place from which they took the earth had 
 been dug before. Of this mineral several experiments were 
 made, which proved as good as the first. We supposed that 
 we had secured the discovery safely. The Director General 
 thought proper to embrace the lirsl opportunity to send a small 
 quantity of the mineral to the Netherlands, for which purpose 
 he despatched a man named Arent Corsen, with a bag of the 
 mineral to New-Ilaven, to take passage in an English ship for 
 England, and to proceed to Holland. This vessel sailed at 
 Christmas, and was lost at sea. Misfortune attended all on board. 
 The Director General, William Kieft, left the New-Nether 
 lands for the Netherlands, in the year 1647, on board of the 
 ship Princess, taking with him specimens of the proved mine- 
 rals, and of several others. This ship was also lost, and the 
 minerals remained in the sea. 
 
 Now we have Cornelius Van Tienhooven for Secretary of the 
 New-Netherlands. Being here in Holland, he states that he 
 had tested several specimens of the mineral, which proved sa- 
 tisfactory ; the subject therefore need not be doubted. 
 
 This example I have deemed it proper to state, to which 
 others might be added, but it would then become tedious. We 
 find in the country up-drifts, and signs of many mines, but 
 mostly of iron. The people of New-England already cast their 
 own cannon, plates, pots, and cannon balls, from native iron. 
 We now have people in the New-Netherlands who understand 
 mining, who declare that there are much better and richer me- 
 tals of different kinds there, than in New-England. But in our 
 feeble opinion, it would not be advisable to go any further in 
 disclosing and exposing those matters, as long as the place has 
 so small a population. 
 
 The country has hills of fuller's earth, and several sorts of 
 fine clay, such as white, yellow, red and black, which is fat 
 and tough, suitable for pots, dishes, plates, tobacco-pipes, and 
 the like wares. It is known from experience that bricks and 
 tiles can be baked of the clay, and there is no doubt but that the 
 business would be profitable, and the country be benefited if 
 the trade was driven. Meantime crystal, like that of Muscovy, 
 is found there ; there is also an abundance of serpentine stone, 
 but of a deeper green than that which is sold in Holland ; there 
 • is also grey flagging, slate, grit or grinding-stone, but mostly of 
 
 * The mineral thus mistaken for gold v/ab TpiohMy pi/rites. The English 
 Bctilurs often made the same mistake. — Ed. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 163 
 
 a red kind ; much quarry stone, several kinds of blue stone, 
 suitable for mill-stones, for walls and for ornamental work. 
 We also find a kind of stone like alabaster and marble with 
 others of that species. But as the population is small, such 
 things are not valued. When the population increases, and 
 pride advances, then the same will be held in high estimation. 
 
 Of the Dyes and Colours. 
 
 The original colours of the New-Netherlands may properly 
 be represented in two classes, viz. paints and colours com- 
 posed of minerals, and made from the same, and from stone ; 
 and those prepared from vegetables. The natives, as has been 
 remarked, paint and ornament their faces and bodies with dif- 
 ferent colours, in various ways, according to their customs. 
 For this purpose, they usually carry small bags of paints with 
 them, keepmg their colours separate, such as red, blue, green, 
 brown, white, black, yellow, &c. The colours which they 
 esteem most, are such as possess the most briUiancy, which 
 shine like pure metals. Such was the kind spoken of as proved 
 in the year 1645. Colours of this kind are mostly made of 
 stone, which they know how to prepare by pounding, rubbing 
 and grinding. Such they hold in higher estimation than the 
 colours derived from herbs and plants. There, however, are 
 various plants from which the Indians prepare several fine, 
 lovely and bright colours, differing little in appearance from 
 the stone colours, except in the glossy metallic appearance of 
 the latter. 
 
 To describe perfectly and truly how the Indians prepare all 
 these paints and colours, is out of my power. Their stone 
 colours, they have informed me, are prepared as before stated ; 
 but whether they add any greasy or adhesive substances to the 
 preparations, I know not ; but I do know that all their paints of 
 this kind have a fat and greasy feeling. 
 
 With the other colours which they prepare from plants and 
 herbs, they usually pursue the same process. Without detain- 
 ing the reader long, I will relate the process which I have seen 
 performed ; others may be done in the same manner. A cer- 
 tain plant springs up and grows in the country, resembling the 
 Orache, or golden herb, having many shoots from the same 
 stalk, but it grows mucli larger than the Orache. This plant 
 produces clusters of red and brown berries, which the Indians 
 bruise, and press out the juice, and pour the same on fiat 
 pieces of bark, about six feet long and three broad, prepared 
 for the purpose ; these are placed in the sun to dry out tlie 
 moisture. If it does not dry out fast enough, or if they intend 
 
164 VAN DEIl DONCK S 
 
 to remove, which they frequently do in summer, then they heat 
 smooth stones, and place the same into the juice of the berries 
 on the bark, and thus they dry out the moisture speedily. The 
 dry substance which remains on the bark is then scraped out, 
 and put into small bags for use. This produces the finest 
 purple colour I have ever seen. The Indians, when they use 
 this colouring, temper the same with vv^ater ; hence it comes off 
 easily ; but we believe if it was properly prepared by artists, it 
 would be highly esteemed. 
 
 The paintings of the Indians are of little importance, being 
 mostly confined to the colouring of their faces, bodies, and the 
 skins which they wear. We have seen some counterfeit repre- 
 sentations of trumpets in their strong houses or castles, wherein 
 they hold their council assemblies, but their paintings are not 
 spirited and ingenious. They also paint their shields and war 
 hammers or clubs, and in their houses on the rail-work, they paint 
 representations of canoes and animals, which are not well done. 
 
 On this subject I have another case which I have seen wor- 
 thy of notice. The Indians use instead of plumes, a beautiful 
 kind of hair, some of which is long, coarse and stiff, and some 
 of it shorter and very fine. This they know how to unite and 
 fix together in such a manner as to make the same appear beau- 
 tiful, when they are dressed and ornamented with it. The hair 
 they tie with small bands to suit their own fancies and fashions. 
 They also know how to prepare a colouring, wherein they dye 
 the hair a beautiful scarlet, which excites our astonishment 
 and curiosity. The colour is so well fixed that rain, sun, and 
 wind will not change it. It, however, appears better and 
 more brilliant in the fine than in the coarse hair. Although the 
 Indians do not appear to possess any particular art in this 
 matter, still such beautiful red was never dyed in the Nether- 
 lands with any materials known to us. The coloured articles 
 have been examined by many of our best dyers, who admire the 
 colour, and admit that they cannot imitate the same, and remark 
 that a proper knowledge of the art would be of great impor- 
 tance to their profession.* 
 
 Of the Animals of the New -Netherlands. 
 
 We will now speak of the cattle and animals of the New 
 Netherlands, including such as have been introduced by the 
 Christians, and those which are native to the country ; begin- 
 ning with the tame stock, which at the settlement of the country 
 were brought over from the Netherlands, and which differ little 
 from the original stock. The horses arc of the proper breed 
 
 * The colourinor matter spoken of by the author, we believe to have been 
 made from the Poke beiries. — Trans. {Phytolacca decandra. — Ed.) 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 165 
 
 for husbandry, liaving been brought from Utrecht for tha. 
 purpose, and this stock has not diminished in size or qual ity 
 There are also horses of tlie Enghsh breed, which are hghter, 
 not so good for agricuUural use, but fit for the saddle. These 
 do not cost as much as the Netherlands breed, and are easily ob- 
 tained. There are Curac^oan and Arabian horses imported into 
 the country, but those breeds are not very acceptable, because 
 they do not endure the cold weather of the climate well, and 
 sometimes die in winter. The whole of this breed require great 
 care and attention in the winter. Fine large horses are bred in 
 the country, which live long and are seldom diseased. There 
 however is a plague, which is natural to the country, and des- 
 troys many horses. A horse which takes this plague is well, 
 and dead in a short time. There appears to be no remedy for 
 this distemper. The distemper appears like a paralytic affec- 
 tion ; the diseased animal staggers like a drunken man, falls 
 down, and dies in a short time. This malady Has attracted the 
 attention of many men, and there are those who have preserved 
 the lives of many horses. It is therefore not considered as 
 dangerous now as formerly. The origin of this disease has 
 excited much attention, but the cause remains undiscovered. 
 There also is an opinion prevailing that scientific horsemen, who 
 are plenty in many places, but scarce in the New-Netherlands, 
 will discover a remedy for this disease and ascertain its cause. 
 
 The cattle in New-Netherlands are mostly of the Holland 
 breed, but usually do not grow as large, because the hay is not 
 so good, and because the heifers are permitted to play in the 
 second year for the purpose of increasing the stock. When 
 this is not permitted until the proper time, they raise as fine 
 cattle as we do in Holland. The Holland cattle, however, were 
 subject to diseases when they were pastured on new ground, 
 and fed on fresh hay only. This at the first, before a remedy 
 was discovered, was very injurious ; but it is now prevented by 
 feeding with salt, by giving brackish drink, and by feeding with 
 salt hay. There are also cattle brought over from the pro- 
 vince of Utrecht, which are kept on the highlands at Amers- 
 fort, where they thrive as well as in Holland ; the increase is not 
 quite as large, liut the stock give milk enough, thrive well in 
 pasture, and yield much tallow. 
 
 They also have English cattle in the country, which are not 
 imported by the Netherlanders, but purchased from the Eng- 
 lish in New-England. Those cattle thrive as well as the Hol- 
 land cattle, and do not require as much care and provender ; 
 and, as in England, this breed Avill do well unsheltered whole 
 winters. This breed of cattle do not grow near as large as the 
 Dutch cattle, do not give as much milk, and are much cheaper ; 
 but they fat and tallow well, Tliey who desire to cross the 
 
166 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 breeds, and raise the best kind of stock, put a Holland bull to 
 their English cows, by which they produce a good mixed breed 
 of cattle without much cost. Oxen do good service there, and 
 are not only used by the English, but by some of the Nether- 
 landers also, to the w^agon and plough. The grazing of cattle 
 for slaughtering, is also progressing, as well of oxen as of other 
 cattle, which produces profit in beef and tallow. 
 
 Hogs are numerous and plenty. Many are bred and kept 
 by the settlers in the neighbourhood of the woods and lowlands. 
 Some of the citizens prefer the English breed of hogs, because 
 they are hardy, and subsist better in winter without shelter ; 
 but the Holland hogs grow much larger and heavier, and have 
 thicker pork. In some years acorns are so abundant in the 
 woods, that the hogs become fine and fat on the same, their 
 pork frequently being a hand-breadth in thickness. When it 
 is not an acorn year, or where persons have not an opportunity 
 to feed their swine on acorns, in those cases they fat their hogs 
 on maize, or Turkey wheat, which, according to the accepted 
 opinions, produces the best pork, being better than the West- 
 phalia pork. The heavy pork is frequently six or seven fingers 
 in thickness, and will crack when cut. The persons who de- 
 sire to raise many hogs, take care to have sucking pigs in 
 April, When the grass is fine, the sows and pigs are driven 
 woodwards to help themselves. At a year old the young sows 
 have pigs. Thus hogs are multiplied, and are plenty in the 
 New-Netherlands. 
 
 Sheep are also kept in the New-Netherlands, but not as 
 many as in New-England, where the wxaving business is 
 driven, and wdiere much attention is paid to sheep, to which 
 our Netherlanders pay little attention. The sheep thrive well, 
 and become fat enough. I have seen mutton so exceedingly 
 fat there, that it was too luscious and offensive. The sheep 
 breed well, and are healthy. There is also good feeding in 
 summer, and good hay for the winter. But the flocks require 
 to be guarded and tended on account of the wolves, for which 
 purpose men cannot be spared ; there is also a more important 
 hinderance to the keeping of sheep, which are principally kept 
 for their wool. New-Netherlands throughout is a woody 
 country, being almost every where beset with trees, stumps 
 and brushwood, wherein the sheep pasture, and by which they 
 lose most of their wool, which by appearance does not seem to 
 be out, but when sheared turns out light in the fleeces. These 
 are reasons against the keeping of sheep. The inhabitants 
 keep more goats than sheep, which succeed best. Fat sheep 
 are in great danger, when suffered to become lean ; of goats 
 there is no danger. Goats also give good milk, which is al- 
 ways necessary, and because they cost little, they arc of im- 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 167 
 
 portance to the new settlers and planters, who possess small 
 means. Such persons keep goats instead of cows. Goats cost 
 little, and arc very prolific ; and the young castrated tups afford 
 fine delightful meat, which is always in demand. 
 
 The New-Netherlanders also have every kind of domestic 
 fowls, as we have in Holland, such as capons, turkeys, geese 
 and ducks. There are also pigeoners, who keep several kinds 
 of pigeons. In a word, they have tame animals of every de- 
 scription, including cats and dogs. Respecting the dogs which 
 are trained to the gun for hunting, and to the water, better dogs 
 are not to be found, and it is useless and unnecessary to take 
 any to the country. 
 
 Of the Wild AnimaJs. 
 
 Although the New-Netherlands lay in a fine climate, and 
 although the country in winter seems rather cold, nevertheless 
 lions are found there, but not by the Christians, who have 
 traversed the land wide and broad and have not seen one. It 
 is only known to us by the skins of the females, which are 
 sometimes brought in by the Indians for sale ; who on inquiry 
 say, that the lions are found far to the southwest, distant fifteen 
 or twenty days' journey, in very high mountains, and that the 
 males are too active and fierce to be taken.* 
 
 Many bears are found in the country, but none like the grey 
 and pale-haired bears of Muscovy and Greenland. ' The bears 
 are of a shining pitch black colour ; their skins are proper for 
 muffs. Although there are man}^ of these beasts, yet from the 
 acute sharpness of their smelling, they are seldom seen by the 
 Christians. Whenever they smell a person they run off. When 
 the Indians go a-hunting, they dress themselves as Esau did, 
 in clothes which have the flavour of tlie woods, (except in their 
 sleeping and hiding season, whereon we will treat hereafter,) 
 that they may not be discovered by their smell. The bears 
 are sometimes seen by the Christians, when they are approached 
 from the leeward side, or when they swim across water courses. 
 The bears are harmless unless they are attacked or wounded, 
 and then they defend themselves fiercely as long as they can. 
 A person who intends to shoot a bear, should be careful to have 
 a tree near him to retreat to for safety ; for if his shot does not 
 take good effect, and the bear is not killed instantly, which, on 
 •account of their toughness, seldom happens, then the hunter is 
 in danger ; for then the bear instantly makes a stopper of leaves 
 or of any other substance, as instinct directs, wherewith the 
 animal closes the wound, and directly proceeds towards the 
 
 * 1 he animal here referred to is probably the Cougar, (Felis concolor,) 
 known at the north under the various names of panther, painter, and catamount, 
 and in South America, as the puma, or South American lion. — Ed. 
 
108 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 hunter, if in sight, or to the place whence the smoke ascends 
 and the gun was fired. In the meantime the hunter should be 
 up the tree, which should be thick and full of limbs, otherwise 
 the bear would also climb the tree easil}^ In this position the 
 hunter has the advantage, and should be prepared to despatch 
 liis adversary ; otherwise he must remain in his sanctuary until 
 the rage of the animal is abated, which has frequently lasted 
 two hours, and he retires. Hunters have related these parti- 
 culars, who have preserved themselves as related. 
 
 The bears of this country are not ravenous, and do not sub- 
 sist on flesh and carrion, as the bears of Muscovy and Green- 
 land do. They subsist on grass, herbs, nuts, acorns and chest- 
 nuts, which, we are told by the Indians, they will gather and 
 eat on the trees. It is also alTirmed by the Christians, that 
 they have seen bears on trees gathering and eating the fruit. 
 When they wish to come down, then they place their heads be- 
 tween their legs, and let themselves fall to the earth ; and 
 whether they fall high or low, they spring up and go their way. 
 Bears are sometimes shot when on the trees. 
 
 The Indians and the Christians are firmly of opinion that the 
 bears sleep and lay concealed twelve weeks in succession in a 
 year. In the fall they always arc fat. During the winter they 
 eat nothing, but lie down on one side with a foot in the mouth, 
 whereon they suck growling six weeks ; they then turn on the 
 other side and lay six weeks more, and continue to suck as be- 
 fore. For this purpose they usually retire to the mountains, and 
 seek shelter under projecting rocks in a burrow, or in a thick 
 brushy wood, Avherein many large trees have fallen, where they 
 also seek shelter from the wind, snow and rain. The Indians 
 say that the greatest number of bears are taken during their 
 sleeping season, when they are most easily killed. The hea- 
 viest bears which are taken, (judging from their skins,) are 
 about the size of a common heifer. The animals also are very 
 fat, as before stated, the pork frequently being six or seven 
 fingers in thickness. The Indians esteem the fore quarters and 
 the plucks as excellent food. I have never tasted the meat, 
 but several Christians who have eaten bear's flesh, say it is as 
 good as any swine's flesh or pork can be. 
 
 Bufl'aloes are also tolerably plenty. These animals mostly 
 keep towards the southwest, where few people go. Their meat 
 is excellent, and more desirable than the flesh of the deer, al- 
 though it is mvich coarser. Their skins when dressed are 
 heavy enough for collars and harness. These animals are not 
 very wild, and some persons are of opinion that they may be 
 domesticated and tamed. It is also supposed that a female 
 buff'alo, put to a Holland bull, would produce a cross breed 
 which would give excellent milking cattle, and that the males 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 169 
 
 would form fine hardy working animals when castrated. Per- 
 sons who have got them when young, say they become very 
 tame as they grow older, and forget the wild woods, and that 
 they f;ittcn well. It is remarked that the half of those animals 
 have disappeared and left the country, and that if a cross breed 
 succeeded, it would become more natural to the climate. 
 
 The deer are incredibly numerous in the country. Although 
 the Indians throughout the year and every year, (but mostly in 
 the fall,) kill many thousands, and the wolves, after the fawns 
 are cast, and while they are young, also destroy many, still the 
 land abounds with them everywhere, and their numbers appear 
 to remain undiminished. We seldom pass through the fields 
 without seeing deer more or less, and we frequently see them 
 in flocks. I'heir meat digests easily, and is good food. Veni- 
 son is so easily obtained that a good buck cashes for five guil- 
 ders, and often for much less. 
 
 There arc also white bucks and doep, and others of a black 
 colour in the country. The Indians aver that the haunts of the 
 white deer are much frequented by the common deer, and that 
 those of the black species are not frequented by the common 
 deer. These are the sayings of the Indians. The truth re- 
 mains to be ascertained relating to the preference between 
 the animals. 
 
 There is also another kind of animals in the country, which 
 are represented to be large, and which are known to the people 
 of Canada, who relate strange things concerning the same. I 
 have heard from the mouth of a Jesuit, who had been taken 
 prisoner by the Mohawk Indians and released by our people, 
 and come to me, that there were many wild forest oxen in 
 Canada and Nova Francia, which in Latin they name boves 
 silvestres, (the moose, or elk,) which are as large as horses, 
 having long hair on their necks like the mane of a horse, and 
 cloven hoofs ; but that, like the buffalo, the animals were not 
 fierce. I have also been frequently told by the Mohawk In- 
 dians, that far in the interior parts of the country, there were 
 animals which were seldom seen, of the size and form of horses, 
 with cloven hoofs, having one horn in the forehead, from a foot 
 and a half to two feet in length, and that because of their flcet- 
 ness and strength they were seldom caught or ensnared. I 
 have never seen any certain token or sign of such animals, but 
 that such creatures exist in the country, is supported by the 
 concurrent declarations of the Indian hunters. There are 
 Christians who say that they have seen the skins of this species 
 of animal, but without the horns. 
 
 Wolves are numerous in the country, but these are not so 
 large and ravenous as the Netherlands wolves are. They will 
 not readily attack any thing, except small animals, such as deer, 
 22 
 
170 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 (but most commonly when young,) calves, sheep, goats, and 
 hogs. 13ut when a drove of hogs are together, they do not per- 
 mit the wolves to do them any injury, as those animals defend 
 and assist each other. 
 
 I'he wolves in winter know how to beset and take deer. 
 When the snow is upon the earth, eight or ten wolves, hunter- 
 like, prowl in the chase in company. Sometimes a single wolf 
 will chase and follow a single deer, until the animal is wearied, 
 and falls a prey ; but if the deer in the pursuit crosses a stream 
 of water, then the wolf is done, because he dare not follow, and 
 remains on the margin of the stream to see his chase escape. 
 Wolves frequently drive deer into the rivers and streams. 
 Many are taken in the water by persons who reside in the 
 neighbourhood of rivers and streams, by the means of boats, 
 with which they pursue the animals. If the deer is so near 
 the shore as to be likely to gain the land before the boat can be 
 near enough to take the prize, the person or persons in the boat 
 shout and holloa loudly, when the echo from the land and woods 
 frightens the animal off from the place to which it was swim- 
 ming, and fearing to land it is easily taken by these stratagems. 
 
 iSome persons are of opinion, that a driven deer will not be- 
 take itself to fresh water for safety, but we of the New Nether- 
 lands know to the contrary, and that there is no difference. 
 When deer are chased upon an island near the sea, or on land 
 near the sea, they will enter the open ocean, and frequently 
 swim so far from shore that they never find their way to the 
 land again. 
 
 Beavers are numerous in the New-Netherlands. We will 
 treat at large of these animals hereafter. There are also fine 
 otters in the country, very fine fishes, and ,wild cats, which 
 have skins nearly resembling the skin of the lioness ; — these 
 animals also resemble them in form, but they have short tails, 
 like the hares and conies. Foxes and racoons are plenty; — the 
 skins of the latter are streaked, resembling seals, and are excel- 
 lent appUcotions for bruises and lameness. When their meat 
 is roasted, it is delicious food, but when stewed, it is too 
 luscious, on account of its fatness. The racoons usually shel- 
 ter in hollow trees, wherein they lay up food for the winter, 
 which they seldom leave, except for drink. It is a pleasure to 
 take racoons ; the trees wherein they shelter are discovered by 
 the scratching of the bark, which is done by the racoons in 
 climbing and descending the trees. When their haunts are 
 discovered, the trees are cut down. By the fall of a tree, the 
 racoons are stunned, and on leaving their holes they stagger as 
 if drunk, and fall an easy prey to the hunter. Minks, hares, 
 and conies (rabbits) are plenty in the country. Tame rabbits 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 171 
 
 run at large in New England. Musk-rats are abundant ; these 
 creatures smell so strong of musk, that it can hardly be endured : 
 when the skins are old and dry, the smell is retained, and all arti- 
 cles which are kept with the skins, are impregnated with the 
 musky smell. Maeters, and black and gray squirrels, are also 
 numerous. One kind of squirrels can fly several rods at a 
 time ; — this species have a thin skin on both sides from the fore 
 to the hind legs, which they extend and flap like wings, with 
 which they fly swiftly to the desired place. Ground hogs, 
 English skunks, drummers, and several other kinds of animals, 
 for which we have no names, are known and found in the coun- 
 try. Their description is passed over. 
 
 Of the Land and Water Fowls ; and first, of the Birds of 
 
 ■prey. 
 
 Birds of prey are numerous in the New-Netherlands ; among 
 which there are two species of eagles, so different in appear- 
 ance that they hardly resemble each other. The one is the 
 common kind, which is known in Holland. The other kind is 
 somewhat larger, and the feathers are much browner, except 
 the whole head, a part of the neck, the whole tail, and the strik- 
 ing feathers, which are as white as snow, and render the bird 
 beautiful. This kind are called white-heads, and they are 
 plenty. Falcons, sparrow-hawks, sailing-hawks, castrills, 
 church-hawks, fish-hawks, and several other kinds, for which 
 I have no name, are plenty ; but every kind feed on flesh or 
 fish, as they can best take the same. Those hawks might 
 easil}'' be trained to catch game, to which natiu'e with art would 
 perfect them. The small kind live on small birds, the larger 
 kinds watch for woodpeckers, corn-birds, quails, &c. ; each 
 that kind which it can overcome. But the eagles look for 
 higher game, and bring terror where they appear. They usu- 
 ally frequent places where the trees are old, and where the 
 ground is free from underwood, near the bay sides, or near 
 large rivers, where from the tops of the trees they can have 
 their e^^es over the fish, the swans, the geese and the ducks, 
 with which they can supply themselves ; but they do not com- 
 monly feed on fowl, because they prefer fish. They frequently 
 strike a fish, and jerk it living from the waters. When a bird 
 is crippled by a gunner, or is otherwise disabled, then the 
 eagle's eye will see them, where the human eyes have looked 
 in vain. The eagles soar very high in the air, beyond the 
 vision of man, and on those flights they are always looking 
 out for prey, or for a dead carcase, near which they arc com- 
 monly seen. They seldom kill corn birds, or fowls which live 
 
172 VAN DEU DONCK's 
 
 on fruit. Eagles are fond of the flesh of deer, for which they 
 watch the places where the wolves kill deer, and have left a 
 carcase partly eaten, wdiich they discover on the wing. Many 
 persons who know the nature of the eagle, and observe their 
 sailing, have followed in their direction and have found the 
 deer for which the eagle went, partly destroyed and eaten 
 by w^olves. It also happens that the hunters wound deer 
 which escape, and die from the loss of blood. Such are also 
 sometimes found uninjured by the direction of the eagles. 
 There is also another bird of prey in the countr}^, which has a 
 head like the head of a large cat. Its feathers are of a light 
 ash colour. Tlie people of the country have no name for the 
 bird. The Director Kieft says, the bird is known in France, 
 and is named Grand Dux, where it is held in high estimation 
 by the nobility, who have them trained for sporting. They are 
 difficult to break, but when well trained they are frequently sold 
 for 100 French crowns per bird.* 
 
 Of the Land. Birds and FoivJs. 
 
 The most important fowl of the country is the wild turkey. 
 They resemble the tame turkeys of the Netherlands. Those 
 birds are common in the woods all over the country, and are 
 found in large flocks, from twenty to forty in a flock. They 
 are large, heavy, fat and fine, weighing from twenty to thirty 
 pounds each, and I have heard of one that weighed thirty-two 
 pounds. When they are well cleaned and roasted on a spit, 
 then they are excellent, and differ little in taste from the tame 
 turkeys ; but the epicures prefer the wild kind. They are best 
 in the fall of the year, when the Indians will usually sell a 
 turkey for ten stivers, and with the Christians the common price 
 is a daelder each. Sometimes the turkeys are caught with dogs 
 in the snow ; but the greatest number are shot at night from 
 the trees. The turkeys sleep in trees, and frequently in large 
 flocks together. They also usually sleep in the same place 
 every night. When a sleeping place is discovered, then two 
 or three gunners go to the place together at night, when they 
 shoot the fowls, and in such cases frequently bring in a dozen 
 or more. The Indians take many in snares, when the weather 
 changes in winter. Then they lay bulbous roots, which the 
 turkeys are fond of, in the small rills and streams of Avater, 
 which the birds take up, when they are ensnared and held until 
 the artful Indian takes the turkey as his prize. 
 
 There are also several kinds of quailsf in the country, some 
 
 * A good price for a Cat-Owl. — Trans, t The Dutch word is patrijsen — 
 the European partridge, which is about the size of our quail. — Ed. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 173 
 
 of which are smaller, and others larger than those of the 
 Netherlands. The sportsmen have given them distinguishing 
 names, and they afford fine sport. In the Netherlands it is not 
 believed that they will alight and sit in trees ; but it is true 
 that many arc shot from trees in this country. I have done it 
 several times, and have killed a hundred or more from trees. 
 I have also heard from respectable authority, that eleven heath- 
 fowls have been killed at a shot at Rcnssclaerwyck, off of a pa- 
 lisade fence, with which fields are enclosed. In some places, 
 in the hedges and brush, the small quails are abundant, and 
 the}' are so tame that they run along the roads and enter the 
 gardens, and sometimes fly into houses ; and they frequently 
 lay in the gi'ass, as it were under the traveller's feet, and in 
 rising sometimes fly against them and frighten them. Many of 
 those kinds of birds are killed with rods and sticks. There 
 are also woodcocks, birch-cocks, heath-fowls, pheasants, wood 
 and water snipes, 6cc. and many cranes, of which great num- 
 bers are shot on the mowed lands in the fall of the year, and 
 they are fine for the table. Quacks and bitterns are also plenty. 
 The pigeons, which resemble coal pigeons, are astonishingly 
 plenty. Those are most numerous in tlie spring and fall of the 
 year, when they are seen in such numbers in flocks, that they 
 resemble the clouds in the heavens, and obstruct the rays of the 
 sun. Many of those birds are shot in the spring and fall, on 
 the wing, and from the dry trees whereon they prefer to alight, 
 and will sit in great numbers to see around them, from which 
 they are easil^r shot. Many are also shot on the ground, and 
 it is not uncommon to kill twent)'^-five or more at a time. The 
 Indians, when they find the breeding places of the pigeons, 
 (at which they assemble in numberless thousands,) frequently 
 remove to those places with their wives and children, to the 
 number of two or three hundred in a company, where they 
 live a month or more on the young pigeons, which they take, 
 after pushing them from their nests with poles and sticks. 
 
 There are also quails, {quartels,) differing from those in the 
 Netherlands in their drumming, and somewhat in size.* Wood- 
 peckers (spechten) are also found there ; these birds are spotted 
 with handsome feathers, and have a fine top-knot. The coun- 
 try people call them tree-peckers, which is their common em 
 ployment, and they peck with such power, that at a distance 
 the noise resembles the striking of a hammer. I have seen 
 many trees into which those birds had pecked large holes, 
 wherein they built their nests. Large blackbirds also are very 
 plenty, to which the people have given an appropriate name, 
 calling them {males dicven) corn thieves, to which they have a 
 
 * The drumming noise is made by the partridfrc of the eastern States — the 
 pheasant of the soulli, {Tctiao umbellus,) wliich is probably the bird here re- 
 ferred to.— Ed. 
 
174 VAN DER DONCK S 
 
 Strong propensity. It is necessary after planting, to watch the 
 corn fields to keep off those birds, whereon they frequently 
 alight in large flocks, and are so stout that shooting will not 
 drive them away. In places frequented by eagles, the black- 
 birds do very little injury. I have been informed by men of 
 veracity, that a certain Jacob Van Curler had killed one hun- 
 dred and seventy of those blackbirds, which he took up, at a 
 shot, besides the cripples which escaped. From this occur- 
 rence an opinion of the probable numbers of those birds may 
 be formed. There are also ravens, crows, kaws, owls, swal- 
 lows, land-runners, with many other kinds of small birds, such 
 as finches, chipping birds, wrens, hedge-sparrows, &c. Some 
 of the birds sing beautifully ; others have handsome plumage. 
 I have seen birds of a lustrous blue colour, shining much ; 
 others of a yellow and orange, resembling the aurora, with a 
 high flame colour ; but those have black beaks, and some black 
 wing feathers. 
 
 There is also another small curious bird, concerning which 
 there are disputations, whether it is a bird, or a large West In- 
 dia bee. We will pass over those disputations, and describe 
 the bird, its form, manner and appearance. The bird is about 
 the length of a finger, exclusive of its beak ; its tail is about the 
 breadth of a thumb ; its featliers are of various shining colours ; 
 having a beak and feet like other birds. I have not observed 
 that it pecks and eats with its beak ; but it sucks its nourish- 
 ment from flowers like the bees, for which it has members in 
 its beak like the bees. It is ever^nvhere seen on the flowers 
 regaling itself; hence it has obtained the name of the West 
 India bee. It is only seen in the New-Netherlands in the sea- 
 son of flowers. In flying they also make a humming noise, 
 like the bees. They are very tender, and cannot well be kept 
 alive. We however prepare and preserve them between paper, 
 and dry them in the sun, and send them as presents to our 
 friends. 
 
 Of the Wafer Fowls. 
 
 Among other subjects wherewith the New-Netherlands is 
 abundantly provided, are the fowls that keep to the waters, 
 which we find there principally in the spring and fall of the 
 year. At other seasons they are not as plenty. But at those 
 seasons, the waters by their movements appears to be alive with 
 the water fowls ; and the people who reside near the water 
 are frequently disturbed in their rest at night by the noise of 
 the water fowls, particularly by the swans, which in their sea- 
 sons are so plenty, that the bays and shores where they resort 
 appear as if they were dressed in white draj^ery. The swans 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 175 
 
 are like those of the Netherlands, and come regularly in their 
 proper seasons. 
 
 There are also three kinds of wild geese. The first and best 
 kind are the grey geese, which are larger than the Netherlands 
 geese, but not so large as the swans. Those fowls do much 
 damage to the wheat fields which are sown near the places to 
 which they resort. There are persons who believe this species 
 to be the trap geese ; but this cannot well be credited, be- 
 cause they are so numerous. A great many of those fowls are 
 shot, and they are esteemed before the other kinds for the table. 
 I have known a gunner named Hejiry de Backer, who killed 
 eleven grey geese out of a large flock at one shot from his gun. 
 
 The other kinds are the black geese, and the white heads. 
 Some of the latter kind are almost while, like unto our tame 
 geese. Those kinds, in cold weather, frequent and resort to 
 places near the sea shores in great numbers, where many are 
 killed, often eight or ten at one shot. A Virginia planter of my 
 acquaintance has killed sixteen geese at a shot, which he got, 
 when several which he wounded escaped. 
 
 There also are several kinds of ducks, with widgeons, teal, 
 brant, and many species of diving fowls, such as blue bills, 
 whistlers, coots, eel-shovellers, and pelicans, with many strange 
 fowls, for which we have no names, being of less importance ; 
 but which to persons who understand the art of preserving birds, 
 might aflford them a profitable business, as they are plenty and 
 cheap. After the increase of our population, the fowls will di- 
 minish. Even feathers are now considered of little value or 
 importance.* 
 
 Of the Fishes. 
 
 x4l11 the waters of the New-Netherlands are rich with fishes. 
 Sturgeons are plenty in the rivers at their proper season ; but 
 these fish are not esteemed, and when large are not eaten. No 
 person takes the trouble to salt or souse them for profit ; and 
 the roes from which the costly cavicer is prepared, are cast 
 away. Salmon are plenty in some rivers, and the striped bass 
 are plenty in all the rivers and bays of the sea. The bass is a 
 fish which in its form differs but little from the salmon. The 
 inside of the latter is red, and of the other white. The bass are 
 also a fine fish, and their heads are delicious food. The drums 
 are a tolerably good fish, somewhat like the cod in form, but not 
 so stout. I have heard it said, that the drums were named 
 
 * The swans, the pehcans, tlie grey and wliite-hearlcd geese, and the grey 
 ducks, have now forsaken the waters of tlic State of New- York. — Trans. 
 
17G VAN DER DOXCK's 
 
 Thirteens, when the Christians first began fishing in the New- 
 Netherlands. Then every one was desirous to see the fishes 
 which were caught, for the purpose of discovering whether the 
 same were known to them, and if they did not know the fish, 
 then they gave it a name. First in the fishing season they 
 caught many shad, which tlicy named Elft. Later they caught 
 the striped bass, which they named TivaJft. Later still they 
 caught the drums, which they named Dertienen. For those 
 fishes succeeded each other in their seasons, and the same are 
 still known by the names which were thus derived. There are 
 also carp, snook, forrels, pike, trout, suckers, thickheads, floun- 
 ders, eels, palings, brickensand lampreys. Some of the latter are 
 as large as a man's leg, and above an ell in length.* There are 
 also sun-fish tasted like the perch, having small shining scales, 
 with brilliant spots, from which the}^ have derived the name of 
 sim-fish. In the wdnter season, the creeks and back w'aters 
 abound with a small kind of fish which comes from the sea, 
 about the size of a smelt. Some call them little mullets. 
 Those fishes are so tame that many are caught Avith the hand ; 
 and as those come with the frost, we call them frost-fish. Out- 
 side at sea, and in some of the ba3's of the East river, the cod- 
 fish are very plenty ; and if we would practice our art and ex- 
 perience in fishing, we could take ship loads of cod-fish, for it 
 can be easily accomplished. There arc also shell-fish, week- 
 fish, herrings, mackerel, roah, hallibut, scoll, and sheeps-heads. 
 The latter are formed like the sun-fish, but much heavier, with 
 cross stripes, being about the w^eight of the largest carps. They 
 have teeth in the fore part of the mouth like a sheep, but are 
 not voracious, and are an excellent fish. There is another 
 species of fish, called black-fish, which are held in high esti- 
 mation by the Christians. It is as brow^n as a seeli, formed like 
 the carp, but not so coarse in its scales. When this kind of 
 fish, which are plenty, is served upon the table, it goes before 
 all others, for every person prefers it. There are also porpoises, 
 herring-hogs, pot-heads or sharks, turtles, &;c. and whales, of 
 which there are none caught, but if preparations were made for 
 the purpose, then it might be easily effected ; but our colonists 
 have not advanced far enough to pursue whaling. A lost bird, 
 however, is frequently cast and stranded, which is cut up. 
 Lobsters are plenty in many places. Some of those are very 
 large, being from five to six feet in length ; others again are 
 from a foot to a foot and an half long, which are the best for the 
 table. There are also crabs, like those of the Netherlands, 
 
 * There is a tradition that there were but ten species of fishes known to the 
 Dutch when they discovered America, and that when they caught the shad, 
 they named the fish {Elft) Eleventh ; the bass { Twalft) Twelfth; and the drum 
 (Dertienen) Thirteenth. The numbers in the Dutch are good names. — Tkans. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 177 
 
 some of which are altogether soft. Those the people call 
 weak crabs, and they make excellent bait for hook fishing. 
 There are also sea-cocks, (horned crabs) sea-colts, sea-concks ; 
 and periwinkles are very plenty, which in some seasons are 
 cast ashore by the sea in very great numbers. From these the 
 Indians make wampum. Oysters are very plenty in many 
 places. Some of these are like the Colchester oysters, and 
 arc fit to be eaten raw ; others are very large, wherein pearls 
 are frequently found, but as they are of a brownish colour, they 
 are not valuable. The large oysters are proper for roasting and 
 stewing. Each of these will fill a spoon, and make a good 
 bite. 1 have seen many in the shell a foot long, and broad in 
 proportion. The price for oysters is usually from eight to ten 
 stivers per hundred. Muscles of different kinds are plenty ; 
 the St. Jacobs and mother of pearl shells, with Alls or stone 
 crutches. There are also several other kinds of shell-fish, for 
 which there are no names. There are also shrimps and tortoises 
 in the waters and on land. Some persons prepare delicious 
 dishes from the water terrapin, which is luscious food. There 
 are also sea-spiders, and various other products of the ocean, 
 which are unknown in Holland, and are of little consideration, 
 as they contribute little to the wants of human society. 
 
 Of the Poisons. 
 
 During my residence of eight or nine years in the New- 
 Netherlands, I have not discovered more than one poisonous 
 plant in the country, which is named the poison artichoke, al- 
 though it does not resemble the artichoke much, as it bears 
 blue flowers in clusters, which are handsome to the eye, resem- 
 bling pope's caps, or moon-heads, as they are named in Brabant. 
 
 Several kinds of black, speckled and striped snakes are found 
 in the country. Some of these have bellies of the colour of the 
 rainbow^, and keep on the land and in the water, and are said 
 to have connections with the eels. Snakes of those kinds do 
 no damage except destroying young birds. Unless they escape 
 from travellers and farmers, they are usually put to death. 
 The Indians do not fear snakes of this kind, for they w^ih run 
 after and take them by their tails, and then take hold of them 
 behind their heads and bite them in their necks ; thus they 
 kill them. There is also another snake about the size of a 
 tobacco pipe. This kind of snake keeps in the weeds and 
 high grass, and is seldom seen. Many are of opinion that it is 
 venomous, but I have no proof of it. Rattlesnakes like those 
 of Brazil, are found in the country. To persons who have 
 never seen any of those reptiles, a description of them will ne- 
 23 
 
178 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 cessaiily be imperfect. Many affirm that the fiery serpents 
 which plagued the Israelites in the wilderness, were rattle- 
 snakes ; but lliis is uncertain. Those are vile serpents, which 
 seldom go out of the way of man or beast. They are speckled 
 with yellow, black and purple colours, chub-iieaded, Avith four 
 sharp teeth in the front of the mouth, which the Indians use for 
 lancets. The body, except the tail, is fashioned like ih'^ bodies 
 of other snakes ; at the end of the tail it has a hard, dry, horny 
 substance, which is interlocked and jointed together, with which 
 these snakes can rattle so loud that the noise can be heard se- 
 veral rods ; but tliey never rattle unless they intend to bite. 
 The rattling is made by the thrilling of the tail, to the end of 
 which the rattles are by nature attached. The rattles increase 
 one joint every year. Snakes with six or seven rattles arc very 
 common, and I have seen one with fourteen rattles (which is 
 an uncommon instance). When those snakes intend to bite, 
 they have a dreadful appearance. The head is then spread 
 out, and they open a wider mouth than they ap})ear to have, 
 and then also they open a bluish skin or valve, which lies at the 
 root of the teeth of the upper jaw, from which the poison issues 
 by the teeth into the wound iniiicted by the serpent. In ap- 
 pearance the poison resembles a bluish salt, which I have seen 
 by causing the snake to bite at a long stick for observation, on 
 Long Island. When persons are bitten by those serpents and 
 the poison enters the wound, their lives are in great danger. 
 I have seen persons who were bitten by the serpents that were 
 not bad, and others whose whole bodies became coloured like 
 the snakes by which they had been bitten, before death. The 
 Indians also dread those snakes, and when bitten by this species 
 they also frequently die of the bite. Fortunately the rattle- 
 snakes are not numerous, and a person who does not frequent 
 the woods and fields much, may reside in the country seven 
 yea's without seeing one of those snakes. There is a certain 
 plant which grows in the country, named snake-wort, which is 
 a sovereign remedy for the bite of the rattlesnake. I have wit- 
 nessed an experiment made on Long-Island with snake-wort, 
 on a large rattlesnake, when a person chewed a quantity of the 
 green plant, and spit some of the juice on the end of a stick, 
 which was put to the nose of the snake, and it caused the crea- 
 ture to thrill and die instantly. The Indians hold this plant in 
 such high estimation, that many of them always carry some of 
 it, well dried, with them to cure the bites of those serpents. 
 Adders also are found in the country, but I have never heard of 
 injuries done by them. 
 
 Lizards like those fomid in Holland are in the country, and 
 also another species which have pale bluish tails. Those are 
 much feared bv the Indians, because (as they say) this kind 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 179 
 
 will crawl up into their fundaments, when they lay asleep on 
 the ground in the woods, and cause them to die in great mi- 
 sery. When the toads are added, I have given an account of 
 the poison and of the poisonous reptiles which I have disco- 
 vered in the country, and according to my original design, 
 hereafter will treat of the winds, air, sea, seasons, and of the 
 natives of the land ; and also give a particular description of 
 the beavers. 
 
 Of the Winds. 
 
 The swift and fostering messengers of commerce are 
 tlie winds that prevail in the New-Netherlands. They 
 IjIow from all quarters of the compass, without any mon- 
 soons or regular trade winds. In winter, the cold comes 
 with the northerly winds; in summer, the south and south- 
 westerly winds prevail. It is seldom calm in winter, as it 
 is in Holland. In the heart of winter, when it is calm, 
 Joof still, and cold, turn either way, and you have it in your 
 face. The north-west winds which bring the most cold 
 weather usually blow sharp and steady, except at the foot of 
 the mountains, which break the winds. All the storms which 
 arise, usually come with easterly winds from the sea, at the 
 spring tides, and seldom last more than three days. If they 
 come more from the south, then it usually blows hard, and with 
 more warmth, and a hazy sky or rain, which frequently hap- 
 pens. The westerly wind usually blows severe and squahy, 
 but as it comes from the land, and blows across most of the 
 rivers to the sea, it gives windward stations and is not feared. 
 Tlie north-west and north winds bring the cold, as the east and 
 north-east winds do in Holland. Should it be warm southerly 
 weather, whenever a northerner rises, the air will change from 
 heat to cold in a short time. On these occasions it will blow 
 hard and severe, bul as it leaves an upper shore, it seldom does 
 damage at sea. The sea then washes against a wnndward 
 shore ; hence no damage is apprehended. The damage arises 
 from the easterly winds. When the north-west gales bloAV, 
 then much damage is done in the timber lands, by the blowing 
 dow'n and cracking of the trees, and then is the proper time for 
 the gunners to approach their game. In summer, a southerly 
 sea breeze usually sets in on the flood-tide at New-Amsterdam, 
 which blows over a cool element, and brings refreshment with 
 it. The warm weather in summer frequently brings thunder 
 storms from the Avest, when it w^ill ircquently rain one, two or 
 three ho\irs, after wdiich it will blow from the north-west, and 
 be succeeded by fine cool weather : so that within an hour the 
 clouds will appear as if they would spew cats, and in another 
 
180 VAN DER DONCKS 
 
 hour scarcely a cloud will be seen. The easterly winds sel- 
 dom blow in the interior parts of the country, sometimes not 
 once in a year : those winds appear to be stayed by the high- 
 lands and the mountains. 
 
 Of the Air. 
 
 The sweet ruler that influences the wisdom, power and ap- 
 pearance of man, of animals, and of plants, is the air. Many 
 name it the temperament, or the climate. The air in the 
 New-Netherlands is so dry, sweet and healthy, that we need 
 not wish that it were otherwise. In purity, agreeableness, 
 and fineness, it would be folly to seek for an example of it in 
 any other country. In the New-Netherlands, we seldom hear 
 of any person who is afflicted with a pining disease. Many 
 persons from the West-Indies, Virginia, and other quarters of 
 the world, who do not enjoy health in those parts, when they 
 come into the New-Netherlands, there become as active as 
 fishes in the waters. The Galens have meagre soup in that 
 country. We may say that there are no heavy damps or stink- 
 ing mists in the' country, and if any did arise, a northerly breeze 
 would blow them away, and purify the air. Hence the healthi- 
 ness of the country deserves commendation. The summer heat 
 is not oppressive in the warmest weather, for it is mitigated 
 by the sea breezes, the northerly winds, and by showers. The 
 cold is severer than the latitude seems to promise, which arises 
 from the purity of the air, which is sensitive and penetrating, 
 but'alwa)fs dry with northerly winds, against which nature di- 
 rects us to provide, and to clothe ourselves properly. Cold 
 damp weather seldom arises. Such weather is caused by 
 southerly winds ; and whenever the wind blows from the south 
 in winter, the cold ceases. If the south wind rises in the middle 
 of winter, which frequently occurs, and blows some time, then 
 the weather becomes as warm as in Lent, and the ice gives 
 way. The country is seldom troubled with much moist damp 
 weather, nor does it last long. Still there is plenty of rain, but 
 more in some seasons than in others. When it rains the water 
 falls freely, which extends to the roots of the vegetation. By 
 the thunder and lightning, which is common in the warm wea- 
 ther, the air is purified, and the state of the atmosphere cor 
 rected. This is regulated by the seasons, and adherent to par- 
 ticular seasons of the year. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 181 
 
 Of the Seasons. 
 
 The changes of the year, and the calculations of time, are 
 observed as in the Netherlands ; and although these countries 
 differ much in their situations in south latitude, still they do not 
 differ much in the temperature of cold and heat. But to dis- 
 criminate more accuratcl}^, it should be remarked that the win- 
 ters usually terminate with the month of February, at New-Am- 
 sterdam, which is the chief place and centre of the New-Ne- 
 therlands. Then the spring or Lent-like weather begins. 
 Some persons calculate from the 21st of March, new style, after 
 which it seldom freezes, nor before this does it seldom summer ; 
 but at this season a change evidently begins. The fishes then 
 leave the bottom ground, the buds begin to swell ; the grass 
 sprouts, and in some places the cattle are put to grass in 
 March ; in other situations they Avait later, as the situations 
 and soils vary. The horses and working cattle are not turned 
 out to grass until May, 'when the grass is- plenty everywhere. 
 •April is the proper month for gardening. Later the farmers 
 should not sow summer grain, unless they are not ready ; it 
 may be done later, and still ripen. 
 
 Easterly winds and stormy weather"are common in the spring, 
 which then cause high tides ; but they cannot produce high 
 floods. The persons who desire to explore and view the coun- 
 try, have the best opportunity in April and May. The grass 
 and herbage at this season causes no inconvenience in the 
 woods, and still there is grass enough for horses. . The cold 
 has not overcome the heat produced by the wood burnings, and 
 the ground which has been burnt over, is yet bare enough for 
 inspection. The flowers are then in bloom, and the woods are 
 fragrant with their perfume. Li the middle of May, strawber- 
 ries are always plenty in the fields, where they grow naturally ; 
 they are seldom planted in the gardens, but there, in warm si- 
 tuations, they are earlier. When the warm weather sets in, 
 then vegetation springs rapidly. It is so rapid as to change 
 the fields from nakedness to green in eight or ten days. There 
 are no frosts in May, or they are very uncommon, as then it is 
 summer. The winter grain is in full blossom. The sum- 
 mer may be said to begin in May, but it really is calcu- 
 lated from the first of June, and then the weather is fre- 
 quently very warm, and there is seldom much rain. Still 
 there are no extremes of wet and dry weather, and we 
 may freely say, that the summers are always better in the 
 New-Netherlands than in Holland. Rainy weather seldom 
 lasts long. Showers and thunder-storms are frequent in sum- 
 mer, and will last an hour, an hour and a half, and sometimes 
 half a day. It seldom rains three hours in succession, and the 
 
182 VAN DEll DONCK S 
 
 rains seldom do any injury, becavisc the earth is open, and the 
 water settles away, and on the high lands the rains are always 
 desirable. A summer shower frequently will produce water 
 sufficient to extend to the roots of the vegetation, and be imme- 
 diately succeeded by a north-west wind, which will clear olF the 
 sky, as if no rain had fallen. Heavy dues are common, which 
 in the dry seasons, are very quickening to the vegetation. 
 
 Now when the summer progresses linely, the land rewards 
 the labor of the husbandman ; the flowers smile on his coun- 
 tenance ; the fishes sport in their element, and the herds play in 
 the fields, as if no reverses were to return. But the tobacco, 
 and the fruit of the vines, come in in September. There is 
 plenty here for man and the animal creation. 
 
 The days are not so long in summer, nor so short in winter, 
 as they are in Holland. Their length in summer, and their 
 shortness in winter, differ about an hour and a half. It is 
 found that this difference in the length of the days, causes no 
 inconvenience ; the days in summer are long and warm enough 
 for those who are inclined to labour, and do it from necessity ; 
 and for those who seek diversion. The winters pass b}^ with- 
 out becoming tedious. The reasons for this, and the objections 
 thereto, we leave to the learned, as we deem the subject not 
 worthy of our inquiry. The received opinion on this subject 
 is, that the difference in the length of the days and nights arises 
 from the difference of latitude of the New-Netherlands and Hol- 
 land. The former lies nearer the equinoctial line, and nearer 
 the centre of the globe. As they differ in length, so also they 
 differ in twilight. When it is midday in Holland, it is morning 
 in the New-Netherlands. On this subject there are also differ- 
 ent opinions. Most men say that the New-Netherlands lay so 
 much farther to the west, that its situation causes this variation ; 
 others go further, and dispute the roundness of the globe. As 
 the creation of the world is connected with this subject, which 
 none will deny, and as the difference in the appearance of the 
 eclipses supports the truth of the first position of the roundness 
 of the globe, therefore the other position appears to be un- 
 supported. 
 
 The autumns in the New-Netherlands are very fine, lovely 
 and agreeable ; more delightful cannot be found on the earth ; 
 not only because the summer productions are gathered, and the 
 earth is then yielding its surplusage, but also because the sea- 
 son is so well tempered with heat and cold, as to appear like 
 the month of May, except that on some mornings there will be 
 frost, which, by ten o'clock will be removed by the ascending 
 sun, leaving no stench or imwholesomc air, and causing little 
 inconvenience. On the other hand, the vegetation and grass 
 produced in summer falls, and is trodden down, which is suc- 
 ceeded by a fall crop, growing as it docs in Lent, bringing de- 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS, 183 
 
 light to man and pasturage for animals. There is not much 
 rain in autumn except in showers, which do not last long ; yet 
 it sometimes rains two or three days. Otherwise there is day 
 after day, fine weather and a clear sunshine, with agreeable 
 weather. In short the autumns in the New-Netherlands are as 
 fine as the summers of Holland, and continue very long ; for 
 below the highlands, towards the sea coast, the winter does not 
 set in, or freeze much before Christmas, the waters remaining 
 open, the weather fine, and in many places the cattle grazing in 
 the fields. Above the highlands, advancing northerly, the wea- 
 ther is colder, the fresh waters freeze, the stock is sheltered, 
 the kitchens are provided, and all things are put in order for the 
 winter. The fat oxen and swine are slaughtered. The wild 
 geese, turkeys and deer are at their best in this season, and 
 easiest obtained, because of the cold, and because the woods 
 are now burnt over, and the brushwood and herbage out of the 
 Avay. This is also the Indian hunting season, Avherein such 
 great numbers of deer are killed, that a person who is unin- 
 formed of the vast extent of the country, would imagine that all 
 these animals would be destroyed in a short time. But the 
 country is so extensive, and their subsistance so abundant, and 
 the hunting being confined mostly to certain districts, therefore 
 no diminution of the deer is observable. The Indians also af- 
 firm, that before the arrival of the Christians, and before the 
 small pox broke out amongst them, they were ten times as 
 numerous as they now are, and that their population had been 
 melted down by this disease, whereof nine-tenths of them have 
 died. That then, before the arrival of the Christians, many 
 more deer were killed than there now are, without any percepti- 
 ble decrease of their numbers. 
 
 We will now notice the winters of the New-Netherlands, 
 which are different at different places. Above the highlands, 
 towards Rensselaerwyck, and in the interior places extending 
 towards New-England, (which we still claim,) there the winters 
 are colder and last longer than at New-Anisterdam, and other 
 places along the sea coast, or on Long Island, and on the South 
 River, (Delaware.) At the latter places, there seldom is any 
 hard freezing weather before Christmas, and although there 
 may be some cold nights, and trifling snows, still it does not 
 amount to much, for during the day it is usually clear weather. 
 But at Rensselaerwyck the winters begin earlier, as in 1645, 
 when the North River closed on the 25th day of November, 
 and remained frozen very late. Below the highlands and near 
 the sea coast, as has been observed, it never begins to freeze so 
 early, but the cold weather usually keeps off until about Christ- 
 mas, and frequently later, before the rivers are closed ; and then 
 they frequently are so full of drifting ice dm-ing the north-west 
 
181 VAN DER DOXCK's 
 
 winds, as to obstruct the navigation ; and ■vvlienever the wind 
 shifts to the south or south-east, the ice decays, and the rivers 
 are open and clear. This frequently happens two or three 
 times in a winter, when the navigation will be free and unob- 
 structed again. Much rainy weather, or strong winds which 
 continue to blow from one quarter a long lime, are not com- 
 mon, or to be expected in the country. 
 
 It is probable, (and many persons support the position with 
 plausible reasoning,) that the subtlety and purity of the atmos- 
 phere changes the water before it comes to the earth, or whilst 
 it is still retained in the clouds, or in its descent to the earth, 
 into hail or snow. The latter is sooner to be credited, for dur- 
 ing the winter much snow falls, which frequently remains 
 weeks and months on the earth, Avithout thawing away entirely. 
 But below the circle of the highlands, the southerly winds are 
 powerful ; there the snow cannot lay long, but is removed by 
 the southerly weather. 
 
 It frequently happens once or twice in a winter, that the trees 
 are silvered over with sleet, which produces a beautiful and spe- 
 culative appearance when the sun shines on the same, particu- 
 larly on the declivities of the hills and mountains. Many per- 
 sons say that sleets and heavj- hail are signs of good fruit sea- 
 sons in the succeeding year . 
 
 It is strange and worthy of observation, and surpasses all 
 reasoning, that in the New-Netherlands, without or with but 
 little wind, (for when the weather is coldest, there seldom is 
 much wind,) although it lies in the latitude of Spain and Italy, 
 and tlie summer heat is similar, that the winters should be so 
 much colder, as to render useless all the plants and herbs which 
 grow in those countries, which will not endure the cold wea- 
 ther. The winter weather is dry and cold, and we find that the 
 peltries and fcltings are prior and better than the furs of Mus- 
 covy. For this difference several reasons are assigned, which 
 we will relate, without controverting any, except in remarking 
 that in most cases wherein many different reasons are assigned 
 to establish a subject, all are frequently discredited. Some say 
 that the New-Netherlands lie so much further west on the 
 globe, and that this causes the difference ; others who compare 
 the summer heat with Spain and Italy, deny this position ; 
 others declare that the globe is not round, and that the country 
 lies in a declining position from the sun. Others assert that the 
 last discovered quarter of the Avorld is larger than the other 
 parts, and ask, if the world formerly was considered round, how 
 that thcor)' can be supported now, when about one-half is added 
 to it? Some also say that the higher a country is situated, the 
 colder it is. Now, say they, the New-Netherlands lie in a 
 high westerly position ; ergo, it must be cold there in winter, 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 185 
 
 and as warm in summer. Many remark, and with much plausi- 
 bihty also, that the country extends northerly many hundred 
 miles to the frozen ocean, and is accessible by Davis Straits, 
 (which by some is doubted,) and that the land is intersected and 
 studded by high mountains, and that the snow remains lying 
 on them and in the valleys, and seldom thaws away entirely ; 
 and that when the wind blows from and over those cold regions, 
 it brings cold with it. Receiving the cold from above and from 
 beneath, (both being cold,) it must of course follow that the 
 cold conies with the north-westerly winds. On the con- 
 trary they say, that whenever the wind blows from the sea, if 
 it be in the heat of the winter, then the weather becomes sultry 
 and warm as in Lent. 
 
 The cold weather, however, is not so severe as to do much 
 injury, or to become tedious ; but for many reasons it is desira- 
 ble for the benefit of the country, which it frees from insects 
 and every otiier kind of impurity in the air, and fastens firmly 
 in their positions all the plants, and screens the same from the 
 effects of the cold, against which nature has thus carefully 
 provided. 
 
 There is everywhere fuel in abundance, and to be obtained 
 for the expense of cutting and procuring the same. The super- 
 abundance of this country is not equalled by any other in the 
 world. The Indians do not clothe as we do, but frequently go 
 half naked and withstand the cold, in fashion, and fear it little. 
 They are never overcome with the cold, or injured by it. In 
 bitter cold weather, they will not pursue their customary plea- 
 sures, particularly the women and the children; for the men 
 do not care so much for the cold days in winter as they do for 
 the hot days in summer. 
 
 Of the products of Kitchen Gardens* 
 
 The garden products in the New-Netherlands are very nu- 
 merous ; some of them have been known to the natives from 
 the earhest times, and others introduced from different parts of 
 the world, but chiefly from the Netherlands. We shall speak 
 of them only in a general way ; amateurs would be able to 
 describe their agreeable qualities in a more scientific manner, 
 
 • The omission of this chapter by the Translator was discovered too late for 
 Its insertion in the proper place, (paj;e 155,) and the absence of Mr. Johnson in 
 attendance upon the State Legislature, of which he is a member, has rendered 
 it necessary for the Editor to supply the omission by translating the chapter, and 
 inserting it out of its original connexion. 
 24 
 
186 VAN DER DONCK S 
 
 but having been necessarily occupied with other subjects, 
 we have had no leisure to devote to them. They consist, then, 
 of various kinds of salads, cabbages, parsnips, carrots, beets, 
 endive, succory, finckel, sorrel, dill, spniage, radishes, Spanish 
 radishes, parsley, chervil, (or sweet cicely,) cresses, onions, leeks, 
 and besides whatever is commonly found in a kitchen garden. 
 The herb garden is also tolerably well supplied with rosemary, 
 lavender, hyssop, thyme, sage, marjoram, balm, holy onions, 
 {ajuin heylig,) wormwood, belury, chives, and clary ; also, 
 pimpernel, dragon's blood, five-finger, tarragon, (or dragons- 
 wort,) &c. together with laurel, artichokes, and asparagus, 
 and various other things on which I have bestowed no 
 attention. 
 
 The inquirers into nature inform us that plants are there 
 less succulent, and therefore more vigorous than here. I have 
 also noticed that they require less care and attention, and grow 
 equally well ; as for instance, the pumpkin grows with little or 
 no cultivation, and is so sweet and dry that it is used, with 
 the addition of vinegar and water, for stewing in the same 
 manner as apples ; and notwithstanding that it is here generally 
 despised as a mean and unsubstantial article of food, it is there 
 of so good a quality that our countrymen hold it in high estima- 
 tion. I have heard it said, too, that when properly prepared 
 as apples are with us, it is not inferior to them, or there is but 
 little difference, and when the pumpkin is baked in ovens it is 
 considered better than apples. The English, who in general 
 think much of what gratifies the palate, use it also in pastry,* 
 and understand making a beverage from it. I do not mean all 
 sorts of pumpkins and cucurbites that may be found anywhere, 
 and of course in the New-Netherlands ; the Spanish is con- 
 sidered the best.t 
 
 The natives have another species of this vegetable peculiar 
 to themselves, called by our people quaasiens, a name derived 
 from the aborigines, as the plant was not known to us before 
 our intercourse with them-j It is a delightful fruit, as well to 
 the eye on account of its fine variety of colours, as to the mouth 
 for its agreeable taste. The ease with which it is cooked ren- 
 
 * By tlie English thn aiulior menns the inhabitants of New-Enfjiand, where 
 pumpkin pies still hold a prominent place among tlie luxuries ofthe hind. — Ed. 
 
 •f The Spatiish or mammoth pumpkin is still preferred. See Bridgeman^s 
 Gardener. New -York, 1840. 
 
 I Roger Williams, the celebrated founder of tiie colony of Rhode Island, 
 describes the same plant in the followirg manner: — "..^skiitasqvash, their vine- 
 apples, which the English from ih^m call squashes ; about the bigness of 
 apples, of spveial colours, a sweet, lii'h', whulesome refieshing." — Key into the 
 Languages ofthe Indians. London, 1G43. Reprinted in Collections of Mass. 
 Hist. Society, 1st series vol. iii. Dr. Webster, in his quarto Dictionary, derives 
 the name of this vegetable from a Greek root. — Ed. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 187 
 
 ders it a favourite too with the young women. It is gathered 
 early in summer, and when it is planted in the middle of April, 
 the fruit is fit for eating by the first of June. They do not 
 wait for it to ripen before making use of the fruit, but only un- 
 til it has attained a certain size. They gather the squashes and 
 immediately place them on the fire without any farther trouble. 
 When a considerable number have been gathered, they keep 
 them for three or four days ; and it is incredible, when one 
 watches the vines, how many will grow on them in the course 
 of a single season. The vines run a little along the ground, 
 some of them only two or three steps ; they grow well in newly 
 broken wood-land when it is somewhat cleared and the weeds 
 are removed. The natives make great account of this vegeta- 
 ble ; some of the Netherlanders too consider it quite good, but 
 others do not esteem it very highly. It grows rapidly, is easily 
 cooked, and digests well in the stomach, and its flavour and 
 nutritive properties are respectable. 
 
 Melons, likewise, grow in the New-Netherlands very luxuri- 
 antly, without requiring the land to be prepared or manured ; 
 there is no necessity for lopping the vines, or carefully dressing 
 them under glass, as is done in this country ; indeed, scarcely 
 any attention is paid to them, no more than is bestowed here 
 in the raising of cucumbers, and the people in that part of the 
 world have every reason to be well content. They plant no 
 more than they think will come to maturity, but when it unfor- 
 tunately happens that any are destroyed, they put fresh seeds 
 into the ground. Melons will thrive too in newly cleared wood 
 land, when it is freed from weeds ; and in this situation the 
 fruit, which they call Spanish pork, grows large and very 
 abundant. I had the curiosity to weigh one of these melons, 
 and found its weight to be seventeen pounds. In consequence 
 of the warm temperature of the climate, the melons are quite 
 sweet and pleasant to the taste, and however many one may 
 eat, they will not prove injurious, provided only that they are 
 fully ripe. 
 
 The citrull or water-citron,* {citerullen ofte water-limoe- 
 nen,) also grows there, a fruit that we have not in the Nether- 
 lands, and is only known from its being occasionally brought 
 
 * The water-melon, as it is now called. The French give the name of citrull 
 or cUrouille, to the pumpkin. The fruit mentioned by our author under 
 the name of melon, seems to have been the musk-melon, which, being then 
 cultivated in Holland, did not require a particular description. But the 
 water-melon at that period was comparatively little known, as Van der Donck 
 states, and not regarded as a melon. On this account he describes the fruit so 
 minutely that it cannot well be mistaken. It was sometimes termed by English 
 writers the Cilrull cucumber. Botanists place the water-melon in the same 
 genus as the pumpkin, calling it Cucurbita cUrullus.— Ed. 
 
188 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 from Portugal, except to those who have travelled in warm cli- 
 mates. This fruit grows more rapidly and in greater abundance 
 than melons, so much so that some plant them, even among 
 those who are experienced, for the purpose of clearing and 
 bringing into subjection the wild undressed land to fit it for 
 cultivation. Their juice is very sweet like that of apricots, and 
 most men there would eat six water-citrons to one melon, al- 
 though they who wish can have both. They grow ordinarily to 
 the size of a man's head. I have seen them as large as the big- 
 gest Leyden cabbages, but in general they are somewhat oblong. 
 Within they are white or red ; the red have white, and the 
 white black seeds. When they are to be eaten, the rind is 
 cut off to about the thickness of the finger ; all the rest is good, 
 consisting of a spongy pulp, full of liquor, in which the seeds 
 are imbedded, and if the fruit is sound and fully ripe, it melts 
 as soon as it enters the mouth, and nothing is left but the 
 seeds. Women and children are very fond of this fruit. It is 
 also quite refreshing from its coolness, and is used as a beverage 
 in many places. I have heard the English say that they obtain 
 a liquor from it resembling Spanish wine, but not so strong. 
 Then there is no want of sweetness, and the vinegar that is 
 made from it will last long, and is so good that some among 
 ihem make great use of it.* 
 
 Cucumbers are abundant. Calabashes or gourds also grow 
 there ; they are half as long as the pumpkin, but have within 
 very little pulp, and are sought chiefly on account of the shell, 
 which is hard and durable, and is used to hold seeds, spices, 
 &c. It is the common water-pail of the natives, and I have 
 seen one so large that it would contain more than a bushel. t 
 Turnips also are as good and firm as any sand-rapes that are 
 raised in the Netherlands. There are likewise peas and various 
 sorts of beans ; I shall speak of the former under the head oifeld 
 products. Of beans there are several kinds ; but the large 
 Windsor bean, which the farmers call lessen, or house beans, 
 and also the horse-bean, will not fill out their pods ^ the leaf 
 grows well enough though delicate, and ten, twelve, or more 
 
 * Prof. Pallas, in the account of liis journey to the southern provinces orRiis- 
 sia, in 1793-4, speaking of a colony of Moravians at Sareptn, or Sap;i, on the 
 Volga, Sdys, " The ingenious inhabitants of this town brew a kind of beer from 
 their very abundant and clienp water-melons, wiih the addition of hops ; tlsey 
 also prepare a conserve or marmalade fr^m this fn>it., which is a good substitute 
 for syrup, or treacle." Other instances of a similar character might be adduced 
 to confirm the general correctness of the auilioi's observations and statements, 
 but it seems to be unnecessary. His remuks betrav no w:ini. of famili.iriiy 
 with the su' ject of gardening, notwithstanding the modest disclaimer which he 
 makes at the outset. — Ed. 
 
 t The Dutch bushel {schepel) is about three pecks English. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 189 
 
 Stalks frequently shoot up, but come to little or nothing.* The 
 Turkish beans which our people have introduced there grow 
 wonderfully ; they fill out remarkably well, and are much cul- 
 tivated. Before the arrival of the Netherlanders, the Indians 
 raised beans of various kinds and colours, but generally too 
 coarse to be eaten green, or to be pickled, except the blue sort, 
 which are abundant ; they somewhat tend to cause flatulency, 
 like those we raise in Holland, but in other respects they fur- 
 nish an excellent food, of which the Indians are especially 
 fond. They have a peculiar mode of planting them, which our 
 people have learned to practise : — when the Turkish wheat, 
 (Indian corn,) or, as it is called, maize, is half a foot above the 
 ground, they plant the beans around it, and let them gi-ow toge- 
 ther. The coarse stalk serves as a bean-prop, and the beans 
 run upon it. They increase together and thrive extremely well, 
 and thus two crops are gathered at the same time. 
 
 *Bridgeman makes a similar statement in ree;ard to the 'large Windsor 
 bean,' and other varieties of the English Dwarfs. He says, " the principal cause 
 of these garden beans not succeeding -well in this country, is the summer heat 
 overtaking them before they are podded, causing the blossom to drop off pre- 
 maturely ; to obviate this difficulty they should he planted as early in the year 
 as possible." p. 31. 
 
190 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 OF THE MANNERS AND PECULIAR CUSTOMS OF THE 
 NATIVES OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 
 
 First: — Of their bodily form and appearance, and why we 
 named them [Wilden) Wild Men. 
 
 Having briefly remarked on the situation and advantages of 
 the countr)'-, we, deem it worth our attention to treat concerning 
 the nature of the original native inhabitants of the land ; that after 
 the Christians have multiplied and the natives have disappeared 
 and melted away, a memorial of them may be preserved. 
 
 Their appearance and bodily form, as well of the men as of 
 the women, are well proportioned, and equal in height to the 
 Netherlanders, varying little from the common size. Their 
 hmbs are properly formed, and they are sprightly and active. — 
 They can run very fast for a long time, and they can carry 
 heavy packs. To all bodily exertions they are very competent, 
 as far as their dispositions extend ; but to heavy slavish labour 
 the men have a particular aversion, and they manage their af- 
 fairs accordingly, so that they need not labour much. Mis- 
 shapen or ill-formed persons are very rare amongst them. — 
 During the whole time of my residence in the country, I have 
 not seen more than one who was born deformed. Cripples, 
 hunch-backed, or other bodily infirmities, are so rare, that we 
 may say that there are none amongst them ; and when we see 
 or hear of one who is crippled or lame, we on inquiry find the 
 same to have originated by accident or in war. They are all 
 properly formed and well proportioned persons. None are 
 gross or uncommonly heavy. Although nature has not given 
 them abundant wisdom, still they exercise their talents with dis- 
 cretion. No lunatics or fools are found amongst them, nor any 
 mad or raving persons of either sex. The men and women 
 commonly have broad shoulders and slender waists. Their 
 hair, before old age, is jet black, sleek and uncurled, and near- 
 ly as coarse as a horse's tail. Hair of any ether colour they 
 dislike and despise. On the skin, the breast, under the arms, and 
 on other parts of the body, they have little or no hair, and if any 
 appear on their chins they pluck it out by the roots, and it sel- 
 dom sprouts again. Their old men sometimes have a little 
 stubble on their chins. The men and women all have fine 
 brown eyes, and snow white teeth. Purblind, or cross-eyed 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 191 
 
 persons are rare objects, and I have never heard of a native who 
 was born bhnd, and they seldom lose their sight by accident. — 
 One I have seen who had lost his eye-sight by the small pox ; 
 and when they become old, their sight does not fail so early in 
 life as ours. The colour of their skin is not so white as ours ; 
 still we see some of them who have a fine skin, and they are 
 mostly born with good complexions ; otherwise they have a 
 yellowish colour like the Tartars, or heathen who are seen in 
 Holland, or like the Oiitlanders who keep in the fields and go 
 uncovered as they do. Their yellowness is no fault of nature, 
 but it is caused by the heat of the scorching sun, which is hot- 
 ter and more powerful in that country than ui Holland, which 
 from generation to generation has been shining on that people, 
 and exhibits its effects stronger. Although this yellowness of 
 the skin appears more or less on all this race, still we find very 
 comely men and women amongst them. It is true that they 
 appear singular and strange to our nation, because their com- 
 plexion, speech and dress are so different, but this, on acquaint- 
 ance, is disregarded. Their women are well favoured and 
 fascinating. Several of our Netherlanders were connected with 
 them before our women came over, and remain firm in their at- 
 tachments. Their faces and countenances are as various as 
 they are in Holland, seldom very handsome, and rarely very 
 ugly, and if they were instructed as our women are, there then 
 would be little or no difference in their qualifications. 
 
 The original natives of the country, (for now there are native 
 born Christians also,) although they are composed of different 
 tribes, and speak different tongues, all pass by the appellation 
 of (Wilden) wild men ; and this name was given them, as far as 
 we can learn, at the first discovery of the country, which for 
 various reasons seems very appropriate. First, on account of 
 their religion, of which they have very little, and that is very 
 strange ; and secondly, on account of their marriages, wherein 
 they differ from civilized societies ; thirdly, on account of their 
 laws, which are so singular as to deserve the name of wild re- 
 gulations. And the Christians hold different names necessary 
 to distinguish different nations, such as Turks, Mamelukes, 
 and Barbarians ; and as the name of Heathen is very little 
 used in foreign lands, therefore they would not distinguish the 
 native Americans by either of these names ; and as they trade 
 in foreign countries with dark and fair coloured people, and 
 with those who resemble ourselves, in distinction from negroes, 
 and as the American tribes are bordering on an olive colour, 
 the name of wild men suits them best. Thus without delibera- 
 tion, and as it were by chance at the first word, (as we suppose,) 
 they were called Wild Men. And as unlearned persons never 
 reflect much but speak their first thoughts, in this manner it 
 
192 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 has probably happened that this people received their national 
 name, because they seemed to be wild and strangers to the 
 Christian religion.* 
 
 Of the Food and Subsistence of the Indians. 
 
 In eating and drinking the Indians are not excessive, even 
 in their feast-days. They are cheerful and well satisfied when 
 they have a sufficiency to support nature, and to satisfy hunger 
 and thirst. It is not with them as it is here in Holland, where 
 the greatest, noblest, and richest live more luxuriously than a 
 Calis, or a common man ; but with them meat and drink are suf- 
 ficient and the same for all. Their common drink is water from 
 a living spring or well, when it can be had, wherein they seldom 
 fail, as in days of old. Sometimes in the season of grapes, and 
 when they have fresh meat or fish, and are well pleased, they 
 will press out the juice of the grapes and drink it new. They 
 never make wine or beer. Brandy or strong drink is unknown 
 to them, except to those who frequent our settlements, and have 
 learned that beer and wine taste better than water. 
 
 In the Indian languages, which are rich and expressive, they 
 have no word to express drunkenness. Drunken men they 
 call fools. When they associate much with our people, and 
 can obtain liquor, they will drink to excess, when they become 
 insolent and troublesome, and are malicious. To prevent this, 
 the government has forbidden the sale of spirituous liquors to 
 the Indians. Most of them however will not taste liquor. Be- 
 fore they are accustomed to spirituous liquor, they are easily 
 made drunk, for which a small glass or two is sufficient ; but 
 in time they become accustomed to it, and bear it as well as 
 our own people do. The rheumatic gout, red and pimpled 
 noses, are snares unknown to them ; nor have they any dis- 
 eases or infirmities which are caused by drunkenness. 
 
 Their common food is meat, and fish of every kind, accord- 
 ing to the seasons, and the advantages of the places where they 
 reside. They have no pride, or particular methods in prepar- 
 ing their food. Their fish or meat they usually boil in water, 
 without salt, oxsmout,^ and nothing more than the articles yield. 
 They know of no stewing, fricasseeing, baking, frying, or the 
 like methods of cooking, and seldom do they warm up or boil 
 any food, unless it be small pieces of meat or fish, when they 
 
 ♦The sexes are admirably distinguished in the Dutch language, in the case 
 nf the Indians. PFiitismale; fTi/dm is female. The terms are much softer 
 th'in the English, of Indian and squaw.— Trans. 
 
 t A sort of oil. — Ed. 
 
ISEW-NETHERLANDS. 193 
 
 travel or are hunting, and have no other opportunity to prepare 
 their food. 
 
 For bread they use maize, or Turkey corn, which the women 
 pound fine into meal, (as the Hebrews did their manna in the 
 wilderness,) of which they bake cakes, for they know nothing of 
 mills. They also use pounded maize, as we do rice, and samp, 
 with their boiled meat. Their common food, and for which their 
 meal is generally used, is pap, or mush, which in the New-Ne- 
 therlands is named sapaen. This is so common among the 
 Indians, that they seldom pass a day without it, unless they are 
 on a journey or hunting. We seldom visit an Indian lodge at 
 any time of the day, without seeing their sapaen preparing, or 
 seeing them eating the same. It is the common food of all ; 
 young and old eat it ; and they are so well accustomed to it, 
 and fond of it, that when they visit our people, or each other, 
 they consider themselves neglected unless they are treated 
 with sapaen. Without sapaen they do not eat a satisfactory 
 meal. And when they have an opportunity, they frequently 
 boil fish or meat with it ; but seldom when the meat or fish is 
 fresh, but wdien they have the articles dried hard, and pounded 
 fine. This food they usually prepare at the close of the winter 
 and in the spring, when the hunting season is past, and their 
 stock of provisions is nearly exhausted. They also use many 
 dry beans, which they consider dainties. Those they boil soft 
 with fresh meat. They use for their subsistence every kind of 
 fish and flesh that is fit for food, which the country and the 
 places of their settlements afford, and that they can obtain. 
 They observe no stated times for their meals, as our people do, 
 but they suppose it best to eat when they are hungry. They 
 can control their appetites, bodies and stomachs in a wonderful 
 manner ; for with very little or no food, they can pass two, three, 
 or four days, and when afterwards they again have it plenty, 
 they will make up for the arrears lost without overcharging 
 their stomachs, or becoming sick ; and although they eat freely, 
 they have no excessive eaters or gluttons among them. 
 
 Ceremonies of high or low seats, or of begimiing to eat their 
 meals first or last, or to be waited upon, I have never seen 
 among them. Seldom will they invite each other to eat with 
 them, except at great feasts, but every person who is with them 
 at meal time, without exception, can partake of their fare with- 
 out pay or compensation. It is not customary with them to 
 receive compensation for their hospitality. On extraordinary 
 occasions, when they wish to entertain any person, then they 
 prepare beavers' tails, bass heads, with parched corn meal, or 
 very fat meat stewed with shelled chestnuts bruised. 
 
 When they intend to go a great distance on a hunting ex- 
 cursion, or to war, where they expect to find no food, then they 
 25 
 
194 VAN DER DONCk's 
 
 provide themselves severally with a small bag of parched corn 
 meal, which is so nutritious that they can subsist on the same 
 many days. A quarter of a pound of the meal is sufficient for 
 a day's subsistence ; for as it shrinks much in the drying, it 
 also swells out again with moisture. When they are hungry, 
 they eat a small handful of the meal, after which they take a 
 drink of water, and then they are so well fed, that they can 
 travel a day. When they can obtain fish or meat to eat, then 
 their meal serves them as well as fine bread would^ because it 
 needs no baking. 
 
 Of the Clothing and Ornaments loorn hy the Men and Women. 
 
 Their clothing usually is of one fashion, and they are not 
 proud of their dress, except some of their young persons, who 
 forget it when they become old. Their women are more in- 
 clined to dress, and to wear ornamental trinkets than the men 
 are ; but they are not so proud as they are in Holland. The 
 males until they are twelve or thirteen years old, run nearly 
 naked in summer. The females when they are able to run 
 about, wear a little covering. They are all accustomed to wear 
 a leathern girdle, which is usually ornamented with pieces of 
 whales' fins, whale-bones, or wampum [zewant). When the 
 men can procure duffels cloth, then they wear a piece of the 
 same half an ell wide, and nine quarters long, which they gird 
 around their waists, and draw up a fold to cover their naked- 
 ness, with a flap of each end hanging down in front and rear. 
 This dress does not appear uncomely, and it is hght and airy 
 in summer ; and they frequently go without any other covering. 
 It hides their nakedness, and bears the name of a breech-cloth. 
 Before they could obtain duffels cloth, and when it is not to 
 be had, they wear a dressed skin cut in a proper form, and 
 prepared for the purpose, which we commonly call a [cloot-sap) 
 breech-cloth, which word in Holland may appear impolite ; 
 but as words are intended to convey ideas, and to express the 
 things intended, the term therefore has a common signification 
 in that country, and will not offend the ear of a lady, or the de- 
 licacy of a maiden's taste. 
 
 The women also wear a cloth around their bodies, fastened 
 by a girdle which extends down below- their knees, and is as 
 much as an under-coat ; but next to the body, under this coat, 
 they wear a dressed deer-skin coat, girt around the waist. 
 The lower border of this skirt ihcy ornament with great art, 
 and nestle the same with strips, which are tastefully decorated 
 with wampum. The wampum with which one of those skirts 
 is ornamented, is frequently worth from one to three hundred 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 195 
 
 guilders. The men and women usually wear a plaid of duffels 
 cloth of full breadth, and three ells long. This is worn over 
 the right shoulder, drawn in the form of a knot about the body, 
 with the ends extending down below the knees. This plaid 
 serves them for a covenng by day, and for a blanket by night. 
 Stockings and shoes (moccasins) made of deer and buffalo skms, 
 are worn by both sexes ; some of those they ornament curi- 
 ously with wampum, &c. ; but those articles are bad to wear. 
 They also make shoes out of corn luisks, which are not durable. 
 Some of them purchase shoes and stockings from us, which 
 they find to be most comfortable. 
 
 The men usually go bare-headed, and the women with their 
 hair bound behind, in a club of about a hand long, in the form 
 of a beaver's tail ; over which they draw a square cap, which 
 is frequently ornamented with wampum. When they desire to 
 appear fine, they draw a head-band around the forehead, which 
 is also ornamented with wampum, &c. This band confines 
 the hair smooth, and is fastened behind over the club, in a beau's 
 knot. Many believe these head-bands are like those worn by 
 the ancient women. Their head-dress forms a handsome and 
 lively appearance. Around their necks they wear various or- 
 naments, which are also decorated with wampum. Those they 
 esteem as highly as our ladies do their pearl necklaces. They 
 also wear hand-bands, or bracelets, curiously wrought, and in- 
 terwoven with wampum. Their breasts appear about half 
 covered with an elegantly wrought dress. They wear beautiful 
 girdles, ornamented with their favourite wampum, and costly 
 ornaments in their ears. Their young women and their cour- 
 tiers, when they desire to appear superfine, also paint a few 
 black stripes on their faces. They usually appear sedate, as 
 if they possessed no amorous feelings ; they however only thus 
 disguise nature. The men paint themselves uniformly, parti- 
 cularly their faces, with various colours, by which they can so 
 effectually disguise themselves as to deceive an acquaintance. 
 In their parade time they appear very deceitful, and they will 
 scarcely turn their heads to notice an object. Some of them 
 wear a band about their heads, manufactured and braided of 
 scarlet deer-hair, interwoven with soft shining red hair. With 
 this head-dress, they appear like the delineations and paintings 
 of the Catholic saints. When a young Indian .s dressed in this 
 manner, he would not say plum, for a bashel of plums. They 
 however seldom decorate themselves in this manner, unless 
 they have a young female in view. Otherwise they naturally 
 are filthy and negligent in their dress. In winter, when the 
 weather is cold, the women and children do not go abroad 
 much, and when they do, they cover themselves with duffils 
 and other articles. The men, to defend themselves against the 
 
196 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 cold, grease themselves with bear and racoon fat. They also 
 wear clothing made of weasel, bear, deer, and buffalo skins, &c. 
 With such dresses they can withstand the cold easily. At a 
 word, they have all necessary raiment to defend themselves 
 against the inclemency of the weather. In their best apparel, 
 they know not how to appear proud and foppish. To white 
 linen they formerly were strangers, but now many begin to 
 wear shirts, which they buy from our people, and those they 
 frequently wear without washing until the same are worn out. 
 
 Of their Houses, Castles, Villages, and Towns. 
 
 Their houses are usually constructed in the same manner, 
 without any particular costliness or curiosity in or to the same. 
 Sometimes they build their houses above a hundred feet long ; 
 but never more than twent}'' feet wide. When they build a 
 house, they place long slender hickory saplings in the ground, 
 having the bark stripped off, in a straight line of two rows, as 
 far asunder as they intend the breadth of the house to be, and 
 continuincr the rows as far as it is intended the length shall be. 
 Those sapling poles are bent over towards each other in the 
 form of an arch, and secured together, having the appearance of 
 a garden arbour. The sapling poles are then crossed with 
 split poles in the form of lathing, which are well fastened to the 
 upright work. The lathings are heaviest near the ground. A 
 space of about a foot wide is left open in the crown of the arch. 
 For covering they use the bark of ash, chestnut, and other 
 trees, which they peel off in pieces of about six feet long, and 
 as broad as they can. They cover their houses, laying the 
 smooth side inwards, leaving an open space of about a foot wide 
 in the crown, to let out the smoke. They lap the side edges 
 and ends over each other, having regard to the shrinking of the 
 bark, securing the covering with withes to the lathings. A 
 crack or rent they shut up, and in this manner they make their 
 houses proof against wind and rain. They have one door in the 
 centre of the house. When the bark of the ash and chestnut 
 trees is not loose, they have recourse to the timber trees, which 
 grow along the brooks, the bark of which can be taken off dur- 
 ing the whole summer season. Durability is a primary object 
 in their houses. In short, their houses are tight and tolerably 
 warm, but they know nothing of chambers, halls, and closet- 
 ings. They kindle and keep their fires in the middle of their 
 houses, from one end to the other, and the opening in the crown 
 of the roof lets out the smoke. From sixteen to eighteen fami- 
 lies frequently dwell in one house, according to its size. The 
 fire being kept in the middle, the people lay on either side 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 197 
 
 thereof, and each family has its own place. If they have a place 
 for a pot or kettle, with a few small articles, and a place to 
 sleep, then they have room enough ; and in this manner, a hun- 
 dred, and frequently many more, dwell together in one house. 
 Such is the construction of an Indian dwelling in every place, 
 unless they are out on fishing and hunting excursions, and then 
 they erect temporary huts or shanties. 
 
 In their villages and their castles they always build strong, 
 firm works, adapted to the places. For the erection of these 
 castles, or strong holds, they usually select a situation on the 
 side of a steep high hill, near a stream or river, which is diffi- 
 cult of access, except from the water, and inaccessible on every 
 other side, with a level plain on the crown of the hill, which 
 they enclose with a strong stockade w^ork in a singular manner. 
 First, they lay along on the ground large logs of wood, and fre- 
 quently smaller logs upon the lower logs, which serve for the 
 foundation of the work. Then they place strong oak pali- 
 sades in the ground on both sides of the foundation, the upper 
 ends of which cross each other, and are joined together. In 
 the upper cross of the palisades they then place the bodies of 
 trees, which makes the work strong and firm. Thus they se- 
 cure themselves against the sudden invasion of their enemies. 
 But they have no knowledge of adding flankings and curtains to 
 their fortifications. Those belong not to their system. Near 
 their plantations they also frequently erect small works, to se- 
 cure their wives and children against the sudden irruption of the 
 small marauding parties of their enemies. When their castles 
 and forts are constructed according to their rude custom, they 
 consider the same very safe and secure places. But in a war 
 with the Christians, those afibrd them no security ; on the con- 
 trary, they do them more injury than good. In their castles, they 
 frequently have twenty or thirty houses. We have measured 
 their houses, and found some of them to be a hundred and 
 eighty yards long, and as narrow as before stated. In those 
 places, they crowd an astonishing number of persons, and it is 
 surprising to see them out in open day. Besides their strong 
 holds, they have villages and towns which are enclosed. Those 
 usually have woodland on the one side, and corn lands on the 
 other sides. They also frequently have villages near the wa- 
 ter sides, at fishing places, where they plant some vegetables ; 
 but they leave those places every year on the approach of win 
 ter, and retire to their strong places, or into the thick woods, 
 where they are protected from the winds, and where fuel is 
 plenty, and where there is game and venison. Thus they sub- 
 sist by hunting and fishing throughout the year. 
 
 Their castles and large towns they seldom leave altogether. 
 From other situations they remove frequentlv, and they seldom 
 
198 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 remain long at other places. In the summer, and in the fishing 
 seasons, many come to the water sides and rivers. In the fall 
 and winter, when venison is best, they retire to the woods and 
 hunting grounds. Sometimes towards the spring of the year, 
 they come in multitudes to the sea shores and bays, to take oys- 
 ters, clams, and every kind of shell-fish, which they know how 
 to dry, and preserve good a long time. 
 
 Of their Marriages, Jiccouchements, Children, ^-c. 
 
 Having treated of the manners of the natives, of their appear 
 ance, of their clothing, of their ornaments, of their subsistence, 
 and of their dwellings ; we will continue the description, and 
 treat of their customs in their marriages and connections, with- 
 out which they could not be. Marriages, and the fruits of mar- 
 riage connections between males and females, keep up the suc- 
 cession of every living species in the world ; and there has 
 been no nation discovered or known, so barbarous as not to be 
 benefited by marriage connections, and who have not upheld 
 and supported the same. With the natives of the New-Nether- 
 lands, (for the Christian usages are the same as in Holland,) we 
 can stiU observe the old and ancient customs in their marriage 
 ceremonies. But to illustrate the subject properly, it will be 
 necessary to notice their distinguishing names of man and wo- 
 man, father and mother, sister and brother, uncle and aunt, 
 niece and nephew, husband and wife, married and unmarried, 
 which are all known and distinguished among the natives by 
 different and appropriate names, and give strong evidence of 
 their attachment to their relatives, and of their preference to 
 marriage connections. The natives generally marry but one 
 wife, and no more, unless it be chief, who is great and power- 
 ful ; such frequently have two, three, or four wives, of the neat- 
 est and handsomest women ; and it is extraordinary, that the 
 people can, l)y the light of nature, so effectually control their 
 women, that no feuds or jealousies do arise and exist between 
 them ; for on inquiry, we have never discovered that any 
 strife, hatred, or discord existed in an Indian family between 
 the women about their family affairs, their children, or of the 
 preference of their husband, whom they all esteem and implicit- 
 ly obey. Concerning their marriages, they do not use as many 
 ceremonies as the people of fashion do in Holland ; but they 
 act more like common citizens on such occasions. With the 
 natives there is no established time of marriageable years, but 
 they judge their apparent fitness from their appearance, about 
 which they are not very particular even to experimental proof. 
 When the parties are young and related, the marriage usually 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 199 
 
 takes place upon the counsel and advice of their relatives, hav- 
 ing regard to their families and character. When the parties 
 are widows or widowers, whether by death or otherwise, of 
 whom there are many, then also it lakes place sometimes 
 upon the advice of friends ; but it is not common for relatives 
 to interfere in such marriages. The men, according to their 
 condition, must always present their intended and betrothed 
 bride, with a marriage gift, as a confirmation of their agree- 
 ment, and of his intention, being similar to the marriage pledge 
 of the ancients. When the parties are a widow or widower, 
 who unite without the advice of friends, and the parties after- 
 wards do not agree, for good cause or otherwise, then the hus- 
 band frequently takes the gifts from his wife, forbids her his 
 bed, and if she does not leave him, he turns her out of doors 
 Marriages with them are not so binding but that either party 
 may altogether dissolve the union, which they frequently do. — 
 I have known an Indian who changed his wife every year, al- 
 though he had little or no reason for it. We have also noticed 
 that the dissolution of their marriages for unchastity, arises 
 more from the improper conduct of men, than of the women. — 
 In their marriage dissolutions, the children follow their mother, 
 which is also usual in many other nations, who calculate their 
 descent and genealogies from the mother's side. The longer a 
 marriage exists among the natives, the more the parties are 
 esteemed and honoured. To be unchaste during wedlock, is 
 held to be very disgraceful among them. Many of their wo- 
 men would prefer death, rather than submit to be dishonoured. 
 Prostitution is considered baser by day than by night, and in 
 the open fields than elsewhere, as it may be seen, or shined 
 upon by the sun, which they say beholds the deed. No Indian 
 will keep his wife, however much he loved her, when he knows 
 she is unchaste. When their women are young, free, and un- 
 married, they act as they please, but they are always mercenary 
 in their conduct, and deem it disgraceful to be otherwise; neither 
 is the fruit of illicit connexions despised, but the same are disre- 
 garded in a marriage connexion. Few females will associate 
 with men in a state of concubinage when they will not maiTy. 
 Those women are proud of such conduct, and when they be- 
 come old they will frequently boast of their connexion with many 
 of their chiefs and great men. This I have heard from several 
 aged women, who deemed themselves honoured for having 
 been esteemed, and gloried of their " quasi bene gesta," in 
 their speeches. When one of their young women is rijp, (for 
 that is the native term,) and wishes to be married, it is cus- 
 tomary on such occasions that they veil their faces completely, 
 and sit covered as an indication of their desire ; whereupon pro- 
 
200 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 positions are made to such persons, and the practice is common 
 with young women who have suitors, whereby they give pub- 
 Hcily of their inchnation. The men seldom make the first 
 overtures, unless success is certain and they hope to improve 
 their condition in life. Whenever a native female is pregnant, 
 in wedlock or otherwise, they take care that they do no act that 
 would injure the oftspring. During pregnancy they are gener- 
 ally healthy, and they experience little or no sickness or painful 
 days, and when the time of their delivery is near, (which they 
 calculate closely,) and they fear a severe accouchement, or if it 
 be their first time, then they prepare a drink made of a decoc- 
 tion of roots that grow in the woods, which are known by them, 
 and they depart alone to a secluded place near a brook, or 
 stream of water, where they can be protected from the winds, 
 and prepare a shelter for themselves with mats and covering, 
 where, provided with provisions necessary for them, they await 
 their delivery without the company or aid of any person. After 
 their children are born, and if they are males, although the 
 weather be ever so cold and freezing, they immerse them some 
 time in the water, which, they say, makes them strong brave 
 men, and hardy hunters. After the immersion they wrap their 
 children in warm clothing and pay them great attention from 
 fear of accidents, and after they have remained several days in 
 their secluded places, again return to their homes and friends. 
 They rarely are sick from child-birth, suffer no inconveniences 
 from the same, nor do any of them die on such occasions. Upon 
 this subject some persons assign, as a reason and cause for 
 their extraordinary deliveries, that the knowledge of good and 
 evil is not given to them, as unto us ; that therefore they do not 
 suffer the pains of sin in bringing forth their children ; that such 
 pains are really not natvu'al, but the punishment which follows 
 the knowledge of sin, as committed by our first mother, and is 
 attached to those only ; others ascribe the cause of the differ- 
 ence to the salubrity of the climate, their well-formed bodies, 
 and their manner of living. 
 
 Of the Suckling of their Children, and the associations of the 
 Men and Women. 
 
 The native Indian women of every grade always nurse their 
 own children, nor do we know of any who have trusted that 
 parental duty to others. About New- Amsterdam, and for many 
 miles and days' journey into the interior, I have never heard of 
 but a few instances of native women, who did not take good 
 care of their children, or who trusted them to the nursing and 
 care of others ; when they suckle or are pregnant, they in those 
 
NEW-NETHEKLANDS. 201 
 
 cases practise the strictest abstinence, because, as the}' say, it 
 is beneficial to their offspring, and to nursing children. In the 
 meantime, their women are not precise or offended, if their hus- 
 bands have foreign associations, but they observe the former 
 custom so religiously, that they hold it to be disgraceful for a 
 woman to recede from it before her child is weaned, which 
 they usually do when their children are a year old, and those 
 who wean their children before that period are despised. 
 During a certain season, their women seclude themselves, 
 and do not appear abroad, or permit themselves to be seen of 
 men ; if they are at one of their gi'cat feasts or public assem- 
 blies, and the fountain springs, they retire immediately if pos- 
 sible, and do not appear abroad again until the season is over. 
 Otherwise when all is well, and they are not betrothed, they 
 frequently are light of behaviour, as well the women as the 
 men, and yield to temptation without shame ; but foul and 
 impertinent language, which is common with the lower class 
 with us, is despised with them. All romping, caressing and 
 wanton behaviour they speak of with contempt, and say that 
 they are indirect allurements to unchastity. If they observe 
 such behaviour among the Netherlanders, they reprove the 
 parties, and bid them seek retirement. What better reproof can 
 be given to such levity ? Some of their chiefs and great men 
 have two or three wives, wdio will readily accommodate a visit- 
 ing friend with one of his women for a night ; but if it takes 
 place without his consent, the act is deemed a disgrace, and the 
 woman is chastised and sent away. 
 
 Manner of burying their Dead. — Lamentations and Mourning. 
 
 Whenever an Indian departs this life, all the residents of the 
 place assemble at the funeral. To a distant stranger, who has 
 not a friend or relative in the place, they pay the like respect. 
 They are equally careful to commit the body to the earth, with- 
 out neglecting any of the usual ceremonies, according to the 
 standing of the deceased. In deadly diseases, they are faithful 
 to sustain and take care of each other. Whenever a soul has 
 departed, the nearest relatives extend the limbs and close the 
 eyes of the dead ; and after the body has been watched and 
 wept over several days and nights, they bring it to the grave, 
 wherein they do not lay it down, but place it in a sitting posture 
 upon a stone or a block of wood, as if the body were sitting 
 upon a stool ; then they place a pot, kettle, platter, spoon, with 
 some provision and money, near the body in the grave ; this 
 they say is necessary for the journey to the other world. Then 
 they place as much wood around the body as will keep tiie 
 26 
 
202 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 earth from it. Above the grave they place a large pile of wood, 
 stone or earth, and around and above the same they place pali- 
 sades resembling a small dwelling. All their burial places are 
 secluded and preserved with religious veneration and care, and 
 they consider it wicked and infamous to disturb or injure their 
 burial places. The nearest relatives of the deceased, particu- 
 larly the women, (the men seldom exhibit much excitement,) 
 have their periods of lamentations, when they make dreadful 
 and wonderful wailing, naming the dead, smiting upon their 
 breasts, scratching and disfigurnig their faces, and showing all 
 possible signs of grief. But where a mother has lost a child, 
 her expressions of grief exceed all bounds, for she calls and 
 wails whole nights over her infant, as if she really were in a 
 state of madness. If the deceased are young persons, or per- 
 sons slain in war, then their lamentations are of a particular 
 kind, and the women shave off their hair, which they keep the 
 customary time, and then they bum the hair upon the graves of 
 the deceased or slain, in the presence of the relations. In short 
 they possess strong passions, and exhibit the same with much 
 feeling when mourning over their dead relatives and friends. For 
 the purpose of removing the existing causes of grief, and not to 
 excite sorrow in the mind of the bereaved, and as far as possible 
 to promote forgetfulness of the friends lost, the name of the de- 
 ceased is never mentioned in the presence of the relations ; or 
 when the name is mentioned, it is received as if designed to 
 produce mortification, and as an act of unkindness. The use 
 of tokens of mourning is common, which usually are black 
 signs upon their bodies ; when a woman loses her husband, she 
 shaves off her hair, and paints her whole countenance black as 
 pitch, and men do the same when their wives die, and they also 
 wear a buckskin vest next to their skin, and mourn a whole 
 year, even if they have not been long married, or if the connec- 
 tion had not been happy — still they observe the ceremonies re- 
 ligiously, without marrying again until the season of mourning 
 is over. 
 
 Of their Feast Days and Particular Assemblies. 
 
 Feasts and great assemblages are not common among the In- 
 dians, yet they occur sometimes, and on special occasions, as 
 on the subjects of peace, war, alliances, treaties and devotions ; 
 or to counsel the devil on some approaching event, or in rela- 
 tion to the fruitfulness of the seasons, or to celebrate some suc- 
 cessful occurrence by frolicking and dancing, as at the conclu- 
 sion of peace, or to make war with some neighbouring people. 
 They do not resolve and decide hastily and by a small number. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 203 
 
 but on all important matters, all the chiefs and persons of any 
 distinction in the nation assemble in their councils, when each 
 of them express their opinions freely on the subject before the 
 council, as briefly or as extendedly as they please without any 
 molestation. If the speaker even digresses from the matter in 
 hand, or opposes others, he is heard with attention ; if they ap- 
 prove of what has been said, at the conclusion they shout and 
 cheer the orator. Their councils assemble in the morning while 
 the sun is ascending, and if the business is not done before noon 
 they adjourn until the next morning. When they wish to hunt 
 or drive the devil (as they do by spooking and deception), then 
 they assemble in the afternoon towards evening, and then some 
 of them do, most singularly indeed, endeavour to enchant and 
 charm the devil and carry on witchcraft, wherein the common 
 people believe. They begin witii jumping, crying, and grin- 
 ning, as if they were possessed and mad. They kindle large 
 fires, and dance around and over the same, lengthwise and 
 across ; they roll, tumble overhead, and bend themselves, and 
 continue their violent exercises imtil the sweat pours out and 
 streams down to their feet. By their distortions and hideous 
 acts, they appear like devils themselves ; their awful conduct 
 will astonish those who are not accustomed to see them. 
 During those operations, all their devil-drivers join in the roll- 
 ing and howling, when they altogether appear to be crazy. 
 When their charming has continued some time, then the 
 devil, as they say, appears to them in the form of a beast. If 
 the beast be a ravenous animal, it is a bad omen ; if it be a 
 harmless creature, the sign is better ; the animal gives them 
 strange answers to their inquiries, but seldom so clear and dis- 
 tinct that they can comprehend or interpret the same, which, 
 however, they strike at, as a blind man does at an egg. If 
 they interpret the answers incorrectly, the fault is theirs — some- 
 times they utter things beyond the devil's texts. If there be 
 any Christians present on those occasions, who observe all 
 their doings, then their devil will not appear. Their devil- 
 drivers sometimes bewitch some of their common people, and 
 cause them to appear possessed or besotted, which otherwise 
 is not seen, when they cast themselves into glowing fires with- 
 out feeling it. When the person who has been afflicted for 
 some time, and one of the charmers whisper in his ear, he 
 again becomes as gentle as a lamb. When they assemble to 
 rejoice or dance, they meet at mid-day. On those occasions, 
 an orator first delivers an address on the occasion and cause of 
 their meeting, after which they entertain themselves by eating 
 and feasting ; this they also do sometimes at their councils. 
 They eat lustily on such occasions, and every one devours as 
 much food as would serve each of them for three days, as no- 
 
204 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 thing may be left at their frolics ; what is not eaten by them or 
 by their dogs must be carried back. When they have stuffed 
 thonselves like cattle and can scarcely move, then the old and 
 middle-aged conclude with smoking, and the young with a kin- 
 tecaiu, singing and dancing, which frequently is continued until 
 morning. 
 
 How Men and Animals came on the American Continent. 
 
 There are various opinions on this subject, and many persons 
 have endeavoured to show how those, whom we name Indians, 
 first came to this part of the world, which is separated from the 
 other parts by the great seas, and which appears always to have 
 been thus separated. Some are of the opinion that they were 
 planted as a colony ; others ask, by whom ? and how lions, 
 bears, wolves, foxes, serpents, with poisonous reptiles, and other 
 ravenous beasts came on the continent, because such are never 
 carried or transported in ships. When we speak to the natives 
 of the creation, we can never satisfy them on the subject, or 
 receive from them any affirmation that they believe in the doc- 
 trine. Many remark that an unknown chronicle writer has 
 observed, that in former days, when, according to some Ra- 
 tiones Gentiwn, people were accustomed to adventures, some 
 persons well equipped and provided, sailed from a part of Nor- 
 way or Sweden in search of a better country, under the com- 
 mand of a certain chief named Sachema, and that they had 
 never been heard from after they sailed ; and as all the native 
 chiefs of the New-Netherlands who reside along the rivers and 
 the sea-shore are called sachems, they conclude that the coun- 
 try was peopled by those adventurers. We, however, do not 
 concur in this opinion, although the subject seems mysterious.* 
 Others go much farther, and inquire whether the natives of the 
 new world have descended from Adam, and whether there has 
 not been a separate creation of men and creatures for the same. 
 This theory they endeavour to support by various reasons. 
 They assert that there has been no deluge over America, and 
 speak of the same as a separate and entire new world, being 
 entirely different in formation and condition from the old world, 
 and by connecting other matters in support of their proposition, 
 they render their subject plausible. They also doubt whether 
 the new world will be judged at the judgment day with the old 
 world. In support of their doctrine they affirm that the period 
 is not long since sinners came there ; that the natives were 
 
 * It is now well ascertained tliat ihiscnnlinent wis visited by the Noithmcn, 
 ffrom Norway, Sweden, &.c.) aboul A. D. 1000.— Ed. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 205 
 
 innocent ; that the land had not been cursed on their account ; 
 and that no righteous punishment can be inflicted on them with 
 the other inhabitants of the old world. A more probable opin- 
 ion is advanced by others, who affirm that many years ago the 
 sea between Cape de Verds and Amei'ica was as narrow or of 
 less breadth than the strait between Calais and Dover, and that 
 b)"- the help of the adjacent and intervening islands, people and 
 animals could pass and re-pass from Africa to America. If the 
 communication was not there, (which is not to be credited,) it 
 must have been elsewhere ; and as memorials of Chinese 
 origin are found at the Brazils, it is evident that the Chinese 
 have foJmerly been there, and that the}^ came to the country 
 along the broken coast of the strait of Magellan, or overland 
 from the shore of the Pacific ocean ; or that that they had 
 driven a trade in the country. It is necessary that we support 
 the planting of a colony, and the removal of people from the 
 old world, and not a separate creation, as by the latter the doc- 
 trines of the Holy Scriptures would be subverted and ruined. 
 Those who hold other opinions, ask, if at any time people 
 could see across from Cape de Verds to America, whether, in 
 such a case, Columbus or Americus can have found a country 
 which was never lost ? It is not our intention to follow those 
 disputations, but we will leave every person to the enjoyment 
 of his own opinion on the subject, and proceed in our work. 
 
 Of the different Nations and Languages. 
 
 The nations, tribes and languages are as difl'erent in America 
 as they are in Europe. All those who are of one tribe or nation, 
 form one separate society, and usually keep together ; every tribe 
 or nation has its own chief, and is a separate government, sub- 
 ject to its own laws and regulations. They however all appear 
 to have descended from one parent-stock, but they seldom marry 
 out of their own tribes. They always are jealous of each 
 other as it respects their national power ; and every tribe endea- 
 vours to increase its own strength. As they have chiefs over their 
 nations, tribes, and settlements, so also every family has its head, 
 who is regarded as the most eminent and famous by descent, — 
 from which their rank in the tribe is usually settled. Their lan- 
 guages and dialects are very different, as unlike each other as 
 the Dutch, French, Greek and Latin are. Their declensions 
 and conjugations have an affinity with the Greek and accord to 
 it. Their declensions, augmentations, cases and adverbs, are 
 like the Greek ; but to reduce their language to any of ours, 
 would be impossible, for there is no resemblance between the 
 same. Before we have acquired a knowledge of any of their 
 
206 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 languages or dialects, we know no more of what they say than 
 if a dog had barked. In some of their languages the letter r, 
 is not sounded, and in others scarcely a syllable is spoken with- 
 out it; otherwise they are not very different, and the tribes usu- 
 ally can understand their dialects. Their various tongues may 
 be classed into four distinct languages, namely, Manhattan, 
 Minquas, Savanoos, and Wappanoos. With the Manhattans, we 
 include those who live in the neighbouring placesalong the North 
 river, on Long Island, and at the Neversink. With the Minquas 
 we include the Senecas, the Maquaas, and other inland tribes. 
 The Savanoos are the southern nations, and the Wappanoos are 
 the eastern nations. Their languages are seldom learned per- 
 fectly by any of our people, and those who by long and continued 
 intercourse and conversation with the Indians learn to speak 
 their language, are not men of education ,and are unable to com- 
 pose grammatical rules for the same, and of course are unable 
 to instruct others. 
 
 Of their Money or Circulating Medium. 
 
 That there should be no miserly desire for the costly metals 
 among the natives, few will believe ; still it is true, the use of 
 gold and silver or any metallic coin is unknown among them. 
 The currency which they use in their places to which they re- 
 sort is called loampum, the making and preparing of which is 
 free to all persons. The species are black and white, but the 
 black is worth more by one half than the white. The black 
 wampum, is made from conck shells, which are to be taken from 
 the sea, or which are cast ashore from the sea twice a 3^ear. 
 They strike off the thin parts of those shells and preserve the 
 pillars or standards, which they grind smooth and even and re- 
 duce the same according to their thickness, and drill a hole 
 through every piece and string the same on strings, and after- 
 wards sell their strings of wampum in that manner. This is the 
 only article of moneyed medium among the natives, with which 
 any traffic can be driven ; and it is also common with us in pur- 
 chasing necessaries and carrying on our trade ; many thousand 
 strings are exchanged every year for peltries near the sea shores 
 where the wampum is only made, and where the peltries are 
 brought for sale. Among the Netherlanders gold and silver be- 
 gin to increase and are current, but still the amount differs much 
 from that of the Netherlands. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 207 
 
 Of the Nature and Diversions of the Indians. 
 
 The Indians are naturally (with few exceptions) of taciturn, 
 steady and pensive dispositions and tempers, and of few words, 
 which are well considered, uttered slowly, and long remem- 
 bered ; they say no more than is necessary to the subject in 
 hand. When they want to buy or to sell any article, they say 
 no more than is necessary to the bargain. On the other occasions, 
 they talk of no subjects except hunting, fishing, and war. Their 
 young men frequently entertain each other on their gallantry with 
 young female connections. They despise lying, and still they 
 are not very precise in the performance of their engagements. 
 Swearing and scolding are not heard among them, unless it be 
 among those who have learned those habits from us. They do 
 not possess great wisdom or extensive knowdedge, but reasona- 
 ble understanding, resulting from practical experience, which 
 they certainly possess without any desire for further instruction ; 
 they are naturally civil and well disposed, and quick enough to 
 distinguish between good and evil, but after thev have associated 
 amongst us, they become cunning and deceitful. They are slo- 
 venly, careless, and dirty of their persons, and are troubled with 
 the evils which attend filthiness. They are very revengefvd and 
 obstinate even unto death, and when in trouble they disregard 
 and despise all pain and torture that can be done to them, and 
 will sing with proud contempt until death terminates their suffer- 
 ings. They are all stingy and inclined to beggary, and cannot 
 be trusted too far because they also are thievish ; denying them 
 the least trifle does not offend them. They are all free by na- 
 ture, and will not bear any domineering or lording over them ; 
 they will not bear any insult, unless they have done wrong, and 
 they will bear chastisement without resentment. Delicious 
 food or drink they disregard ; they fear no accidents, and can en- 
 dure heat, cold, hunger, and thirst, in a wonderful manner, and 
 they can all swim like ducks from their childhood. When 
 abroad they spend their time in hunting, fishing or war; at home 
 they smoke tobacco, and play a game with pieces of reeds, re- 
 sembling our card playing. The old men knit nets, and make 
 wooden bowls and ladles. Labour among the young men is un- 
 common, and nearly all the necessary labour is done by the 
 females. 
 
 Of their Sustenance and Medicines. 
 
 Famine they do not fear, nor do they regard medicines and 
 purgatives much. When they are unwell, they fast ; if that 
 will not remove the complaint, they then have recourse to 
 
203 VAN DER DONCk's 
 
 sweating and drinks ; but the latter they take very sparingly. 
 Their sweating places are made of clay, and enclosed tight in 
 the earth, with a small entrance to admit the patients within the 
 apartments. Where tlie place is needed there many stones are 
 heated, and placed around and within the same ; and then the 
 patient enters and sits down, naked and singing, wherein he 
 remains as long as it is possible to endure the heat, and on leav- 
 ing the stewing apartment, they usually lay down in cold spring 
 water. By those means they say that they gain relief, and cure 
 most diseases. They can heal fresh wounds and dangerous 
 bruises in a most wonderful manner. They also have remedies 
 for old sores and ulcers, and they also cure venereal affections 
 so readily, that many an Italian master who saw it, would be 
 ashamed of his profession. All their cures are made with 
 herbs, roots and leaves, (with the powers of which they are ac- 
 quainted,) without making any compounds. Still it must be ad- 
 mitted that nature assists them greatly, for they indulge in no 
 excesses of eating or drinking, otherwise they could not accom- 
 plish so much with such simple and small means. When any 
 of them are very sick, and they apprehend the disease to be of 
 a deadly character ; then, they all, or at least the nearest rela- 
 tives of the sick persons, have recourse to devil-hunting or 
 driving, and make noise enough to frighten a person in extremity 
 to death ; which they say they do to learn from the devil whe- 
 ther the patient will live or die, and when hope of recovery is 
 given, what remedies are to be used for the restoration of the 
 sick. They seldom however receive any positive answers, but 
 directions to use remedies, and when their hope for the recovery 
 of the sick, then food is presented to the person, who is per- 
 suaded to eat heartily, whether the food is relished or not. 
 
 Of their Agriculture, Planting, and Gardening. 
 
 All their agriculture is performed by their women. The men 
 give themselves very little trouble about the same, except those 
 who were old. They, with the young children will do some 
 labor under the direction of the women. They cultivate no 
 wheat, oats, barley or rye, and know nothing of ploughing, spa- 
 ding and spitting up the soil, and are not neat and cleanly in 
 their fields. The grain which they raise for bread, and mush or 
 sapaen, is maize or turkey-corn, and they raise various kinds of 
 beans as before remarked. They also plant tobacco for their 
 own use, which is not as good as ours, and of a different kind, 
 that does not require as much labour and attendance. Of garden 
 vegetables, they raise none, except pumpkins and squashes, as 
 before observed. They usually leave their fields and garden 
 spots open, unenclosed, and unprotected by fencing, and take 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 209 
 
 very little care of the same, though they raise an abundance of 
 corn and beans, of which we obtain whole cargoes in sloops 
 and galleys in trade. 
 
 Of manuring and proper tillage they know nothing. All their 
 tillage is done by the hand and with small adzes, which they 
 purchase from us. Although littie can be said in favour of 
 their husbandry, still they prefer their practice to ours, because 
 our methods require too much labour and care to please them, 
 with which they are not well satisfied. 
 
 A Relation of their Hunting and Fishing, 
 
 To hunting and fishing the Indians are all extravagantly in- 
 clined, and they have their particular seasons for these engage- 
 ments. In the spring and part of the summer, they practise 
 fishing. When the wild herbage begins to grow up in the 
 woods, the first hunting season begins, and then many of their 
 young men leave the fisheries for the purpose of hunting; but 
 the old and thoughtful men remain at the fisheries until the 
 second and principal hunting season, which they also attend, 
 but with snares only. Their fishing is carried on in the inland 
 waters, and by those who dwell near the sea, or the sea-islands. 
 The latter have particular advantages. Their fishing is done 
 with seines, set-nets, small fikes, wears, and laying hooks. 
 They do not know how to salt fish, or how to cure fish proper- 
 ly. They sometimes dry fish to preserve the same, but those 
 are half tainted, which they pound to meal to be used in chow- 
 der in winter. Their young and active men are much engaged 
 in hunting bears, wolves, fishers, otters, and beavers. Near 
 the sea-shores and rivers where the Christians mostly reside, 
 they hunt deer, where many are killed. Those are mostly 
 caught in snares, they also shoot them with arrows and guns. 
 The Indians sometimes unite in companies of from one to two 
 hundred, when they have rare sport. On those occasions, they 
 drive over a large district of land and kill much game. They 
 also make extensive fikes with palisades, which are narrow at their 
 terminating angles, wherein they drive multitudes of animals and 
 take great numbers. At a word, they are expert hunters for 
 every kind of game, and know to practise the best methods to 
 insure success. The beavers are mostly taken far inland, there 
 being few of them near the settlements — particularly by the 
 black Minquas, who are thus named because they wear a black 
 badge on their breast, and not because they are really black, by 
 the Senecas, by the Maquas, and by the Rondaxes or French 
 Indians, who are also called Euyrons {Hurons). For beaver 
 hunting the Indians go in large parties, and remain out from one 
 27 
 
210 VAN DER DONCK S 
 
 to two months, during which time they subsist by hunting and on 
 a Httle corn meal wliich they carry out with them, and they fre- 
 quently return home with from forty to eighty beaver skins, 
 and with some otter, fishers and other skins also, even more 
 than can be correctly stated. We estimate that eighty thous- 
 and beavers are annually killed in this quarter of the country, 
 besides elks, bears, otters, deer and other animals. There 
 are some persons who imagine that the animals of the country 
 will be destroyed in time, but this is unnecessary anxiety. 
 It has already continued many years, and the numbers brought 
 in do not diminish. The country is full of lakes, seas, rivers, 
 streams and creeks, and extends very far, even to the great 
 south sea ; hence we infer, that there will not be an end to the 
 wild animals, and also because there are large districts where 
 the animals will remain unmolested. 
 
 Of their Orders and Distinctions, hy birth or otherivise. 
 
 Distinctions are supported and observed among all the Indi- 
 an nations, but not as much as amongst us. They remark, that 
 they do not know why one man should be so much higher than 
 another as we represent them to be. Ands till they have those 
 among them whom they hold as nobles, who seldom marry be- 
 low their rank, and they also have their commonality. No 
 chief among them has the power to confer rank. Rank de- 
 scends in families, and continues as long as any one in the fam- 
 ily is fit to rule, and regents frequently govern in the name of a 
 minor. The oldest and first of a household or family, repre- 
 sent the same with or unto the chief of the nation. Military 
 distinction is not observed, except in war ; and then it is confer- 
 red by merit, without regard to families or birth. The lowest 
 among them may become a chief, but the rank dies with the 
 person, unless his posterity follow in the footsteps of tlie parent ; 
 and then, the rank of the parent and his situation will descend 
 in the family. It may well be supposed that such is the origin 
 of the rank and distinction which prevails among them. Their 
 chiefs feel proud of their stations, but not as much as ours do. 
 Still their commonality do not regard them much, unless they 
 are distinguished for understanding, activity and bravery ; and 
 then they honour them greatly. Such persons, for their artful- 
 ness and activity, they compare with the devil, the master of 
 evil arts, and name them, Manitto or Ottico. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 211 
 
 Of their Wars and Weapojis. 
 
 The principal command and authority among the Indians is 
 developed in war, and in their councils on war. In times of war 
 they do not organize armies, troops or regiments. In their best 
 postures they are without regular order. They are artful in 
 their measures, furious in their attacks, and unmerciful victors. 
 When their plans are hazardous, then they are conducted 
 covertly and privately by night. They always practise hinder- 
 ances, deceptions, and ambuscades against their enemies. Face 
 to face, in the open field or on water, they are not soldiers. 
 They usually run away in time, if they can ; but when they 
 are surrounded and cannot escape, then they fight obstinately, 
 and as long as they can stand, to the last man. The victors ac- 
 cept of no ransom, nor are the captives certain of their lives, until 
 they are given over to persons who have previously lost connec- 
 tions by blood in war. They seldom destroy women and chil- 
 dren, unless it be in their first fury, but never afterwards. If it 
 be in their power, they carry them all w^th them to their own 
 abode. The women they treat as they do their own, and the 
 children they bring up as their own, to strengthen their nation. 
 They all serve as volunteers in war, and they receive no pay to 
 retain them in service. They cannot subsist long in a body to- 
 gether, nor can they conduct sieges. Their men will not readi- 
 ly divulge any of their secret designs, unless it be to their own 
 women, and they usually do not know enough to withold a secret 
 from the Christians, particularly when they expect to derive 
 any advantages from the development. 
 
 When they intend to carry on any oflfensive measures, and 
 when they fear approaching danger ; in those cases, the wo- 
 men and children are removed to places of safety, where they 
 hope to secure them from danger imtil their purposes are exe- 
 cuted, or until the apprehended dangers are past. 
 
 Their weapons formerly were bows and arrows, with a war- 
 club hung to the arm, and a square shield which covered the 
 body up to the shoulders ; their faces they disfigure in such a 
 manner that it is diflScult to recognize one known before ; they 
 bind bands or snake-skins round the head, and place a fox's or 
 wolf's tail perpendicularly upon the head, and walk as proud as 
 peacocks. At present many of them use fire-arms, which they 
 prize highly and learn to use dexterously. They spare no pains 
 in procuring guns and ammunition, for which they trade witli 
 the Christians at a dear rate. At present they also use small 
 axes (tomahawks) instead of their war-clubs, and thus they 
 march onwards. 
 
212 VAN DER D0NCK9 
 
 Of their Laws and Punishments. 
 
 The common rules of order in the administration of justice 
 are not observed among this people, and are not exercised to 
 protect the innocent or to punish the guilty. There is so little 
 order observed among them that the Netherlanders, who reside 
 there and traffic with them, are astonished to find that such so- 
 cieties' can remain united, where there is no regard paid to 
 the administration of justice. All minor offences, such as 
 stealing, adultery, lying, cheating, and the like wrongs against 
 civil order, pass unpunislied among them. I have known that 
 an unmarried woman murdered her own child, and although 
 the fact was well known, still she went unpunished ; and also 
 that an Indian, on several occasions, violated several women 
 whom he found alone in the woods and in lonely places, who 
 also passed unpunished. With those exceptions, during a resi- 
 dence of nine years in the country, I have not heard of any 
 capital offences. Stealing is quite common among them, but 
 not of articles of great value. It may be a knife, an axe, a pair 
 of shoes, a pair of stockings, or such like articles. When we 
 detect them with the goods, we may retake the same and chas- 
 tise them freely ; and when the thief is not known and the mat- 
 ter is represented to the chief, the property is usually restored. 
 On those occasions the thief is reprimanded by the chief for 
 his conduct, and although reproof is the highest punishment 
 suffered by the culprit, yet it will not readily show how much 
 they fear such treatment, and how uncommon crimes are among 
 them. With us a watchful police is supported, and crimes are 
 more frequent than among them. 
 
 Murder or personal injuries are not attended to by the chief, 
 or friends, except for the purpose of reconciling the parties, for 
 which they use all possible means, and give liberally to effect 
 their object when the offender is deficient in means, which is 
 usually the case. A murder among them is never atoned for 
 without heavy payment. The nearest relative by blood always 
 is the avenger, and if he finds the murderer within twenty-four 
 hours after the act, he is slain instantly, but if the murderer 
 can save himself until one day is past, and the avenger slays 
 him afterwards, then he is liable to be pursued and slain in like 
 manner. A murderer seldom is killed after the first twenty- 
 four hours are past, but he must flee and remain concealed ; 
 when the friends endeavour to reconcile the parties, which is 
 frequently agreed to, on condition, that the nearest relatives of 
 the murderer, be they men, women, or children, on meeting the 
 relatives of the person murdered, must give way to them. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 213 
 
 Persons are very seldom doomed to death among them, ex- 
 cept captives taken in war, whom they consider to have for- 
 feited the rights of man. Such they condemn to be burned. 
 This they usually do slow^ly, beginning with their hands and 
 feet. The torture sometimes lasts three days before the victim 
 expires, who continues to sing and dance until life is extinct, 
 reproaching his tormentors, deriding their conduct, and extol- 
 ling the bravery of his own nation. 
 
 Of their Religion, and whether they can he brought over 
 to the Christian Faith. 
 
 The natives are all heathen and without any religious devo- 
 tions. Idols are neither known nor worshipped among them. 
 When they take an oath they swear by the sun, which, they 
 say, sees all things. They think much of the moon, and believe 
 it has great influence over vegetation. Although they know 
 all the planets from the other stars, by appropriate names, still 
 they pay no idolatrous worship to the same, yet by the planets 
 and other signs they are somewhat weatherwise. The offering 
 up of prayers, or the making of any distinction between 
 days, or any matter of the kind, is unknown among them. 
 They neither know or say any thing of God ; but they possess 
 great fear of the devil, who they believe causes diseases, and 
 does them much injury. When they go on a hunting or fish- 
 ing excursion they usually cast a part of what is first taken into 
 the fire, without using any ceremony on the occasion, then say- 
 ing, " stay thou devil, eat thou that."* They love to hear us 
 speak of God and of our religion, and are very attentive and 
 still during divine service and prayers, and apparently are in- 
 clined to devotion ; but in truth they know nothing about it, and 
 live without any religion, or without any inward or outward 
 godly fear, nor do they know of any superstition or idolatry ; 
 they only follow the instilled laws of nature, therefore some 
 suppose they can easily be brought to the knowledge and fear 
 of God. Among some nations the word Sunday is known by 
 the name of Kintowen. The oldest among them say that in 
 former times the knowledge and fear of God had been known 
 among them, and they remark, that since they can neither read 
 nor write, in process of time the Sunday will be forgotten, and 
 all knowledge of the same lost. Their old men, when we rea- 
 son earnestly with them on the matter, seem to feel pensive or 
 sorrowful, but manifest no other emotions or agitations — when 
 
 • The offering here said to be made to the devil is certainly a gross act of 
 superstition. — Trans. 
 
214 VAN DER DONCk's 
 
 we reprove them for bad conduct and reason with them on its 
 impropriety, and say that there is a God in heaven above whom 
 they offend, their common answer is — ' We do not know that 
 God, we have never seen him, we know not who he is— if you 
 know him and fear him, as you say you do, how does it then 
 happen that so many thieves, drunkards, and evil-doers are 
 found among you. Certainly that God will punish you se- 
 verely, because he has warned you to beware of those deeds, 
 which he has never done to us. We know nothing about it, 
 and therefore we do not deserve such punishment.' Very sel- 
 dom do they adopt our religion, nor have there been any political 
 measures taken for their conversion. When their children are 
 young some of them are frequently taken into our families for 
 assistants, who are, according to opportunity, instructed in our 
 religion, but as soon as they are grown up, and turn lovers and 
 associate again with the Indians, they forget their religious im- 
 pressions and adopt the Indian customs. The Jesuits have taken 
 great pains and trouble in Canada to convert the Indians to the 
 Roman Church, and outwardly many profess that religion ; but 
 inasmuch as they are not well instructed in its fundamental 
 principles, they fall off lightly and make sport of the subject 
 and its doctrine. 
 
 In the year 1639, when a certain merchant, who is still 
 living with us, went into that country to trade with an Indian 
 chief who spoke good French, after he had drank two or three 
 glasses of wine, they began to converse on the subject of reli- 
 gion. The chief said that he had been instructed so far that 
 he often said mass among the Indians, and that on a certain 
 occasion the place where the altar stood caught fire by accident, 
 and our people made preparations to put out the fire, which he 
 forbade them to do, saying that God, who stands there, is al- 
 mighty, and he will put out the fire himself ; and we waited 
 with great attention, but the fire continued till all was burned up, 
 with your almighty God himself and with all the fine things 
 about him. Since that time I have never held to that religion, 
 but regard the sun and moon much more, as being better than 
 all your Gods are ; for they warm the earth and cause the 
 fruits to grow, when your lovely Gods cannot preserve them- 
 selves from the fire. In the whole country I know no more 
 than one Indian who is firm in his religious profession, nor can 
 any change be expected among them, as long as matters arc 
 permitted to remain as heretofore. If they are to be brought 
 over to the Christian faith, then the public hand must be ex- 
 tended to them and continued ; we must establish good schools 
 at convenient places among them, for the instruction of their 
 children ; let them learn to write our catechism, and let them 
 be thoroughly instructed in the fundamental principles of our 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 215 
 
 religion, so that in process of time they may be enabled to in- 
 struct each other and become attached thereto. It certainly 
 would be attended with some trouble and expense to the govern- 
 ment, still, without such means and measures, it will be diffi- 
 cult to do any good among them. Our negligence on those 
 matters is very reprehensible, for the Indians themselves say 
 that they are very desirous to have their children instructed in 
 our language and religion. 
 
 Of their hope after this present life. 
 
 It is a wonderful truth which affords strong evidence against 
 unbelievers andfree-thinkingspirits, that this barbarous wild race 
 of people of whom we have treated, should know that there is a 
 distinction between the body and the soul, and believe, as they 
 actually do, that the one is perishable and the other immortal. 
 The soul, they say, is that spirit which directs all the actions of 
 the body, and is the producing cause of all good and evil con- 
 duct, which, when the body dies, separates from it and removes 
 to a place towards the south, where the climate is so fine that 
 no covering against the cold will be necesssary, and where the 
 heat will never be troublesome. To this place the souls of all 
 those who have been good and valuable in this life will go, where 
 they will be satisfied and have an abundance of good things, 
 without any trouble or labour for the same, forever ; and they 
 who have been bad in this life, after death will go to another 
 place, where their condition will be directly contrary to the 
 first ; where they will never enjoy peace and contentment, as 
 the good will do. Bat I have never been able rightly to dis- 
 cover whether they believe the soul will be hereafter united to 
 the body. I have, however, spoken with Christians who re- 
 mark, that they have heard them state such to be their belief. 
 But they do not affirm to this fact. When they hear voices 
 or noises in the woods at night, which frequently happens, and 
 which, we believe, usually proceed from wild animals, but 
 which they declare, with fear and astonishment, are made by the 
 wicked, the souls of whom are thus doomed to wander at night 
 in the woods and solitary places for punishment in unhappy 
 situations. The Indians, because they fear those subjects, do not 
 travel by night unless it be necessary, and then go in parties or 
 companies ; wdien they go alone they always carry a fire-brand 
 with them, with which they believe they can keep off those evil 
 spirits and prevent them from doing them any injury, which, 
 they say, are always disposed to frighten them and do them 
 wrong. They acknowledge also that the soul proceeds from 
 God, and that the same is his gift. This we sometimes learn 
 
216 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 from their old men of understanding, when an opportunity pre- 
 sents itself in conversation, and we probably would discover 
 more of them in relation to this matter, if we did perfectly un- 
 derstand their languages. Among their common or young 
 people we do not hear those spoken of. In this we still see 
 the providence of God, who, by the common light of nature, has 
 given to this people the knowledge that there is, after this life, 
 a reward for the just, and a punishment for the unjust, which 
 all mankind may expect. 
 
 Of their knowledge of God, and their fear of the devils. 
 
 Although the original inhabitants of the New-Netherlands be 
 heathen and are unbelievers, they however believe and ac- 
 knowledge that there is a God in heaven from all eternity, who 
 is almighty. But they say God is good, kind, and compas- 
 sionate, who will not punish or do any injury to any person, 
 and therefore takes no concern himself in the common affairs of 
 the world, nor does he meddle with the same, except that he 
 has ordered the devil to take care of those matters. For they 
 say that all which happens to persons on the earth, is ordered 
 and directed by the devil as he pleases. God, the chief of all, 
 who dwells in heaven, is much greater and higher than the 
 devil, over whom he has power, but he will not meddle in, or 
 trouble himself with, those concerns. 
 
 When, on those subjects, we answer them conclusively, that 
 the devil is deceitful and wicked ; they acknowledge it to be true, 
 and that he to the extent of his power, directs such matters in 
 the most wicked and injurious ways (wherein he takes pleasure). 
 They say that all accidents, infirmities and diseases, are sent and 
 forced upon them by the devil, to whom they ascribe it by the 
 common name, saying that the devil is in them, and is the cause 
 of all their misfortunes and ailments. For instance, if they 
 have any inward complaint, they say there is a devil in me ; if 
 they have a defect in arm or leg, foot, or hand ; shoulder or in 
 the head ; they devote the part, and say there is a devil in the 
 same. And because he is so unkind to them, they must, whe- 
 ther they be willing or not, fear him, and preserve his friend- 
 ship, and sometimes (as before related) cast a piece to him into 
 the fire. Where we refute those follies, by saying that God 
 knows all things, and is almighty, and has a perfect knowledge 
 of the devil, and observes his conduct, and will not permit him 
 to rule over man, who is created in the image of God, and is the 
 noblest part of the creation ; nor will the devil be permitted to 
 tyrannize over man, provided they will rightly confide and trust 
 in God, and not withdraw from his commandments to do evil ; 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS?. 217 
 
 then they repay us, with strange and fabulous repHes, saying — 
 *' You lazy Dutchmen say so, and when we observe the matter 
 outwardly it would appear to be true — what you say ; but in 
 fact you do not understand the matter. That God, who is the 
 highest good, almighty and gracious, and Lord of heaven and 
 earth, in whom all power is, exists in heaven, but not alone, 
 and without pastime ; for he has there with him a goddess, 
 a female person, the most beautiful ever known and beheld. 
 With this goddess or beautiful person, he is so much engrossed, 
 that the time is passed away and forgotten. Meantime the 
 devil plays the tyrant and does what he pleases." 
 
 This belief and feeling is deeply impressed in them, and 
 when we with stronger reasons sift the subject and drive them 
 from their positions, they fall into more abominable absurdities, 
 and like the dogs return to their vomit, and say they must serve 
 the devil because he has the power to do them injuries. 
 
 Their Opinions of the Creation, ^c. 
 
 From the young Indians who frequent our settlements, and 
 continue somewhat wild, we cannot derive any certain informa- 
 tion of their belief on these matters ; but we must have recourse 
 to their aged men of understanding, when we desire to know 
 their belief on those important subjects. 
 
 It sometimes happens when we enter into a curious discourse 
 with them, that they ask us our opinions on the origin of man, and 
 how they came to this country ; and when we inform them in 
 broken language of the creation of Adam, they cannot believe, 
 or will not understand relative to their people and the negroes, 
 on account of their great difference and the inequality of colour. 
 According to their opinion the world was not created as described 
 in the first and second chapters of the book of Genesis ; but 
 they say the world was before all mountains, men and animals ; 
 that God then was with that beautiful woman, who now is 
 with him, without knowing when or from whence they came, 
 then was all water, or the water covered all ; and they add that 
 if there had been any eyes in being, there was nothing but water 
 to be seen, and nothing else visible in every direction. 
 
 It happened at this period, they say, that the before mentioned 
 beautiful woman or goddess, gradually descended from heaven, 
 even into the water, gross or corpulent like a woman, who ap- 
 parently would bring forth more than one child. Having gradu- 
 ally settled into the water, she did not go under it ; but imme- 
 diately at the place where she descended, some land appeared 
 under her, whereon she remained sitting. This land increased, 
 and in time became greater and dry around the place where 
 28 
 
218 VAN DER DONCK !> 
 
 she sat ; like one who is placed on a bar, whereon the water is 
 three or four feel deep, which by the ebbing of the tide beconties 
 dry land. 
 
 Thus they say and mean to be understood, it occurred with 
 this descended goddess. And that the land became of greater 
 extent around her, until its extent was unbounded to the sight, 
 when vegetation appeared ; and in time fruitful and unfruitful 
 trees began to grow throughout the world as it now appears. 
 Whether tlie world of which you speak originated at this time, 
 we cannot say. 
 
 At this period of lime, when those things had taken place and 
 were accomplished, this great person was overtaken in labour, 
 and brought forth three distinct and different creatures. The 
 ■ first was like a deer as those now are, the second like a bear, 
 and the third like a wolf in every respect. The woman suckled 
 those animals to maturity, and remained a considerable time 
 upon the earth, cohabiting with those several animals, and 
 bringing forth at every l^irth more than one of a different 
 species and appearance ; from which have originated and pro- 
 ceeded all the human beings, animals and creatures, of every 
 description and species, as the same now are and appear ; being 
 propagated according to nature, each in their peculiar order, as 
 the same are in succession continued. 
 
 When all those subjects were brought to a state of perfection, 
 and could continue, this common mother rejoiced greatly, and 
 ascended up to heaven, where she will contiue to remain and 
 dwell, enjoying pleasure, and subsist in goodness and love, 
 which her upper Lord will afford her, for which she is particu- 
 larly desirous, and God also loves her supremely above all 
 things. 
 
 Here on the earth, in the meanwhile, the human species, and 
 the animals after their kind, have multiplied and produced so 
 many different creatures, and increased exceedingly : which 
 every other thing that was created also does, as the same at pre- 
 sent is seen. Therefore it is at this time, that all mankind, 
 wherever they be, are always born with the nature of one or the 
 other of the aforesaid animals. They are timid and innocent like 
 the deer; they are brave, revengeful, and just of hand, like the 
 bear ; or they are deceitful and blood-thirsty like the wolves. Al- 
 though their dispositions are apparently somewhat changed, 
 this they attribute to the subtlety of men, who know how to con- 
 ceal their wicked propensities. 
 
 This, they say, is all they have learned from their fathers on 
 the subject of the Creation ; which has been handed down to 
 them, and which they believe to be true. And they add if they 
 had been able to write as you are, they would have transmitted 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 219 
 
 and left us all the particulars on these matters, which they could 
 not do, because they know not the art of writing. 
 
 Here, esteemed reader, you have all, both general and parti- 
 cular, that was worth writing, concerning the manners, opin- 
 ions, and acts of the Indians in the New-Netherlands, which I 
 could discover, and also which any of our Christians from the dis- 
 covery of the country, could ascertain from them ; and although 
 much is fabulous and contrary to truth, I have nevcrtlielcss com- 
 mitted the same to writing. The more discerning (and I have 
 heard some of them philosophize on the matter) take a more 
 extensive view, and have high speculations, and know, as we 
 say, with Virgil, how to extract gold from the filth of Euvius.* 
 
 * Probably a misprint for Ennius. BiU Virgil does not mention his indebted- 
 jjess to linnius, whom another Roman poet describes as ingenio maximus, arte 
 rudis. — E». 
 
220 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 OF THE BEAVER. 
 
 Under the title of the wild animals of the New-Netherlands, 
 we remain indebted for a description of the uncommon and nat- 
 ural habits of the beavers. Having said much of the manners 
 and customs of the natives, we will in this place fulfil our 
 promise on the subject of the beaver. This animal has attract- 
 ed many persons to the country. We will begin by stating the 
 opinions of the ancient and later writers on the beaver, and 
 by following the truth show how far they have wandered from 
 it on this matter. 
 
 Pliny, the great naturalist, in his XXXII Book, Chap. 3, 
 says that the limbs of the beaver, whereby he means the testi- 
 cles, are very useful for many purposes in medicine. And that 
 the animals when sought by the hunters for their tests, and 
 when closely pursued, would castrate themselves with their 
 teeth and leave the parts for the hunters, which the creatures 
 knew to be the prize sought after. ' This most of the old nat- 
 urahsts and physicians believed to be true ; although some de 
 nied the same, still they held that the beaver cods, which they 
 named castorium, possessed many medicinal virtues. 
 
 They write that the beavers could bite very sharp ; that they 
 could fell trees as if cut with an axe. Olaus and Albertus 
 remark on their carrying of wood for their houses. They also 
 state that the beavers' tails are very long, and that that part is 
 fish ; that beavers will attack men and bite them severely, with 
 many other things differing widely from the truth. Hence it 
 may be inferred, that neither of them have ever seen a beaver, 
 but have related their uncertain propositions upon the credit of 
 ignorant, unlettered persons. We may give credit to their 
 declarations, when the)'^ relate that they used beaver flesh and 
 cods for medicines. This was their art ; the virtue of the 
 specific lay in the faith of the patients, which they saw suited 
 their designs. 
 
 We will now relate in connection the disorders for which they 
 say the medicines prepared from beaver testicles were infalli- 
 ble remedies. The smelhng of beaver-cods will produce sneez- 
 ing and cause sleep — connected with the oil of roses and hogs- 
 lard, and rubbed on the head of a drowsy person, it will pro- 
 duce wakefulness. Taken in water, it serves to remove idiocy. 
 The sleeping are awakened by rubbing with cod oil. Two 
 quarts of the oil, mixed with polay-water, will restore the menses 
 to women, and remove the second birth. Beaver oil is good 
 for dizziness, for trembling, for the rheumatism, for lameness, 
 for the pain in the stomach, and for apoplexy, when the stomach 
 is greased with it. Again, when taken inwardly, it removes 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 221 
 
 the falling sickness and stoppages in the body, pain in the 
 bowels, and poison. It cures the tooth-ache ; dropped in the 
 ear, it cures the ear-ache. Tingling and rustling in the ears is 
 cured by a few drops of Macolim sap. Beaver oil, mixed 
 with the best honey and rubbed on the eyes, restores the sharp- 
 ness of sight. Beaver water is an antidote for all poisons, but 
 to preserve it good it must be kept in the bladder. Those who 
 have the gout, should wear slippers and shoes made of beaver 
 skins. 
 
 After relating all those things we will proceed to an accurate 
 description of the beaver, as we have found and known the ani- 
 mal. And that none may believe that I treat upon a subject 
 which is unknown to me, the reader will please observe that in 
 the New-Netherlands, and in the adjacent country, about eighty 
 thousand beavers have been killed annually, during my resid- 
 ence of nine years in the country. I have frequently eaten 
 beaver flesh, and have raised and kept their young. I have 
 also handled and exchanged man}'^ thousand skins. 
 
 A beaver is a four footed animal that feeds on vegetables, 
 and keeps in water and on land, coated with fur and hair, short- 
 legged, C[uick, timid and subtle, and commonly as thick as it is 
 long. The Greek name of this animal is castor, the Latin is 
 eyher* the Dutch is heever. The other names by which it is 
 known in Europe, are mostly derived from the foregoing. 
 It has feet like the otter, or like other wild and tame creatures 
 which keep on land. 
 
 The food of the beaver is not, as some suppose, fish and prey 
 like the otter's ; to which end the beaver has been described 
 and delineated with a fish in its mouth, and to be part fish and 
 part flesh. It feeds on the bark of several kinds of wood, on 
 roots, rushes and greens, which it finds in the woods, fields and 
 bushes, near the water sides. The kinds of bark whereon it 
 feeds, are of the water willow, birch, and maple trees, which 
 grow plentifully near the water sides, and of all other trees, 
 which are not sour or bitter to the taste, which they dislike. 
 
 The beavers keep, (as is said, which is true,) in the water 
 and on land ; therefore they may be named land and water ani- 
 mals, but they are mostly on the dry land, and get most of their 
 food on land, consisting of bark and herbage. The wood and 
 grass used in the construction of their house are got on the land ; 
 they remain whole nights on land, and they cannot live and 
 remain long under the water, particularly when they are chased 
 and fatigued. In the water they obtain a scanty subsistence 
 from the bark of roots of trees which extend into the water from 
 the margin of the water courses, and the weeds and bushes 
 which grow in some places, but mostly on the margin of the 
 water. The true and certain reason why the beavers keep so 
 
 * Misprint for^fier. — Ed. 
 
222 VAN DER donck's 
 
 much in the water arises from their natural timidity, which is 
 supported by the testimony of the great beaver catchers. Be- 
 ing naturally timid, the creature can best preserve and secure 
 itself much better and easier in the water than on land. To 
 that end, as will be detailed hereafter, they construct their abodes 
 over the water, having apertures in the lower stories that 
 communicate with the water, from which they can readily 
 retreat under water to places of safety, which they have alwaj'^s 
 prepared near their houses ; these consist of a hollow or hole 
 entwining under water from the side of the stream whereon 
 their houses are erected and ascending under the bank, into 
 which they retreat on the approach of danger — wherein they 
 seem to be so safe and secure that no person can molest them. 
 The beaver's skin is rough, but very thickly set with fine 
 wool (fur) of an ash grey colour, inclining to blue. The out- 
 ward points also incline to a russet or brown colour. From the 
 beaver fur, or wool, the best hats are made that are worn, which 
 are named beavers or castoreums, after the materials from which 
 the same are made, being at present known over all Europe. 
 Outside of the coat of fur manj^ shining hairs appear, which are 
 called wind hairs, that more properly arc winter hairs, for 
 those fall out in summer and appear again in the fall. This 
 outer coat is of a chestnut brown colour— the browner the bet- 
 ter — it sometimes will be somewhat reddish. When hats are 
 made of the fur, the rough hairs are plucked out, being useless. 
 The skins usually are first sent to Russia (Muscovy) where they 
 are highly esteemed for the outside shining hair, and on that 
 their greatest recommendation depends with the Russians. 
 There the skins are used for mantle linings, and are also cut 
 into stripes for borders, as we cut the rabbit skins. Therefore 
 we name the same peltries. Whoever there has the most and 
 costliest fur trimmings is esteemed the greatest, as with us, the 
 finest stuffs and gold and silver embroidery are considered the 
 appendages of the great. After the hairs have fallen out, or are 
 worn, and the peltries become old and dirty, and apparently use- 
 less, we get the articles back and convert the fur into hats, be- 
 fore which it cannot be well used for this purpose, for unless the 
 beaver has been worn and is greasy and dirty, it will not felt 
 properly — therefore those old peltries arc most valuable. The 
 coats which the Indians make of beaver skins, and have worn 
 a long time around their bodies, until the same have become 
 foul with sweat and grease — those afterwards are used by the 
 hatters and make the best hats. They also work it with the 
 combed wool or fur (which is so called) because the beaver 
 skins before the same are sent to Russia are combed, by which 
 process much of the fur is taken out of the long hair (or wind 
 liair) with a comb — this is also worked with the peltry fur, after 
 its return from Russia. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 223 
 
 The beavers have very short legs, appearing as if there were 
 no middle bones, and when tliey run, their legs are scarcely 
 observable, and appear as if their feet were joined to their bo- 
 dies, with which they move. Their claws or paws are bare 
 and blackish, with strong, brown nails, bound with a thick, 
 strong skin, hke swans' feet, which they resemble, but are not 
 so broad, being shorter before than behind. The hinder part of 
 the body is short, much like that of a goose or swan. The 
 forefeet (as the creature has a short neck, or is almost without 
 a neck, the head being near the shoulders) stand near the head, 
 Therefore when they run, which they do Avith great activity, 
 their whole body appears to touch the ground and appears to 
 be too heavy for their small short legs : but far from it, they are 
 well provided by nature with strong sinews and muscles and 
 are very strong. 
 
 The beavers are so quick, that they not only can run wonder- 
 fully over the earth, when we consider their formation, avoid- 
 ing men and dogs ; but in the water they seem as active as 
 fishes. Therefore the Indians must take them in traps ; or 
 when they lay in their burrows in the earth, they know how to 
 take and kill them with long rammers (which have lances 
 affixed at the ends) inserted at the holes of their burrows. That 
 the beavers according to the meaning of Olaus Magnus and 
 Albertus, will be inclined to bite and wound persons dreadfully, 
 is a mistake ; for it is a timid creature, which seeks to preserve 
 itself by flight if possible, and as it has a sharp scent and hear- 
 ing, we seldom happen to see it on the land. Nor will it ever 
 keep near man like the otters, which the latter sometimes do. 
 The beavers keep in deep sv/amps, at the walers and morasses, 
 where no settlements are. Still when they are beset and bitten 
 by dogs, they can defend themselves very well, and do great in- 
 fury to a common dog, when they take hold of the same with 
 their foreteeth ; but as to their attacking men with violence, it 
 is erroneous. I have seen and conversed with hundreds of 
 beaver hunters, but have never known more than one who had 
 been bitten by a beaver in his shoulder and received a bad 
 wound. This happened when the hunter's dog and a beaver 
 were striving for the mastery, and the hunter stooped down to 
 help his dog ; when the beaver missing the dog probably, in terror 
 and misery, bit the hunter in his shoulder. 
 
 That the beavers are subtle animals appears by the construc- 
 tion of their houses, and in rearing their young, which we will 
 presently relate, with their continual watch, which they keep 
 to prevent surprise and being taken ; which, we are informed, 
 they keep at every house, for the beavers commonly have six 
 or seven in a family in every house, at which they in turn keep 
 watch. It is certain that when it freezes hard, which it fre- 
 
224 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 qiiently does where the most and best beavers resort, there al- 
 ways sits one, not as Mhertus and Magnus assert, with half of 
 the body in the water (for this would be impossible in severe 
 frost). The beaver can keep above water without pain, which 
 they nevetherless on the contrary feel ; but I assert that one of 
 the family always sits near the running water, for they always 
 build on running waters, that with the striking of their tails 
 they keep it open ; the noise of which resembles the continual 
 striking of a person with his flat hand, by which means they pre- 
 vent the freezing of the water and keep it open. This is not 
 done because, as the doctors say, they cannot remain out of 
 water without pain, but to keep the entrance of the houses 
 open, so that they can seek food, and in case of danger, that 
 they can readily with little difficulty retreat to their strongholds, 
 which they always have near their houses under the banks of 
 the water courses. 
 
 The form of a beaver resembles the shape of a cucumber 
 which has a short stem, or a duck that has the neck and head 
 cut off, or like a ball of yarn wound in long form and flattened a 
 little, being often thicker than long, or like a swine which is 
 flat on the back, with its belly hanging down. The dead bea- 
 ver resembles a dead mole which is somewhat flattened with 
 the foot. 
 
 When full grown, the skins are about an ell long and an ell 
 broad ; they are not round, but frequently nearly square. From 
 this size up to five quarters, the skins are merchantable — they 
 are seldom larger. From December to the first of June, the 
 skins are good, and then they are killed. The fall skins have 
 the winter hairs in part, with very little fur. The summer 
 skins and those taken from ungrown beavers are of little value. 
 Still the Indians kill all they find when they are hunting. 
 
 Their houses, as Sextius, Albertus, and Olaus say, they con- 
 struct always over a running stream, with several stories, four, 
 five, or more, above each other, of curious workmanship, and 
 worthy of speculation. Every apartment and story in their 
 houses is made perfectly tight with wood, grass and clay to the 
 top, which keeps out the rain. They lodge in those houses in 
 whole families, and parts of families, and break out like bees, 
 with their increase when disturbed. The wood used in the con- 
 struction of their houses is of the soft kind, such as maple, pine, 
 white-wood, &c. which they find laying along the water courses. 
 When this supply is insufficient, they have recourse to the near- 
 est trees, which is done as follows. When a beaver intends to 
 fell a tree, it selects one of a proper size, of about six inches 
 diameter, the bark of which is not bad tasted. The beaver then 
 begins cutting with its front tee^h, of which it has two in the 
 upper and two in the lower jaw ; very strong and about half 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 225 
 
 an inch long, more or less, according to its age. Those teeth are 
 yellow on tlie outside. When this is scraped off and taken in- 
 wardly, it will cure the jaundice. With those teeth, which are 
 common to the squirrels and other animals, they commence 
 gnawing, making a cut of about a hand's breadth or more aromid 
 the tree, which they work at until the tree falls, and then the 
 ends resemble the turned whip-tops used by children. Whether 
 they look up when the tree falls, to observe its direction, I have 
 never heard. But I have seen many trees which had been cut 
 down by the beavers, that had fallen fast against trees that sto od 
 near by, that were left by tlie animals. After a tree has fallen 
 down, they then gnaw off the wood into proper lengths for th eir 
 work. They carry the wood together, and nearly all the inhab it- 
 ants of the New-Netherlands know that many skins are sold from 
 which the outside wind hairs are worn off on the back, which 
 are called wood-carriers' skins, because they carried wood for 
 the construction of their houses ; this is not done as the an- 
 cients relate, between their legs, as upon a sled or waggon ; 
 but the Indians who have seen the beavers labour, have 
 frequently told me, that after the wood is cut off and ready 
 for removal, the female places herself under the piece to be re- 
 moved, which the male and the young ones support on her back 
 to the place where it is used. In this manner every stick is 
 carried. That the carrier is dragged by its tail with the wood, 
 lying on its back, by the other beavers, is a fabulous tale. The 
 tail of a beaver is not large and long, as the ancients remark. 
 The largest are not larger and broader than a man's hand, with- 
 out the thumb. Their tails also are tender and would not bear 
 pulling by the same with the sharp teeth of another beaver. 
 
 The beaver tails are flattish, without hair, coated with a skin 
 which appears as if set with fish scales, and when chopped up 
 with the flesh of the beaver, it is a delicate food, and is always 
 preserved for the Emperor's table, whenever a beaver is caught 
 in Germany, which seldom happens. The beaver tails excel all 
 other flesh taken on land and in the water. Wherefore the In- 
 dians deem it a special favour to permit us to partake with them 
 of a part of a beaver's tail ; and they will seldom part with any 
 beaver flesh. The most of the settlers in the New-Netherlands 
 have never tasted it — but the best and most excellent part of a 
 beaver is its tail. The Indians will seldom part with it, unless 
 on an extraordinary occasion as a present. 
 
 The beaver like the swine goes with young sixteen weeks ; 
 they bear once a year and in summer, some earlier than others, 
 and have four in a litter, except at the first, when they some- 
 times have but two or three. The young beavers, whenever 
 they are brought forth, cry like children, so that a person coming 
 to a place where there is a young beaver, if lie did not know to 
 29 
 
226 VAN DER DO>XK's 
 
 the contrary, would suppose a child was at hand. The beavers 
 have two paps between the fore-legs at the breast, resembling 
 the paps of a woman, and no more. She suckles her young 
 sitting and permits two to suckle at the same time, like children 
 standing at the breast. Meanwhile the others lay, as if they 
 were crying, in their nest — they are suckled in turn. A young 
 beaver is a beautiful creature ; is easily raised and will become 
 as tame as a dog, and will feed on any food, like cats, except flesh 
 and fish, which they will eat when boiled. When they are taken 
 very young they require milk, which they readily learn to suck 
 from a rag-teat, out of a horn. They are gentle to handle as a 
 young dog, and will not get cross or bite. When grown they 
 are fond of the water, and will sport and play in a stream with 
 astonishing agility ; and if they are not confined in locked 
 waters, by going into streams ever)^ day they stroll away and 
 become wild, and do not return again, like the deer, which also 
 can be made very tame. 
 
 The doctors of medicine, as before related, ascribe many me- 
 dicinal virtues to the beaver cods, which they name castorium. 
 Aristotle, Pliny, and the writers of those days meant that tlie 
 beavers seldom castrated themselves. But Olaus Magnus, 
 Agricola, Albertus, and Seaiius have not admitted this, but say 
 much fraud was practised in the sale of beaver-cods, which is 
 evident, x^nd as I have been at great pains to arrive at a cer- 
 tainty on this subject, for which purpose I have not only exam- 
 ined man)'^ Indians carefully, who were most acquainted with 
 the matter, but have also with my own hands opened many 
 beavers, which I have examined curiously ; the result of which, 
 friendly reader, on this occasion will not be withheld from you. 
 
 I have heard, that for medicinal purposes, small kegs of dried 
 and salted cods have been shipped to be sold by druggists, but 
 for the most those were beaver kidneys, dugs, or not the real 
 castor cods, therefore the article did not sell well. Several 
 persons also have left the New-Netherlands for Holland, who 
 took with them, as they supposed, "the real cods, which they had 
 obtained from the Indians ; but on their arrival, they were found 
 to be a spurious article. Having heard of this several times, 
 my curiosity became excited, and I even doubted whether I had 
 seen real castor cods. All I had seen were round, some larger 
 than others, but as long as they hung to smoke or drjj^, the fat 
 dropped out as from pork hung in the sun. Finally I observed 
 one somewhat long, like a preserved pear, shrivelled and a little 
 musky. This I presented to an experienced physician in the 
 New-Netherlands, who pronounced it to be a true beaver cod, 
 of the proper kind, and as the article should be. It happened 
 at this time that beavers were found not far from my residence, 
 and several were brought to me by the Indian hunters, unopened 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 227 
 
 and fresh; these I opened and examined with great care 
 for the real castor cods, but to no piurpose. I found deep in the 
 body, under the os pubis, or eys bone, small ballats like a 
 fleur-de-lis, which in Holland were pronounced spurious. At 
 last, a discreet Indian hunter, who had assisted me in my ex 
 perimental dissections, after I had represented to him that the 
 subjects sought for were flattish,and in form somewhat resembled 
 a pear, advised the opening of a female beaver. We took 
 in hand a female which was with young, to see how the young 
 la}^ ; upon which I found against the back bone two testiculos, 
 of the form which I sought after, flattish like some pears, re- 
 sembling young calves' tests, and yellowish, covered with a tol- 
 erable tough fleece or skin. I took them out, and for further 
 certainty and assurance, that it was a female beaver, I removed 
 four young from the body. After some time I presented those 
 testicles to the doctor before mentioned, at the Governor's house, 
 before much company. The doctor and all present pronounced 
 the articles real beaver testicles. After I had related to them 
 the whole procedure, they were amazed, but adhered to their 
 first opinion, and that the same were the real beaver castor cods. 
 Afterwards I have opened more beavers with the like result ; 
 therefore, without prejudice to the feelings of any person, I am 
 decidedly of opinion, that the real castoriinn is found in the fe- 
 males and not in the males. The round balls of the males the 
 Indians carve fine, and suck much with their tobacco : — it is 
 healthy and well tasted. The fat or pork around the body of a 
 beaver is frequently tAvo or three fingers thick, of which the In- 
 dians are very fond. It resembles fed pork. The tails are 
 great delicacies. The Indians always burn the beaver bones, 
 and never permit their dogs to gnaw the same ; alleging that 
 afterwards they will be unlucky in the chase. 
 
 The beavers are usually all of the same colour ; a few are a 
 little browner than others. Among all the beaver skins I have 
 seen, no more than one was of a different colour, and that 
 was white. The outer loind-hairs were golden yellow. This 
 skin was shipped on board the ship Princess, Avith Director 
 Kieft, which was lost at sea. 
 
228 VAN DER DONCKS 
 
 A DIALOGUE 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 A PATRIOT AND A NEW-NETHERLANDER, 
 
 VPON TftE 
 
 ADVANTAGES WHICH THE COUNTRY PRESENTS TO SETTLERS, &c. 
 
 My worthy friend : — I have heretofore embraced several op- 
 portunities and read with attention the particular description of 
 the natural formation of the New-Netherlands, and of the appear- 
 ance and customs of the country, and have arrived at the con- 
 clusion that a burgher, farmer, or mechanic, and all other per- 
 sons, can gain a comfortable subsistence in that country. I 
 have, however, long desired to know your opinion in rela- 
 tion to other subjects connected with the settlement of that 
 country, and therefore request your answers to the following 
 propositions : — 
 
 First. — Whether it would be of any service to this city, if 
 the said country arrived at a flourishing condition, and wherein 
 those advantages would consist and be continued. 
 
 Secondly. — If there should be a great increase of population 
 and riches in the country, whether the land presents situations 
 for defence against an enemy, or robbers, by the construction 
 of fortifications ? 
 
 Thirdly. — Whether the country presents proper situations 
 for commerce and at what places, and in what articles we 
 could trade to advantage ; and, in short, please to state the 
 subjects in connection and solve the same according to your 
 own reflections ? 
 
 New-Netherlander . Although I am not as well informed 
 on the subjects of inquiry as I would wish to be, still I will en- 
 deavour to answer your propositions. And first : — whetlier it 
 would be of service to this city, if New-Netherlands were 
 flourishing ? I answer, yes — for the following reasons — or to 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 229 
 
 come closer to your question, the advantages which this city 
 may derive from that country are as follow : — 
 
 Yivst. — If difficulties should arise with Spain, (which God 
 forbid!) there then is no place in the world better situated, 
 from which to strike at the heart and vitals of that nation, than 
 from the New-Netherlands, where we have all things together, 
 such as provisions, ship-timber, plank, knees, masts, &c., that 
 are necessary to equip our ships, in abundance. Whenever we 
 desire to improve those advantages, we can do so without 
 molestation. 
 
 Secondly. — If it should happen that iron, timber, ashes, 
 grain, and other articles which we now receive from the 
 east, should fall short, the deficiencies can be supplied from 
 the New-Netherlands in abundance, if we encourage and ad- 
 vance the settlement of the country, without which it is worth 
 nothing. 
 
 Thirdly. — By so doing we shall always have a free and 
 unobstructed commerce to and fro, and enjoy a free and profit- 
 able trade with the Lords' colony, from and to their own 
 country, which in time will increase so much as now is deem- 
 ed incredible. We see how much the trade has advanced in 
 two or three years since we have encouraged the settlement of 
 the country, and by going on from year to year, the gain 
 will advance proportionally. But more of this upon the third 
 question. 
 
 Fourthly. — By pursuing this course and encouraging the 
 population of the country, we could derive formidable assist- 
 ance from the same in men and means in times of need, which 
 causes all republics to be respected by those who envy their 
 prosperity. 
 
 Fifthly. — And as we well know that this country is visited 
 by many people who seek employment, and who always found 
 business ; but since the peace, there is not much employ- 
 ment, and there are many persons injuriously idle — hence it 
 certainly appears, that it would be of service to the country to 
 settle another Netherland with the excess of our population, 
 which can be easily done, as a sheet-anchor and support to the 
 state. By this I consider your first question answered. 
 
 Patriot. In common I observe some reasons advanced by 
 you ; but I have frequently heard persons of understanding say 
 that Spain need not thank herself for her outlandish colonies, 
 because they attract so many persons from home as frequently 
 to create internal troubles and injury, and leave dwellings vacant 
 and neglected. Now we know well, that the most important 
 subjects require most attention — the shirt before the coat, 
 Please to solve me this difficulty. 
 
 New- Netherlander. As for Spain, it is certain that without 
 
230 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 lier outlandish colonies, she would not be as powerful as she is. 
 This is a round 0. Still, that her colonies withdraw her popu- 
 lation, by which it may follow that many of the poor places in 
 Spain are left uncultivated, all this may be true. But between 
 the advantages of Spain and the United Netherlands this differ- 
 ence is so great that all the reasons which are contra there are 
 pro here. It would be tedious to enter into detailed reasoning 
 on the subject. To be brief, we consider the countries which 
 lay contiguous to Spain, as Italy, France, and Portugal, as good 
 as Spain itself, where there is abundant employment for vigilant 
 native citizens, who are more frequently consumed and destroy- 
 ed by wars than with us ; but here, around the Netherlands, in 
 Eastland, Germany, Westphalia, Bergland, Walland, &c., from 
 which the people came in numbers to seek employment, and 
 gain a living, as they should do, otherwise this emigration 
 would cease, and the reputation of our country be injured — we 
 could spare from the Netherlands thousands from )^ear to year, 
 and send them abroad without injury ; and if ever there should 
 happen to be any defect in our population, this would be sup- 
 plied from the neighbouring countries. At a word, we could 
 use those people and make them Netherlanders. Our neigh- 
 bours must put up with it, and the people who now go to the 
 New-Netherlands are not lost or destroyed, but are as if they 
 were placed at interest, for we know how fast the population 
 increases. 
 
 Patriot. Do you then conclude that the Netherlands are 
 better than the eastern countries of Germany, &c. are ? 
 
 Neio-Netherlander. We evidently have not intended to ad- 
 vance this, but when that question occurs, it will solve itself. 
 But that, in the provinces of this city, there are at present (by 
 the goodness of God) more prosperous merchants, manufactur- 
 ers, mechanics and traders, than in the countries mentioned, is 
 certain ; the Hanse tow^ns not excepted — where the bait is, there 
 the eagles gather. The habits of the Netherlanders are as 
 favourable to strangers as to native citizens. Thus they are 
 induced to come to us, particularly craftsmen of every profes 
 sion, who can always find advantageous employment, and in 
 time, by conforming to our customs, become as citizens. 
 Hence I conclude that out of this country we can send as many 
 colonial settlers as Spain can, and one-half more, without miss- 
 ing any man out from the Netherlands. We could increase 
 our strength by so doing ; for they who are colonists in the 
 New-Netherlands become Netherlanders as well as they do 
 who become burghers here, and remain devoted to us. 
 
 Patriot. This I would now begin to understand with you ; 
 that the population of this city might not be unserviceable there, 
 but this objection arises. When men of property and fashion 
 
NEW-NETIIERLANDS. 231 
 
 go to that country, which is the case already, where, it is said, 
 something may be gained, and where careful and industrious 
 people flourish and prosper, for such become persons of import- 
 ance, or at least their descendants do — what certainty can such 
 persons have for themselves, and their property? I mean cer- 
 tainty, without circumstances ? 
 
 New -Netherlander. I take this well, sir ; but this is evi- 
 dently the sound question which you propounded to me, wherein 
 I have already given you a clear and decisive answer. 
 
 Patriot. Not so certain and satisfactory as you suppose. 
 For I consider that to be a country which we have found, which 
 is easy of access by sea and by land, open and unsupplied, or un- 
 furnished with any considerable fortifications. The English and 
 the Indians are strong and numerous around it. The Portu- 
 guese and other pirates can easily invade the place on the sea- 
 board, in a short time; for it is easy of access, and near the 
 ocean, and what is more, you well know that our nation is 
 particularly attached to commerce. This I understand to be 
 their principal object. They are industrious as merchants ; but 
 to the security of the country they pay but little attention ; they 
 trust to the militia, who are few in numbers. In fact I see great 
 danger there, for if we took property to that country, or gained 
 property therein, we are still insecure in our possessions. * 
 
 New -Netherlander. Will you be pleased to answer yourself, 
 or refer to previous remarks ; then I may be silent ; for if I 
 showed you the country, nothing would be gained. And although 
 there may appear to be some reason in your remarks, they lay 
 undistinguished and unconnected, appearing like something, but 
 in truth unfounded. 
 
 Patriot. I will frankly admit your explanation under a 
 promise not to prejudge the subject on party grounds, according 
 to your request, for that would be useless argument. 
 
 New-Netherlander. You do well, sir; for that is the only 
 way to elicit truth; and if my memory extends far enough, 
 your objections will be answered. What kind of a country the 
 New-Netherlands is, and how its possession was acquired, is- 
 fully detailed in the history of its discovery, whereon it is unne- 
 cessary to dilate in a particular manner. The West India Com- 
 pany, in connection with others from time to time, have expended 
 many tons of gold in the establishment, and for the security of 
 their colony. It has not been brought to its present situation 
 without much cost and trouble. 
 
 You say in the second place, that the country is unprovided 
 with proper fortifications for its defence, and that its seaboard is 
 unprotected, the land sides also. You advance too much. Ob- 
 
 * The invasion of Col. Nicholls, in 1664, proves the correctness of the Patrivfs 
 remarks. — Trans. 
 
232 VAN DER DONCK S 
 
 serve, sir, that the South and the North rivers, are lead-men's 
 waters,* and for those who are unacquainted, the risk is great and 
 the entries almost impossible. The bars and sand flats frequent- 
 ly shift their positions, and when an enemy has entered, his 
 work is not done, he must come to places where he will find 
 business, and pass forts of considerable strength on advantage- 
 ous positions, equal to the forts of this country ; and by the 
 increase of men and means, as necessity requires, all is safe. 
 The land fortifies itself, and presents positions which can be 
 easily rendered impassable. Sandy Hook, the Highlands, Hell- 
 Gate, and the head lands of the bays, can be rendered impreg- 
 nable against human skill, whenever it is necessary. Where 
 we have little, we hazard little. He who will take a stiver 
 from another, will not readily hazard two. 
 
 Patriot. This is well ; but if I could be there, I would not 
 seek your bays and havens, for I have read that the whole coast 
 presents a sand beach. It is not subject to heavy winds from 
 the sea, and has good anchor ground. There I would cast m 
 ground hooks, and attack you in your rear, where you are un- 
 prepared. How would that suit you ? 
 
 New-Netherlander. This is easily said, but impossible to 
 perform. It is true you might with great hazard effect a land- 
 ing, but your work would not be over, for the whole coast of the 
 New-Netherlands presents double forelands, between which lay 
 broad shallow waters, or there are islands two or three deep ; and 
 if you overlook and despise the inside waters, tell me where you 
 will find boats to cross your men over the bays ? This is work 
 for madmen. It cannot be done ; and if any person would at- 
 tempt such work of folly, we would know it before a landing 
 was effected from the Indians who watch the seashore, and are 
 rewarded for giving intelligence whenever ships appear on the 
 coast. 
 
 Patriot. But what do you say of Long Island? 
 
 New-Netlierlander. There also nothing can be done ; for 
 Long Island has double fore-lands nearly its whole length ; and 
 admit that you were upon it, how would you get ofT? and 
 what would it benefit you ? Nothing but damage and great 
 danger. If there was to be anything done, it must be at New- 
 Amsterdam. If you now answer, I would be there ; I place 
 before your nose, first that you can hardly get there, on account 
 of your ignorance of the navigable waters. We would always 
 know it a day or two before hand. The Hook and jthe head 
 lands will be fortified, and what is more, without passing under 
 the cannon of Fort Amsterdam, j^ou cannot get there, whereon 
 there are so many cannon mounted, that I am of opinion the half 
 will not be required to repel any invading foe for fifty years to 
 come. 
 
 ♦That is, requiring the aid of a loodimcm, or pilot. — Ed. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 233 
 
 Patrit)t. Very good. All this appears favourable against 
 an outward invasion from the sea ; but you have the Indians 
 within, and the English are numerous on either side. You know 
 very well how dangerous it is to have such powerful and ticklish 
 neighbours. What do you say to this ? 
 
 Neiv- Netherlander. As for the native Indians they need not 
 be feared. They may terrify a stranger or a new comer. 
 Read tlie History of the New-Netherlands, under the title of 
 their Wars, you will find no organized regiments, companies, or 
 regular military force, they are impatient under restraint, and 
 cannot effect much. The last war we had with them, when we 
 were not half as strong as we now are, they remember so well 
 that they will not readily begin again. When we speak of the 
 beginning of the troubles with them, there was little fault on their 
 side ; still it is done and past. But respecting the English, that 
 subject deserves deep reflection, and presents difficulties and dan- 
 gers, and I assure you that we of the New-Netherlands are not so 
 proud as to be easily enticed, nor do we desire to get into diffi- 
 culties or war with those of Virginia or of New-England. 
 
 Patriot. Get into quarrels, man! we would anxiously desire 
 to avoid the same. But you can no longer have rest or peace, 
 unless your neighbours agree with you in the same opinion. 
 
 New -Netherlander. This does not appear clear, nor do I 
 know how the matter stands between you and them ; but I have 
 read, and understand that it is not always wise not to justify 
 yourself in necessary cases, and at once to call the party to ac- 
 count. This should be done, unless intercession follows, when 
 we may for various reasons effect our purpose, before a third 
 party plays. 1 would refer you to many historical examples, to 
 prove this position, but because they all agree in the same con- 
 clusion, and as those are tender and delicate matters, (for good 
 reasons) we pass them over and return to the New-Netherlands. 
 To satisfy you on this subject. The Virginians can do nothing 
 unless they come by sea. I'heir account is answered already. A 
 land march presents insurmountable difficulties. The people of 
 New-England are much stronger than we are; but that it will 
 suit them better than it will us to enter into unnecessary disputes, 
 is a matter I do not profess to know, seeing they possess a coun- 
 try wherein commerce must prosper, which they cannot pur- 
 sue to advantage southward of Cape Cod without passing our 
 channel within Long Island. Again, they lie open along the 
 coast above one hundred miles, without forts, soldiers, or arma- 
 ments for their security. Their planters and inhabitants are 
 trained for defence against the Indians, for which they are suffi- 
 cient ; and if we suffer any affront from them, they must know 
 that we, with few men, and less than we can spare in New- 
 Netherlands for the purpose, in small parties, can ransack their 
 30 
 
234 VAN DER DOKCK S 
 
 whole country, seeing they he widely dispersed in small de- 
 fenceless villages contiguous to the woods, which may be sur- 
 prised and destroyed by night, and the parties again retire in 
 safety through the woods; so that I do not fear them much. 
 Nor would they trouble us without an express command of 
 Parliament, which wiU not be readily given, as in so doing open 
 war with England would follow, wliicli they desire as little here 
 as we do there. You may not inchne to believe that the people 
 of New-England are not madmen. Can you discern that it is 
 not their interest to give oifence, or to war against us ? Not 
 that I ascribe all this to their good will ; but their interest and 
 advantage bind them to peace. Danger and difficulties lie in a 
 contrary course. 
 
 As for the Portuguese and pirates spoken of, there is little to 
 be feared from them. The difficulties already stated are a pro- 
 lection against such invaders. But admit that a pirate entered 
 with a sloop in disguise — what would it amount to ? The 
 place would be his grave before he could do any injury. With- 
 out an army no danger need be apprehended. 
 
 Our national character is well known. They delight in com- 
 merce. It is apparent in their habits. But mark, sir, the dif- 
 ference between national governments. Where is the govern- 
 ment on earth which is inclined to do more by art and money, 
 to fortify and secure their country than the Netherlanders are ? 
 There are no people under the sun as liberal for such purposes 
 as our nation. Still it must be well financiered. Every one 
 enjoys the freedom to talk about it, when it frequently would be 
 better to let it alone. But to speak freely of the New-Netherlands 
 before persons in power there, it would be proper to have au- 
 thority from their superiors here for that purpose ; and then we 
 must commonly observe how their humour leads, and take the 
 proper time to have our requisition answered. The same is 
 also frequently practised here, though this is, salva et integrare, 
 thus spoken. But in instances of immediate need, we must on 
 the occasion make and found the law. And herewith, sir, I 
 trust that your firm conclusions are somewhat weakened. 
 
 Patriot. Since now, though not willingly, I admit that 
 the dangers are not so great as was supposed by me, we will 
 therefore drop that subject, and speak of the commerce ; and 
 tell me, at once, how that is to be supported in time by the pop- 
 ulation ? 
 
 Neiv -Netherlander. It is a pleasure to me to have satisfied 
 you thus far. Upon the fourth proposition you will receive 
 contentment. 
 
 Patriot. Places which will suit us must possess convenient 
 situations for trade ; otherwise they will not please us, although 
 the territory be ever so great. In Germany, under the Electors 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 235 
 
 of Brandenburg, in ihc Palatine, and oilier places near at hand, 
 there is land and territory enough ; but that amounts to nothing, 
 as they possess few places for trade, and therefore the countries 
 cannot prosper. 
 
 Neiu-Netlierlandei'. We must look to commerce, and there 
 we can have it; and that which at present is carried on in the 
 New-Netherlands, consists mostly in grain, as wheat, rye, peas, 
 barley, &c., and in pork, beef, fish, beer and wine, and what is 
 necessary for families, for the back and the belly. All other 
 things are plenty, which, with the commerce of navigable 
 streams, of which we will treat, quantities are sent to the islands 
 in the West Indies, with which we have long since assisted the 
 islands ; and as the population increases, the productions will 
 increase. The settlers who now come to the country raise their 
 own provisions in the second year, and in the third year they 
 have a surplus, which they exchange for wares and tobacco. 
 They who can import articles, find many kinds of peltries, such 
 as beaver skins, otters, bears, elk and deer skins, &c., as 
 may be seen in the History of the country. The planting of 
 vineyards is progressing, and in time will be of importance. So 
 also are the outland fisheries. If a hundred ship loads are re- 
 quired, the fish are there during the whole Vv^inter. Train oil 
 can be made at the South bays, where whales are plenty. 
 
 Item. Timber, hemp, tar, ashes, and iron, &c., as treated of 
 in the History, can be had there. But on leaving this subject, 
 I will advance those reasons as I progress. 
 
 First. — It is now about fifteen years since the New-Nether- 
 lands has in earnest begun to be settled by freemen. In that 
 time we have endured a destructive war, otherwise it would 
 have been double to what it now is. For that which before had 
 been done by the company, except the fortifications and a few 
 houses, of little importance, the residue was destroyed in the war. 
 Until now few people of property have emigrated to the couHtry. 
 All who went over would gain much and bring nothing, except 
 the merchants, who brought something, but carried much more 
 away, which is common. Thus in new countries at the first, 
 there are few churchmasters but persons who anoint their own 
 breast, and are careless about the means and the latter end, and 
 regardless of the common good, worthy citizens not included. 
 Still there are without deception many good men, who love 
 orderly behaviour, and have erected good dwelhngs. 
 
 Item. Many fine farms, plantations, pasturages, grain fields, 
 gardens and orchards, with many fine cattle ; and if the land was 
 not good, how could such things be there ? From that which is 
 not good, nothing extraordinary can be derived. 
 
 Secondly. — If we say yes to those things that cost the parties, 
 the Company and others money enough, then we answer, that 
 
236 VAN DER DONCK S 
 
 here never has been sent as much to New-Netherlands as has 
 been taken from it with interest. This you may deem strange, 
 because there are so many accounts in arrears. Bvit I do not 
 say that the returns have been recived by their proper owners ; 
 for then I would speak contrary to my better knowledge. Con- 
 sider what quantities of peltries were purloined from the com- 
 pany, before the trade was thrown open, that may be best known 
 by comparing the quantities then accounted for with the present 
 shipments, although now the whole is not reported. After the 
 trade has been free, little has been lost. All those who have 
 knowledge on the subject know that the faith-penny which has 
 been gained on the company's goods never came into their cof- 
 fers, while all losses fell upon them. They also paid unneces- 
 sary and extravagant monthly wages to those who defrauded 
 them, and made good cheer every where, whereby they did 
 themselves little good; for it will go as it came. Yet I will add 
 that much has been gained in New-Netherlands which is not 
 seen, because much has been fooled away, or has been brought 
 over here, where persons fare well with it ; still it has at first 
 come from that country, or been gained upon its productions. 
 
 Thirdly. — The country is well calculated and possesses the 
 necessaries for a profitable trade. First, it is a fine fruitful 
 country. Secondly, it has fine navigable rivers extending far 
 inland, by which the productions of the country can be brought 
 to places of traffic. The Indians, without our labour or trouble, 
 bring to us their fur trade, worth tons of gold, which may be in- 
 creased, and is like goods found. To which may be added the 
 grain and provision trade, which we proudly enjoy. 
 
 Fourthly. — The country is so convenient to the sea, that its 
 value is enhanced by its situation. On the northeast, within 
 four or five days sail, lay the valuable fishing banks. 
 
 Item. Canada and New-England will bring a profitable in- 
 land trade. On the southwest we have Virginia, which affords 
 us a profitable tobacco trade with the Floridas, the Bahamas, 
 and the other continent and West India islands, upon which 
 reliance may be made. 
 
 Patriot, But by the treaty of peace those ports and harbours 
 are shut against us on every side. You camiot expect business 
 in such places. 
 
 New- Netherlander. I acknowledge this, and believe, also, 
 as all our merchants have seen, what profit our country would 
 have derived, if those ports had not been shut, and how ad- 
 vantageously the West India Company would have been placed, 
 if the shutting up of those places had not been consented to. 
 Our trade should have extended to those places. 
 
 Patriot. Oh, sir, you err ; that subject was not neglected. 
 We did enough for it, but it would not take. The subject was 
 attended to. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 237 
 
 Neiv- Netherlander. Attended, to ? I have nothing against 
 it ; but the King of Spain was so situated that he could not have 
 avoided the privilege, if we had abstained from his views, and 
 insisted on the right ; at least, he might have been subjected to 
 allow the taliter qvaliter, with Spanish commissions to trade. 
 In time we would have got on well enough in the business. At 
 present it affords no prospect of succesful enterprise. Still the 
 country remains. In New-Netherlands we have good courage, 
 that when we have a more powerful population, we will be able 
 to drive on a profitable trade by commissions or otherwise to 
 those places. We have the means, and they cannot easily 
 hinder us. The island of Guraloa [Curacoa] belongs to New- 
 Netherlands and lies within eight miles of Carthagena, on the 
 main land, and in sight of the same. In addition to this, we 
 have the advantageous trade of the Carribee Islands, which will 
 increase as as our power increases. Hence we have nothing to 
 fear, although timid persons may have heavy minds abovit us, 
 and say, after we have produced many articles, where will you 
 shift and vend the same ? Lastly, what will hinder the New- 
 Netherlanders ? Can they not visit France, Spain, Portugal, 
 and the whole Mediterranean, as well from thence as from this 
 country, when they have men and means ? which two things 
 their unfailing population will produce, if no more emigrate to 
 the country. In such a case their own increase would in time 
 be sufficient. The land, in process of time, will cover those ad- 
 vantages. 
 
 Patriot. I will readily tell you what will obstruct and place 
 hinderances in the way — the distance from those places ; for if 
 you have not the articles necessary for negotiation, then you 
 cannot send them and exchange for consumption, as we can 
 from this country. 
 
 New-Netherlander. It is true, sir, we provide now too far 
 ahead, but the distance cannot support your positions; for we 
 can from thence sail with one wind and come through a free and 
 open sea, without the danger of shoals or enemies, and navigate 
 the whole outer coast of Europe from Ireland to the Straits, 
 without uncommon hinderances, in four weeks or less. Hence 
 then is little difference — what you gain in the one, you lose in 
 the other. 
 
 In conclusion, a country like the New-Netherlands, possesing 
 such advantages for commerce, and that of and within itself, and 
 abounding with articles for commerce beyond its own wants, 
 which it can spare — when attention is paid to the subject and 
 the same be properly directed, will it not prosper? Judge for 
 yourself. 
 
 Patriot. It does not appear strange to me, and we would 
 not do wrong, in taking proper measures to advance the pros- 
 
238 VAN DER DONCK's 
 
 perity of that land, but more of this on another occasion. At 
 present I deem my inquiries answered. In time I may think 
 further upon the matter, and renew my inquiries. 
 
 New-Netherlander. That must then be done in the New- 
 Netherlands, for my departure is at hand, and I have now no 
 leisure to enjoy your company. 
 
 Patriot. Return, then, to that country, with good will, and 
 may you find the same as you expect. 
 
 New-Netherlander. With the help of God, my hope and 
 design is such, and thus I take my leave and departure. 
 
 Patriot. Well, sir, I wish that the Lord our God may grant 
 you a prosperous voyage, and bless you with his special favour, 
 and those who dwell in the New-Netherlands, in time and for- 
 ever, to the furthering and magnifying of his Holy Name and 
 Glory. Amen. 
 
 CONDITIONS 
 
 Entered into and made between the Lords the Burgomasters 
 of the city of Amsterdam, and the West India Company, by 
 the approbation of their High Mightinesses, the States 
 General of the United Netherlands. 
 
 Whereupon the following is presented to all those who, as 
 colonists, desire to withdraw to the New-Netherlands, and who 
 shall address themselves to the Hon. Lord Coenraed Burgh, 
 Counsellor and former Schepen, Henrick Roeters, Upper Com- 
 missary of the Exchange, Ec/wari Man, IsaacVanBeeck, Hector 
 Pietersz, and Johan Tayspel, as Commissioners and Directors 
 thereunto appointed, and named by the Burgomasters, upon the 
 authority of the Council of this City, and commissioned, who 
 will hold their sittings provisionally at the West India House, 
 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in the afternoon at half-past three 
 o'clock. 
 
 Article 1. The colonists going thitherward, together with 
 their families, needful household furniture, and other necessa- 
 ries, shall be carried over in proper ships. 
 
 Art. 2. The city of Amsterdam shall agree with the ship- 
 pers, as they best can, for the transportation of persons and 
 goods. 
 
 Art. 3. The same city shall pay the transport money, by 
 form of advance, which shall hereafter be repaid in the manner 
 hereafter mentioned. 
 
 Art. 4. The said city shall advance to the colonists, to ena- 
 ble them to settle honorably and prosperously, as follows, viz : 
 
NEVV-NETIIERLANDS. 239 
 
 Art. 5. First, the said city shall provide and direct to a fruit- 
 ful land, of a temperate and healthy climate, watered and lying 
 against a salt, navigable river ; for which an agreement has 
 been made with the West India Company, and where no per- 
 sons can set up any adverse claims. 
 
 Art. 6. That the said city shall provide a suitable piece of 
 land on the bank of a river for a secure and proper dwelling 
 place for the colonists. The place shall be provided with a 
 trench and wall on the outer side, and the inner ground be laid 
 out with streets, a market, and in lots for the advantage of 
 merchants, mechanics, and those who will pursue agriculture — 
 the whole to be done at the cost of the said city. 
 
 Art. 7. The city of Amsterdam shall send to the said place 
 a capable person to serve as a schoolmaster, who by provision 
 shall be a preacher of the Holy Scriptures, and also a leader 
 in psalmody. 
 
 Art. 8. The city shall also provide for and pay the salary of 
 the school master. 
 
 Art. 9. And to the end that the colonists may be provided 
 with necessaries as far as is practicable, the said city shall sup- 
 ply them with clothing and necessaries for one year, and also 
 with seed grain ; and for the assurance and certainty of having, 
 the necessary supplies on hand, the city shall erect a large ma- 
 gazine or warehouse in said place for the storage of clothing 
 and necessaries for the people, wherein they shall keep their 
 factor, who shall supply every colonist with necessary clothing, 
 household necessaries, and husbandry articles at the same prices 
 of this country, the toll of the company not charged. 
 
 Art. 10. Concerning the toll (commissions) of the company,, 
 the same shall be paid according to the annexed list of rates, and 
 the city shall also provide in time that the tolls which are paid in. 
 the New Netherlands shall be there employed and expended, in 
 the erection and support of such public works as shall be author- 
 ized by this city and the West India Company. 
 
 Art. 11. The said fortified place, destined for the dwelling 
 of the colonists, whether it be named a city or town, {vlek,)- 
 shall be governed for political justice, in the manner of succes- 
 sion, according to the present practice of the city of Amsterdam. 
 
 Art. 12. They shall first have a Schout (sheriff,) as chief of 
 the police, [justicia,) installed as is done here. 
 
 Art. 13. The Schout shall be installed in the name of their' 
 High Mightinesses, and of the West India Company, for the 
 Deputies of Amsterdam, who, for that purpose, by procuration: 
 shall give authority to the Director. 
 
 Art. 14. There shall also be three Burgomasters, to be 
 chosen by the common burghers from the honestest, richest, 
 and most capable men. 
 
240 VAN DER DONCk's 
 
 Art. 15. There shall be five, or seven magistrates {Schep- 
 enen), for which purpose the burghers shall nominate a double 
 number, from which a choice shall be made by the Directors 
 upon procuration according to Art. 13. 
 
 Art. 16. Whenever the city or town shall have increased to 
 the number of 250 families or more, then the burghers shall elect 
 a council of twenty persons, who shall assemble in council with 
 the burgomasters and schepens, and resolve upon all sub- 
 jects relating to the state of the said city. And this coun- 
 cil, after it shall have been thus formed, shall have power to 
 fill vacancies arising in their number by deaths or otherwise, 
 by ordering the election of other persons by a fair majority of 
 votes to fill such vacancies in the said city council. Elections 
 for the burgomasters and for the council shall be held annually. 
 The said body shall also have the nomination of the double 
 number of schepens, from which the same shall be appointed 
 as aforesaid. 
 
 Art. 17. The Schepens may give final judgment upon 
 arrests for all sums not exceeding 100 guilders. For sums ex- 
 ceeding 100 guilders, the aggrieved party may appeal to the 
 Director General and council. 
 
 Art. 18. The said Schepens shall also have power in all 
 criminal cases, but it is provided that appeals may be taken 
 from their decisions. 
 
 Art. 19. The city of Amsterdam shall agree with a smith, 
 a wheelwright, and a carpenter, to remove to the said place for 
 the benefit and service of the colonists. 
 
 Art. 20. The aforesaid city of Amsterdam shall cause the 
 land lying around and contiguous to such city or town, to be 
 laid out into fields for tillage, pasturage and hay-land, and pro- 
 vide ways to the same. 
 
 Art. 21. To every person who desires to pursue farming, 
 there shall be granted in firm and continued ownership, as 
 much tillable, pasture and hay-land, as he with his family can 
 till and require, from twenty to thirty morgens or more, upon 
 condition that all such land granted to any of the colonists 
 shall, within two years after the same is granted, be brought 
 into cultivation, upon pain of forfeiture and of the same being 
 granted unto another. 
 
 Art. 22. Every colonist shall freely hold and occupy his 
 land without paying any per centage, horn-money, or salt- 
 money, for ten years, calculating from the time his land was 
 first sowed or mowed. When these ten years have expired, 
 they shall not be burthened higher than the residue of any 
 neighbouring district are who stand under the administrators of 
 the West India Company in the New-Netherlands. They 
 shall also be free from the tenths for twenty years from the 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS. 241 
 
 time of sowing or mowing as aforesaid. After said twenty 
 years are exp red, a tenth shall be given to the city of Amster- 
 dam, with the understanding that then the half of the tenth shall 
 be used there for the support of the public works, and of the persons 
 employed in the public service for preserving and keeping of 
 the same. And also, whenever any poundage or other assess- 
 ments shall be paid, the same shall be employed for the erec- 
 tion and maintaining of the public works, and for the payment 
 of the persons who are in service in the same. 
 
 Art. 23. The city of Amsterdam shall provide, that ships 
 be regularly sent from Holland for the grain, seeds, timber and 
 merchandise of the colonists, and to bring the same over 
 for their benefit. They shall also be at liberty to freight ves- 
 sels, upon consigning the same to the city of Amsterdam. 
 
 Art. 24. The city of Amsterdam shall provide warehouses 
 in Holland for the benefit of the colonists, and for the recep- 
 tion of their grain and articles of merchandise, and shall sell the 
 same for the profit of the shippers, and again invest and remit 
 the proceeds in such articles as shall be ordered, retaining a 
 commission of two per cent, and a tenth of the net profits, 
 to reimburse the said city for the money it has advanced for 
 the transportation of the persons and goods of the colonists. 
 This to continue until the advances are repaid, and no longer. 
 
 Art. 25. The colonists of the New-Netherlands, whenever 
 they want necessaries, may be supplied from the city ware- 
 house, at the set price ; the accounts of such sales shall be 
 remitted here, to have the same credited to the merchant, or 
 otherwise. 
 
 Art. 26. The colonists may, for the building of houses, 
 vessels, and also for sale, cut and procure timber in the nearest 
 woods of their district, and from any other place in the jurisdic- 
 tion of the West India Company in New-Netherlands, at their 
 pleasure, from any land which has not been particularly reserv- 
 ed, already granted, or that may be granted, subject to the fur- 
 ther conditions also of Art. 28. 
 
 Art. 27. The burgomasters of Amsterdam, as founders, 
 patrons, and having the jurisdiction, shall appoint a secretary 
 legate for advancing the subalterns. 
 
 Art. 28. The hunting in the wilderness, and also the fishing 
 in all waters and rivers which have not already been granted, 
 shall be free to all the colonists, subject to such regulations as 
 shall be made under the authority of the Company, or of the 
 States-General. 
 
 Art. 29. The city of Amsterdam shall provide that all 
 31 
 
242 NEW-NETHERLANDS. 
 
 necessary implements of husbandry shall be shipped for the 
 colonists free from recognition charges. 
 
 Art. 30. If any of the colonists, by himself, his family, or his 
 servants, shall discover any minerals, chrystals, precious stones, 
 alabaster, &c., &c., of whatever nature or kind soever the same 
 may be, he shall possess the same as his own, free from any 
 impost for ten years ; and at the expiration of ten years, he shall 
 pay over to the company one-tenth part of the net profits pro- 
 ceeding from the same. 
 
 Art. 31. The city of Amsterdam shall provide a warehouse 
 in said city, wherein shall be brought all the goods to be im- 
 ported and examined, by a person appointed on the part of the 
 West India Company, and another person on the part of the 
 city of Amsterdam. After the inspection the same shall be 
 marked with the marks of the city and of the Company, and the 
 impost upon the same paid by the Company, according to the 
 list of the rates. 
 
 Art. 32. The goods shall be laden, to the knowledge of the 
 Company, on board of such ships as the city shall provide for 
 that purpose. 
 
 Art. 33. If the said city should send over any goods on 
 board of a ship on freight, the same must be sent to New- Am- 
 sterdam, subject to the same regulations, and the city be subject 
 to their own rules as well as others. 
 
 Art. 34. But whenever the city of Amsterdam will send 
 their own or any kind of ship laden only with their own goods^ 
 they may send such vessel direct to their city, place or colony, 
 with all the lading, to be delivered into the warehouse of the 
 said city, consigned and committed to any of the said Company 
 to whom the commission and letters shall be delivered. 
 
 Art. 35. As all the wares, productions, and merchandise of 
 tl e colony of the said city, and coming from thence, must be 
 brought here into this city and deposited in its warehouses to 
 the credit of the company and sold, and the right of the land 
 and of the Company paid out of the same — the following list 
 of specifications is annexed. 
 
 [We deem it unnecessary to enter and translate the list of 
 specifications referred to in the preceding articles, and deem it 
 sufficient to remark, that lOj per cent, covered all charges. All 
 articles employed in agriculture, and used by mechanics in 
 their trades, came over free. All the productions of the soil, 
 including salted and dried fish, were exported free. Peltries 
 paid from 8 to 10 per cent. In the New-Netherlands, 4 per 
 cent, in light money, in addition, was charged upon all goods 
 entered subject to any charges. The rix dollar passed at 
 sixty-three stuyvers.] 
 
VI. 
 
 EXTRACTS 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 VOYAGES 
 
 ov 
 DAVID PIETERSZEN de VRIES, 
 
 Master of Artillery in the service of the United Provinces, &c. 
 
 TaANSLATKD FROM A DUTCH MANUSCRIPT 
 IN THE PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY, 
 
 BT 
 
 DR. G. TROOST. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 Among the early founders of colonies on the banks of the Hud- 
 son was David Pieterszex de Yries, the author of the work 
 from which the following extracts have been made, containino- 
 descriptions of his voyages to different parts of the world. He 
 was from Hoorn, a port in North Holland, one of those nurseries 
 of bold and skilful seamen by whose means the maritime suprem- 
 acy of the republic was maintained at that period.* In the year 
 1630, De Vries was associated with De Laet, Van Rensselaer, 
 and other patroons, for the purpose of planting colonies within the 
 limits of the New-Netherlands. Their first enterprise was to the 
 South or Delaware river, and towards the close of that year our 
 author embarked in person, accompanied by about thirty emigrants, 
 who commenced a settlement near the present site of Lewistown, 
 in Delaware. " The voyage of De Yries," says the eloquent and 
 exact historian of the United States, " was the cradling of a state. 
 That Delaware exists as a separate commonwealth is due to the 
 colony of De Yries."t 
 
 Having returned to Holland, De Yries again embarked for the 
 South river in the autumn of 1632, where he had the unhappiness 
 to find his colony destroyed and laid waste, without so much as a 
 solitary" survivor to make known their fate. But it was sufiiciently 
 apparent that it had been the work of the neighbouring Indians, and 
 after endeavouring for some time to ascertain the perpetrators of 
 the horrid tragedy, he sailed for Virginia, and afterwards to the 
 New-Netherlands, where he remained until the summer of 1633. 
 The following year he was engaged in establishing a colony on 
 the coast of Guiana, in South America, which pro-ving unsuccessful, 
 he abandoned the attempt, and bent his course for the Hudson and 
 
 ♦ It was an enterprising voyager from the same place, Wiilliam Cornelis Schouten, 
 who led the way into the western ocean around Cape Horn, which he named in com- 
 pliment to his native town. 
 
 t Bancroft's History of the United States, ii. 281. 
 
246 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 New Amsterdam, where he arrived in June, 1635. He returned 
 to Holland the same year. 
 
 The last voyage of De Vries was performed in 1638, when he 
 again visited the New-Netherlands, for the purpose of planting a 
 colony on Staten Island, of which he had obtained a grant from 
 the West India Company. Failing in this enterprise for the want 
 of settlers, who were not sent out to him from Holland as had 
 been agreed between himself and Frederick de Vries, his partner 
 in the undertaking, and a Director of the West India Company, 
 our author turned his attention in the first place to a small planta- 
 tion situated a few miles above the fort of New Amsterdam, on 
 Manhattan Island, where he resided for a time. But not satisfied 
 with this property, De Vries, in the spring of 1640, made an ex- 
 cursion up the Hudson for the purpose of examining the country 
 and purchasing an estate. The first day he reached Tappaan, 
 about twenty-five miles from the mouth of the river, where he 
 obtained a tract of more than six hundred acres of land from the 
 Indians, to which he afterwards gave the name of Vriesendale. 
 Continuing his route, he arrived at Fort Orange, (now Albany,) on 
 the fourteenth day after leaving New Amsterdam. But we must 
 refer to our author's own narrative for further particulars of his 
 journey, and of his subsequent residence in the country, which 
 furnishes an interesting sketch of the state of the colony during a 
 part of the administration of Governor Kieft.* De Vries returned 
 to Holland in the spring of 1644, discouraged probably by the 
 little success that had attended his various enterprises in the new 
 world. 
 
 His voyages were published at Alckmaer, North Holland, in 1655, 
 with the following title, viz : — " Brief historical and journalized 
 Notes of several Voyages to the four quarters of the globe — 
 Europe, Africa, Asia, and America, by David Pieterszen de Vries, 
 Master of Artillery to the Most Honourable Lords, the Committee 
 Council of the States of West Vriesland and the North Quarter ; 
 wherein are described several naval battles in which he has been 
 
 * In the year 1641, when troubles occurred with the Indians, the Governor consulted 
 with several prominent citizens of the colony, whose names are mentioned in the 
 Colonial Records of that period ; among them is the name of David Pieterszen de 
 Vries.— MS. Dutch Records, vol. ii., 137. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 247 
 
 engaged; each country, its animals, birds, difterent kinds of fishes, 
 and various savage nations drawn from life, together with the 
 woods and rivers, and their products. Hoorn, for David Pieters- 
 zen de Vries, Artillery Master of the North Quarter ; Alckmaer, 
 by Simon Cornells Brekgeest, 1655."* 
 
 Such is the title of the book as contained in the extracts made 
 from it by the late Mr. Du Simitiere, of Philadelphia, and now- 
 deposited among the manuscripts of the Library Company of that 
 city. These extracts are in the original Dutch, and consist of 
 about thirty pages large folio, handsomely engrossed. A transla- 
 tion of nearly all of them was made a few years ago by Dr. G. 
 Troost,of Philadelphia, at the expense of Joseph W. Moulton, Esq., 
 whose valuable contributions to the early history of New-York are 
 Avell known to the public. The Editor was indebted in the first 
 instance for a copy of this translation to George Bancroft, Esq., 
 the historian of the United States, and subsequently to Mr. Moul- 
 ton, for this and other documents relating to De Vries. 
 
 In regard to the original work, after the most diligent inquiry, 
 no copy of it has been discovered in this country ; and, indeed, the 
 only one of which Mr. Bancroft has succeeded in ascertaining 
 the existence, is contained in the Royal Library of Dresden, Sax- 
 ony .f Professor Ebeling, of Germany, in his great work upon the 
 Geography and History of America, refers to two supposed edi- 
 tions of De Vries, but adds that he was unable to obtain a copy 
 of either. " Beider konle ich nicht habhaft werdenf^ The Cheva- 
 lier Lambrechtsen also sought in vain for it, when in pursuit 
 of materials for the composition of his History of the New- 
 Netherlands. 
 
 * " Korte Ilistoriael ende Journacl aenteyckeninge van verscheyden Voyagiens in de 
 vier deelen des Wereldts Ronde, als Europa, Africa, Asia, ende America, gcdaen door 
 David Pielerszen de Vries, Artillery-Meester van de Ed : M. Heeren gecommittecrde 
 Raden van Staten van West Vrieslandt ende t' Noorder Quartier ; waer in verhaelt werd 
 wat balailjes hy te water gedaen heeft : yder landtschap zyn gedierte, gevogel, wat 
 soort van vischen, ende wat wilde menschen naer't leven geconterfeit, ende van de 
 Boschen ende Rivieren met haer vruchten. t' Hoorn, voor David Pieterszen de Vries, 
 Artillery-Meester van't Noorder Quai tier ; tot Alckmaer, by Simon Cornelis Breck- 
 geest, Anno 1655." 
 
 t Communicated in a letter from Dr. Julius, of Hamburgh. 
 
 I Christoph Daniel Ebelings, Professors der Geschichte am Hamburgischen Gym- 
 nasium und Bibliothekars, Erdbeschreibung und Geschichte von Amerika. 
 ff^CtanjaVC- *• ^' '^'^^ — This valuable German workremams to be translated. 
 
248 IXTRODVCTORY NOTE. 
 
 It may be well to add, that the title of the book in question is 
 somewhat varied by different writers ; thus, Ebeling gives it as 
 follows : — ''Korte historiael ende journals acntcJicninge van vers- 
 chpi/:ien Votja<rien^, 1618-1644," &c. A French bibliographical 
 work, professing to contain the titles of all books of voyages and 
 travels ever published, has the following : — ''Korte historiael ende 
 jottrnaalcs aciifri/keniugc van verscficijdcn Voi/agiens in de vier 
 dcelen dcr Werchlls van de 1618-1644, door Simon de Vries. 
 Hoorn, 1655, in 4/0."* By comparing these with the title as fur- 
 nished by the Du Siniitiere MS., it will be seen that the dates 
 (1618-1044) are added, and, in the second at least, compose a 
 part of the title, which circumstance, together with the change in 
 the name of the author to Simon de Vries, almost leads us to con- 
 clude that there were two publications of a similar character by 
 different writers. 
 
 The name of De Vries was not an uncommon one among 
 the Dutch at that period. Frederick de Vries, a Director of 
 the West India Company, has been already mentioned as a 
 partner of our author in the business of colonization. The name 
 of Jan de Vries often occurs in the colonial records. He resided at 
 New Amsterdam, and owned land east of the Kolck, now in the 
 vicinity of Chatham-street. There was also a distinguished navi- 
 gator, jNIartm Gerritson de Vries, who performed a voyage to 
 Japan in 1643 :t and an island near the bay of Jeddo, in that 
 country, still bears his name.;}: It would not be strange, therefore, 
 if two persons of the name of De Vries, who had visited various 
 parts of the world, should have published the journals of their voy- 
 ages in the same year. But, nevertheless, it seems more probable 
 that the writers to whom we have referred, may have fallen into an 
 accidental error in regard to the title of the book. And although 
 the four A'oyages of David Picterszen de Vries, as described in the 
 Du Siniitiere MS., were performed from 1630-1644, the original 
 work may have contained notices of others that took place at a 
 prior date, and as early as 1618. 
 
 * Bibliothfique Universelle des Voyages, par G. B. de URicharJerie, t. i. 171. 
 t Biographic Universelle, AncKiine ct Modtrne, t. xlix. Art. Vries. 
 J Voyage of the Morrison and Ilimmaleh to Japan, i. 152. New- York, 1839. See 
 also Krusenstern's Voyage round the World, and Atlas. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 249 
 
 The following translation, being the production of a gentleman 
 whose mother tongue was not the English, is not altogether such 
 in point of style as could be desired, but its general accuracy may 
 be relied upon. As the work has never before appeared in an 
 English dress, the novelty of its details, and their intimate 
 connexion with the affairs of the Dutch colony, cannot fail to 
 recommend it to the favour of all who take an interest in our 
 early history. 
 
 Editor. 
 
 33 
 
250 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 EXTRACTS 
 
 FROM A 
 
 History and journal 
 
 OF FOUR VOYAGES, 
 
 IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD, VIZ ; 
 
 EUROPE, AFRICA, ASIA, and AMERICA, 
 
 BY DAVID PIETERSZEN DE VRIES, 
 
 Master of Artillery' in the service of the United Provinces, &c. 
 
 Two monllis after my arrival from the East Indies, I met with 
 a merchant at Amsterdam, named Samuel Godyn. He offered 
 me a commandership in the New-Netiierlands. They had a 
 mind to form there a colony, and they would employ me there, 
 as second patroon, as was granted by the States, and by the 
 19th of the West India Company's charter. I answered him 
 that I was wiUing to accept the offer, upon condition that I 
 should be a patroon equal in every thing with the others. This 
 was agreed upon ; and in consequence we have formed a pat- 
 roonship, viz. Samuel Godyn, Killian Van Rensselaer, Samuel 
 Blocmart, Jan de Laet, and I, David Pieterszen de Vries. Since 
 that time several more more patroons have been added to the 
 number, viz : Matthys van Keulen, Nicolaes van Sittorigh, Har- 
 nick Koeck, and Hendrick Hamel. We have mutually made a 
 contract, in which we have put one another on an equal footing; 
 and have prepared a ship and yacht for our voyage, as well for 
 the whale fishing in those parts, as for the colony purpose, the 
 planting of tobacco, raising of grain, &c. This ship and yacht 
 sailed from Texel, Dec. 12, 1630, for the South River, (the 
 Delaware,) in lat. 38° 30', in order to plant there the colony. 
 Godyn being informed that the whales were plenty in those 
 regions, and fish oil being 60 guilders the hhd., the vessel was 
 laden with utensils for the fishing, and planters and cattle 
 for the colony.* 
 
 • Our traveller speaks here only of the whale fishery, which seems not to have 
 answered the ex|"iectation. He went home again, and undertook a second tr'p 
 for the same purpose j and was njw sole commander and patroon of the expedi- 
 tion. — Trans. 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 251 
 
 1632. 
 
 We learned before we left the Texel, that our little post had 
 been destroyed by the Indians, and thirty-two men killed 
 who were working in the field. 
 
 Dec. 1. We sounded at 39^ — had fifty-seven fathom, and 
 smelled land, the wind being N. W., occasioned by the odour of 
 the underwood, wliich at this time of the year is burned by the 
 Indians, in order to be less hindered in their hunting. We smell 
 the land, therefore, before it can be seen. At thirteen to four- 
 teen fathom, we saw land, from 34 to 40^. 
 
 Dec. 3. We saw the opening of the South Bay, or South 
 River. On the 5th, we went into the bay. We had a whale 
 near the vessel. We promised ourselves great things, plenty of 
 whales, and good land for cultivation. 
 
 Dec. 6. We ran with the boat up the Kill, and were well 
 armed lest we should meet with any Indians. We found our 
 house destroyed. It was surrounded with palisades, instead of 
 parapets or breastwork, but the most of them had been burned. 
 We found the ground bestrewed with the heads and bones of our 
 murdered men, but saw no Indians. Went on board again, and 
 ordered a gun to be fired, to see if the Indians would come down. 
 
 Dec. 7. Saw two or three Indians near our destroyed house. 
 They did not come near us; wanted we should go to them. I 
 resolved to go to them next morning in the yacht, in order to 
 have a shelter from their arrows. 
 
 Dec. 8. We went in the yacht up the creek to the house. 
 The Indians came on the shore, but would not at first come on 
 board. At last one came. I gave him a dress of cloth, and we 
 told him that we wished to make peace with them. There now 
 came more Indians, who expected also a dress, but we gave them 
 only some trinkets, and told them that we had presented the other 
 with a dress, because he had shown more confidence ni us, as 
 being the first that ventured to enter the boat. We told them 
 to come the next day with their chief, whom they call Sokimas, 
 with whom we would make a satisfactory peace, which they 
 called Rancovtynmaremt. One of the Indians remained with us 
 during the night in the yacht. We asked him the reason why 
 they had killed our people? He showed us a place where our 
 people had emptied a pillow, to which was attached a piece of tm, 
 upon which was figured the emblem of Holland. One of their 
 chiefs wanted to lake this piece of tin to make of it tobacco 
 pipes, not knowing that it was improper. Those who had 
 the command at the house showed much dissatisfaction, so 
 that the Indians did not know how to make amends. They 
 
252 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 went away and killed the chief who had taken the tin, and brought 
 a token of it to those who had the command at the house, who 
 told them that they had done wrong ; that they ought to have 
 come with him to the house, and they would have only told him 
 not to do so again. They then went away; but the friends of 
 the murdered chief (these people having much the character of 
 the Italians, who are greatly addicted to vengeance) had resolv- 
 ed to be revenged. They attacked our people when they were 
 working in the field, leaving but a single sick man in the house, 
 and a large bidl-dog, which was chained out of doors. The 
 man who had the command of the house stood near the door. 
 Three of the boldest Indians, who were to perpetrate the deed, 
 came and offered him a parcel of beavers to barter, and contrived 
 to enter the house. He went in with them to transact the busi- 
 ness. That being done, he went to a garret where the stores 
 were. Coming down, one of the Indians cleaved his head with 
 an axe, so that he dropped dead on the floor. They then mur- 
 dered the sick man, and then went to the dog, which they 
 feared most, and shot at least twenty-five arrows at him 
 before he was killed. They then went in a treacherous manner 
 to the people in the field, approaching them under the appear- 
 ance of friendship, and murdered one after the other. Thus 
 terminated our firs,t colony, to our great loss. 
 
 Dec. 9. The Indians came with their chief. They sat down 
 in a circle, and concluded peace. We presented them with some 
 duffil,* bullets, axes, and Nuremberg trinkets; and they 
 promised to present us reciprocally with some articles, having 
 been a hunting. They parted then with much joy from us, 
 seeing that we did not take any notice of their behaviour to- 
 wards us, which we let pass by, well knowing that we had no 
 chance to take vengeance, they having no fixed abode. 
 
 We made now preparations for the fishery and boihng of oil, 
 and formed a lodging place of some boards. 
 
 1633. 
 
 Jan. 1. I went in the yacht up the South River to see if I 
 could obtain some beans from the Indians. We saw a whale 
 before the eiiihouchure of tlie river. 
 
 Jan. 5. Went before the liule fort, where formerly lived 
 some families of the West India Company. It is called Fort 
 Nassau.! There were now collected a few Indians, who wanted 
 to barter some furs, but I wanted only Indian corn, having no 
 
 • A kind of cloth resembling; blankets. 
 
 t This fort was built by the Diitoh in 1623, on the east side of the Delawcare, 
 a few miles below Philadelphia,— Ed. 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 253 
 
 articles to barter for furs, having presented them all at 
 Swaenendal (valley of the Swans,) where we had made the 
 peace. They told us we should go to the Timmerkill, (now 
 Cooper's creek,) when an Indian woman belonging to the San- 
 kitans, came and warned us not to go far up the creek, knowing 
 that we should be attacked. We gave this woman a dress of 
 cloth, to make her tell all she knew. She then informed us that 
 they had murdered the crew of an English boat, which ascend- 
 ed the Count Ernest river. 
 
 Jan. 6. We weighed anchor, and lay before the Timmerkill, 
 prepared fully to see what the Indians intended to do. A 
 parcel of Indians now approached the boat, offering some skins 
 of beavers, entering as many as forty-two or forty-three into the 
 yacht. Some of them began to play on reeds, so as to give no 
 suspicion; but we being only seven in the yacht, were upon 
 our guard, and when we judged that it was high enough, we 
 ordered them all on shore, or we would fire at them ; when their 
 sachem took an armful of beaver skins and offered them to us, 
 probably as a ti'ial, but we refused them, and ordered them again 
 to go to the shore, well knowing that they intended some villany 
 or other ; that Manatoe, as they call the devil, had told us 
 so. They then went again to the shore, so that their 
 villanous undertaking miscarried. These were Indians of the 
 Roodehoek, also called Mantes ; they were partly dressed in 
 English jackets, which gave me much suspicion, as they could 
 not have obtained this clothing in a fair way, as they never 
 formed part of the goods taken for barter. 
 
 Jan. 8. In the morning we came again before the fort. The 
 fort was now crowded with Indians, and they were collecting 
 more and more. There came a canoe to us with nine chiefs 
 from different places, amongst whom was the man with his 
 English jacket, which nevertheless he wore not now. They 
 sat down in a circle, and called for us, saying that they saw we 
 were in fear for them ; that they came on purpose to conclude a 
 permanent peace with us, presented us with ten beaver skins, 
 the gift of every one being accompanied with some cere- 
 monies, saying at the same time in whose name it was given, as 
 a token of eternal peace ; and that we must now banish all sus- 
 picion, as they had rejected all evil thoughts. I then offered 
 them by the translator some presents for each, consisting of an 
 axe, adze, and a pair of small knives, but these they refused, 
 saying that they did not give their presents to receive others 
 in the place of them, but in order to make peace. We told 
 them that we would give them something for their wives ; but 
 they told us we must give it them on shore. On the 9th, and 
 10th, got some Indian corn and furs in barter of them. 
 
254 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES, 
 
 In the morning of the 19th, went upwards of a mile from 
 Jaques Eyland (the island of Jacques). Went up a fine creek ; 
 the country was handsome, with an abundant growth of vines ; 
 and gave it therefore the name of Wyngaert's kill (Vine creek). 
 
 As we had failed to get Indian corn in the South river, we 
 resolved to go to Virginia of the English, it not being probable 
 that we should find any in the large river near Fort Amsterdam, 
 for provisions for our returning voyage. None of the Dutch 
 had been there before us ; and as I had been in some danger 
 in the South river, I would incur more, and would be the 
 first who visited these places. 
 
 [Our traveller is now going to Virginia. He found the land 
 there in a more advanced and settled state. He sees for the 
 first time a peach tree ; (one would suppose from this that the 
 peach tree was indigenous.) He saw the governor, who, under- 
 standing that he came from the South river, told him that this 
 river belonged to the British ; that some time ago Lord Delaware 
 had taken possession of it ; but finding the same, from its nume- 
 rous sand banks, not navigable, did not ascend the same ; that he 
 sometime ago had sent a sloop there with a few men, who 
 never had returned, being probably upset at sea. Our travel- 
 ler told him then that he was mistaken ; that for many years 
 it had belonged to the Dutch, who had built there a fort called 
 Nassau ; that it was a fine navigable river ; and as to the crew 
 of the boat of which he spoke, that he had learned from the 
 Indians on that river, among whom he had seen the English 
 jackets, that this crew had been murdered. The governor gave 
 him six goats to be introduced into his new colony. He bought 
 some provisions for the ship, and returned. He found that 
 there were taken seven whales, which gave thirty-two cartels 
 fish oil, and also found that the whale fishery in those regions 
 was too expensive and the fish too poor to yield any profit. 
 He accordingly prepares to return to Europe. The remainder 
 of the narrative is mere observations of navigation, &c.] 
 
 1633. 
 
 Mpril 16. — We weighed anchor and went to Staten Island, 
 where we arrived about noon, opposite Fort Amsterdam. We 
 found there the ship De Zoutberg, belonging to the West India 
 Company. It had on board the new Commander, Wouter van 
 Twiller, from Nieuwkerke. He had been a clerk of the West 
 India Company at Amsterdam, and he left Holland after we 
 had gone. I went on shore near the fort. He bade me wel- 
 come, and asked how the whale fishery had fallen out. I told 
 him I had a sample of it, and that they were unwise who came 
 here at such expense to fish for whales. The Company could 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 255 
 
 have ascertained how this fishing was, by using two or three 
 sloops from the settlement here ; at least Godyn, who since the 
 West India Company had been in existence was one of its di- 
 rectors, and was also a director of the Greenland Whale Com- 
 pany, ought to have known that these things should have been 
 tried with less expense. 
 
 April 18. — There arrived an Englishman from New Eng- 
 land. He wanted to ascend the river to trade. There was 
 on the river a koopman,* named Jacob Elkens, who acted then 
 as commander. He was not better qualified for this office, 
 than this commander Van Twiller, who came to his office from 
 a clerkship— an amusing case. The Englishman invited this 
 Commander to dine with him. I with some others was of the 
 company. The people soon got intoxicated, and began to 
 quarrel. The Englishman was astonished that such irregulari- 
 ties could take place amongst the officers of the company, and 
 that the commander had no more control among them — such 
 things not being customary among the English. He remained 
 before the fort six or seven days, and then told them he wanted 
 to go up the river ; that the land belonged to the English. This 
 was denied, as the English had never landed any people there. 
 The Englishman answered, that the river had been discovered 
 by David Hudson, who was an Englishman. It was true, they 
 replied, that this river was discovered by him in 1609, but that 
 he was sent by the East India Company of Holland, and that 
 the river was called Mauritz-river, in honour of the Prince of 
 Orange. 
 
 On the 24th April, the Englishman weighed anchor, and 
 sailed up the river to Fort Orange, where this Jacob Elkens 
 formerly resided in the capacity of superior officer (opporhooft, 
 literally chief). Wouter van Twiller, the commander, collect- 
 ed thereupon all his people in the fort before his door ; ordered 
 a barrel of wine to be brought, and having taken a bumper, 
 cried out, " Those who love the Prince of Orange and me, 
 emulate me in this, and assist me in repelling the violence com- 
 mitted by that Englishman !" But the Englishman was 
 already out of sight, and quietly sailing up the river. He was 
 now laughed at by all the people. They knew well how to 
 get at the bottom of a cask of wine, being a beverage just fitted 
 to their taste. Even if there had been six casks of wine, they 
 would have mastered them. But as for the Englishman, they 
 concluded they would not trouble him, saying the English were 
 
 * Of five officers, the lowest was assistant ; the second under-koopman ; 
 the third koopman ; and the fourth upper-koopman. From these degrees 
 they were advanced to superior officers. Our friend here was only koopman. 
 There was another officer called book keeper. 
 
256 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 their friends. When I took dinner with him that day, I told 
 him he had acted indiscreetly, as the Englishman had no com- 
 mission, having only a paper of the custom house, (tol brief,) 
 from which it simply appeared that he had paid so much, and 
 had so many passengers on board, being bound for New Eng- 
 land and not for New Netherlands. I spoke then as if it had 
 been my case, and told him that I would have made him go 
 from the fort by the persuasion of some iron heans sent him 
 by our guns, and would not have allowed him to go up the 
 river. I told him that we did not put up with those things in 
 ihe East Indies. There we taught them how to behave ; and 
 this is necessary, otherwise nothing can be done with those 
 people, being of so haughty a nature that they think every 
 thing belongs to them. That if it had been my case, I would 
 have sent after him the ship the Zoutberg, and have forced him 
 down, and driven him out of the river, till he came with a bet- 
 ter commission than a mere paper of the custom house ; and 
 that they (the English) only made a joke of him. 
 
 On the 20th of May, I wanted to sail my yacht up to the north 
 of Hellegat (literally, the hole of Hell*), begiiming to prepare to 
 return to Holland. It was then that this Commander began to 
 play his pranks again, and to juggle as if he were drunk. He 
 did not want that the yacht should go to the north, and ordered 
 schepen along side, (boats big enough to contain the whole 
 yacht) and would unload the yacht, which had only six last (a 
 last is of the weight of nearly two tons) of stone as ballast in. 
 I protested against this, showing him the privileges I had of the 
 Nineteen, (the number of the Directors of the West India Com- 
 pany,) and approved by the government, and that I would not have 
 the yacht unloaded. He then told me he would search the yacht, 
 as was customary amongst all princes and monarchs, to see if it 
 had any thing on board, which was subject to the Company ; and 
 then ordered the guns of the fort to be pointed towards the yacht, 
 and would fire at it. Thereupon I ran to the point where he 
 stood with the secretary, and one or two of his council, and told 
 them that it seemed the country was full of fools ; that if they 
 would fire at something, they ought to have fired at the Eng- 
 lishman, who was violating the rights of their river against 
 their will. This made them desist from firing. They then 
 loosened a yacht which lay next ours, and so both sailed to the 
 north. 
 
 Having now every thing prepared, and being ready to take 
 leave of the governor, he came again to vex me. He would 
 not that I should go on board with my boat before his boat had 
 been there to visit my vessel. I told him that my vessel was 
 
 Gal, as a sea term, often means a narrow passage or strait, as Catte-gat, 
 Barnegat, &c. &c. — Ed. 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 257 
 
 not to be visited ; that I was bound to the father-land (patria) ; 
 that if he had letters, he could send them after me ; that 1 would 
 go to my boat. He then sent immediately twelve armed men 
 after me to prevent us from going. I asked my people if they 
 would row. I told them if I was in the boat I would row away ; 
 and if they were possessed of my courage, they would do the 
 same. They then rowed away ; so that the armed men were 
 heartily laughed at by the by-standers, who ridiculed them, say- 
 ing in common that they ought to have used their arms and guns 
 against the Enghshman, and prevented his passing the fort to 
 go up the river, and not against our own patroons of the land, 
 who were endeavouring to be beneficial to the colony. I went 
 shortly after to Long-Island, where I had ordered my boat be- 
 hind the Nooten Eiland (Nut Island); but before I went off, I 
 went once more to the fort, to take my leave of the governor. 
 I admonished him not to play the fool in that manner ; that he 
 acted very inconsiderately in sending three armed men to pre- 
 vent me from going away ; that he made himself a laughing 
 stock for his people. I told him then that if he wanted to send 
 letters to his masters the Directors of the Company, he could 
 do so, and send them to me. I then went away. Coming to the 
 boat on Long-Island, night came on and the tide began to turn, 
 so that we rowed to Pavonia. We were there well received 
 by Michael Poulaz, an officer in the service of the Company, 
 and passed the fort again before day break. 
 
 We arrived about noon on board the ship, and about the same 
 time arrived the yacht of the fort, with letters. I bid them wel- 
 come. There came on board the sheriff Notelman and the sec- 
 retary Remunt. I then ordered the goods out of the boat to be 
 put on board. When they saw a dozen of beaver skins, the 
 secretary said immediately, " These must be confiscated, hav- 
 ing not been entered at the fort." I told him to take them, 
 when the sheriff interfered, saying, " We are not now at the fort, 
 but let us taste of your wine," he being somewhat of a boiiser, 
 and this being the case with nearly all of them. I told them 
 that water was good enough for them — they might fall overboard. 
 At last the sheriff cried out, "What are we talking longer 
 about !" — he was dry, and would go to the cabin. If he did wrong 
 the patroon could make his complaints in Holland. I told the 
 sheriff, as he was speaking so handsomely, he could enter the 
 cabin, and that I would give him a glass out of the best cask. If 
 the others made much ado, they could go. I was now in my 
 ship, and not under their control. The secretary replied, that 
 he could send the ship, the Friedberg, after me. I told him 
 to do so, as the Friedberg had sugar on board, and my crew 
 would be very glad to eat some sugar with their barley, and I 
 supposed we would have some chance. I moreover told the 
 33 
 
258 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 secretary, that I was astonished that the West India Company 
 should send such fools to the colonies, who knew nothing but 
 how to drink themselves drunk. They woidd in the East Indies 
 not be fit for assistants ; that in this way the Company would 
 soon go to destruction. In the East Indies nobody was ad- 
 vanced to Commander, but after a long service, and after it was 
 known that he was competent for the office ; that he had first 
 to serve as an assistant, then under-koopman, then koopman, 
 before he came to be upper-koopman ; and advanced farther ac- 
 cording to merit. But the West India Company send out at 
 once as superior officers people who had never seen any service, 
 and must of course go to destruction. They then returned 
 to the fort. 
 
 July 24. Arrived at Amsterdam, where I found my associ- 
 ates at variance with one another, and with other directors of the 
 West India Company, because I had traded two or four beaver 
 skins, certainly a circumstance not worth the while to talk of, it 
 being granted by the 15th Art. that a Patroon shall have the 
 privilege to do so, when the Company has an officer or commis- 
 sioner. So that our colony-making was now suspended. The 
 Directors have done nothing but to fight with their own shadows. 
 As I was at variance with my associates, and they being all 
 Directors of the West India Company, and continually quarrel- 
 ling with one another, I have resigned. 
 
 De Vries calls this his first voyage ; but this voyage, in 
 fact, contains two trips. In the first he established the house, 
 which he found destroyed and his people murdered when he 
 arrived the second time. 
 
 Extracts from the Second Voyage to the coast of America, 
 by David Pieterzen de Vries. 
 
 Anno 1634. 
 
 I have again with my friends entered into a partnership to 
 form a colony on the coast of Guyana, or the wild coast, of 
 which Mr. Jan Bicker is one of the principal patroons. I was 
 again the first patroon who landed there from Holland. 
 
 July. 10. We left the Texel in the ship Koning David, car- 
 rying 14 guns, twenty-five head of cattle, and thirty planters. 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 259 
 
 1635. 
 
 April. 30. We arrived in New-Netherlands the first of 
 June. I went on shore with the boat near Fort Amsterdam, 
 where I found Wouter van Twiller still governor. I requested 
 him to send me some carpenters, which was done. I then went 
 to Virginia, &c. 
 
 [This second voyage has little of interest respecting the New- 
 Netherlands. De Vries spent most of his time in Guiana and 
 Virginia. He learned that the people who had been placed 
 in his new colony on the wild coast had deserted, by instigation 
 of the British. When he was at the house of Wouter Van 
 Twiller, there arrived a boat of the Company, with fourteen or 
 fifteen Enghshmen, who wanted to take Fort Nassau.] 
 
 1636. 
 
 June 25. I went to the fort, and found there the governor, 
 and the minister of Pavonia in the colony of Michael Pauw, 
 where Cornelis van Vorst acted as superior officer. He had 
 been at the north, and brought with him some good claret; 
 knowing that the governor was fond of this article, he went there 
 also. The governor and minister got a quarreling with Cornehs 
 van Vorst, about a manslaughter which had been committed 
 there; but soon matters were made up, and Cornelis van 
 Vorst, willing to give a salute to the governor from a stone gun 
 that stood on a pillar near the house, a spark of it lodged on the 
 roof, which being covered with reed, caught fire, and the whole 
 house was consumed in less than half an hour. 
 
 Aug. 8. The constapel (first gunner) of the fort gave a 
 frolick. On one of the points of the fort a tent was erected and 
 tables and benches placed for the invited people. When the 
 glee was at its height, the trumpet began to blow, which again 
 occasioned a quarrel, and the koopman of the stores, and the 
 koopman of the cargasoons, gave the trumpeter names. The 
 trumpeter, in revenge, gave them each a drubbing, when they 
 ran home for their swords, and would take revenge of the trum- 
 peter; and swaggering and boasting much, went to the house of 
 the governor, and would have eaten the trumpeter ! But when 
 the wine was evaporated in the morning, their courage was 
 somewhat lowered, and they did not endeavour much to find the 
 trumpeter, 
 
 Aug. 13. I requested Wouter van Twiller to put Staten 
 
260 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 Island down to my name, intending to form a colony there, 
 which was granted. 
 
 On the 15th I midertook my home voyage. 
 
 Third Voyage to New-Netherlands, in order to erect a Colony 
 
 on Staten Island, for me and Frederick de Vries, 
 
 Secretary of the city of Amsterdam, and 
 
 Director of the West India Company. 
 
 Anno 1638. 
 
 Sept. 25. On board the ship of the West India Company, 
 sailed from Holland. 
 
 Dec. 26. Got sight of Sandy Hook. The captain, imagining 
 he saw land covered with snow, wanted to go to the West Indies 
 to pass the winter there, and return against spring. I told him that 
 he certainly could enter into South river, but he having only 
 my imperfect chart, did not know that such a river existed. He 
 then, at the request of the passengers, who all had their homes 
 in the New-Netherlands, solicited me to pilot his ship in, which 
 I did, and anchored the same evening before Staten Island, 
 which was my property, and put my people on shore. 
 
 On the morning of the 27th, we anchored opposite the Fort, 
 where we were received with much joy, as they did not expect 
 to see a vessel at that time of the year. I now found there a 
 governor named William Kieft. He bade me welcome, and in- 
 vited me to his house. 
 
 1639. 
 
 Jan. 5. — Send my people to Staten Island, to commence 
 the colony and buildings. 
 
 June 4. — Went northward with a yacht up the Versche 
 Rivier (Connecticut river), where the West India Company 
 possess a small fort called huys de Hoop, (house of hope,) 
 and anchored about even in the eastern haven, being a large 
 commodious haven on the north of Long Island. This 
 haven is in the island, where it is upwards of two miles wide. 
 We found fine oysters there also. The Dutch call it the Oyster 
 
 • De Viies calls the different settlements Colonies, and the whole country 
 
 a plantation. 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 261 
 
 bay or haven. We arrived the next evening at Roodeberg, a 
 fine haven, and found that the Enghsh were building a fine town, 
 having aheady erected upwards of three hundred houses and a 
 handsome church.* 
 
 In the morning of the 7th, we came opposite de Versche 
 Rivier. We went up the river, and on the 9th arrived with 
 my yacht at the fort het huys de Hoop, where we found one 
 Gysbertvan Dyck as commander, with 14 or 15 soldiers. This 
 fort is situated near the river and a small creek, forming there a 
 fall. The English had also begun to build here a town {Hart- 
 ford) against our will, and had already a fine church and more 
 than a hundred houses erected. The commander gave me orders 
 to protest against their proceedings. He added that some of his 
 soldiers had prohibited them to put a plough into the ground, 
 as it was our land that we had bought of the Indians and paid 
 for ; but they opposed them, and had given a drubbing to the 
 soldiers. When I came to the settlement, the English gover- 
 nor invited me to dinner. I told him during dinner, that he 
 acted very improperly in taking the lands of the company, which 
 were bought and paid for by them. He answered me that 
 these lands were lying uncultivaled ; that we had been here 
 already several years, and nothing was done to improve the 
 ground ; that it was a sin to leave so valuable lands unculti- 
 vated, such fine crops could be raised upon them ; that they had 
 now already built three towns on this river, in which was 
 abundance of salmon, &c. The English here live soberly. 
 They drink only three times every meal, and those that become 
 drunk are whipped on a pole, as the thieves are in Holland. 
 
 [Our traveller here speaks at length of the rigorous conduct 
 of the English in that settlement. It was with extreme difficulty 
 that the servant of the minister who had been tipsy, got free 
 from being whipped. While he was there, a young man who 
 had been married two months was accused before the elders of 
 the church by his brother, that he had slept with his wife before 
 marriage. They were both imprisoned and whipped, and during 
 the space of six weeks separated from each other.] 
 
 June 14. — I took leave of the huys de Hoop, and arrived the 
 next morning at the mouth of the river. We passed several 
 places where the English were building, and arrived about eve- 
 ning at the Manattes, opposite Fort Amsterdam, when we learned 
 the arrival of two vessels from Holland ; the one a company's 
 ship, den Harnink, and the other a private ship, de Brand 
 Van Trogen, from Hoorn, laden with cattle, belonging to 
 Joachim Pieterz, former commander in the East Indies for the 
 king of Denmark. 
 
 " New Haven, called by the Dutch Roodeberg, or Red Hill.— Ed. 
 
262 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 1640. 
 
 Feb. 10. — T commenced with my plantation four and a half to 
 'six miles above the fort, being there a fine situation, having 
 upwards of 31 morgen of corn land, (a morgen is upwards of 
 two acres of ground,) where we had no trees to cut down ; and 
 besides for 200 head of cattle in hay land, which is there 
 very valuable, and situated along the river. I intend to go and 
 live half the time there, and visited the plantation of JStaten 
 Island, because they did not send me any people from Holland, 
 as was agreed upon in the contract entered into with Frederick, 
 de Vries, director of the West India Company. 
 
 April 15. — Went with the boat up the river to Fort Orange, 
 in order to examine the lands which are situated on the river 
 We arrived about even at Tappaen. There is here under the 
 mountains an extensive valley, containing upwards of 200 or 
 300 morgen clay land, which is tliree or four feet above water 
 mark. A creek coming from the highlands runs through it, 
 containing numerous good mill seats. I bought this valley from 
 the Indians, being only three miles above my plantations, and 
 five miles from the fort. There was also much corn land, but 
 it was too stony to be ploughed. 
 
 April 25. — Opposite Tappaen lays a place called Wickquaes- 
 geck. This land is also fit for corn, but too stony and sandy. 
 We got there good masts. The land is mountainous. 
 
 April 26. — Went up the river ; passed Averstro ; there is a 
 creek forming a fall ; tlie water made here a tremendous noise ; 
 the land is high. About noon we passed very high lands, which 
 extended for about a mile. The river is here the narrowest, 
 being only from 500 to 600 paces wide, according to my con- 
 jectures. We passed at evening the Dans Kamer (dancing 
 room). 
 
 April 27. — We came to Esopus ; there is a creek ; and 
 the Indians are in possession of much corn land, but it is 
 stony. Arrived about evening opposite the Catskill. Thus far 
 the shores of the river were very rocky and mountainous, and 
 not well fit to erect dwellings. 
 
 April 28. — We arrived at Beeren Eyland ; we there found 
 the Indians fishing ; the land here is less mountainous, and is 
 low and well adapted for cultivation. About evening we arrived 
 near the island of Brant Pylen, below which the Fort Orange 
 is situated, of which the owners are the Patroons Godyn, Rens- 
 selaer, Jan de Laet, and Bloemaert ; and they had besides three 
 other farms, which they had very much embellished at the cost 
 of the West India Company ; the cattle having been sent with 
 great expense by the Company, and those persons, being commis- 
 sioners in the New-Netherlands, had well known how to turn 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 263 
 
 things to their own advantage ; so that the company had nothing 
 but the naked fort, and the commissioners the farms in its vicin- 
 ity and the trade, and every farmer was a koopman. 
 
 July 16. — Cornelius Van Tienhoven, secretary in the New 
 Netherlands, got a commission of the government of the New 
 Netherlands to go at the head of about 100 armed men to the 
 Raritans, a tribe of Indians living near a small river, about 
 five miles behind Staten Island, to ask satisfaction of these 
 Indians for the hostilities committed by them at Staten Island, 
 in the killing of my hogs and those of the Company, which 
 were guarded by a negro, the robbing of the watch house, the 
 attack upon the yacht de Vrede, Capt. Cornelius Pieters, and 
 other trespasses committed. Van Tienhoven being arrived 
 there, demanded satisfaction according to his orders ; his troops 
 wanted to kill and plunder, but Tienhoven told them that this 
 was against his orders ; and at last vexed by the insolence of 
 his troops, left them, telling them that they were responsible 
 for the mischief which their disobedience would produce. Van 
 Tienhoven had hardly gone three quarters of a mile from them, 
 when the troops had already shot some of them, and captured 
 the brother of their chief ; for whom Van Tienhoven remained 
 security bound for eighty fathom of seawan ; otherwise they 
 would have killed us, and burned the house that belonged to me, 
 David P. de Vries. I learned from Van Tienhoven that a certain 
 Lookmans had mangled very much the body of the chief's 
 brother, standing on a mast with a split wood ; and similar ty- 
 ranny was committed by others in the service of the Company. 
 
 July 20. — Went with my boat to Tappaen, to barter some 
 corn from the Indians. I there met with a boat of the Company, 
 asking from the Christian Indians a contribution of corn. The 
 Indians asked me for what purpose I came ? I told them I 
 wanted to barter corn for cloth. They answered that they 
 could not help me, but I must go up the river. At the same time 
 they tried to get clear of the Company's boat, and would then 
 enter on business with me. They told me that they were 
 much astonished that the Sakima of the fort dared to exact 
 such things ; that he must be a poor fellow ; had not invited 
 them to come and live here, and he came now to take away 
 their corn, &c. 
 
 Dec. 10. — I commenced to form an establishment at Vries- 
 sendale. It is a fine place situated along the river, sheltered 
 by a mountain, and furnishing at least 200 head of cattle hay, 
 with 30 morgen corn land, and well adapted for the raising of 
 wheat, containing also some mill sites. In fact I could very 
 well commence with erecting new plantations ; but unluckily I 
 was not seconded by my partner, F. de Vries, who was bound 
 by contract to furnish the necessaries. He was, it seems, of 
 
264 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 opinion that colonies are to be erected without people and means, 
 thinking that such was the case in regard to Godyn, Gilliame 
 Van Rensselaer, Bloemaert, and Jan de Laet ; but it was done 
 by them at the cost of the company. Having sent them farmers 
 and cattle, they being at the same time directors of the West 
 India Company and commissioners of the New Netherlands, 
 they saved themselves afterwards by some sinister merchant's 
 trick ; and the Company having at that time obtained the fine prize 
 Piet Heyn,* did not think of their lost colony at Fort Orange, 
 and it was indifferent to the directors if any farms were erected 
 there ; but these fellows deprived Rensselaer, (who was used 
 to refine pearls and diamonds,) and proceeded so far that they 
 turned out of office their associates. When Michael Pauw 
 got to know that the lands of Fort Orange were appropriated 
 for themselves, he went immediately and had that part below 
 the fort where the Indians cross the river to bring their bea- 
 vers, put down in his name, and called it Pavonia;t which after- 
 ward, when it was known by the Company, occasioned much 
 quarreling and jealousy, and prevented the colonies prospering 
 as they would have done. 
 
 1641. 
 
 Aug. 20. — Arrived the ship Eyckenboom, and had on board 
 a person named Malyn, who said he was the owner of Staten 
 Island, that it was given to him and to Mr. Van der Horst by 
 the Directors of the Company. I could not believe this, having 
 left the country, in the year 1638, to take possession of this 
 island, and in that time have settled there. I could not think 
 that the Directors of the Company would act in this way, it being 
 granted by the sixth article, and we being the first occupants, 
 and of course it could not be taken from us. 
 
 September 1 . — My people were murdered on Staten Island 
 by the Indians of Raritans. They told an Indian who was as- 
 sisting my people, that we should now come to fight for the 
 killing of the men as we formerly had done for the hogs, with 
 the stealing of which they were wrongfully accused. It was 
 done by the servants of the Company, then going to the South 
 river, who landed first at Staten Island to take in wood and wa- 
 ter, when they stole the hogs, and the blame was laid on the in- 
 nocent Indians, who, though cunning enough, will do no harm if 
 no harm is done to them. And so my colony of Staten Island 
 was smothered in its birth, by the management of Governor 
 Kieft, who wanted to avenge the wrongs of his people on the 
 Indians. 
 
 * Referring to the naval victory of Admiral Heyn over ihe Spanish silver 
 fleet in 1628. Lambrechtsen, supra p. 94. — Ed. 
 
 t The Latin of pauw (peacock) is pavo — hence the name Pavonia, This 
 colony was opposite Fort Amsterdam, in New Jersey. — Ed. 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 265 
 
 Sept. 2. — An Indian chief, belonging to the Tankitekes, call- 
 ed Pacham, came to the fort in much triumph, with the hand 
 of a dead man hanging on a stick, saying it was the hand of the 
 chief who had killed our people at Staten Island, who had 
 revenged the wrongs of the Swannekins, whose friend he was. 
 
 1642. 
 
 As I was every day with Commander Kieft, dining generally 
 at his house, when I happened to be at the fort, he told me one 
 day that he had now built a fine tavern of stone for the English, 
 who, passing continually there with their vessels, in going 
 from New England to Virginia, occasioned him much incon- 
 venience, and could now take lodgings there. I told him this 
 was excellent for travellers, but that we wanted very sadly a 
 church for our people. It was a shame when the English 
 passed there, and saw only a mean barn in which we performed 
 our worship.. In New England, on the contrary, the first thing 
 that they did when they had built some dwellings, was to erect 
 a fine church. We ought to do the same ; it being supposed 
 that the West India Company were very zealous in protecting 
 the reformed (Calvinist) church against the Spanish tyranny ; 
 that we had good materials for it ; fine oak wood ; fine building 
 stone ; good lime made of oyster shells, being better than our 
 lime in Holland. Kieft asked me then who would like to su- 
 perintend this building ? I replied, the friends of the reformed 
 religion; certainly some of them could be found. He told me 
 that he supposed that I myself was one of them, as I made the 
 proposition, and he supposed I would contribute a hundred 
 guilders ? I replied that I agreed to do so ; and that as he was 
 Governor, he should be the first. We then elected Jochem 
 Pieterzen Kuyter, wdio having a good set of hands, and being 
 also a devout Calvinist, would soon procure good timber. We 
 also elected Damen, because he lived near the fort ; and thus 
 we four formed the first consistory to superintend the build- 
 ing of the church. The Governor should furnish a few 
 thousand guilders of the Company's money, and we would try 
 to raise the remainder by subscription. The church should be 
 built in the fort, where it would not be exposed to the depreda- 
 tions of the Indians. Soon the building was started of stone, 
 and was covered by English carpenters with oak shingles, 
 which by rains and winds become blue, and look like slate. 
 
 About this time a man named Claes Rademaker was murder- 
 ed by an Indian. When the Indian was asked why he had 
 murdered the man, he said that when the fort was bnilt, he with 
 his uncle and another Indian came to barter some beaver skins ; 
 34 
 
266 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 when some of the Swannekins robbed his uncle of his skins and 
 killed him. He was at that time a small boy, and resolved that 
 when he should become grown to take vengeance of the Dutch, 
 and no opportunity was offered until now. Commander 
 Kieft sent out parties of armed men to retaliate for the murder, 
 but they all miscarried. When Wilhelm Kieft saw that all 
 his attempts failed, and that it would occasion some miscliief, 
 and the people began to complain and upbraid him that he 
 was locked up in a good fort, out of which he had not slept one 
 night as long as he had been there ; that the wars which he 
 wanted to make were only calculated to give in bad accounts 
 to the Company — when he saw that every thing was laid at his 
 door, he called a meeting of the community, and proposed to 
 them to elect twelve men, who should with him take the reins 
 of government.* I was elected one of the number. Gov. Kieft 
 proposed the question, whether or not the death of Claes Rede- 
 maker should be i3taliated? and whether we should declare 
 war against the Indians ? It w^as answered that this required 
 time, as the cattle were all spread through the woods, and the 
 people themselves scattered in all directions ; that it was not 
 advisable to fight the Indians before we were more numerous, 
 as the English were also in possession of our towns and 
 villages. I then told Commander Kieft, that it would not be 
 beneficial to war against the Indians ; that he was the cause 
 why my people of the new colony on Staten Island, in the year 
 1640, had been murdered ; that I knew very well that the 
 Directors of the West India Company were very much opposed 
 to any hostilities against the Indians ; and when we were 
 erecting a colony in 1630, on South river, at Swaenendael, on 
 the Hoeren creek, and all our people were murdered by the 
 Indians, occasioned by some trifling quarrels of our commander, 
 Gilles Osset, as I have narrated in the beginning of this my 
 journal — it was then requested of the West India Company to 
 be allowed to war against the Indians ; but the Company did 
 not permit it, and gave as a reason that we must live in good 
 harmony with the natives. I related this to the Governor 
 Kieft, but he did not wish to listen to me. Indeed, the Direct- 
 ors of the Company ought to have been more careful, and better 
 acquainted with the officers they sent. 
 
 I shortly after met with an Indian who was intoxicated. He 
 told me that the Swannekins liad sold to him brandy mixed with 
 water, and stolen his dress of beaver skins ; that he was going 
 home for his bow and arrows, and would shoot one of them. 
 I advised him not to do so, and left him. I was scarce home, 
 
 ♦ See below, p. 277, extrnrts from the Colonial Records in confirmation of 
 this statement of DcVries. — Ed. 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 267 
 
 when in came some of the chiefs of Ackinghsack and Recka- 
 wangk, not far distant from us, who told me that one of their In- 
 dians, being intoxicated, liad siiot a man dead who was working 
 on the roof of the house of Mr. Van der Vorst. They asked me 
 what they should do ; that they dared not enter the fort ; that they 
 were willing to pay 100 or 200 fathom of seawan (wampum) to 
 pacify the widow. 1 told them to go with me to the fort and 
 speak with the Commander ; but they dreaded to go there, fear- 
 ing that he would not let them depart again ; but I gave them 
 courage, and promised that I would see them home again. At 
 last they consented, went with me to the fort, and we related to 
 the Commander what had happened. He told the chiefs that 
 they must deliver up the man who had committed the murder. 
 They replied that they could not, he having run off to the Tandi- 
 tekes ; but if the Commander would permit them, they would 
 try to satisfy the widow for the death of her husband with sea- 
 wan. And they said that the Europeans were the cause of it; 
 that we ought not to sell brandy to the young Indians, which 
 made them crazy, they not being used to their liquors ; and they 
 saw very well that even among our people who were used to 
 drink it, when drunk they committed foolish actions, and often 
 fought with knives. And therefore to prevent all mischief, they 
 wished we would sell no more spirituous liquors to the Indians ; 
 and fearing that the Governor would keep them there, they told 
 him that they would endeavour to take the man and deliver him 
 to the Governor, when they took their leave ; but going home 
 they told me that it was impossible for them to deliver the man, 
 he being also the son of a chief, and so it was dropped. 
 
 1643. 
 
 Feb. 22. Hostilities commenced about this time between the 
 Indians, the Mayekandcrs, who came from Fort Orange, and 
 those of Wickquaesgeck, Tappaen and vicinity, whom they 
 wanted to put under contribution. Eighty or ninety Indians 
 armed with muskets came from Fort Orange to fight them. 
 Four or five hundred of the other Indians came to me, begcrinor 
 for assistance. I told them they ought to be ashamed, they 
 being so many hundreds to fear 80 or 90 men ; that I had heard 
 them boasting that they were good soldiers, even as good as 
 Mannetoe himself; besides those of Fort Orange were our 
 friends, and therefore would not meddle with their affairs. Be- 
 ing only five of us in the house, I went to the fort and request- 
 ed of the Governor some soldiers, in order to remain master in 
 my house. The Governor told me that he had no soldiers, that 
 I should remain there that night, and he would see in the 
 
268 VOYAGES OP DE VRIES. 
 
 morning what could be done. I remained there that night. The 
 next day in the morning came several flocks of Indians going to 
 Pavonia, near the oyster bank, and encamped there. Some of 
 them crossed the river and came to the fort. I spoke to some of 
 them, who told me that the Indians had left my place. These 
 Indians went to the farm of Corlaers, where there were some 
 Indians of Rockewack, opposite the fort on Long-Island, amongst 
 whom was a chief whom they called Hummerus, whom I knew 
 well. 
 
 Feb. 24. Sitting at the table with the Governor, he began to 
 tell me a piece of his mind. He had a great desire, he said, to 
 make these savages wipe their chops ; that he had ordered Jan 
 Claes Damen with Jacob Planck, \\ho had requested it, to 
 commence the job. I answered him that they were not calcu- 
 lated for this undertaking ; and that such things could not be 
 done but by the order of the twelve men, and not without my 
 consent, as I was the head-man of that committee. " Consider 
 once, sir," said I, "what good it will do — knowing that we lost 
 our settlements by mere jangling with the Indians at Swanen- 
 dael, in the Hoeren Creek, in 1630, when thirty-two of our men 
 were murdered ; and now lately, in 1640, at Stalen-Island, where 
 my people were murdered, occasioned by your petty contrivan- 
 ces of killing the Indians of Raritan and mangling the brother 
 of their chief for mere bagatelle." But it seems my words 
 would take no hold of him. Every thing was settled by his 
 assertions about this slaughter, desiring now to perform a feat 
 worthy of the ancient heroes of Rome. And this was resolved 
 upon without warning the Dutch, who were settled all over the 
 country, to be on their guard and to escape the vengeance of 
 the surviving Indians, as it was certain he could not kill all of 
 them. Having now amply discussed this intention during the 
 whole dinner, we arose. The Governor asked me if I would 
 like to see his new parlour which he had been building ? While 
 there, seeing all the soldiers ready to cross the river to go to Pa- 
 vonia to commence the massacre, I again spoke to the Governor, 
 Wilhelm Kieft, and told him to desist from this undertaking. 
 " You will go," said I, " to break the Indian's heads ; but it is 
 our nation that you are going to murder. Nobody in the coun- 
 try knows any thing of it. My family will be murdered again, 
 and every thing destroyed." He told me I might be assured 
 there would be no danger. He would send some soldiers for 
 the defence of my place ; but these were promises spent in the 
 air. 
 
 It was in the night between the 25th and 26th of February, 
 1643, that ihey executed these fine deeds. I remained that night 
 at the Governor's, and took a seat in the kitchen near the fire ; 
 and at midnight I heard loud shrieks. I went out to the parapets 
 
VOYAGES OF DE TRIES. 269 
 
 of the fort, and looked towards Pavonia; I saw nothing but 
 the flash of the guns, and heard nothing more of the yells and 
 clamour of the Indians, who were butchered during their sleep. 
 I again went to the fire. Shortly after I had been there, an 
 Indian man and woman whom I knew entered, and told me 
 that they had fled from Pavonia ; that the Indians of Fort 
 Orange had surprised them, and that they came there for shel- 
 ter. 1 told them immediately to go away, it not being advisable 
 for them to seek refuge here ; and that it was not the savages 
 of Fort Orange who were murdering those of Pavonia, but it 
 was the Swannekins, the Dutch themselves. They then asked 
 me how they would get away out of the fort ? I conducted 
 them out of the door where there was no sentinel, and they went 
 into the woods. About day the soldiers returned again to the 
 fort, having murdered eighty Indians. And this was the feat 
 worthy of the heroes of old Rome — to massacre a parcel of In- 
 dians in their sleep, to take the children from the breasts of their 
 mothers, and to butcher them in the presence of their parents, 
 and throw their mangled limbs into the fire or water ! Other 
 sucklings had been fastened to little boards, and in this position 
 they were cut in pieces ! Some were thrown into the river, 
 and when the parents rushed in to save them, the soldiers pre- 
 vented their landing, and let parents and children drown ! 
 Children of five or six years old were murdered, and some aged 
 decrepid men cut to pieces. Those who had escaped these 
 horrors, and found shelter in bushes and reeds, making in the 
 morning their appearance to beg some food, or warm themselves, 
 were killed in cold blood, or thrown into the fire or water. Some 
 came running to us in the country having their hands cut off. 
 Some had their arms and legs cut off — some who had their legs 
 cut off, were supporting their entrails with their arms. Others 
 were mangled in other horrid ways, in part too shocking to be 
 conceived ; and these miserable wretches, as well as some of 
 our people, did not know but they had been attacked by the 
 M aquas of Fort Orange. 
 
 After these exploits the soldiers were rewarded for their 
 services, and heartily thanked with a shaking of the hands by 
 Governor and Director Kieft. On the same night forty In- 
 dians were attacked in their sleep and murdered at Corker's 
 Hook and at Corlaer's plantation. 
 
 As soon as the Indians learned that it was the Swannekins 
 who had treated them in this manner, they murdered in the 
 country all the men they could find, but did not kill any females 
 or children. They burned all the houses and farms, barns, 
 grain, haystacks ; destroying every thing they could lay hands 
 upon ; in one word, they carried on a most destructive war. They 
 burned my farm and barn, destroyed my cattle, tobacco, and 
 
270 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 every thing they found. My people saved themselves by tak- 
 ing refuge in my dwelling, which, being constructed with em- 
 brasures, they defended themselves through these. My people 
 being thus stationed for defence, the very same Indian who 
 came to me that horrid night when I was sitting near the fire at 
 the Governor's, and whom I had conducted out of the fort, made 
 his appearance. He told the other Indians that I was a good 
 chief, that I had assisted him, and was very much opposed to 
 the murdering of their people. They cried then to my people 
 not to fire ; that if they had not destroyed my cattle and farm, 
 they would not do it now ; they would now leave every thing as 
 it was, and break up the siege of the house. 
 
 I now went to Governor Kicft, and asked him if it was 
 not now as I had foretold, that he was only murdering a parcel of 
 Christians ? Who should now make good our damages ? He 
 did not give me any answer. He only said he was astonished 
 that n-one of the savages came to the fort. I asked him why 
 they should come to him, who had treated them so barbar- 
 ously ? 
 
 March 4. Three Indians bearing a white flag came near the 
 fort, and wanted to be heard. The governor asked who would 
 like to go ? Only one, besides myself, Jacob Olferszen, had the 
 courage to go. We approached the Indians, who told us that 
 they were sent by their chief to ask the reason why we had 
 murdered some of his people, who had never done any harm to 
 the Dutch ? We told them that we did not know that any of 
 his tribe were amongst the number. They told us we must go 
 and speak with their chief, who had fled some miles off near 
 the sea-shore ; and as we knew that they were well disposed to 
 us, we ventured to go with them. We arrived about evening 
 at Rechquaakie. We found the chief, who had only one eye, 
 with 200 or 300 Indians, and about thirty horses. He brought 
 us into his house, and offered us what he had, as oysters, fish, &c. 
 He told us we were tired now, and must rest, and in the morn- 
 ng we would speak about business. I had occasion during the 
 night to go out of the house. It being moonlight, an Indian ap- 
 proached me and requested me to come into his dwelling. 
 When I had entered the house, and saw the man in the light, I 
 knew him, as he lived only half a mile from my farm Vriessen- 
 dael. He was there with his wife. They told me that I was 
 a good chief, and that I came to Rancoiitynmarinel, that is, to 
 make peace. I asked them how it came that they wei-e so far 
 from their family. They told me they had been a hunting with 
 their people &c. I now returned to the house of the chief, as 
 day began to break. We were awakened and led by one of the 
 Indians in the woods upwards of 400 paces from the house, 
 where we found sixteen chiefs from Long-Island, who placed 
 
VOYAGES OP DE VRIES. 271 
 
 themselves in a circle around us. One of them had a bundle 
 of small sticks. He was the best speaker, and commenced his 
 speech. He related, that when we first arrived on their shores, 
 we were sometimes in want of food ; they gave us their beans 
 and corn, and let us eat oysters and fish ; and now for recom- 
 pense we murdered their people. He here laid down one little 
 stick — this was one point of accusation. The men whom in 
 your first trips you left here to barter your goods till your return, 
 these men have been treated by us as we would have done by 
 our eye-balls. We gave them our daughters for wives, by 
 whom they had children. There are now several Indians, who 
 came from the blood of the Swannekins and that of Indians ; 
 and then their own blood were now murdered in such villanous 
 manner. He laid down another stick. I became tired, seeing 
 that he had a great many sticks in his hand, and told him that 
 I knew all that ; that if some of their Indians were amongst 
 those of Long-Island, the Dutch did not know it ; and if it were 
 the case, they should go with us to the fort, and the governor 
 would give them presents to make peace with them. Their 
 speech finished, they presented each of us with ten fathom of 
 seawan, (every fathom being equal to four guilders.) They arose 
 and told us, that they would go with us to the fort, and speak 
 with our governor. We went to the canoes. Being there, an 
 Indian armed with bows and arrows came running to us. He 
 came six miles distance from a chief who had not been with us, 
 and asked the other Indians if they were fools, to go to ihe fort 
 to such villains who had murdered their friends ? When so 
 many chiefs come to the fort, said he, the Governor will keep 
 them all, so that all the Indians would be without chiefs ; that the 
 chief from whom he came disapproved very much that they should 
 go. They then asked me, if I understood what had been said? 
 I told them that this Indian was wrong ; that if they would go to 
 the fort, they would find the contrary, and return with presents. 
 One of the chiefs who knew me very well, told them that upon 
 my word they would go to the fort ; that the Indians had never 
 heard any lie from me, as wns the case with many Swannekins. 
 We then went, twenty in a canoe, and arrived about 3 o'clock, 
 P. M. at the fort. Went to W. Kieft. Peace was made, and 
 some presents given to the chiefs, and we requested them to 
 bring those chiefs who had lost so many of their men also to 
 the fort ; that the governor wanted to make peace with them, 
 and give them presents. Some of them then went out, and re- 
 turned with Indians of Ackingsack andTappaen, and their vicin- 
 ity, and the chiefs of those soon came also. The governor 
 gave them some presents, but they were not well satisfied and 
 parted grumbling. 
 
 July 20. — One of the chiefs told me he was melancholy. I 
 
272 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 asked him the reason. He said there are many of the young 
 Indians much dissatisfied, and want to war with you. The 
 one having lost his father, the other his mother, a third again 
 his uncle or some other of his friends ; that the presents given 
 bore no proportion to their loss and is therefore no recompense. 
 He had tried to satisfy them by presents out of his own purse, 
 but could not reconcile them. Wherefore he advised me not to 
 go alone in the woods, there being no danger from those who 
 knew me, but it might happen that I should meet with Indians 
 who did not know me, and would then kill me. I requested 
 him to go with me to Governor Kieft and tell him the same 
 things. We went to the fort, and the chief told the Governor 
 the same things he had communicated to me. The Governor 
 told him, that he being a chief ought to kill those boobies who 
 wanted to war again with the Swannekins, and he would give 
 him for recompense 200 fathom of seawan. He answered that 
 he could do no such things ; that he had endeavoured to quiet 
 them, but feared he should not long succeed, they calling con- 
 tinually for vengeance. 
 
 Oct. 1. — Nine Indians came to Pavonia, at which place were 
 stationed three or four soldiers, who were there for defence of a 
 farmer, Jacob Staffelsz. They were well disposed towards this 
 man, and did not want to kill him ; so they went to him and 
 pretended that they wanted to cross the river and go to the fort. 
 When he was gone, they came under the cloak of friendship to 
 the soldiers, who having no muskets in their hands, every one 
 was killed, except a fore-son of the wife of Staffelsz, whom 
 they carried off to Tappaen. They burned the farm and all 
 the houses at Pavonia, and thus commenced again a new war. 
 The next day the Governor came to my house, with the step- 
 father of the little boy who had been carried off by the Indians. 
 He asked me if I would go to the Indians to ransom this boy, 
 as nobody dared to go amongst them but myself. I told them 
 I would procure one or two Indians, but when they should be 
 in the fort no harm must be done to them, because t would 
 make myself responsible for them. I then went over to Long 
 Island, and brought with me two Indians to go to Tappaen to 
 free the boy. When I came over, every one wanted to kill the 
 Indians, and I had much ado to prevent it. I brought them on 
 board of a privateer which was then in the river, and sailed 
 with them to go and free the boy. When I returned with the 
 boy, I went to the fort to take leave of the Governor. I told 
 Wilhelm Kieft, that I doubted not that vengeance for the inno- 
 cent blood which he had shed in his murderings, would sooner 
 or later come on his head. And then I left him, and sailed on 
 board of a Rotterdam fisherman's boat to Virginia, in order to 
 proceed from thence to Europe. 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 273 
 
 [The remainder of this voyage consists only of local descrip- 
 tions of some of the Virginia coasts and gromids, of interest only 
 to navigators. When he reached the South river, he found the 
 Swedes had taken possession of many places, and built several 
 forts. The first fort of the Swedes he found on the Varckenkill. 
 They fired at his boat, and ordered him to strike his flag. The 
 commander of this fort was Capt. Printz. It appears from 
 the sequel of this narrative that in 1630, when Ue Vries had a 
 settlement on Swanendael, no Swedes were known on the river, 
 and now they already had three forts. The poor Dutch were 
 robbed in this way in the north by the sober and pious English- 
 men, and in tlie south by the Swedes, who it seems were not 
 very sober, as they bought from tlie captain of the vessel a good 
 quantity of wine and sweet meats. And De Vries says, that 
 Printz was a man weighing upwards of 400 lbs., and doubts 
 not that he drank three drinks at every meal ; and that neither 
 there nor in Virginia, was intoxication, or incontinence, pun- 
 ished with whipping. Fort Nassau lay three miles higher up 
 the river, where were yet some of the people of the West India 
 company. The Swedes had also a fort at the Minquaes Kill, 
 with a few houses. The first fort was called Elsenburg, on 
 which they had eight metal guns of twelve pounds ; the se- 
 cond was Christina, and the third New Gottenberg. They 
 then went to James River ; arrived on the 22d at Jamestown, 
 and spent one night at the house of Capt. Matthews, who was 
 among the first that settled in Virginia. On the 28th he went 
 on board, and arrived May 1, 1644, in the Downs, and on the 
 21st June, at his Patria Hooni. — Trans.*] 
 
 A few extracts from a Description of New -Nether lands in 
 1649, contained in tlie Du Simitiere MSS. 
 
 When the Dutch first arrived, the Indians never having seen 
 a vessel, nor knowing that there existed any other country but 
 theirs, did not know what to make of those large ships. They 
 thought they had dropped from heaven. Some thought it was 
 the devil ; others again that it was a large fish, or sea monster. 
 We ourself have often heard all this said by the Indians. 
 
 • I saw in the small map of the New-Netherlands on tlie North River the 
 word rack, often repeated. This word is obsolete ; its signification bemg an 
 almost straight running part of a river or road.— Trans. 
 
 35 
 
274 VOYAGES OF DE VRIES. 
 
 The forts situated on the different rivers were particularly- 
 erected to protect the possessions of the colonists, and prevent 
 foreign nations from settling on the lands of the Company. 
 This nevertheless has not prevented some, particularly the Eng- 
 lish, from building towns and villages from Cape Cod, (where in 
 1609 the arms of their High Mightinesses were erected, and 
 called by us New-Holland,) to the distance of eighteen miles 
 from the North river ; the British having now a village called 
 Stam-Foort, from which a man can walk to the North River and 
 return again in one day. Also the English of New-Haven have 
 erected a house of commerce on the east side of Magdalenen 
 island, not more than eighteen miles from the North river — 
 this island being only seventy and a half miles above Fort 
 Amsterdam, and is only erected there that they might take to 
 themselves the whole of the trade of the North river, or to ruin 
 the same. They also eight or nine years ago endeavoured to 
 purchase from the Indians large tracts of land situated three or 
 four miles distant from the colony of Rensselaerwyck, This 
 they now want to make appear as consistent w^ith their most 
 purified consciences ; notwithstanding that it is mentioned in 
 the grant of King James that they should remain, the one from 
 the other, a distance of one hundi'cd miles. 
 
 All the islands, bays, rivers, havens, creeks and places far 
 beyond Cape Cod, have received Dutch names, because it was 
 the Dutch who first discovered them, and this is well known to 
 the English. But this being against their interest, they want 
 to make it appear that they know nothing about it. Even those 
 of Fresh river have offered to compensate, give an annual 
 revenue, or to buy out. Certainly this shows that they know well 
 that we are the right owners, and that it seemed that they 
 began to feel that it was not exactly consistent with their most 
 puritanical consciences. Nevertheless they have from time to 
 time been able to find out some palliative to keep that con- 
 science at ease, and have continued to take our land. 
 
 [It seems that all our Dutch writers who spent some time in 
 New-Netherlands, were more exasperated against the pious 
 New-Englanders than against the Virginians. — Trans.] 
 
 Also those of Rhode Island {Roode Eyland, which literally 
 signifies Red Island) when they were at variance with those of 
 the Bay, begged shelter and to be adopted amongst the Dutch. 
 In short it is thus situated, that the English know very well the 
 Dutch, when it is] their interest to know them ; or if they can 
 use them as a cloak to cover when necessary some of their 
 deeds ; but otherwise they do not mind them a fig, and set them 
 up as a laughing stock ; and this is only produced by their ego- 
 tism and self-interest. 
 
VOYAGES OF DE VRIES, 275 
 
 Long Island, which by its fine situation, noble bays and 
 havens, as well as by its fine lands, may be called the crown of 
 the province, is also entirely invaded by them, except at the 
 western extremity, where are two Dutch villages, Breukelen and 
 Amersfoort, wliich are not of much consequence, and a few 
 English villages, as Gravesant, Greenwyck, Mespat, where 
 during the war the inhabitants were expelled, and since 
 confiscated by the Director Kieft. But the owners having appeal- 
 ed, it is yet in statu quo. There are not many inhabitants now. 
 Also Vlissingen, a fine village, well stocked with cattle, and 
 fourthly and last, Heemsted, better than the others and very rich 
 in cattle. 
 
 But as we arc now on Long Island, we will (as it seems the 
 British are craving this in particular) say a little more about it. 
 From the beginning of our settling here, this island has been in- 
 habited by the Dutch. In 1640, a Scotchman came to Director 
 Kieft, having an Enghsh commission, and claimed the Island, 
 but his pretence was not much regarded, and he departed again, 
 without effecting any thing except to rouse a little of the mob. 
 Afterwards the Director Kieft subdued and destroyed the British 
 who wished to trade in Oyster Bay ; and thus it remained for 
 some time. Another Scothman came in 1647, named Captain 
 Forester, and claimed this island in the name of the dowager 
 van Sterling, whose governor he pretended to be. He had a 
 commission dated the 18th year of king James's reign, but it 
 was not signed by the king, nor any body else. An old seal 
 was attached to it, which was almost entirely obliterated. His 
 commission covered the whole of Long-Island, with five sur- 
 rounding islands, as well as the main land. He also had a power 
 of attorney from Maria dowager van Sterling. Nevertheless 
 the man valued these papers much, and said on his arrival that 
 he would examine the commission of the Governor Stuyvesant. 
 If it was better than his, he would give it up ; and if not, Stuy- 
 vesant must. In short, the Director took copies of these papers, 
 and sent the man over in the Valkemer, but the vessel touch- 
 ing in England, he did not arrive in Holland. 
 
 DOCUMENTS FROM THE COLONIAL RECORDS. 
 
 Aug. 30, 1645. This day, being the 30th August, appeared 
 in Fort Amsterdam before the Director and Council in the pres- 
 ence of the whole Commonalty, the Sachems m their own be- 
 half, and for Sachems in their neigbourhoods, viz : Oratany, 
 chief of Ackkinkeshacky, Sesekennick and Willem, chief of 
 Tappaans and Rcckgawawank, Pokam, Pennekeck, who were 
 
276 DOCUMENTS FROM 
 
 here yesterday, and did give their power of attorne)' to the 
 former, and took upon them the rcsponsibihty for those of Ouany 
 and its vicinity, viz : those of Majanwetinnemin, those of 
 Marcchhourick, Nayeck and their neighbours, and Aepjen, who 
 personaUy appeared, speaking in behalf of Wappinex, Wiquae- 
 shex, Sintsings, and Kichtawanghs. 
 
 1 . They conckide with us a sohd and durable peace, which 
 they promise to keep sincerely, as we oblige ourselves to do in 
 the same manner. 
 
 2. And if (which God in his mercy avert) there should arise 
 any difficulty between us and them, war shall not be renewed, 
 but they shall complain to our governor, and we to their sa- 
 chems ; and if any person should be murdered or killed, justice 
 shall be directly administered on the murderer, and henceforth 
 we shall live together in amity and peace. 
 
 3. They may not come on the island Manhattan with their 
 arms in the neighbourhood of Christian dwellings ; neither will 
 we approach their villages with our guns, except we are con- 
 ducted thither by a savage to give them warning. 
 
 4. And whereas there is yet among them an English girl 
 whom they promised to conduct to the English at Stamfort, 
 which they yet engage to do ; and if she is not conducted there, 
 •she shall be guided here in safety, while we promise to pay 
 them the ransom which has been promised by the English.* 
 
 All which we promise to keep religiously throughout all 
 New-Netherlands. Done in Fort Amsterdam, in the open air, 
 by the Director and Council in New-Netherlands, and the 
 whole Commonalty, called together for this purpose ; in the pre 
 sence of the Maquas ambassadors, who were solicited to assist 
 in this negociation, as arbitrators, and Cornelis Anthonisson, 
 their interpreter and arbitrator with them in this solemn affair. 
 Done as above. 
 
 The original treaty was signed with the mark of Sisindogo, 
 -the mark of Claes Norman, the mark of Oratany, the mark of 
 Auronge, the mark of Sesechemis, the mark of William of 
 Tappaan. William Kieft, La Montague, the mark of Jacob 
 Stoffelsen, Jan OnderhiU, Francis Donthey, George Baxter, 
 Richard Smith, Gysbert Opdyck, the mark of Aepjen, Sachem 
 of the Mohicans, Jan Evertson Bout, Oloft Stevenson, Corne- 
 lis van Hoykens, the mark of Cornelis Teunissen. 
 
 By my order, Cornelius Van Tienhoven, Secret. 
 
 • This is supposed to have been a daugliter of the famous Ann Hutchinson, 
 who was banished from Boston for religious lieresy, and took refuge among the 
 Dutch near Stamford, where she was killed by the Indians in Sept. 1643. Her 
 daughier, eight years of age, was taken prisoner, and afterwards restored by tlie 
 interveotion of Governor Kieft. — Ed. 
 
THE COLONIAL RECORDS. 277 
 
 Extract from the translated Colonial Records, in the office of 
 the Secretary of State, at Albany* Vol. II. p. 137. 
 
 "November, 1641, Articles proposed to the chiefs and 
 masters of families, subjects to the West India Company, and 
 residing here, by the Honom-able Director and Council of New- 
 Netherlands : — 1. If it is not just tliat the murder lately com- 
 mitted by a savage upon Claes Smits, be avenged and punish- 
 ed ; and in case that the Indians will not surrender the murderer 
 at our requisition, if it is not just to destroy the whole village 
 to which he belongs 1 2. In what manner and when this ought 
 to be executed ? 3. B}'' whom can this be effected ?" 
 
 "Answer of the twelve select men chosen by the common- 
 alty to answer the above Articles. To the first: They deem 
 it in every respect expedient that this murder be punished and 
 avenged, as it was proposed by the Honourable Director, 
 while God and the opportunity ought to be taken in consider- 
 ation; meanwhile all the means may be prepared and provided, 
 and especially the Director General is requested to provide a 
 sufficient number of coats of mail for the soldiers, as well as 
 for the freemen who are willing to pay their share in these ex- 
 penses. 2. That meanwhile the kind intercourse and the 
 trade in corn should be continued with them as before, till God's 
 will and proper opportunity is offered ; but that no person of 
 whatever state or condition he may be, shall presume to adopt 
 any hostile measures against the savages either by water or by 
 land, except against the murderer, while all are warned to be on 
 their guard. And further, when the Indians are on their hunting 
 excursions, then it may be advisable to divide oiu-selves into two 
 parties, viz., the one to land near Rapela, the other party by 
 Miqua's creek, to surprise them from both sides ; while the 
 Honourable Director may employ in this expedition as many 
 negroes of the strongest and most alert, as he can spare, and 
 arm them with a tomahawk and a small half pike. 
 
 "3. Whereas we do not acknowledge another chief besides 
 the Honourable Director, who is as well our ruler as he is the 
 Commander of our soldiery, therefore the Honourable Director, 
 to prevent confusion, ought to lead the van, while we offer our 
 persons to follow his steps and obey his commands. 
 
 " We deem it further advisable, that the Honourable Director 
 send further once, twice, yea, even for the third time, a shallop 
 to demand the surrender of the murderer in a friendly manner, 
 
 » See above, p. 266. 
 
278 DOCUMENTS FROM 
 
 to punish him according to his deserts, to lure the savages into 
 security, without using any threats. 
 
 " On which the following persons (the select men, who had 
 been chosen for the purpose) took their oath to keep their advice 
 secret, viz. Jaques Bent\-n, Mor}'n Adriaensen, Jan Damen, 
 Hendrick Jansen, David Pieterszen de Vries, Jacob Stoffels, 
 Abraliam Molenaer, Frederick Lubbers, Jochen Pieterszen, 
 Gerrit Derksen, George Rapalje, Abraham Plane. So truly 
 help them God." 
 
 In addition to the foregoing answer to the questions proposed 
 by the Governor, (or Director General, as he was usually 
 styled,) the advisory opinion of each of the tAvelve was taken 
 separately, and most of them were duly recorded ; as the opin- 
 ion of De Vries is not entered upon the Records with the resljj 
 it was probably omitted on account of his disagreement with 
 his associates and the Governor as to the course expedient to 
 be pursued towards the Indians. That he was opposed to war 
 in any event, appears clearly enough from his own account of 
 the matter. 
 
 The foUowincr document, which we have also copied from 
 the Colonial Records, may be interesting in this comiexion. 
 
 " Sergeant Rodolf is conomanded and authorized to take 
 under his conmiand a troop of soldiers, and lead them to Pavonia, 
 and drive away and destroy the savages being behind Jan Even- 
 sens, but to spare as much as it is possible their wives and child- 
 ren, and to take the savages prisoners. He may watch there for 
 the proper opportunity to make his assault successful ; for 
 which end Hans Steen, who is well acquainted with every spot 
 on which the savages are skulking, accompanies him. He 
 therefore shall consult with the aforesaid Hans Steen and the 
 corporals. The exploit ought to be executed at night with the 
 greatest caution and prudence. Our God may bless the expe- 
 dition. 
 
 "Done 25 Februar}*, 1643." 
 
 A Fast day was appointed for the fourth of 3Iarch following, 
 in consequence of the troubles with the Indians, which continu- 
 ed to disturb the colony. Peace being at length restored, the 
 government ordered a general Thanksgiving to be observed 
 throughout the limits of the New-Netherlands. It is generally 
 supposed that this festival was peculiar to the Puritan colonies ; 
 but its occasional occurrence, at least, among the Dutch, is 
 fully shown by the following Proclamation of Governor Kieft, 
 issued in accordance with a resolution of the Council, August 
 31st, 1645:— 
 
 "Whereas, God Almighty has been pleased, by his grace 
 and mercy, and in addition to the numerous blessings that we 
 have enjoyed, to bestow on this country that long desired peace 
 
THE COLONIAL RECORDS. 279 
 
 with the savages — so has it been deemed becoming to proclaim 
 this good tidings throughout the New-Xetherlands, with the 
 intention that in all places where there are an}^ Enghsh or Dutch 
 chiu-ches, God Almighty shall be thanlied and praised, on the 
 sixth day of September next, in the forenoon. The words of 
 the text must be appUcable to the occasion, and the sermon 
 likewise." 
 
 WouTER van Twiller, Director General. 
 
 This personage of whom De Vries speaks with so little re- 
 spect, was superseded bv William Kieft in ^March, 163S. The 
 following deposition appears in the records of that period, 
 and tends to confirm the charge of incompetency brought 
 against him by our author : — 
 
 "Tliis day appeared before me, Cornells van Tienhoven, 
 Secretary in the New-Netherlands, at the request of ^yilliam 
 Kieft, director General of the privileged West India Com- 
 pany in Xew-Xetherlands, Jacob Hoffelsen, Overseer, aged 
 about thirty-seven years, Gilhs Petersen van der Gouw, house 
 carpenter, ased twent\--seven years, T^-men Jansen,* ship car- 
 penter, aged thirty-six years, who jointly declared in presence 
 of the undersigned witnesses', that it is true, that in the year 
 163S, the twenty-eighth day of ]\Iarch, being the day on which 
 Wilham Kieft arrived here "in the ship the Haring, said Director 
 Kieft did find Fort Amsterdam in a decayed state ; that it was 
 open on ever}'" side, so that nothing could prevent to go in or 
 out of the same except at the stone point ; all the gims from 
 their carriages ; five farms without tenants thrown in commons 
 without one single creature remaining in property to the Com- 
 pany, all having been disposed of in other hands. Further, 
 every vessel was in the worst condition, except the yacht 
 Prince William, which might be employed, besides a new one 
 on the stocks. The house in the fort required considerable re- 
 pair ; so likewise five other brick houses, frame houses, the 
 Church, the lodge and smith's shop. One grist and saw mill in 
 operation ; another out of repair, and a third burned. The 
 place of the magazine for the wares and merchandize with 
 difiiculty can be discovered where it once stood. Besides this 
 the late Director van Twiller has undertaken different works on 
 accomit of other persons. All which we witnesses declare to 
 be true, wilhng if required to sanction this by a solemn oath, 
 and this we attested, to pay our homage to tlie truth, particular- 
 ly when requested to do it. 
 
 " Done in Fort Amsterdam, 16th April, 1G39. 
 
 * Anglice, Timoth]} Johnson. 
 
280 DOCUMENTS. 
 
 " Signed as above, and witnessed by Wybrant Petersen and 
 Mauntz Jansen." 
 
 Van Twiller continued to reside for some time at New-Am- 
 sterdam after he had retired from the office of director general. 
 The following document, showing a transaction to which he 
 was a party, is taken from the first volume of the Colonial Re- 
 cords, pp. 3 — 4, Avhich commence with the administration of 
 Gov. Kicft : — 
 
 " This day appeared before me, Cornelis van Tienhoven, 
 Secretary in behalf of the privileged West India Company, 
 here in New-Netherlands, the Honourable, Wise and Prudent 
 de Heer* William Kieft, from one side. Director General of 
 New-Netherlands, and the Honourable, Wise and Prudent de 
 Heer Wouter Van Twiller, ci-devant Director General, from the 
 other side, who amicably agreed about the rent of the farm 
 {boiiwery) No. 1, belonging to the Directors of the privileged 
 West India Company, Department of Amsterdam, viz. that 
 the noble Director Kieft has rented to de Heer Wouter van 
 Twiller, who too acknowledges to have rented said farm, and 
 well for three successive years, to begin May 1st, 1638, and to 
 end May 1st, 1641, and this for the sum of two hundred and 
 fifty caroli guilder] annually ; besides this a fair sixth part of all 
 the produce with which God shall bless the field, either growing 
 on the spot, or gathered in shocks, as then may be agreed to 
 receive by the present Director ; with the stipulation that said 
 Honourable van Twiller shall be obliged at the expiration of 
 the said three years to sow again said farm, and to keep said 
 lands in good order, for all which said contracting parties submit 
 their persons and property, real and personal, present and future, 
 without exception, to the supreme court of the Province of 
 Holland, besides any other courts of justice, all in good faith 
 without any fraud or malice. In truth of which two similar 
 copies have been made, signed by the respective parties. 
 
 "Done at the Fort of New- Amsterdam in New-Netherlands, 
 this twenty-second day of April, Anno Domini, 1638. 
 
 .o. ,>. William Kieft, 
 (hignedj Wouter Van Twiller." 
 
 * Tlie translator renders tin's title by the English " Sir," (" Sir William 
 Kieft,") which is evidently a mistake, as the title of Sir belon.^s to a knight, in 
 Dutch, Ridder. Lambrechtsen applies the address de Heer to Rev. Mr. Miller, 
 {de Heer Miller) with the force of little more than Mr. 
 
 t A Dutch guilder or florin, of which two and a half are equivalent to a 
 dollar. — Ed. 
 
VII. 
 
 EXTRACTS 
 
 THE NEW WORLD, 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THE WEST INDIES 
 
 JOHN de LAET, 
 
 Director of the Dutch West India Company, Ac. 
 
 Translated from the original Dutch, 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 36 
 
PRELIMINARY NOTICE 
 
 In tracing the history of American colonization few writers 
 have taken the trouble to examine fully the original authorities 
 to be found among those nations that were the first to engage in 
 enterprizes to the new world. The English, the French, and the 
 Dutch, were nearly equally active at one period in planting civil- 
 ization upon the coasts of North America ; but the jealousy enkin- 
 dled by the common pursuit of commercial advantages led to a 
 mutual disposition to undervalue each other's share in the glory of 
 maritime discovery. The right of occupying the country thus 
 came into dispute among the different powers, and conflicting 
 claims of title arose, that often rendered the shores of the new 
 world a scene of bitter and sometimes bloody contention. It is 
 obvious enough that in such a state of things the truth of history 
 would require something more for its support than the partial 
 statements of any one side in the controversy ; and in order to 
 arrive at a satisfactory result it would be necessary to compare 
 the pretensions of the various rival states with one another. Thus 
 while England extended her claim to the whole country from 
 Labrador to Florida, and conferred upon it the names of New Eng- 
 land and Virginia, the French were not far behind in asserting 
 their title to a jurisdiction of nearly equal extent, who, blot- 
 ting out from their maps the English names, denominated the 
 whole New France. The Dutch were more modest in their pre- 
 tensions, as well as more equitable in the distribution of territory ; 
 conceding to their rivals what each seemed to have fairly merited 
 by successful efforts to colonize the country, they inscribed on 
 their maps the names of New France, Virginia, and New England, 
 but at the same time setup a claim of their own to those parts of the 
 North American continent that had been first explored, if not dis- 
 covered, and colonized by themselves, to which they gave the 
 name of New Netherlands. The careful historian before under- 
 taking 
 
 tantas componerc liles, 
 
PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 283 
 
 will have recourse to the statements of the respective parties 
 wherever they are to be found, and diligently investigate the grounds 
 upon which they severally rest. 
 
 The ultimate predominance of England, together with the gene- 
 ral spread of her language and literature throughout so large a 
 part of the new world to the exclusion of almost every other, has 
 given a manifest advantage to the advocates of her original claims of 
 title over those of her less fortunate rivals. American histori- 
 ans have written with English prejudices, expatiating with ardour 
 upon the heroic enterprize and religious zeal that led to the coloni- 
 zation of Virginia and New England, while they have almost for- 
 gotten to record the earlier sprinklings of French hamlets on the 
 St. Lawrence and the bay of Fundy, as well as the undaunted 
 and persevering efforts of the Dutch skippers in exploring the 
 coast from Cape Cod to Chesapeake bay, and dotting the banks of 
 its rivers and estuaries with hardy settlers before an English ship 
 had ascended the Hudson or the Delaware. The obstacles pre- 
 sented by the intervention of a foreign language, in which alone 
 many of the earlier accounts are to be found, have contributed 
 without doubt to increase the measure of injustice on the part of 
 our own writers, especially in the case of the Dutch, whose lan- 
 guage presents too repulsive an exterior to induce even the histori- 
 cal student to explore its treasures. Thus the indefatigable annalist, 
 the late Dr. Holmes, whose noble work is a monument of patient 
 labour and learned research, ascribes the discovery of I-ong Island 
 Sound and Connecticut river to Thomas Dermer, an Englishman, 
 in 1619 ; when, had he perused the Dutch authorities of that 
 period, he would not have hesitated to give the credit of the 
 achievement to skipper Block, who, in the year 1614, sailed 
 through the East river into the Sound, and ascended the Connecti- 
 cut as far, or nearly so, as the present site of Hartford.* 
 
 The Dutch author to whom we are chiefly indebted for recording 
 the early voyages of his countrymen to the new world, is John de 
 Laet, one of the most distinguished of European geographers, 
 from whose principal work the following extracts have been 
 made. He was a native of Antwerp, but appears to have resided 
 during the latter part of his career at Leyden, where the greater 
 
 * See below, p. 2S6. 
 
284 PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 
 
 part of his works were issued from the unrivalled press of the 
 Elzevirs. His last publication was an edition of Vitruvius on 
 Architecture, which he dedicated to Christina, Queen of Sweden, 
 in 1649 ; he died during the same year.* Among his writings 
 not the least interesting is the controversy in which he was 
 engaged with his countryman the celebrated Grotius, or Hugo de 
 Groot, as the name was written in his vernacular tongue, on the 
 origin of the native American race. De Laet, in the first instance, 
 published an edition of the essay of Grotius on that subject with 
 annotations, in 1643 ; to which the latter replied, and De Laet 
 afterwards rejoined. Both wrote in the Latin language. 
 
 But the work on which his reputation chiefly rests, was entitled 
 the "New World, or a Description of the Westlndies," Sec, origin- 
 ally composed in Dutch, and published in a black-letter folio at Ley- 
 den, in 1625. t It was inscribed by the author to the States Gene- 
 ral of the United Provinces in a handsome dedication, dated at 
 Leyden, November 15th, 1624. This work contains the earliest 
 published account of which we have any knowledge relative to 
 the Dutch settlements on our river ; tracing the discoveries of 
 Hudson and other navigators upon the coast, whose MS. journals of 
 their voyages the author evidently had before him when he wrote. 
 This circumstance is distinctly stated in his preface, in which, 
 after enumerating the various publications to which he had been 
 indebted, he adds, " Together with various manuscript journals of 
 different shipmasters and steersmen, whose names we have here 
 and there mentioned in our descriptions." {Benefens verscheyden 
 gheschreven Journalen van verscheyden Schippers ende Stier- 
 lieden, welcker namen wy hier ende daer in onse Beschryvinge 
 hebben uyd' gedrackt .) De Laet not only mentions the name of 
 Hudson, but quotes several passages from his journal, the more 
 interesting as no other portions of it are known to be in existence \\ 
 the meagre log-book kept by his mate, Robert Juet, being all that 
 
 * Biographic Universelle, t. xxiii. Art. Laet. 
 
 t The title is as follows ; "Nieuwe Wereldt ofte Beschryvinghe Tan West 
 Indien, uit veelderhande Schrifieti ende aen-teekeninghen van verscheyden 
 natien by ecn versamelt Door Joannes de Laet. Ende met noodiglie kaerten 
 ende tafels voorsien. Tot Leyden, In de Druckerye van Isaack Elzcvier. 
 Anno 1625." 
 
 See below, pp. 299, 300. 
 
PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 285 
 
 is preserved of the original accounts of the voyage during which 
 he discovered the noble river that bears his name.* It is equally 
 clear that our author possessed the journals of Adriaen Block, and 
 Cornelius Jacobson May, whose explorations of the coast were 
 made from 1614 to 1623. 
 
 The name of New Netherlands first appears in the work of De 
 Laet, who describes its boundaries, and assigns the grounds on 
 which the Dutch claimed the country. The period at which he 
 wrote is the one in which the first attempts are supposed to have 
 been made for the regular settlement of a colony, although trading 
 houses had been previously erected on the river. The colonial 
 records seem to point, though indirectly, to that date, as the com- 
 mencement of a regular administration of affairs, under Peter Minuit 
 as governor ; and a respectable Dutch author, who wrote the 
 Annals of the Netherlands, briefly alludes to the settlement of 
 " Nieuw Nederlandt, nu Nieujork," by several Dutch families 
 {huisgezinnen), under the year 1624.t The publication of De Laet 
 without doubt exerted a favourable influence on the enterprize, 
 which was begun under the auspices of the West India Company, 
 of which he became a director. It was not, however, until the 
 year 1630, that the principal impulse was given to the growth of 
 the infant colony. A charter of privileges for the benefit of indi- 
 viduals who would transport settlers to the New Netherlands, or 
 emigrate thither, was then promulgated by the West India Compa- 
 ny, which induced many influential persons to engage in the settle- 
 ment of the country. Under this charter. Van Rensselaer planted 
 his colony near Fort Orange, one hundred and fifty miles from the 
 mouth of the river ; and with him were associated in other enter- 
 prizes of a similar character a number of prominent citizens, 
 among whom was our author. It does not appear that De Laet 
 visited the country, although he evidently took a deep interest in 
 its prosperity, as one of the patroons or founders of colonies, and 
 a director in the West India Company. His daughter Johanna de 
 Laet, the wife of Jeronimus Ebbingh, afterwards resided here ; and 
 
 • By a singular coincidence, the journal of Juet was published by Purchase 
 in liis colleclion of voyages, at London, the same year (1625) that De Laet's 
 work appeared at Leyden. 
 
 t Kort Verhaal der Nederlantsche Geschiedenissen, etc. door Hermanus 
 Meijcr, tc Gronin^en, 1747. 
 
286 PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 
 
 we find the latter among the schepens or magistrates of New 
 Amsterdam, as late as 1673.* In the tax list of the same year, 
 Ebbingh's estate is one of the largest assessed. 
 
 Among the publications of De Laet was a history of the West 
 India Company, which appeared from the press of the Elzevirs, in 
 1644. It is a folio volume, in the Dutch language, entitled a 
 " History or yearly relation of the transactions of the chartered 
 West India Company, from its beginning to the end of the year 
 1636, in thirteen books, ornamented with various copperplate en- 
 gravings. By John de Laet, a director of the company. Leyden; 
 by Bonaventuer and Abraham Elzevir. Anno 1644."t The affairs 
 of the New Netherlands occupy, however, a comparatively small 
 space in this work, since the operations of the Company in other 
 quarters were of much greater magnitude and importance. 
 
 None of the writings of De Laet appear to have been translated 
 into our language, although most of them were well known to 
 English scholars through the medium of the Latin and the French, 
 in which he seems to have composed with as much facility as in 
 his vernacular tongue. A Latin edition of the New World was 
 published in 1633, under the title of " Novus Orbis, seu descripiio- 
 nis IndicR Occidentalis, Aiiiorc Joanne de Laet Antuerpiensi,^' &c. ; 
 and another appeared in French, in the year 1640, both from the 
 press of the Elzevirs at Leyden. These editions became exten- 
 sively known, and gave the author at once a distinguished place 
 among the savans of Europe. | The success of the work was 
 complete ; it furnished the best account of the New World that had 
 yet appeared, containing, as Charlevoix justly remarks, the fruits 
 of great research, not only in relation to the political establishments 
 of the European powers in America, but also in respect to the 
 natural history of the country, and the character and manners of 
 the native races. He drew his materials, continues the same 
 
 * Moulton's New Orange, 13, note. 
 
 t Hislorie ofte Jaeilijck Verhael van de verrichtinghen der geoclroyeerde 
 West Indische Compagnie, &c. 
 
 J The original edition in Dutch was so completely eclipsed by its successors, 
 that its existence seems to have escnptd the notice of , those writers who have 
 given a list of Do Laet's publications. It is not mentioned by Charlevoix, Bru- 
 nei, or Watt, nor by the author of the valuable article concerning him in the J?i- 
 ographie Universelle. 
 
PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 287 
 
 writer, from good sources, and used them with skill and discern- 
 ment, except when he consulted only protestant authors, and per- 
 mitted his judgment to be warped by religious prejudice.* A late 
 English writer, after mentioning that De Laet was a great profi- 
 cient in the languages, and composed or edited several works re- 
 lating to geography and civil history, adds, " These works are 
 still in considerable repute, as well on account of the historical and 
 geographical information which they contain, as on account of the 
 great beauty of the Elzevir types."! 
 
 In preparing the Latin edition of his " New World," De Laet 
 instead of translating the Dutch text recomposed the work anew, 
 condensing and altering many of the chapters, and interweaving 
 the new materials collected in the interval of publication. The 
 original work was divided into fifteen books, to which three were now 
 added, besides many new chapters and additional maps. Among 
 the latter was a map of " Nova Anglia, Novum Belgium, et Vir- 
 ginia^^ containing also " Novcb Francice Pars," on which the ter- 
 ritory claimed by the Dutch is distinctly laid down. The French 
 edition of 1640, is an exact counterpart to the Latin ; containing 
 the same number of books and chapters, and the same maps and 
 other illustrations. The text is also the same, being for the most 
 part a faithful translation of the Latin. 
 
 The following extracts comprise all that the original edition of 
 De Laet contains on the subject of the New Netherlands ; and 
 for the purpose of enabling the reader, who may not have the means 
 of referring to the work itself, now rarely to be met with, the chap- 
 ters of the Latin edition, corresponding exactly to the French, 
 are also added. It will be seen that the original edition enters 
 much more fully into a description of the discoveries of the Dutch 
 in this quarter than the others ; while in the latter new matter is 
 added relative to the productions of the country, and the character 
 of the native inhabitants. The brief vocabulary of the language of 
 the Sanhickans, a nation of the Delawares, who inhabited the west 
 side of the Hudson from the Highlands to the sea, forms a valua- 
 ble contribution to the materials for instituting a comparison of the 
 different American dialects. 
 
 In making the translation, we have endeavoured to conform a» 
 
 * Histoire de la Nouvelle France, t. i. xlviii. t Recs' Cyclop. An. Laet. 
 
288 PRELIMINARY NOTlCfi. 
 
 Strictly as possible to the literal sense of the original, the object 
 being not so much to furnish an agreeable narrative, as to present 
 in a plain English dress the (evr chapters devoted by the author 
 to the discoveries of his countrymen upon our shores. At the 
 period when the description was written, the first efforts were 
 making to establish a colony within the bounds of our present 
 populous and flourishing commonwealth ; a company of merchants 
 had already erected their trading houses upon the banks of the 
 river, and under the charter of 1621,* preparations were in progress 
 to colonize the country from the Connecticut to the Delaware. In 
 1624 a few families had probably come over, as we have already 
 seen, but nothing had been done towards effecting a settlement 
 worthy of commemoration by the pen of the historian. The plan, 
 however, had been marked out ; the name of New Netherlands, 
 appearing now for the first time, and the careful description by our 
 author of the limits of the territory comprehended under that name, 
 indicate with sufficient distinctness what was intended to be done. 
 And had the government of the United Provinces, instead of leav- 
 ing the gigantic undertaking to the unassisted enterprize of a few 
 merchants, lent her aid and employed a portion of her imdoubted 
 resources in promoting its success, the result must have been far 
 more satisfactory, and the colony of New Netherlands might have 
 existed to the present day, a monument of the commercial pros- 
 perity and maritime vigour of the parent State. 
 
 Editor. 
 
 * See the charter of the West India Company in Haaard's State Papers. 
 
DESCRIPTION, &c. 
 
 BOOK III. NEW-NETHERLANDS 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Tlie first discovery and general description of that part of 
 the countnj called hy our countrymen New-Netherlands. 
 
 In the foregoing chapters we have spoken of that portion of 
 the West Indies lying to the north, which the French, as relat- 
 ed in the last book, some years since more fully discovered and 
 explored, and to which the English at a later period had begun 
 to give the name of New-England. We had thus reached in our 
 description the promontory called by the English Cape Cod, 
 and following the route of the French navigators, had arrived in 
 our last book at Cape Malebarre and Port Fortune*. The 
 main land bends inwardly from this point, and forms, as it were, 
 a large bay, that extends nearly cast and west to a great river, 
 from which the coast again stretches to the south-west, or nearly 
 so, to the extremity of Florida. This part of the coast, situated 
 as we have described, including numerous islands, and two 
 large rivers, the most southerly in latitude SS'^ and fifty 
 odd minutes, and the most northerly in latitude 40° 30', which 
 flows from the north, a great distance inland — this portion 
 of the West Indies, I say, our countrymen call New-Neth- 
 erlands, because it was first more fully discovered at the charge 
 of Netherlanders, and some years after was visited by others of 
 our people, and provided by them with a fort and habitations, 
 under the authority and special grants of their High Mighti- 
 nesses the States General of the United Provinces. 
 
 As to the first discovery, the Directors of the authorized 
 East India Company, in the year 1609, despatched the yacht 
 
 • The French discoveries here referred to, were those of Champlain and 
 otliers, in 1603-4, &c. when they ranged the coast from Nova Scotia to Cape 
 Malebarre, the southern extremity of tlie peninsula of Cape Cod. Port Fortune 
 was a harbour at the same place, probably the same now called Chatham Harbour. 
 Gosnold, an English navigator, had visited and named Cape Cod in 1602, as 
 well as other parts of the coast of New England ; hence De Laet does not claim 
 for the French the merit of making original discoveries in that quarter. It will 
 be perceived that he applies the term West Indies to the continent ; in this he 
 follows the Spanish writers, some of whom still adhere to that usage. 
 37 
 
diK'* m; i.akt's iM'.scuirnox 
 
 Half-]\loi>n. lUKlcr the ooniinaiul oH llomy Ihulsmi, captuiu and 
 supercargo, to sock a i)assago to China by the north-cast. lUit 
 lie diangcil his course and stood over towards New France, and 
 having passed the banks of New I'oundhuid in latitude ilV 2.S', 
 he niaile the huui in latitude .11^ 15', with a west-north-west and 
 north-west coiu'se, and went on shore at a place where there 
 were n\anv ot" the natives, with whom, as he luiderstood, the 
 French came every year to trade.* Sailing hence he bent his 
 course to the south, imtil running south-soulh-wcsl and soiUh- 
 Avcst by south, he again made land in latitude -IT' 4:i', which he 
 su})posed to be an island, and gave it the name oi New-11oi,i..\nd, 
 but afterwards discovered that it was Cape Cod, and that accord- 
 ing to his observation, it lav two lumdrcil and twcntv-live 
 miles to the west of its place on all the charts.! Pursu- 
 ing his coiu'se to the south, he again saw land in latitude 'M' 1 "/ ; 
 the coast was low. running north and south, and ojiposite to it 
 lav a bank or shoal within which there was a depth of eight, 
 nine, ten, eleven, seven, and six and a half fathoms, with a 
 sandv bottom. Hudson called this jilace Drt/ Capv.l 
 
 (^hanging his course to the northward, he again discovered 
 land in lat. i^8^ 0", where there was a white sandv shore, and 
 within appeared a thick grove of trees full of green foliage. 
 The direction of the coast was north-north-easl and south-south- 
 west, for about twentv-four miles ; then north and south for 
 twenty-one miles, and afterwards south-east and north-west for 
 fifteen miles. They continued to rvui along ths coast to the 
 north, until thev reached a point from which the land stretches 
 to the west and north-west, where several rivers discharge 
 into an open bav. Land was seen to the east-noi'th-east. which 
 Hudson at hrst took to be an island, but it proved to be the 
 main land, and the second point of the bay, in latitude 38^ 51'. |j 
 Standing in upon a course north-west by east, tJicy soon found 
 themselves embayed, and encountering many breakers, stood 
 out again to the sovuh-soulh-east. Hudson suspected that a 
 large river discharged into the bay, from the strength of the 
 current that set out and caused the accunudation of sands and 
 shoals. 
 
 • Probably near tlie moutli of renobscot, (c.-xlloct by tbc French renlagort,) 
 river; tlicre was a small l<"ivnoli soUlenient at Uie san-.e date, considerably 
 farther to the eastward, nanuni l\irt l\oyal, ivnv Annaiiolis, Ntiv.i .'^eotia. 
 
 t In the translaiion we shall convert the I">n:eh miles into F.n^lisl\ ; in the 
 
 iiresent isistaoee s(vf)i{\j-five miles in the original become in English measure hco 
 mndred and licrnlii-five. 
 
 I Near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay ; the description of ihc coast corres- 
 ponds to the vicinity of Cape Charles. 
 
 II This was withiuit doubt Cape May, now laid down in latitude .IJ" .I"', 
 varyinsr only 3 from lite observations of Hudson. The jxnnainder of the des- 
 srriinion applies well enough to Delaware l)ay and river, now fust discovcan), 
 ns claii\ied by the Duicli. 
 
Of THE NUW-NETHKRLAXDK. 291 
 
 Conliriuini^ their courso alon;^ tfic Kliorc U> Ujc norlJj, ihcy 
 obMcrvcfl a white Kandy hcach and drowned land within, hcyond 
 which tficro appeared a ijrove of woM ; the coa«t ru/ining 
 norlfi-east by eant., and Koulh-wcKt by «outh, Aft^;rwardH the 
 direction of the coast cWdunj-A U) nortli by east, and waii higher 
 land tfjan they liad yet seen. They at length reachf;<i a lofty 
 promontory or heJi^l-land, behind which was situate;*! a bay, 
 whicli they tnU.rcA 'And rnii up into a roa/l-stead near a low 
 Bandy point, in lat. 40" 18'.* 'i'here they were \mXfA hy two 
 Havages dothfxl in elk skins, who showed ihern every sign of 
 friendship. On the land they found an abundance of blue 
 plums, and magnificent oaks, of a height and thickness that 
 one seldom beholds ; together with poplars, linden trees, 
 and various other kinds of wo'xl useful in ship-building. Sail- 
 ing hence i/i a northeasterly direction, they ascended a river to 
 nearly 4.3' north latitude, where it became so narrow and of »o 
 little depth, that they found it ne<;essary to return.! 
 
 From all that they could learn, there l^iarl never been any 
 ships or Christians in that fjuarter before, and they were tJie 
 first to discover the river and ftscend it so far. Henry Hudson 
 returned to Amsterdam -with this report ; and in the following 
 year, IfJlO, some merchants again sent a ship thither, that is to 
 say, to the second river discovered, which was called ManfiuXUns^ 
 from the savage nation iJial dwelt at its rnouth. And subse- 
 quently their High Mightinesses the States General grante^l to 
 these merchants the exclusive privilege of navigating this river 
 and trailing there; whereupon, in the year lGl-;>, arcfjoubtor 
 fort was erected on the river, and (x;cupied by a small garrison, 
 of which we shall hereaft/;r speak. Our countrymen have con- 
 tinued to make voyages thither from year to year fw the pur- 
 pose of trafficking with the natives, and on this account the 
 country lias very justly received the name of New-Netuee- 
 
 LANDS. 
 
 CjfA/'TEE vni. 
 
 Situation of the coast of Nevj-NetJt^rlamh from I'lje Bay to 
 the Great River of the Mountairuf. 
 
 The better to understand the bearing of the coast and the 
 extent of the country, we should begin somewhat farther to the 
 
 * This is aboat the latitude f/f Sandy Hfxilc The highlands of New Jcriey 
 formed the lofty promont^iry referred to. 
 
 + The latitude of Albany i» 42" Sfi". It apf»ear« from Juet'» Jotamal of the 
 roy^wf;, tliui Hudvm »ent bis Jurnall boat ie»eral miles farther up the river than 
 hi* shift f;roc';'d';d, and in thijt way he proLibly reached the latitude of All;any, 
 deacrJbfc'J as marly 43 '. 
 
292 DE LAET S DESCRIPTION 
 
 north, namely at Pye Bay, as it is called by some of our navi- 
 gators, in latitude 42° 30', to which the limits of New-Nether- 
 lands extend. The distance from thence to the extreme point 
 of the Lizard, according to the observations and reckoning of 
 Captain Adrian Block, is two thousand and seventy miles, or 
 thereabout. On the cape in this bay the ground is very sandy ; 
 a numerous people inhabit there, who are extremely well-look- 
 ing, but timid and shy of Christians, so that it requires some 
 address to approach them.* From this place to a point named 
 by Captain Block Cape BevecJiier, (from its great resemblance 
 to Bevechier, the land being clammy, and not very elevated,) 
 across Wick Bay, (another bay so called by our people, 
 extending to the south-east,) the distance is thirty-six miles, 
 and the course to the south-east by east and north-west by west. 
 The coast trends from this cape, in the first place, north-west 
 and south-east, for fifteen miles, and then north-east and south- 
 west for eighteen miles, towards another sandy point. From 
 the latter to Cape Malebarre, the distance is twenty-seven miles, 
 and the direction of the coast north-east by north and south- 
 west by south. This cape was also called by our countrymen 
 Flat Hook ; the surf breaks very much upon the point at its 
 extremity, although there is three fathoms' water at low tide, in 
 as much as the currents here meet, rendering the navigation 
 dangerous to those who are not acquainted with the coast. t 
 
 Our Netherland ship-masters have not in a single instance 
 had the misfortune to get stranded upon the shoals in this 
 quarter, although according to some accounts there is a reef 
 extending out to sea in a southerly direction for the distance of 
 ninety miles. Not that it is very shallow for so great a dis- 
 tance, but only that the bottom can be reached with the lead ; 
 and there is the least depth of water twenty-four or twenty- 
 seven miles off from the shore and out of sight of land. The 
 soundings are very unequal, sometimes thirty fathoms, and 
 then only seven or eight. But on the other hand it is said by 
 some navigators, that no such reef lies so far to the south of 
 
 * The latitude of Pye Bay corresponds to that of Marblehead, a few miles 
 north-east of Boston ; from which to the Lizard, at the entrance of the English 
 Channel, the distance is much greater than it was computed by the Dutch nav- 
 igator. The name of Pye Bay was not adopted by the English after the settle- 
 ment of the country. 
 
 ■f Cape Bevechier seems to have been on the western side of the peninsula of 
 Cape Cod, but the land in all that region is the reverse of the character given it by 
 the author ; insteail of being clammy, or adhesive, it is mostly composed of loose 
 sand. There are banks of clay, however, on the east side, called Clay Pounds, 
 but not fi\r enough from Cape iVIaleburre to answer the description of Cape Be- 
 vechier. The second sandy point noticed, without being named, twenty-seven 
 miles from Cape Malebarre, may have been Race Point on the extremity of 
 Cape Cod, altliough the distance between them is somewhat greater. 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 293 
 
 Cape Malebarre, but only to the eastward of it ; we shall leave 
 this matter to be settled by the more complete discoveries of 
 our skippers hereafter.* 
 
 Nine miles to the west of Cape Malebarre lies an island 
 about six miles from the shore, and three miles in extent, or 
 thereabout ; but at a distance one might suppose that it was 
 part of the main land ; it was called by some, as I conjecture, 
 Petochuock. In respect to the bearing of the coast in this 
 quarter, I do not find it laid down on any charts of our country- 
 men that have come to my hands. But a number of islands 
 lie off in that direction, as, for instance, one that was common- 
 ly called by our Dutch captains, Texel, and by others Cape 
 Ack.t It is a large island, and appears white and clayey, accord- 
 ing to the description of Capt. Cornelis Jacob May. About a 
 mile and a half from the south-west extremity of this island, 
 lies another small island, which was named by our countrymen 
 Henry Christianas Island, and by others Marten-vinger's Is- 
 land.| In this vicinity are likewise several small islands, called 
 Elizabeth's Islands, which are upon the starboard side in 
 coming from the river or bay of Nassau ; and in order to run 
 on the outside of Henry Christian's Island, it is necessary to 
 steer a south-east course. Beyond these lies also an island to 
 which our countrymen have given the name of Block's Island, 
 from Captain Adrian Block. This island and the Texel 
 above mentioned are situated east by north and west by south 
 from one another, and the distance is such that you can see both 
 from the quarter deck when you are half way between. 
 
 To the north of these islands and within the main land, is 
 situated the river or bay of Nassau, || which lies from the 
 above named Block's Island north-east by east and south-west 
 by west. This bay or river of Nassau is apparently very 
 
 * The most satisfactory account of these shoals, now know as George's Bank, 
 is contained in the late editions of Blunt's Coast Pilot, from a survey made at the 
 expense of the author of that work, in 1821. They are also laid down on a chart 
 of the north-eastern coast by the same indefatigable hydrographer, with great 
 minuteness and acknowledged accuracy. A new survey of them has been re- 
 cently made (1837j by the direction of our government, under the superinten- 
 dence of Lieut. Com. Charles Wilkes. U. S. N., from whick it appears that the 
 shoalest water found upon the bank was 2i fathoms, or fifteen feet, and that the 
 soundings varied suddenly, in frequent instances, from seven or eight to thirty 
 f ithoms, thus confirming the Dutch account of them. Their distance from land 
 is also ascertained to be the same as stated by our autlior, namely, ninety miles. 
 They are laid down on the Dutch maps under the name of the Great Malebarre 
 Reef, (r Groot Riff van Malebarre,) and by the English in early times, as liie 
 Malabar Shoals. It may be well to add, that none of our gazetteers or geo- 
 graphical publications contain a tolerable description of this remarkable feature 
 upon our coast; the excellent nautical work already mentioned being the only 
 authority relative to them of any val le. 
 
 + Martha's Vineyard. 
 
 X Now called J^o-man''s-laml. 
 
 II Narra^anset Bay. 
 
294 DE laet's description 
 
 large and wide, and according to the description of Captain 
 Block must be full nine miles in width ; it has in the midst of 
 it a number of islands, which one may pass on either side. 
 It extends east-north-east about twxnty-four miles, after which 
 it is not more than two petard shots wide, and has generally 
 seven, eight, nine, five, and four fathoms of water, except in a 
 strait in the uppermost part of the bay, at a petard shot's 
 distance from an island in that direction, where there is but nine 
 feet water. Beyond this strait we have again three and a half 
 fathoms of water ; the land in this vicinity appears very fine, 
 and the inhabitants seem strong of limb and of moderate size. 
 They arc somewhat shy, however, since they are not ac- 
 customed to trade with strangers, who would otherwise go there 
 in quest of beaver and fox skins, &c., for vt'hich they resort to 
 other places in that quarter. 
 
 From the westerly passage into this bay of Nassau to 
 the most southerly entrance of Anchor bay, the distance is 
 twenty-one miles, according to the statement of our skippers, 
 and the course is south-east and north-wxst. Our countrymen 
 have given two names to this bay, as it has an island in the 
 centre and discharges into the sea by two mouths, the most 
 easterly of which they call Anchor bay, and the most westerly 
 Sloop bay.* The south-east shore of this bay runs north-east 
 by north and north-north-east. In the lower part of the bay 
 dwell the Wapcnocks, a nation of savages like the rest. Capt. 
 Adrian Block called the people who inhabit the west side of 
 tliis bay Nahicans, and their sagamore Nathattow ; another 
 chief was named Cachaquant. Towards the north-west side 
 there is a sandj?^ point with a small island, bearing east and 
 west, and bending so as to form a handsome ba)^ with a sandy 
 bottom. On the right of the sandy point there is more than two 
 fathoms water, and farther on three and three and a half fath- 
 oms, Avith a sharp bottom, where lies an island of a reddish 
 appearance. From Sloop bay, or the most westerly passage, 
 it is twenty-four miles to the Great Bay, [Long Island Sound,] 
 which is situated between the main land and several islands,! 
 that extend to the mouth of the Great River [Hudson]. In this 
 great bay ai'c many islands both large and small, that have no 
 particular names, so far as is known to us, except that on a chart 
 of this quarter made some )'ears since, several small islands are 
 laid down at the entrance to this great ba)--, near what we should 
 
 • These nnmes appear to have been given to the different entrances into 
 Narragansel Bay. 
 
 f On the early Diitrh maps, Long Island is laid down as a group of islands, 
 into which it was supposed to be divided by the varioiJs inlets. The imperfect 
 map accompanying the Latin edition of this work, (1633,) has this error 
 amon": others. 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 295 
 
 call Fisher's Hook [Montauk Point,] lo whicli the name of 
 Gesellen (the Companions,) is applied. And another, called 
 Long Island, lies over across the bay, to avoid which, when 
 approaching Fisher's Hook and running for Fresh river, one 
 must steer to the north-west. 
 
 Towards the main land within the bay lies a crooked point, 
 behind which there is a small stream or inlet, which was called 
 by our people East river, since it extends towards the east. 
 There is another small river towards the west where the coast 
 bends, which our countr)'men called the river of Siccanemos 
 after the name of the Sagiraos or Sacmos ; here is a good har- 
 bour or roadstead behind a sand-point about half a mile from 
 the western shore in two and a half fathoms water. The river 
 comes for the most part from the north-east, and is in some 
 places very shallow, having but nine feet of water at the con- 
 fluence of a small stream, and in others places only six feet. Then 
 there are kills or creeks with full five fathoms water, but navi- 
 gation for ships extends only fifteen or eighteen miles. Salmon 
 are found there. The people who dwell on this river, according 
 to the statements of our people, are called Pequatoos, (Pequods) 
 and are the enemies of the Wapanoos.* 
 
 A small island lies to the south-west by south from this river, 
 as the coast runs ; near the west end of it a north-west by west 
 moon causes low water. We next find on the main a small 
 stream to which our people gave the name of the Little fresh 
 river, where some trade is carried on with the natives, who are 
 called Morhicans. 
 
 Next, in the south-west, succeeds a river named by our 
 countrymen Fresh river, (the Connecticut,) which is shallow at 
 its mouth, and lies between two courses, north by east and 
 west by north ; but according to conjecture, allowing for both, 
 its general direction is from the north-north-west. In some 
 places it is very shallow, so that at about forty-five miles up the 
 river there is not much more than five feet of water. There 
 are few inhabitants near the mouth of the river, but at the dis- 
 tance of forty-five miles above they become numerous ; their 
 nation is called Sequins. f From this place the river stretches 
 thirty miles, mostly in a northerly direction, but is very crook- 
 ed ; the racks or reaches extend from north-east to south-west, 
 and it is impossible to sail through them with a head wind. 
 The depth of water varies from ten to twelve feet, which is the 
 
 * The river liere described is the Thames, navigable fourteen miles lo Nor 
 •\vich, in Connecticut. 
 
 t Trumljull, History of Connecticut, incntiors a Pyquaug sagamore called 
 Srquin, who was living when the English commenced their seillements on Con- 
 neticut river. Pyquaugs, afterwards Wcathersfield, was just forty-five miles 
 from the mouth of the river. 
 
296 DE last's description 
 
 greatest, to eiglit or nine, and sometimes to four and five, and 
 then to eight and nine again. The natives plant maize, or In- 
 dian corn, and in the year 1614, they had a village resembling 
 a fort for protection against the attacks of their enemies. They 
 are called Nawaas, and the sagamore was named Morahieck. 
 They term the bread made of maize in their language, legariick. 
 This place is situated in latitude 41° 48'. The river is not 
 navigable with yachts for more than six miles farther, as it is 
 very shallow and has a rocky bottom. Within the land dwells 
 another nation of savages, who are called Horikans ; they 
 ascend the river in canoes made of bark. This river has al- 
 ways a downward current, so that no assistance is derived from 
 it in going up, but a favourable wind is necessary.* 
 
 From Fresh river to another called the river of Roodeberg, 
 it is twenty-four miles, west by north and east by south ; 
 this stream stretches east-north-east, and is about a bow-shot 
 wide, being a depth of three and a half fathoms at high water. 
 It rises and falls about six feet; a south-east by south moon 
 causes high water at its mouth. The natives who dwell here 
 are called Quiripeys .f They take many beavers, but it is neces- 
 sary for them to get into the habit of trade, otherwise they aie 
 too indolent to hunt the beaver. 
 
 Twelve miles further to the east there lies a small island, 
 where good water is to be found ; and twelve miles beyond 
 there ai'e a number of islands, so that Captain Block gave the 
 name of Archipelagos to the group. The great bay is there 
 about twelve miles wide. There is a small stream on the main 
 that does not extend more than a mile and a half from the shore, 
 when it becomes perfectly dry. The natives are here called 
 Siwanoos, and dwell along the coast for twenty-four miles to the 
 neighbourhood of Hellegat. At the entrance of this bay, as 
 we have already mentioned, are situated several islands, or 
 broken land, on which a nation of savages have their abode, 
 who are called Matouvi^acks ; they obtain a livelihood by fish- 
 ing within the bay ; whence the most easterly point of the 
 land received the name of Fisher's Hook, and also Cape de 
 Baye (now Montauk Point). This cape and Block Island are 
 situated about twelve miles apart, in a course east by north and 
 west by south. 
 
 * This description of the Connecticut was probably derived from the Journal 
 of Captain Adrian Block, and is the earliest account of the river extant. Block 
 was unquestionably the first European who explored it. Trumbull, History of 
 ConneA'cvt, says, "None of the ancient adventurers, who discovered the conti- 
 nent of North America, in New-England, made any discovery of this river. It 
 does not appear tliat it was known to any civilized nation until some years after 
 the settlement of the English and Dutch at Plymouth and New-Netherlands." 
 Block's discovery was, it would seem, before both, viz. A. D. 1614. 
 
 t (iuhmcpi-nck was the Indian name of New-Haven ; Kocdtberg, or Red hill, 
 the Dutch name. 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 297 
 
 Hellegat, as named by our people, is another river, according 
 to the description of Captain Adrian Block, that flows from 
 the great bay into the great river ; and the current according to 
 his statement, comes a distance of about one hundred and eleven 
 miles east of the great river. The two currents of the great 
 river and the Hellegat, meet one another near Nutten Island 
 (now Governor's Island) .* In coming from the great river to 
 the bay, the reaches extend east by north, and east-north- 
 east and east-south-east, formed almost entirely by islands. 
 The natives here bring on board the ships oysters, squirrels, 
 and wild ducks. We have now come to the great river, of 
 which we shall next speak. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 Of the great North river of the Neiu-Netherlands, and its 
 
 situation. 
 
 The great north river of the New-Netherlands was called 
 by some the Manhattes river, from the people who dwell near 
 its mouth ; by others, also, Rio de Montaigne, or River of the 
 Mountain ; but by our countrymen it was generally called the 
 Great River. There is a large bay at its entrance, which is 
 now named by our captains Port May, barred at its mouth by 
 a sandy point ; and off the eastern hook of the river extends a 
 reef, that must be very bold, since while we have twelve fath- 
 oms water on one part of it, there are only five or six on another, 
 and again but one and a half, with a firm bottom. About five 
 miles within the hook of the river, near the eastern shore, lies 
 an island not more than a mile and a half in extent, to which our 
 people gave the name of Nutten Island, because excellent nut 
 trees grow there. On the east side, upon the main land, dwell the 
 Manatthans, a bad race of savages, who have always been 
 very obstinate and unfriendly towards our countrymen. On 
 the west side are the Sanhickans, who are the deadly enemies of 
 the Manatthans, and a much better people ; they dwell within 
 the sandy hook, and along the bay, as well as in the interior of 
 the country. 
 
 The entrance to this river lies in latitude 40° 28' or 30'. 
 Over against Nutten Island, or the western side of it, there are 
 four other small islands. f The river is fourteen or fifteen fath- 
 
 * What is now called East river is here described as Hellegat river, and its 
 current is reckoned from the eastern entrance of Long Island Sound. The word 
 gat has the sense of gut when used nautically, as the Gut of Canso, &c. 
 
 t Only two of these islands are now remaining, but it is said that the rocks 
 where the others once lay, are to be seen at low water. 
 38 
 
29S DE laet's description 
 
 oms deep at its mouth, and coutiimes of that doptli in a straight 
 channel ; it is for the most part a musket shot wide, but varies 
 somewhat in its width. Its course is between north-east and 
 north-utntli-west, according as the reaches extend. Within the 
 first reacli, on the western bank of the river, where the land is 
 low, there dwells a nation of savages, named Tappaans. The 
 river here is quite shallow in the nudtlle, but deep on both sides. 
 The stream is greatest and Hows north and south out of the 
 northern entrance, and a south-east and north-west moon causes 
 the highest tides. About three miles inland there is a bay 
 sheltered from all winds, nearly twenty miles in circuit ; there 
 flows here a strong flood and ebb, but the ebb is not more than 
 four feet, on account of the great quantity of water that comes 
 from above, overflowing the low lauds in the spring. 
 
 The second reach of the river extends \ipward to a nan-ow 
 part, named by our people Haverstroo ; then comes the Seyl- 
 maker s reach, as they call it ; and next a crooked reach, in 
 the form of a crescent, called Kock's reach. Next is Hogerack, 
 and then follows Vossen reach, which extends to Klinckers- 
 bergh ; this is succeeded by Fisher's reach, where, on the east 
 bank of the river, dwells a nation of savages called Pachami. 
 This reach extends to another narrow pass, where, on the west 
 side of the river, there is a point of land that juts out covered 
 with sand, opposite a bend in the river, on which another nation 
 of savages, the Waoranecks, have their abode, at a place called 
 Esopus. A little beyond on the west side, where there is a 
 creek, and the river becomes more shallow, the Warana-wan- 
 kougs reside ; here are several small islands. Next comes 
 another reach called Klaverack, where the water is deeper on 
 the west side, while the eastern side is sandy. Then follow 
 Backerrack, John Playsier's rack, and Vasterack, as far as 
 Hinnenhoek. All these reaches are dotted with sand and shal- 
 low, both on the east side, and in the middle of the river. 
 
 Finally, the Hertenrack succeeds as far as Kinderhock ; at 
 this place and beyond, the river at its greatest depth has but 
 five fathoms of water, and generally only two or three. Beyond 
 Kinderhock there are several small islands in the river, one of 
 which was called Beeren Island {Bears" Island). After this 
 we come to a sheltered retreat named Ouwee Ree, and farther 
 on are Sturgeon's Hook and Fisher's Hook, over against which, 
 on the east side of the river, dwell the Mohicans. On the east 
 lies a long broken island, through which several creeks find a 
 passage, forming several islands ; on which a fort was erected, 
 in latitude 43 . The tide llows to this place, and the river is 
 navigable for ships. Higher up it becomes so shallow that 
 small skifls can with difficulty sail there ; and one sees in the 
 distance several lofty hdls, from which most of the water inthe 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 209 
 
 river flows. Judging from appearances, this river extends to 
 the great river St. Lawrence, or Canada, since our people as- 
 sure us that the natives come to the fort from that river, and 
 from Quebec and Tadoussac. 
 
 A fort was built here in the year 1614, upon an island on 
 the west side of the river, where dwell the Mackwaes, the ene- 
 mies of the Mohicans. Almost all those who live on the west 
 side, are enemies of those on the cast, and cultivate more in- 
 tercourse and friendship with our countrymen than the latter. 
 The fort was built in the form of a redoubt, surrounded by a 
 moat eighteen feet wide ; it was mounted with two pieces of 
 cannon and eleven swivels, and the garrison consisted often or 
 twelve men. Henry Christians first commanded here, and in 
 his absence James Elkens, on behalf of the Company, who, in 
 1614, received authority from their High Mightinesses, the 
 States General. This Fort was constantly occupied for three 
 years, after which it was suffered to go to decay. On this 
 river there is a great traffick in the skins of beavers, otters, fox- 
 es, bears, minks, catelossen, and the like. The land is excellent 
 and agreeable to the eye, full of noble forest trees and grape 
 vines, and nothing is wanting but the labour and industry of man 
 to render it one of the finest and most fruitful lands in that part 
 of the world ; for the Indians who inhabit there are indolent, 
 and some of them a crafty and wicked people. 
 
 Ch.vpter X. 
 
 Of the appearance of the land, and the manners of the people 
 on the great river of the Mountains. 
 
 Henry Hudson who first discovered this river, and all that 
 have since visited it, express their admiration of the noble trees 
 growing upon its banks ; and Hudson has himself described the 
 manners and appearance of the people that he found dweUing 
 within the bay, in the following terms : — 
 
 " When I came on shore, the swarthy natives all stood 
 around, and sung in their fashion ; their clothing consisted of 
 the skins of foxes and other animals, which they dress and 
 make the skins into garments of various sorts. Their food is 
 Turkish wheat, (maize or Indian corn,) which they cook by 
 baking, and it is excellent eating. They all came on board one 
 after another in their canoes, which are made of a single 
 hollowed tree ; their weapons are bows and arrows, pointed 
 with sharp stones, vv^hich they fasten with hard resin. They 
 had no houses, but slept under the blue heavens, sometimes on 
 mats of bulrushes interwoven, and sometimes on the leaves of 
 
300 DE laet's description 
 
 trees. They always carry with them all their goods, such as 
 their food and green tobacco, which is strong and good for use. 
 They appear to be a friendly people, but have a great propen- 
 sity to steal, and are exceedingly adroit in carrying away what- 
 ever they take a fancy to." 
 
 In latitude 40° 48', where the savages brought very fine 
 oysters to the ship, Hudson describes the country in the follow- 
 ing manner : — " It is as pleasant a land as one need tread 
 upon ; very abundant in all kinds of timber suitable for ship- 
 building, and for making large casks or vats. The people had 
 copper tobacco pipes, from which I inferred that copper might 
 naturally exist there ; and iron likewise according to the testi- 
 mony of the natives, who, however, do not understand pre- 
 paring it for use." 
 
 Hudson also states that they caught in the river all kinds of 
 fresh-water fish with seines, and young salmon and sturgeon. 
 In latitude 42° 18', he landed :* — "I sailed to the shore," he 
 says, " in one of their canoes with an old man, who was the 
 chief of a tribe consisting of forty men and seventeen women ; 
 these I saw there in a house well constructed of oak-bark, and 
 circular in shape, so that it had the appearance of being built 
 with an arched roof. It contained a great quantity of maize or 
 Indian corn and beans of the last year's growth, and there lay 
 near the house for the purpose of drying enough to load three 
 ships, besides what was growing in the fields. On our coming 
 into the house, two mats were spread out to sit upon, and im- 
 mediately some food was served in well made red wooden 
 bowls ; two men were also despatched at once with bows and 
 arrows in quest of game, who soon after brought in a pair of 
 pigeons which they had shot. They likewise killed a fat dog, and 
 skinned it in great haste with shells which they had got out of the 
 water. They supposed that I would remain with them for the 
 night, but I returned after a short time on board the ship. The 
 land is the finest for cultivation that I ever in my life set foot 
 upon, {Is het schoonste landt om te hoimen als ick oyt myn 
 leven met voeten betrat,) and it also abounds in trees of every 
 description. The natives are a very good people, for when they 
 saw that I would not remain, they supposed that I was afraid 
 of their bows, and taking the arrows, they broke them in pieces 
 and threw them into the fire. &c." 
 
 He found there also vines and grapes, pumpkins and other 
 fruits ; from all of which there is sufficient reason to conclude, 
 that it is a pleasant and fruitful country, and that the natives 
 
 • The present city of Hudson is in Lit. 42 14', near where the adventurous 
 navigator went on shore. The time occupied by him in exploring the river was 
 from Sept. 13th to Oct. 3d, as appears from the Journal of his mate, Robert 
 Juet. 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 301 
 
 are well disposed, if they are only well treated ; although they 
 are very changeable, and of the same general character as all 
 the savages in the north. They have no religion whatever, nor 
 any divine worship, much less any political government, except 
 that they have their chiefs whom they call Sackmos, or Sagi- 
 mos. On different occasions some of our people have been en- 
 countered by them and slain ; for they are revengeful and very 
 suspicious, and on this account often engaged in wars among 
 themselves, although remarkably timid and deficient in courage. 
 But with mild and proper treatment, and especially by inter- 
 course with Christians, this people might be civilized and 
 brought under better regulation ; particvilarly if they were 
 placed in contact with a sober and discreet population that cul- 
 tivated good order. They are, besides, very serviceable, and 
 allow themselves to be employed in many things for quite a 
 small compensation ; even to performing a long day's journey, 
 in which they discover greater fidelity than could be expected 
 of such a people. 
 
 As to the climate and seasons of the year, they do not ill 
 agree with our countrymen, although it is somewhat colder there 
 than is pleasant ; it freezes and snows excessively in winter, so 
 that the river often becomes a solid mass of ice. But this 
 occurs some years more than others, as with us. There is also 
 a great variety of winds in that country, and in summer much 
 thunder and lightning with violent gusts. In short, it is a 
 country well adapted for our people to inhabit, on account of the 
 similarity of the climate and the weather to our own ; especially 
 since it wants nothing that is needful for the subsistence of man, 
 except domestic cattle, which it would be easy to carry there ; 
 and besides producing many things of which our ovv^n country 
 is destitute. Wine can be made there Avith industry, since 
 vines are already found that require nothing but cultivation. 
 We have before stated how much the country abounds in timber 
 suitable for ship-building ; it is sought by our people for that 
 purpose, who have built there several sloops and tolerable 
 yachts. And particularly Capt. Adrian Block, when his ship 
 was accidentally burnt in the year 1614, constructed there a 
 yacht with a keel thirty-eight feet long, forty-four and a half 
 feet from stem to stern, and eleven and a half feet wide. In 
 this vessel he sailed through Hellegat into the great bay, and 
 explored all the places thereabout ; continuing his course as far 
 as Cape Cod, where he fell in with the ship of Henry Chris- 
 tian. He afterwards returned home, and left the yacht on that 
 coast for further use. 
 
302 DB last's description 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 Further description of the coast to the second great river, [the 
 Delaware,) and from thence to latitude 38° north. 
 
 In coming out of the bay that hes at the mouth of the great 
 river of the mountains, we have a tolerably deep channel by 
 keeping the river or its mouth to the north-east, and the outer 
 cape of the high land of the bay to the south-east. From the 
 sandy hook of the bay or Port May to Fishers' Hook [Montauk 
 Point), or the eastern extremity of the broken land where the 
 Matouwacks dwell, the land stretches to the east and north-east 
 and the distance is about eighty-one or eighty-four miles, ac- 
 cording to the report of some navigators, but according to Cor- 
 nelius Jacob May only seventy-five miles. When one is out- 
 side of the above mentioned hook of Port May, and bound to 
 the south, the coast tends to the south-south-west and north- 
 north-east, and land is visible on both sides. Beyond, the coast 
 runs south-west by south, and north-east by north, and presents 
 a fine, bold shore, with tolerably high sand hills, extending to a 
 lofty foreland within the land. But farther south the coast is 
 somewhat lower, with but one foot of water along the shore, 
 beyond which water is visible within, and here and there a low 
 sandhill. Continuing our course we meet with a gut or inlet, 
 and farther on another gut, in about latitude 39° 50', which is 
 called by our people Eyer haven, (Egg-harbour,) and also Bay 
 haven. This is a small river or kill, within which all is broken 
 land, and in the bay are several inconsiderable islands. A little 
 beyond, in the same direction, a tolerably high forest is seen 
 upon a low promontory, and then succeeds a flat sandy shore 
 with very small sand hills or downs ; towards the south lofty 
 woods are again visible, with here and there slight elevations.* 
 
 From thence to Cape May the coast trends mostly to the 
 east north-east and west south-west, and the guts or inlets are 
 so numerous that there appears to be one for every short mile. 
 But one should be cautious not to approach too near the coast, 
 since there are polders or low places enclosed with banks, on 
 which the sea breaks with great violence ; and the water con- 
 stantly grows more shallow, so that at one cast of the lead there 
 may be seven fathoms, at another but five, and a third only 
 three or less. As we approach Cape May, the coast runs west 
 south-west and east-north-east, and twelve or sixteen miles out 
 to sea lies a bank or shelf of sand, where there is but four and 
 
 * DrommeUien — an obscure and obsolete expression; the meaning as given 
 above is somewhat conjectural. Drommd van huysen means the raising of a 
 .house, &c. 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS, 303 
 
 a half fathoms water, while nearer to the land we have seven 
 fathoms or more. 
 
 The second river lies also within a great bay, called by our 
 people New Port May : it has two capes or headlands, of which 
 the northern is named Cape May, and the southern Cape Cor- 
 nelius, and these two capes lie east-north-east, well to the north, 
 and west south-west, well to the south, of one another, so far 
 distant that one is scarcely able to see across with the eye. 
 To the south-west of Cape May, and full half-way over towards 
 Cape Cornelius to the south-south-east, there are sandbanks ; 
 the bay also Avithin is full of sand bars and shoals, so that 
 numerous channels are formed, rendering the bay highly dan- 
 gerous to those unacquainted with it. Within this bay is 
 another large river, called the South river, of which we have spo- 
 ken in the seventh chapter; and several smaller streams, which 
 I shall describe hereafter, as the true bearing and further situa- 
 tion of the coast, as observed by our navigators, have not reach- 
 ed me, although some of them are well acquainted with these 
 rivers, which they discovered and have visited for several 
 years. Several nations of savages inhabit the banks of these 
 rivers, namely, the Sawanoos, Sanhickans, Minquaas, Capita- 
 nesses, Gacheos, Sennekaas, Canomakers, Naratekons, Kone- 
 kotays, Matanakouses, Armeomeks, &c. nearly all of whom 
 are of the same character and condition as those we have alrea- 
 dy described. They plant and raise maize, beans, and whatever 
 else other natives possess. 
 
 The most southerly cape, called by us Cape Cornelius, has 
 a white shining appearance, and a reef runs off from it to the 
 south-south-east, to the sea ; it is situated in latitude 38° 54'. 
 Twelve miles from this cape lies another, which our countrymen 
 call Cape Hinlopen, and the course is north-east by east and 
 south-west by south. From here the coast stretches first most- 
 ly north and south, and then south-west and north-north-cast, 
 and also south-west and north-east. Along the shore there is 
 six and seven fathoms water, and the bottom is excellent ; then 
 again in two or three tacks we have only three fathoms. From 
 hence to latitude 38° 18' the land trends to the south-west, well 
 to the south, and north-east, well to the north, with a very small 
 foreland, and within there is a spacious body of water together 
 with low broken land ; this continues for about twenty-four 
 miles. To the south the land runs mostly north-east by east 
 and south-west by west, and is a very uneven bottom, varying 
 from six to seven and five fathoms water. 
 
TRANSLATIONS 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE LATIN AND FRENCH EDITIONS 
 
 ,OF 
 
 DE LAET'S NEW WORLD ; 
 16 3 3—1 6 4 0. 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 NOVUM BELGIUM, or NEW NETHERLANDS/ 
 
 Book III. — Chapter. VII. 
 
 Description of that part *of the continent of North America 
 which was first more fully explored and settled by our 
 countrymen. 
 
 Thus far we have treated of that part of North America which 
 the French first explored, and having planted colonies therein, 
 had for some time occupied ; but which the English have of late 
 endeavoured to reduce into possession, setting up a claim thereto, 
 and distinguishing it by the names of New England and New 
 Scotland. In our preceding book, we took a survey of this 
 coast as far as the promontory called by the French Cape Ma- 
 lebarre, but in the former chapters of the present book, following 
 the more recent explorations of the English, we reached 
 Cape Cod. From Cape Malebarre, (taking our departure from 
 that point,) the coast makes a great bend to the west, and forms 
 as it were a bay, into whose bosom a large river discharges 
 itself, and finally into the sea ; and from the mouth of which 
 the coast again bends to the south. This territory including a 
 number of islands, extending from lat. 38° 30', (where another 
 large river discharges,) to lat. 44°, and beyond within the land, 
 we now denominate New Netherlands, because this part of 
 the country was first more fully explored under the auspices 
 and at the expense of our people, and afterwards, having been 
 constantly visited and finally colonized under the authority of 
 
OP THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 305 
 
 the most illustrious States General, first received the arts of 
 civilization from the Netherlanders, who erected a fortification 
 on its soil with the consent of the native inhabitants. 
 
 The bendjn the coast had, indeed, been observed by others, 
 and the shores even seen and approached in the neighbourhood 
 of Cape Malebarre, but none had noticed, so far as appears, 
 that a noble river, covered with boats and inhabited by nume- 
 rous and varied tribes of people, flowed into the farther part of 
 the bay thus formed, until the discovery was made by our peo- 
 ple in the year 1609. The East India Company had des- 
 patched Henry Hudson, an Englishman, in a small bark, 
 towards the northern coast of America, for the purpose of dis- 
 covering a passage to Tartary and China ; in which proving 
 unsuccessful, he changed his course, and approached New 
 France in lat 44° 15'. Afterwards running to the south, he saw 
 land in lat. 41° 43', and supposing it to be an island he named it 
 New Holland ; but it soon after appeared that it was a part of the 
 main land, and the promontory of Cape Blanc or Cod, which, 
 judging from his reckoning and observations, was seventy-five 
 miles further to the west than it was laid down on the charts. 
 When they had examined the coast in various places, and had 
 gone as far south as lat. 37°, (either from necessity or other- 
 wise,) they returned along the coast as far as lat. 40°, where 
 they entered a spacious bay, and cast anchor behind a low and 
 sandy cape. Here they were visited by two savages clothed 
 in elk skins, and hospitably received ; and on the shore they 
 gathered blue plums that were ripe, and saw around them noble 
 oaks, poplars, and other trees. Afterwards weighing anchor 
 they entered the river itself, and ascended to lat. 43°, where 
 the channel became narrower, and too shallow for large vessels, 
 and it appeared from indubitable signs, that no Europeans had 
 before visited the river. 
 
 When, therefore, Hudson had returned towards the end of 
 autumn to Amsterdam in his bark, and made known what he 
 had discovered respecting this river, (which he called Manhattes, 
 from the name of the people who dwelt at its mouth,) immedi- 
 ately, in 1610, some Amsterdam merchants sent thither a ves 
 sel loaded with a variety of goods, and having obtained from the 
 States General exclusive authority to visit the river and neigh- 
 bouring regions for purposes of trade, they carried on a commerce 
 with the natives for several succeeding years ; for which pur- 
 pose our people remained there during winter, and finally, in 
 1615, built a fort under the auspices of the States General, and 
 garrisoned it with soldiers, as we shall relate hereafter. Such 
 was the commencement of what resulted in the application of 
 the name New Netherlands to that part of the northern conti- 
 nent, which continues to this day. 
 39 
 
306 DE laet's description 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 A particular description of New-Netherlands in respect to the 
 situation of the Coast. 
 
 The main land, as we have already stated, changes its direc- 
 tion from Cape Malebarre to the west, being studded with many- 
 islands, and the coast itself being so much intersected by bays 
 and inlets that it is doubtful whether it deserves most the name 
 of continent or island, about which authors differ. Having 
 passed the Cape, a small island presents itself at the bend of 
 the shore, six miles from the main land, and not more than three 
 miles in extent, which is called Petockenock. Near this, to 
 the west, is an oblong and spacious island, which our people, 
 on account of its resemblance to Texel call by the same name. 
 Next on the south, at the distance of three or four miles, lies 
 another, which they call from its discoverer Henry Christian's 
 Island, but the English apparently Martha's Viyieyard, in lat. 
 41° 15'. It is said to be fifteen miles in circumference, and 
 abounds in trees and birds, with every convenience for fishing. 
 A small island succeeds near the main land, which they call 
 from its appearance Dover cliff ; and two miles beyond is Eli- 
 zabeth's island, in lat. 41° 10', in the middle of which is a pool 
 of pure water, and a rocky elevation that the English undertook 
 to fortify, but abandoned it. The last of these islands is the 
 one which Capt. Adrian Block called after his own name. 
 
 But let us return to the continent. Here first a bay discloses 
 itself, (which some consider a river,) called Nassau, six miles 
 wide at its entrance, which is obstructed by islands, and about 
 eight fathoms deep ; afterwards it becomes narrower, terminat- 
 m^y as it were in a point, with a depth of four, five, and some- 
 times nine fathoms, except in the extreme recess where it is 
 more shallow. It is surrounded by a pleasant and fertile coun- 
 try, inhabited by sturdy barbarians, who are difficult of ac- 
 cess, not being accustomed yet to intercourse with strangers. At 
 the distance of twenty-one miles west of this bay, there is another, 
 divided by an island at its entrance, so that it has two names ; 
 for the part on the east is called Anchor, and that on the west 
 Boat bay. The savages who dwell around this bay are called 
 Wapenokes, though it is said by others that the western side is 
 inhabited by the Nalucans. Twenty-four miles or thereabout 
 beyond, we enter a very large bay, enclosed by the land for a 
 long distance, or rather by islands intersected by cliannels, of 
 which there is a great number, imtil we reach the mouth of the 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 307 
 
 great river. There are also numerous small islands, to which 
 no particular names have been given, navigators taking the 
 liberty of changing them arbitrarily. Near the entrance of this 
 bay the main land forms a crooked prominence in the shape of 
 a sickle, behind which an inlet receives a small stream, that 
 flows from the east and has received its name from our people. 
 
 Another little river discharges on the same part of the coast, 
 which derives its name from a chief of the natives, called Sic- 
 canamos ; here is a very convenient roadstead. Behind a small 
 promontory there is another stream that is navigable for fifteen 
 or eighteen miles ; here salmon are taken. The native inhabi- 
 tants are called Pequatoes, who are the enemies of the Wapa- 
 nokes. From thence the coast turns a little to the south, and 
 a small river is seen which our people named Frisius, where a 
 trade is carried on with the Morhicans. Next comes a river 
 called by our countrymen De Versche Riviere, or Fresh river, 
 which is shallow and shoaly at its mouth, so that it is difficult 
 for small vessels to ascend it ; near the sea there are but few 
 inhabitants, but within the interior of the country dwell the 
 Sequins, at the distance of forty-five miles ; the Nawes are the 
 next above, who cultivate the land and plant maize, from which 
 they bake cakes, called by them leganick. In the year 1614, 
 they were defended by a kind of palisade in the form of a camp 
 against their enemies, in lat. 41° 48', as I find it was observed 
 by our people. Beyond live the Horikans, who are accustomed 
 to descend this river in boats made of the bark of trees sewed 
 together. 
 
 Another river meets us twenty-four miles west of this, to 
 which the name of red hills has been given ; the Querepees in- 
 habit its banks ; many beaver are taken here, since a demand 
 for our goods has stimulated the naturally slothful savages. 
 Twelve miles west an island presents itself, and soon after 
 many more are seen, whence our people called this place 
 Archipelago. The bay is here twelve miles wide ; on the 
 main reside the Suwanoes, similar in dress and mamiers to the 
 other savages. 
 
 I have remarked that the large bay was enclosed by several 
 islands, separated from one another only by small channels. 
 These are inhabited by a race of savages who are devoted to 
 fishing, and thus obtain their subsistence ; they are called Ma- 
 touwacks. The name of Fisher's Hook has thus been given 
 to the eastern cape of these islands, which somee consider the 
 head of the bay. In the interior of this bay a branch of the 
 great river, or another river as others consider it, discharges, 
 which our people call Helle-gat, or the entrance to the infernal 
 regions {infer ni os). The current of the sea setting from the 
 east to the west, meets another current of the great river near 
 
308 DE laet's description 
 
 an island, vvliich our countrymen called Nutten Island, from the 
 great abundance of nuts which it produces. 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 Of the Great or North River of the New -Netherlands, and 
 the different people who dwell near it. 
 
 The great river of New-Netherlands is called by some Man- 
 hattes, doubtless from the people who reside near its mouth ; by 
 others the river of the mountain ; by some also Nassau, but 
 more frequently by our countrymen the Great North river, 
 to distinguish it from another which flows into the same ocean 
 more towards the south. Near the mouth of this river there is a 
 bay of moderate extent which our people commonly call Port 
 May, from the name of Capt. Cornchus May ; it is shut in from 
 the ocean by several islands and a sandy point extending to- 
 wards the east, and on account of rocks and shoals is dangerous 
 to navigators, although behind the point there is a convenient an- 
 chorage for ships. The people who dwell about this bay are 
 called Aquamachuques . In entering the river from the sandy 
 point, at the distance of three miles or more within the entrance, 
 there is an island which derives its name from the nut trees 
 that grow on it, as we have already stated ; opposite to which 
 on the left or western side of the river lie three or four islands 
 near shore. The mouth of this river is in 40° 28' or 30' north 
 latitude. The channel at its mouth is fourteen or fifteen fath- 
 oms deep, and preserves nearly the same depth in its course, 
 sometimes wider and sometimes narrower ; and with various 
 windings it ascends towards the north and north-west. 
 
 On the right or eastern bank of the river from its mouth dwell 
 the Manhattce, or Manatthanes, a fierce nation and hostile to our 
 people, from whom nevertheless they purchased the island or 
 point of land which is separated from the main by Helle gat, (/e 
 trou d'enfer, of which we have already spoken,) and where they 
 laid the foundations of a city, called New Amsterdam. On the 
 left or western side of the river dwell the Sanhikans, the deadly 
 enemies of the former nation, and a better and more decent 
 people ; they live along the shores of the bay and within the 
 land. Opposite to the Manhattans dwell the Machkentiwomi, 
 and within the first bend of the river on the same side the 
 Tappaanes. The river is here shallow in the middle, but 
 along its banks on each side it preserves its depth, and forms a 
 bay which is about eighteen miles in circuit, and protects ships 
 against the uncertainty of the winds, when necessary. '1 lie 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 309 
 
 flowing and ebbing of the sea are here sufficiently strong, but 
 on account of the immense quantity of water which comes 
 from above, the river falls not more than four feet, and very 
 often in the spring overflows its banks where they are low. 
 The second bend of the river is toward the north-west extend- 
 ing to a narrow part which our people call Haverstroo, and 
 thus with various windings it reaches a place which our coun- 
 trymen call Vischer's Rack, that is, the fisherman's bend. 
 And here the eastern bank is inhabited by the Pachami ; a little 
 beyond where projects a sandy point, and the river becomes 
 narrow^er, there is a place called Esopus, where the Waoj-ane- 
 kys, another barbarous nation have their abode. To these suc- 
 ceed after a short interval the Waranawancougys, on the oppo- 
 site side of the river ; from hence ascending by various wind- 
 ings of the shore which our people distinguish by particular 
 names, we reach another small point where the chann il dimi- 
 nishes in depth and has not more than three or four fathoms, 
 being interrupted by frequent shallows and sand bars, occasion- 
 ing greater delay than danger ; then comes Bears' island, ( Ur- 
 soriim insula, or Beeren eylandt), and behind it a small bay 
 which they call Old Harbor. 
 
 On the right bank of the river opposite this island dwell the 
 Manhicans, and along the shore extends an oblong island in- 
 tersected by various channels, so that it seems to be several 
 islands ; then we reach another island where our countrymen 
 formerly had a small fort. The tide flows as far as this place 
 and the river is covered with large vessels ; but above the river 
 diminishes rapidly in depth and is scarcely sufl[icient for small 
 boats. Lofty mountains are seen in the distance ; from them 
 the greatest part of the water with which this river is filled, de- 
 scends ; but its sources are supposed not to be very far distant 
 from the great river of Canada, since not unfrequently the 
 Indians come to our fort from Quebec and Tadousac. This 
 fort which we call Orange, is situated on an island adjacent to 
 the left bank of the river, which a nation of barbarians inhabit 
 whom they call Mackivas, the enemies of the Manhikans who 
 occupy the right bank of the river. Nearly all the savages on 
 the western side are hostile to those on the eastern side of the 
 river. In this fort were formerly placed several pieces of can- 
 non and a small garrison of soldiers under the auspices of the 
 illustrious States General of the United Provinces of the Nether- 
 lands, which Henry Christian and afterwards Jacob Elkens 
 commanded ; and thus our people from the year 1614, for seve- 
 ral successive years, occupied it, until the West India Company 
 having received a new and most ample charter from the same 
 powerful Lords, began soon to send their ships to this river, and 
 the colonization of the country was more fully undertaken. 
 
310 DE laet's description 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 The nature of the climate and soil, the fruits, plants, <^c. of 
 the Neio Netherlands. 
 
 Our countrymen who first explored this river, and those who 
 subsequently made frequent voyages thither, describe the won- 
 derful size of the trees, (a good proof of the luxuriance of the 
 soil,) suitable for edifices and vessels of the largest class, \\ild 
 grape vnies are abundant, and walnut trees, the fruit of which 
 differs from ours, being smaller and the shell harder and smooth- 
 er. This is also the case with other trees, shrubs, and plants 
 that grow spontaneously ; but when cultivated with the labour 
 and industry of man, maize or Indian corn, for example, yields 
 a prolific return. So with various kinds of pulse, especially 
 beans, which have an admirable variety of colours ; pumpkins of 
 the finest species, melons, and similar fruits of a useful charac- 
 ter ; so that nothing is wanting but human industr5^ Our peo- 
 ple have begiui in different places to sow wheat and several 
 other kinds of grain, and also flax, hemp, and other European 
 seeds, to which the soil is extremely well adapted. There is 
 a great variety of herbaceous plants, some of which bear splen- 
 did flowers, and others are considered valuable for their medi- 
 cinal properties. I cannot avoid describing here two of this 
 class, although it is not known whether they possess any useful 
 qualities. 
 
 Two plants were sent to me from New Netherlands that 
 grew finely last year in a medical garden of this city, one of 
 which I have caused to be figured below, but the other was de- 
 stroyed by the inclemency of the winter before it could be 
 drawn. They were congeners, though differing somewhat in 
 shape and the structure of the leaves and stalks. They agreed 
 in having their leaves of the form of the iron head, with which 
 the East Indians and Africans point their darts ; both likewise 
 had tender and very flexible stalks, either four or five angled, 
 rovigh with small prickles, {exiguis sentihus asperi,) and no- 
 dose or jointed ; the leaves growing from the joints, and other 
 footstalks springing from the axils of the leaves. They differed 
 in these respects ;— the leaves of the one that perished, were 
 broader and smooth on both sides ; of the other, beside being 
 narrower, the under side was rough and of alessdeeper green ; in 
 the second place, the leaves of the former were supported by 
 long petioles, while those of the latter had very short ones ; 
 thirdly, the stems of the former were of a greenish red colour, 
 of the latter wholly green ; and finally, while the first seemed 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 311 
 
 to bear no flowers, on the latter, both from the joints and the 
 summit of the principal stalk sprang minute flowers of a red- 
 dish white colour, resembling in form and general appearance 
 the flowers of the water pepper, except that those of the Ame- 
 rican plant are somewhat handsomer, and grow in clusters of 
 a more globular form. Some one has remarked that one of 
 these plants might be the male and the other the female, per- 
 haps not without good reason. Both perished last winter, on 
 which account J. was unable to make farther observations. I 
 here add a figure of the flowering plant.* 
 
 The forests every where contam a great variety of wild ani- 
 mals, especially of the deer kind, and other quadrupeds that are 
 indigenous to this part of North America. Innumerable birds 
 are also found here, both large and small, those that frequent 
 the rivers and lakes, as well as the forests, possessing a plu- 
 mage of great elegance and variety of colours. In winter supe- 
 rior turkey cocks are taken ; they are very fat, and their flesh 
 is of the best quality. The rivers produce excellent fish, such 
 as the salmon, sturgeon, and many others. 
 
 The temperature of the climate differs little from our own ; 
 for although the country is many degrees nearer to the equator 
 than the Netherlands, yet it is not less cold in winter ; the frost 
 is very intense ; deep and frequent snows fall and cover the 
 ground for a long time, with the same variety of seasons as with 
 us. The winds are equally changeable ; and in summer there 
 is much thunder and lightning with violent showers. I am 
 therefore of the opinion that scarcely any part of America is 
 better adapted for the settlement of colonies from this quarter, 
 especially since nothing is wanting that is necessary to sustain 
 hfe, and the soil can be rendered still more productive by labour 
 and industry ; cattle only are wanted, which can b6 easily 
 transported there and kept with the utmost convenience on ac- 
 count of the abundance of fodder found almost every where. 
 The grape vines also, if properly attended to, seem to promise 
 a rich supply of wine.t 
 
 * A drawing of the plant appears in both the Latin and French editions of 
 the work, from which, in connexion witli the imjjerfijct description in the text, 
 it appears to have been a species nf Polygomim, probably from the shape of 
 its leaves, P. sagittatum, or scratch grass, a common weed. 
 
 t The author's iiUerest in the country as a patroon and a director of the West 
 India Company, leads him to speak favorably of it, but without exaggeration. 
 It will be noticed that but a small portion of these chapters is contained in the 
 original Dutch edition. 
 
312 DE laet's description 
 
 Chapter XL 
 
 Tlie Manners and Customs of the Natives of New-Nether- 
 lands, and the language of the Sankikans. 
 
 The barbarians being divided into many nations and people, 
 differ much from one another in language though very little in- 
 manners ; they possess the same constitution of body as those 
 that inhabit a great part of New France. Their clothing is 
 composed of the skins of wild animals, especially beavers, foxes, 
 and the like, sewed together in the manner of savages, with 
 which they cover themselves entirely in winter, and slightly in 
 summer. Their food principally consists of maize or Indian 
 corn, from which they bake cakes resembling bread ; fish, 
 birds, and wild game. Their weapons are bows and arrows, 
 the latter pointed with sharp flint stones or the bones of fishes. 
 Their boats are one piece of wood, hollowed out by fire from 
 the solid trunks of trees. Some of them lead a wandering life 
 in the open air with no settled habitations ; lying stretched upon 
 the ground or on mats made of bulrushes, they take both their 
 sleep and food, especially in summer, when they go nearer to the 
 sea for the sake of fishing. Others have fixed places of abode, 
 and dwellings built with rafters in the form of an oven, covered 
 above with the bark of trees, so large that they are suflicient 
 for several families. Their household furniture is mean and 
 scanty, consisting of mats and wooden dishes, together with 
 hatchets made of hard flint stone by dint of savage labour, and 
 tubes for smoking tobacco formed likewise of flint stone ingeni- 
 ously perforated, so that it is surprising how, in so great a want 
 of iron implements, they are able to carve the stone. They 
 neither know nor desire riches. 
 
 They have no sense of rehgion, no worship of God ; they 
 indeed pay homage to the devil, but not so solemnly nor with 
 such ceremonies as the Africans do. They call him in their 
 language Menutto or Menetto, and whatever is wonderful 
 and seems to exceed human capacity, they also call Me- 
 netto ; evidently in the same manner as we have mentioned 
 above the Canadians use the word Oqui. They have no form 
 of political government, except that they have their chiefs 
 whom they call sackmos and sagamos, who are almost always 
 the heads of families, for they rarely exceed the hmits of one 
 family connexion. They are like most barbarians suspicious 
 and fearful, although greedy of revenge ; they are fickle, but 
 if humanely treated, hospitable and ready to perform a ser- 
 vice ; they ask only a small remuneration for what they do, and 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 
 
 313 
 
 will make very long journeys in a short time with greater fide- 
 lity than could be justly expected from such a barbarous people. 
 Nor is it to be doubted that by associating with Christians they 
 could be imbued with religion and correct manners, especially 
 if there should be planted among them colonies of well ordered 
 people, who would employ their services v/ith out violence or 
 abuse, and by degrees accustom them to the worship of the 
 true God and the habits of civilized life. 
 
 I cannot omit giving some idea of the language of these bar- 
 barians, (as I have done with others,) and especially of the 
 Sankikans, who dwell on the upper part of the South river, as 
 we shall presently relate. 
 
 Their names of numerals are the followinff : — 
 
 1 Cotte 
 
 2 Nysse 
 
 3 Nacha 
 
 4 Wywe 
 
 5 Parenagh 
 
 The parts 
 
 Head, 
 Eye, 
 Mouth, 
 Tongue, 
 Shoulder, 
 Arms, 
 Nails, 
 Stomach, 
 Feet, 
 Hair, 
 Nose, 
 Lip, 
 Chin, 
 
 6 Cottash 20 M3^ssynach 70 Nyssastigen 
 
 7 Nyssas 30 Nackynagh 80 Gahashynagh 
 
 8 Gechas 40 Weyvvynagh 90 Pescongynach 
 
 9 Pescon 50 Parathgynah 100 Cottapach. 
 10 Terren 60 Cottegynagh 
 
 of the human body 
 Wyer. 
 Schinquoy. 
 Toonne. 
 Wyeranou. 
 Duchke. 
 Nachk. 
 Hyckaes. 
 These. 
 Syt. 
 
 Mytrach. 
 Akywan. 
 Chettoen. 
 Hochquoy. 
 
 are thus named. 
 
 Breast, 
 
 Fingers, 
 
 Nerve, 
 
 Belly, 
 
 Forehead, 
 
 Ear, 
 
 Tooth, 
 
 Neck, 
 
 Breasts, 
 
 Thumb, 
 
 Blood, 
 
 Thigh, 
 
 Toorsay. 
 
 Rinskan. 
 
 Cheet. 
 
 Nalhey. 
 
 Nachkaronck. 
 
 Hyttrwack. 
 
 Wypyt. 
 
 Nequoykangan. 
 
 Noenackan. 
 
 Rideren. 
 
 Mohocht. 
 
 Promine. 
 
 The names of the sexes are — 
 
 Male, Renoes. Female, Orquoywe. 
 
 The elements, &c. : — Fire, Tinteywe ; Water, Empye ; 
 Frost, Kepatten ; Snow, Wynoywee ; Tree, Hitteocke ; River, 
 Soukeree ; Hail, Tasseckii. 
 
 The names of animals : — Deer, Atto ; Bear, Machquoyvo ; 
 Beaver, Temaquoy ; Wolf, Metumnu ; Lion, Synquoy 
 Mackyrggh ; Otter, Counamoch ; Dog, Aram ; Fox, Woucous. 
 
 Of birds : — Swan, Wynkyckso ; Duck, Comconcke ; Tur- 
 key, Sickenum ; Partridge, Ourikinck ; Crane, Tarccka ; Tur- 
 tle Dove, Mymy ; Goose, Ciahack. 
 40 
 
314 DE laet's description 
 
 Of fishes : — Pike, Caopyte ; Eel, Syackameck ; Trout, 
 Cackykane ; Perch, Caycakanesse. 
 
 Quahties : — Good, Oiiret ; Bad, Matet.* 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 A Description of the jiiaritime coast to the other river, and 
 to 38° north latitude. 
 
 Between the sandy point ( Sandy Hook) that we have said 
 shuts in the bay, as it were, at the entrance of the North 
 river, and the extremity of the islands which the Mattou- 
 wacky inhabit, the distance is seventy-five miles, according to 
 the most correct observations of our countrymen, from north- 
 east to south-west, and the sea preserves almost half the dis- 
 tance a channel sufficiently deep. In leaving this bay and sail- 
 ing along the coast to the south, the land appears first lofty and 
 visible on both sides, extending towards the south and then bend- 
 ing a little more to the west without breakers or shoals ; near 
 the shore on the main land are seen sand hills, but a little be- 
 yond the land sensibly declines and becomes lower, the shore 
 being separated from the continent by intermediate water. The 
 surface of the sea is almost uninterrupted except that here and 
 there small banks of sand are seen, and the shore being inter- 
 sected by inlets affords a passage for the water of the ocean 
 in several places ; this is the case in an especial manner in lat. 
 39"" 15' at a place our countrymen call Egg Harbour, or Bay- 
 port ; for here the shore being penetrated by the waters of the 
 ocean receives them into an open bay in which several small 
 islands are dispersed. After passing this harbour, woods are 
 observed near the shore, and presently a number of sandy hills ; 
 then the shore becomes low ; forests and sometimes one or 
 more hillocks are seen. All this coast bears to the south-west 
 as far as the entrance of another bay of considerable extent, 
 lying between two promontories several leagues apart, of which 
 the one on the north is called Cape May, and the one on the 
 south Cape Cornelius from the first discoverer. This bay is 
 extremely hazardous to navigators on account of the frequent 
 shoals and sand bars, so that it cannot be entered without the 
 greatest danger, except with a very skilful pilot ; nevertheless 
 there are channels of suflficient depth among the shoals. 
 
 Into the bosom of this bay flows a great river, descending 
 
 • This vocabulary consists of words in the language of the Delaware?, and 
 proves that the Sanhickans belonged to that nation. See Gallatin on the 
 Indian languages, in Transactions Am. Antiq. Soc. vol. ii. — Ed. 
 
OF THE NEW-NETHERLANDS. 315 
 
 from the interior of the country, which is called South river 
 to distinguish it from the other of which we have already- 
 spoken, and it has been explored by several of our navi- 
 gators. There are besides a number of smaller streams that 
 discharge into this bay. But since a satisf .ctory account of 
 this river has not yet reached us, I shall omit saying any thing 
 more concerning it. I only add that various nations of savages 
 inhabit its banks and possess the interior districts. On a small- 
 er stream that flows into the bay a little below the mouth of the 
 large river, dwell the Seivapoos ; immediately above on the 
 right hand are the Siconysy, and on the left the Minquasy ; 
 higher up are the Naraticongy, Mantaesy, Armevvamexy, all 
 of whom in the order of which we have mentioned them, 
 inhabit the right bank near the smaller streams that empty into 
 the larger river. Farther removed from the river are the Ma,- 
 roahkongy, Amakaraongky , Remkokes, Minquosy or Machoe- 
 retini, Atsayongky ; and the farthest removed of all are the 
 Mattikongy and Sankikanes, who extend to the fortieth degree 
 of north latitude and are about fifty-four miles from the mouth 
 of the river ; some of them are adjacent to the Sawanos, Capi- 
 tanasses, Gacheos, and others who differ little or nothing in 
 their mode of life and manners from those whom we have al- 
 ready described ; they cultivate the land and subsist on maize 
 and beans. Moreover Cape Cornelius, as they call it, is in 38° 
 and 55' north latitude ; from thence following the direction of 
 the coast which trends to the south-west, we meet at the dis- 
 tance of twelve miles with another cape which our people call 
 Hinlopen, from which the direction of the coast is at first south 
 erly and afterwards south-west as far as latitude 38^, where we 
 stop for the present. 
 
 NOTE 
 
 It has probably been observed that a slight discrepancy exists in 
 the statements of our author in respect to the precise date of the 
 erection of the first fort on the river. In one place, (p. 291,) he 
 refers to the year 1615, as the time ; and in another, (p. 299,) he 
 mentions the building of a redoubt on an island nearly in the lati- 
 tude of Albany during the previous year. The later editions of 
 the work contain the same statements without any material varia- 
 tion. Bancroft supposes that De Laet confounded the fort near 
 Albany with one built at the mouth of the river in 1614, where 
 Adrian Block (not ' Blok') had his quarters in that year ; adding 
 
316 DE laet's description, &CC. 
 
 that " the Dutch Records prove there was no fort at Albany till 
 1615."* This supposition does not, however, reconcile the dis- 
 crepancies in De Laet, who in mentioning the year 1615 evidently 
 intends it as the date of the first fort on the river, without stating 
 its particular locality. 
 
 Mr. Barnard, whose excellent memoir of the late Stephen Van 
 Rensselaer has been already cited, considers the proof to which 
 Bancroft refers as " too indefinite and uncertain to control the 
 direct testimony in the case."! The " direct testimony" is the 
 statement of De Laet ; but since that author is not consistent with 
 himself in this matter, as we have seen, no reliance can be placed 
 on the precise accuracy of the dates given by him. The colonial 
 records are therefore appealed to with manifest propriety for the 
 determination of the point in dispute. 
 
 A greater importance has been attached to this question than 
 really belongs to it, from the circumstance that the priority of set- 
 tlement on the river seemed to depend upon it. Smith;}: and other 
 writers have stated the matter in such a way as to lead to the pre- 
 valent impression that Albany was settled before the city of New- 
 York. But granting for the sake of argument, that the fort at Alba- 
 ny was built prior to any on Manhattan Island, it does not follow 
 that the settlement was made earlier at the former place ; since it 
 is quite certain that an establishment for the purposes of trade 
 existed on Manhattan island in the year 1613, before it is pretended 
 that any fort was erected on the river. The testimony bearing on 
 this point will be fully given hereafter ; at present it is sufficient 
 to say that it is drawn from an early account of the hostile visit of 
 Capt Samuel Argall, of the Virginia colony, to our waters on his 
 return from an expedition against the French settlements in Acadie, 
 called by the English Not^a Scotia. The forts were doubtless 
 built as soon as practicable after this occurrence, but it would be 
 necessary in the first place to send advices to Holland, and to ob- 
 tain from thence the ordnance and other means of defence necessa- 
 ry for the purpose of completing the forts. This may have been 
 partially done during the following year, 1614, but it is not likely 
 to have been fully accomplished, all things considered, (especially 
 the great length of the voyages at that early period,) before the arri- 
 val of the second season. 
 
 Editor. 
 
 » Hist. United States, ii. 272—3, notes. 
 
 •f Discourse on the Life and S.i vices o Stephen Van Rensf^elaer — with an 
 Appendix, containing an Historical Sketch of the Colony of Rensselaerwyck, 
 p. 46. 
 
 I History of New-York, i. 3. 
 
VIII. 
 
 EXTRACT from the JOURNAL 
 
 OF THE 
 
 VOYAGE OF THE HALF-MOON, 
 
 HENRY HUDSON, MASTER, 
 FROM THE NETHERLANDS 
 
 TO TKK 
 
 COAST OF NORTH-AMERICA, 
 
 IN THE YEAR 
 1609. 
 
 BY ROBERT JUET, Mate. 
 
NOTE 
 
 It is not our intention to republish the entire journal of the memo- 
 rable voyage during which Hudson discovered the noble river that 
 now bears his name, since it has already appeared in a former 
 volume of this Society's Collections. But for the purpose of ena- 
 bling readers mIio may not have the means of referring to that 
 publication, to compare Juet's account of the discoveries in this 
 quarter with the description of De Laet, derived from Hudson's 
 own journal, which that author unquestionably had before him 
 when he wrote, we have thought best to reprint that portion of the 
 journal, or logbook of the Mate, (for it is little more,) which re- 
 lates to the great event of the voyage. The zeal of the Rev. 
 Samuel Purchas, of London, in the cause of maritime discovery, 
 led him to collect all the original accounts of voyages to distant and 
 unknown parts of the globe on the accuracy of which he could 
 depend, and his diligence in this respect has never been surpassed. 
 To him we are indebted for the preservation of this journal, con- 
 taining the only original account of Hudson's voyage ever published, 
 which first appeared in his great and now rare work, the "Pilgrims," 
 in 1625. The writer, Robert Juet, accompanied Hudson on his 
 next and last voyage, in 1610, which proved fatal to both of them; 
 the latter, having been turned adrift by a mutinous crew in a small 
 boat upon the open ocean, with little or no means of sustenance, 
 was never again heard from. Juet remained in the ship, but perish- 
 ed with famine before her arrival in port. 
 
 It will be recollected that Hudson left Amsterdam on the fourth 
 of April, 1609, and during the early part of his voyage sailed to 
 the north toward Nova Zembla ; returning southwardly he passed 
 over the banks of Newfoundland, touched on some part of the 
 coast of Maine in the latter part of July ; thence ran over to Cape 
 Cod, where he landed, and afterwards stood to the south as far as 
 the latitude of South Carolina. He then retraced his course, keep- 
 ing near the land, looked in at the entrance of Chesapeake bay, 
 
NOTE. 319 
 
 where Juet says " our Englishmen are," referring to the colony of 
 Jamestown, then recently planted ; thence his course lay to the 
 north, and on the 28th of August he arrived at the capes of 
 Delaware bay, of which there was no previous account. At this 
 point we take up the thread of the journal, and follow it to the end 
 of the voyage. 
 
 It will be noticed that the orthography of the original edition 
 has been changed to that of the present time. The days of the 
 week have also been added in some instances, together with a 
 few explanatory notes. The reader is referred to Moulton's His- 
 tory of New-York for an interesting analysis and illustration of 
 
 this journal. 
 
 Editor. 
 
JOURNAL, &c. 
 
 Friday, Aug. 28. Fair and hot weather, the wind at south- 
 south-west. In the morning at six o'clock we weighed, and 
 steered away north twelve leagues till noon, and came to 
 the point of the land ; and being hard by the land in five 
 fathoms, on a sudden we came into three fathoms ; then we 
 bore up and had but ten foot water, and joined to the point. 
 Then as soon as we were over, we had five, six, seven, eight, 
 nine, ten, twelve and thirteen fathoms. Then we found the 
 land to trend away north-west, with a great bay and rivers. 
 But the bay we found shoal ; and in the offing we had ten fath- 
 oms, and had sight of breaches and dry sand. Then we were 
 forced to stand back again ; so we stood back south-east by 
 south three leagues. And at seven o'clock we anchored in eight 
 fathoms water ; and found a tide set north-west, and north-north- 
 west, and it rises one fathom, and flows south-south-east. And 
 he that will thoroughly discover this great bay, must have a 
 small pinnace, that must draw but four or five foot water, to 
 sound before him. At five in the morning we weighed, and 
 steered away to the eastward on many courses, for the more 
 norther land is full of shoals. We were among them, and once 
 we struck, and we went aAvay ; and steered away to the south- 
 east. So we had two, three, four, five, six, and seven fathoms, 
 and so deeper and deeper.* 
 
 August 29. Fair weather, with some thunder and showers, 
 the wind shifting between the south-south-west, and the north- 
 north-west. In the morning we weighed at the break of day, 
 and stood towards the northern land, which we found to be all 
 islands to our sight, and great storms from them, and are shoal 
 three leagues off. For we coming by them, had but seven, six, 
 five, four, three, and two and a half fathoms, and struck the 
 ground with our rudder, we steered off" south-west one glass, 
 and had five fathoms. Then we steered south-east three glasses, 
 1 hen we found seven fathoms, and steered north-east by east, 
 lour leagues, and came to twelve and thirteen fathoms. At one 
 
 • Lord Delaware touched at tliis bay on his passage to Virginia in 1610, — 
 and thence was probably supposed by the Enghsh to have discovered it, as it was 
 named from him. The earliest notice of it under the name of Z)e/ai«are bay with 
 •which we have met, is in a letter of Captain Argall written from Virginia, in 
 May, 1612, contained in Purchas. 
 
JUET S JOURNAL. 321 
 
 o'clock, I went to the top-mast head, and set the land, and the 
 body of the islands did bear north-west by north. And at four 
 oiclock, we had gone four leagues east-south-east, and north- 
 east by east, and found but seven fathoms, and it was calm, so 
 we anchored. Then I went again to the top-mast head, to see 
 how far I could see land about us, and could see no more but the 
 islands. And the southern point of them did bear north-west 
 by west, eight leagues off. So we rode till midnight. Then 
 the wind came to the north-north-west, so we weighed and set 
 sail. 
 
 Sunday, August 30. In the morning between twelve and 
 one, we weighed and stood to the eastward, the wind at north- 
 north-west, we steered away and made our way east-south-east. 
 From our weiglhng till noon, eleven leagues. Our soundings 
 were eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen fathoms till 
 day. Then we came to eighteen, nineteen, twenty, and to 
 twenty-six fathoms by noon. Then I observed the sun, and 
 found the height to be 39^ 5', and saw no land. In the after- 
 noon, the wind came to north by west; so we lay close by 
 with our fore-sail, and our main-sail, and it was little wind 
 until twelve o'clock at midnight, then we had a gale a little 
 while. Then I sounded, and all the night our soundings were 
 thirty, and thirty-six fathoms, and we went little. 
 
 August 31. Fair weather and little wind. At six o'clock in 
 the morning we cast about to the northward, the wind being at 
 the north-east, little wind. At noon it fell calm, and I found 
 the height to be 38° 39'. And the streams had deceived us, 
 and our sounding was thirty-eight fathoms. In the afternoon I 
 sounded again, and had but thirty fathoms. So that we found 
 that we were heaved to and fro with the streams of the tide, 
 both by our observations and our depths. From noon till four 
 o'clock in the afternoon, it was calm. At six o'clock we had a 
 little gale southerly, and it continued all night, some times calm, 
 and sometimes a gale ; we went eight leagues from noon to 
 noon, north by east. 
 
 Tuesday, Sept. 1. Fair weather, the wind variable between 
 east and south, we steered away north-north-west. At noon we 
 found our height to be 39° 3'. We had soundings thirty, twen- 
 ty-seven, twenty-four, and twenty-two fathoms, as we went to 
 the northward. At six o'clock we had twenty-one fathoms. 
 And all the third watch till twelve o'clock at mid-night, we had 
 soundings twenty-one, twenty-two, eighteen, twenty-two, twen- 
 ty-one, eighteen, and twenty-two fathoms, and went six leagues 
 near hand north-north-west. 
 
 Sept. 2. In the morning close weather, the wind at south 
 in the morning ; from twelve until two o'clock we steered 
 north-north-west, and had sounding twenty-one fathoms, and in 
 41 
 
322 juet's journal 
 
 running one glass we had but sixteen fathoms, then seventeen, 
 and so shoaler and shoaler until it came to twelve fathoms. 
 "We saw a great fire, but could not see the land, then we came 
 to ten fathoms, whereupon we brought our tacks aboard, and 
 stood to the eastward east-south-east, four glasses. Then the 
 sun arose, and we steered away north again, and saw land from 
 the west by north, to the north-west by north, all like broken 
 islands, and our soundings were eleven and ten fathoms. Then 
 we luffed in for the shore, and fair by the shore we had seven 
 fathoms. The course along the land we found to be north-east 
 by north. From the land which wc first had sight of, until we 
 came to a great lake of water, as we could judge it to be, being 
 drowned land, which made it rise like islands, which was in 
 length ten leagues. The mouth of the lake hath many shoals, 
 and the sea breaks upon them as it is cast out of the mouth of 
 it.* And from that lake or bay, the land lies north by east, and 
 we had a great stream out of the bay ; and from thence our 
 sounding was ten fathoms, two leagues from land. At five 
 o'clock we anchored, being little wind, and rode in eight fathoms 
 water, the night was fair. This night I found the land to haul 
 the compass 8 degrees. For to the nortlnvard off us we saw 
 high hills.t For the day before we found not above two degrees 
 of variation. This is very good land to fall in with, and a pleas- 
 ant land to see. 
 
 Sept. 3. The morning misty until ten o'clock, then it clear- 
 ed, and the wind came to the south-south-east, so we weighed 
 and stood to the northward. The land is very pleasant and high, 
 and bold to fall withal. At three o'clock in the afternoon, we 
 came to three great rivers. So we stood along the northern- 
 most, thinking to have gone into it, but we found it to have a 
 very shoal bar before it, for we had but ten foot water. Then 
 we cast about to the southward, and found two fathoms, three 
 fathoms, and three and a quarter, till we came to the southern 
 side of them, then we had five and six fathoms, and anchored. 
 So we sent in our boat to sound, and they found no less water than 
 four, five, six, and seven fathoms, and returned in an hour and a 
 half. So we weighed and went in, and rode in five fathoms, 
 ooze ground, and saw many salmons, and mullets, and rays 
 very great. The height is 40° 30'.| 
 
 • Great and Little Eo:g Harbours, and Barnegat bay, on the coast of New 
 Jersey, form a continuous body of water, containins: numerous islands of salt 
 marsli that are often overflowed. The sea breaks atlne entrances of the differ- 
 ent inlets by which ihese bays communicate with the ocean. 
 
 t The Nevisink hills. 
 
 X The lighthouse on Sandy Hook is in latitude 40° 27|', varying but little 
 from Hudson's observation, which seems to have been taken after he had passed 
 the extremity of the Hook. Two of the "three great rivers" mentioned in 
 the Journal, were doubtless the Narrows and Staien Island Sound j and the 
 
OF HUDSON S VOYAGE. 323 
 
 Sept. 4, In the morning as soon as the day was hght, we 
 saw that it was good riding farther up. So we sent our boat to 
 sound, and found that it was a very good harbour ; and four and 
 five fathoms, two cables lengtli from the shore. Then we 
 weighed and went in with our ship Then our boat went on land 
 with our net to fish, and caught ten great mullets, of a foot and 
 a half long a piece, and a ray as great as four men could haul 
 into the ship. So we trimmed our boat and rode still all day. 
 At night the wind blew hard at the north-west, and our anchor 
 came home, and we drove on shore, but took no hurt, thanked 
 be God, for the ground is soft sand and ooze. This day the 
 people of the country came aboard of us, seeming very glad of 
 our coming, and brought green tobacco, and gave us of it for 
 knives and beads. They go in deer skins loose, well dressed. 
 They have yellow copper. They desire clothes, and are very 
 civil. They have great store of maize or Indian wheat, where- 
 of they make good bread. The country is full of great and 
 tall oaks. 
 
 Sept. 5. In the morning as soon as the day was light, the 
 wind ceased and the flood came. So we heaved off our ship 
 again into five fathoms water, and sent our boat to sound the 
 bay, and we found that there was three fathoms hard by the 
 southern shore. Our men went on land there, and saw great 
 store of men, women and children, who gave them tobacco at 
 their coming on land. So they went up into the woods, and 
 saw great store of very goodly oaks, and some currants. For 
 one of them came aboard and brought some dried, and gave me 
 some, which were sweet and good. This day many of the 
 people came aboard, some in mantles of feathers, and some in 
 skins of divers sorts of good furs. Some women also came to 
 us with hemp. They had red copper tobacco pipes, and other 
 things of copper they did wear about their necks. At night 
 they went on land again, so we rode very quiet, but durst not 
 trust them. 
 
 Sunday, Sept. 6. In the morning was fair weather, and our 
 master sent John Colman, wilh four other men in our boat over 
 to the north side, to sound the other river, being four leagues 
 from us,* They found by the way shoal water two fathoms ; 
 
 third, being tVie rorlliernmost, with a shoal bar before it, having but ten feet 
 ■water, was probably Rockaway Inlet, which is laid down on the map of De Laet 
 as a river intersecting Long Island, This inlet is barred at its mouth, wiih seven 
 feet of water at low tide. From thence Hudson apparently stood over towards 
 the Hook, where he anchored in five or six faihoms water, and sent the 
 small boat round the point to ascertain the soundings ; after its return he again 
 weighed anchor, and went inside of the Hook, where he rode in five faihoms, 
 haviiiK probably anchored in the road-stead called the Horseshoe, or Sandy 
 Hook bay. 
 
 • The Narrows. 
 
324 juet's journal 
 
 bnt at the north of the river eighteen, and twenty fathoms, and 
 and very good riding for ships ; and a narrow river to the west- 
 ward between two islands.* Tlic land they told us were as 
 pleasant with grass and flowers, and goodly trees, as ever they 
 had seen, and very sweet smells came from them. So they 
 went in two leagues and saw an open sea, and returned ; and 
 as they came back, they were set upon by two canoes, the one 
 having twelve, the other fourteen men. The night came on, 
 and it began to rain, so that their match went out ; and they had 
 one man slain in the fight, which was an Englishman, named 
 John Culmaii, with an arrow shot into his throat, and two more 
 hurt. It grew so dark that they could not fiind the ship that 
 night, but laboured to and Iro on their oars. They had so great 
 a stream that their grapnel would not hold them. 
 
 Sept. 7. Was fair, and by ten o'clock they returned aboard 
 the ship, and brought our dead man with them, whom we carried 
 on land and buried, and named the point after his name. Caiman's 
 Point. Then we hoisted in our boat, and raised her side with 
 waste boards for defence of our men. So we rode still all night, 
 having good regard to our watch. 
 
 Sept. 8. Was very fair weather, we rode still very quietly. 
 The people came aboard us, and brought tobacco and Indian 
 wheat, to exchange for knives and beads, and offered us no 
 violence. So we fitting up our boat did mark them, to see if 
 they would make any show of the death of our man ; which 
 they did not. 
 
 Sept. 9. Fair weather. In the morning, two great canoes 
 came aboard full of men ; the one with their bows and arrows, 
 and the other in show of buying of knives to betray us ; but 
 we perceived their intent. We took two of them to have kept 
 them, and put red coats on them, and would not suffer the other 
 to come near us. So they went on land, and two others came 
 aboard in a canoe ; we took the one and let the other go ; but 
 he which we had taken, got up and leaped over-board. Then 
 we weighed and went off into the channel of the river, and 
 anchored there all night. 
 
 Sept. 10. Fair weather, we rode till twelve o'clock. Then 
 we weighed and went over, and found it shoal all the middle of 
 the river, for we could find but two fathoms and a half, and 
 three fathoms for the space of a league ; then we came to three 
 fathoms, and four fathoms, and so to seven fathoms, and anchor- 
 ed, and rode all night in soft oozy ground. The bank is sand. 
 
 Sept. 1 1 . Was fair and very hot weather. At one o'clock 
 in the afternoon, we weighed and went into the river, the wind 
 at south-south-west, little wind. Our soundings were seven, 
 
 ♦ £ tatcn Island Sound, or the Kills. 
 
OP Hudson's voyage. 325 
 
 six, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, twelve, thirteen, and four- 
 teen fathoms. Then it shoaled again, and came to five lath- 
 oms. Then vi^e anchored and saw that it was a very good 
 harbour for all winds, and rode all night. The people ot the 
 country came aboard of us, making show of love, and gave us 
 tobacco and Indian wheat, and departed for that night ; but we 
 durst not trust them. 
 
 Sept. 12. Very fair and hot. In the afternoon at two 
 o'clock we weighed, the wind being variable, between the north 
 and the north-west ; so we turned into the river two leagues 
 and anchored. This morning at our first rode in the river, 
 there came eight and twenty canoes full of men, women and 
 children to betray us ; but we saw their intent, and sufi'ered 
 none of them to come aboard us. At twelve o'clock they de- 
 parted. They brought with them oysters and beans, whereof 
 we bought some. ^Ihey have great tobacco pipes of yellow 
 copper, and pots of earth to dress their meat in. It floweth 
 south-cast by south within. 
 
 Sunday, Sept. 13. Fair weather ; the wind northerly ; at 
 seven o'clock in the morning, as the flood came we weighed, 
 and turned four miles into the river ; the tide being done we 
 anchored.* Then there came four canoes aboard, but we suf- 
 fered none of them to come into our ship ; they brought very 
 great store of very good oysters aboard, which we bought for 
 trifles. In the night I set the variation of the compass, and 
 found it to be 13°. In the afternoon we weighed and turned in 
 with the flood two leagues and a half further and anchored 
 all night, and had five fathoms soft oozy ground, and had a high 
 point of land, which shewed out to us, bearing north by east 
 five leagues off" us. 
 
 Sept. l4. In the morning being very fair weather, the wind 
 south-east, we sailed up the river twelve leagues, and had five 
 fathoms and five fathoms and a quarter less, and came to a 
 strait between two points, and had eight, nine and ten fath- 
 oms ; and it trended north-east by north one league, and we 
 had twelve, thirteen and fourteen fathoms ; the river is a mile 
 broad ; there is very high land on both sides. Then we went 
 up north-west, a league and a half deep water ; then north-east 
 by north five miles ; then north-west by north two leagues and 
 anchored. The land grew very high and mountainous ;t the 
 river is full of fish. 
 
 • Hudson, having; left his anchorage in the lower bay onjlhe 10th, commenced 
 working his way up into the harbour. His progress was slow ; on the 11th 
 there was biu little wind, arid the two following days the wind was ahead, and 
 he could only move with the flood tide. It was not until the 14th, that he began 
 to ascend the river in earnest. 
 
 t Hudson was now entering the Highlands, and approaching West Point. 
 
326 juet's journ^x 
 
 Sept. 15. The morning was misty until the sun arose, then 
 it cleared ; so we weighed with the wind at south, and ran up 
 into the river twenty leagues, passing by high mountains. We 
 had a very good depth, as six, seven, eight, nine, ten, twelve, 
 and thirteen fathoms, and great store of salmon in the river. 
 This morning our two savages got out of a port and swam away. 
 After we were under sail they called to us in scorn. At night 
 we came to other mountains, which lie from the river's side ; 
 there we found very loving people, and very old men, where 
 we were well used. Our boat went to fish, and caught great 
 store of very good fish. 
 
 Sept. 16. The sixteenth, fair and very hot weather. In 
 the morning our boat went again to fishing, but could catch 
 but few, by reason their canoes had been there all night. This 
 morning the people came aboard and brought us ears of Indian 
 corn and pompions and tobacco, which we bought for trifles. 
 We rode still all day, and filled fresh water ; at night we weigh- 
 ed and went two leagues higher, and had shoal water ; so we 
 anchored till day. 
 
 Sept. 17. The seventeenth fair sun-shining weather, and 
 very hot. In the morning as soon as the sun was up, we set 
 sail and ran up six leagues higher, and found shoals in the mid- 
 dle of the channel, and small islands, but seven fathoms water 
 on both sides. Towards night we borrowed so Hear the shore 
 that we grounded : so we laid out our small anchor, and heaved 
 oflf again. Then we borrowed on the bank in the channel and 
 came aground again ; wdiile the flood ran we heaved off again 
 and anchored all night. 
 
 Friday, Sept. 18. The eighteenth in the morning was fair 
 weather, and we rode still. In the afternoon our master's mate 
 went on land with an old savage, a governor of the country, 
 who carried him to his house and made him good cheer.* 
 
 Sept. 19. The nineteenth was fair and hot weather. At the 
 flood, being near eleven o'clock, we weighed and ran higher 
 up two leagues above the shoals, and had no less water than 
 five fathoms : we anchored and rode in eight fathoms : the 
 people of the country came flocking aboard, and brought us 
 grapes and pompions, which we bought for trifles ; and many 
 brought us beavers' skins, and otters' skins, which we bought 
 for beads, knives and hatchets. So we rode there all niglit. 
 
 Sunday, Sept. 20. The twentieth in the morning was fair 
 weather. Our master's mate with four men more went up 
 
 * This was probably the visit more particuhrly ascribed by Hudson liimself, 
 as cited by De Laet, (ibove p. 300,) where the latitude of the place is stated to 
 haTe been 42° 18'. As the present ciiy of Hudson is in lat. 42° 14', the Chief 
 must have resided in that vicinity. Hudson remained there several days, (until 
 the 23d,) and then commenced his return. 
 
OF Hudson's voyage. 327 
 
 with our boat to sound the river, and found two leagues above 
 us but two fathoms water, and the channel very narrow, and 
 above that place seven or eight fathoms. Toward night they 
 returned : and we rode still all night. 
 
 Sept. 21. The twenty-first was fair weather, and the wind 
 all southerly : we determined yet once more to go farther up 
 into the river, to try what depth and breadth it did bear, but 
 much people resorted aboard, so we went not this day. Our 
 carpenter went on land and made a fore-yard, and our master 
 and his mate determined to try some of the chief men of the 
 country, whether they had any treachery in them. So they 
 took them down into the cabin and gave them so much wine 
 and aqua-vif(P, that they were all merry, and one of them had 
 his wife with him, who sat as modestly, as any of our 
 countrywomen would do in a strange place. In the end one of 
 them was drunk, who had been aboard of our ship all the 
 time that we had been there ; and that was strange to them ; 
 for they could not tell how to take it : the canoes and folks went 
 all on shore, but some of them came again and brought stropes 
 of beads ; some had six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and gave him. 
 So he slept all night quietly. 
 
 Sept. 22. The two and twentieth was fair weather : in the 
 morning our master's mate and four more of the company went 
 up with our boat to sound the river higher up. The people of 
 the country came not aboard till noon, but when they came and 
 saw the savages well, they were glad. So at three o'clock in 
 the afternoon they came aboard and brought tobacco and more 
 beads and gave them to our master, and made an oration, and 
 shewed him all the country round about. Then they sent one 
 of their company on land, who presently returned and brought 
 a great platter full of venison, dressed by themselves, and they 
 caused him to eat with them : then they made him reverence 
 and departed all save the old man that lay aboard. This night 
 at ten o'clock, our boat returned in a shower of rain from sound- 
 ing of the river, and found it to be at an end for shipping to go 
 in. For they had been up eight or nine leagues, and found 
 but seven foot water, and unconstant soundings.* 
 
 • The boat probably reached Castle Island, (now called Patroon's Island, just 
 below Albany,) where a rude fortification was erected in 1614-5. It is supposed, 
 however, by Moulton, {Hist. J\rtw York, 246,) ihat the ship itself proceeded 
 to Albany, and the boat to the forks of the Mohawk, where the village of Water- 
 ford, in the town of Half-J\Ioon, is row situated. The latitude of Albany is 
 42° 39'; and De Laet, who is followed by Ebelirig and Lambrechtsen, say« 
 Hudson ascended to la',. 43 °, or ahout twenty-five miles above Albany, and 
 fifteen above Waterford. Another work cited by INIoulton, (a Collection of Dutch 
 Enst-Jndia Voyages,) gives 42° 40' as the height to which Hudson went up, but 
 whether the shi[)'s or the boat's progress is intended, does not appear. Mr. 
 Yates, in a MS. letter also quoted by Moulton, decides in favor of the former, 
 and adds that the boat only proceeded as far as Waterford. But this last sup- 
 
828 juet's journal 
 
 Wednesday, Sept. 23. The three and twentieth, fair wea- 
 ther. At twelve o'clock we weighed and went down two 
 leagues to a shoal that had two channels, one on the one side, 
 and another on the other, and had little wind, whereby the tide 
 laid us upon it. So there we sat on the ground the space of 
 an hour till the flood came. Then we had a little gale of wind 
 at the west ; so we got our ship into deep water, and rode all 
 night very well. 
 
 Sept. 24. The four and twentieth was fair weather; the 
 wind at the norlh-west, we weighed and went down the river 
 seven or eight leagues ; and at half ebb we came on ground on 
 a bank of ooze in the middle of the river, and sat there till the 
 flood ; then we went on land and gathered good store of chest- 
 nuts. At ten o'clock we came off into deep water, and an- 
 chored. 
 
 Sept. 25. The five and twentieth was fair weather, and the 
 wind at south a stiff gale. We rode still, and went on land to 
 walk on the west side of the river, and found good ground for 
 corn, and other garden herbs, with great store of goodly oaks, 
 and walnut trees, and chestnut trees, yew trees, and trees of 
 sweet wood in great abundance, and great store of slate for 
 houses, and other good stones. 
 
 Sept. 26. The six and twentieth was fair weather, and the 
 wind at south a stiff gale ; we rode still. In the morning our 
 carpenter went on land with our master's mate and four more 
 of our company to cut wood. This morning two canoes came 
 up the river from the place where we first found loving people, 
 and in one of them was the old man that had lain aboard of us at 
 the other place. He brought another old man with him who 
 brought more strips of beads and gave them to our master, and 
 showed him all the country there about, as though it were at 
 
 position is directly at variance with the statement in the Journal, that the boat 
 went np eight or nine leagues farther than llie ship. 
 
 Ship naviD;ation in the river extends five or six miles above the city of Hud- 
 son, to about lat. 42° 18'; beyond this point vessels drawing more than six 
 feet of water are generally unable to ascend. Moulton supposes the Half-Moon 
 to have been of the small class of vessels, of less burthen than sloops plying be- 
 tween Troy and New.. York. But it will be recollected that on making Sandy 
 Hook, EJudson declined entering what appeared to be the mouth of a large river, 
 because " it had a very shoal bar before it, where they had but ten feet ivater." Is it 
 probable then, that he ventured or was able to pursue his course beyond the 
 point indicated as the head of ship navigation on the river, when he would 
 encounter shoals of only six or seven feet at high water ? 
 
 The chief difficulty is with De Laet's statement that Hudson went up to lat. 
 43°. This, however is made in thecourseof hisgeneral relation, when he would 
 be likely to use round numbers, as on p. 298. He afterwards quotes Hudson's 
 Journal which mentions 42° 18' as the latitude of the place where he visited the 
 hospitable old Chief, and the onlv visit of the kind nolle* d by Juet occurred 
 on the 18th, near the termination of the ship's upward progress. The boat was 
 sent up eight or nine leagues further, uud probably reached Castle Island. 
 
OF HUDSON S VOYAGE. 329 
 
 his command. So he made the two old men dine with him, 
 and the old man's wife ; for they brought two old women and 
 two young maidens of the age of sixteen or seventeen years 
 with them, who behaved themselves very modestly. Our mas- 
 ter gave one of the old men a knife, and they gave him and us to- 
 bacco ; and at one o'clock they departed down the river, making 
 signs that we should come down to them, for we were within 
 two leagues of the place where they dwelt. 
 
 Sunday, Sept. 27. The seven and twentieth, in the morn- 
 ing, was fair weather, but much wind at the north ; we weigh- 
 ed and set our fore-topsail, and our ship would not float, but ran 
 on the oozy bank at half ebb. We laid out anchor to heave her 
 off, but could not ; so we sat from half ebb to half flood, then we 
 set our foresail and main-topsail, and got down six leagues. The 
 old man came aboard, and would have had us anchor and go on 
 land to eat with him, but the wind being fair we would not 
 yield to his request, so he left us, being very sorrowful for our 
 departure. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the wind came to 
 the south south-west ; so we made a bord or two, and anchored 
 in fourteen fathoms water. Then our boat went on shore to 
 fish right against the ship. Our master's mate and boatswain, 
 and three more of the compan)'-, M'ent on land to fish, but could 
 not find a good place. They took four or five and twenty 
 mullets, breams, basses and barbils, and returned in an hour. 
 We rode still all night. 
 
 Sept. 28. The eight and twentieth being fair weatlier, as 
 soon as the day was light we weighed at half ebb, and turned 
 dow^n two leagues below water, for the stream doth run the last 
 quarter ebb, then we anchored till high water. At three o'clock 
 in the afternoon we weighed and turned down three leagues until 
 it was dark, then we anchored. 
 
 Sept. 29. The nine and twentieth was dry close weather, 
 tlie wind at south and south by west ; we weighed early in the 
 morning, and turned down three leagues by a low water, and 
 anchored at the lower end of the long reach, for it is six leagues 
 long. Then there came certain Indians in a canoe to us, but 
 would not come aboard. After dinner there came the canoe 
 with other men, whereof three came aboard us ; they brought 
 Indian wheat which we bought for trifles. At three o'clock in 
 the afternoon we weighed, as soon as the ebb came, and turned 
 down to the edge of the mountains, or the northermost of the 
 mountains, and anchored, because the high land hath many 
 points and a narrow channel, and hath many eddy winds ; so 
 we rode quietly all night in seven fathoms water.* 
 
 * This was probably in the vicinity of the present town of Newburgh. Ilud- 
 son remained there nearly two days, fearing to enter the Highlands on account 
 of the violence of the winds. 
 42 
 
330 juet's JouR^(AL 
 
 Sept. 30. The thirlielh was fair weather, and the wind at 
 south-east a stiff gale between the mountains. We rode still 
 the afternoon. The people of the country came aboard us, 
 and brought some small skins with them, which we bought for 
 knives and trifles. This is a very pleasant place to build a 
 town on. The road is very near, and very good for all winds, 
 save an east north-east wind. The mountains look as if some 
 metal or mineral were in them ; for the trees that grew on 
 tliem were all blasted, and some of them barren with few or no 
 trees on them. The people brought a stone aboard like to 
 emery, (a stone used by glaziers to cut glass,) it would cut iron 
 or steel ; yet being bruised small, and water put to it, it made 
 a colour like black lead glistering ; it is also good for painters' 
 colours. At three o'clock they departed, and we rode still all 
 night. 
 
 Tliursday, Oct. 1 . The first of October, fair weather, the 
 wind variable between west and the north. In the morning 
 we weighed at seven o'clock with the ebb, and got down below 
 the mountains, which was seven leagues ; then it fell calm and 
 the flood was come, and we anchored at twelve o'clock. The 
 people of the mountains came aboard us, wondering at our ship 
 and weapons. We bought some small skins of them for trifles. 
 This afternoon one canoe kept hanging under our stern with 
 one man in it, which we covfld not keep from thence, who got 
 up by our rudder to the cabin window, and stole out my pil- 
 low, and two shirts, and two bandeleeres. Our master's mate 
 shot at him, and struck him on the breast, and killed him. 
 Whereupon all the rest fled away, sonie in their canoes, and 
 so leaped out of them into the water. We manned our boat 
 and got our things again. Then one of them that swam got 
 hold of our boat, thinking to overthrow it ; but our cook took a 
 sword and cut off" one of his hands, and he was drowned. By 
 this time the ebb was come, and we weighed and got down two 
 leagues — by that time it was dark; so A\e anchored in four 
 fathoms water, and rode well, 
 
 Oct. 2. The second, fair weather. At break of day we 
 weighed, the wind being at north-west, and got down seven 
 leagues ; then the flood was come strong, so we anchored. 
 Then came one of the savages that swam away from us at our 
 going up the river, with many others, thinking to betray us. 
 But we perceived their intent, and suflered none of them to 
 enter our ship. Whereupon two canoes full of men, with their 
 bows and arrows, shot at us after our stern, in recompense 
 whereof we discharged six muskets, and killed two or three of 
 them. Then above a hundred of them came to a point of land 
 to shoot at us. There I shot a falcon* at them, and killed two 
 
 • A sort of cannon. 
 
OF HUDSON S VOYAGE. 331 
 
 of them, whereupon the rest fled into the woods. Yet they 
 manned off anotlier canoe with nine or ten men, which came 
 to meet us ; so I shot at it also a falcon, and shot it through, 
 and killed one of them. Then our men with their muskets 
 killed three or four more of them. So they went their way. 
 Within a while after, we got down two leagues beyond that 
 place, and anchored in a bay clear from all danger of them on 
 the other side of the river, where we saw a very good piece 
 of ground ; and hard by it there was a cliff that looked of the 
 colour of white green, as though it were either a copper or sil- 
 ver mine ; and I think it to be one of them by the trees that 
 grow upon it ; for they be all burned, and the other places are 
 green as grass ; it is on that side of the river that is called 
 Majina-hata. There we saw no people to trouble us, and rode 
 quietly all night, but had much wind and rain. 
 
 Oct. 3. The third was very stormy, the wind at east north- 
 east. In the morning, in a gust of wind and rain, our anchor 
 came home, and we drove on ground, but it was oozy. Then 
 as we were about to heave out an anchor, the wind came to the 
 north north-west, and drove us off again. Then we shot an 
 anchor, and let it fall in four fathoms water, and weighed the 
 other. We had much wind and rain with thick weather, so we 
 rode still all night. 
 
 Oct. 4. The fourth was fair weather, and the wind at north 
 north-west : we weighed and came out of the river, into which 
 we had run so far. Within a while after, we came out also of 
 the great mouth of the great river, that runneth up to the north- 
 west, borrowing upon the more northern side of the same, 
 thinking to have deep water, for wc had sounded a great way 
 with our boat at our first going in, and found seven, six, and 
 five fathoms. So we came out that way, but we were deceiv- 
 ed, for we had but eight feet and a half water ; and so to three, 
 five, three, and two fathoms and a half ; and then three, four, 
 five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten fathoms ; and by twelve 
 o'clock we were clear of all the inlet.* Then we took in our 
 boat, and set our mainsail and spritsail, and our topsails, and 
 steered away east south-east, and south-east by east, off into 
 the main sea ; and the land on the southern side of the bay or 
 inlet did bear at noon west and by south four leagues from us. 
 
 Oct. 5. The fifth was fair weather, and the wind variable 
 betv^reen the north and the east. We held on our course south- 
 east by east. At noon I observed and found our height to be 
 39 degrees 30 minutes. Our compass varied six degrees to the 
 west. 
 
 • It would appear that Hudson left the harbour by the Kills, although that 
 passage can scarcely be considered the " great mouth " of the river. 
 
332 juet's journal. 
 
 We continued our course toward England \Yithout seeing 
 any land by the way, all the rest of this month of October ; and 
 on the seventh day of November, stilo novo, being Saturday, 
 by the grace of God, we safely arrived in the range of Dart- 
 mouth in Devonshire, in the year 1609.* 
 
 » If Hudson put in at an English port on his return, (which is doubtful,) he 
 very soon repaired to Amsterdam. De Laet says " he returned to Amsterdam 
 with the report of his discoveries, and in ihe following year, 1610, some mer- 
 chants again sent a ship thither," &.C., Supra, p. 291. Other statements, that 
 he was detained in England, dec, seem to be unsupported. 
 
IX 
 
 EXPEDITION 
 
 or 
 
 Captaix SAMUEL ARGALL, 
 
 Afterwards Governor of Mrginia, Knight, <tc. 
 
 TO 
 
 THE FRENCH SETTLEMENTS IN ACADIA, 
 
 AND 
 
 MANHATTAN ISLAND, 
 
 A.D. 16 13. 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
ARGALL'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 The earliest indication of a permanent settlement within 
 the present limits of New-York has been generally traced by- 
 historical writers to the alleged erection of a fort near Albany, 
 in 1614. On a small alluvial island, one hundred and fifty miles 
 above the mouth of the river, the foundations not only of a 
 flourishing city, but of a great commonwealth, are supposed to 
 have been laid by a few Dutch adventurers whose only aim 
 was a gainful traffic with the natives of the country. Such a 
 settlement was indeed made, but there seems to have been an 
 error in regarding it as prior to all others. It is known that the 
 Dutch visited the river the year after its discovery, and that 
 they continued to frequent it from year to year for the purposes 
 of trade, until it was found necessary to erect forts for their 
 protection. What their establishments were before the build- 
 ing of the forts, is not stated by any of the Dutch writers with- 
 in our knowledge ; but undoubted though incidental authority 
 enables us to form a corect idea of the state of things on Man- 
 hattan Island in 1613, or four years after the discovery of the 
 river. We refer to the accounts of the expedition of Captain 
 Samuel Argall against the French colonists of Acadia, who, as 
 he was returning to Virginia, made a passing visit to the Dutch 
 on " Manhattas Isle." 
 
 The following brief notice of this event is taken from an 
 English publication, containing a description of the country 
 granted by Charles I. to Sir Edmund Ployden, under the name 
 of " the Province of New Albion," in 1634, embracing an exten- 
 sive territory north of Maryland.* 
 
 *' Then Virginia being granted, settled, and all that part now 
 called Maryland, New Albion, and New Scotland, (Nova-Sco- 
 tia,) being part of Virginia, Sir Thomas Dale, and Sir Samuel 
 Argall, Captains and Counsellors of Virginia, hearing of divers 
 aliens and intruders, and traders without license, with a vessel 
 and forty soldiers, landed at a place called Mount Desert in 
 Nova-Scotia, near St. John's river, or Tweed, possessed by the 
 French ; there killed some French, took away their guns and 
 
 * Entitled, «' A Description of the Province of New Albion ; and a direc- 
 tion for adventurers with small stock, to get two for one, and good land free- 
 ly ; and for gentlemen and all servants, labourers, and artificers to live plen- 
 tifully," &c. " Printed in the year 1648." Reprinted at Washington, D. C. 
 iy P. Force, 1837. 
 
argall's expedition. 335 
 
 dismantled the Fort, and in their return landed at Manhatas 
 Isle in Hudson's river, where they found four houses built, and 
 a pretended Dutch governor under the West India Company of 
 Amsterdam share or part, who kept trading boats and truck- 
 ing with the Indians ; but the said Knights told him their com- 
 mission was to expel him and all alien intruders on his Majes- 
 ty's dominion and territories ; this being part of Virginia, and 
 this river an English discovery of Hudson, an Englishman. 
 The Dutchman contented them for their charge and voyage, 
 and by his letter sent to Virginia and recorded, submitted him- 
 self, company and plantation to his Majesty, and to the Go- 
 vernor and government of Virginia ; but the next pretended 
 Dutch Governor, in maps and printed cards (charts), calling 
 this part New-Netherlands, failing in paying of customs at his 
 return to Plymouth in England, was there with his beaver 
 goods and person attached to his damage £1500. Where- 
 upon, at the suit of the Governor and Council of Virginia, his 
 now Majesty, by his embassador in Holland, complaining of 
 the said aliens' intrusion on such his territories and domains, 
 the said Lords, the States of Holland, by their public instru- 
 ment declared, that they did not avow, nor would protect them, 
 being a private party of the Amsterdam West India Company, 
 but left them to liis Majesty's will and mercy ; whereupon three 
 several orders from the comicil table and commissions have 
 been granted for the expelling and removing them thence, of 
 which they taking notice, and knowing their weakness and 
 want of victuals, have offered to sell the same for £2500. 
 And lastly, taking advantage of our present war and distraction, 
 now ask £5000, and have lately offered many affronts and 
 damages to his Majesty's subjects in New England ; and in 
 general endanger all his Majesty's adjoining countries most 
 wickedly, feloniously, and traitorously, and contrary to the marine 
 and admiral laws of all Christians, sell by wholesale guns, 
 powder, shot and ammunition to the Indians, instructing them 
 in the use of our fights and arms ; insomuch as two thousand 
 Indians by them armed, Mohacks, Raritans, and some of Long 
 Isle, with their own guns so sold them, fall into war with the 
 Dutch, destroyed all their scattering farms and boors, forcing 
 them all to retire to their upper fort, fort}^ leagues up that river, 
 and to Manhatas ; for all or most retreating to Manhatas, it is 
 noio a pretty town of trade, having more English than 
 Dutchr* 
 
 It will be noticed that the date of Argall's expedition is not 
 
 The writer, Beauchamp Plantagenet, Fsq,, (as he is styled,) was one of a 
 company formed for the purpose of planting a colony in the province of New 
 Albion, and as the grant to Ployden covered the greater part of New-Nelher- 
 lands, his animosity to the Dutch is easily explained.^ Sec a copy of this grant 
 ill Hazard's State Papers, i. 160—170. 
 
336 argall's expedition. 
 
 given by this author, but he states the circumstances attend- 
 ing the visit to our river more particularly than any other 
 Englisli writer of that period. The officer whom he styles 
 " a pretended Dutch governor," was without doubt the Opper- 
 hoopman, or superintendent of the trade on the river ; * and 
 the company called " the West India Company of Amster- 
 dam," v^^as the association of merchants afterwards incorpora- 
 ted under that name. No mention is made of any fort upon 
 the island, and as none was erected before 1614 or 1615, this 
 circumstance of itself would render it probable that Argall's 
 visit was made at a prior date. 
 
 As the expedition was fitted out from the Virginia colony, 
 for the purpose of vindicating the English title to the country, 
 it would be natural to look to that quarter for a particular ac- 
 count of it. But there seems to have been a studied conceal- 
 ment on the part of the early writers upon the affairs of that 
 colony ill i elation to this matter, which can only be explained 
 on the ground that the wanton and destructive attack in a time 
 of profound peace, without notice of any kind, on the infant set- 
 tlements of the French colonists in Acadia, was viewed as at 
 least impolitic, and likely to lead to serious consequences be- 
 tween the two governments, if openly proclaimed or justified. 
 For this, or some other reason, only incidental or meagre no- 
 tices of the expedition occur in the Virginia WTiters. Purchas 
 has the following reference to the enterprise without date : — 
 " Captain Argall's northward discoveries towards Sacadehoc, 
 and beyond to Port Royal, Sancta Crux, and thereabout, may 
 not be concealed ; in which his adventures, if he had brought 
 home no commodity to the colony, (which yet he did very 
 much, both of apparel, victuals, and many other necessaries,) the 
 honour which he hath done unto our nation by displanting the 
 French, then beginning to seat and fortify within our limits, 
 and taking of their ship and pinnace, which he brought to James- 
 town, would have been reward enough for his pains, and will 
 ever speak loud his honor and approved valour."! 
 
 In another place the same author describes more at length 
 the controversies with the French in respect to their title to the 
 country, but nothing is said of the visit of Argall to our river.]: 
 Smith, whose history of Virginia w^as published about the same 
 period, is equally unsatisfactory ; he says — 
 
 " Sir Thomas Dale, understanding there was a plantation of 
 Frenchmen in the north part of Virginia, about the degrees of 
 45, sent Captain Argall to Port Royal and Sancta Crux, where 
 
 * Hendrick Christiaens is the first commander on the river mentioned by the 
 Dutch writers. See above, p. 299. 
 t Pilgrims, 1. ix. c. 10. 
 X Ibid.i. ix. c. 19 
 
argall's expedition. 337 
 
 nnding the Frenchmen abroad, dispersed in the woods, surpris- 
 ed their ship and pinnace, which was but newly come from 
 France, wherein was much good apparel and other provision, 
 which he brought to Jamestown, but the men escaped and liv- 
 ed among the savages of those countries."* 
 
 This is the only notice Smith takes of the expedition, and it 
 will be seen that he is mistaken in supposing the French colo- 
 nists to have escaped, as several of them were carried to Vir- 
 ginia. It may be likewise inferred from his statement, that the 
 enterprise was undertaken during the administration of Sir 
 Thomas Dale, as governor of Virginia, which would bring it 
 within the year 1614 ; but this is equally erroneous, as the 
 most conclusive evidence exists that it took place in the pre- 
 ceding year, imder the administration of Sir Thomas Gates. 
 Smith had no connexion at that lime with the Virginia colony, 
 having left it several years before, and this portion of his his- 
 tory is compiled from the statements of others, instead of being 
 ■the result of his own observation and knowledge, as is the case 
 with the earlier part of it. It is remarked by a careful writer, 
 that Smith is " an unquestionable authority for what is related, 
 whilst he staid in the country," although " vastly confused and 
 perplexed ;" but " the latter part of his history * * * is liable 
 to some suspicion. No doubt is entertained of his integrity, 
 but being himself absent in those times upon other projects, 
 he depended upon others for his account of things."! 
 
 The work from which subsequent historians seem to have 
 chiefly taken their accounts of Argall's visit to the Hudson, is 
 Heylin's Cosmography, published in 1652, — a work of great 
 learning and of high reputation at that period. After mentioning 
 the discovery of the river and its subsequent occupation by the 
 Dutch, he adds — " But they were hardly warm in their new 
 habitations, Avhen Sir Samuel Argall, governor of Virginia, spe- 
 cially so called, (having dispossessed the French of that part 
 of Canada, now called Nova-Scotia, An. 1613,) disputed the 
 possession with them ; alleging that Hudson, under whose sale 
 they claimed that country, being an Englishman, could not 
 alienate or dismember it, (being but a part or province of Vir- 
 ginia,) from the crown thereof. Hereupon the Dutch gover- 
 nor submits himself and his plantation to his Majesty of Eng- 
 land, and the governor of Virginia, for and under him. But a 
 new governor being sent from Amsterdam, in the year next 
 following, not only failed in paving the conditioned tributes, hut 
 began to fortify himself, and entitle those of Amsterdam to a 
 just propriety."! 
 
 * General Hist, of Virginia. Richmond edit. ii. 18' 
 tSith, Hist, of Virginia, Intrnd. IV, Wiiliamsburg, 1747. 
 JBook 4th, pan 2d, p. 3. Siith, pp. 132-3, appears to liave drawn his ac- 
 count of the expedition from Smith andHeyiin. 
 43 
 
338 argall's expedition. 
 
 Several errors occur in this extract that have been repeat- 
 ed by many succeeding writers. Argall was not governor of 
 Virginia before 1617, nor did he receive the honour of knight- 
 hood until a still later period. The idea of a sale of the coun- 
 try by Hudson to his Dutch employers, is too absurd to require 
 contradiction. 
 
 Argall made several voyages to the colony in command of 
 a ship belonging to the Virginia Company. It appears from a 
 letter addressed by him to a friend in England, dated June, 
 1C13, that he had arrived in the preceding year ; and in the 
 spring of that 3'ear, he w^as employed in exploring the eastern 
 side of Chesapeake bay in a shallop. During this time, his 
 ship was left to be got ready for a fishing voyage, and on his 
 return, May 12, 1613, he completed his preparations, and at 
 the date of his letter was about sailing on his intended voy- 
 age. He says, 
 
 " Thus having put my ship in hand to be fitted for an intend- 
 ed fishing voyage, I left that business to be followed by my 
 master, wath a ginge (gang) of men, and my lieutenant forti- 
 fied on shore, with another ginge to fell timber and cleave planks, 
 to build a fishing boat ; my ensign, with another ginge, was 
 employed in the frigate* for getting of fish at Cape Charles, 
 and transporting it to Henry's town, for the relief of such men 
 as were there ; and myself, with a fourth ginge, departed out of 
 the river in my shallop, the first of May, for to discover the 
 east side of our bay, which 1 found to have many small rivers 
 in it, and very good harbours for boats and barges, but not for 
 ships of any great burthen. * * * So having discovered along 
 the shore, some forty leagues northward, I returned again to 
 my ship the 12th May, and hasted forward my business left 
 in hand at my departure ; and fitted up my ship, and built my 
 fishing boat, and made ready to take the first opportunity of the 
 wind for my fishing voyage, of which I beseech God of his 
 mercy to bless us."t 
 
 A contemporary French author, Champlain, (the founder of 
 Quebec,) states that the English of Virginia were accustomed 
 at that period to pursue the cod fishery sixteen leagues from 
 the island of Monts Deserts,X and that a party arrived there 
 for that purpose in the year 1613, commanded by Samuel Ar- 
 gall, wdio being overtaken by a storm were driven on shore 
 
 • Small light vessels were then \.txmtA frigates, the present use of the word 
 being; of more recent origin. 
 
 t Piit?rims, 1. ix. c. 9. 
 
 i A large and lofiy island on the coast of Maine, n few miles east of Pen- 
 obscot bay, still called Mount Desert, k is well settled and contains two 
 towns, named Eden and Mount Desert. 
 
argall's expedition. 339 
 
 near Pemptegoet.* Here they were told by the Indians that 
 a French ship was at the island of Monts Deserts, whereup- 
 on Argall, being in want of provisions, and his men in a shat- 
 tered, half-naked condition, resolved after ascertaining the 
 strength of the intruders to attack them. The French seeing 
 a ship approaching under full sail, and discovering it to be an 
 armed Englishman, without being aware that ten others were 
 following, prepared to defend themselves. After a short resist- 
 ance, being overpowered by a superior force, the French yield- 
 ed, with the loss of a Jesuit father, Gilbert du Thet, who was 
 killed by a musket ball. Several others were wounded, and 
 all but five were made prisoners. The English then took pos- 
 session of the French ship, and plundered if of whatever they 
 could find, not excepting the commission from the king of 
 France which the commander. La Saussaye, had in his ca 
 bin. 
 
 Such is the statement of Champlain. Another French wri- 
 ter of the same period, Lescarbot, relates the affair in a man- 
 ner less favourable to his countrymen. He says that the French 
 vessel having recently arrived at Pemplegoel, information was 
 given by the natives to some Englishmen who happened to be 
 on the coast, and that the latter going to ascertain whether it 
 was friend or foe, Gilbert du Thet, the Jesuit, on discovering 
 them, cried out, ^^ Jinn, arm; it is the English!" and there- 
 upon opened a fire upon them, which was vigorously re- 
 turned, and with such effect that the English, having killed 
 three persons, (of which number was Gilbert du Thet,) and 
 wounded five, boarded the ship, and having plundered it, land- 
 ed upon the island, where they met with no resistance. The 
 French commander who was on shore at the time of the at- 
 tack, had fled with fourteen of his men to a remote part of the 
 island, but the next day came and surrendered himself on re 
 ceiving an assurance of safety. On being required to show the 
 commission under which he sailed, he failed to produce it, and 
 the English therefore adjudged him to be a pirate, and caused 
 his effects to be distributed among the soldiers. The English 
 captain, continues Lescarbot, was named Samuel Argall, and 
 his lieutenant, William Turnel. Having put the greater part 
 of the prisoners on board a fishing vessel, and set them at liber- 
 ty, Argall returned to Virginia, taking with him three Jesuit 
 priests, and fifteen other persons, among whom are named hCa- 
 pitainede ?narme, CharlesFleuri d'Abbeville, and M. La Motte.f 
 
 • The French name for the Penobscot. Champlain, Voyages de la Nou- 
 telle France, 105. (Ed. 1632.) 
 
 t Hist, de la Noiivelle France, par Marc Lescarbot, Avocat en Parlement, 
 et temoin oculairc d'une partie des choses ici recit'es, Paris, 1618. 1, v. c. 13. 
 This writer was no friend of the Jesuits, 
 
340 argall's expedition. 
 
 The party thus summarily dispersed by Argall, had left 
 France for the purpose of establisiiing a colony within the 
 limits of Acadia, under the auspices of the Jesuits, at the ex- 
 pense of Madame de Guercheville, a wealthy French lady, 
 who was zealous for the conversion of the American natives lo 
 Christianity. They had arrived at La Heve, a port in Nova- 
 Scotia, on the 16th of May, 1613, and proceeded from thence 
 to Port Royal, where they took on board two Jesuit missiona- 
 ries who had incurred the displeasure of Biencourt, the go- 
 vernor of that colony. Leaving Port Royal, they went to the 
 island of Monts Deserts, where they resolved to fix their settle- 
 ment. The pilot conducted them to the east end of the island, 
 where they set up a cross, celebrated mass, and named the 
 place St. Sauveur. Scarcely, says Champlain, had they be- 
 gun to provide themselves with accommodations in this retreat, 
 and to clear the land for the purpose of improvement, w^ien the 
 English came, and frustrated their benevolent designs in the 
 manner already described. " The cross around which the faith- 
 ful had gathered was thrown down,"* and the liberal supplies 
 which they had brought from France for the intended colony, 
 the offerings of pious zeal, were plundered, and carried away to 
 minister to the wants of the English heretics in Viro-inia. 
 
 The success of Argall, and the relief afforded by the booty 
 he brought home to a starving colony, stimulated the authorities 
 of Virginia to a fresh enterprise against their French neigh- 
 bours, under the pretext of defending the English title to the 
 country founded on the discovery of the Cabots. The settle- 
 ments of St. Croix and Port Royal were commenced before the 
 English had planted a single permanent colon}^ in any part of 
 the new world, although more than a century had elapsed since 
 the discovery on which they based their claims to the whole 
 North American continent north of Florida. To follow up the 
 plunder and destruction of St. Sauveur by an immediate attack 
 upon those places, was the policy of the Virginia government, 
 and an armed expedition, consisting of three vessels, command- 
 ed by Argall, sailed forthwith for Acadia. Touching at the 
 scene of their late outrage on the island of Monts D6serts, they 
 set up there a cross bearing the name of the king of Great 
 Britain, instead of the one erected by the Jesuits ; and then 
 sailed to St. Croix, where they destroyed all the remains of a 
 former settlement. Crossing the bay of Fundy, they next land- 
 ed at Port Royal, (now Annapolis, Nova-Scotia,) and finding 
 the town deserted, the governor being absent, and the peo- 
 ple at work several miles from the fort, they met with no re- 
 sistance in pillaging and stripping the place of whatever it con- 
 
 * Bancroft, i. 148. 
 
argall's expedition. 341 
 
 tained, loading their ships with the spoil, and destroying what 
 they could not carry a.way. The settlement had existed eight 
 or nine years, and had cost its founders more than one hun- 
 dred thousand crowns in money, beside the labour and anxiety 
 that necessarily attended their efforts to plant civilization upon 
 a desolate coast. 
 
 At the time of its destruction, Port Royal was under the go- 
 vernment of Charles de Biencourt, as vice-admiral and lieu- 
 tenant-general of New-France, whose unkindness to the Jesuit 
 missionaries excited their enmity to such a degree that they 
 were accused of having piloted the English expedition on this 
 occasion. The charge is denied by Champlain, but countenan- 
 ced by Lescarbot, who publishes at length the formal complaint 
 of the Sieur de Poutrincourt, (one of the founders of the colo- 
 ny and the father of Biencourt,) addressed to a French admi- 
 ralty court, in which he distinctly charges Biart, one of the 
 priests who accompanied Captain Argall to Virginia, with hav- 
 ing plotted the destruction of Port Royal. This document is 
 dated July 18, 1614 ; and an answer was put in by the accus- 
 ed two years after. Without entering into the merits of the 
 controversy, it is sufficient for our purpose to refer to it as es- 
 tablishing the dates of the events described by the complain- 
 ant. Poutrincourt says, that he left Rochelle on the last day 
 of the preceding December, [1613,] in a vessel of seventy tons 
 or thereabout, for Port Royal, where he arrived on the seven- 
 teenth of March, and was informed by his son Biencourt, the 
 lieutenant-general of New-France, that the governor of Vir- 
 ginia had sent thither a ship of two or three hundred tons, 
 another of one hundred tons or thereabout, and a large bark, 
 with a number of men, who, on the day of the feast of Allsaints 
 last, [the 1st of November, 1613,] landed, and under the guid- 
 ance of the said Biart, plundered the habitations of himself and 
 the other French people who abode there, &c.* 
 
 In was on his return from the last expedition, that Argall is 
 stated by the English writers to have visited the Dutch settle- 
 ment at the mouth of the Hudson ; and as, according to both 
 Champlain and Lescarbot, he left Port Royal on the ninth of 
 November, he probably arrived here during the same month. 
 The three vessels composing the expedition sailed together 
 from Port Royal, but a violent storm soon after dispersed them ; 
 the bark was never again heard from ; the ship containing 
 the Jesuits arrived in England by the way of the Azores, 
 
 * Lescarbot, Iv. c. 14. Champlain says the English compelled an Indian to 
 act as their guide, the P^rench declining the service. 1. iii. c. 1. Charlevoix, him- 
 self a Jesuit, does not allude to the charges agninst Biart, but on the otlier hand 
 describes him as a model of apostolic sanctity, healing the sick by miraculous 
 power, &c. Nouv. France, i. 134. 
 
342 argall's expedition. 
 
 while Argall reached Virginia in safety. Il is not improbable 
 that the latter was compelled to make our harbour by stress of 
 weather, and unexpectedly discovered the small establishment 
 of the Dutch merchants upon Manhattan Island. Unable to re- 
 sist a large armed ship, it is not strange that Hendrick Chris- 
 tiaens, or whoever had the direction of affairs, endeavoured to 
 propitiate the insolent and rapacious Englishman, flushed with 
 conquests made in time of peace, over infant colonies yet strug- 
 gling into existence, and promised all that was desired of him.* 
 It is said that the former, not only " submitted himself and co- 
 lony to the King of England, and to the governor of Virginia 
 imder him," but agreed also to pay an annual tribute as an ac- 
 knowledgment of the English title. But information having 
 been sent to Holland, after the departure of Argall, another su- 
 perintendent arrived the following year, who refused to pay 
 the tribute, and " also began to fortify andput himself into a 
 posture of defence ;" and it is added, that " the claim of the 
 English being either wholly waived for the present, or but 
 faintly pursued, they [the Dutch] the same year made a firm 
 settlement, which soon became very flourishing and populous."! 
 It thus indisputably appears, that, in 1613, four years only 
 after the discovery of the river by Hudson, a few houses had 
 been erected on Manhattan Island, the germ of the present city 
 of New-York. Alarmed by the threats of their Enghsh visitors 
 in that year, the Dutch merchants took immediate measures to 
 protect their trade by building forts, both at that place, and on 
 Castle Island, near Albany, in 1614 or 1615, as already relat- 
 ed. A few years later, in 1623, the sites of the forts appeared 
 to have been changed. Fort Amsterdam was then erected near 
 the ground now known a sthe Battery, on the southern extremity 
 of Manhattan Island ; and Fort Orange was built on the main 
 land, within the limits of the present citv of Albany. Notwith- 
 standing the formidable pretensions of the English colonists of 
 Virginia, no subsequent attempt was made from that quarter to 
 reduce the Dutch settlements under their jurisdiction ; but a 
 commercial intercourse sprang up between the two colonies, 
 that proved equally advantageous to both. 
 
 Editor. 
 
 * During tliR short lime that Captain A r5:all was Deputy-Governor of Virginia, 
 lie contrived by fraud and extortion to amass considerable wealtii, at the ex- 
 pense of the colony, and rendered liis government generally odious by tyran- 
 nical and oppressive conduct. Stith. 150. 
 
 t Stith. 133. 
 
X 
 
 LETTER 
 
 THOMAS DERJ\IER, 
 
 DESCRIBING 
 
 HIS PASSAGE FROM MAINE TO VIRGINIA, 
 A. D. 16 19. 
 
 FROM PURCHAs's PILGRIMS, 
 London; 1625 
 
NOTE 
 
 The author of the following Letter is noticed in Holmes's Annals, 
 a work of high reputation for historical accuracy, in the following 
 manner : — 
 
 "A. D. 1G19. Thomas Dermer, employed by Sir Ferdinando 
 Gorges on a fishing voyage to Xew England, loaded a ship of two 
 hundred tons with fish and furs at Monahiggon, and despatched it 
 for England. Proceeding in a small bark for Virginia, he sailed 
 between the main land and Long Island, and was the first person 
 who ascertained this to be an island." 
 
 Prince, in reference to the same navigator, had previously said, 
 that he " steered along the coast between Long Island and the 
 main, being the first who passes through and finds it to be an island 
 thirty leagues in length, before accounted part of the main : thence 
 sails along the coast, arrives at Cape Charles Sept. 7, and next day 
 at the mouth of James river."* 
 
 Monahiggon, or, as the name is now written, ^Tonhegan, is an 
 island on the coast of Maine, a few leagues east of Kennebec river, 
 to which the English resorted as a fishinsj station before the settle- 
 ment of the countrv". Dermer sailed from thence along the coast 
 to Virginia in an open boat, in the summer of 1619; and had it 
 been stated by the learned authors above cited, that he was the first 
 Englishman who passed through Long Island Sound, and ascer- 
 tained that Long Island teas not a pari of the main, as his country- 
 men had previously supposed, there would have been some ground 
 for the assertion. But the Dutch navigators, as we have seen, had 
 fully explored the Sound several years before, and sailed on all 
 sides of Long Island. 
 
 Dermer's trip was nevertheless an important link in the chain of 
 discovery, as it made known to the friends of American coloniza- 
 tion in England many parts of the American coast that had escaped 
 
 * New England Chjonologv. Boston, 1736. p. 64. Dr. Belknap is more 
 cautious in speaking of this matter, merely stating that Dermer is said to have 
 been the first, &,c. Am. Biog. i. 362. 
 

 •TIeiiiBBi 
 
 L--A 
 
 ::B-iK ?3aK^] 
 
 ^ 11 ' T < 
 
 iOdL 
 
 4t 
 
346 NOTE, 
 
 Capt. John Martyn.* But it appears that in the following summer, 
 after his return to New England, Dormer wrote another letters 
 dated June 30th, 1620, in which he described more particularly the 
 results of his observations. Of this we have only a few extracts, 
 contained in an early history of the Plymouth Colony, the author 
 of which was a nephew of Governor Bradford, and had access to 
 all his papers, consisting of a manuscript history of the colony, now 
 unfortunately lost, and various other documents relating to the dis- 
 covery and settlement of the country. Among these was Dermer's 
 second letter, of which this writer gives the date, and adds that 
 Dermer was at Plymouth in the same year that the Pilgrims ar- 
 rived, " as appears by a relation written by him, bearing date June 
 30, Anno 1620, and they arrived in the country in the month of 
 November following, so that there was but four months difference; 
 in which relation to his honoured friend he hath these passages of 
 this very place where New Plymouth now is."t The author then 
 goes on to cite portions of Dermer's letter descriptive of the place 
 where the Pilgrims soon after established their colony, called by 
 the Indians Patuxet, but named by Capt. Smith, on his map of 
 New England published in 1614, PlymouOi — " one of the few 
 names," says the learned editor of Morton, " given by that dis- 
 tinguished adventurer which remains unchanged." It is not a little 
 remarkable that in this letter Dermer recommends this place for 
 " the first plantation, if there come to the number of fifty persons 
 or upwards," and within five months after the date of the letter, the 
 Pilgrims, landing fortuitously on the coast, selected the same spot 
 as a suitable location for their colony. 
 
 It is probable that the second letter of Dermer was addressed to 
 Sir Ferdinando Gorges, an active and efficient member of the Coun- 
 cil of Plymouth, and a special patron of the enterprise in which 
 he was engaged. Gorges says that Dermer sent him " a journal 
 of his proceeding, with the description of the coast all along as ho 
 
 • Martyn bad the charge of one hundred colonists in the country of the Nan 
 Bemonds, on the south side of James River. Purchas, 1. ix. c. 6. 
 
 f " New England's Memorial," &c., by Nathaniel Morton. Cambridge, 
 N. E., 1669. A new edition was published a few yeare ago under the care of 
 Judge Davis, of Bojston, who has enriched it with many valuable notes and 
 illustrations. 
 
NOTE. 347 
 
 passed."* The object of his voyage may be understood from the 
 following statement. 
 
 It appears that an Englishman of the name of Hunt, who com- 
 manded one of the ships with which Capt. Smith came to New 
 England in 1614, remained on the coast after Smith's departure, 
 and succeeded in kidnapping a number of Indians, chiefly from Pa- 
 tuxet, afterwards Plymouth, whom he carried to Malaga, in Spain, 
 and endeavoured to sell for slaves. As soon, however, as the cir- 
 cumstances became known, a sympathy vs^as excited in behalf of 
 the unfortunate captives, and through the benevolent efforts of the 
 monks of that city, many of them were rescued from slavery, and 
 found their way ba<;k to their native forests. Among them is said 
 to have been a chief named Tisquantum, or as more commonly 
 written, Squanto, who reached London, where he was received by 
 a merchant of the Newfoundland company, and sent out to that 
 island. There he was noticed by Capt. Mason, the governor of 
 the colony, with whom he remained until, on the arrival of Dermer, 
 be returned with him to England. 
 
 The outrage of Hunt had excited a general distrust of Europeans 
 among the natives of New England, and it occurred to Dermer that 
 the services of Squanto might be profitably employed in removing 
 the prejudice from the minds of his countrymen. He wrote to this 
 effect to the Plymouth Company, who at once entered into his views, 
 and the following season despatched Capt. Rocraft to meet him in 
 New England. But Dermer had in the meantime sailed for Enor- 
 land, taking Squanto with him ; and the Company, desirous of avail- 
 ing themselves of his aid in conciliating the Indians, fitted out 
 another ship for a fishing voyage, in which they sent him and 
 Squanto to New England with the hope of their meeting Rocraft. 
 But on their arrival at Monhegan, not finding him, Dermer took a 
 pinnace, and left the fishermen to pursue their business, while he 
 sought the native country of his savage companion. His subsequent 
 adventures, until his arrival in Virginia, are briefly related in the 
 following Letter. The result of his mission appears to have been 
 quite satisfactory to his employers, who in their published mani- 
 festo gave him the credit of making peace between the savages of 
 
 * '* A brief Narration of the original undertakings of the advancement of 
 Plantations into the parts of America, &c. Written by the Worshipful Sir 
 F. Gorges, Knight, &c, London, 1658." Reprinted in Mass. Hist. Coll. vi. 
 3d series. 
 
348 NOTE. 
 
 those parts and the English, of which, it was intimated, the colony 
 of New Plymouth afterwards reaped the benefit. 
 
 There seems to have been, however, another object which Der- 
 mer proposed to himself in undertaking this voyage. A few years 
 before an Indian named Epinow, belonging to Martha's Vineyard, 
 who had been forcibly carried to Europe, came into the possession 
 of Gorges, and induced him to believe that there was a valuable 
 mine in his country, which he would discover if sent home. A ship 
 was accordingly fitted out for the voyage, and sailed with Epinow 
 and two other Indians, in the summer of 1614. But it was a mere 
 ruse on the part of the wily savage to effect his return, and soon 
 after their arrival in New England he contrived to make his escape 
 from the ship. Notwithstanding what had occurred, Gorges seems 
 not to have doubted the truth of the story, imagining that Epinow 
 feared the consequences of betraying " the secrets of the country ;' 
 and when Dermer proposed to him to employ Squanto, he consented 
 without doubt for the purpose of again endeavouring to discover the 
 hidden treasure. Some hints of the kind are given in the following 
 Letter. 
 
 The prevalence of a mortal disease ainong the natives of New 
 England by which the country within certain limits was almost 
 entirely depopulated, is often alluded to in the accounts of that pe- 
 riod. It is supposed to have commenced its ravages about the year 
 1616, and to have continued for two or three years. Dermer calls 
 it the plague, from its desolating effects, but writers seem not to 
 agree as to the character of the disease. What must have been the 
 emotions of the savage chief on arriving at his native place, and 
 finding his people utterly extinct — kindred, friends, the companions 
 of his youth, all gone, and not a solitary survivor left with whom he 
 could condole in the general calamity — not one to greet him upon 
 his return from a long captivity in a far distant land ! The sequel of 
 the story of this Indian belongs to the history of the Plymouth colony. 
 The imperfect knowledge he had acquired of the English language 
 was sufficient to enable him to act the part of interpreter with the 
 neighbouring tribes, and his familiarity with the country rendered 
 him an excellent guide in threading the mazes of the wilderness. 
 His services thus became of great importance to the colony, and his 
 name often occurs in the simple narratives of their early struggles 
 with the disadvantages of their situation. 
 
NOTE. 349 
 
 Dernier did not long survive his last visit to New England. Visit- 
 ing Martha's Vineyard, he there met with Epinow, who at first en- 
 tertained him with an amusing account of the means by which he 
 had effected his escape, but afterwards suspecting that the English- 
 man had come for the purpose of betraying him, he conspired with 
 some of his nation to make him a prisoner. " Thereupon," says 
 Sir Ferdinando Gorges, " they laid hands upon him, but he being 
 a brave, stout gentleman, drew his sword and freed himself, but not 
 without fourteen wounds." This encounter caused Dermer's speedy 
 return to Virginia, where he died soon after, from the effects of his 
 wounds, as stated by Smith,* but according to Sir F. Gorges, " he 
 had the misfortune to fall sick and die of the infirmity many of our 
 nation are subject unto at their first coming into those parts." 
 
 Editor. 
 
 * Hist. Virginia, ii. 219. 
 
LETTER, &c. 
 
 TO HIS WORSHIPFUL FRIEND, M. SAMUEL PURCHAS, 
 
 PREACHER OF THE WORD, 
 At the Church a little within Ludoate, LONDON.* 
 
 It was the nineteenth of May before I was fitted for my dis- 
 covery, when from Monahiggan I set sail in an open pinnace of 
 five tons for the island I told you of. I passed along the coast 
 where I found some ancient plantations, not long since popu- 
 lous, now utterly void ; in other places a remnant remains, but 
 not free of sickness. Their disease is the plague, for we might 
 perceive the sores of some that had escaped, who described the 
 spots of such as usually die. When I arrived at my savage's 
 native country, finding all dead, I travelled a long day's journey 
 westw^ard, to a place called Num?nastaquyt,f where finding in- 
 habitants, I despatched a messenger a day's journey farther 
 west to Poconaokit,X which bordereth on the sea ; whence came 
 to see me two kings, attended with a guard of fifty men, who 
 being well satisfied with what my savage and I discoursed unto 
 them, (being desirous of novelty,) gave me content in whatso- 
 ever I demanded, where I found that former relations were 
 true. 
 
 Here I redeemed a Frenchman, and afterwards another at 
 Mastachusit, who three years since escaped shipwreck at the 
 north-east of Cape Cod. I must [be brief] (amongst many things 
 worthy observation) for want of leisure ; therefore hence 1 pass 
 (not mentioning any place where we touched in the way) to the 
 island which we discovered the twelfth of June. Here we had 
 good quarter with the savages, who likewise confirmed former 
 reports. I found seven several places digged, sent some of the 
 earth, with samples of other commodities elsewhere found, 
 sounded the coast, and the time being far spent, bore up for 
 Monahiggan, arriving the three and twentieth of June, where 
 
 * Purchas was rector of St. Martin's church, Ludgate, London, and chap- 
 lain to the archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 t The native place of Squanto was Pa<uxe<, afterwards Plymouth. Num. 
 mustaquyt, commonly written Namasket, was an Indian settlement in the 
 present town of Middleboroujrh, about fifteen miles west of Plymouth. 
 
 t Commonly written Pokanoket, now included in the town of Bristol, 
 Rhode Island, about forty miles from Plymouth. Massassoit, chief of the 
 Wampanoags, for many years the unshaken friend of the Pilgrims, resided at 
 this place. The ' two kings^ with whom Dermcr had the interview, arc sup. 
 posed to have been Massassoit and his brother. 
 
dermer's letter. 35t 
 
 wc found ship ready to depart. To this isle are two others 
 near adjoining, all which I called by the name of King James's 
 Isles, because from thence I had the first motives to search for 
 that (now probable passage) which may hereafter be both hon- 
 ourable and profitable to his Majesty. 
 
 When I had despatched with the ships ready to depart, I 
 thus concluded for the accomplishing my business. In regard 
 of the fewness of my men, not being able to leave behind me a 
 competent number for defence, and yet sufficiently furnish my- 
 self, I put most of my provisions aboard the Sampson of Capt. 
 Ward, ready bound for Virginia, from whence he came, taking 
 no more into the pinnace than I thought might serve our turns, 
 determining, with God's help, to search the coast along, and at 
 Virginia to supply ourselves for a second discovery if the first 
 failed. But as the best actions are commonly hardest in effect- 
 ing, and are seldom without their crosses, so in this we had our 
 share, and met with many diffiodties ; for we had not sailed 
 above forty leagues but we were taken with a southerly storm, 
 which drove us to this strait, either we must weather a rocky 
 point of land, or run into a broad bay not less dangerous. Tnci 
 dit in Scyllam, &c. The rocks we could not weather, though 
 we loosed till we received much water, but at last were forced 
 to bear up for the bay, and run on ground a furlong off the 
 shore, where we had been beaten to pieces had we not instantly 
 thrown overboard our provisions to save our lives, by which 
 means we escaped and brought off our pinnace the next high 
 water without hurt, having our plank broken, and a small leak 
 or two which we easily mended. Being left in this misery, 
 having lost much bread, all our beef and cider, some meal and 
 apparel, with other provisions and necessaries, having now little 
 left but hope to encourage us to persist ; yet, after a little de- 
 liberation, we resolved to proceed, and departed with the next 
 fair wind. 
 
 We had not now that fair quarter among the savages as be- 
 fore, which I take it was by reason of our savage's absence, 
 who desired (in regard of our long journey) to stay with some 
 of our savage friends at Saioahqiiatooke* for now almost every- 
 where, where they were of any strength, they sought to betray 
 us. At Manamock, (the southern part of Cape Cod, now call- 
 ed Sutcliffe's Inlets,) I was unawares taken prisoner, when they 
 sought to kill my men whom I left to man the pinnace ; but 
 missing of their purpose, they demanded a ransom, which had, 
 I was as far from liberty as before ; yet it pleased God at last, 
 after a strange manner, to deliver me, with three of them into 
 
 * An Indian settlement in the present town of Brewster, on the peninsula 
 of Cape Cod. 
 
352 dermer's letter. 
 
 my hands, and a little after the chief sachem himself, who see- 
 ing me weigh anchor, would have leaped overboard, but inter- 
 cepted, craved pardon, and sent for the hatchets given for ran- 
 som, excusing himself by laying the fault on his neighbours ; 
 and to be friends, sent for a canoe's lading of corn, which re- 
 ceived we set him free. I am loth to omit the story, wherein 
 you will find a cause to admire the great mercy of God even in 
 our greatest misery, in giving us both freedom and relief at one 
 time. 
 
 Departing hence, the next place wc arrived at was Capaock 
 [Martha's Vineyard], an island formerly discovered by the Eng- 
 lish, when I met with Epinow, a savage that had lived in Eng- 
 land, and speaks indifferent good English, who four years 
 since, being carried home, was reported to have been slain 
 with divers of his countrymen by sailors, which was false. 
 With him I had much conference, who gave me very good satis- 
 faction in every thing almost I could demand. Time not permit- 
 ting me to search here, which I should have done for sun- 
 dry things of special moment, the wind fair, I stood away, 
 shaping m)'^ course as the coast led me, till I came to the most 
 westerly part, where the coast began to fall away southerly. 
 
 In my way I discovered land about thirty leagues in length, 
 heretofore taken for main, where I feared I had been embayed, 
 but by the help of an Indian I got to the sea again, through 
 many crooked and straight passages. I let pass many accidents 
 in this journey occasioned by treachery, where we were com- 
 pelled twice to go together by the ears ; once the savages had 
 great advantage of us in a strait, not above a bowshot, and where 
 a multitude of Indians let fly at us from the bank ; but it pleas- 
 ed God to make us victors. Near unto this we found a most 
 dangerous cataract amongst small rocky islands, occasioned by 
 two unequal tides, the one ebbing and flowing two hours before 
 the other.* Here we lost an anchor by the strength of the cur- 
 rent, but found it deep enough. From hence were we carried 
 in a short space by the tide's swiftness into a great bay, (to us 
 so appearing,) but indeed is broken land, which gave us light of 
 the sea. Here, as I said, the land trendeth southerly. In this 
 place I talked with many savages, who told me of two sundry 
 passages to the great sea on the west, offered me pilots, and 
 one of them drew me a plat with chalk upon a chest, whereby 
 I found it a great island, parted by the two seas. They report 
 the one scarce passable for shoals, perilous currents ; the other 
 no question to be made of. 
 
 Having received these directions, I hasten to the place of 
 greatest hope, where I proposed to make trial of God's good- 
 
 * ?Tohu.h\y Hellgate. 
 
dermer's letter. 353 
 
 ness towards us, and use my best endeavours to bring the truth 
 to hght ; but we were but only showed the entrance, when in 
 seeking to pass, we were forced back with contrary and over- 
 blowing winds, hai'dly escaping both [with] our lives. Being 
 thus overcharged with weather, I stood along the coast to seek 
 harbours, to attend a favourable gale to recover the strait ; but 
 being a harbourless coast, for aught we could then perceive, we 
 found no succour till we arrived betwixt Cape Charles and the 
 main, on the east side of the bay Chestupcak, where in a wilde 
 {wide ?) road we anchored ; and the next day, (the eighth of 
 September) crossed the bay to KecmigJdan, where the first news 
 struck cold to our hearts — the general sickness was over the 
 land. 
 
 Here I resolved with all possible speed to return in pursuit 
 of this business, so that after a little refreshing, we recovered 
 up the river to James city, and from thence to Capt. Ward's 
 plantation, where immediately we fell to hewing of boards for 
 a close deck, having found it a most desired course to attempt 
 as before. As we were thus labouring to effect our purposes, 
 it pleased Almighty God, (who only disposeth of the times and 
 seasons wherein all works shall be accomplished,) to visit us 
 with his heavy hand, so that at one time there were but two of 
 us able to help the rest ; myself so sore shaken with a burning 
 fever, that I was brought even unto death's door, but at length, 
 by God's assistance, escaped, and have now with the rest al- 
 most recovered ray former strength. The w^inter having over 
 taken us, (a time on these coasts especially subject to gusts 
 and fearful storms,) I have now resolved to choose a more tem- 
 perate season, both for the general good and our own safeties. 
 
 And thus I have sent you a broken discourse, though indeed 
 very unwilling to have given any notice at all, till it had pleased 
 God to have b essed me with a thorough search, that our eyes 
 might have witnessed the truth. I have drawn a plot of the 
 coast, which I dare not yet to part with for fear of danger ; let 
 this therefore serve for confirmation of your hopes, till I can 
 better perform my promise and your desire . For what 1 have 
 spoken I can produce at least ?nille testes, (a thousand wit- 
 nesses,) far separate, of the sea behind them, and of ships, 
 which came many days' journey from the west, and of the great 
 extent of this sea to the north and south, not knowing any 
 bounds thereof westward. I cease to trouble you till a better 
 opportunity offer itself, remembering my best love, &c. I rest 
 
 yours to command, 
 
 THOMAS DERMER. 
 From Captain Martyn's Plantation, 
 27th December, 1619. 
 
 45 
 
854 dermer's letter. 
 
 The following extract from the Brief Narration of Sir F. Gorges, 
 quoted above, shows his connexion with Dermer. Gorges acted 
 on behalf of the Council, by whom Dermer was employed. 
 
 " Captain Dermer being disappointed of his means to come 
 from New-found-land to New England, took shipping for Eng- 
 land, and came to me at Plymouth [1619], where I gave him 
 an account of what I had done, and he me of what his hopes 
 were to be able to do me service, if I pleased to employ him. — 
 Hereupon I conferred his informations together with mine own 
 I received by several ways, and found them to agree in 
 many particulars of highest consequence and best considera- 
 tions. Whereupon I despatched him away with the company 
 he had goiten together, as fast as my own ship could be made 
 ready for her ordinary employment, sending with him what he 
 thought necessary, hoping to have met Captain Rocraft, where 
 he was assigned to attend till he received further directions from 
 me. But at the ship's arrival, they found Captain Rocraft gone 
 for Virginia, wuth all his company, in the barque he had taken, 
 of which before. Captain Dermer arriving, and seeing Ro- 
 craft gone, was much perplexed. Yet so resolved he was, that 
 he ceased not to follow his design with the men and means 
 which I had sent him ; and so shaped his course from Sagada- 
 hock in forty-four degrees, to Capawike, [Martha's Vineyard,] 
 being in 41° 36', sending me a journal of his proceeding, with 
 the description of the coast all along as he passed. Passing 
 by Capawike, he continued his course along the coast from 
 harbour to harbour till he came to Virginia, where he expected 
 to meet with Rocraft." Chap. xv. 
 
 Smith has the following notice of him : — " Master Thomas 
 Dermer, an understanding and industrious gentleman, that 
 was also with me amongst the Frenchmen, having lived about a 
 year in Newfoundland, returned to Plymouth, (Eng.) went for 
 New England in this ship, and so much approved of this coun- 
 try that he staid there with five or six men in a little boat ; find- 
 ing two or three Frenchmen among the savages, who had lost 
 their ship, augmented his company, with whom he ranged the 
 coast to Virginia, where he was kindly welcomed and well re- 
 freshed ; thence returned to New England again, where having 
 been a year, in his back return to Virginia he was so wounded 
 by the savages that he died upon it." — Hist. Virg. ii. 219. 
 
XI. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 BETWEEN THE COLONIES 
 or 
 
 NEW NETHERLANDS AND NEW-PLYMOUTH, 
 A. D. 1627. 
 
 FROM THE LETTER-BOOK OF WILLIAM BRADFORD, 
 Governor of New-Plymoutk, ^c. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 These interesting documents were first published in the collec- 
 tion of the Massachusetts Historical Society, in 1794. They 
 formed a part of Gov. Bradford's Papers, most of which are supposed 
 to have been destroyed at Boston during the revolutionary war. 
 They had been in the possession of the Rev. Thomas Prince, (au- 
 thor of the New England Chronology,) by whom they were de- 
 posited with his library in the tower of the Old South Church, 
 where they were found by the British soldiers who had converted 
 the church into a riding school, and scattered to the winds. A por- 
 tion of the Governor's letter-book, including the following corres- 
 pondence, was afterwards discovered in a grocer's shop at Hali- 
 fax, (Nova-Scotia,) used for wrapping paper, but some one suspect- 
 ing its value caused it to be preserved.* 
 
 Prince has the following extract from another portion of Governor 
 Bradford s papers in reference to the overtures of the Dutch. Un- 
 der the year 1627, Bradford says — " About mid March we receiv- 
 ed messengers from the governor of the Dutch plantation, with let- 
 ters written in Dutch and French, dated from the Manhattas in the 
 Fort Amsterdam, March 9, 1627, N. S., signed " Isaac de Ra- 
 zier, Secretary. ' They had traded in these northern parts divers 
 years before we came, bnt began no plantation there till four or 
 five years after o.ir coming. In their letter 'they congratulate 
 us and our prosperous and praiseworthy undertaking, and govern- 
 ment of our colony, with the presentation of their good will and 
 service to us in all friendly kindness and good neighbourhood; of- 
 fer us any of their goods that may be serviceable to us, declare 
 they shall take themselves bound to accommodate and help us 
 with them, for any wares we are pleased to deal for'. We send 
 the Dutch our obliging answer, expressive of our thankful sense 
 of the kindness we receivd in their native country, and our grate- 
 ful acceptance of their off'ered friendship. "f 
 
 * MS. letter to the editor from Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, D.D. of Bos- 
 ton ; 
 tNew England Chronology. A. D. 1627. 
 
NOTE. 357 
 
 Governor Bradford here alludes to the hospitable asylum aftbrd- 
 ed to the Pilgrims in Holland, when compelled to fly from the in- 
 tolerant bigotry of their native land. His expressions of gratitude 
 are in unison with the sincerity and excellence of his character, 
 which combined the virtues of the Christian with a spirit of true 
 courtesy ; and it is not strange that the harmonious relations thus 
 happily commenced between the two colonies, continued for many 
 years to their mutual advantage. 
 
 In another place he says, " This year* the Dutch send to us 
 again from their plantation both kind letters and divers commo- 
 dities, as sugar, linen, stufls, &c., and come with their bark at our 
 house at Manomet. Their Secretary Razier comes with trumpet- 
 ers, &c., but not being able to travel to us by land, desires us to 
 send a boat within side to fetch him ; so we send a boat to Man- 
 onscusset, and bring him with the chief of his company to Ply- 
 mouth. After a few days' entertainment, he returns to his bark ; 
 some of us go with him and buy sundry goods. After which be- 
 ginning they often send to the same place, and we trade together 
 divers years, sell much tobacco for linens, and stuffs, &c. which 
 proves a great benefit to us till the Virginians find out their colo- 
 ny. But that which in time turns most to our advantage is their 
 now acquainting and entering us in the trade of wampum, telling 
 us how vendible it is at their Fort Aurania, and persuading us we 
 shall find it so at Kennebeck. Upon this we buy £50 worth. At 
 first it sticks, and it is two years before we can put it off, till the 
 inland Indians come to know it, and then we can scarce procure 
 enough for many years together. By which and other provisions 
 we quite cut off the trade both from the fishermen and straggling 
 planters. And strange it is to see the great alteration it in a few 
 years makes among the savages ; for the Massachusetts and others 
 in these parts had scarce any, it being only made and kept among 
 
 •New England Chronology, A. D. 162S. Prince here mistakes the year, as 
 may be readily seen from the correspondence. This circumstance leads us to 
 suppose that the letter-book was not in his possession when he wrote, especially 
 as it is not specified in the list of MSS. prcfi.xed to the volume. The extracts 
 above quoted were without doubt taken from a history of Plymouth Colony 
 written by Governor Bradford, but never published, which Prince mentions 
 among his MS. authorities. It is deeply to be regretted that a work of so much 
 interest was not printed ; it is now probably lost. 
 
358 NOTE. 
 
 the Pequots and Narragansetts, who grew rich and potent by it ; 
 whereas the rest who use it not, are poor and beggarly."* 
 
 The Plymouth trading-house at Manomet to which the Dutch 
 resorted, was situated near an Indian village, at the head of Buz- 
 zard's bay. It lay about twenty miles south of Plymouth, but be- 
 ing on the narrowest part of the isthmus connecting the peninsula 
 of Cape Cod with the main, it was accessible by water from that 
 place within four or five miles. The village of Monumet, in the 
 town of Sandwich, now occupies nearly the same site. Bradford 
 describes it as follows : — " For greater convenience of trade, to 
 discharge our engagements and maintain ourselves, we build a 
 small pinnace at Manomet, a place on the sea, twenty miles to the 
 south ; to which by another creek on this side we transport our 
 goods by water within four or five miles, and then carry them over 
 land to the vessel. We thereby avoid compassing Cape Cod with 
 those dangerous shoals, and make our voyage to the southward 
 ■with far less time and hazard. For the safety of our vessel and 
 goods we there also build a house and keep some servants, who 
 plant corn, rear swine, and are always ready to go out with the 
 bark, which takes good effect and turns to advantage."! Another 
 Plymouth writer says that the governor went to the Indian town of 
 Manomet, in January, 1623, to buy corn, and that the town was 
 situated on a fresh river, to which " the Dutch or French, or both 
 used to come."| 
 
 'Roger Williams (Key into the language of the Indians, Lond. 1643,) describes 
 the manner in which tlie wampum was made, and speaks of it as " the coin of 
 the Indians" J the Dutch called it seawan. Williams adds, "This money the 
 English, French, and Dutch trade to the Indians six hundred miles in several 
 parts, north and south from New-England, for their furs and whatever they 
 stand in need of from them, as corn, venison, &c." Burnaby, who travelled in 
 this country in 1760, had an opportunity of seeing the method of making wam- 
 pum, which he describes as follows:— "It is made of the clam-shell, consisting 
 within of two colours, purple and white, and in form not unlike a thick oyster 
 shell. The process of manufacturing it is very simple. It is first clipped to a 
 proper size, which is that of a small oblong parallelopiped, then drilled, and af- 
 terwards ground to a round smooth surface, and polished. The purple wam- 
 pum is much more valuable than the white, a very small part of the shell being 
 .of that colour." Travels, p. 60. 
 
 t Prince. 67. 
 
 .1 Winslow's Relation. 
 
NOTE. 359 
 
 The portage across the isthmus was considerably shortened by- 
 two small streams, running in opposite directions, one of which, 
 called Manonscusset creek, flowed into the bay on the east side of 
 the isthmus ; the other was an arm of Buzzard's bay, and received 
 the name of Manomet river from its superior width. The heads 
 of the creek and river were not far distant.* 
 
 It is to be regretted that the first letter from the Dutch was not 
 printed with the rest, as Gov. Bradford had evidently copied it in- 
 to his letter-book in the original language. We have made inquiry 
 respecting it without being able to obtain a copy ; the manu- 
 script seems not to have been preserved by the Society after the 
 
 correspondence was published. 
 
 Editor. 
 
 • Prince says, "This is the place through which there has been a talk of 
 making a canal this forty years, which would be a vast advantage to all these 
 countries by saving the long and dangerous navigation round the Cape and 
 through the shoals adjoining " This was in 1736. The project was revived 
 m 1776, and again in 1791, when it was referred to a committee of the Legis. 
 lature, who reported favourably. The latest notice we have seen of it, is in a, 
 publication of 1839 ; in which the writer states that " it is proposed to unite 
 Massachusetts and Buzzard's bays by a ship canal through the town of Sand- 
 wich. The distance is five miles and the route level." 
 
CORRESPONDENCE, &c. 
 
 This year [says Bradford] we had letters sent us from the Dutch 
 plantation, of whom we had heard much by the natives, but never 
 could hear from them nor meet with them before they themselves 
 thus wrote to us, and after sought us out ; their letters were 
 written in a very fair hand, the one in French, and the other in 
 Dutch, but were one verbatim, so far as the tongue would bear, 
 
 [Here foUoios a letter in Low Dutch, frojn Isaac de Razier at 
 Manhattas, in Fort Ajjisterdam, March 9, 1627, N. S. to 
 the Governor of New Plymouth.*] 
 
 I will not trouble myself to translate this letter, seeing the 
 effect of it will be understood by the answer which now follows 
 in English, though written to them in Dutch. 
 
 To the Honourable and Worshipful the Director and Council 
 of N etc NetherJand, our very loving and to orthy friends and 
 Christian neighbours. 
 
 The Governor and Council of Plymouth in New England 
 wish your Honours and Worships all happiness and prosperity 
 in this life, and eternal rest and glory with Christ Jesus our 
 Lord in the world to come. 
 
 We have received your letters, wherein appeareth your good 
 will and friendship toward us, but is expressed with over high 
 titles, and more than belongs to us, or than is meet for us to 
 receive. But for your good will and congratulation of our pros- 
 perity in this small beginning of our poor colony, we are much 
 bound unto yon, and with many thanks acknowledge the same ; 
 taking it both for a great honour done unto us, and for a certain 
 testimony of your love and good neighbourhood. Now these 
 are further to give your Honours, Worships and Wisdoms to 
 understand, that it is to us no small joy to hear, that it hath 
 pleased God to move his Majesty's heart, not only to confirm 
 that ancient amity, alliance, and friendship, and other contracts 
 formerly made and ratified by his predecessors of famous me- 
 mory ; but hath himself (as you say) and we likewise have been 
 informed, strengthened the same with a new union, the better 
 
 * It thus appears tliat the portion of the letter-book preserved contained a 
 copy of the first letter from the Dutch, which was not printed, probably on 
 account of its being in the Dutch language. Ed. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 361 
 
 to resist the pride of that common enemy, the Spaniards, from 
 whose crueky the Lord keep us both, and our native countries. 
 Now forasmuch as this is sufficient to unite us together in love 
 and good neighbourhood in all our dealings ; yet are many of 
 us further tied by the good and courteous entreaty which we 
 have found in your country, having lived there many years, 
 with freedom and good content, as many of our friends do to this 
 day ; for which we are bound to be thankful, and our children 
 after us, and shall never forget the same, but shall heartily desire 
 your good and prosperity as our own forever. Likewise for 
 your friendly proposition and offer to accommodate and help us 
 with any commodities or merchandise which you have and we 
 Want, either for beaver, otters, or other wares, is to us very ac- 
 ceptable, and we doubt not but in short time we may have pro- 
 fitable trade and commerce together. But you may please to 
 understand tliat we are but one particular colony or plantation 
 in tliis land, there being divers others besides, unto whom it hath 
 pleased those Honourable Lords of his Majesty's Council for 
 New England to grant the like commission, and ample privi- 
 leges to them (as to us) for their better profit and subsistence; 
 namely to expulse, or make prize of any, either s.trangers or 
 other English, which shall attempt either to trade or plant within 
 their limits (without their special license and commission) w^iich 
 extend to forty degrees. Yet for our parts, we shall not go 
 about to molest or trouble you in any thing, but continue all 
 good neighbourhood and correspondence as far as we may; 
 only we desire that you would forbear to trade with the natives 
 in this bay, and river of Narraganset and Sowames, which is 
 (as it were) at our doors : The which if you do, we think no 
 other English will go about any way to trouble or hinder you ; 
 which otherwise are resolved to solicit his Majesty for redress, 
 if otherwise they cannot help themselves. 
 
 May it please you further to understand, that for this year we 
 are fully supplied with all necessaries, both for clothing and 
 other things ; but it may so fall out, that hereafter we sliall deal 
 with you, if your rates be reasonable. And therefore when your 
 people come again, we desire to know how you will take beaver 
 by the pound, and otters by the skin, and how you will deal per 
 cent, for other commodities, and what you can furnish us with ; 
 as likewise what commodities from us may be acceptable with 
 you, as tobacco, fish, corn, or other things, and what prices you 
 will give. 
 
 Thus hoping that you will pardon and excuse us for our rude 
 and imperfect writing in your language, and take it in good part ; 
 because, for want of use, we cannot so well express that we 
 understand ; nor happily understand every thing so fully as we 
 fihould. And so we humbly pray the Lord, for his mercy's 
 46 
 
362 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 
 
 sake, that he will lake both us and our native countries into his 
 holy protection and defence. Amen. 
 
 By the Governor and Council, your Honour's 
 
 and Worships' very good friends and neighbours. 
 Ncio-PJymouth, March I9th. 
 
 Next follows their reply to this our answer, very friendly but 
 maintaining their right and liberty to trade in those parts, which 
 we had desired them to forbear ; alleging that as we had au- 
 thority and commission from our king, so they had the like 
 from the States of Holland, which they would defend. 
 
 August 7, 1627. 
 
 Another of theirs upon our answer to their last, which 1 here 
 omit. 
 
 An ansioer to the formed' letters. 
 
 We have received your letters,* dated the 7th of August, and 
 with them a rundlet of sugar, and two Holland cheeses, by John 
 Jacobson of Wiring ; for which we give you many thanks, and 
 must remain your debtors till another time, not having any thing 
 to send you for the present that may be acceptable. Further, 
 you shall understand that it is also our resolution and hearty 
 desire to hold and continue all friendship and good neighbour- 
 hood with 3^ou as far as w^e may and lies in our power ; we de- 
 sire also that w^e might have opportunity (according as you 
 write) by word of mouth, to confer together touching our mutual 
 commerce and trading in such things as our countries afford ; 
 and would now have sent one, but that one of our boats is abroad, 
 and wc have much business at home. But if by the next you 
 would please to depute one (according as you have propounded) 
 to come hither and to confer hereabouts, we should be glad, and he 
 should be w^elcome : If not, we shall send as soon as conveniently 
 we can (after harvest), if we can know when your bark comes 
 this way. We cannot likewise omit (out of our love and good 
 affection toward you, and the trust you repose in us) to give you 
 warning of the danger which may befall you, that you may pre- 
 vent it ; for if you light either in the hands of those of Virginia 
 or the fishing ships, which come to New England, peradventure 
 they will make prize of you, if they can, if they find you trading 
 wdthin those limits ; as they surprised a colony of the French 
 not many years since, which was seated within these bounds. 
 For howsoever you allege in your former letter, that you have 
 navigated and traded in these parts above this twenty-six years, 
 
 ♦ This was written in their own tongue. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS AND PLYMOUTH. 363 
 
 and that your company have now authority from the States and 
 tlie Prince of Orange to do so ; yet you must understand that 
 her Majesty Queen Ehzabeth, of famous memory, hath begun 
 to navigate and plant in these lands well nigh forty years ago, 
 as appears by her patents and royal grants conferred upon divers 
 of her subjects, and since confirmed and enlarged by his late 
 Majesty, and still continued by possession. Therefore it were 
 best (in our opinion) that your masters should solicit the States 
 that they might come to some order and agreement with the 
 king's Majesty and state of England hereabout, before any in- 
 convenience befall ; for howsoever you may be assured for our- 
 selves, yet we should be sorry to hear you should sustain harm 
 from any of our nation ; but more of these things when we shall 
 speak one with another. In the mean time we commit you and 
 your affairs to the protection of the Highest. 
 
 Your loving friends, the Governor 
 
 and Council of New-Plymouth. 
 WILLIAM BRADFORD, 
 
 Governor, &c. 
 Plymouth, August 14, Aiino 1627. 
 
 Their answer to this directed to myself, thus superscribed : — 
 
 Monsieur Monseigneur WilUcmi Bradford, Governor Nieu- 
 
 Pleyjieuea. 
 
 This I will put in English, and so will end with theirs, viz. 
 
 After the wishing of all good unto you, this serves to let you 
 understand that we have received your (acceptable) letters, 
 dated the 14th of the last month, by John Jacobson of Wiring, 
 wiio besides by word of mouth hath reported unto us your kind 
 and friendly entertainment of him : For which cause (by the 
 good liking and approbation of the Director and Council) I am 
 resolved to come myself in friendship to visit you, that we may 
 by word of mouth friendly communicate of things together ; as 
 also to report unto you the good will and favour that the Honour- 
 able Lords of the authorized West India Company bear towards 
 you. And to show our willingness of your good accommoda- 
 tion, have brought with me some cloth of three sorts and colours, 
 and a chest of white sugar, as also some seaioan, &c., not doubt- 
 ing but, if any of them may be serviceable unto you, we shall 
 agree well enough about the prices thereof. Also John Jacob- 
 son aforesaid hath told me, that he came to you over land in six 
 hours, but I have not gone so far this three or four years ; 
 wherefore I fear my feet will fail me, so I am constrained to 
 entreat you to afford me the easiest means that I may, with 
 least weariness, come to congratulate with you . So leaving other 
 
364 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 
 
 things to the report of the bearer, shall herewith end ; remember- 
 ing my hearty salutations to yourself and friends, &c. From aboard 
 the bark Nassau, the 4th of October, before Frenchman's point. 
 
 Your affectionate friend, 
 
 ISAAC DE RAZIER. 
 A?ino 1627. 
 
 So, according to his request, we sent our boat for him, who 
 came honourably attended with a noise of trumpeters ; he was 
 their upper commis, or chief merchant and second to the gover- 
 nor ; a man of a fair and genteel behaviour, but soon after fell 
 into disgrace amongst them, by reason of their factions ; and 
 thus at length we came to meet and deal together. We at this 
 time bought sundry of their commodities, especially \he\v seaioan 
 or luampampeack, which was the beginning of a profitable trade 
 with us and the Indians, We further understood, that their 
 masters were willing to have friendship with us, and to supply 
 us with sundry commodities, and offered us assistance against 
 the French, if need were. The which, though we know it was 
 with an eye to their own profit, yet we had reason both kindly to 
 accept it and make use of it. So after this sundry of them came 
 often to us, and many letters passed between us, the which I 
 will pass by as being about particular dealings, and would not 
 be here very pertinent ; only upon this passage we wrote one to 
 their Lords and masters as followeth : — 
 
 Right Honourable and Wortliy Lwds, ^c. 
 
 We understand by your agent, Mr. Isaac Razier, who is at 
 this present with us (and hath demeaned himself to your Honours^ 
 and his own credit) of your honourable and respective good in- 
 tentions towards us, which we humbly acknowledge with all 
 thankfulness, and shall ever be ready in the performance of all 
 offices of good and Christian neighbourhood towards your colony 
 and plantation here, and in all satisfactory correspondence to 
 your Honours, so far as in us licth, and may stand with our 
 allegiance to the King's most exxellent Majesty, our Sovereign 
 Lord the King of Great Britain ; acknowledging ourselves tied 
 in a strict obligation unto your coimtry and state, for the good 
 entertainment and free liberty which we had, and our brethren 
 and countrj^men yet there have and do enjoy, under our most 
 honourable Lords the States ; and so shall be ready to accom- 
 modate ourselves to your good satisfaction. For the propositions 
 of your agent concerning the matter of trade and commerce, we 
 will have due and respective consideration, wishing it had been 
 sooner propounded at the beginning of the year, before we sent 
 our factor into England and Holland about our trade and sup- 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS AND PLYMOUTH. 365 
 
 plies ; for, till his return, we can determine of nothing, not yet 
 knowing certainly what issue there will be of the business be- 
 tween the merchants our partners, and ourselves ; and therefore 
 desire suspension of our determination and resolution herein till 
 next year, we being not yet altogether free in respect of our en- 
 gagements unto them. In the mean time we will digest it in 
 our best cogitations ; only we desire your Honours, that ye would 
 take into your wise and honourable considerations, that which 
 we conceive may be a hindrance to this accordation, and may be 
 a means of much future evil, if it be not prevented, namely, that 
 3^ou clear the title of your planting in these parts, which his 
 Majesty hath, by patent, granted to divers his nobles and subjects 
 of quality ; lest it be a bone of division in these stirring evil 
 limes, which God forbid. We persuade ourselves that now may 
 be easily and seasonably done, which will be harder and with 
 more difficulty obtained hereafter, and perhaps not without blows ; 
 so there may be assured peace and good correspondence on all 
 parts, and ourselves more free and able to contract with your 
 Honours. Thus commending our best service to our most 
 noble Lords, praying for the prosperous success of your worthy 
 designs, we rest your Lordship's 
 
 Most sincerely affected and bounden, 
 
 WILLIAM BRADFORD, 
 
 Governor, &c. 
 Plymouth, Oct. 1, Anno 1627. 
 
 We well knew likewise, that this dealing and friendship with 
 the Dutch (though it was wholly sought of themselves) yet it 
 would procure us envy from others in the land, and that at one 
 time or other, our enemies would take occasion to raise slanders 
 and frame accusations against us for it ; therefore, to prevent 
 their malice, as also to show the sincerity of our dealing, and 
 and our loyal and dutiful respect to his Majesty and the Honour- 
 able Council for New England, we sent their first letter (with 
 our answer thereto, and their reply to the same) unto the Coun- 
 cil, as may appear more particularly by our letters following.. 
 
 A Letter to the Council of New England. 
 
 Right Honourable, 
 
 We hold it our bounden duty to inform and acquaint your 
 Lordships and Honours, with all such occurrences and matters 
 of note as do here befall, and may any way concern the estate of 
 this country, in either the good or hurt thereof, which, next his 
 Majesty, stands under your honourable governments and pro- 
 tection ; or which may in any sort be worthy your wise and 
 prudent considerations. May it please your Honours and Lord- 
 
366 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 
 
 ships to understand, that of late we received letters from the 
 Dutch plantation, who using to trade near unto us, had order to 
 stay for an answer from us ; and the effect of their letters being 
 friendly and congratulatory, we answered them in like sort ; 
 since which time we received another from them, but have had 
 as yet no opportunity to give answer thereto. Their first letters 
 were two,* but both one in effect and verbatim, so far as the pro- 
 prieties of the tongues will bear ; the French, with the copies 
 both of our answer and their reply, we have here enclosed sent 
 unto your Honour's view, that according to your honourable 
 directions therein, we may govern ourselves in our dealings 
 with them. We further understand that for strength of men 
 and fortification they far exceed us, and all in this land. We 
 cannot likewise forbear to complain unto your Lordships of the 
 irregular living of many in this land, who without either patent 
 or license, order or government, live, trade and truck, not with 
 any intent to plant, but rather to forage the countr}^ and get what 
 they can, whether by right or wrong, and then be gone : So as 
 such as have been and are at great charge to settle plantations, 
 will not be able to subsist, if some remedy be not provided, both 
 with these and the inordinate course of fishermen, who begin to 
 leave fishing, and fall wholly to trading, to the great detriment 
 of both the small beginning here, and the state of England, by 
 the unprofitable consuming of the victuals of the land upon these 
 savages : Whereas plantations might here better raise the same 
 in the land, and so be enabled both to subsist and to return the 
 profit thereof into England for other necessaries, which would 
 be beneficial to the commonwealth. Our humble suit therefore 
 to your good Lordships is, that you would take some such order 
 for redress herein, as shall seem best to your honourable wis- 
 doms, for the relief of all the plantations in the land. So in all 
 humbleness we commit ourselves to your honourable direction, 
 and you to the protection of the Almighty, resting 
 Yours ever at commandment, 
 
 WILLIAM BRADFORD, 
 
 Governor, &c. 
 New-Plymouth, June 15, Anno 1627. 
 
 Another to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, touching the same subject. 
 Honourable Sir, 
 
 My humble duty remembered ; we have of late received let- 
 ters from the Dutch plantation, and have had speech with some 
 of them ; I hold it my duty to acquaint your Worship and the 
 rest of the Honourable Council therewith, unto whom we have 
 
 * The one in French and the other in Dutch. 
 
NEW-NETHERLANDS AND PLYMOUTH. 367 
 
 likewise written and sent the copies of their letters, that together 
 with their and your honourable directions we may know how to 
 order ourselves herein. They have used trading there this six 
 or seven and twenty years, but have begun to plant of later time, 
 and now have reduced their trade to some order, and confined it 
 only to their company, which heretofore was spoiled by their sea- 
 men and interlopers, as ours is this year most notoriously, of whom 
 we have made some complaint in our letters to the Council, not 
 doubting but we shall find worshipful furtherance therein. We 
 are now upon concluding with our adventurers, and shall be put 
 upon hard straits by great payments, which we are enforced to 
 make for sundry years, or else to leave all, which will be to us 
 very difficult ; and, to say the truth, if these disorders of fisher- 
 men and interlopers be not remedied, no plantations are able to 
 stand, but will decay ; whereas otherwise they may subsist and 
 flourish. Thus in all humbleness I take leave, and rest. 
 At your service, 
 
 WILLIAM BRADFORD. 
 Plymouth, June 15, Anno 1627. 
 
 P. S, Besides the spoiling of the trade this last year, our boat 
 and men had like to have been cut off by the Indians, after the 
 fishermen were gone, for the wrongs which they did them in 
 stealing their skins and other abuses offered them, both the last 
 year and this ; and besides they still continue to truck pieces, 
 powder and shot with them, which will be the overthrow of all, 
 if it be not looked unto. 
 
 NOTE 
 
 A collision came near taking place between the two colonies in 1633, grow- 
 ing Out of the first attempts to extend their settlements to Connecticut river. — 
 Prince, under that year, has the following extracts from Bradford's MS. History 
 in relation to this subject : — " We having had formerly converse and familiar, 
 ity with the Dutch, they seeing us seated in a barren quarter told us of a river 
 called by them the Fresh river, which they often commended to us for a fine 
 place both for plantation and trade, and wished us to make use of it ; but onr 
 hands being full otherwise, we let it pass. But afterwards there coming a 
 company of Indians into these parts, who were driven thence by the Pequents, 
 who usurped upon them, they often solicited us to go thither and we should 
 have much trade, especially if we would keep a house there. And having a 
 good store of commodities, we began to send that way to discover the same 
 and trade with the natives. We found it to be a fine place, and tried divers 
 times not without profit, but saw the most certainty would be by keeping a 
 
368 • NOTE. 
 
 house there to receive the trade when it comes down out of the inland. These 
 Indians not seeing us very forward to builj there, solicited those of the Massa. 
 chusetts in like sort, for their end was to be restored to their country again. — 
 But they in the Bay being but lately come, were not fit for the same."* 
 
 At length the PI) mouth people resolved to commence a settlement upon the 
 banks of the Connecticut ; but the Dutch, in the mean time, had taken posses. 
 Bion of the river, and built Fort Good Hope within the limits of the present city 
 of Hartford, with the intention of occupying the country. The Pilgrims having 
 declined the invitation when given them on a former occasion to remove the 
 seat of their colony to the Connecticut, the Dutch were now unwilling to allow 
 them to occupy the river after they had themselves determined to colonize it, 
 and had been at the expense of building a fort for their protection. Diffrcul- 
 ties ensued, of which Bradford gives the following account : — 
 
 "But the Dutch begin now to repent, and hearing of our purpose and pre. 
 paration, endeavour to prevent us, get in a little before us, make a slight fort, 
 and plant two pieces of ordnance, threatening to stop our passage. But we 
 having a great new bark, and a frame of a house, with boards, nails, &c. ready, 
 that we might have a defence against, the Indians, who are much offended that 
 we bring home and restore the right sachems of the place, called Natawannte ; 
 so as we are to encounter with a double danger in this attempt, both the Dutch 
 and Indians. When we come up the river, the Dutch demand ^What we intend, 
 and whither, we would go ? ' We answer, ' Up the river to trade.'' Now our or- 
 der was to go and seat above them. They bid us ' sfriAe and stay, or they 
 would shoot us,' and stood by their ordnance ready fitted. We answer, ' We 
 have a commission from the governor of Plymouth to go up the river to such a 
 place, and if they shoot, we must obey our order and proceed ; we would not 
 molest them, but would go on.' So we pass along, and the Dutch threaten U3 
 hard, yet they shoot not. Coming to our place about a mile above the Dutch, 
 [since called Windsor,] we quickly clap up our house, land our provisions, leave 
 the company appointed, send the bark home, and afterwards palisade our 
 house about and fortify better. The Dutch send word home to the Manhatos 
 what was done, and in process of time they send a band of about seventy men 
 in warlike manner, with colours displayed, to assault us ; but seeing us strength, 
 ened, and that it would cost blood, they come to a parley and return in peace; 
 and this was our entrance there. We did the Dutch no wrong, for we took not 
 a foot of any land they bought, but went to the place above them, and bought 
 thai tract of land which belonged to the Indians [whom] we carried with us 
 ;and our friends, with whom the Dutch had nothing to do." 
 
 Editor. 
 
 •Referring to the colony of Massachusetts Bay, 
 
XII, 
 
 THE 
 
 CHARTER OF LIBERTIES 
 
 GRANTED 
 TO PATROONS AND COLONISTS, 
 
 A. D. 16 29 
 
 AND 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS, 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM 
 
 The Dutch Colonial Records, ^c. 
 
 47 
 
CHARTER OF LIBERTIES. 
 
 Charter of Liberties and Exemptions of 1629.* 
 
 Privileges and Exemptions for the patroons, masters, or private individual* 
 who shall settle any colony or bring cattle therein, in New Netherlands, 
 considered for the service of the General West India Company in New Ne- 
 therlands, and for the advantage of the patroons, masters, and private in- 
 dividuals. t 
 
 I. That such members of the said company,as may be in- 
 clined to settle any colony in New Netherland, shall be per- 
 mitted with the ships of this company going thither to send 
 three or four persons to examine the situation of the country, 
 provided, that they with the officers and ship's company swear 
 to the instrument of conditions {articles) so far as they relate to 
 them ; and paying for provisions, and for passage, going and 
 coming, six stuyvers per day : and such as desire to eat in the 
 cabin, twelve stuyvers, and to be subordinate, and to give assist- 
 ance like others, in cases offensive and defensive : and if any 
 ships be taken from the enemy, they shall pr'o rata receive 
 their proportions with the ship's company, each according tohis 
 quality ; that is to say, that the colonists eating out of the cabin 
 shall be rated with the sailors, and such as eat in the cabin with 
 those of the company's men that eat at table, and receive the 
 lowest wages. 
 
 II. Yet in this respect such persons shall be preferred 
 
 » Rensselaerwyck MSS. Translated by Abraham Lott, jr. 1762. First 
 published in Moulton's Hist. New-York. 1826. 
 
 t The charter was published at Amsterdam the next year, with the follow- 
 ing title prefixed : — 
 
 Vryheiden by de Vergaderinghe van de Negenthiene van de Geoctroyecrde 
 West-Indische Compagn'e vergunt aen alien den ghenen, die eenighe Colo- 
 nien in Nieuw-Nederlandt sullen planten. In het licht ghegheven, &c. 
 T' Amstelredam, door Marten Jantz Brandt, &,c. Anno 1630. 
 
 Liberties or Privileges, granted by the Assembly of Nineteen of the author, 
 ized West India Company, to all such as shall or may settle or plant any colo. 
 ny in New-Netherlands. Published with a view to make known what profits 
 and advantages result to colonists and their patroons and masters, as also to 
 Others who settle colonies in New Netherlands. — Moulton. 389. 
 
CHARTER OF LIBERTIES. 371 
 
 who have first appeared and desired the same from the com- 
 pany. 
 
 III. That all such shall be acknowledged patroons of New- 
 Netherland, who shall, within the space of four years next 
 after they have given notice to any of the chambers, (or colleges,) 
 of the company here, or to the commander or council there, un- 
 dertake to plant a colony there of fifty souls, upwards of fifteen 
 years old, one fourth part within one year, and within three years 
 after the sending of the first, making together four years, the re- 
 mainder to the full number of fifty persons, to be shipped from 
 hence, on pain in case of wilful neglect of being deprived of the 
 privileges obtained ; but it is to be observed that the company 
 reserve the island of the Manhattes to themselves. 
 
 IV. That from the time that they make known the situation 
 of the places where they propose to settle colonies, they shall 
 have the preference to all others of the absolute property of such 
 lands as they have there chosen ; but in case the situation should 
 afterwards not please them, or that they should have been mis- 
 taken as to the quality of the land, they may, after stating 
 the same to the commander and council there, be at liberty 
 to choose another place. 
 
 V. That the patroons, by virtue of their power, shall and may 
 be permitted, at such places as they shall settle their colonies, 
 to extend their limits four miles* along the shore, that is on one 
 side of a navigable river, or two miles on each side of a river, 
 and so far into the country as the situation of the occupiers will 
 permit. Provided and conditioned, that the company keep to 
 themselves the lands lying and remaining between the limits of 
 colonies, to dispose thereof, when, and at such time as they shall 
 think proper, in such manner that no person shall be allowed to 
 come within seven or eight miles of them without their con- 
 sent ; unless the situation of the land thereabout were such, that 
 the commander and council for good reasons should order other- 
 wise ; always observing that the first occupiers are not to be 
 prejudiced in the right they have obtained, other than unless the 
 service of the company should require it for the building of for- 
 tifications, or something of that sort ; retaining, moreover, the 
 command of each bay, river, or island, of the first settled colony, 
 under the supreme jurisdiction of their High Mightinesses the 
 Staats General and the Company : but that on the next colony's 
 being settled on the same river or island, they may, in conjunc- 
 tion with the first, appoint one or more councillors, in order to 
 consider what may be necessary for the prosperity of the colo- 
 nies on the said river and island. 
 
 * Twelve Ensrlish miles. 
 
372 CHARTER OF LIBERTIES. 
 
 VI. That they shall for ever possess and enjoy all the lands 
 lying within the aforesaid limits, together with the fruits, rights, 
 minerals, rivers, and fountains thereof ; as also the chief com- 
 mand, and lower jurisdictions, fishing, fowling, and grinding, to 
 the exclusion of all others, to be holden from the company as an 
 eternal heritage, without its ever devolving again to the com- 
 pany, and in case it should devolve, to be redeemed and repos- 
 sessed, with twenty guilders* per colony to be paid to this com- 
 pany, at their chamber here, or to their commander there, within 
 a year and six weeks after the same happens ; each at the cham- 
 ber where he originally sailed from. And further, that no per- 
 son or persons whatsoever shall be privileged to fish and hunt, 
 but the patroons, and such as they shall give liberty : and in case 
 any one should in time prosper so much, as to found one or 
 more cities, he shall have power and authority to estabhsh offi- 
 cers and magistrates there, and to make use of the title of his 
 colony according to his pleasure and to the quality of the 
 persons. 
 
 VII. That there shall likewise be granted to all patroons who 
 shall desire the same, venia testandi, or liberty to dispose of 
 their aforesaid heritage by testament. 
 
 VIII. That the patroons may, if they think proper, make use 
 of all lands, rivers, and woods, lying contiguous to them, for and 
 during so long time as this compan}'- shall not grant them to other 
 patroons or individuals. 
 
 IX. That those who shall send persons over to settle colo- 
 nies, shall furnish them with proper instructions, in order that 
 they may be ruled and governed conformably to the rule of go- 
 vernment made, or to be made by the assembly of nineteen, as 
 well in the political as judicial government ; which they shall 
 be obliged first to lay before the directors of the respective col- 
 leges. 
 
 X. That the patroons and colonists shall be privileged to 
 send their people and effects thither, in ships belonging to the 
 company, provided they take the oath and pay to the company 
 for bringing over the people, as mentioned in the first article ; 
 and for freight of the goods five per cent, ready money, to be 
 reckoned on the prime cost of the goods here : in which are, 
 however, not to be included, such creatures and other imple- 
 ments as are necessary for the cultivation and improvement of 
 the lands, which the company are to carry over without any re- 
 ward, if there is room in their ships. But the patroons shall, at 
 their own expense, provide and make places for them, together 
 with every thing necessary for the support of the creatures. 
 
 XI. That in case it should not suit the company to send any 
 
 * A guilder was twenty stivers, or about forty cents. 
 
CHARTER OF LIBERTIES. 373 
 
 ships, or that in those going there should be no room ; then the 
 said patroons, after having communicated their intentions, and 
 after having obtained consent from the company in writing, may- 
 send their own ships or vessels thither ; provided, that in going 
 and coming they go not out of their ordinary course ; giving se- 
 curity to the company for the same, and taking on board an 
 assistant, to be victualled by the patroons and paid his monthly 
 wages by the company ; on pain by doing the contrary of for- 
 feitnig all the right and property they have obtained to the colony. 
 
 XII. That as it is the intention of the company to people the 
 island of the Manhattcs first, all fruits and wares shall for the 
 present, be brought there, that arise upon the North river, and 
 lands lying thereabouts, before they may be sent elsewhere : 
 excepting such as are from their nature unnecessary there, or 
 such as cannot, without great loss to the owner thereof, be 
 brought there. In which case the owners thereof shall be 
 obliged to give timely notice in writing of the difficulty attend- 
 ing the same to the company here, or the commander and coun- 
 cil there, that the same may be remedied as the necessity thereof 
 shall be found to require. 
 
 XIII. That all the patroons of colonies in New-Netherlands 
 and of colonies on the island of Manhattes, shall be at liberty to 
 sail and traffic all along the coast, from Florida to Terre Neuf, 
 provided, that they do again return with all such goods as they 
 shall get in trade to the island of Manhattes, and pay five per 
 cent, for recognition to the company, in order, if possible, that 
 after the necessary inventory of the goods shipped be taken, the 
 same may be sent hither. And if it should so happen that they 
 could not return, by contrary streams or otherwise, they shall 
 in such case not be permitted to bring such goods to any other 
 place but to these dominions, in order that under the inspection 
 of the directors of the place where they may arrive, they may be 
 unladen, an inventory thereof made, and the aforesaid recogni- 
 tion of five per cent, paid to the company here, on pain, if they 
 do the contrary, of the forfeiture of their goods so trafficked for, 
 or the real value thereof. 
 
 XIV. That in case of the ships of the patroons, in going to, 
 coming from, or sailing on the coast, from Florida to Terre 
 Neuf, and no farther, without our grant should overpower any 
 of the princes of the enemy, they shall be obliged to bring, or 
 cause to be brought, such prince to the college of the place from 
 whence they sailed out, in order to be rewarded by them : the 
 company shall keep the one third part thereof, and the remain- 
 ing two thirds shall belong to them, in consideration of the cost 
 and risk they have been at, all according to the orders of the 
 company. 
 
374 CHARTER OF LIBERTIES. 
 
 XV. That it shall also be free for the aforesaid patroons to 
 traffic and trade all along the coast of New-Netherlands and 
 places circumjacent, with such goods as are consumed there, 
 and receive in return for them all sorts of merchandize that 
 may be had there, except beavers, otters, minks, and all sorts of 
 peltry, which trade the company reserve to themselves. But 
 the same shall be permitted at such places where the company 
 have no factories, conditioned that such traders shall be obhged 
 to bring all the peltry they can procure to the island of Man- 
 hattes, in case it be at any rate practicable, and there deliver to 
 the director, to be by him shipped hither, w^ith the ships and 
 goods ; or if they should come here, v^rithout going there, then 
 to give notice thereof to tlie company, that a proper account 
 thereof may be taken, in order that they may pay to the com- 
 pany, one guilder for each merchantable otter and beaver skin ; 
 the property, risk, and all other charges, remaining on account 
 of the patroons or owners. 
 
 XVI. That all coarse wares that the colonists of the pa- 
 troons there shall consume, such as pitch, tar, weed-ashes, 
 wood, grain, fish, salt, hearthstone, and such like things, shall 
 be brought over in the company's ships at the rate of eighteen 
 guilders per last, four thousand weight to be accounted a last, 
 and the company's ship's crew shall be obliged to wheel, and 
 bring the salt on board, whereof ten lasts make a hundred. 
 And in case of the want of ships, or room in the ships, they 
 may in ships of their own order it over at their own cost, and 
 enjoy in these dominions, such liberties and benefits as the 
 company have granted ; but that in either case they shall be 
 obliged to pay, over and above the recognition of five per cent., 
 eighteen guilders for each hundred of salt that is carried over 
 in the company's ships. 
 
 XVII. That for all wares which are not mentioned in the 
 foregoing article, and which are not carried by the last, there 
 shall be paid one dollar for each hundred pounds' weight, and 
 for wines, brandy, verjuice, and vinegar, there shall be paid 
 eighteen guilders per cask. 
 
 XVIII. That the company promises the colonists of the pa- 
 troons that they shall be free from customs, taxes, excise, im- 
 posts, or any other contributions, for the space of ten years ; 
 and after the expiration of the said ten years, at the highest, 
 with such customs as the goods are taxable with here for the 
 present. 
 
 XIX. That they will not take from the service of the pa- 
 troons any of their colonists, either man or woman, son or 
 daughter, man-servant or maid-servant ; and though any of them 
 should desire the same, that they will not receive them, much 
 
CHARTER OF LIBERTIES. 375 
 
 less permit them to leave their patroons, and enter into the 
 service of another, unless on consent obtained from their pa- 
 troons in writing. And this for and during so many years as 
 they are bound to their patroons ; after the expiration whereof, 
 it shall be in the power of the patroons to send hither all such 
 colonists as will not continue in their service, and until then 
 shall not enjoy their liberty. And all such colonists as shall 
 leave the service of his patroon, and enter into the service of 
 another, or shall contrary to his contract leave his service, we 
 promise to do everything in our power to apprehend and deliver 
 the same into the liands of his patroon, or attorney, that he may 
 be proceeded against, according to the customs of this country, 
 as occasion may require. 
 
 XX. That from all judgments given by the courts of the 
 patroons for upwards of fifty guilders,* there may be an ap- 
 peal to the company's commander and council in New-Nether- 
 lands. 
 
 XXI. That touching such particular persons, who, on their 
 own accounts, or others in the service of their masters here, 
 (not enjoying the same privileges as the patroons) shall be 
 minded to go thither and settle ; they shall, with the approba- 
 tion of the director and council there, be at liberty to take up 
 as much land, and take possession thereof, as they shall have 
 ability properly to improve, and shall enjoy the same in full 
 property either for themselves or masters. 
 
 XXII. That they shall have free liberty of hunting and fowl- 
 ing, as well by water as by land, generally and in public and 
 private woods and rivers, about their colonies, according to the 
 orders of the director and council. 
 
 XXIII. That whosoever, whether colonists or patroons, for 
 their patroons, or free persons for themselves, or other individu- 
 als for their masters, ^hall discover any shores, bays, or other 
 fit places for erecting fisheries, or the making of salt ponds, 
 they may take possession thereof, and begin to work on them 
 in their own absolute property, to the exclusion of all others. 
 And it is consented to, that the patroons of colonists may send 
 ships along the coast of New-Netherlands, on the cod fishery, 
 and with the fish they catch to trade to Italy, or other neutral 
 countries ; paying in such case to the company for recognition 
 six guilders per last : and if they should come with their lading 
 hither, they shall be at liberty to proceed to Italy, though they 
 shall not, under pretext of this consent, or from the company, 
 carry any goods there, on pain of arbitrary punishment : and it 
 remaining in the breast of the company to put a supercargo on 
 board of each ship as in the eleventh article. 
 
 XXIV. That in case any of the colonists should by his iiv 
 
376 CHARTER OF LIBERTIES. 
 
 dustry and diligence, discover any minerals, precious stones, 
 chrystals, marbles, or such like, or any pearl fishery, the same 
 shall be and remain the property of the palroon or patroons of 
 snch colony ; giving and ordering the discoverer such pre- 
 mium as the patroon shall beforehand have stipulated with 
 such colonists by contract. And the patroons shall be exempt 
 from all recognition to the company for the term of eight 
 years, and pay only for freight to bring them over, two per 
 cent., and after the expiration of the aforesaid eight years, for 
 recognition and freight the one eighth part of what the same 
 may be worth here, 
 
 XXV. That the company will take all the colonists as well 
 free as those that are in service, vmder their protection, and the 
 same against all outlandish and inland wars and powers, with 
 the forces they have there, as much as in their power lyeth to 
 defend. 
 
 XXVI. That whoever shall settle any colony out of the lim- 
 its of the Manhattes Island, shall be obhged to satisfy the In- 
 dians for the land they shall settle upon, and that they may ex- 
 tend or enlarge the limits of their colonies if they settle a pro- 
 portionate number of colonists thereon. 
 
 XXVII. That the patroons and colonists shall in particular, 
 and in the speediest manner, endeavour to find out ways and 
 means whereby they may support a minister and schoolmaster, 
 that thus the service of God and zeal for religion may not grow 
 cool, and be neglected among them ; and that they do, for the 
 first, procure a comforter of the sick there. 
 
 XXVIII. That the colonies that shall happen to lie on the 
 respective rivers or islands (that is to say, each river or island 
 for itself,) shall be at libert}'' to appoint a deputy, who shall give 
 information to the commander and council of that western quar- 
 ter, of all things relating to his colony, and who are to further 
 matters relating thereto, of w^hich deputies there shall be one 
 altered or changed, in every two years ; and all colonies shall 
 be obliged, at least once in every twelve months, to make exact 
 report of their colony and lands thereabout, to the commander 
 and council there in order to be transmitted hither. 
 
 XXIX. That the colonists shall not be permitted to make 
 any woollen, linen, or cotton cloth, nor weave any other stuffs 
 there, on pain of being banished, and as perjurors to be arbitra- 
 rily punished. 
 
 XXX. That the company will use their endeavours to sup- 
 ply the colonists with as many blacks as they conveniently can, 
 on the conditions hereafter to be made ; in such manner, how 
 ever, that they shall not be bound to do it for a longer time than 
 they shall think proper. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 377 
 
 XXXI. The company promises to finish the fort on the 
 island of the Manhattes, and to put it in a posture of defence 
 without delay ; and to get these privileges and exemptions 
 approved and confirmed by their High Mightinesses, the Lords 
 States General- 
 
 Extracts from the Letters of the Directors of the West India 
 Company^ contained in the MS. Colonial Records. 
 
 Vol iv. p. 25. Your apprehensions in regard to the Rev. 
 Backenus have been verified. He has made a common cause 
 with the complainants who arrived here from your country. — 
 These silly persons, at least the largest part of the petitioners, 
 have been imposed upon by a few worthless persons, viz. Cor- 
 nehs Melyn, Adrian van der Donck, and a few others, who, as it 
 appears, will leave nothing untried to abjure every kind of sub- 
 jection to government, under pretext that they groaned under a 
 too galling voke. In this frantic opinion they are confirmed by 
 Wouter van Twiller, who aims to appoint himself as the only 
 commander on the North river, and dares to declare in public thaJ 
 he does not intend to permit any one to navigate this river with a 
 cominercial view, and that he will repel with force every one 
 who with that purpose should come there, or in Rensselaerwyck, 
 asserting besides that Fort Orange was constructed on the soil of 
 Rensselaerwyck, consequently that the Company has no right 
 whatever to permit particular persons either to build a house, or 
 exercise any trade, without considering that said Fort Orange, 
 fifteen years before any mention of Rensselaerwyck exists, 
 was constituted and actually garrisoned by the Company ; that 
 besides a house of commerce (trading house) was established 
 in the fort, till ihe year 1644; so that the fur trade till our 
 days was exclusively reserved to the Company, and ought to re- 
 main on the same footing whenever the Company shall be enabled 
 to provide their magazines with sufficient store goods. Neither 
 are we without hope to discover and employ the means as soon 
 as the opportunity is offered, to exclude from this commerce 
 these impertinent fellows ; using this sovereign right with the 
 best title to the confusion of this ungrateful individual, who, if 
 we may so express it, has sucked his wealth from the breasts of 
 the Company which he now abuses ; upon which the merchants 
 pretty generally transmitted to us the inclosed petitions, request- 
 ing to be maintained by us in their right to a free trade. Appre- 
 hending from warnings that Wouter van Twiller might again 
 become so presumptuous as to obstruct once more by force the 
 48 
 
378 MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 
 
 navigation on the North river, and use violent means against 
 the merchants, vihfying in this matter the right of jurisdiction 
 in the Company; in such a case it is our express will that 
 your Honours shall repel him, with prudence for your guide, 
 by force of arms. If he should plant again some guns near 
 the river, as he did before, your Honours will carry them off and 
 keep them in your custody till you have received our further 
 orders. He has requested us in behalf of Rensselaerwyck, to 
 freight his own ship with 600 lb. powder and 600 lb. lead, 
 which we fear he may abuse. It is our intention to provide 
 you too with some powder and lead, not with the intention to 
 offend any one with it, but only to maintain the rights of the 
 Company, which in our opinion are in danger through the ma- 
 chinations of many. It is your duty to keep a watchful eye on 
 the ship of this Wouter van Twiller, and in case any articles- 
 were discovered in it besides our general invoice, or freighted 
 without the consent of the company, then you must take the 
 whole into your possession, and institute a lawsuit upon it by 
 the Attorney General conformably with the laws of the land. 
 Amsterdam, Feb. 16, 1650. 
 
 No more can we discover on what ground the colonists of 
 Rensselaerwyck did occupy Bears Island, which they called 
 Rensselaer-stein, which possession they have usurped in such 
 a lofty way that they named this place " The place by right 
 of arms," and compelled every one, exempting only the com- 
 pany's properly, to pay a toll of 5 gl. &c. p. 46. 
 
 We do not know in what these persons do trust, but we 
 are confident they will be disappointed, and more so yet, if 
 said Van Twiller intends to monopolize the trade upon the North 
 river, which we know to have been his aim a great while, wath 
 his toll on Bears Island, now called by them Rensselaer-stein ; 
 but we have no intention to permit this ; every one shall navi- 
 gate this river unmolested and enjoy a free trade at our Fort Or- 
 ange which these colonists pretend to have constructed on 
 their own territory. Who ever heard a more impertinent pre- 
 tension !" p. 49. 
 
 21 March, 1651. 
 
 Answer to the petition of Adrian van der DoncJc, addressed hy 
 the Company to the Governor. 
 
 "Vol. iv. p. 3. As Mr. Adrian van der Donck has petitioned 
 our college, first, that as he has received his degree at law in the 
 University of Leyden, and been admitted to practise it before the 
 Supreme Court of Holland, he may be permitted to follow his 
 
MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 379 
 
 profession as advocate in New Netherlands. Secondly, that he 
 may examine all the records and documents in the secretary's 
 office to accomplish his history of New Netherlands, which he 
 did undertake to write. So is our resolution upon these points : 
 we consent and permit him that, in conformity with the rules 
 and customs of this countr}!', he may follow his profession as ad- 
 vocate in New Netherlands, to give his advice to all who may de- 
 sire to obtam it ^ but as regards his pleading before the courts, 
 we cannot see that it can be admitted yet with any advantage to 
 the Directors and Council in New Netherlands. Besides that 
 we are ignorant if there be anjr of that stamp in your city, 
 (who nevertheless before they can be admitted must apply 
 to your Honour, or directly to our Department,) who can act 
 and plead against said Van der Donck in behalf of the other side. 
 We trust that in this you will consult the interest of your gov- 
 -ernment, and the welfare of the inhabitants." 
 24 July, 1653. 
 
 RENSSELAERWYCK. 
 
 At the request of Govert Lookermans, declared the un- 
 dersigned witnesses, viz. Cors Peterson, about thirty-three 
 years of age, Harmen Arentsen, from Bremen, thirty-five years 
 old, Cornelius Mauntsen Bout, twenty-seven years old, Willem 
 Petersen, twenty years old, Joannes Verbrugge, about twenty 
 years old, Carman Douwes, about twenty-six years old, Har- 
 man Bastiansen, twenty-five years old, Jacob Jansen, twenty- 
 three years old, and Elbert Hebers, twenty-four years old, who 
 jointly and separately declared, which declaration they were 
 willing to confirm by an oath whenever it is required, that it is 
 true that Govert Lookermans with the witnesses sailed from 
 Fort Orange in the yacht the Good Hope, and when they arrived 
 near the Bears' Island on wrhich Nicholas Keren resides in the 
 name of the patroon Van Rensselaer, the said Nicholas Keren 
 cried out to Govert Lookermans, when we were passing by, 
 " Lower thy colors ! " " For wJioin should I do so ? " retorted 
 Lookermans. Then Keren replied, " For the staple-right of 
 Rensselaerivyck." Then Govert Lookermans answered, " / 
 lower not my colors for any individual except the Prince of 
 Orange and the Lords my Masters^ Thereupon Nicholas Ke- 
 ren immediately fired a gun ; the first shot went through the 
 sail, broke the ropes and the ladder ; a second shot passed over 
 us, and the third, fired by a savage, perforated our princely col- 
 ors about a foot above the head of Lookermans, who kept the 
 colors constantly in his hand. But we continued our course 
 notwithstanding this insulting assault without returning the fire, 
 or making any other reprisal whatever, and gently descended 
 
380 MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 
 
 the river. All which we declare to pay our homage to the truth, 
 without any malice or lurking wish to court the favour of any 
 indivitlual. Done before Fort Amsterdam in New Netherlands, 
 9 July 1644. (Signed by the above named deponents.) 
 
 In presence of Cornelius van Tienhoven, Secretary. 
 
 Appeared before me, Cornelius van Tienhoven, Secretary 
 in New Netherlands, Isbrant Claesen, forty-four years old, 
 and John Tomasen, about forty years old, who jointly and 
 separately at the request of Nicolas Koorn, sheriff in Rens- 
 selaerwyck, declare, which declaration they are willing to 
 confirm with a solemn oath, that it is true, that Govert Looker- 
 mans, when sailing down the river some time ago, came about 
 Bears Island, when Nicolas Koorn fired a gun without ball as a 
 warning. When Govert continued his course, Nicolas Koorn 
 said " Strike /' 'Govert Lookermans replied, " For whom shall 
 I strike .<"' Nicolas Koorn answered, " To -pay homage to 
 Rensselaer stein l'^ Govert then exclaimed, ^^ I strike for nobody 
 hut the Prince, or those by tohom I am employ ed^ Then Nic- 
 olas ordered to fire behind the bark, when Govert Lookermans 
 vociferated, " Fire ye dogs, and the devil takeyou^'' Then the 
 sheriff offered to fire once more, when the shot stru ck and per- 
 forated the sail. Done in Fort Amsterdam in New Netherlands, 
 7 October, 1644. Vol. iii. 219. 
 
 I, Cornelius Huyghens, Attorney General in New Nether- 
 lands, to Mr. Nicolas Koorn in behalf of Mr. Van Rensselaer 
 in his colony. 
 
 Whereas I am informed with certainty, that it is your inten- 
 tion, and that you are qualified by your patroon, to establish 
 yourself on Bears' Island, situated three miles* below Fort Or- 
 ange with a body of men, to build there a fort, for which you 
 have provided guns to defend it ; — and whereas this is incon- 
 sistent with the privileges granted to patroons and lords of ma- 
 nors, since a colony may not be further extended than four 
 miles along the coast, or two miles on both sides of the river, as 
 is evident from Article 5th of the grant ; and whereas said Bears' 
 Island is more than two miles from the limits of the said colony 
 — besides the bold attempt to construct there a fort which 
 might command the river, and debar Fort Orange from the free 
 navigation — all which would be ruinous to the interests of the 
 Company: Therefore I desire to know Avhat authority you 
 have, and by whom you have been invested with it. If you do 
 not directly comply with this demand, then I forbid you "to con- 
 struct any building whatever, much less any fortification out of 
 
 * Nine English miles. This island retains its original name. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 381 
 
 the limits of the said colony of Rensselaerwyck ; and if you 
 notwithstanding this prohil)ition dare to proceed, then I protest 
 against the damages which must be the consequence of such 
 lawless transactions, which I shall prosecute against you, or any 
 other persons whom it may concern. 
 
 I, Nicolas Koorn, commander in Rensselaer-stein,* in behalf 
 of the Honorable Killian van Rensselaer, under the high alle- 
 giance of their High Mightinesses the States General of the 
 United Netherlands and the privileged West India Company, 
 first commander of the colony on the North river in New Neth- 
 erlands, make it known to you, Cornelius van Huyghens, Attor- 
 ney General of New Netherlands, as the vice-commander of the 
 Hon. Van Rensselaer, that you will not presume to oppose and 
 frustrate my designs on the Bears' Island, to defraud me in any 
 manner or to cause me any trouble, as it has been the will of 
 their High Mightinesses the States General and the privileged 
 West India Company, to invest my patroon and his heir with 
 the right to extend and fortify his colony, and make it powerful 
 in every respect ; wherefore you Cornelius Van Huyghens, At- 
 torney General, will take care to avoid any attempt on these 
 rights, and if you persist in doing so, I, Nicolas Koorn, protest 
 against the act of violence and assault committed by the Hon. 
 Lords Majors, which I leave them to settle between them and 
 my Hon. patroon, while the undertaking has nothing else in 
 view than to prevent the canker of freemen entering his colony. 
 
 The Attorney General persists in his interdiction, and renews 
 his protest. 
 
 Done in Manhattans, 18 Nov. 1644, in New Netherlands. 
 
 Cornelius Van der Huyghens, Attorney General. 
 Nicholas Koorn, \ 
 David Provost, > Witnesses. 
 
 Stoffel Stevenson. ) 
 
 Vol. iii. 187. 
 
 AWARD OF REFEREES. 
 
 John Underhill and Isaac Allertont are authorized by the 
 Honorable Director and Council in New Netherlands, to settle 
 the accounts between Mr. Moor and Mr. Wedderley to their 
 
 * Stein in Netherlands and Germany is used for castle. Trans. 
 
 t Both of these persons were of some note in the annals of New England. — 
 Allerton was originally setiled at New PlymoiUh ; he afterwards removed 
 to New Amsterdam, but is supiposed to have passed the latter part of his life at 
 New Haven, where he died in 1659. J\Iorton\i Memorial — Ed. of Ju<ls;e Davis. 
 Appx. 393. Mass. Hist. Coll. 3d Series, vii. 2i3. Memoir of Isaac ..illerton. — 
 Underhill died at Oyster Bay, in 1672. See an interesting memoir of him in 
 Thompson's valuable History of Long Island, p. 336. 
 
382 MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 
 
 best knowledge ; and having thoroughly and impartially exanri- 
 ined said affair, so it is, that they declared that the half of the 
 bark ought to remain the property of Mr. Moor, provided he 
 delivers to Mr. Wedderley 250 lbs. tobacco, or its value, and 
 leaving it further to Wedderley to settle with Ridder in Virgin- 
 ia. Whereas for the truth thereof, this act has been signed on 
 26 November, 1644, in Fort Amsterdam, in New Netherlands. 
 
 John Underhill, 
 Isaac Allerton.* 
 
 'CASTLte ISLAND. 
 
 Vol. xxiv. 167. Extract from the answer of Governor 
 Stuyvesant to the application of the General Court of Massa- 
 chusetts, soliciting a free passage for their vessels on the North 
 Tiver to Fort Orange, April 20, 1660. 
 
 " That this North river of New Netherlands was first dis- 
 covered at the expense of the Netherlands in the year 1609, by 
 Hendrick Hudson, skipper and merchant of the yacht Half- 
 Moon, in the service of the East India Company ; upon the 
 report of said Hudson, several merchants of Amsterdam sent 
 in the following year, 1610, another ship up the North river, 
 who obtained the next year a grant of their High and Mighty 
 Lords, the Slates General, to sail upon that river and to navi- 
 gate ; for whose security they built, in the year 1615, a small 
 fort from which an island near Fort Orange yet bears the name 
 of Castle Island, and the monuments of which can yet be 
 shown ;- -which small fort by high water and ice was three 
 years after highly injured, so that at length it entirely decayed." 
 
 CONTRACT FOR THE BUILDING OF A CHURCH. 
 
 Vol. iii. 31. "Appeared before me, Cornelius Van Tien- 
 hoven. Secretary in behalf of the general privileged West India 
 Company in New Netherlands, the Honorable William Kieft, 
 church-warden, at the request of his brethren, the church- 
 wardens of the church in New Netherlands, to transact and in 
 their name to conclude the following business. So did he, as 
 church-warden, agree with John Ogden about a church in the 
 following manner, viz. : — 
 
 John Ogden of Stamford, and Ritsert Ogden, engage to build 
 in behalf of said church-wardens a church of rock-stone, 
 seventy-two feet long, fifty-two feet broad, and sixteen feet high 
 above the soil, all in good order, and in a workman-like manner. 
 They shall be obliged to procure the stone and bring it on shore 
 
 * Isaac Allerton was plaintiff in a suit before the Burgomasters' Court in 
 fort Amsterdam, March 24, 1654. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 3SZ 
 
 near the fort at their own expense, from whence the church- 
 wardens shall further convey the stone to the place where it is. 
 intended to build the church, at their own expense. The 
 church wardens aforesaid will procure as much lime as shall 
 be required for the building of the aforesaid church. John and 
 Ritsert Ogden shall at their own charge pay for the masonry, 
 &c., provided that when the work shall be finished the church 
 wardens shall pay to them the sum of 2500 gl.,* which payment 
 shall be made in beaver, cash, or merchandize, to wit: — if the 
 church-wardens are satisfied with the Avork, so that in their 
 judgment the 2500 gl. shall have been earned, then the said 
 church-wardens shall reward them wiih 100 gl. more ; and fur- 
 ther promise to John Ogden and Ritsert Ogden to assist them 
 whenever it is in their power. They fiu-ther agree to facilitate 
 the carrying the stone thither, and that John and Ritsert Ogden 
 may use during a month or six weeks the Company's boat ; en- 
 gaging themselves and the aforesaid John and Ritsert Ogden ta 
 finish the undertaken work in the manner as they contracted.. 
 Done in Fort Amsterdam, in New Netherlands. (Signed) 
 William Kieft, John Ogden, Richard Ogden, Gysbert op Dyck, 
 Thomas WiUett.t 
 
 EXTRACT FROM JOSSELYN's VOYAGES.^ 
 
 " The whole country is divided into colonies, and for your 
 better understanding, observe a colony is a sort of people that 
 come to inhabit a place before not inhabited, or colonus quasi, 
 because the)'^ should be tillers of the earth. From hence by a 
 
 About one thousand dollars. 
 
 + There is no date legible in the original of this contract, which was signed 
 by the pariits in the book of Records. The date was probably inserted at the 
 beginning, which is rendered partially illegible by the mouldering of the leaves ; 
 but as the other documents both immediately preceding and following this in the 
 Records are of the date 1642, there can be no doubt that it was executed in that 
 year; the church was commenced in 1643. This is the church mentioned by De 
 Vries (see above p. 265). It stood within tne walls of the Fort, and remained 
 unaltered until 1691, when it wasremoilelled, and afterwards used for the service 
 of the church of England. It was finally destroyed by fire in 1741. The 
 Dutch congregation built a church on Garden street in 1691, to which they 
 removed. Governor Stuyvesant erected a chapel near his country-house about 
 1660, on the present site of St. Mark's Church. The church in the Fort and 
 the Governor's chapel were the only churches existing in the city prior to the- 
 one in Garden street, with the exception of the original place of worship that 
 preceded the stone church, and which De Vries calls a ' barn ' from the homeli- 
 ness of its appearance. At what period the latter was erected is unknown. 
 The first notice of it that we have seen is in the deposition respecting the pub- 
 lic property taken in 1638, at the commencement of Kieft's administration. 
 (See above p. 279). 
 
 X " An account of two Voyages to New England, &c. By John JosseIyn», 
 Genx. London, 1674." Dedicated to " the Right Honorable and Most lUuslri-- 
 ous the President and Fellows of the Royal Society." 
 
384 MiaCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS, 
 
 usual figure the country where they sit down is called a Colony 
 or Plantation. 
 
 " The first of these that I shall relate of, though last in posses- 
 sion of the Enghsh, is now our most southerly colony, and next 
 adjoining to Maryland, scil. the Manadaes or Manahanent, lying 
 upon the great river Mohegan, which was first discovered by 
 Mr. Hudson, and sold presently by him to the Dutch, without 
 authority from his sovereign the king of England, anno 1608. 
 The Dutch in 1614 began to plant there, and called it New 
 Netherlands, but Sir Samuel Argal, governor of Virginia, 
 routed them ; the Dutch after this got leave of King James to 
 put in there for fresh water in their passage to Brazil,* and did 
 not offer to plant until a good wdiile after the English were set- 
 tled in the country. In anno 1664, his majesty Charles the 
 Second sent over four worthy gentlemen commissioners to re- 
 duce the colonies into their bounds, who had before encroached 
 upon one another, who marching with three hundred red-coats 
 to Manadaes or Manhataes, took from the Dutch their chief 
 town then called New Amsterdam, now New York ; the twenty- 
 ninth of August, turned out their governor with a silver leg, 
 and all but those that were willing to acknowledge subjection to 
 the king of England, suffering them to enjoy their houses and 
 estates as before. Thirteen days after Sir Robert Carr took 
 the fort and town of Aurania, now called Albany ; and twelve 
 days after that, the fort and town of Awsapha [Esopus] ; then 
 De-la-Ware Castle, manned with Dutch and Swedes. So now 
 the English are masters of three handsome towns, three strong 
 forts and a castle, not losing one man. The first governor of 
 these parts for the king of England was Colonel Nicols, a 
 noble gentleman, and one of his majesty's commissioners, who 
 coming for England in anno Domi?ii 1668, as I take it, surren- 
 dered the government to Colonel Lovelace. 
 
 " New York is situated at the mouth of the great river Mo- 
 hegan, and is built with Dutch brick alla-moderna, the meanest 
 house therein being valued at one hundred pounds ; to the 
 landward it is compassed with a wall of good thickness. At 
 the entrance of the river is an island well fortified, and hath 
 command of any ship that shall attempt to pass without leave." 
 pp. 152—154. 
 
 * The same story is told in Thurloe's State Papers, that the Dutch " by the 
 permission of Kine; James had granted from him to the'r States only a certain 
 island, called therefore by them States Island [Staten Islandj, as a watering 
 place for their West India fleets; although as they have encroached upon, so 
 they have eiven it a new Dutch name, * * * wiping out the old English names 
 in those ports of America in their old sea charts, and have new Dutchified them." 
 See the document at length in Hazard's Slate Papers, i. 604 — 5. This story of 
 a ' watering place ' is as probable as that of the sale by Hudson ; both equally 
 ^insustained by the history of the country. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 385 
 
 TABLES OF EXPORTS AND IMPORTS. 
 
 The following statistical tables are taken from De Laet's History 
 of the West India Company. That work has not been translated, 
 but from an examination of its index it appears to contain nothing 
 else of interest relating to the colony of New Netherlands. 
 
 EXPORTS, 
 
 From New Netherlands by the West India Company, from A. D. 1624 
 
 to 1635. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Beavers. 
 
 otters, &c. 
 
 Guilders, 
 
 1624 
 
 4,000 
 
 700 
 
 27,125 
 
 1625 
 
 5,295 
 
 463 
 
 35,825 
 
 1626 
 
 7,258 
 
 857 
 
 45,050 
 
 1627 
 
 7,520 
 
 370 
 
 12,730 
 
 1628 
 
 6,951 
 
 734 
 
 61,075 
 
 1629 
 
 5,913 
 
 681 
 
 62,185 
 
 1630 
 
 6,041 
 
 1,085 
 
 68,012 
 
 1632 
 
 13,513 
 
 1,661 
 
 143,125 
 
 1633 
 
 8,800 
 
 1,383 
 
 91,375 
 
 1635 14,891 1.413 134,925 
 
 IMPORTS. 
 
 Guilders. 
 
 1624 In two ships, goods, wares, &c. 25,569 
 
 1625 Several ships, •' 8,772 
 
 1626 Two ships, " 20,384 
 
 1627 Four ships, •' 56,170 
 
 1628 no imports 
 
 1629 Thiee ships, " 55,778 
 
 1630 Two ships, " 57,499 
 
 1631 One ship, " 17,355 
 
 1632 One ship, » 31,320 
 
 1634 One ship, " 29,562 
 
 1635 One ship, " 28,875 
 
 49 
 
386 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 
 
 List of the wealthier citizens of New -Amsterdam, A.D. 1653. 
 
 The following list is taken from a MS. volume of the City Re- 
 cords recently translated from the Dutch, at the request of the 
 Corporation of New-York, by Rev. Mr. Westbrook, of Peekskill. 
 
 " On Thursday, in the afternoon, being the 13th March, 165», 
 in session at Fort-Amsterdam : — 
 
 Arent van Hattem, Burgomaster, 
 
 P. Leendersen Vandergrist, ~| 
 
 William Beekman, | 
 
 AUard Antony, !> Schepens. 
 
 M. Van Geele, 
 
 Pieter Wolfersen, J 
 
 The Burgomaster Marten Krigier absent. 
 
 A List of the persons who shall provisionally contribute the 
 following sums for the purpose of putting the city in a state of 
 defence. 
 
 His Mightiness Werciihoven, 
 
 Johannes van Beeck, 
 
 Joliannes P. Verbrugge, 
 
 Johannes G. Verbrugge, 
 
 Johannes de Peyster, 
 
 Cornehs van Steenwyck, 
 
 Govert Lookermans 
 
 Olof Stevensen, 
 
 Jacob Scbcllinck, 
 
 Pieter Prins, 
 
 Antony van Hardenbergh, 
 
 Johannes Nefius, 
 
 Gulyan Wys, 
 
 Pieter Buijs, 
 
 Adriaen and Johannes Keyser, 
 
 Paulus Schrick, 
 
 Jacob G. Strycker, 
 
 Francoijs Fijn, 
 
 Matewis do Vos, 
 
 Adriaen Blommaert, 
 
 Evert Tesselaers Commisen, 
 
 uilders. 
 
 
 guilders. 
 
 200 
 
 Jacob Backer, 
 
 150 
 
 200 
 
 Nicolas Boodt, 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 Isaack Foreest, 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 Abram Geenes, 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 Jacob Steendam, 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 Antony Claesen, 
 
 50 
 
 150 
 
 Jan Jansen, jr. 
 
 50 
 
 150 
 
 Borger Joris, 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 Jan Vinje, 
 
 50 
 
 100 
 
 Arent van Hattem, 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 Marten Krigier, 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 Paulus Leendersen, 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 William Beekman, 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 Peter van Cowenhoven, 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 Maximilyen Geel, 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 Allard Antony, 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 Abram de la Nooy, 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 Daniel Letschoet, 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 Philip Genaerdy, 
 
 50 
 
 100 
 
 Egbert van Borsum, 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 Hendrick Kip. 
 
 50 
 
MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 
 
 387 
 
 TAX LIST OF NEW-AMSTERDAM, a.d. 1674. 
 
 The extraordinary expenses attending the repair of the fortifi- 
 cations, and providing for the public defence, after the re-conquest 
 of the city by the Dutch, in 1673, led to the imposition of a direct 
 tax on those citizens whose estates were worth at least 1000 
 guilders. The following list was made out by a Board of six 
 Assessors specially appointed for that purpose. 
 
 Adolph Petersen, estate valued 
 
 at (guilders Holland value,) lOOO 
 
 Andrias Jochems, 300 
 
 Albert Bosch, 500 
 
 Abraham Carinar, 300 
 
 Allard Anthony, 1000 
 
 Abraham Jansen, carpenter, 600 
 
 Anthony Jansen Van Sale, 1000 
 
 Adrian Vincent, 1000 
 
 Abel Hardenbroeck, IOjO 
 
 Abraham Verplanck, 300 
 
 Asser Leevy, 2500 
 
 Abram Lubbersen, 300 
 
 Anthony De, ^ 1000 
 
 Anna Van Borssum, * 2000 
 
 Barent Coersen, 3500 
 
 Balthasar Bayard, 150U 
 
 Boele Roelofsen, 600 
 
 Barnadus Hasfalt, 300 
 
 Bay Rosevelt, 1000 
 
 Balthasar de Haert's House, 2000 
 
 Claes Lock, 600 
 
 Carsten Leursen, 5000 
 
 Cornelis Steenwyck, 50,000 
 
 Cornelis van Ruyven, 18,000 
 
 Cornelis Janse van Hooren, 500 
 
 Claes Bordingh, 1500 
 
 Coenraed Ten Eyck, 5000 
 
 Christopher Hoogland, 5000 
 
 Cornelis Chopper, 5000 
 
 Coiel Van Brugges's Houses, 1000 
 
 Cornelis Van Borssum, 8000 
 
 David Wessels, 800 
 Cornelis Direksen, from west- 
 
 veen, 1200 
 Cornelis Barentse Vander Cuyll, 400 
 
 Dirck Smet, 2000 
 
 David Jochems, 1000 
 
 Daniel Hendricks, 500 
 
 Dirck Van Cleef, 1500 
 
 Dirck Wiggerse, 800 
 
 Dirck Sieken, 2000 
 
 Dirck Claesse, Potter, 400 
 
 Aegidius Luyk, 5000 
 
 Egbert Wouterse, 300 
 
 Evert Pieterse, 2000 
 
 Evert Wesselse Kuyper, 300 
 
 Evert Duyckmgh, 1600 
 
 Ephraim Harmans, 1000 
 
 Ehzabeth Dr seus, 2000 
 
 Elizabeth Bedloo, 1000 
 
 Ffrancois Rombouts, 5000 
 
 FtVederick Phihpse, 80,000 
 
 Ffrederick Arentse, turner, 400 
 
 Ffrederick Gisberts, 400 
 
 Guiliane Verplanck, 5000 
 
 Guiliam de Honioud, 400 
 
 Gabriel Minville, 10,000 
 
 Gerret Gullevever, 500 
 
 Mary Loockermans, 2000 
 
 Harnianus Burger &, Co., 400 
 
 Hendrick Kip, sen., 300 
 
 Hendrick Bosch, 400 
 
 Hendrick Wessels Smit, 1200 
 Hendrick Gillesse, shoemaker, 3oO 
 Hendrick Willemse Backer, 2000 
 
 Hermanns van Borsum, 600 
 
 Hans Kierstede, 2000 
 
 Hendrick van Dyke, 300 
 
 Hartman Wessels, 300 
 
 Harmen Smeeman, 300 
 
 Henry Bresier, 300 
 
 Johnanncs Van Brugh, 1400 
 
 Johannis de Peyster, 15 000 
 
 Jeronimus Ebbmgh, 30,000 
 
 Jacob Kip, 4000 
 
 Isaacq van Vlecq, 1500 
 
 Jan Meleynderse Karmar, 300 
 
 Isaack de Foreest, 1500 
 
 Junan Blanck, 1600 
 
3S3 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS. 
 
 Jacob de Nacrsi. 
 
 Jan Hcndriok Van Boinmcl, 
 
 Jacob l.ouinon, 
 
 Jcroniias Jans, n Ilaijonacr, 
 
 Jacobus van lio ^^"ato^, 
 
 Jan Pircksc Aloyor, 
 
 Isacq Van Triclit, in hia bro- 
 
 tbcr's house, 
 Jacob Abraliauise, shoemaker, 
 Jan Van Hroostocdc, 
 Jonas nartols, 
 Jan Horbcrdiuffh, 
 Jacob Touniss Key, 
 Jan Spiesrclaer, 
 Jan Jansen, carpenter, 
 John Lawrence, 
 James iNIalheus, 
 Jan Reay, pipcuiakcr, 
 Jan Coely iSnict, 
 Jan Schakerlcy, 
 Jan Joostcn, Banquier, 
 •Jacob Lcy>lacr, 
 Jan Viffne, 
 Jacob Varrevanffcr, 
 Laurens Jansen Sinct, 
 Luycis Andrics, Banquier, 
 Laurens Van dc Spiosrel, 
 Lainmert Huybcrtse Moll, 
 
 5000 
 
 Laurens Hoist, 
 
 300 
 
 1500 
 
 Luyckcs T'enhoven, 
 
 600 
 
 300 
 
 Marten Krejjier. sen., 
 
 2000 
 
 400 
 
 iVlarten Jansen Mcyor, 
 
 500 
 
 2500 
 
 Mathcys de Haert, 
 
 12,000 
 
 GOO 
 
 Nicholas dc Meyer, 
 
 50,000 
 
 
 Nicliolas Bayard, 
 
 1000 
 
 2500 
 
 Niciiolas ilu Tuy, 
 
 600 
 
 2000 
 
 Nicolas Jansen Backer, 
 
 700 
 
 500 
 
 Olof Stevcnsen Van Cortland, 
 
 45,000 
 
 3000 
 
 Peter Jacobs ^larius. 
 
 5000 
 
 2000 
 
 Peter Nys, 
 
 500 
 
 8000 
 
 Paulus Kicliard, 
 
 5000 
 
 500 
 
 Peter de Riemcr, 
 
 800 
 
 300 
 
 Paulus Turcq, 
 
 300 
 
 40,000 
 
 Pieter Van de Water, 
 
 400 
 
 1000 
 
 Pieler Jansen Mesier, 
 
 300 
 
 300 
 
 Philip Jolins, 
 
 600 
 
 1200 
 
 Reynier Willemsc Backer, 
 
 5000 
 
 1400 
 
 Stcplianus Van Cortland, 
 
 5000 
 
 2500 
 
 Simon Jantz Ronicyn, 
 
 1200 
 
 15,000 
 
 Sibout Ciacss, 
 
 500 
 
 1000 
 
 S'ouwcrt Olphcrtsen, 
 
 600 
 
 8000 
 
 Thomas Lcurs, 
 
 6000 
 
 300 
 
 Thomas liouwerss Backer, 
 
 1000 
 
 150C 
 
 Wilnelni Beeckman, 
 
 3000 
 
 6000 
 
 Wander Wessels, 
 
 600 
 
 300 
 
 Willcm Van dcr Schueven. 
 
 300 
 
 The foregoing list was copied from the Colonial Records, and 
 published in Moultou's sketch of New-Orange, (as the city was 
 called on its re-conquest by the Dutch,) with some interesting de- 
 tails relating to that period. 
 
 • This remarkable man took tlie lead in a popular movement in 16S8. when he assumed 
 the government. lie was aflerwards tried on a charge of hiirh treason and executed. His 
 attainder was reversed at a later period by act of Parliament, and lus estates restored to his 
 family. — Ed. 
 
XIII. 
 
 A CATALOGUE 
 
 OP T ." Z 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE DUTCH CHURCH, 
 
 WITH THE NAMES OF THE STEEETS 
 
 IN THE CITY OF N E W-T R K, 
 A. D. 1 6S6. 
 
 From the original nr^niiffui i t of B«r. Hexkt Seltxs, 
 P(Ut»T •f the CkxrrJu 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE, 
 
 BY THE REV. THOMAS DE WITT, D.D. 
 
 Of the Collegiate Dutch Reformed Church, New-York. 
 
 The list inserted below is copied from a small volume originally 
 belonging to Dominie Henricus Selyns, of the Reformed Dutch 
 Church in the city of New-York. In this are recorded the names 
 of the members of the church, arranged in their order in the respec- 
 tive streets, probably to guide him in his pastoral visitations. It 
 bears the date of 1686 — Dominie is the official name familiarly 
 given to their ministers at that period. Dominie Selyns sustained 
 a high reputation in the ministry. In his early day he officiated in 
 the church at Stuyvesani's Bouwery, on the spot where St. Mark's 
 Church now stands, and in the church at Brooklyn combined, from 
 1660 to 1664, when he returned to Holland. Such was the high 
 estimation in which he was here held, that when a vacancy occurred 
 in the church of New-York, by the death of Dom. Drisius, a call was 
 forwarded to Mr. Selyns, which he declined. When, again, a vacancy 
 occurred in 1682, by the death of Dom. W. Van Nieuwenhuysen, 
 a call was again forwarded to him, which he accepted. He con- 
 tinued pastor of the church until his death in 1701. He sustained a 
 high character as an able and faithful minister, and was distinguish- 
 ed for his literary acquirements. He is said to have cultivated a 
 taste for poetry, of which a few specimens in Latin and Dutch re- 
 main. A poem of some length will be found prefixed to Cotton 
 Mather's Magnalia Americana, addressed to the author. 
 
 The list is copied literally from Selyns' manuscript. The original 
 Dutch has been retained. 
 Explanations : — Huysvrou van, wife of. 
 
 En zyn huysvrou, and his wife. 
 
 De Heer is a title of distinction for a gentleman. 
 
 Juffrou is a title of distinction for a lady. 
 
 The Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of New-York 
 commence in 1639, and are subsequently continued with care 
 and regularity. At that time Everardus Bogardus was minister. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 391 
 
 It is not known at what time he was settled. It is ascertained 
 that he was here as early as 1635. From the complexion of the 
 earliest records, it appears that there must have previously been 
 an ecclesiastical organization, but at what time that organization 
 took place cannot be ascertained. 
 
 Mr. Bogardus left the church in 1647, and was succeeded by 
 Johannes Megapolensis and Samuel Megapolensis, who officiated 
 at the same time. Johannes Megapolensis, it appears, also labored 
 for a time at Rensselaerwyck. He died in 1670. Samuel Me- 
 gapolensis was also a doctor of medicine, and was one of the 
 commissioners to negotiate with the British at the capitulation of 
 the colony in 1664. The next in order of time were, 
 
 Samuel Drisius, from 1G59 to 1672 
 Wilhelmus van Nieuwen- 
 
 huysen, 1671 to 1681 
 
 »Henricus Selyns, 1682 to 1701 
 
 Gualterus Du Bois, 1699 to 1756 
 
 Henricus Boel, 1713 to 1754 
 
 Joannes Ritzema, 1744 to 1776 
 
 Lambcrtus De Ronde, 1751 to 1776 
 Archibald Laidlie, D D. 1764 to 1778 
 John H. Livingston, D D. 1770 to 1810 
 William Linn, D. D. 1785 to 1805 
 Gerardus A. Kuypers, " 1787 to 1833 
 
 Ritzema and De Ronde retired into the country when the Bri- 
 tish took possession of the city in 1776, and did not return to their 
 charge at the close of the war, but remained in retirement in their 
 old age, receiving an annuity till their death. 
 
 Dr. Laidlie was the first who preached in the English language^ 
 being called for that purpose from Flushing in Holland. 
 
 • The following are the concluding lines of the Latin poem above referred 
 to, addressed by Dominie Selyns to Cotton Mather, and inserted in the Mag- 
 nalia. — Ed. 
 
 " Tu dilecte Deo, cujua Bostonia gaudet 
 Nostra ministerio, seu cui scribere libros, 
 Non opus, aut labor est, et qui Magnalia Christi,. 
 Americana refers, scriptura plurima. Nonne 
 Dignus es, agnoscare inter Magnalia Christi ? 
 
 Vive liber, totique orbi miracula monstres. 
 Quae sunt extra orbem. Cottone, in saecula vive ; 
 Et dum mundus erit, vivat tua fama per orbem. 
 
 HENRICUS SELIJNS, 
 Ecclesiae Neo-Eboracensis Minister Belgicus. 
 
 Daham Novi-Ehoraci Amtricani, 
 16 Oct. 1697." 
 
LIST OF CHURCH MEMBERS. 
 
 BREEDE WEG, (BROADWAY.) 
 
 Ariaentje Cornelis, huysvrou van Al- 
 bert I3arent9, 
 
 Pauliis Turck, en zyn huysvrou Aeltje 
 Barents, 
 
 Maria Turck, huysvrou van Abraham 
 Kcrmcr, 
 
 Cocnrad Ten Eyck, on zyn huysvrou 
 
 Annetjc Daniels, 
 
 Gerrit Jantzc Roos, en zyn huysvrou 
 
 Tryntje Arents, 
 
 Tobias Stouteiiburg, en zyn huysvrou 
 
 Annelje van Hillegorn, 
 
 Marrelje Cornelis, h. v. van Elias Post, 
 
 Jurriars Blanck, en zyn h. v. i 
 
 Hester Vandcrbeeck, ^ 
 
 Johannes van Gelder, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Janneken Montcnack, 
 
 Peter Willcmse Roome, en zyn h. 
 
 Hester van Gelder, 
 
 Willem Vanderschuuren, en zyn h. v 
 
 Grietje Plettenburg-, 
 
 Annelje Berding h. v. van Cornelis 
 Kregier, 
 
 Tryntje Cornelis, weduwe van Chris- 
 tian Pietersen, 
 
 Hcndrick Obee, en zyn h. v 
 
 Aeltje Clacs, 
 
 Evert Aertscn, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Marretje Hcrck, 
 
 Willem Aertson, en zyn h 
 
 Slyutie Nagcl, 
 
 Olphert Seurt, en zyn h. v 
 
 Margareta Klopper, 
 
 '■N 
 
 Helena Pieterse, h. v. van Abraham 
 
 Malhysen, 
 Geurt Gerritsen, en zyn h. v. i 
 Elizabeth Cornelis, j 
 
 Seurt Olphertsen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Ytie Roelofse, ) 
 
 Anncken Mauritz, weduwe van Dom. 
 
 Wilhclinus van Nicuwenhuyeen, 
 Tryntje Bickers, h. v. van Walter 
 
 Heycrs. 
 De Heer Francois Rombout, en zyn 
 
 h. v. 
 Helena Teller, 
 
 Isaac Stephensen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Margareta van Veen, ) 
 
 Lucas Andriesen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Acftje Laurense, ) 
 
 M. Gerrit van Tricht, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Maria Vandegrift, > 
 
 Balthazar Bayard, en zyn h. v. ^ 
 Marretje Lookcrmans, J 
 
 Blandina Kierstede, h, v. van Pieter 
 
 Bayard, 
 Rachel Kierstede, 
 
 Jan Peek, en zyn h. v. > 
 
 Gysbert van Imburgh, 
 
 Elizabeth van Imburgh, 
 
 Tryntje Adolph, h. v. van Thomas 
 
 Hoeken, 
 Elizabeth Lucas, weduwe van Jan 
 
 Stephensen. 
 
 BEURS STRAAT, (EXCHANGE STREET.) 
 
 Margareta Pieters, h. v. van Frederick 
 
 Arentse, 
 Jacob Teller, en zyn h. v, 
 Christina Wcssels, 
 Jacob De Kay, en zyn h. v, 
 Hillegond Theunis, 
 Sarah Bedlo, h. v. van Claes Berger, 
 
 1 
 
 Pieter De Riemer, en zyn h. v. 
 Susanna De Foreest, 
 Isaac De Riemer, 
 * Juffro 11 Marg. De Riemer, weduwe 
 van De Heer Cornelis Steenwyk, 
 Andries Grevenraedt, en zyn h. v. 
 Anna van Brug. 
 
 PAERL STRAAT, (PEARL STREET.) 
 
 Jan Willemsen, en zyn h. v. > 
 Elizabeth Frederick, } 
 
 Martin Cregier, 
 Tryntje Cregier, weduwe van Stoffel 
 
 Hoogland, 
 Margareta Blanck, h. v. van Philip 
 
 Smit, 
 Gerrit Hardenberg, en zyn h. v. } 
 
 Jaepje Schepmocs, 
 
 Sara Hardenberg, 
 Isaac Grevenraedt, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Marritje Jans, 5 
 
 Hendrick J illisen Mcyert, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Elsje Rosenvelt, J 
 
 Andries Breesteede, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Annetje van Borsum, ) 
 
 Aeltje Schepmoes, weduwe van Jan 
 Evertse Keteltas, 
 
 * Dom. SeJyns was afterwards married to this lady. 
 
LIST OF CHURCH MEMBERS. 
 
 393 
 
 Susanna Mavsuryn, weduwe van Clacs 
 
 Berdinjr, 
 Gerritvan Gelder, 
 Pieter Lc Grand, en zyn h, v. ) 
 Janncken dc Windcl, ) 
 
 Jan Scliouten, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Sara Jans, ) 
 
 Elizabeth Schoutcn, 
 Dirck Teunisen, en zyn h. v. 
 Calalina Frans, 
 Warner Wesscls, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Elizabeth Cornells, ) 
 
 Nicolaes Blanck, 
 Catharina Blanck, h. v. van Justus 
 
 Wilvelt, 
 
 Claesjc Blanck, huysvrou van Vietar 
 
 Bicker, 
 Trynfje Clacs, vi^cduwe van Jurriaen 
 
 Blanck, 
 Pieter Jacobsen Marius, en zyn h. v. } 
 Marretje Becck, ) 
 
 Aeltje Willemse, weduwe van Pieter 
 
 Cornelisen, 
 Thomas Laurenscn, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Marretje Jans, ) 
 
 Cornclis van Langevelt, en zyn h. v. ? 
 Maria Grocnlant, > 
 
 Tryntje Michiels, h. v. van Andries 
 
 Claescn. 
 
 LANG'S STRANT, (ALONG THE STRAND.) 
 
 Rebecca Delaval h. v. van Willem 
 
 Dervall, 
 Elsje Thymens, h. v. van Jacob Leyds- 
 
 ler, 
 Susanna Leydsler, 
 Daniel Veenvos, en zyn h. v. r 
 Christina Vandergrift, ) 
 
 Jacob Leendertse Vandergrift, en 
 
 zyn h. V. 
 Rebecca Frederick, 
 Nicholas Vandergrift, 
 Rachel Vandergrift, 
 Rachel Kip, h. v. van Lucas Kierstede, 
 Celelje Jans, h. v. van Paulus Richard, 
 Elizabeth Grevenvaedt, weduwe van 
 
 Dom. Samuel Drisius, 
 Pieter Delanoy, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Elizabeth De Potter, J 
 
 Catharina Bedlo, 
 Frc'erick Gysbertse Vandenberg, 
 
 en zyn h. v. 
 Maria Lubberta, 
 Jannetje Tienhoven, h. v. van John 
 
 Smit, 
 Henriette Wessels, weduwe van AUard 
 
 Anthony, 
 Maria Wessels, 
 
 Benjamin Blanck, en zyn h. v. ") 
 Judith Etsall, > 
 
 Jacobus Kip, en zyn h. v. > 
 Hendrickje Wessels, J 
 
 MarntjeWesseU, weduwe van Nicolaes 
 
 Jansen Backer, 
 Deborah De Meyert, h, v. van Thomas 
 
 Crundall, 
 Albert Bosch, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Elsje Blanck, ) 
 
 Anna Maria Jans, h. v. van Cornelis 
 
 Jansen van Hoorn, 
 Hillegond Cornelis, h. v. van Olfert 
 
 Kreeftberg, 
 Vrouwtje Cornelis, 
 50 
 
 Pieter Jansen Messier, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Marriljc Willemse, ) 
 
 Coonrad Ten Eyck, Junior, en lyn j 
 h. V. V 
 
 Belitje Hcrcks, J 
 
 Tobias Ten Eyck, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Elizabeth Hegeman, J 
 
 Benjamin Hegeman 
 Hemanus Berger, 
 Engeltje Mans, weduwe van Berger 
 
 Jorisse, 
 Johannes Berger, 
 Lucas Tienhoven, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Tryntje Berdings, J 
 
 Cornelis Verduyn, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Sara Hendrickh, i 
 
 Albert Klock, en zyn, h. v. ) 
 Trintje Abrahams, J 
 
 Martin Klock, en zyn h. v. \ 
 Elizabeth Abrahams, $ 
 
 Gcesje Barentse, weduwe van Thomas 
 
 Lieuwensen, 
 Catharina Lieuwensen, 
 Johannes van Brug, en zyn h. v. ? 
 Catharina Roelofse, > 
 
 Cornelia Beeck, h. v. van Jacobus De 
 
 Hardt, 
 Margareta Hendrickse, h. v. van John 
 
 Robertson, 
 Carsten Leursen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Geertjc Quick, ) 
 
 Aeltje Gygbcrts, h. v. van Zachariai 
 
 Laurensen 
 Francyritje Andries, h. v. van Abra- 
 ham Lubberts, 
 Annetje van Borsum, weduwe van 
 
 Egbert van Borsum, 
 Pieter Vandergrief, en zyn h. v. 
 Janneken van Borsum, 
 Robert Sinclair, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Maria Duycking. f 
 
394 
 
 LIST OF CHURCH MEMBERS, 
 
 LANG'S DE WAL, (ALONG THE WHARF.) 
 
 Willemtje Claes, h. v. van Gysbert 
 
 Elhci'tse, 
 Necltje Gysberts, 
 Adrian Dirckscn, en zj'n h. v. ) 
 Elizabeth Jans, 5 
 
 Heyltje Delachair, h. v. van John Ca- 
 
 valiior, 
 Anna Maria van Gicsen, h. v. van 
 
 Johannes Jansen, 
 Marritje Pieters, h. v. van Jacob Pie- 
 
 tcrsen, 
 Bcrnardus Haspingr, en zyn h. v. } 
 Neeltje van Couwcnhoven, ) 
 
 Geertruid Jans van Gravenswaert, 
 
 h. V. van Jan Otten, 
 Neeltje van Thuyl, 
 
 Sophia CI aes, h. v. van Rutgcrt Parker, 
 
 I Gerrit CoincHs van Westveen, en ) 
 
 zyn h. V. r 
 
 Wyntje Stoutenburg, ' 
 
 Urseltje Diiytrnan, weduwe van Jo- 
 hannes Hardenbrook, 
 
 Metje Hardenbrook, h. v. van Evert 
 j Hendnckse, 
 I Casparus Hardenbrook, 
 
 Harmanus van Borsum, en zyn^h. v.? 
 
 Wybrng Hendrickse, ' 
 
 h. 
 
 van Jan 
 
 Claertje Domuiicus, 
 
 Pieter Slot, 
 Gerritje Quick, h. v. van Leendert De 
 
 Grauw. 
 
 NIEUWE STRAAT, (NEW STREET.) 
 
 Janncken Jans, h. v. van Isaac Abra- 
 
 hamsen, 
 Daniel Waldron, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Sarah Rutgers, ) 
 
 Adriaentje Jans, h. v. van Vincent 
 
 De la Montague, 
 Marritje Wadron, h. v. van Hendrick 
 
 Gerritsen, 
 Aefje Roos, h. v. van Johannes van 
 
 Gelder, 
 Heyman Koning, en zj'n h. v. ) 
 Marritje Andries, i 
 
 Melje Davids, weduwe van Abraham 
 
 Kermer, 
 Jan Willemsen Roome, en zyn h. v. J 
 Maria Bastiaens, 5 
 
 Annetje Ackerinan, h. v. van Daniel 
 
 Pictersen, 
 Arent Fredericksen, en zyn h. v. i 
 Sara Theunis, J 
 
 Jurriaen Nagel, en zyn h. v. i 
 Jannetje Phillipsen, j 
 
 Willein Peers, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Guetje Kierse. 5 
 
 BEVER STRAAT, (BEAVER STREET.) 
 
 Jacob Kolve, 
 
 Janneken Lucas, h. v. van Jacob van 
 
 van Saun, 
 Jacob Phcenix, en zyn h. v. } 
 Anna van Vleek, J 
 
 Engeltje Hercks, h. v. van Jan Evedse, 
 Hendrick Bosch, en zyn h. v. } 
 Egbatjc Ducksen, ) 
 
 Calalina De Vos, h. v. van Nicolaes 
 
 Depu, 
 
 Jacob De Koninck, 
 
 Henricus Selyns, 
 
 Hendrick Boelen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 
 Annekcn Coert, 5 
 
 Cornells van der Cuyl, en zyn h. 
 
 Elizabeth Arents, 
 
 Sarah Waldron, h. v. van Laurens 
 
 Colevelt, 
 Mr. Abraham Delanoy, enz yn h. v. 
 Cornelia Tol. 
 
 '■\ 
 
 MARCKUELT STRAAT, (MARKETFIELD STREET.) 
 
 van Pieter 
 
 Jan Adamsen Metsclaer, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Geertje Ducksen, 5 
 
 Herman De Grauw, en zyn h. v. > 
 Stymie van Sleenbergen, ) 
 
 Dirck Jansen De Groot, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Rachel Phillipse, J 
 
 Baetje Jans, huysvrou 
 
 Meyer, 
 Arent Leendertse De Grauw, en 
 
 zyn h V. 
 Maria Hendricks. 
 
LIST OF CHURCH MEMBERS. 
 
 395 
 
 BROUWERS STRAAT, (BROUWER'S STREET, now part of STONE.) 
 
 De Heer Frederick Phillipse, 
 
 Johanna van Swaanenburg, 
 
 Anna Blanck, h. v. van Joria Bruger- 
 
 ton, 
 Janneken Dc Kay, h. v. van Jeremias 
 
 Tolhill, 
 Isaac De Foreest, en zyn li. v. ) 
 Elizabeth van der Spiegel, ) 
 
 Sara Fhilipse, weduwe van Isaac De 
 
 Foreest, 
 Jan Dircksen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 ■Baetje Kip, 5 
 
 Do Heer Stephanus van Cortland, ) 
 
 en zyn h. v. > 
 
 Geertruid Schuyler, ' 
 
 Jacobus van Cortland, 
 JufFrou Susanna Schrick, h. v. van Do 
 
 Heer Anthony Brookholst, 
 Sarah van der Spiegel, h. v. van Rip 
 
 van Dam, 
 Johannes van der Spiegel, 
 Ariaentje Gerritsen, h. v. van Pieter 
 
 Jansen. 
 
 BRUG STRAAT, (BRIDGE STREET.) 
 
 Otto Gerritsen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Engeltje Pieters, J 
 
 Jeremias Jansen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Calharina Rappailje, S 
 
 Metje Grevcnraedt, weduwe van An- 
 thony Jansen, 
 Abraham Kip, 
 
 Abraham Jansen, en zyn h. v. i 
 Tryntje Kip, f 
 
 Maria Abrahams, 
 
 Mr Hartman Wessels, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Elizabeth Jans Cannon, 
 
 Andiies Meyert, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Vrouwetje van Vorst, 
 
 Jan der Vail, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Catharina van Cortlandt 
 
 :■} 
 
 HEEREN GRACHT, (west zyde.) BROAD STREET, (west side.) 
 
 Carel Lodowick, 
 
 Johannes Provoost, 
 
 Brandt Schuyler, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Cornelia van Cortlandt, 
 
 Mr. Hans Kierstede, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Janneken Loockermans, 
 
 Evert Arentsen, 
 
 Isaac Arentsen, 
 
 Maria Bennet, h, v. van Jacobus Ver. 
 hulst, 
 
 Pieter Abrahamse van Duursen, en 
 zyn h. V. 
 
 Hester Webbers, 
 
 Helena Fiellart, 
 
 Harmentje Ducksen, h. v. van Tho- 
 mas Koock, 
 
 Dirck Ten Eyck, en zyn h. v. ) 
 
 Aefje Boelen, ) 
 
 Dr. Johannes Kerfbyl, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Calharina Hug, 
 
 Margareia Hagcn, 
 
 Aechje Jane, weduwe van Pieter van 
 Naerden, 
 
 Tryntje Pieters, 
 
 Hendrick Jans van Tuurden, en zyn 
 h. v. 
 
 Sara Thomas, 
 
 Boele Roelofse, en zyn h. v. ) 
 
 Baykeri Arentse, ) 
 
 Cornelis Quick, en zyn h. v. ) 
 
 Maria van Hoogten, 5 
 
 Theunis De Kay, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Helena van Brug, ) 
 
 Agmeije Bouen, li. v. van Lodowick 
 
 Post, 
 Gerril Leydekker, en zyn h, v. ) 
 Neeltje van der Cuyl, J 
 
 Hendrick Kermer, en zyn h.v. i 
 Aiinetje Tliomas, ^ 
 
 Jan Jansen Moll, en zyn h. v. i 
 Engeltje Pieters, j 
 
 Jacob Boelen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Catharina Clerk, ) 
 
 Dirck Fransen, en zyn h. t. \ 
 Urseltje Schepmoes ( 
 
 Elizabctli Jacobsen, h. v. van Wybrant 
 
 Abrahamse, 
 C. Madgalena Dumsteede, h. v. van 
 
 Hermanns Wessels, 
 Johannes Kip, en zyn h. v. } 
 Catharina Kierstede, ) 
 
 Styntie Paulus, weduwe van Paulus 
 
 Jurrison, 
 Isaac van Vleck, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Catalina Delanoy, S 
 
 Mietje Theunis, h. v. van Jan Corsen, 
 Rutgert Willemsen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Gysbertje Mauritz, 5 
 
 Magdaleentje Rutgers, h. v. van Joris 
 
 Wal^raef. 
 
396 
 
 LIST OF CHURCH MEMBERS. 
 
 DIACONIE'S HUYS, (DEACON'S HOUSE for the Poor, in BROAD-ST.) 
 
 VVillem Janse Roome, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Marritjc J,ans, 
 
 Gcertjc Jans, h. v. van Reyer StofFel- 
 
 son, 
 Jannelje Hendricks, h. v. van Cregera 
 
 Golis, 
 
 Albert Cuynen, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Tryntje Jans, 
 
 Elizabeth Jacobs, weduwe van Jacob 
 
 Mens, 
 Clara Ebel, h. v. van Pieter EbeL 
 
 HEEREN GRACHT, (oost ztdk.) BROAD STREET, (east side.) 
 
 Hendrick Arentse, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Calharina Hardenbrook, > 
 
 Anna Thysscn, h. v. van Hendrick 
 
 Rcnicrs, 
 Marritjc Cornelis, h. v. van Frans 
 
 Claesen, 
 AnnaWallis, h. v. van Wolfert Webber 
 Albertus Ringo, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Jannetje Stoutcnburg, ) 
 
 Jan Dc la Monlagne, en zyn h. 
 Annetje Waldron, 
 Jannetje van Laer, h. v. van Simon 
 
 Breestede, 
 Catharina Kregiers, weduwe van Ni . 
 
 casius De Silla, 
 Leendert De Kleyn, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Magdalena Wolsum, ) 
 
 Magdalena Picters, h, v. van Joris 
 
 Jansen, 
 Huyg Barentse De Kleyn, en zyn h.v. ) 
 Mayken B artels, ) 
 
 Pieter Stoutenburg, 
 Willem Waldron, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Engcltje Stoutenburg, ) 
 
 Maria Bon, h. v. van Jillis Provost, 
 Grietje Jillis, h. v. van David Pro- 
 
 voost, 
 Catharina Vanderveen, h. v. van Jona- 
 than Provoost, 
 Jan Willenisc Nering, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Catharina de Meyert, ^ 
 
 Gresje Idens, weduwe van Pieter 
 
 Nuys, 
 Jacob Mauritzen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Grctje van der Grift, ) 
 
 Willem Bogardus, en zyn h. v. ") 
 Walburg de Silla, 5 
 
 Kniertje Hendricks, h. v. van Claee 
 
 Lcet, 
 Cornelia Lubberts, h. v. van Johannes 
 
 dc Peyster, 
 Paulus Schrick, en zyn h. 
 Maria dc Peyster, 
 Jan Vincent, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Anncfjc Jans, 5 
 
 Arent Isaacson, en zyn h. v. 
 Elizabeth Stevens. 
 
 "I 
 
 HOOGH STRAAT, (HIGH STREET.) 
 
 Rynier Willcmsen, en zyn h. v. i 
 
 Susanna Arents, ) 
 
 Tryntje Arents, 
 
 Gcertruyd Reynicrs, 
 
 Adolf Pietersen De Groot, en zyn h .v. ) 
 
 Aefje Dircksen, 5 
 
 Anietje De Groot, 
 
 Maria De Groot, 
 
 Mr. Evert Keteltas, en zyn h. v. ) 
 
 Hillegond Joris, > 
 
 Anna Hardenbrook, h. v. van John 
 
 Lillic, 
 Johannes Hardenbrook, 
 Jacob Abrahamse Santvoort, en zyn 
 
 h. V. 
 Magdalena van Vleck, 
 Laurens Holt, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Hilletjc liaurcns, ) 
 
 Janneken van Dyck, h. v. van Jan 
 
 Cooley, 
 Elizabeth Cooley, 
 
 Barent Coert, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Christina Wessels, ) 
 
 Geertruyd Barents, weduwe van Jan 
 
 Hyben, 
 Sara Ennes, h. v. van Barent Hyben, 
 De Heer Nicolas de Meyert, en zyn ) 
 
 h.v. [ 
 
 Lydia van Dyck, ^ 
 
 Elizabeth de Meyert, 
 Christina Steentjens, h. v. van GuiK 
 
 lam D'Honneur, 
 Claes Janse Stavast, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Aefje Gerritsen, J 
 
 Evert Wessels, en zyn h. v. 
 Jannelje Stavast, 
 Laurens Wessels, en zyn h. v. ? 
 Aefje Jans, ) 
 
 Aiinckcn Duycking, h. v. van Johannes 
 
 Hoagland, 
 Fraus Godorus, en zyn, h. v. ) 
 Rebecca Idens, 5 
 
LIST OF CHURCH MEMBERS. 
 
 397 
 
 Jan Jansc van Langendyck,en zyn h.v. ) 
 Grietje Wesscls, ) 
 
 Jan Harberdink, en zyn h. v. > 
 Mayken Barents, ^ 
 
 Gerret Duycking, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Maria Abeel, S 
 
 Christina Cappacus, h. v. van David 
 
 Jachemsen, 
 Anna Tebbelaer, h. v. van Ellas de 
 
 Windel, 
 Marriatje Andries, h. v. van Jan Brecs- 
 
 teede, 
 Hendrick Wesselse Ten Broeck, en 
 
 zyn h. V. 
 Jannetje Breestede, 
 
 Gecrtruid Breestede, 
 
 De Heer Nicolas Bayard, en zyn h. v. > 
 
 Judith Verleth, ) 
 
 Francina Hermans, 
 
 Evert Duycking, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Hendrickje Simons, 
 
 Cytie Duycking, h. v. van Willem 
 
 Bleek, 
 Antony De Mill, en zyn h. v. > 
 Elizabeth van der Liphorst, ^ 
 Pietcr De Mill, 
 Sarah De Mill, 
 De Heer Abraham De Peyster, en ) 
 
 zyn h. V. ? 
 
 Catharina Dc Peyster. ' 
 
 SLYCK STRAAT, (DITCH STREET.) 
 
 Jan Hendrick van Bommel, en zyn h. v. 
 Annetje Abrahams, 
 Geertruid De Haes, h. v. van Jan 
 Kreeck, 
 
 Emmerentje Laurens, weduwe van 
 
 Hendrick Oosterhaven, 
 Leendert Ooslerhaven. 
 
 PRINCEN STRAAT, (PRINCE'S STREET.) 
 
 Jan Langstraten, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Marritje Jans, 
 
 Albertje Jans, h. v. van Jan Janse van 
 
 Quislkout, 
 Hendrick De Foreest, en zyn h. v. > 
 Femmetje Flaesbeeck, ^ 
 
 Barcnt Flaesbeek, en zyn h. v. 
 Marritje Hendricks, 
 Susanna Verleth, h. v. van Jan De 
 
 Foreest, 
 
 Metje Pieters, h. v. van Jan Pieferscn, 
 Nicolaes Jansen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Janneken Kierscn, ^ 
 
 Annetje Jans, h. v. ran William 
 
 Moore, 
 Ambrosius De Waran, en zyn h. v. 
 Ariantjo Thomas, 
 Susanna De Negrin, h. v. van Thomas 
 
 De Meer. 
 
 KONINCK STRAAT, (KING STREET.) 
 
 Elsje Berger, h. v. van Jan Sipkens, 
 Cornelis Pluvier, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Neeltje van Couwenhoven, J 
 Frederick Hendricksen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Styntie Jans, ^ 
 
 Geesje Schuurmans, weduwc van 
 
 Bruin Hage, 
 Elizabeth Schuurmans, 
 Jacob Fransen, en zyn h. v. } 
 Magdalena Jacobs, ^ 
 
 SMIT STRAAT (SMITH STREET.) 
 
 Cornelia Roos, weduwe van Ellas 
 
 Provoost, 
 Jan Vinge en zyn h. v. } 
 Wieske Huypkens, ^ 
 Assncrus Hendricke, en zyn h v. } 
 Neeltje Jans, ^ 
 
 Hester Pluvier, h. v. van Thymen 
 
 Fransen, 
 Jan Meyert, en zyn h. 
 Anna van Vorst, 
 Pieter Jansen, en zyn h. v, 
 Elizabeth van Hoogtcn, 
 
 Jan Jansen van Flembrug, en zyn ) 
 h. V. >■ 
 
 Willemyntie De Kleyn, S 
 
 Laurens Hendrickse, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Marretje Jans, J 
 
 Hendricke van Borsum, en zyn h. v. > 
 Marritje Cornelis, J 
 
 Jannetje Cornelis, 
 
 Thymen van Borsum, en zyn h. v. > 
 Grietje Focken, ^ 
 
 Wyd Timnier, 
 
398 
 
 LIST OF CHURCH MEMBERS. 
 
 Grietje Langendyck, vveduwe van 
 
 Dirck Dey, 
 Jannetjo Doy, h. v. van Frans Cor- 
 
 neliscn, 
 Jan Pielersen, Bosch, en zyn h. v. } 
 Jannetje Barents, ^ 
 
 Jannetje Frans, h. v. van William 
 
 Buydi, 
 
 David Provoost, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Tryntje Laurens, ^ 
 
 "I'ryntje Reymers, weduwe van Mey- 
 
 nardt Barentsen, 
 Marritje Pietersen, h. v. van Jan Pie- 
 
 tersen. 
 
 SMIT'S VALLYE, (SMITH'S VALLEY.) 
 
 Elizabeth Lubberts, weduwe van 
 
 Dirck Fluyt, 
 Jan Jansen van Langendyck, 
 Pieter Jansen van Langendyck, 
 Herman Jansen, en zyn h. v. } 
 Breehjc Ellswaert, ^ 
 
 Tr^'ntie Hadders, h. v. van Albert 
 
 VVantenaer, 
 Hilletje Pieters, weduwe van Cornells 
 
 Clopper, 
 Johannes Clopper, 
 Margareta Vermeulen, weduwe van 
 
 Hendrick van de Water, 
 Adriaentje van de Water, 
 Abraham Moll, en zyn h. v. } 
 Jacomyntie van Darlebi ek, ^ 
 Fytie Sipkens, h. v. van Roelofse, 
 
 Wilhelmus De Meyert, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Catharina Bayard, 
 
 Jacob Swart, en zyn h. v. ) 
 
 Tryntie Jacobs, ^ 
 
 Sarah Joosten, h. v. van Isaac De 
 
 Mill, 
 Dirck Vandercliff, en zyn h. v. } 
 Geesje Hendrickse, ^ 
 
 Styntie Jans, h. v. van Joost Carelse, 
 Willem Hill acker, en zyn h. v. } 
 Trynte Boelen, ^ 
 
 Anna Maria Englebcrt, h. v. van Cle- 
 ment Ellswaert, 
 Willielmus Beekman, en zyn h. v. } 
 Catharina De Boog. ^ 
 
 Johannes Beekman, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Aeltje Thomas. i 
 
 BUYTEN DE LAND POORT, (BEYOND THE LAND PORT.) 
 
 Anneke Schouten, h. v. 
 Dey. 
 
 van Theunis 
 
 OVER HET VERSCH WATER, (BEYOND THE FRESH WATER.)^ 
 
 Wolfert Webber, en zyn h. v. } 
 Geertruyd Hassing, S 
 
 Neeltje Cornells, h. v. van Dirck Cor- 
 
 nelison, 
 Arie Coinelisen, en zyn h. v. } 
 Rebecca Idens, 5 
 
 Franciscus Bastiaense, en zyn h. v. ■> 
 Barbara Emanuel, 3 
 
 Solomon Pieters, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Marritje Anthony, J 
 
 Anthony Saileyren, en zyn h. v. 
 Josyntie Thomas, 
 Francois Vanderhook, en zyn h. v. 
 Wyntic De Vries, 
 Daniel De Clercq, en zyn h. v. 
 Grietje Cozyns, 
 Cozyn Gcrritscn, en zyn h. v 
 Vrouwtje Gerritse, 
 Jan Thomasscn, en zyn h. v. 
 ApoUonia Corneles, 
 
 Pieter Jansen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 
 Marrietje Jacobs, ) 
 
 Jacob Kip, en zyn h. v. ? 
 
 Maria De la Montague, 5 
 
 Maria Kip, 
 
 Juffiou Judith Isendoorn, weduwe van 
 
 de Heer Petrus Stuyvesant, 
 Nicolaes Willem Stuyvesant, en ) 
 
 zyn h. V. > 
 
 Elizabeth Sleohtcnhorst, ' 
 
 Marritje Jacobs, h. v. van Gysbert 
 
 Servaes. 
 Abraham van de Wostyne, 
 Catalyntje van de Wooestyne, 
 Abel Bloottgoet, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Ida Adriaense, ^ 
 
 Pieter Jacobsen, en zyn h. v. 
 Belctje Anaense, 
 Jan De Groot, en zyn h. v. 
 Margrietje Gerritse, 
 
 * There was formerly a fresh water pond where a part of Centre-street and its vicinity 
 are now situated. Tliat quarter of tlie city is still often called the Collect, from kolk, the 
 Dutch word for a small lake. The famiUes residing to the north or on the Bowery road, 
 are described in the list as " beyond the fresh water," referring to this pond. 
 
LIST OF CHURCH MEMBERS. 
 
 399 
 
 Jacob De Groot, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Grietje Jans, ^ 
 
 Jillis Mandevil, en zyn h. v. i 
 Elsje Hendricks, j 
 
 Grietje Mandevil, 
 Egbert Foekensen, en zyn h. v. 
 Elsje Lucas, 
 
 Tohannes Thomasen, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Aefje Jacobs. \ 
 
 Johannes van Couwenhoven, en 
 
 zyn h, V. 
 Sara Frans. 
 
 AEN DE GROOTE KILL, (BY THE BIG CREEK.) 
 
 Negroes. 
 
 Conradus Vanderbeeck, en zyn h. v. ) 
 Elsje Jans, 5 
 
 Claes Emanuels, 
 Jan de Vrics, 
 
 ARME BOUWERY, (POOR FARM.) 
 
 Arnout Webber, en zyn h. v. 
 
 Janneken Cornells, 
 
 Marg^areta Meyrink, h. v. van Hen- 
 
 drick Martense, 
 Abraham Rycking, 
 
 van Herck 
 
 Wyntie Tennis, h 
 
 Ticbout, 
 Annetje Claes, h. v. van Tennis Cor- 
 
 nelisen. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 Many of the above names are familiar abbreviations, and correspond to 
 English names as follows : — 
 
 Baetje, Elizabeth ; 
 Tryntje, Catherine ; 
 Aeltje, Alida ; 
 Claesje, Claudia, &c. 
 
 Gecr<;c, Gertrude ; Siyntie, Christina; 
 Grietje, Margaret ; Neettje, Cornelia ; 
 
 Mietje, Mary ; Marrietje, Maria ; 
 
 Elsje, Alice ; Annetje, Anna ; 
 
 The list appears to have been prepared with great care, but probably con- 
 tains some errors, especially in respect to the maiden names of the married 
 women. One mistake of this kind certainly exists in the case of Gov. Stuy- 
 vesant's widow, whose family name was Bayard instead of Isendoorn. On 
 the death of her husband, letters testamentary were granted to her as the 
 executrix of his estate, commencing in the following manner : — 
 
 " Whereas Mr. Petrus Stuyvesant, heretofore Governor of these parts for the 
 States General of the United Provinces and the West India Company, de- 
 ceased, did, in his last will and testament, declare and appoint Mrs. Judith 
 Bayard, his widow and relict, to be his whole and sole executrix, to dispose 
 of his estate, goods, and chattels, to such uses and purposes as in the said will 
 and testament is at large set forth," &c. Dated at Fort James, in New York, 
 the 7th day of March, in the twenty-fourth year of his Majesty's reign, A. D. 
 1G71, [1672, new style.]* 
 
 * Lib. L of Wills, Surrogate's; Office. The will of Gov Stuyve-sant was dated 19 Jaru 
 1671—2, and the letters testamentary were issued in the following March. 
 
400 NOTE. 
 
 This lady was the daughter of Balthazar Bayard, a French protes- 
 tant, who having fled from his native country to escape religious persecution, 
 took refuge in Holland. She was married at Amsterdam, and accompanied 
 her husband to this country in 1647, where she continued to reside until her 
 decease in the early part of 1687. Their children were two sons, Balthazar, 
 born in 1647, and Nicholas William, in 1648. Her will, which was proved 
 April 7, 1687, contains the following provisions respecting the chapel erected 
 by Gov. Stuyvesant on apart of his estate, now the site of St. Mark's Church : 
 " And I do by these presents further, by form of a legacy, give and grant 
 to the Reformed Nether-Dutch church, or congregation of the city of New- 
 York, my the testatrice's church or chapel, situated on my bowry or farm, 
 together with all the revenues, profits, and immunities, to have and to hold 
 the said chapel and appurtenances after the time of my decease unto the over- 
 seers of the said congregation to their use aforesaid for ever ; with further 
 power, if they see cause, to demolish or displace the same, and to employ the 
 materials thereof to such uses as they shall think fit or expedient; provided 
 that, in such case, of the said materials be made and built all and whatsoever 
 in the enclosed testament is expressed and required for the preservation of the 
 tomb or vault, which was built by my deceased husband in the said church." 
 The '* enclosed testament " was another will of a previous date, and contained 
 the following bequest to Col. Nicholas Bayard, a leading politician of thatperiod : 
 " Item. To my said cousin Nicholas Bayard, and to his wife and children, if 
 desired, a burying place in the tomb or vault of my last deceased husband in 
 the chapel or churcli at my bowry ; and in case it should happen that my said 
 church or chapel did come to decay, or for any other reason be demolished, I 
 do hereby declare and publish it to be my last will and testament, that of the 
 materials of said chapel be made a building sufficient for a cover upon said 
 vault." 
 
 The late Petrus Stuyvesant, a great grandson of the Governor, caused this 
 vault to be repaired and enlarged about forty years ago, when St. Mark's 
 Church was erected, beneath which it now lies. The remains of the Governor 
 were supposed to be then recognized, after a lapse of nearly one hundred and 
 thirty years since his death. — Ed. 
 
XIV. 
 NEW SWEDEN, 
 
 OR 
 
 THE SWEDISH SETTLEMENTS ON THE DELAWARE, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. ISRAEL ACRELIUS, 
 Provost of the Swedish Churches in America, &c. 
 
 Translated from the original Swedish, 
 
 BY THE LATK 
 
 NICHOLAS COLLIJSr, D.D. 
 
 OF PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 61 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 The intimate connexion that from the first subsisted between 
 the Dutch and Swedish settlements on the Delaware, and their 
 final union under the administration of Gov. Stuyvesant, render 
 the following piece of colonial history appropriate to the present 
 volume. It is derived from a work published at Stockholm in the 
 middle of the last century, chiefly relating to the ecclesiastical 
 annals of the Swedish colony, but to a considerable extent devoted 
 to its civil history.* The author, Rev. Israel Acrelius, was for 
 several years the pastor of a church at Christina, 'now Wilmington, 
 Delaware,) and at the head of the Swedish clergy in the colony 
 with the title of Provost. He returned to Sweden in 1756, and re- 
 sumed the pastoral duties at Fellingsbro, where he was residing at 
 the time his work was published. He died in 1800, at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-six years. 
 
 Acrelius divided his work into eight parts ; the first comprised 
 the period from the s^lement of the colony in 1637-8, to its 
 conquest by the Dutch^i 1655 ; the second part describes the 
 administration of the Dutch vice-governors, Paul Jaquet, Jacob 
 Alrichs, and William Beekman, and ends Avith the reduction of 
 New Netherlands by the English in 1664 ; the third part com- 
 pletes the civil history, and embraces the Duke of York's govern- 
 ment and the proprietorship of William Penn and his successors. 
 
 • It is en titled, — Beskrifning om de Svenska Forsamlingars Forna och Nar. 
 warande Tilstand, ut det sa kallade Nya Sverige, sedan Nya Nederland, men 
 nu for tiden Pennsylvanien, samt nastliggande orter wid Alfwen Delaware, 
 West.Jersey och New Castle County uti Nona America. Utgifwen af Israel 
 Acrelius, for delta Probst ofwer Svenska Forsamlingar i AmeriLa och 
 Kyrkoherde uti Fellingsbro. Stockholm, 1759. (Description of the present 
 and former state of the Swedish Congregations in New Sweden (so called,) 
 since New Netherlands, and now Pennsylvania, and in the neighbouring parts 
 on Delaware Bay, in West Jersey, and New Castle County, in North Ame- 
 rica. By Israel Acrelius, late Provost of the Swedish Churches in America, 
 and pastor of the church at Christina, but now Provost and pastor at Fel- 
 lingsbro. Stockholm, 1759.) 
 
 (,f 
 
 b1^ 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 403 
 
 The remainder of the work is chiefly taken up with the annals of 
 the Swedish congregations under their respective pastors. Con- 
 sidered in its ecclesiastical character, it is probably the most com- 
 plete and satisfactory account of any portion of the early American 
 church ever published. 
 
 The following translation comprises only such portions of the 
 civil history as relate more or less directly to the controversies with 
 the Dutch, who had established themselves on the banks of the 
 Delaware before the arrival of the Swedes. It was prepared at 
 the instance of the Rev. Dr. Miller with reference to a proposed 
 history of New-York, and deposited among the MSS. of this So- 
 ciety after that design was relinquished. The translator, Nicholas 
 Collin, D. D. was the last of the succession of pastors who were sent 
 by the government of Sweden to the churches on the Delaware. He 
 arrived in this country from Upsal in 1771, and was at first settled 
 at Swedesborough, (New Jersey,) but subsequently removed to 
 Philadelphia, and for a period of forty-five years had the charge 
 of the Swedish churches in that city audits vicinity. In general, 
 the pastors who came over from Sweden were permitted to return 
 after a few years, and as a recompense for their voluntary exile in 
 the cause of religion, they became entitled to preferment at home. 
 The celebrated Charles XII. , having recalled the Rev. Eric Biork 
 after a ministry of eleven years at Christina, declares in the man- 
 date issued upon the occasion, that he was " to be rewarded for 
 his long and faithful services by some comfortable situation in our 
 kingdom ;" and in announcing the appointment of two others to the 
 same mission, adds, " these may also depend on a gracious pro- 
 motion in Sweden, when they shall wish to return. We also as- 
 sure the congregations and the Swedes living in the aforesaid 
 country, of our particular and permanent royal favour ; commending 
 them to the care of the Almighty God." Dr. Collin preferred to 
 remain in the country, where he was held in high respect during 
 his long ministerial career by the congregations under his pastoral 
 charge. He was also a man of letters, and enjoyed a reputation 
 for learning and talents in a community distinguished for intellec- 
 tual cultivation. Taking an active interest in scientific pursuits, 
 Dr. Collin became an efllcient member of the American Philo- 
 sophical Society, and was several times elected a vice-president of 
 that learned institution, He died at Philadelphia, the 7th of Octo- 
 
404 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 ber, 1831, in the eighty-seventh year of his age, — " beloved," says 
 his eminent contemporary, Du Ponceau, " beloved, respected, and 
 regretted."* 
 
 On comparing Dr. Collin's translation with the original work, it 
 will be found to consist of detached portions of the civil history of 
 the Colony ; whatever seemed irrevalent to the purposes of the 
 New York historian being omitted, and in such a manner as to im- 
 pair to a considerable extent the continuity of the narrative. It 
 was of course written without any view to publication in a sepa- 
 rate form, and cannot therefore be regarded as a fair specimen of 
 the literary merits either of the author or translator. In the introduc- 
 tory pages, which are omitted in the translation, Acrelius recurs to 
 the prominent events connected with the discovery and colonization 
 of the western continent. To his own countrymen, the ancient Scan- 
 dinavians, he ascribes the honour of having landed upon our shores 
 at a period long anterior to the voyages of Columbus. " Our 
 Swedes and Goths," he says, "had already discovered America, 
 in the year 996 after the birth of Christ, and given it the name of 
 Vinland the Good." This statement has been amply confirmed 
 of late by the researches of the Danish antiquaries, who have 
 spread before the world the evidence on which it rests in a man- 
 ner so authentic and satisfactory, as to produce a general convic- 
 tion of its truth in the minds of those who have examined the subject. 
 In reo-ard to the voyages of Hudson and other European navigators 
 in the early part of the seventeenth century, Acrelius depended on 
 an Eno-lish publication of no great credit ;t and has fallen into 
 some inaccuracies. Thus he attributes the discovery of Delaware 
 bay to a Capt. Delaware who sailed under an English admiral 
 named Joques Chartiers, in 1600, and refers Hudson's great 
 voyage to the year 1608 ; he dates the settlement of Albany from 
 1613, and states that " Samuel Argall, a governor of Virginia, ex- 
 pelled the inhabitants from the river in 1618." But in all that re- 
 lates to the Swedish colony, Acrelius drew his materials from 
 orioinal accounts, and the utmost confidence can be placed in the 
 o-eneral correctness of his statements. 
 
 Dr. Collin's translation ends with the recovery of New-York 
 
 * Memoirs of the Hist. Society of Pennsylvania, iii. 111. Clay's Swedish 
 Annals. 126. 
 
 t Entitled " The History of the New World," &c. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 405 
 
 and the settlements on the Delaware by the English under 
 the treaty of Westminister, in 1674, after which the whole was 
 restored to the Duke of York. For the purpose of showing the 
 condition of the country at that period, we have continued the 
 translation two or three pages beyond, embracing a brief notice of 
 the Duke's government.* A complete version of Acrelius would 
 be a valuable contribution to the stock of American history ; and a 
 confident expectation has been entertained that the accomplished 
 President of the American Philosophical Society, Peter S. Du 
 Ponceau, would undertake the task, as an intimation to that effect 
 was given by him in the preface to his translation of a similar 
 work, ( " Description of New Sweden, by Thomas Campanius 
 Holm,") published a few years since in the Memoirs of the Penn- 
 sylvania Historical Society. In referring to Acrelius, Mr. Du 
 Ponceau remarks, that his history is " much more complete, and in 
 every respect superior to that now presented to the public, to which, 
 however, as being the oldest, the preference has, for the present, 
 been given."! It is hoped that the expectation thus raised may 
 yet be fulfilled. 
 
 We have added in relation to the subject of the Swedish settle- 
 ments a document from the Dutch Colonial Records, supposed to 
 be the report of the Commissary A. Hudde, who was sent by 
 Governor Kieft to the Delaware in 1645. 
 
 Next follows the report of the Swedish Governor, John Claudius 
 Rising, of the conquest by the Dutch in 1655. This document, in 
 the original Swedish, is inserted in the appendix to Arfwedson's 
 Nova Suecia, and we are indebted to George P. Marsh, Esq. of 
 Burlington, (Vermont,) an honorary member of this Society, for the 
 
 * Pp. 111—113, original edit. 
 
 t Mem. Hist. Soc. Penn. iii. Preface. — There are Beveral other accounts of 
 New Sweden notyet translated, e. g. — " Dissertatio Gradualis de Plantatione 
 Ecclesiae Svecanae," &-c. by Tobias E. Bioik, Upsal, 1731. This wriier cites 
 " And. Ilcsselii Kort Beiattelse om Svenska Kyrk, narvarande tilstand i 
 America." Hesselius was pastor at Christina, 1711 — 1719. In 1825 was 
 published at Upsal a little work, entitled " De Colonia Nova Suecia in Ame- 
 ricam Borealem deductaHistoriola," (Historical Sketch of the colony of New 
 Sweden in North America,) by Charles David Arfwcdson, now American 
 Consul at Stockholm — a gentlemen well known and highly respected in this 
 country. 
 
406 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 translation from a copy in his possession. Mr. Marsh is well 
 known for his rare attainments in the philology and literature 
 of the Scandinavian languages. 
 
 Our acknowledgments are due to the American Philosophical 
 Society, (Philadelphia,) and to their venerable Librarian, John 
 Vaughan, Esq., for the loan of a copy of Acrelius, the only one 
 within our knowledge in the country. This was presented to the 
 Society by the late Hon. Jonathan Russell, formerly Minister 
 Plenipotentiary from the United States to Sweden. Mr. Russell 
 likewise procured copies of numerous public documents relating 
 to the affairs of the Swedish Colony on the Delaware, which he 
 presented to the same institution ; some of these have been since 
 printed in Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia. 
 
 Before concluding this note we cannot omit mentioning a small 
 volume lately published, entitled " Annals of the Swedes on the 
 Delaware, by the Rev. J. C. Clay, Rector of the Swedish Churches 
 in Philadelphia and its vicinity," &c. This little work comprises 
 many interesting details of the early Colony, and leads us to re- 
 gret that the author did not make a more ample use of the mate- 
 rials to which he had access. The circumstances that induced 
 the publication are stated by him in the following very just re- 
 marks : — " The compiler, descended on the mother's side from 
 Swedish ancestors, felt a desire to look into their history, and to 
 know more than he did of the occurrences connected with their 
 first settlement on this soil. He had observed that the geographers 
 and historians of America, while they had been very particular in 
 detailing the circumstances connected with the arrival and settle- 
 ment of the English on the James River, and of the Pilgrims in 
 New-England, had scarcely mentioned that there was ever such a 
 colony as the Swedes on the Delaware. He was at a loss to 
 know why this was so ; especially as their arrival here was but 
 about thirty years after that of the English in Virginia, and but 
 about sixteen or seventeen years after the settlement of New-Eng- 
 land ; and that, therefore, their being among the first colonies that 
 came from Europe to America, and the very first that settled Penn- 
 sylvania, claimed for them a more particular notice." 
 
 Editor. 
 
COPY OF A LETTER 
 
 From Rev. Dr. Collin, the Translator, to Rev. Dr. Miller. 
 
 Philadelphia, 30th October, 1799. 
 Dear Sir — Uncertain whether you were in New York during 
 the sickness,* I omitted answering your favour, which, I hope, 
 you will excuse. 
 
 To give you full information about the affairs of the Dutch 
 settlement in Delaware, I have translated every thing regarding 
 it from Acrelius. Some of his authorities I have also seen in 
 other writings, which he quotes, as the account given by the 
 Rev. ' Mr. Rudman, founder of the Swedish Church here in 
 Philadelphia, and yet extant in its records. But Acrelius is for 
 you a sufficient voucher ; and if you find it necessary, you may 
 quote me as translator. The quotations from the registers in 
 the archives of New-York you have probably seen, and may 
 again compare them. 
 
 According to the extent of your work, you can take in more 
 or less of my communication. As his translation has cost me 
 several days' application, I could not repeat it ; and have there- 
 fore given particular charge to Mr. Maclean to send it with a 
 very safe conveyance. With cordial wishes for the success of 
 your laudable undertaking, I am,dear sir, 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 Your most humble serv^t, 
 
 NICHOLAS COLLIN.. 
 To the Rev. Dr. Miller. 
 
 " The yellow fever. 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 Individuals who were natives of Holland seem to have been 
 instrumental in the first settlement of the Swedes ou the Dela- 
 ware, as appears from the following : — 
 
 Wilhelm Usselinx, a Hollander, native of Antwerp, proposed 
 to King Gustavus Adolphus the plan of a Swedish trading 
 company, to be. extended to Asia, Africa, and Terra Magellanica. 
 He obtained a commission, dated at Stockholm, the 21st De- 
 cember, 1624, for this important purpose. A contract was 
 accordingly formed for the approbation and signature of the 
 company. Usselinx made illustrating observations on the same, 
 and gave ample information about the country on the Delaware, 
 respecting its fertility, conveniency, and whatever advantages. 
 The company received good privileges. Usselinx was to have 
 for himself one thousandth part of all the goods which the com- 
 pany should buy and sell. This plan was recommended by the 
 King to the States, and confirmed by them in the Diet of 1627. 
 Many persons of the first rank, besides common citizens, became 
 associates. For the execution of it, were appointed an admiral, 
 vice-admiral, merchants, assistants, commissaries, and a mili- 
 tary force. 
 
 This business was impeded by the rise of the German war, 
 and the death of the King ; but again revived in this manner . — 
 A certain Hollander, Peter Menewe, or Menuet, had been in 
 the Dutch service in America, got into disputes with the prin- 
 cipals of the company, was recalled and displaced. He went 
 to Sweden, and renewed the proposition of Usselinx, displaying 
 the advantages of the country, &c. Queen Christina received 
 them with pleasure. The Chancellor of the kingdom, so 
 renowned. Axel Oxenstierna, patronized the enterprize, and also 
 engaged several wealthy gentlemen in it. A favorable circum- 
 stance was, that Charles I. King of England, had in the year 
 1634, on the representation of the Swedish ambassador, re- 
 nounced all claim to the country which the English sought for 
 from the first discovery of it. A colony w^as sent out under 
 the direction of said Menewe, as he was best acquainted with 
 the country. It departed from Gothenburgh in two vessels, the 
 one a man-of-war, named the Key of Calmar ;* the other a 
 
 * This is the name of a principal city in the south of Sweden. — Trans. 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 409 
 
 lesser ship, called the Bird Grip — both being stored with pro- 
 visions, ammunition and goods proper for commerce with the 
 Indians, and donations for them. Both ships arrived in safety. 
 Immediately land was bought from the Indians, a deed was 
 given, and written in Low Dutch (as no Swede could yet inter- 
 pret the Indian). By this agreement the Swedes obtained all 
 the western land on the river from Cape Henlopen to the falls 
 at Trenton, then called by the Indians Santickan, and as much 
 inwards from it in breadth as they might want. This extended 
 by subsequent contracts to the great fall in the Susquehannah, 
 near the mouth of the Conewaga. 
 
 This colony settled about the place where Wilmington now is. 
 Peter Menuet erected a fort in 1638, on the border of the river 
 Christiana, about one and a half miles from its mouth in Dela- 
 ware, near the place of the since erected Swedish church, and 
 called it Christiana, in honor of the Queen.* This river is 
 still called Christiana creek, and the vicinity Christiana. 
 
 At that time the Dutch had no establishment on the Delaware. 
 They had erected two or three small forts heretofore, to wit ; 
 Nassau, where Gloucester now is, three miles below Philadel- 
 phia, in West Jersey, and another at Horekill in the Bay ; but 
 the Indians had destroyed them, and killed the people.! Never- 
 theless they claimed a right, and were anxious to secure at least 
 all the land between Delaware and New Amsterdam (now 
 New-York). They kept therefore some persons residing on 
 the east side of the river, to keep a look-out on all that might 
 visit it ; and these immediately apprized the Governor General 
 at New Amsterdam of the arrival of Menuet. He, after having 
 waited until the schemes of Menuet appeared, when, seeing 
 that a fortress was building on account of Sweden, issued this 
 protest : — 
 
 " Thursdat, 6th of May, 1638. 
 
 I, Wilhelm Kieft, Director General of the New-Netherlands, 
 residing on the island Manhattan, in the Fort Amsterdam, under 
 the government which appertains to the High and Mighty 
 States General of the United Netherlands, and to the West 
 India Company, privileged by the Senate Chamber in Am- 
 sterdam, make known to thee, Peter Menuet, who stylest thy- 
 self commander in the service of her Majesty the Queen of 
 Sweden, that the whole South River of the New Netherlands, 
 both the upper and the lower, has been our property for many 
 years, occupied with forts, and sealed by our blood, which also 
 was done when thou wast in the service of the New Nelher- 
 
 • The Indians called this fort Hopokahacking. — Traks. 
 
 ] Adrian Vanderoonck mentions this in his History of the New-Netherlands, 
 printed in 1655. — Trans. 
 52 
 
410 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 lands, and is therefore well known to thee. But as thou art 
 come between our forts to erect a fort to our damage and in- 
 jury, which we never will permit ; as we also believe that her 
 Swedish Majesty has not empowered thee to erect fortifications 
 on our coasts and rivers, or to settle people on the lands adjoin- 
 ing, or to trade in peltry, or to undertake any other thing to our 
 prejudice ; now therefore, we protest against all such encroach- 
 ments, and all the evil consequences from the same, as blood- 
 shed, sedition, and whatever injury our trading company may 
 suffer ; and declare that we shall protect our rights in a manner 
 that shall appear most advisable." * 
 
 Peter Menuet did thus a great service to the first Swedish 
 colony. During three years he protected this small fort, which 
 the Dutch never attempted. After some years he died at this 
 place. His successor was Peter Hollceridare, a native Swede, 
 who after one year and a half returned to Sweden, and obtained 
 a military post there. 
 
 The second emigration from Sweden was under /o/m PrintZy 
 a Swede, and lieutenant colonel in the Swedish service, ap- 
 pointed governor of the so called New-Sweden. He brought 
 two vessels of war, called Swan and Charitas, and another ship 
 called Fama. During his governorship came three other ves- 
 sels at divers times, to wit., the ship Black Cat, laden with 
 ammunition and merchandize for the Indians ; afterwards the 
 Swan the second time, in 1647, bringing more people ; again 
 two ships, the Key and the Lamb. 
 
 In the instructions for Governor Printz, his conduct towards 
 the Dutch is regultaed thus : — To desire a friendly meeting 
 with the ruling officers of their company, in order to explain 
 the designs and corresponding rights of the Swedish colony, 
 namely, that the above mentioned western country on the river 
 had been fairly purchased from the Indians, who were natural 
 possessors of it ; that if the Dutch would respect this title, the 
 Swedish government would also leave them undisturbed in 
 their legitimate possessions on the east side of the river, and 
 those on the North river, on which Amsterdam was situated ; 
 but that in the unexpected case of any hostile interference, force 
 should be employed for the repelling of it. To claim, in addi- 
 tion to this west coast, also, a part of the east from the cape 
 up to the creek Narraticon, (now Raccoon, about twenty miles 
 below Philadelphia), which is in this instruction said to have 
 been purchased from the Indians by said Swedish colony. t His 
 
 • New- York Dutch Records, General Index, Lib. A. 
 
 t A preceding paragnph in the instruciions relaiive to the English settled 
 on the east side, ex|)lai(is t!iis matter. About sixty families of that nation aie 
 said to be residing about a creek called Fcrkens, (probably Silem, 36 miles be- 
 low Philadelphia, which in old times was called Far kens-creek.) To prevent 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 411 
 
 orders with respect to such of the Dutch who had resorted to 
 New Sweden, and there settled under Swedish authority (hav- 
 ing also Jost von dern Boyandh for chief, or municipal director), 
 were to respect all the privileges granted them, and to hold 
 them to their corresponding obligations ; and although they 
 had been ordered to remove further from the fort Christiana, 
 from which their settlement was but three Swedish (twenty 
 English) miles distant, yet to dispense with the execution of it, 
 if he thought proper ; otherwise to dispose in a manner he 
 thought best for the Swedish service, and in general to treat 
 them with kindness. 
 
 Governor Printz established his residence on Tenackong, (now 
 called Tinnicum) eleven or twelve miles below Philadelphia, an 
 island formed by the river and a creek. A neat church was 
 also constructed there of wood. Many of the principal Swedes 
 had also their habitations there. 
 
 The Dutch endeavoured to extend their settlement on the east 
 side of the river. In 1646, one Thomas Broen came with per- 
 mission from the Dutch Director in New Amsterdam, Peter 
 Stuyvesant, to establish himself on Mantua's Hook, opposite 
 to Tenockong (the mouth of the creek yet called Mante's creek.) 
 This permission he presented to Governor Printz, with petition 
 of his aid to build a residence. The governor promised, on 
 condition of his settling under Swedish jurisdiction. But on 
 his refusal, and discovering the designs of the Dutch, he bought 
 himself from the Indians the land from said Mantuas Hook to 
 Narraticon (now Raccoon creek, about eight miles wide) and 
 there erected a pillar with the Swedish arms engraved. 
 
 Andries Hudde, appointed pro tempore commandant on Fort 
 Nassau, 8th September, made a protest m writing against this 
 purchase, and informed the Director Stuyvesant of it, and also 
 that Governor Printz intended to purchase the whole country on 
 the east side of the river ; with the observation, that by pos- 
 sessing both sides he would be able to export 30,000 or 40,000 
 beaver skins every year. As the Dutch had neither time nor 
 money for effectual opposition, they adopted this scheme. — 
 Simon Ruth, Cornelius Marizen, Peter Hermanson, Andries 
 Hudde, Alexander Boyer, and David Davids joined in purchas- 
 ing from the Indians a piece of land from Ancocus creek (in 
 West Jersey, about twelve or thirteen miles above Philadelphia) 
 
 more from settling;, the Swedes are said to have purchased the land fiom the 
 Indians. The governor is directed to bring these families under the Swedish 
 jurisdiction by gentle means — the rather as they should have signified a wish 
 to be under any power capable of protecting them ; but in case this couJU not be 
 done, to prevail upon them to move fur a proper compensation, which would 
 be more eligible. — Trans. 
 
412 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 to Tenecongh,* and took a deed of the same, but with condition 
 of giving up their right to the Cornpany, if desired, on receiving 
 the sum paid. Gov. Printz protested against this. Peter Stu)''- 
 vesant, in his answer to those persons, laments the weakness 
 of the Dutch Company to defend its rights, and promises money 
 to buy the land from Raccoon down to the bay, which, how- 
 ever, never happened. 
 
 As Governor Printz had precluded the free access to Fort Nas- 
 sau by the fort on Tinnecum below it, the Dutch endeavoured to 
 repair this misfortune in the following manner : — They bought 
 from the Indians all the land between Manigvas,t or Mingvas 
 creek, and Bomties or Bambo-Hoock (Canarosse) and got a deed 
 for it 19th July, 1651. This contract is the only one ever 
 made in the name of the States General and the West India 
 Company. But in this very act, they purchased a district which 
 the MinquessisJ had sold to the Swedes already, in the time of 
 Menewe. Immediately afterwards they erected fort Casimirij 
 on Sandhoock. Governor Printz made positive remonstrances 
 against it, but in vain. 
 
 To prevent the bad effects of it, said governor erected an- 
 other fort, which he named Elfsborg, on the place called by 
 the Indians Wootsessung, one Swedish mile below Sand- 
 hook, and two below Christiana on the west side. (The dis- 
 trict is accordingl}'- still called Elsingborgh.) Here the 
 Swedish salute was fired on the arrival of Swedish vessels. — 
 But the main intent was to visit the Dutch vessels which passed, 
 and oblige them to lower the colours, which greatly affronted 
 them. The fort was afterwards deserted and demolished by 
 the Swedes themselves, because the multitude of musquitoes 
 was insupportable. (It was called jocosely Myggenborg, or 
 the fort of the musquitoes : mygga, in Swedish, meaning a 
 musquito.) 
 
 The Dutch Governor had raised the coat of arms of the 
 States at Santhickan, (Trenton,) but Printz ordered one of his offi- 
 cers to tear it down. On remonstrance to him, how he dared 
 to do so, the officer answered, that if the standard of the States 
 of Holland had been erected, he would have pulled it down. — 
 This happened 8th September, 1646. 
 
 However jealous the Dutch were of the Swedes, both were 
 united when required in keeping the English from the Dela- 
 ware. These had already made some attempts, and had formed 
 a claim on the country west of the said river, as being the 
 
 • This was higher up than Tenackong, where Governor Printz resided, now 
 ■well known. — Trans. 
 t Christiana. 
 
 I Indians of those parts. 
 
 II New-Castle, five miles below Wilmington, 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 413 
 
 back part of Virginia. The year before the arrival of Governor 
 Printz, they had fortified a place on Schuy-kill. The Dutch 
 Commissary on fort Nassau got these orders for their ex- 
 pulsion : — 
 
 " May 22, 1642. So soon as the sloops Real and St. Martin 
 arrive, he, Jan Jansson Upendam, shall go aboard (if necessary 
 he may collect more forces) and enter the Schuylkill, and ap- 
 proach the place of which the English have lately taken pos- 
 session, demanding by what authority they presume to deprive 
 lis of our land and trade ? If they have not any royal com- 
 mission, either in original or genuine copy, he shall, in complai- 
 sant manner, desire them to withdraw, for preventing of blood- 
 shed. If they refuse, he shall make them prisoners, and carry 
 them aboard of the sloops ; and for the rest, take care to pre- 
 serve dominion, and to defend the honour of the High and Migh- 
 ty States, and of the honourable West India Company. When 
 the English are removed, he shall entirely demolish that place. 
 He shall provide that the English may lose nothing of their 
 property, and therefore make a complete inventory in their pres- 
 ence. Done in our council at the fort of Amsterdam." Adrian 
 Van der Donck testifies that the Swedes aided. 
 
 " There is another creek on the east side of the river, called 
 Varcken's creek, (Salem) where some English were settled. — 
 The Director Kieft expelled them after a proper remonstrance, 
 being in part aided by the Swedes ; for they had both agreed 
 to expel the English." 
 
 These enterprises of the Dutch were, however, unimpor- 
 tant. A few unarmed English families were easily destroyed. 
 How insignificant their establishment on the Delaware was, 
 appears from this : — Jan Janssen Upendam, who commanded 
 at Fort Nassau, was, the 12th of October, 1646, cited to New 
 Amsterdam, to account for goods entrusted to him by the Com- 
 pany and some individuals. Andries Hiidden was sent to Nas- 
 sau to examine his books, and to send back what goods were 
 not wanted ; but himself to remain a commandant until further 
 orders, and to repair the fort the same year. He found the 
 magazines in such bad condition, that Upendam mentions in 
 his account only two bales of Harlem cloth, and two beaver 
 skins, as the whole stock under his charge during the whole 
 time. Andries Hudden, then appointed commandant ad inte- 
 rim of said fort Nassau, supplicated, the 1st December, 1654, 
 the governor and his council in New Amsterdam, for the ofifice 
 of schoolmaster ; but the matter was referred to the clergy and 
 consistory. Not being accepted, he was, byway of compensa- 
 tion, appointed secretary of government at Altona, (Christina) 
 and also clerk of the parish. 
 
414 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 Governor Printz went home in 1642, and appointed his son- 
 in-law, Johan Pappegoia, vice-governor. 
 
 1654. The ship Eagle came from Sweden, and brought 
 with her a reinforcement of colonists Johan Claudii Rising,* 
 as commissary and comisellor of the governor ; also an engineer, 
 Peter Lindstroem, several officers with some troops, and a cler- 
 gyman. On their arrival, they stopped at fort Casimir, gave 
 two salutes, and demai^cd the surrender of the fort, as erected 
 on Swedish ground. As the commandant delayed an answer, 
 Rising landed thirty soldiers, and took it without bloodshed. — 
 An inventory was made of every thing in the fort. Every per- 
 son was permitted to carry away what he had, whether it be- 
 longed to the company, or to individuals. The people had their 
 choice either to remove, or to remain, and be protected in their 
 rights, on taking the oath of allegiance to the crown of Sweden. 
 This happening on Trinity Sunday, the fort vi^as called Fort 
 Trinity. It was afterwards, according to the plan of engineer 
 Lindstroem, almost rebuilt anew much stronger. The vice- 
 governor, Pappegoia, went home, and said Rising obtained the 
 supreme authority, taking the title of Director General over 
 New Sweden. 
 
 The Dutch were intent on revenge with the first opportunity. 
 A Swedish ship, called the Golden Shark, coming to reinforce 
 the colony, and to bring goods, under command of captain and 
 supercai"go Daswick, was obliged by some accident to enter the 
 river Raritan, expecting no harm from the Dutch ; but was 
 made a prisoner notwithstanding his remonstrances. 
 
 The 30th August, 1655. The Dutch governor, Peter Stuy- 
 vesant, came with seven larger and smaller vessels, and between 
 six and seven hundred men, from New Amsterdam into Dela- 
 ware. He first demanded Fort Trinity, (Casimir) and after 
 some demur from the commandant Sven Schute, got it by ca- 
 pitulation, of which the principal articles were these : — 
 
 " The commandant shall have leave to send to Sweden with 
 first opportunity the cannons belonging to the crown of Swe- 
 den, being in all nine. 
 
 " He shall march out with twelve men in perfect accoutre- 
 ments, as his life-guard, with the colours of the crown ; but the 
 other soldiers shall only have their side-arms. 
 
 " The muskets that belong to the crown shall remain in the 
 ■fort until they are sent for. 
 
 " The commandant and officers shall retain their private pro- 
 perty, either removing it immediately, or leaving it till further 
 opportunity. 
 
 "The fort shall be given up with all the cannons, ammunition, 
 
 * Rising had been secretary in the Board of Commerce in Sweden. — Trans. 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 41-5 
 
 materials, and other goods that belong to the honourable West 
 India Company. 
 
 "Done 16th September, 1655, aboard the ship Wagh, near 
 Fort Casimir." 
 
 After this, the Dutch came over land to Christiana, approach- 
 ing on the back of it, and after a few days' negotiation, got it 
 without bloodshed by capitulation. The principal articles 
 were — 
 
 " All the cannons, ammunition, provisions, stock and articles, 
 which belong to the crown of Sweden and the West India 
 Company, found in the fort, shall appertain to them, and be 
 under the disposition of Governor Rising, to remove the same 
 directl}^, or leave it in the care of Governor Stuyvesant, to be 
 delivered on demand. 
 
 " The governor, with all his officers, military and civil, and 
 soldiers, shall march out of the fort, with all their arms, military 
 music, colours, and other military honours. They shall first be 
 safely conducted to the island Timnecuck, and lodged in the 
 fort there, imtil Governor Stuyvesant departs, and then they shall 
 be carried to Sandy Huck (this the same as Sandy Hook), and 
 there kept in safe custody at least fourteen days. The governor 
 and factor Elswyck shall be allowed four or five servants in 
 mean time. 
 
 " All writings, letters, instructions, and documents belonging 
 to the Swedish crown, the company, and individuals, found 
 in the fort, shall remain in the hands of the governor, to be 
 taken away at pleasure, without being examined. 
 
 " None of the officers, soldiers, attendants, belonging to the 
 crown or the company, nor any individuals shall be retained 
 against their will, but may all, if they please, depart with the 
 governor. 
 
 " All persons, whether appertaining to the crown and compa-- 
 ny, or private, shall retain all their property, without molestation.. 
 
 " If any persons, though willing to depart, are not able to go 
 with the governor, they shall obtain a time of one year and six 
 weeks, to dispose of their lands and moveables, except they ia 
 that time choose allegiance to the Dutch government. 
 
 " If any of the Swedes and Finns * are unwilling to depart,. 
 the Governor Rising may use means of persuasion ; and if 
 persuaded, they shall not be forcibly detained. Those who 
 remain shall have liberty to adhere to the Augsburgian Con- 
 fession, and to retain a teacher for their instruction. 
 
 " Governor Rising, the factor Elswyck, with others, officers,, 
 soldiers, and individuals, who wish to depart, shall by the 
 Governor Stuyvesant be provided with a good ship, which shall 
 
 • The Finns have a different language, but make one nation with the Swedes- 
 — Trans. 
 
416 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 take them in at Sandy Huck, and bring them to Texel, and 
 from thence immediately in a coaster, galhot, or other proper 
 vessel, to Gotheborg * without freight, on condition that such 
 vessel shall not be detained, for which Governor Rising shall 
 be responsible. 
 
 " In case Governor Rising, Factor Elswyck, or any other offi- 
 cer belonging to the crown or the company, has contracted any 
 debt on account of the crown or company, they shall not be 
 detained within the jurisdiction of the governor general. 
 
 " Governor Rising has perfect liberty to inform himself about 
 the conduct of the commandant Sven Schute, with that of the 
 officers and men, in surrendering Fort Casimir. 
 
 " Governor Rising stipulates on this day to withdraw his peo- 
 ple from the fort Christiana, and deliver it up to the governor 
 general. 
 
 " Done and signed the f-f Sept. 1655, on the parade between 
 
 Fort Christiana and the camp of the governor general. 
 
 "PETER STUYVESAJNT, 
 
 " JOHAN RiSlNQ, Director over J^ttv Sxoeden." 
 
 Secret article. — " It is further agreed, that the captain who is 
 to conduct Governor Rising and Factor Elswyck, shall be ex- 
 pressly ordered to put them ashore in England or France, and 
 that the governor general shall lend to Director G^eneral Rising, 
 in money, or bills of exchange, a sum of three hundred pounds 
 Flemish, which he promises to repay to said governor general 
 or his order in Amsterdam in six months after the receipt. In 
 mean time he leaves as equivalent the goods of the crown and 
 of the company. Of this we make two obligations. Signed 
 fl September, 1655, on the parade between, &c. 
 
 "PETER STUYVESANT, 
 "JOHAN RISING." 
 
 On receiving the money. Rising was obliged to consent that 
 the goods owned should be sold, if not redeemed in six 
 months. Both parties retained what they had got — the one the 
 money, the other the goods. 
 
 Rising did not return immediately. His account of New 
 Sweden, calculated to animate his victorious king, Charles 
 Gustavus, to its recovery, is dated Elbingen, 3d June, 1656. 
 Afterwards a proclamation was issued, in which all those who 
 desired to remain were convoked to take an oath of allegiance, 
 and all the rest to remove, with liberty to sell or carry off their 
 property. The form of the oath was : " I undersigned promise 
 and swear, in the presence of the omniscient and omnipotent 
 God, that I will be faithful and obedient unto the States General 
 of the United Netherlands, the director general and his council, 
 
 t Gothenburg on the North Sea. 
 
HISTOR-? OP NEW SWEDEN. • 417 
 
 the present and future, and remain without aiding in any hostile 
 enterprise or sedition, either in words or deeds against the same ; 
 but shall conduct myself as a faithful and obedient subject, so 
 long as I remain in this South river in the New Netherlands. 
 So help me Almighty God." 
 
 The Swedes suffered great hardships from the Dutch. The 
 flower of their troops were picked out, and sent to New Am- 
 sterdam ; though under the pretext of their free choice, the 
 men were forcibly carried aboard the ships. The women were 
 ill-treated * in their houses, the goods pillaged, and the cattle 
 killed. Those who refused allegiance were watched, as sus 
 picious. That this ill usage took place, appears from the testi- 
 monies given by Rising to those who had suffered, several of 
 which were preserved in the original. The Dutch have in 
 vain endeavoured to defend their aggression by allegation that 
 the Swedish establishment was but by a private company — 
 because the whole was undertaken under the authority and 
 protection of the government. 
 
 All the bargains for land that the Dutch had made with In- 
 dians were there very inconsiderable : — 
 
 Samuel Goodyn and Samuel Bloemart purchased Cape May 
 from the Indians, and named the bay Goodyn's Bay. This land 
 extended four miles from the cape southwards on the bay ; 
 four miles inwards from the water ; and thus contained sixteen 
 Dutch square miles. The purchase was made 5th of May, 
 1630, and was confirmed by the Dutch governor and his coun- 
 cil 3d January, 163L 
 
 Abraham Planck, Simon Ruth, Jan Andriessen, and Peter 
 Hermanssen obtained, 10th August, 1646, one hundred mor- 
 gens of land on the west side of the river, opposite Egg Island, 
 on condition of improving it, bearing allegiance to the Dutch 
 government, &c. ; but these men never came there. 
 
 Of the bargain made by Simon Ruth and others for the land 
 from Ancocus to Teneconghf mention is made above. The 
 company had no money to redeem this of the purchaser, as they 
 offered. 
 
 The Dutch company had proposed to buy the land from 
 Raccoon to the bay, but it was never done. The company 
 bought land for Fort Casimir, 19th July, 1651. This land was 
 between the river and Minquas (Christina) creek, from its 
 mouth to Canarosse (Bambo Hook). 
 
 The weakness of the Swedes accounts for this easy con- 
 quest. Sweden was too distant, and too deeply involved in the 
 
 * I have used "ill-treated" as most proper for the Swedish word of Acrelius. 
 It dops not clearly imply any insult on their chasliiy, but pillage, &c. — Trans. 
 
 + Tenecongh, or Bimilar words, probably mean simply an island, and are 
 thus applied to several places. — Trans. 
 53 
 
418 » HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN, 
 
 long wars with the Emperor, Poland, and Denmark. There 
 was also some danger on the passage from Spanish cruisers, as 
 Spain was then in alliance with the Emperor and Poland,. — 
 Moreover it must be allowed that the Swedes behaved in some 
 respects haughtily towards the Dutch. 
 
 The crown of Sweden ceded its commercial rights to Eng- 
 land, by virtue of the treaty of Westminster, dated 27th July, 
 1656.* Sweden did not make any formal session to Holland ; 
 and the whole dispute was no further noticed, than in the treaty of 
 the Hague, 18th July, 1667, thus : — "Controversias autem,quae 
 inter Societatem Sveco-Americanam dictam, et Societatem In- 
 dia^ Occidentalis Foederati Belgii intercedunt, ratione damnorum, 
 qua sibi a sese invicem in America illata esse prretendunt, se- 
 cundum justitia? et asquitatis regulas cum dictae Sanct. Reg. 
 Majs. ablegato-comitis quantocius examinandas, desuper transi- 
 gendum, parti lesag confestim et sine mora satisfaciendum esse, 
 statutum atque decretum est." 
 
 OF THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The country on both sides of the river was now in the power 
 of the Dutch. Tlie river was called Suydt river (South river.) 
 The Governor General Stuyvcsant resided in Manathan, or 
 New Amsterdam. His authority was over all military, com- 
 mercial and judicial affairs. All officers had their commissions 
 from, and were accountable to, him. When he departed, after 
 the conquest, he appointed Captain Deryk Smidt commissary, 
 or interim-commandant over the river. Immediately on his re- 
 turn to New Amsterdam, he issued a commission, 29th Novem- 
 ber, 1655, for Johan Paul Jaquet to be governor. His office 
 was to take care of the trade, and keep order among the people. 
 He chose Fort Casimir for his residence. Andrias Hudde be- 
 came his counsellor, Almerhauscn Klein secretary, &c. 
 
 The country on the west side of the river was divided into 
 two colonies : — From Christiana creek down to Boraties or 
 Bambo-Hook, and between the said creek and the river, togeth- 
 er with the fort Christina, and a piece of land about it, was the 
 colomj of the Company. The remainder on the north side of 
 Cliristina creek, and upwards on the river, belonged to the city 
 of Amsterdam, and was governed by its burgomasters and coun- 
 
 *Quoad commercium in America habendum, id quidem legje disserte cautum 
 est, ne cujus vis pitetcrea Reipublicse subditia sine peculiari licentia commer- 
 cium illic |)romiscue habcndi pott stas fiat. Siquis autem subditorum Sere. Re- 
 gis SveciiE ejusdem liter b commendatitiis nninitus, h me sibi liccntiam privatim, 
 ad cas quajlibet colonias petivcrit, Pominus Protector, quo ad rerum et Reipubli- 
 ciE status pro tempore permi.--erit, liaud invitus hac in parte Serenissimos Rtgi- 
 ntB Majestatis Svecise desiderio satis fiat. Fcedus Angl, cum Suecia. 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 419 
 
 cil, through Peter Stuyvesant, their general governor, and his 
 council ; and was called the colony of the City. The founda- 
 tion of this distinction was laid when Fort Casimir was erected, 
 though the execution was prevented by the power of the Swedes. 
 Before, all transactions were in the name of the States General 
 and the West-India Company ; but now their affairs became 
 separate. Deeds on the territory of the city were given in Am- 
 sterdam by the burgomasters and council ; but deeds on the 
 land of the company by directors and commissaries. A small 
 town was formed near Casimir on Sandhook, and was called 
 Neiver Amstel. Christina got the name of Altona. Some 
 Dutch Jews requested leave to settle and trade on the river, ot 
 whom two only were permitted. 
 
 Of the Swedes only nineteen swore allegiance, among whom 
 were Sven Schute, and Anders Jurgen, a Finn. The others 
 who remained, got their habitations within the colony of the 
 city, north of Christina, and so up the river. Over them was 
 appointed an inspector Goeran Van Dyke, with title of Schout 
 Fiscal, and under him the above Anders Jurgen. 
 
 The sixth article of the governor's instructions directs, " that 
 the Swedes should not be permitted to remain in the forts du- 
 ring night ; " and the twelfth of the same, " that a watchful 
 eye should be kept on them, and that any who might be found 
 seditious, should immediately be sent to New Amsterdam."* — 
 Some Swedes established on the other district requested a pro- 
 longation of the time (a year and six weeks) to prepare for their 
 departure ; but obtained only a conditional consent to remove 
 into the new town, and remain there. f Others were suspected 
 of secret negotiations with the Indians, because these still vis- 
 ited the Swedish houses, and were entertained as usual. Sven 
 Schute and Jacob Svenske, as most obnoxious, were according- 
 ly sent off to New Amsterdam. This cunning measure was 
 often employed by the Dutch, who seemed to fear their own 
 shadow. 
 
 The attachment of the Indians continued in spite of the revo- 
 lution, of which the following is a specimen : — The 24th of 
 March, 1656, the Swedish ship Mercurius came into the river, 
 not knowing of the change, having a new supply of people for 
 the colony. The Dutch forbid them to go up. But a party of 
 Indians joined, went aboard, and conducted it by fort Casimir to 
 Christina. The Dutch did not fire a gun against them; but 
 resolved to dismiss it, sending it first to New Amsterdam to take 
 in provisions.^ One of the two clergymen who then came, to 
 wit, Anders Bengtson, remained in the country. 
 
 « General Index, N. Y. Records. Lib. C. p. 1S5. 
 t Ibid. Lib. O. p. 17. 
 t Ibid. Lib C. p. 347. 
 
420 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 This Dutch colony was very weak until the spring of 1656, 
 when several parties came from New Amsterdam to settle here. 
 It was then first that the governor general and his council gave 
 deeds of land, seventy-five in all, till the end of August. These 
 grounds were small — the greater part of them only lots in New 
 Amstel. The Dutch did not mind agriculture ; besides labourers 
 could not be liad ; and orders were given that sixteen or twenty 
 famihes should settle together, for the sake of safety ; which, 
 however, was only observed about Fort Casimir. A yearly 
 rent of twelve stivers was paid for every morgen.* Within 
 the district of the Swedes no deeds were given at this time ; 
 yet a 5'^early tax of five or six gyllen was laid on every family, 
 agreeably to the project of the schoute.f The current coin of 
 the Dutch in the New Netherlands were gyllen, or florins, 
 thus : a Dutch florin passed here for five until 1700 ; afterwards 
 for six, but variably, as English money was then circulating. 
 The Indian trade brought into vogue their wampum, (oval pearls 
 of clam-shells, white and brown). The brown had a double 
 value of the white. Six of these and three of those were equal 
 to a styver ; twenty styvers to a gyllen ; five gyllen to one 
 Dutch ditto. Sometimes the Indians had strings a fathom long 
 of these wampum. The Dutch called wampum sewant. 
 
 The Indians desired the governor Jacquet to make certain 
 regulations of the trade ; that the Dutch should purchase all the 
 peltry that they could bring, and pay one blanket for two deer 
 skins. He answered, that as yet he had not orders to form a 
 treaty. In the mean time, they obtained presents by contribu- 
 tion of the inhabitants, in which some of the Swedes bore a 
 part. 
 
 Divers municipal regulations were made 23d February, 1656 ; 
 — to fence fields and lots before medium Mart, under a fine of 
 six gyllen ; to guard goats by herdsmen, or pay the damage 
 done by them ; not to enter the fort by land or water witliout 
 leave ; not to settle between Fort Casimir and Christiana, in 
 order to save the wood for the town and fort. 22d Maj^ the 
 same year — " that all the swine should be yoked within twenty- 
 four hours, or be killed by the soldiers." 
 
 The administration of Jacquet lasted little above a year. 
 Many complaints were made against him, which his successor 
 ascribed principally to hatred. Nevertheless the governor 
 general and his council sent him letters of dismission, which 
 coHtain reproaches for incapacity, 20th April, 1657. After 
 Jacquet, Jacob Alrich was appointed in Holland governor over 
 the colony of the city. His commission was given by the 
 
 * General index N. Y. Records, Liber H. H. 
 t Ibid. Liber R. 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 421 
 
 burgomasters and council in Amsterdam, 19th December, 1656, 
 and renewed in Fort Amsterdam in the New Netherlands, 12th 
 April, 1657. His residence was at New Amstel. The Swedes 
 were still governed by a schout and commissioners. On the 
 proposal of the schout Goran Van Dyke, the governor general 
 made an offer to them by proclamation, 12th June, 1657, to 
 assemble themselves into one settlement, and erect a town on 
 Upland (Chester), or Passayung (below Philadelphia, between 
 the Delaware and Schuylkill), or Finland (Marcus Hook, four 
 miles below Chester), or Kingsessing (between the Schuylkill 
 and Darby), or where they pleased ; but they did not approve 
 of this offer.* 
 
 The 28th October, 1658, Wilham Beekman, alderman in 
 Amsterdam, was appointed vice-governor over the colony of 
 the company ; and was to reside at Altona, from whence all his 
 lettsrs are dated. He administered the company's trade, com- 
 manded the garrison, levied the customs upon vessels arriving 
 at New Amstel, and superintended the Swedes. Andreas 
 Hudde became his secretary, and clerk at the divine worship 
 held at Altona. Though Alrich and Beekman had separate 
 governments, they frequently acted in each other's jurisdictions : 
 Alrich frequently distributed deeds for lands that belonged to 
 the company, and Beekman officiating within the colony of the 
 city- 
 It was a long time before the Dutch settled among the 
 Swedes. The only deeds they gave among them, were two 
 for plantations near Altona, and one for a mill built in the vicin- 
 ity, which was to grind for the garrison. Beekman had orders 
 from Stuyvesant to extend the company's colony from Bomties 
 Hook to Cape Henlopen. He was to consult with Alrich and 
 others, and inquire what Indians were true proprietors, and 
 judge what price was reasonable. Alrich had also orders to 
 fortify the country at Horekill. Alrich made many difficulties 
 in his answer to Stuyvesant ; that both money and men were 
 wanting for erecting and defending a fort; that such a fort 
 would be useless, while the country about it was vacant and 
 wild ; that the few cultivators had suffered from scarce harvest 
 that year, and could spare no supplies. Beekman, seeing the 
 inactivity of Alrich, went to the Horekill, in company with 
 Lieutenant x'V.lexander Hinoyosa ; made a purchase from the In- 
 dians, 23d May, 1659, and got a deed of it; threw up a fort, 
 and put in what soldiers he could get. Trade was carried on 
 by Alrich at New Amstel, Peter Alrich on Horekill, and Israel 
 Helm at Passayung. Toll was paid both on exports and im- 
 ports. The reason of this enterprise was, that two boats, with 
 
 * N. Y. Records, Lib. E. (The references to N. Y. Records are in the 
 original work.) 
 
4^2 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 fourteen English persons, from Virginia, had come to settle 
 there. They were attacked by the Indians, and delivered by 
 the Dutch. But to prevent the like, it was deemed necessary 
 to secure the country. 
 
 A rumor arose that the English from Maryland intended an 
 attack. Lord Baltimore, its proprietor, wanted to determine 
 the yet unfixed frontier : pretended to extend his right to two 
 miles (I know not what miles) from New Amstel ; and gave 
 deeds on lands in the vicinity. His governor, Josiah Fendel, 
 sent Colonel Utie with five other gentlemen to New Amstel to 
 deliver his pretensions. These were admitted into the fort, and 
 remained there four nights. During that time their mutual 
 claims were canvassed. Beekman was also present. The 
 meeting ended with harsh words on both sides ; but Stuyvesant 
 disapproved of the first friendly reception, and complained to 
 the company of Alrich for having admitted such dangerous 
 strangers within his premises. 
 
 Alrich's administration proved hurtful to the colony. His 
 avarice and severity obliged many Dutch families to remove to 
 Maryland, and many soldiers to desert. Finally, only ten sol- 
 diers remained in Fort Casimir, and five at Horekill. The 
 inhabited part of the company's colony did not extend beyond 
 two Dutch miles from the fort at the close of 1659. Stuyve- 
 sant, in his letter to the company in September of that year, 
 represented the probability of England soon conquering the 
 country by the aid of the Swedes, as Holland was then dis- 
 turbed ; and desired them to send exiled Poles, Prussians, and 
 Flemish peasants to settle the country. The 4th March, 1660, 
 he also sent Andries Lawrenson to recruit the garrison among 
 the Swedes and Finns, promising them from eight to twelve 
 gyllen as listing money. To those who had fled to Maryland 
 and Virginia from their creditors, he promised a pass, and se- 
 curity from payment during four years. But little was effected 
 by these means.* 
 
 Stuyvesant had a deep-fixed jealousy that the Swedes had a 
 dislike against the Dutch, and attachment to the English. 
 Though all the Swedish families were only 130, accordmg to 
 the list given in by the schout, they made a majority of the 
 inhabitants, and were therefore formidable. He therefore posi- 
 tively ordered, that all the Swedes should collect into small 
 towns ; and proposed Passayung as most proper, being a 
 pleasant and fruitful territory. Beekman, to whom the execu- 
 tion was committed, endeavoured to persuade them, but in vain; 
 nor had he sufficient power to compel. In his answer to Stuy- 
 vesant he represented it as unmerciful to force people from 
 
 • N. Y. Records, Lib. G, p. 116. 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 423 
 
 their cultivated lands, and put them to new labour and expense. 
 Some of the Swedes had emigrated from the company's colony 
 into that of the city, in which Hinoyosa had procured them 
 better privileges. Others had moved to Sassafras river, but 
 molested by the Indians had returned ; and these added strength. 
 Beekman therefore requested Sluyvesant to repeal his order, 
 and to provide the Swedes with Dutch books, in order to recon- 
 cile them better. This he had before proposed, but in vain. 
 
 The wife of Pappegoia, and daughter of Governor Printz, 
 lived still in Tenakongli. With all the advantages of that scat, 
 she was so poor from want of labourers, that the Dutch govern- 
 ment granted her a small aid, which for some time was an ox 
 and some hogs, both fattened, and sufficient grain for bread 
 yearly. Finally she returned to Sweden.* 
 
 Tlie 80th December, 1659, Jacob Alrich died, and appointed 
 ad interwi Alexander Hinoyosa his successor, and Gcrt Van 
 Gizet his secretary. Hinoyosa immediately sequestered all the 
 writings of his predecessor, and took extracts from them. Next 
 day he convened his council, and proved that Alrich had acted 
 contrary to his instructions in thirty or forty articles, and thus 
 Avould have forfeited both life and estate, if he had lived. But 
 in this few could agree. 
 
 The company had found the profits of their trade very infe- 
 rior to the expenses of the officiants, and of the treaties 
 and wars with the Indians. The officers were deeply interested. 
 It was difficult to prevent private trading, in spite of severe 
 prohibitions. The English on Long Island also carried on a 
 constant smuggling here. For these reasons, the company 
 surrendered all its rights to the colony of the city, 7th Febru- 
 ary, 1663. It was stipulated that the fort at Christiana should 
 also belong to it, on condition that the settlers about it should 
 be maintained in their privileges ; that the government of the 
 city should send another garrison, in exchange for the one that 
 belonged to the company, in order to defend the colony against 
 the Indians and the English ; that the space of a mile should be 
 cleared and settled ever)^ year ; that the agents of the city 
 should never be permitted to dispose of this country to any 
 others, in whole or in part, on penalty of thus forfeiting all their 
 rights. 
 
 On this the whole South River was delivered to Governor 
 Hinoyosa, by the patent of Governor General Stuyvesant and 
 his council, 22d December, 1663 : yet under condition to govern- 
 agre«ibly to the laws of the States General, and the regula- 
 tions of the West India company, and for its advantage. But 
 previous to this he had administered the government in company 
 
 • N. y. Records, Lib. R. Beekman's letter to Stuyvesant, 25th January, 
 1660. (Beekman's lottera arc among the colonial records at Albany. — Ed.) 
 
424 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEM. 
 
 with Beekman during three years, from the death of Alrichi 
 His council were, 25th January, 1660, Johan Crato, secretary, 
 Van Svearing, schout, Mr. Wilhams, surgeon, and Hans Block, 
 constable.* 
 
 Tlie accusations of Hinoyosa against his predecessor, with 
 the sequestration of his documents and property, caused great 
 disturbance. Cornelius Van Gizel petitioned Stuyvesant, to 
 obtain disposition of the property according to the testament. 
 Several examinations and correspondences were had on this. 
 Finally, Hinoosa was ordered under threats of punishment, to 
 cease from all opposition.! 
 
 At this time trade was carried on in peltries with the Indians, 
 and in tobacco with Virginia. As a proof of amity between 
 the Dutch and English, then it was that Stuyvesant sent to the 
 governor of Virginia presents of French wine, &c.:|: Peter 
 Alrich was by Hinoyosa appointed commandant of Horekill 
 fort, with exclusive privilege of trade with the Indians from 
 Bomties Hook to Cape Henlopen, over which the Swedes 
 greatly murmured. || 
 
 In 1663, there was great fear of those Indians called Senecas. 
 Some parties of these came down from the country and com- 
 mitted terrible murders. The Mynquessics, who held with the 
 Christians, resisted, but were insufficient. Christiana fort was 
 much out of repair, and so destitute of provisions that it had 
 not above a dozen of musquet balls, and not a single flint. The 
 small-pox made great havock among the Indians tliat year ; it 
 was a disease hitherto miknown among them. Mischievous 
 persons advised them to wash their bodies in the river, by 
 means of which many perished. 
 
 While two colonies were kept up, Beekman had a share in 
 the administration ; but he was little considered. This made 
 him envious of Hinoyosa whom he aspersed in frequent letters 
 to Stuyvesant, alleging that he had burnt the palisades under 
 the brew kettle, sold the muskets to the Indians, sold the mill- 
 stones of the town, and even the company's right in Maryland 
 for tobacco. §i By all this he effected little. When Hinoyosa 
 became sole governor by the company ceding its colony, Beek- 
 man was obliged to petition Stuyvesant that he might not be re- 
 moved in the winter, and without promotion ; in which case he 
 should be under necessity of going to Maryland which would 
 not be agreeable to the Dutch Government. H Stuyvesant of- 
 fered him to remain at Altona, cultivate the land, and keep five 
 or six servants ; but he had no prospect of benefit from this, be- 
 cause no settler had liberty of trading either with the Indians or 
 
 » N. Y. Records, Lib. R. t Ibid. Lib. G. t Ibid. Lib. R. 
 
 11 N. Y. Records, Lib, R. § Letter dated Altona, G Dec. 1663. 
 If Bcekman's Letter, 21st December, 1663. 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 425 
 
 English. He had, however, been informed that Hinoyosa had 
 obtained a right to half of the country and of the trade. The 
 preceding year fifty labourers had arrived in the double quality of 
 peasants and soldiers for yearly wages of an hundred guilders, 
 with six or seven women to manage their houses. These had 
 stipulated in Holland to serve certain years for the passage ; 
 but Hinoyosa had hired out some for sixty to eighty guilders 
 yearly wages, for his own advantage ; also, that Hinoyosa in- 
 tended to make his residence on Apoquimini, (a creek below 
 New Castle,) erect a metropolis there, and bring all the Eng- 
 lish commerce to himself, *It is uncertain how far these things 
 were founded. Finally, Beekman was settled on the North 
 river, as commissary or schout over Arosapha, (J]]sopus,) July 
 4, 1664. 
 
 The Dutch government took little care of the public worship. 
 On Sandhook stood a small wooden church for a while, but 
 without regular attendance. Lars Lorkenius, a Swedish cler- 
 g5^man, was the only one in that country ; he served both the 
 Swedes and the Dutch. A student, Abelius Selskoorn, came 
 to the country, and for some time performed divine worship at 
 Sandhook, went to New Amsterdam, and got a call from Stuy- 
 vesant ; he was also approved by the burgomasters of the Augs- 
 burgh Confession for ordination to the ministry, with promise 
 of equal pay with Lorkenius. However, he never had chai'ge 
 of any congregation on South river as a regularly ordained cler- 
 
 CONQUEST BY THE ENGLISH. 
 
 When the English had taken New Amsterdam and the other 
 places on the North river, they also took possession of the colony 
 on the Delaware. Fort Casimir was then the only fortified place, 
 and capitulated without any bloodshed. In the capitulation the 
 common people only were included, but not the officers, civil or 
 military. They took an oath of allegiance to the king of Eng- 
 land, and retained their houses and prerogatives undisturbed. — 
 The Swedes were also maintained in the Lutheran religion and 
 their public worship, as was their earnest desire. Fort Casimir 
 was then called New Castle. 
 
 In the war which England and France jointly commenced 
 against Holland, the Dutch, though much pressed at home, 
 were victorious at sea. Admiral Evertse, junior, ruined al- 
 most the whole French and English navigation from Newfound- 
 land to Barbadoes ; and in August, 1673, took New York by 
 storm. The then military council extended the Dutch domin- 
 
 * Beekman'« letter, 21 Dec 1663. 
 54 
 
426 HISTORY OF new swedeit. 
 
 ion to ihe old pretensions, and accordingly obliged both civil 
 and military officers within those limits to swear allegiance to 
 the States General and the Prince of Orange. Anthony Golvc 
 was then appointed governor-general over New-York and its 
 dependencies. He placed Peter Alrich as commandant over the 
 Delaware, yet subordinate under the governor general. He 
 took an oath of allegiance from the inhabitants. The first arti- 
 cle of his official instruction was : — " He shall support the true 
 Christian doctrine, such as it accords with the Synod of Dor- 
 drecht, and not permit an};^ doctrine repugnant to it." Thus a 
 scheme was formed this time to overthrow the Augsburg Con- 
 fession.* 
 
 But this second dominion was quickly ended by the peace of 
 Westminster, 19th Fcbruar}^ 1674, the sixth article of which 
 declares : '* thatvvhatever lands, towns, forts, &;c. had been re- 
 ciprocally taken since the beginning of the war, should be re- 
 stored to their former possessors." Accordingly New-York was 
 restored to the English, 31st October, 1674. 
 
 (About the taking of New-York, Acrelius speaks briefly, and 
 does not cite his authorities. An English squadron with 300 
 troops aboard took New-Amsterdam and its fort, 6th Septem- 
 ber, 1664, expelling ►Stu3'^vcsant, who then was lame and made 
 use of a silver leg. Thirteen days afterward. Sir Robert Carr 
 took Aurania, and after twelve days, Arosapha — all this with- 
 out losing a man. The colony of New Amsterdam extended 
 then ten miles east from the North river, and westward within 
 three miles of the Delaware. — Trans.) 
 
 THE DUKE OF YORk's GOVERNMENT.! 
 
 The province of New-York comprehended at this time all 
 the country that lay between New-England and Delaware river, 
 and was bestowed upon James, Duke of York, as a mark 
 of honour for his valour displayed on board the English fleet 
 which he commanded against the Dutch in the late war. In 
 addition to his he had also the three lower counties, as they 
 were called on the other side of the Delaware, namely, New- 
 castle, Kent, and Sussex, by a separate grant. The adminis- 
 tration was conducted in the mean time by a governor in the 
 name of the Duke of York, for the prince himself never came 
 
 New-York Records , Lib. Z. 
 I This notice of the Duke's gfovemment was omitted in Dr. Collin's trans- 
 lation ; as it is brief and not without interest, we have thought best to suppl 
 the omission. — Ed. 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 427 
 
 to this country. Under the government of New-York was in- 
 cluded the west side of the Delaware, which was sonielimes 
 called New Virginia, but for the most part the settlements on 
 llie Delaware. Here the Swedish and Dutch families had 
 their abodes ; but as yet there were no inhabitants on the east 
 side of the river, which afterwards was called Jersey, the land 
 being barren, boggy and disagreeable, nor did West Jersey 
 obtain any inhabiiants under the Duke of York's government. 
 
 Under the Swedish government deeds of lands were not given, 
 at least there are no traces of any, except those which were 
 granted by Queen Christina. The Dutch indeed issued a great 
 many after the year 1 656, but the greatest part of them were 
 for lands about Sandhook. No rents were in the mean time 
 received, since the land was neglected and the inhabitants indo- 
 lent, so that the products were little more than sufficient for 
 their subsistence. When the English government commenced, 
 all were summoned to New-York to receive deeds for the land 
 which they either had taken up, or intended to take up. The 
 grants were made by the governor in the Duke of York's name ; 
 the rents were a bushel of wheat for one hundred acres, if so 
 demanded. A part of tlie inhabitants took deeds ; others gave 
 themselves no trouble about the matter, except that they agreed 
 with the Indians for tracts of land in exchange for a gun, a 
 kettle, or a fur jacket, and the like ; and they likewise sold them 
 again to others for the same price, as land was abundant, inha- 
 bitants few, and the government not vigorous. Hence it appears 
 that in law-suits respecting titles to land, they relied upon the 
 Indian right, which prevailed when it could be proved. The 
 deeds given by the Swedes contained a condition, " so long as 
 the grantees continued subject to the government." Many 
 who took deeds for large tracts of land, repented of it from fear 
 of the after demand of rents, (which, however, were very light 
 when the people cultivated their lands, but sufficiently burden- 
 some when they derived no profit therefrom,) and on that account 
 transferred the largest part of ihem to others, which their de- 
 scendants at the present day exceedingly regret. 
 
 Some few English families came in, and were the only ones 
 that were willing to pay any thing for tracts of land, but the 
 Indians regarded them as a difi'erent kind of people, showing 
 them less favour, as they were less acquainted with them, which 
 often occasioned serious disturbances. The people lived in 
 great quiet, but extreme indolence. No agriculture, no trade 
 was pursued, more than was necessary to supply their absolute 
 wants. The Duke of York had little more than nominal returns, 
 but this is no matter of surprise, since the troubles in England 
 continued, and the succession to the throne placed him in the 
 greatest embarrassment. 
 
428 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 REP ORT 
 
 OF ANDREAS IIUDDE, COMMISSARY ON THE DELAWARE. 
 From tlie Dutch Colonial Records. 
 
 A short but faithful declaration of the procedures of John 
 Prinlz, governor of the Swedish troops on the South (or 
 Delaware) river, in New Netherlands, and of the pos- 
 session taken by the Swedes on the same river, as it was 
 ascertained, on the 1st November, 1645. 
 The truth as regards the possession of the Swedes on the 
 South river in New Netherlands, is as follows: — 
 
 At the entrance of the river, taken from its mouth three miles 
 upwards, on the east shore, is a fort named Elsenburgh, usually 
 garrisoned with twelve men commanded by a lieutenant, having 
 four guns, iron and brass, of twelve lbs. iron, one pots-hooft ; 
 which fort was not constructed before, but built by the afore- 
 said John Printz, a short while after he arrived on the aforesaid 
 river. By means of this fort the aforesaid Printz closes the 
 entrance of the river, so that all vessels, either those arrived from 
 hence,* or other places, are compelled to cast their anchor, not 
 excepting those of the noble company as is evident from several 
 yachts coming from the Manhattans, which, wishing to pursue 
 their voyage tow^ards the place of their destination without 
 stopping often, were injured by cannon balls, and were in im- 
 minent danger of losing some of their crew ; so that they must 
 proceed with small craft upwards of six miles towards the afore- 
 said Printz, to obtain his consent that they may sail higher up 
 the river, no matter whether they are Englishmen or Nether- 
 landers, without paying any regard to their commissions. 
 
 Further up the river about three miles, on the west shore, on a 
 creek called the Minquas creek, so named as it runs pretty near 
 the Minquas land, is another fort named Christina. This fort 
 lies about a half mile in the creek, and is nearly encircled by 
 a marsh, except on the north-west side, where it can be ap- 
 proached by land. At its south-west side it touches the 
 kill ; but although it is actually in a pretty good order, yet it 
 might be made stronger. This fort has no permanent garrison, 
 but otherwise it is well provided, and is the principal place 
 of trade, in which the commissary holds his residence ; and 
 here is a magazine of all sorts of goods. 
 
 * New Amsterdam. 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 429 
 
 This is the first fort constructed by the Swedes under the 
 command of one Peter Minuit, in the year 1638, although the 
 company had then a sufficient garrison on the river, and suffi- 
 cient fortifications, men and ammunitions of war, and had been in 
 possession of this country more than fourteen years before this 
 settlement of the Swedes ; which Peter Minuit served the 
 ■ Hon. Company here as Director. 
 
 Somewhat farther on the same side, about two (Dutch) miles, 
 there are some plantations, which are continued nearly a mile ; 
 but few houses only are built, and these at considerable distance 
 one from the other. I'he farthest of these is not far from Tinne- 
 konk, which is an island, and is towards the river side, secured 
 by creeks and underwood ; there the governor, John Printz, 
 keeps his residence. This is a pretty strong fort, constructed 
 by laying very heavy hemlock (greenen) logs the one on the 
 other ; but this fort, with all its buildings, was burnt down on 
 the 5th December, 1645. Farther on, at the same side, till you 
 come to the Schuylkill, being about two miles, there is not a 
 single plantation, neither at Tinnekonk, because near the river 
 nothing is to be met but underwood and valley lands. 
 
 In regard to this Schuylkill, these are lands purchased 
 and possessed by the company. He employed the company's 
 carpenter, and constructed there a fort on a very convenient spot 
 on an island near the borders of the kill, which is from the west 
 side secured by another creek, and from the south-south-east 
 and east sides with underwood and valley lands. It lays about 
 the distance of a gun-shot in the kill. On the south side of this 
 kill, on the same island, beautiful corn is raised. This fort 
 cannot, in any manner whatever, obtain any control on the river, 
 but it has the command over the whole creek, while this kill or 
 creek is the only remaining avenue for trade with the Minquas, 
 and without this trade the river is of little value. 
 
 At a little distance from this fort was a creek to the farthest 
 distant wood, which place is named Kinsessing by the savages, 
 which was before a certain and invariable resort for trade with 
 the Minquas, but which is now opposed by the Swedes having 
 there built a strong house. About half a mile further in the 
 woods, Governor Printz constructed a mill on a kill which runs 
 in the sea not far to the south of Matinnekonk, and on this kill 
 a strong building just by in the path which leads to the Minquas ; 
 and this place is called by the savages Kakarikonk. So that 
 no access to the Minquas is left open ;and he, too, controls 
 nearly all the trade of the savages on the river, as the greatest 
 part of them go a hunting in that neighbourhood, which they 
 are not able to do without passing by his residence. 
 
 In regard to his force, it consists at utmost of eighty or nine- 
 ty men, freemen as well as servants, with whom he must garri- 
 
430 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 son all his strong places. T shall not mention here the fortifi- 
 cations and possessions of the company, as being sufficiently 
 well known. 
 
 Respecting the procedures of the Swedes, when on the 23d 
 June, 1646, a shallop with a considerable cargo was dis- 
 patched to mc, but which was the property of individuals, I 
 gave orders to go to the Schuylkill near the right, and to wait there ' 
 for the Minquas. When arrived there, Jurriaen Blancke, the 
 trader of the sloop, was commanded to leave that spot at once, 
 as belonging to the crown ; of which I received notice, when I 
 directly went thither with four men, to examine how matters 
 stood. When. I received there the same notice, I requested 
 that they would inform their governor that this place had always 
 been a trading place, and that thus he would act with discretion, 
 and avoid giving cause for discord : on which the next day the 
 minister of the gospel was dispatched, who declared to me that 
 he had orders that if the bark was in the Schuylkill, he should 
 compel her to leave it. I answered him, that I first must see 
 the signature and seal of the governor, by which he intended to 
 forbid the company to trade with their goods in any part of the 
 river. I farther requested, that this might be done with dis- 
 cretion, and that the alhance between their High Mightinesses 
 and her Royal Majesty might be taken in consideration ; while 
 1 farther entered a protest against any losses and hindrances 
 that might be the natural consequence. On which the afore- 
 said John Printz dispatched towards me the commissary Hen- 
 drick Huygen, with two of his officers, as Carel Jansen, a Finn 
 by birth, his book keeper, and Gregory Van Dyck, his sergeant 
 [wacht meester), a native of the Hague, and demanded my an- 
 swer upon some articles, of which I demanded an answer — I 
 intended to say a copy — when I would answer him in writing. 
 He replied, he had no orders to do so, and that he dared not to 
 do it. When I did give him, nevertheless, a verbal answer, to 
 avoid giving him any offence, I did so in the presence, on 
 my part, of Sander Boyer, sergeant (wachtmeester), Philip 
 Gerneert, and Jurriaen Blancke, all freemen ; and the following 
 were the articles and answers upon these, briefly, as I could not 
 remember the whole, since they were read by them with much 
 haste : — 
 
 " Submission by the Honorable John Printz, governor in be- 
 half of the crown of Sweden on the South river in New Nether- 
 land, communicated by Hendrick Huygen, commissary, a na- 
 tive of Cleef, Carel Jansen, book-keeper, by birth a Finn, and 
 Gregory Van Dyck, sergeant (wachtmeester), a native of 
 the Hague, of the following articles, in presence of the above 
 named persons on my side. 
 
 Art. 1 &; 2. 
 
 On the Schuylkill, in what manner the property of it is as- 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 431 
 
 oertained and understood ; what arc and how far are extended 
 its Hmits ? 
 
 Answer. That the acts relative to the division of the limits 
 are at the Manhattans, where he may obtain correct information. 
 
 Art. 3, 4, & 5. 
 
 Query : If he ever offended me or any of mine with words 
 or deeds ? 
 
 Answer. That he left me and mine alone ; but that he of- 
 fended the company and afterwards their High Mightinesses — 
 in so far it was said to me in his name, that he would drive me 
 from the kill by force. 
 
 Art. 6 & 7. 
 
 That the Governor had sent for the Minquas at the ex- 
 pense of the crown, and that when they arrived, I lured them 
 from the Schuylkill. 
 
 Answer. That the Sachem was last spring with me, and 
 that I defrayed his expenses, and made a contract with him that 
 as soon as I received some goods, either T would send him di- 
 rectly a messenger, or that I would come down, if I received 
 any information. 
 
 Art. 8, 
 
 That T compelled by force Jurriaen Blanck to sail up and fas- 
 ten his bark to the bridge. 
 
 Answer. That he commanded him to sail up, but that hc 
 knows not of any compulsion. 
 
 Art. 9. 
 
 That I took up arms without any just cause, and that I had 
 answered upon his interdict, that I would remain there, and 
 should see who would be so daring as to drive me away. 
 
 Answer. That I made no use of any arms, much lesiS 
 shewed any hostile intention or committed any act of hostility — 
 but rather endeavoured to prevent it without betraying the priv 
 ileges of their High Mightinesses." 
 
 The affair did not remain at rest in this manner, but he sent 
 on the 1st July following a warning to Blancke, of which the! 
 following is a copy : — 
 
 " My good friend Blancke — I have received again complaints' 
 of several of Her Majesty's inhabitants, how that thou art com 
 pelled with thy bark contrary to the letter of thy commis- 
 sion to remain there, under the pretext that thou art obliged 
 to do so by Andries Hudde, who takes care of the interests 
 and disposes of the lands of their High Mightinesses as com- 
 
432 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 missioned by them. So is it, that I friendly admonish you, 
 as soon as you shall have been informed of these contents, 
 that you directly leave that spot ; as your commission implies, 
 with your trading vessel in the Schuylkill, seek the spot 
 where usually the sloops are accustomed to trade — which 
 shall not be prohibited ; neither do I desire that my subjects 
 shall be admitted there, from respect and friendship for 
 the commander and his commissions as long as you are re- 
 maining and trading in the Schuylkill, or that they would ob- 
 struct your interests. But if you should act against these my 
 orders, and despise m}^ warning, which 5^ou are in duty bound 
 to obey, so shall your bark with its whole cargo, in conform- 
 ity with the orders of her Royal Majesty, as it is strongly ex- 
 pressed in her Majesty's orders — be confiscated : of which you 
 may be fully persuaded, in case that you act against my 
 orders. Done at Tinnekonk, 20 June, 1646. (signed) 
 
 John Printz." 
 
 On this warning Jnrriaen Blancke departed from thence, but 
 by no means by my orders, but through fear that his bark and 
 goods laden in it might be confiscated, as he was a private per- 
 son, to whom it would be a very difficult task to obtain its re- 
 covery — more so, as it was not in my power to give him any 
 security, since I was entirely ignorant of the cause of contest 
 between the company and the Swedes. 
 
 I immediately mformed the Director General Kieft of this 
 event — viz. on the 1 2th July ; so too I communicated to him how 
 the trade with the Minquas might be continued, as it was the 
 plan of the aforesaid Printz and his associates to deprive the 
 company and its colonistsof this benefit by all means. 
 
 While in the mean time I was commanded by a letter of the 
 director-general to enquire about certain minerals in this 
 country ; so I went for this purpose to Sankikans, and tried to 
 penetrate to the great falls, where if the samples might be 
 credited there was a great hope of success. Now it happened, 
 that when I would pass the first fall, a sachem, named Wirake- 
 hen, stopped me and asked where 1 would go ? I answered 
 him, that I intended to go upward. He replied, that this was 
 not permitted, and that he wished to know why I came hither 
 — what was my object ? He informed me at last, after various 
 discourses, that the Swedish Governor told one Meerkedt, a 
 sachem residing near Tinnekonk, that we had an intention to 
 build a house near the great falls, and that in the vessels which 
 were to be expected, 250 men would arrive — which would be 
 sent hither from the Manhattans — and would kill all the sava- 
 ges below on the river ; and that this fort was to be garrisoned 
 in the house which we intended to build up the river, and 
 would prevent the savages residing up the river to come to their 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 433 
 
 assistance, so that no more should be able to escape ; and in 
 proof of all this it was stated that we would first come up in a 
 small vessel to visit and explore the spot, and that we would 
 kill two savages, to obtain by it some pretext, but that he, 
 Printz, would never permit it, and would certainly expel us 
 from the river ; and although I employed different means to 
 succeed in coming up to the falls, yet I was stopped every 
 time, and always with the same objection, so that I was com- 
 pelled at length to give it up. 
 
 And as on the 7th September following a letter was delivered 
 me in which I was imperiously commanded to purchase some 
 land from the savages, which was situated on the west shore 
 about a mile distant from Fort Nassau to the north, so I took 
 possession of that spot on the 8th following, and erected on it 
 the arms of the company, and, as the proprietor was not at 
 home, I was obliged to delay the conclusion of the purchase 
 till the 25th of the same month. After the purchase was ac- 
 complished, the original proprietor went with me to the spot, 
 and assisted in fixing the arms of the company to a pole, which 
 was fixed in the ground on the limits. Shortly after this, sev- 
 eral freemen made preparations to build on this newly-acquired 
 possession, about which time the Swedish Commissary Huy- 
 gen carried our arms, which I had affixed, with him down on 
 on the 8th of October, which as he said, he had taken by 
 order of his governor ; on which a considerable altercation took 
 place, and among others, about the great abuse committed 
 by his sergeant {wachtmeester) and other Swedes on the 30th 
 September last, against all good order and decency, and after 
 the guard was already on duty — when I kept him for some- 
 time in the guard-house besides a severe reproof, and demanded 
 of his governor to correct and punish him, so that it might evi- 
 dently appear, that he had no share whatever in such a violent 
 outrage, or, if similar excesses were again renewed, I would 
 directly inflict punishment as usually is done on similar turbu- 
 lent persons. 
 
 On which event a protest, of which the following is a copy, 
 was delivered on the 16lh of the following month by order of 
 the aforesaid John Printz, through two of his freemen, Oloff 
 Stille and Moens Flom. 
 
 *' Andries Hudde ! I remind you again by this written warn- 
 ing — as before was done verbally in person by the commissa- 
 ry Hendrick Huygen — that you will discontinue the injuries of 
 which you have been guilty against the Royal Majesty in Swe- 
 den, my most gracious Queen, against her Royal Majesty's 
 rights, pretensions, soil and land, without showing the least re- 
 spect to Her Royal Majesty's magnificence, reputation and 
 highness ; and that you will do so no more, and then consid- 
 55 
 
434 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 I rin^ how little it would be becoming her Royal Majesty to 
 bear such gross violence, and what great disasters might 
 originate from it, yea, might be expected. Secondly — with 
 what reluctance, as 1 think, your nation or your masters would 
 for such a trifle come in conflict with Her Royal Majesty, as 
 you have no shadow of right for this your gross conduct, par- 
 ticularly for your secret and unlawful purchase of land from the 
 savages, by which you evidently betrayed your conviction of the 
 justice, equity and antiquity of your pretensive claims, of which 
 you so loudly boasted, and which by this purchase have been 
 brought to light ; shewing clearly that you had no shadow of 
 right to that place, of which ye have taken possession, no more 
 than to others on this river which you now claim, in which how- 
 ever you was never molested by Her Majesty or her plenipoten- 
 tiaries ; neither was it ever attempted by them to undermine you 
 in a sinister way ; all this I can freely bring forward in my de- 
 fence, to exculpate me from all future calamities, of which we 
 give you a warning and place it to your account. Dated N, 
 Gothenburg, 30 Sept. 1646." Below in the margin was the 
 following : " The orders, to which you appeal, may very well 
 have been occasioned by unjust and unfair reports, and it would 
 well become you to send him correct information of this 
 whole transaction, as you were present on the spot. 
 
 John Printz." 
 
 As I was obliged to go up the river on the next day to take 
 care of some very urgent business, I was informed at my 
 return that the Swedish governor had forbidden his subjects 
 to enter into any transactions with our people, which is often 
 put in practice by professed enemies, but never was adopted by 
 allies the one against the other ; and as I then was farther in- 
 formed that the Swede found fault with me because I did not 
 send him an answer to his protest, I wrote the foUowing 
 protest which I sent him on the 23d of October, by the sergeant 
 {wachtmeestcr) Sander Boyer and two soldiers, viz. Davit Da- 
 vitsen and Jacob Hendricksen : — 
 
 " To the noble governor De Heer John Printz — 
 
 Sir Governor ! on the evening of the 16th inst. stilo novo, 
 was dehvered to me an act by Oloff Stille and Moens Flom, 
 dated on the 30th September, stilo veteri, by which your Honour 
 warns me to desist from any injuries which I should have done 
 or committed against the lands of her Royal Majesty of Swe- 
 den, which however remain vet unknown to me till this moment; 
 and if your Honour had condescended to explain wherein these 
 consisted, I should not have hesitated to alter my course, if 
 your Honour's insinuations had been correct, as I am entirely ig- 
 norant that Ihave left undone anything which might have a ten- 
 
HISTORY OP NEW SWEDEN. 435 
 
 dency to the preservation of our mutual intercourse, much less 
 that I should have committed any act of gross violence. I pur- 
 chased the land not in a clandestine manner, neither unjustly, 
 except that your Honour calls that a clandestine manner which 
 is not performed with your Honour's knowledge. 1 purchased it 
 from the real owner. If he sold that land previously to your 
 Honour, then he imposed upon me shamefully. The place 
 which we possess, we possess in deed, in just property, per- 
 haps before the name of the South river was heard of in Swe- 
 den. I cannot say, certainly I am ignorant, if my lord and 
 master has been unjustly informed — only that I explained 
 to him the whole transaction in truth and justice, and so I will 
 continue to do by the first opportunity that I may obtain, and 
 transmit to him your act with this my answer upon it, to be fur- 
 ther informed by him what he may think proper to command, 
 and what I shall be obliged to execute ; and whereas your com- 
 missary coming down on the &th instant, had taken off the arms 
 which I hung up on the purchased lands, tearing them down 
 in an insolent and hostile manner with these threatening 
 words — " that although it had been the colours of the Prince 
 of Orange that were hoisted there, he would have thrown 
 these too under his feet ; " besides many bloody menaces, which 
 have been reported to me from time to time, which can have 
 no other tendency than to cause great calamities ; and where- 
 as this not only concerns my nation and masters, but is an in- 
 fringement on the authority of their High ^lightinesses the 
 States General, and that of his Highness the Prince of Orange, 
 and so too of that of the noble Director, which is insulted by 
 it — so is it, that I am compelled against my will to send your 
 Honour this answer, by which I must protest before God and 
 the whole world ; as also I protest by this that I am innocent of 
 all the disasters, difficulties, losses, and what further might fol- 
 low from these procedures, or which might originate from them, 
 but that to the contrary I performed ever}^ thing, and endeav- 
 oured to employ all means, by which a good correspondence 
 and mutual harmony might be promoted — so as I deem myself 
 obhged to do, in so far as my honour and oath shall permit it — and 
 I will confide that it is your Honour's intention to act in the 
 same manner — at least from the consideration that we who are 
 Christians will not place ourselves as a stumbling-block or laugh- 
 ing-stock to those savage heathens, which I trust, that shall re- 
 main so, as it is by your affectionate friend. 
 
 A. Hl'dde. 
 On the South river in New Netherlands, October 22d, 1646." 
 When the sergeant returned, he reported — that as soon as he 
 arrived at the governor's, who stood before his door, he wished 
 
436 HISTORY OP NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 him a good morning, and said further I bring you a greeting 
 from the Commissary Hudde, who sends you this act in 
 answer to yours ; when he, John Printz, took it from his hand, 
 and threw it towards one of his attendants who stood near him, 
 saying — " there, take care of it." The other picked it up from 
 the ground, and took care of it. The governor then departed to 
 meet some Enghshmen just arrived from New England ; after 
 some interval the sergeant asked to see the governor to ob- 
 tain an answer ; but notwithstanding he came there in the dis- 
 charge of his duly, he nevertheless was thrown out of doors, the 
 governor taking a gun in his hand from the wall to shoot him 
 as he imagined, but was prevented from leaving his room. 
 
 And whereas the aforesaid governor John Printz leaves 
 nothing untried to render us suspected, as well among the sava- 
 ges as among the Christians — yea, often is conniving when the 
 subjects of the company, as well freemen as servants, when ar- 
 riving at the place where he resides, are in a most unreasona- 
 ble manner abused, so that they are often, on returning home, 
 bloody and bruised — so many examples are at hand for a 
 similar treatment by the savages — and more particularly so from 
 the Armewsick savages who endeavoured to surprise us on the 
 12th May, 1647, at noon, although it was rendered void by 
 God's mercy and correct informations, and through a misunder- 
 standing amongst them — and as he openly declares that the 
 company has no right whatever on this river, and that he pur- 
 chased the land in behalf of the crown of Sweden ; so as to the 
 Minquas land, that the company could not trust on their old un- 
 interrupted possession — that the devil tvas the oldest possessor 
 of hell, but that he sometimes admitted a younger one — 
 so as he openly declared at his own table on the 3d June 1647, 
 in my presence and that of my wife, with many other equally 
 vulgar expressions serving and intended for the same purpose ; 
 but — and vi^hat is worse — he made it openly manifest by stub- 
 born deeds — more particularly by enclosing the river, so that 
 no vessel can enter it on any account except with his previous 
 consent, notwithstanding they may have been provided with 
 the most respectable commissions, by which doing he not only 
 greatly injures the freemen, but retards their journey, to their 
 great loss. He farther in this manner shamefully vilifies their 
 High Mightinesses by denying them their due respect — despi- 
 sing and treating as frivolous and insignificant the commissions 
 in virtue of their High Mightinesses' plenitude of power, 
 granted in their name by their Director General to the free- 
 men. And whereas these freemen have repeatedly com- 
 plained to me, yet it was not in my power to afford them any 
 relief, except — what I often did — by renewing my remonstran- 
 ces ; so is it at last, that several freemen, lying liere at anchor, 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 437 
 
 came to me on the 29th July last, and humbly solicited that 
 I would prepare and present in their behalf a request to th e 
 Director General, Peter Stuyvesant, petitioning relief from 
 the hindrances which they met with. 
 
 This I effected and transmitted the petition ; when, on the 
 15th of August, was delivered to me a protest of the afore- 
 said Peter Stuyvesant on the same transaction, which I de- 
 livered on the 17th instant to Governor Printz, and received 
 for answer, that he would answer him in writing. As I ob- 
 tained by his letter permission to come thither, so I went and 
 arrived on the 7th of December at Manhattans, where I deliv- 
 ered to the aforesaid director the written answer of Governor 
 Printz. 
 
 It happened in the mean time, during this winter, in the be- 
 ginning of the year, that on the evening of the 2d of April 
 1648, a vessel arrived from below, with a schover sail, with- 
 out colours, so that I was doubtful, as not knowing from where 
 it came or what it was : whereon I ordered a gun to be 
 fired over it, but it pursued its course. I ordered a gun to 
 be fired the second time, but it was not more minded than 
 at the first time — whereon I despatched directly eight men in 
 its pursuit ; but as the wind was fair, and the weather very 
 hazy, and besides very dark, they could not reach it ; but af- 
 ter two or three days, I discovered that it was the Swedish 
 bark ; which again descending the river, I asked the skipper 
 by what cause he passed the fort with a doorgesehoten Sten- 
 gel* without showing his colours, by which it might be known 
 who his master was, though he had the colours with him, as was 
 evident since they were now flying ; he answered very con- 
 temptuously, that if he had known that this would have come 
 in consideration, he would not have done it now, but that he 
 should certainly do so in future, if it was to irritate and as a 
 mark of his contempt — on which I delivered to him the follow- 
 ing act for his Governor, of which this is a copy. 
 
 *' Noble and valiant John Printz : — 
 
 Whereas your shallop on the 3d instant, towards evening, 
 sailed by the fort,and contrary to custom hath lowered his colours 
 before it arrived near Fort Nassau, and passed without shew- 
 ing his colours, by which it could be ascertained who was 
 his master, contrary to our arrangements, which you ap- 
 proved, viz. that our vessels coming in the river, are to stop 
 near the forts, even when it is sufficiently known from where 
 they come, so that neither your subjects nor ours might be 
 exposed to any mishap : while it was to be feared that other- 
 wise, under this cover, one or other foreign nation, to our great 
 
 • I do not understand this technical term. — Tkans. 
 
438 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 injur}', might pass by. Wherefore I can not withhold my deep 
 surprise with what object in view your Honour permitted this 
 vessel to pass by the fort under such a disguise. As far 
 as I can judge, and considering what in such case might and 
 ought to be done against others arriving here without orders, 
 it is certainly not the right course to cultivate a good under- 
 standing between neighbours, but it rather produces misunder- 
 standing, which I could not have expected to have met with. I 
 will in future in a similar case not neglect what my duty, to 
 maintain the due respect towards their High Mightinesses and 
 the Prince of Orange, and the rights and immunities of my lords 
 and masters, requires of me ; wherefore I earnestly solicit, that 
 your Honour shall prevent it in future — as by a contrary con- 
 duct I should be compelled, whenever any difficulties from it 
 might arise, in behalf of my own innocence, to enter my protest 
 — more so, as the skipper, Claert Huygen, had the effrontery 
 to boast, that he only acted so to insult me, and that he should 
 regret if he did otherwise in future. Farewell. 
 
 A. HUDDE. 
 
 Done in Fort Nassau, 13th April." 
 
 As I was informed during the whole winter that the Swedes 
 brought together a large quantity of logs (greene), and that 
 already a great number has been carried to the Schuylkill, 
 which made me apprehend, that the governor had an intention 
 to construct some buildings near the place where the vessels 
 are now usually laying at anchor ; and as these trading as before 
 had been driven from Kinsessing, and we cannot otherwise 
 approach the large woods to trade with the Minquas, by which 
 consequently this trade being lost to us, the possession of this 
 river, as I well observed before, would deserve very little con- 
 sideration ; wherefore T dared not to withhold this communica- 
 tion, more so as I had no orders with regard to its preservation, 
 so that I now wait for the orders, what to do in case the Swede 
 might build, and again might take possession of some yet un- 
 occupied places, in which case I should humbly propose to 
 take possession of the tract of land nearest to him in the name 
 of the company. It happened now that on the fourth of the 
 same month, some of the sachems came to me from the savages 
 of Passayonk, who asked me why I did not build on the 
 Schuylkill ; that the Swedes had already there some buildings 
 constructed. On which I made an inquiry about it the next 
 day, and receiving correct information with regard to the antici- 
 pation by the Swede, and particularly so with regard to some 
 places of the highest importance ; I directly prepared myself to 
 build near the place, and went thither on the 27th next, with 
 the most necessary timber, calling then without delay for the 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 439 
 
 sachems, and stated to them that at present I came there 
 with the intention to build on that spot wliich they had granted 
 me. On which they sent an errand to the Swedes, who hved 
 there aheady, and commanded him to depart from thence, insin- 
 uating that they had taken possession of that spot in a clandes- 
 tine way, and that against their will, and that they had made a 
 cession for the present to me ; that I too should build there ; 
 on which two of the principal sachems, as Maarte-Hoock and 
 Wissemenets, planted there with their own hands the colours 
 of the prince of Orange, and ordered that I should fire a gun 
 three times, as a mark that I had taken possession. 
 
 This was effected, and then we raised the house in the pre- 
 sence of the chiefs. Towards evening the Swedish commissary 
 arrived there with seven or eight men, and asked me with whose 
 permission or order I did raise that building. I answered, by 
 orders of my masters, and with the previous consent of the 
 savages ; then pausing a little, he asked me further, if I had it in 
 my power to show an act, that I did so by order of my master, 
 and not on letters of some freemen ? I answered yes ; that I 
 was ready to produce it, after he should have delivered me an 
 act, by whose orders he made such a demand. In the mean 
 time, the sachems said to Hendrick Huygen and his company, 
 that they should grant us that tract of land, and that we would 
 settle there ; and asked by whose orders they (Swedes) did erect 
 buildings there ? — if it was not enough, that they were already 
 in possession of Matennekonk, the Schuylkill, Kinsessing, 
 Kakanken, Upland, and other places possessed by the Swedes, 
 all which they had stolen from them ? that Mennevvit now about 
 eleven years past, had no more than six small tracts of land 
 upon Paghaghacking, purchased to plant there some tobacco, of 
 which they natives, in gratitude, should enjoy the half of the 
 produce. If they coming to them (pointing at the Swedes) 
 should be permitted, when purchasing a tract of land, to take the 
 next adjoining to it, as the Swedes had done here on the river, 
 and yet continued to do, that they were greatly surprised, in- 
 deed, that they (the Swedes) would prescribe laws to them, 
 who were the original and natural proprietors of the land, even 
 as if they might not do with their own what they wished ; that 
 they (the Swedes) arrived only lately on the river, and had 
 taken already so much land from them, which they actually 
 settled, while we, pointing at us, never had taken from them 
 any land, although we had dwelt here and conversed with 
 them more than thirty years. 
 
 Thus I continued the commenced work, surrounding the 
 house with palisades, because the Swedes had destroyed before 
 the house which the company possessed on the Schuylkill, and 
 built a fort in its place, and they might do perhaps the same here; 
 While we thus were at work, arrives Moens Klingo, lieutenan 
 
440 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDENv 
 
 at the fort on the Schuylkill, with twenty-four men fully armed, 
 with charged muskets, and bearing maces, marching in ranks. 
 He asked if we intended to finish that work, and if we would 
 proceed with it? To which I answered, what was com- 
 menced must be finished too. Upon which he commanded 
 that his men should lay down their muskets, and that each of 
 them should take his axe in his hand, and cut down every tree 
 which stood around or near the house, destroying even the 
 fruit trees which I had planted there. 
 
 On which arrived here on the 7th of June the honourable com- 
 mittee of the members of the high council, L. Van Dincklagen, 
 second, and the honourable La Montagne, to which honourable 
 men the principal chiefs and original proprietors made on the 
 tenth of the same month a public transfer of the Schuylkill, 
 and sanctioned the former purchase to Arent Corst, before com- 
 missary on the same Schuylkill, and all the adjoining lands ; 
 of all which their honours took a public and lawful possession. 
 
 After which said honourable committee, with a becoming 
 suite, sailed to Tinnekonck, and were received there by the 
 commissary Huygen and Lieutenant Passegay, who left them 
 about half an hour in the open air and a constant rain ; and 
 after they were admitted to an audience, delivered among others 
 their solemn protest against the aforesaid Printz against his 
 illegal possession of the Schuylkill, on which he promised to 
 answer before their departure. 
 
 And as some freemen solicited that they might be permitted 
 to build, so were by their honours assigned the different spots to 
 them on which they might settle. Upon this one Hans Jacob- 
 sen made on the second July next a beginning to settle himself 
 on the Schuylkill, which was prevented by the Swedes, the 
 son of the governor Printz being commanded to execute this 
 exploit, who tried to compel the aforesaid Hans to break down 
 what he hath already raised, and when the aforesaid Hans de- 
 clined to do so, he did it himself, and burnt the whole, with the 
 following menaces " that if he there came again and dared to 
 build, he would carry off with him a good drubbing." 
 
 Not better fate waited one Thomas Braes, who went thither 
 on the sixth instant, to settle himself at New Holm, a certain 
 place to which they had given this name. He was there scarce 
 three hours, when the Swedes under the command of one Gre- 
 gory Van Dyck, sergeant {wachtmeestcr), arrived there, and 
 pulled down, as before in similar cases was put in practice, all 
 that had been raised by him, with a warning that he should 
 directly retreat, or they would beat him off. In this situation 
 affairs remained for that time. 
 
 While I in the mean time was commanded to come to the 
 Manhattans, I went thither, and arrived there on the eighth 
 
HISTORY OP NEW SWEDEN. 441 
 
 day of September ; when there I made my report of the situa- 
 tion of the South river, and deUvered further in writing what 
 in my opinion was necessary and practicable. At this time 
 notice was received by land, that the Sw^ede had placed a house 
 just before the fort Beavers Rheede, by which the access to 
 the fort was entirely barricadoed. As the winter season was 
 approaching, I returned again on the 5th of October, with a 
 few freemen, to whom were delivered letters patent, to settle 
 and build on the Schuylkill ; with whom being arrived on the 
 18lh October in the South river of New Netherland, I was di- 
 rectly informed that the Swede placed his best hope on the 
 country of the Minquas against the bargain concluded by us. 
 Wherefore, to prevent similar frivolous pretensions, and to 
 shew that the contract was by no means broken by the honorable 
 committee, I sent the fohowing note to Hendrick Huygens, 
 which he might deliver to his governor : — 
 
 (Copy.) 
 " Honourable and obliging good friend — Accept my cordial 
 salutation. It is with deep regret that I was informed on my 
 return, that our fugitives can find no residence in the Minquas 
 country, against the good intentions indeed of our director gen- 
 eral, who will not permit that any thing shall be undertaken 
 by his subjects against our contract, but he expects that similar 
 conduct shall be holden from both sides ; and as I am certain 
 that some late proceedings must arouse his suspicions, so I 
 considered it my duty to send you this note in my defence, con- 
 fident that on this point your governor will alter his mind. 
 And whereas our freemen are permitted to follow and promote 
 their private concerns, so is it that meanwhile one of the Swe- 
 dish oflScers named Peter Jochems, in contemptof us, tore by 
 night the palisadoes from the fort Rheede with violence asun- 
 der, broke them all in this manner in pieces, and making use 
 of the greatest violence, as well in words as deeds, whereon they 
 renewed their labours, so that the whole was finished on the 
 4th of November, which then for the second time was torn down 
 the Swedes, who broke with great violence every piece of tim- 
 ber — of which proceedings I transmitted a faithful account to 
 the director general. And whereas I do not possess any other 
 arms but paper against similar procedures, so did I deem it 
 necessary to send the inclosed protest to his Honour John 
 Printz." 
 
 {Copi/.) 
 *' Whereas by order and commission of our director general 
 P, Stuyvesant, Symen Roet, Peter Harmensen, and Cornehus 
 Mauntser were authorized to build on the Mast-makers corner, 
 56 
 
442 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 SO is it, that Symen Roet, in virtue of this commission, mad"^ 
 a beginning on the 4th of November to raise a house on the 
 Masl-niakers corner, which was forbidden him at that time by 
 your deputies ; yet, notwithstanding all his entreaties, open force 
 was vised by your subjects to destroy his work. The interces- 
 sion of the persons qualified by our lords and masters with the 
 superintcndance of this colony were utterly in vain. So too 
 was their remonstrance, that allies as we are ought not to 
 meet one another with force and violence, but on the contrary 
 act together in harmony as good and true confederates, leaving, 
 if some disputes did arise, their decision to our supreme sove- 
 reign, by which amicable conduct the undersigned is willing 
 to leave the point in dispute as it now is, till he shall receive 
 further orders. 
 
 When with the rising sun they were warned that a committee 
 had arrived, which consisted of Alexander Boyer and Adrian 
 van Tienhoven, a warning was given to double the exertions, 
 hewing and chopping till the whole was ruined, under the most 
 contemptible and shameless expressions on all them who en- 
 deavoured only to obey the orders of their masters. Proceedings, 
 indeed, which can have no other tendency than to foster mutual 
 rancour and enmity, being far remote from good neighbourship, 
 which we in every event endeavoured to cultivate, and carefully 
 avoided Avhat might give offence, although more than once 
 our most kind dispositions were in a sinister and malicious 
 manner interpreted. 
 
 On all which insolences and marks of disrespect shewn to a 
 legal commission, invested with authority of their High Mighti- 
 nesses, and his highness the Prince of Orange, as well as that 
 of our lords mayors, with an open breach of harmony and 
 friendship, we are now compelled to protest, before God and 
 the world, that we are innocent of all the difficulties which 
 might arise from similar procedures, and openly declare, that 
 we from our side aimed at nothing else than what might be con- 
 ducive to preserve a good friendship, and in behalf of which we 
 are yet willing to oblige ourselves, as we intend to remain your 
 affectionate friend. 
 
 A. HUDDE. 
 
 Done in Fort Nassau, on the South river, in New Nether- 
 lands, 7th September, 1648." * 
 
 • The a'jovc report is imperfect, as appears from the original MS., the con- 
 eluding pages being lost. It was translated into wretched English by Mr. 
 Van der Kemp, and makes a part of the seventeenth volume of the colonial 
 records a' Albany. For the want of a better, this translation has been adopt, 
 ed, but with numerous alterations to render it intelligible. — Eb. 
 
mSTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 443 
 
 GOVERNOR RISING'S OFFICIAL REPORT. 
 
 Translated from the original Sicedish, 
 Bj George P. Marsh, Esq., of Burlington, Vermont. 
 
 Report concerning the hostile and treacherous invasion of the 
 Swedish colony in Nova Svecia, by the Dutch, under the 
 command of P. Stuyvesant, governor of the New Netherlands, 
 wherefore the faithful subjects of his royal majesty of Swe- 
 den, who have endured such violence, do most humbly betake 
 themselves to his royal majesty's most gracious shelter and 
 protection, to the intent that they may be sustained and 
 indemnified for the wrongs and injuries which they have 
 suffered. 
 
 In the year 1655, on the 30th day of August, the Dutch 
 from the North river, where Manhattan or New Amsterdam 
 is situated, with seven ships or vessels, under command of the 
 said P. Stvuyesant, having onboard 600 or 700 men, arrived in 
 the South River, where Nova Svecia lieth, and anchored before 
 the fortress of Elfsborg, which was then dismantled and ruin- 
 ous ; the next day, they passed Fort Casimir, and bringing to 
 a little above, they landed, and immediately summoned Sven 
 Schiite,* who was in command, to surrender the fort, enforcing 
 their summons both with menaces and persuasion ; and pro- 
 ceeded to throw up some works. Some time before this, having 
 learned from the savages that the Dutch were about to assail 
 us, we had caused Fort Casimir to be supplied with men and 
 munitions to the best of our ability, and had drawn up a reso- 
 lution in writing to defend the fort in case the Dutch should 
 attack it, ordering Captain Schi'tte, the commandant, to send 
 on board their ships, when they approached, and demand of 
 them whether they came as friends, and in any case to warn 
 them not to run by the fort, upon pain of being fired upon, 
 (which in such case they could not reckon an act of hostility.) 
 But if they were minded to treat with us as friends concerning 
 our territory and boundaries, he should compliment them with a 
 Swedish national salute, and assure them that we were well dis- 
 posed to a fast friendship. Nevertheless, Captain Sven Schiite 
 not only suffered the Dutch ships to pass the fort without remon- 
 strance or firing a gun, whereby they gained the command both 
 of the fort and of the whole river, and cut off the communica- 
 tion between the forts, by posting troops between them, as high 
 
 * The modern orthography of this name is Skytte. — Trans. 
 
444 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 up as Christina creek, but surrendered the fort to Stuyvesant by 
 a dishonourable capitulation, in which he forgot to stipulate a 
 place to which he, with his people and effects, might retire ; 
 he also subscribed the capitulation, not in the fort or in any 
 indifferent place, but on board a Dutch ship. So Stuyvesant 
 detained the garrison, and transported most of them to Mana- 
 hatans, whereby we were greatly reduced in strength and 
 endangered, and not even knowing as yet that Fort Casimir had 
 so suddenly fallen into the enemy's hands, we had sent thither 
 in the mean time nine or ten of our best men to strengthen the 
 garrison. This detachment, when they had crossed Christina 
 creek betimes in the morning, found the Dutch posted there, 
 who immediately attacked them, fifty or sixty men strong, and 
 summoned them to surrender ; but they put themselves in pos- 
 ture of defence, and after a skirmish with the Dutch, were all 
 taken prisoners, except two, who retreated to the boat, and were 
 several times fired upon by the enemy, but without being slain 
 or wounded. Upon this we fired upon the Dutch from the 
 sconce, with a great gun, whereupon they retired into the woods, 
 and afterwards treated harshly and cruelly such of our people 
 as fell into their hands. 
 
 The same day the factor Elsvii was sent down from Fort 
 Christina to Stuyvesant to demand an explanation of his 
 conduct, and to dissuade him from further hostilities, as we 
 could not be persuaded that he seriously purposed to disturb 
 us in the lawful dominions of his Royal Majesty and our 
 principals. But as Stuyvesant had so cheaply obtained pos- 
 session of Fort Casimir, whither we had sent our best soldiers, 
 thus depriving ourselves in a great measure both of men and 
 munitions, he would give Elsvii no satisfaction, but claimed the 
 whole river and all our territory, and had well nigh detained 
 Elsvii as a spy. When we learned this we collected all the 
 people we could for the defence of Fort Christina, and laboured 
 with all our might, by night and by day, in strengthening the 
 ramparts, and filling gabions. The next day, being September 
 2d, the Dutch shewed themselves in considerable strength on 
 the opposite bank of Christina creek, but attempted no hostile 
 operations. On the morning of the 3d, they hoisted their flag 
 on our shallop, which lay drawn up on the beach, and appeared 
 to be about establishing themselves in a neighbouring house. 
 We therefore sent over Lieutenant Sven Hook, with a drum- 
 mer, to demand what they purposed, for what cause they posted 
 themselves there, and for what we should hold them. When 
 he had nearly crossed the creek, he asked them from the boat, 
 whether he might freely go to them ? They answered yes ; and 
 whether, after discharging his commission, he might freely 
 return ? to which also they answered, yes, as we could all 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 445 
 
 plainly hear in Fort Christina, and can bear witness accordingly. 
 So the drummer rowed the boat to the shore, without beat of 
 drum, beause the heutenant already had their parol, and know- 
 ing no cause of hostility, he supposed this ceremony to be 
 unnecessary. They then both went on shore, and an officer 
 met them, and conducted them some distance to a house, where 
 the enemy had already taken up a position. The Dutch then 
 sent our lieutenant down to Stuyvesant, pretending that he was 
 a spy, and Stuyvesant arrested him and threw him into the ship's 
 liold, but Capt. Fridr. Konish detained the drummer and his 
 drum in his own custody, and thus they treated our messen- 
 gers, contrary to the laws and customs of all civilized nations. 
 
 By the 4th they had planted gabions about the house on the op- 
 posite bank of Christina creek, and afterwards threw up a battery 
 under cover of them, and entrenched themselves there. Some 
 of our people interpreted all this as indicating the purpose of the 
 Dutch to be to claim and hold all our territory up to the creek, 
 and to construct a fort there, not yet believing that they would, 
 in contempt of public peace, and without any known cause, 
 commence hostilities against us, until they had set up some 
 claim, or promulgated some protest against us, whereas up to 
 this time we had received from them neither message nor letter 
 assigning any manner of cause or complaint. 
 
 On the 5th, the Dutch ships went up to Third Hook {tridie 
 Hoeck), where they landed their men, who then passed over to 
 Timber Island, and thence over the great falls {stoore fallet), 
 and so invested Fort Christina on all sides. They brought their 
 ships into the mouth of the creek, and planted their great guns 
 on the western side of the fort, and when we burnt a little 
 powder in a couple of pieces to scale them, they fired several 
 shots over our heads from Timber Island, where they had taken 
 .post in a house, and announced to us, that they had taken up a 
 position on the west side, by regular volleys. We continued to 
 prepare ourselves to make the best defence which our strength 
 would allow, if we should be attacked, for we were not yet 
 satisfied what the Dutch intended ; but in a short time an Indian 
 came in to us with a letter from Stuyvesant, in which he arro- 
 gantly claimed the whole river, and required me and all the 
 Swedes either to evacuate the country, or to remain there under 
 Dutch protection, threatening with the consequences in case 
 of refusal. Hereto I answered briefly, by letter, that I would 
 reply to this extraordinory demand by special messengers, and 
 sent him my answer by the same Indian. We then held a 
 general council of war, as to what should be done, if the Dutch 
 assaulted us by storm or battery; and it was determined that we 
 should in any case maintain the defensive, and make the best 
 resistance we could, but should not commence or provoke hostil 
 
446 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 ities, on account of our weakness and want of supplies ; that we 
 should wait until they fired upon us, or began to storm the 
 works, and then defend ourselves as long as we could, and leave 
 the consequences to be redressed by our gracious superiors. 
 
 The Dutch now began to encroach upon us more and 
 more every day. They killed our cattle, goats, swine and 
 poultry, broke open houses, pillaged the people without the 
 sconce of their property, and higher up the river they plundered 
 many, and stripped them to the skin. At New Gottenburg 
 they robbed Mr. Papegoija's wife of all she had, with many oth- 
 ers, who had collected their property together there. They 
 continued to advance their approaches to Fort Christina, (which 
 was a small and feeble work, and lay upon low ground, and 
 could be commanded from the surrounding heights,) and threw 
 up two batteries besides those on the opposite bank and on Tim- 
 ber Island, and hoisted their flags on all of them, as well as on 
 our ship in Fish creek, all which hostile acts, injuries and in- 
 sults we were, to our great mortification, compelled to witness 
 and suffer, being unable to resist them, by reason of our want 
 of men and of powder, whereof our supply scarcely sufiiced 
 for a single round for our guns. Notwithstanding all this, we 
 still trusted that they would at length be persuaded to hear 
 reason, and accordingly on the 7th we sent messengers down to 
 Stuyvesant at Fort Casimir, with a written commission, whereby 
 we sought to dissuade him from further hostilities, protesting 
 ■against his invasion and disturbance of our proper territory 
 without cause assigned, or declaration denying, as far as they 
 could, our right of possession in the river ; also suggesting to 
 him the jealousies between our respective sovereigns, and other 
 consequences of great moment which would ensue ; that we 
 were determined to defend our rights to the utmost of our 
 strength, and that he must answer for all consequences, and 
 finally required him to cease hostilities, and to retire with his 
 people from Fort Christina. But all this availed nothing with 
 him, and on the contrary he persisted in his claim to the whole 
 river, and would listen to no terms of accommodation, declaring 
 that such were his orders, and that those who had given them 
 might answer for the consequences. He then wrote me a letter 
 on the 9th, in which he anticipates all terms of accommodation, 
 will not allow that we have any rights to the said river, seeks to 
 refute our arguments, and styles our possession a usurpation, 
 and so interprets every point to his own advantage. 
 
 As we still determined to maintain our own defence, and abide 
 the result, the enemy continued to carry on their approaches 
 day and night, and with our little force of about thirty men 
 we could make no sorties, or prevent him from gaining positions 
 from which he could command the sconce so completely, that 
 
HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 447 
 
 there was not a spot on the ramparts where a man could stand 
 in security, and as he now daily advanced his works, and sum- 
 moned us to capitulate, with tlircats of giving no quarter, our 
 men proposed to us to go out and try to bring Stuyvesant to rea- 
 son, both on account of our want of supplies, and the advanced 
 condition of the enemy's works, and especially because our 
 provisions were scanty and would soon be exhausted. Besides 
 our few and hastily collected people were getting worn out, 
 partly sick, and partly ill disposed, and some had deserted. — 
 From these considerations, and the fear of a mutiny, it was 
 agreed, that I and Elsvii should go out the next day and hold 
 a parley with Stuyvesant, and endeavour torestrain him from for- 
 cible measures, and to bring him to reason. We accordingly 
 went out for this purpose on the 13th, and Stuyvesant and Nica- 
 tius de Sylle met us between the sconce and their most advanced 
 work. We solemnly protested against his procedure and his 
 hostile conduct, and replied verbally to his last mentioned letter, 
 confirmed our title with the best arguments we could, and held 
 a long discussion with them ; but all this produced no impress- 
 ion upon them, and they maintained their first ground, and in- 
 sisted upon the surrender of Fort Christina and the whole river ; 
 to which we replied that we would defend ourselves and resist 
 them to the last, clearly showing them that they were unjustly 
 invading our possessions, and declaring that we would appeal 
 to our government to redress our wrongs, and protect our rights 
 thus forcibly trenched upon, and so we went back to the sconce, 
 exhorted our men to a manly defence, and encouraged them as 
 well as we were able. 
 
 As soon as the Dutch had nearly completed their works, 
 they brought the guns of all their batteries to bear upon 
 us, and on the 14th instant formally summoned Fort Chris- 
 tina, with harsh menaces, by a drummer and a messenger, 
 to capitulate within twenty -four hours. We then assembled 
 a general council of the whole garrison, and it was found 
 to be their unanimous opinion, that inasmuch as we had not 
 sufficient strength for our defence, (the Dutch having com- 
 pleted their works against the sconce, and neither the sconce 
 nor the garrison being able to stand an assault,) and were in want 
 both of powder and other munitions, and had no hope of relief, 
 therefore they were all of opinion, that we should make the 
 best terms we could obtain with the Dutch ; all which may be 
 seen by the documents. So the next day we announced to the 
 enemy, that we would consider their summons within the time 
 prescribed, and being now reduced, by our want of supplies and 
 weak condition, to yield to the violence practised upon us, we 
 concluded a capitulation with Stuyvesant, as may be found by 
 the original among the docunients, and surrendered FortChris- 
 
448 HISTORY OF NEW SWEDEN. 
 
 tina to him on the 15th instant, stipulating that the guns and all the 
 effects belonging to the crown or the company should be restored 
 by the Dutch, according to the inventory, upon demand, and re- 
 serving the restitution of our sovereign's rights in time and man- 
 ner fitting ; providing also, that the Dutch should freely trans- 
 port to Sweden both us, and as many Swedes as chose to ac- 
 company us, for we held it better that the people should be re- 
 stored to their Fatherland's service than to leave them there in 
 misery, without the necessaries of life, in which case they 
 would have entered the service of the Dutch or English, and 
 never again advantaged their country. 
 
XV 
 
 A FEW PARTICULARS 
 
 CONCERNING 
 
 THE DIRECTORS GENERAL OR GOVERNORS, 
 
 NEW-NETHERLANDS. 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
THE DUTCH GOVERNORS. 
 
 PETER MINUIT. 
 
 The first few years in the history of the colony of New- 
 Netherlands are involved in darkness and uncertainty. It is 
 not known at what precise time a colonial government was or- 
 ganized, or who were the persons that composed it. There are 
 no records beyond the year 1638, except of patents or deeds, 
 and none of these earlier than 1630. The first notice of an ad- 
 ministration of affairs by a director and council, within our 
 knowledge, is contained in the coiTCspondence with the gover- 
 nor of the Plymouth colony in 1627 ; but the only officer of the 
 government named in those documents is the secretary, Isaac 
 de Razier. In one of his letters to Governor Bradford, Hazier 
 announces his intention of visiting Plymouth, with the *' ap- 
 probation of the Director and Council ;" and Bradford speaks 
 of him as " second to the Governor, ^^* The next reference to 
 the director and council is in the patents of 1630 ; but in these 
 also the names of the incumbents are omitted. There is one, 
 however, without date, but supposed to have been executed in 
 1630, in which Peter Minuit is named as director. With this 
 exception, the director or governor is not mentioned by name 
 in the patents, as yet ascertained, until 1636. 
 
 A late writer has ingeniously made out a connected ac- 
 count of Minuit's administration from 1624 to 1633.1 But in 
 order to arrive at the truth, it is necessary to distinguish be- 
 tween probabilities and clearly ascertained facts. It is true 
 that two ships of the West India Company arrived here with 
 a cargo of goods, wares, &c., in 1624 ; this appears from a table 
 of imports and exports published by De Lact ;t but beyond the 
 bare statement embraced in that document, the author leaves 
 us entirely in the dark. There is nothing to show the arrival 
 of either a director or a body of emigrants in those vessels. It 
 is not improbable, however, that such was the fact, and the 
 
 * See above, pp. 363-364. 
 
 t Moulton, Hist, of New- York. Part II. Novum Belgium, 
 
 I S«e above, p. 385. 
 
THE DUTCH GOVERNORS. 451 
 
 government nriay liave been organized upon their arrival. The 
 colony had been in existence several years at the time when 
 the intercourse with Plymouth was begun ; and Bradford, in his 
 letter to the Council of New-England, says, that "/or 5^ren^f A 
 of men and fortification they [the Dutch] /ar exceed them and 
 all others in the country.''^ 
 
 Minuit was undoubtedly governor prior to the arrival of 
 Van Twiller in 1633. This was originally suggested by 
 Smith, who, in describing the extent of New-Netherlands, 
 says — " I find in the Dutch records a copy of a letter from 
 William Kieft, May 6, 1638, directed to Peter Minuit, who 
 seems, by the tenor of it, to be the Swedish governor of New- 
 Sweden, asserting that the whole south river of New-Nether- 
 lands had been in the Dutch possession many years, above and 
 below, beset with forts and sealed with their blood : — which, 
 Kieft adds, has happened even during your administration in 
 Neio- Netherlands, and so is well known to you." In a note, the 
 same author mentions a rencontre that took place between some 
 Dutch and Indians on the Delaware, occasioned by a dispute 
 about the States' arms, which had been set up as a mark of 
 possession, and adds, that " if Kieft's letter alludes to this 
 affair, then Minuit preceded Van Twiller in the chief command 
 here ; and being perhaps disobliged by the Dutch, entered into 
 the service of the Queen of Sweden," * 
 
 The letter of Kieft is copied at length by Acrelius,t who 
 also remarks that Minuit had been in the Dutch service before 
 his connexion with the Swedish colony, and that, having fallen 
 into disputes with the West India Company, he had been dis- 
 placed and recalled. A slight variance will be noticed in the 
 part of the letter referring to Minuit's previous connexion with 
 New-Netherlands, as given by the two authors ; the one re- 
 ferring to his " administration," and the other simply to his 
 having been in the " service" of New-Netherlands, without in- 
 dicating in what capacity. A literal translation of the passage 
 favours the former sense, the original being as follows : — ■ 
 " gedurende V.E. directie van Nieuw-Nederlant, ende V. E. 
 iveel bekejit," &c., (during your Honour's direction or adminis- 
 tration of the New-Netherlands, and is to your Honour well 
 known, &c.) 
 
 This is not the only allusion of the kind in the colonial re- 
 cords. In another place a circumstance is stated to have 
 occurred " in the time of Minuit," evidently referring to the 
 period when he was at the head of affairs. Again, Andreas 
 Hudde, in his report relative to the Swedes on the Delaware, 
 expressly declares that Minuit had here served the West India 
 
 • Smith's Historj of New- York, 4. t Above, p. 409. 
 
452 THE DUTCH GOVERNORS. 
 
 Company as Director, (ivelcke Peter Mimnt de E. H. Com- 
 pagnie voor directerir hierte lande heeft gedient.)* 
 
 It seems to be clear, therefore, that Minuit was director or 
 governor of the colony ; but when or how long, is a matter of 
 uncertainty, except that he preceded Van Twiller. His subse- 
 quent connexion with the Swedish colony on the Delaware is 
 fully described by Acrelius. During the short period of his 
 government in that quarter, the Swedes had no difficulties with 
 their Dutch neighbours. He died, about the year 1641, at 
 Christina, now Wilmington, Delaware.f 
 
 WOUTER VAN TWILLER. 
 The administration of Van Twiller com.menced in the spring 
 of 1633, as is mentioned by De Vries, who arrived here about 
 the same time 4 The ship that brought out the new governor 
 was lying in the harbour when the latter anchored near Staten 
 Island. It is stated, however, that Van Twiller had been here 
 before, in 1629, in an official capacity, ard that the representa- 
 tions he afterwards made concerning the colony occasioned the 
 recall of Minuit. Not having been able as yet to trace this 
 statement to any authority on which full reliance can be placed, 
 we must date his directorship from 1633. It lasted five years, 
 when he appears to have been superseded by William Kieft. 
 Van Twiller continued to reside in the colony after he ceased 
 to hold the office of director, and seems to have occasioned 
 some uneasiness to the company by disregarding their authority 
 on several occasions, as appears from their letters to the Di- 
 rector General, contained in the colonial records. Leaving 
 New- Amsterdam, he had removed to the colony of Rensselaer- 
 wyck, where he was engaged in commercial operations during 
 the administration of Governor Stuyvesant. 
 
 WILLIAM KIEFT. 
 
 This energetic functionary arrived ns the successor of Van 
 Twiller, in the year 1638. With his administration the records 
 of the colony that have been preserved, commence ; and they 
 are continued with considerable regularity down to the close of 
 the Dutch dynasty. There seems to be no want of material 
 for a full account of Kieft's directorship, which lasted eight or 
 nine years. He sailed on his return to Holland in 1647 ; but 
 the ship in which he embarked, the Princess, was lost, and all 
 on board perished. Among the passengers was tlie Rev. Ever- 
 ardus Bogardus, the ffi-st minister of the colony. |( 
 
 * Above, p. 429. Van der Donck alludes to liim as " Commander Minuit;" 
 above, p. ItiO. 
 
 + Acrelius, 15. | See above, p, 254. 
 
 II The loss of this ship is mentioned by Van der Donck. See above, p. 163. 
 
Mr /'•■/irS/jmy.siiii/ . 
 
 /n.iMS: f V:'. 
 
THE DUTCH GOVERNORS. 453 
 
 PETRUS STUYVESANT. 
 
 The commission of Governor Stuyvesant was dated July 
 26th, 1646, and embr^iccd New-Netherlands and the islands of 
 Cura9oa, Bonaire, and Aruba, on the Spanish main. He arrived 
 here the twenty-seventh of May, 1647. His administration 
 was at the same time the longest, and the most perplexed and 
 trying of all. The encroachments of New-England upon the 
 east, of Marjdand upon the south-west, and of the Swedes on 
 tiie Delaware, served to keep the government of the colony in 
 a state of almost constant excitement. At one time we find 
 the Director General negotiating with the English at Boston, 
 or Hartford, at another prosecuting a vigorous and successful 
 campaign against the Swedish garrisons on the Delaware, and 
 at another time making a voyage to Cura^oa on the coast of 
 South America. There were troubles, too, nearer home ; some 
 disaffected spirits endeavoured to produce a popular commo- 
 tion in the colony, and to overturn not only the authority of the 
 Governor, but of the Directors of the West India Company. 
 In the midst of all these difficulties the colony continued to pros- 
 per, and New-Amsterdam, before a straggling village, now 
 began to assume an air of regularity, being laid out into streets, 
 adorned with substantial Dutch houses. This improvement 
 was made about the year 1656. 
 
 At length, however, the continued encroachments of the 
 English, who were every day increasing in strength, both upon 
 the east and the south-west, began to occasion serious alarm 
 in the Dutch colony ; and when a war broke out between the 
 parent countries, there was little hope that it would escape the 
 grasping cupidit}- of British power. " Your honours imagine," 
 says Stu}'vesant, in a letter to the company, dated April 20th, 
 1660, " that the troubles in England will prevent any attempt 
 on these parts : alas ! they are ten to one in number to us, and 
 are able without any assistance to deprive us of the country 
 when they please." Again, in the following year, he writes : — 
 " We have ad voices from England, that there is an invasion in- 
 tCiided against these parts, and the country solicited of the king, 
 the duke, and the parliament, is to be annexed to their domi- 
 nions ; and for that purpose they desire three or four frigates," 
 &c. These rumors were not without foundation ; but the ex- 
 pedition did not sail until the year 1664, when, with the assist- 
 ance of the New-England colonies, New-Netherlands was 
 brought under subjection to tlie Duke of York, to whom his 
 brother Charles I. had granted a patent of the country. 
 
 Thus ended the administration of Petrus Stuyvesant, who, on 
 the surrender, obtained such favourable terms for his country- 
 men that scarcely any of them removed from the colony ; they 
 
454 THE DUTCH GOVERNORS, 
 
 remained in the enjoyment of their own customs, and of their 
 civil and religious rights and privileges, w^ithout hindrance or 
 objection on the part of their new rulers. Such was the perti- 
 nacity with which they adhered to the use of their own lan- 
 guage, that a full century elapsed after the conquest before an 
 English sermon was heard in the Dutch church of the city of 
 New-York. The innovation even at that late day (1764) was 
 stoutly resisted, and did not extend to the entire exclusion of 
 the Dutch language from the church, as it continued to be 
 used one half of the time for several years later. 
 
 Governor Stuyvesant was himself induced to continue his 
 residence in the country, being somewhat advanced in years ; 
 and passed the remainder of his life on his houioery or farm, 
 now constituting the greater portion of the eleventh and seven- 
 teenth, and a part of the sixteenth wards of the city.* He died in 
 the early part of the year 1672, and his remains lie in a vault 
 originally constructed by himself beneath a chapel on his estate. 
 This edifice having fallen into decay, the late Petrus Stuyve- 
 sant, Esq., who succeeded to most of his ancestor's estates, 
 induced the vestry of Trinity Church to erect a handsome 
 structure upon the same site, to which he contributed liberally 
 himself ; and the corner stone of " St. Mark's Church in the 
 Bowery," was accordingly laid on the 25th of April, 1795. 
 At that time the foundation only of the chapel remained. 
 
 A recent publicationf contains a genealogical notice of the 
 descendants of Governor Stuyvesant ; but as it is somewhat 
 erroneous, as well as imperfect, in its details of dates, &c., it 
 is here re-printed with some corrections. 
 
 * Bancroft, Hist. United States, ii. 294, has the following remarks under 
 the year 1649 : — " The island of New-York was then chiefly divided among 
 farmers ; the large forests which covered the Park and the adjacent region, 
 long remained a common pasture, wlicre, for yet a quarter of a century, tan- 
 ners could obtain bark, and boys chestnuts ; and the soil was so little valued , 
 that Stuyvesant thought it no wrong to his employers to purchase of them at 
 a small price an extensive bowery just beyond the coppices, among which 
 browsed the g-oats and kine from tlie village." This is true in part ; farming 
 lands were cheap at that period, as well as the present, compared witli real 
 estate in the city. But ve have found Van Twiller eleven years earlier (1638) 
 taking a lease of a farm from Di>"ector Kieft, at an annual rent of 250 
 guilders, (above, p. 280 ;) and other instances might be adduced, showng that 
 the lands on the island of Manhattan were tlicn of considerable value. In 
 regard to Governor Stuyvesant's estates, we have examined his titles to some 
 extent, and find that in most instances they were derived from individuals 
 instead of the Company. Fur example, in 1656, he purchased about fifty 
 acres of land on the East river from William Beckman ; Herman Smeeman 
 had previously sold ihe same to Eeekman. and Governor Kieft to Smeeman, 
 April 2d, 104'7. Ag;tin, there is a grond-hrief, or deed, of thirty-nine mor- 
 gen, (about eighty acres,) from Leendert Arenden to Peter Stuyvesant ; the 
 same having been conveyed to Arenden by Kieft, October 19tb, 1645. This 
 land is still chiefly held by descendants of Governor Stuyvesant, and em- 
 braces a compact part of the city. 
 
 t Dunlap's Hist, of New-York, ii. Appendix L. 
 
THE DUTCH GOVERNORS. 45-5 
 
 Petrus Stuyvesant and Judith Bayard were married in 
 Amsterdam, Holland, and arrived at. New-Amsterdam, now 
 New-York, May 27tli, 1647. Their children were — 
 
 Balthazar Lazar, born 1647, died 1678. 
 Nicholas William, " 1648, " 1698. 
 
 Balthazar removed to the West Indies, where lie married 
 
 and left two children — 
 
 Judith, born 1674, married Edsall. 
 
 Katharine, " 1675, " Thos. Tassmacher. 
 Nicholas William married Maria, daughter of William 
 Beekman, vice-governor on the Delaware ; she died, leaving 
 one daughter — 
 
 Juditli, died 1694, unmarried. 
 
 He afterwards married Elizabeth Slechtenhorst ; their chil- 
 dren were — 
 
 1. Petrus, born 1684, drowned 1706, unmarried. 
 
 2. Anna, died 1759. 
 
 3. Gerardus, " 1690, died 1777.* 
 
 Anna married tlie Rev. Thomas Pritchard, of the Episcopal 
 Church, who died 1706, without issue. 
 
 Gerardus married Judith, youngest daughter of Balthazar 
 Bayard. Their children w^ere — 
 
 1. Nicholas William, born 1722, died 1780, unmarried. 
 
 2. Petrus, " 1727, " 1805. 
 
 Two other sons, Petrus and Gerardus, died in infancy. 
 
 Petrus married Margaret, daughter of Gilbert Livingston. 
 
 Their children were — 
 
 1. Judith, the wife of Benjamin Winthrop, of New- York. 
 
 2. Cornelia, md. Dirck Ten Broeck, of Albany; she died 1825, 
 
 leaving several children. 
 
 3. Nicholas William, md. Catharine Livingston Reade ; he died 
 
 1833, leaving several children. 
 
 4. Margaret, died 1824, unmarried. 
 
 5. Elizabeth, now the widow of Col. Nicholas Fish ; he died 
 
 1833, leaving several children. 
 
 6. Peter Gerard, md. Susan, daughter of Col. Thomas Barclay; 
 
 after her decease, he md. Helen Sarah, daughter of Hon. 
 John Rutherfurd, of New- Jersey. 
 Several others died in infancy. 
 A sister of Gov. Stuyvesant, named Anna, the widow of 
 Nicholas Bayard, with her family, accompanied him to America. 
 She had three sons, — Balthazar, Peter, and Nicholas. 
 
 Balthazar Bayard md. Marritje, (or Mana,) daughter of Govert 
 Loockermans ;t their children were — 
 
 1. Anna Maria, md. Augustus Jay, grandfather of Gov. Jay. 
 
 * Smith, writing in 1756, says tliat Gerardus Stuyvesant, a grandson of 
 the Governor, was then possessed of his farm, and was a man of probity, be- 
 ing elected into the magistracy about thirty years successively. Hist, of 
 New-York, i. 33. His residence and those of his two sons are marked on Rat- 
 zen's large map of the city in 1766-7. The former wis destroyed by fire in 
 Oct. 1778, being then occupied in part by Smith, the historian. Sir H. Clin- 
 ton was at the same time quartered in the house of Nicholas William. 
 
 + See above, p. 379. A Dutch bible that once belonged to Govert Loockermans, 
 is now in the library of the American Bible Society. It contains memoranda 
 of hia family written in Dutch, from which it appears that he was himself 
 married to Ariantje Jans, at Amsterdam, in 1644. 
 
456 THE DUTCH GOVERNORS. 
 
 2. Arietta, md. Samuel Verplanck. 
 
 3. Jacobus, md. Hillegond, daughter of Teuuis De Kay. 
 
 4. Judith, md. Gerardus Stuyvesant abovenamed.* 
 
 The following paragraph gives some idea of the nature of the 
 commercial intercom^se between the colony and the mother 
 country during Stuyvesant's administration. It is from a Dutch 
 newspaper, printed at Haerlem, Holland, Sept. 17th, 1661; the 
 paper was called Haerlemse Saterdaeghse Courant, (the 
 Haerlem Saturday Courant,) and printed partly in black-letter, 
 on a quarter of a sheet of paper. The translation is by the 
 late Judge Egbert Benson. 
 
 "Amsterdam, den 16 September. Voorleden Maendag arri- 
 veerde in Texel 't schip den Arent, uyt Nieu-Nederlant, gela- 
 den met toeback en weynigh peltery. 't Schip de Trou en 't 
 schip de Klock lagen zeylreede, om daegs nae haer vertreck in 
 zee te loopen, die nu alle daeghen werden verwacht, zijnde 
 (soo men meynt) by Fairhil gesien. Met de Trou komt Mr. 
 Wintrop, Gouverneur van Conectecut, als afgesant nevens den 
 Predicant Mr. Stoon, aen zijn Maj. van Engelant. Den han- 
 del van toeback is redelijck geweest, maer van peltery slecht : 
 anders stont alles in goeden stant. Tn de Sopus gingh de lant- 
 bouw dapper voort : in de Zuydt Revier desgelijcks. In 't begin 
 van de soraer was in Nieu-Engelant een grooten storm geweest, 
 maer door verscheyde schepen warcn gebleven." 
 
 Translation. 
 " Amsterdam, September 16. On Monday last arrived in 
 the Texel the ship Arent, from New-Netherlands, laden with 
 tobacco and some peltry' . The ship Trou and the ship Klock 
 lay ready to sail, [intending] daily to depart, and may now be 
 daily expected, having been seen, as it is suiDposed, near Fair- 
 hill. In the Trou comes passenger Mr. Winthrop, Governor 
 of Connecticut, together with the Rev Mr. Stone, as agents to 
 his Majesty of England. The trade in tobacco has been toler- 
 able, but that in peltries indiiferent. Tn every other respect 
 matters are in good condition. Tn the Sopus {Kingston^ the 
 cultivation of the land proceeds briskly, as it does also on the 
 South river. Tn the beginning of the summer there was a great 
 storm in New-England, in which a number of ships were lost." 
 
 ANTHONY COLVE. 
 
 After the reconquest of New-Netherlands by the Dutch in 
 1673, Anthony Colve was made governor. He administered 
 the government of the colony from August 12th, 1673, to Oc- 
 tober 31st, 1674, when the English again took possession by 
 virtue of a treaty with the States of Holland, who received 
 Surinam in exchange for New-Netherlands. 
 
 • We are indebted to Hamilton Fish, Esq., (a son of the late Col. Fish,) 
 for many of the above details. 
 
XVI. 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 58 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 It was intended to include in the present volume some ac- 
 count of the origin and formation of this society, the ob- 
 jects its founders liad in view, and the degree of success that 
 has attended its labours at different periods. But the task of 
 preparing such a paper having been deferred until other more 
 important materials could be arranged, the work has in the 
 meantime grown beyond the limits originally assigned to it, 
 without leaving space for even a brief sketch of the institu- 
 tion. It is, nevertheless, proposed to take a rapid glance at 
 the leading incidents in its short, but honorable career ; reserv- 
 ing many of the more minute and individual details for another 
 occasion. 
 
 The plan of forming a State Historical Association appears 
 to have originated with the late Judge Benson and John Pintard, 
 Esq., (the latter of whom is still living at an advanced age,) 
 through whose exertions several meetings for the purpose were 
 held in a room of the old City Hall, in the year 1804. After 
 canvassing the matter for some time, the persons who had been 
 invited to take part in the preliminary arrangements appointed 
 a committee to draft a constitution, under which an organiza- 
 tion finally took place. The minutes of the society contain 
 the following record of the first regular meeting : — 
 
 " New-York, Nov. 20th, 1804. The following persons, viz: 
 
 Egbert Benson, Rev. John M. Mason, 
 
 De Witt CUnton, Rev. John N. Abeel, 
 
 Rev. William Linn, Samuel Bayard, 
 
 Rev. Samuel Miller, Peter G. Stuyvesant, 
 
 Dr. David Hosack, Anthony Bleecker, and 
 
 John Pintard, 
 
 TDcing assembled in the Picture Room of the City Hall, in the 
 city of New-York, agreed to form themselves into a society, 
 the principal design of which should be to collect and preserve 
 whatever may relate to the natural, civil, or ecclesiastical his- 
 tory of the United States in general, and of this state in par- 
 ticular, and appointed Mr. Benson, Dr. Miller, and Mr. Pintard, 
 a committee to prepare and report a draft of a constitution. 
 The meeting then adjourned until Monday evening, the 10th of 
 December next." 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 459 
 
 At the adjourned meeting, the following gentlemen were 
 present : — 
 
 Egbert Benson, (Chairman,) De Witt Clinton, 
 
 Rufus King, Rev. John N. Abeel, 
 
 Rev. John M. Mason, Rev. John C. Kunze,. 
 
 Rev. John Bowden, Daniel D. Tompkins, 
 
 Rev. AVilliam Harris, Peter G. Stuyvesant, 
 
 Prof. John Kemp, Rev. John H. Hobart, 
 
 Dr. Peter Wilson, Dr. David Hosack, 
 
 Rev. Samuel Miller, Dr. Archibald Bruce, and 
 
 John Murray, Jr., John Pintard. 
 
 A constitution for the proposed society, to be called " the- 
 New-York Historical Society," was reported at this meeting, 
 and finally adopted. The first meeting under it was holden on 
 the 14th of January, 1805, when the society was fully organ- 
 ized by the choice of the following officers :■ — 
 
 "Egbert Benson, Esq., President, 
 Right Rev. Bishop Moore, D.D., 1st Vice President, 
 Brockholst Livingston, Esq., 2d Vice President, 
 Rev. Samuel Miller, D.D., Corresponding Secretary, 
 Mr. John Pintard, Recording Secretary, 
 Charles Wilkes, Esq., Treasurer, 
 Mr. John Forbes, Librarian. 
 
 Standing Committee.- 
 
 William Johnson, Esq., Daniel D. Tompkins, Esq., 
 
 Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, John M'Kesson, Esq., 
 
 Dr. David Hosack, Anthony Bleecker, Esq., 
 
 Rev. John M. Mason, D. D." 
 
 An excellent address to the public, setting forth the objects 
 of the institution, together with several " queries as to those 
 points on which the society requested particular information," 
 and the constitution and by-laws of the society, were soon 
 after printed in a pamphlet form, and extensively circulated. 
 These documents were also inserted in tho first volume of 
 Collections. 
 
 Most of the gentlemen whose names have been mentioned 
 as the founders and original members of the society, are too 
 well known, from their high reputation in the community, to 
 require any notice at our hands. Among them will be imme- 
 diately recognized the names of eminent divines, illustrious 
 statesmen and distinguished jin-ists, together with others not 
 less esteemed in their day for professional skill, literary taste, 
 and classical or scientific attainments. Of the whole number, 
 four only survive, viz., the Rev. Dr. Miller, now of Princeton 
 
460 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 College, N. J., and Messrs. Pintard, Stuyvesant, and Johnson, 
 of New-York, 
 
 The foundation of a library seems to have been laid in the 
 spring of 1807, by the adoption of the following resolution : — 
 
 " The recording secretary, [Mr. Pintard,] having repre- 
 sented that he is in possession of a considerable number of 
 books relating to the history of America, which he is willing to 
 dispose of at the original cost, resolved, that the standing 
 committee be authorized to purchase said books for the use of 
 the society." 
 
 The liberal donations subsequently made, together with 
 other purchases, soon formed a respectable library in the de- 
 partment of American history. The late Timothy Alden, 
 D.D., (afterwards President of Meadville College, Penn.,) 
 being on a visit to this city in 1813, offered his services for the 
 preparation of a catalogue, which the society readily accepted ; 
 and the catalogue thus prepared was immediately printed, at 
 first, separately, and afterwards in the second volume of the 
 Collections. 
 
 The meetings were for some time holden in the old City 
 Hall, often called Federal Hall, from its having been occupied 
 by the Congress of the United States after the adoption of 
 the federal constitution.* It was on the balcony of this edi- 
 fice that Washington was inaugurated the first President of the 
 United States, — an event recently commemorated by the so- 
 ciety. In 1809, a communication was received from the Aca- 
 demy of Arts, inviting the society to occupy h room in the 
 Government House ; the invitation w^as promptly accepted, 
 and in September of the same year the first meeting was held 
 there. The north-west room in the second story of that build- 
 ing was appropriated to the society. The books which had 
 been previously kept in the ' City Library,' were removed to 
 the same place. The prospects of the society now began to 
 brighten ; numerous resident and honorary members w^ere elect- 
 ed, and the patriotic objects of the institution rendered it 
 deservedly popular. Apphcation was made to the legislature 
 for an act of incorporation, and seconded by the powerful aid 
 of the great Clinton, then a leading member in the state senate, 
 who presented a strong and able report in its favour, the 
 society obtained a charter that placed it on a firm and substan- 
 tial foundation. 
 
 In the same year, (1809,) Mr. Tompkins having been elected 
 governor of the state, was excused from serving on the stand- 
 ing committee, and De Witt Clinton was elected in his place. 
 The following resolution was adopted at the January meeting : — 
 
 • Some of the desks, &c , used in tliis building for the accommodation of 
 Congress, now serve to furnish the rooms of the society. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 461 
 
 " This year commencing the third century since the disco- 
 very of this part of North America by Henry Hudson, resolved. 
 That this society will commemorate the important event, and 
 that the Rev. Dr. Miller, corresponding secretary, be requested 
 to prepare a discourse for the occasion." A committee was 
 appointed at the same time " to examine and ascertain the 
 exact date of this discovery ;" who subsequently reported, 
 'that the Journal of the Voyage of Henry Hudson, contained in 
 Purchas' Pilgrims, appeared to be the most authentic and satis- 
 factory document on the subject, and that Captain Hudson, who 
 sailed from Holland in the month of March, 1609, discovered 
 and entered the river since called by his name, on the fourth 
 day of September following." That day was accordingly 
 designated for the proposed celebration. 
 
 The use of the front court room in Federal Hall was 
 granted to the society for the occasion, where " the Rev. Dr. 
 Miller delivered a learned and interesting dicourse, illustrative 
 of this event, before a large and respectable audience of ladies 
 and gentlemen, among whom were his Excellency the Gov- 
 ernor, and the Mayor and Corporation of the city." After the 
 discourse, the society adjourned to the City Hotel where togeth- 
 er with a number of invited guests, " they sat down to an elegant 
 dinner, consisting of a variety of shell and other fish with which 
 our waters abound, wild pigeons and succatash, the favorite 
 dish of the season, with the different meats introduced into this 
 country by the European settlers."* The toasts and sentiments 
 offered on this interesting occasion, are faitlifully recorded in 
 the minutes of the society. 
 
 This festival led to the publication of the first volume of Col- 
 lections ; a committee having been appointed after the delivery 
 of the discourse, " to report materials for forming a volume of 
 the proceedings of this society, together with such tracts rela- 
 ting to the history of this country as may merit re-publication." 
 The committee consisted of Messrs. Miller, Johnson, Pintard, 
 and Anthony Bleecker. Mr. Johnson is well known to the 
 public as the able reporter of the decisions of the supreme court 
 of this state. Mr. Bleecker was also a jnember of the bar, 
 but although respected in his profession for learning and integ- 
 rity, he was more successful in the cultivation of his literary 
 talents, which he displayed in occasional contributions, both in 
 prose and poetry, to the periodical literature of the day. " For 
 thirty years," says a late writer, " the periodical literature of 
 New- York and Philadelphia was constantly indebted to his fancy 
 and good taste. "t 
 
 • Minutes of the Society. 
 
 t Specimena of American Poetry, ii. 381. Mr. Bleecker died in the sprints 
 of 1827. There is an excellent portrait of him in tha Society Library. 
 
462 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 The discourse of Dr. Miller appeared in the volume, and was 
 followed by several valuable documents from Purchas, inclu- 
 ding the journals of Hudson's four voyages. The laws of the 
 Duke of York's government over the colony were also repub- 
 lished. This volume deserves the credit of being more strictly 
 confined to the objects of the society, in collecting rare and 
 curious materials for the historian, than those that followed it, 
 which are chiefly made up of occasional addresses, dehvered, 
 indeed, before the society, but often on subjects that claim slight 
 connexion with the history of the country. This was not, 
 however, invariably the case ; the discourses of Clinton, Gouv- 
 erneur Morris, Verplanck, Hosack, and Jarvis, are not only 
 fine exhibitions of eloquence and general learning, but valuable 
 illustrations of historical data which the student of American 
 history cannot fail to appreciate. The occasion on which they 
 were delivered was an annual festival of the society, gen^ 
 erally celebrated on St. Nicholas day, the sixth of December. 
 The customary place of dining on these occasions was for 
 several years at Kenfs Hotel, No. 42 Broad-street. 
 
 The influence of De Witt Clinton continued to be exercised 
 for the benefit of the society. In 1814, he drafted a memorial 
 to the Legislature on its behalf, setting forth in a clear and 
 masterly manner the important objects of the institution, and 
 making a strong and successful appeal to the liberality of the 
 two houses for its encouragement. In this memorial, he divided 
 the civil history of the state into four parts : — 
 " 1. When occupied by the aborigines. 
 
 2. When under the government of the Dutch, which was 
 about half a century. 
 
 3. Its state under England, which continued about one hun- 
 dred and twelve years, and which includes the proprietary gov- 
 ernment of the Duke of York, and its government under the 
 kings of Great Britain, excepting about sixteen months, when 
 it was re-possessed by the Dutch. 
 
 4. And lastly, its political existence as a member of an inde- 
 pendent government." 
 
 He then proceeded to show, says Renwick,* " in what a scat- 
 tered state even the records were, whence alone an authentic 
 history of these several periods could be derived. The Indian 
 tribes were fast disappearing before the moral force of civiliza- 
 tion ; the mounds, ramparts and tumuli of a yet earlier race were 
 yielding to the plough and harrow ; while the records of the of- 
 ficial treaties between the Five Nations and the colonial autho- 
 rities, were in the hands of an expatriated family. The history 
 of the emigrants from Holland, and of the protestant families of 
 Belgium, who had preferred to encounter the dangers of the seas 
 
 • Life of De Witt Clinton, by James Renwick. 115. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 463 
 
 and the terrors of the wilderness to submission to the bloody rule 
 of Alva, were in the archives of the Dutch West India Compa- 
 ny. Much of the manuscript history of the British colonial pe- 
 riod was in the public offices of London, or transferred to the 
 library of the British Museum. While, even for the period 
 which had elapsed since the revolution, no provision had been 
 made for the preservation of the pamphlets, the periodicals, and 
 the daily publications, which, however they may be despised 
 after their first ephemeral interest has subsided, become, after the 
 lapse of )rears, the vivid expression of the feelings, the manners, 
 and the principles of the era which gave them birth." 
 
 " This memorial," continues the biographer of Clinton, "was 
 favorably received by the legislature, and led to a grant of twelve 
 thousand dollars in aid of the funds of the society. The grant 
 was to be received from the avails of a lottery, and the society 
 unluckily engaged its credit in the purchase of books and of man- 
 uscripts, ere it was known how distant and precarious were the 
 proceeds of this mode of raising money. It thus became involv- 
 ed in a debt which was not extinguished without many and se- 
 vere sacrifices. It had, however, before its usefulness was im- 
 peded by the pressure of this debt, published several volumes 
 of transactions, which are of much value. Its library still remains 
 an evidence of the liberality of the state, and a monument of the 
 earnestness with which Clinton furthered such institutions as 
 were intended to add to the permanent reputation of the country." 
 The debt incurred by the society in anticipation of the funds 
 to be received from the lottery, amounted to several thousand 
 dollars, and was chiefly assumed by the librarian, Dr. John W. 
 Francis, to whom a mortgage on the property of the society 
 was executed by way of security. At length, after a long con- 
 tinued struggle with pecuniary embarrassments and difficulties, 
 an arrangement was entered into with Union College, by which 
 the society agreed to take eight thousand dollars in cash for its 
 lottery interest, out of which sum, in 1823, the debts were paid. 
 It is just to add, that but for the liberal advances made by Dr. 
 Francis on account of the society, and his indefatigable exertions 
 to maintain its credit and usefulness at that period, its valuable 
 library and cabinet might have been sacrificed to the discharge 
 of its pecuniary obligations. 
 
 Many valuable additions w^ere made to the library during 
 the time [1812 — 1819] that Dr. Francis officiated as hbrarian. 
 Among the original papers, was the military correspondence of 
 Gen. Gates. These were obtained through the influence of the 
 celebrated Robert Fulton, then a resident member of the socie- 
 ty. It seems that they had been bequeathed by Gen. Gates to 
 Joel Barlow, who contemplated writing a history of the revolu- 
 tion ; but on the death of Barlow, in Europe, his widow had been 
 
464 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 imluced by Mr. Fulton to transfer them to the society. The 
 trunk in which they were contained, was in the possession of 
 the latter at the time of his decease, and in July, 1S16, their re- 
 ception bv the society was duly announced. In the following 
 year, Mrs. Morris, of Morrisania, relict of Gouverneur Morris, 
 presented to the society portraits of Columbus, Americus Ves- 
 pucius, Cortez, and Magellan, copied from the originals, it is 
 said, in the Florence Gallery. To these has been recently 
 added a copy of an original portrait of Sebastian Cabot, for which 
 the society is indebted to the artist, Mr. C. G. Thompson. 
 
 In 1814, Dr. Hosack succeeded the Rev. Dr. Miller as cor- 
 responding secretary, the latter having accepted a professor- 
 ship in Princeton College, which he yet fills. The society thus 
 lost one of its most active and useful members, to whose exer- 
 tions it had been greatly indebted from the beginning. Dr. Ho- 
 sack hkewise took a lively interest in the prosperity of the so- 
 ciety, and for several years was among its warmest friends. He 
 was elected President on the resignation of De Witt Clinton, in 
 1820, and delivered several discourses before the institution, in 
 which he displayed great learning and historical research. 
 
 In 1815, notice was given to the society that the Government 
 House was to be sold, and that the corporation had appropriated 
 the large building in the rear of the new City Hall for the use of 
 this and other institutions. The following year the society ac- 
 cordingly removed to spacious rooms in that building, to which 
 the name of the New-York Institution was then given. The Gov- 
 ernment House was taken down about the same time, and the 
 grounds it had occupied were soon covered with the handsome 
 block of houses now fronting the Bowling Green. This was 
 orginally the site of Fort Amsterdam, which after the conquest 
 was called Fort James, in compliment to the Duke of York ; in 
 the reign of William and Mary, Fort Wilham ; and in the follow- 
 ing reigns, Fort Anne and Fort George. In 1790, the legisla- 
 ture passed an act authorizing the corporation to demohsh Fort 
 George, and to level the ground on which it was situated, 
 a part being reserved for public purposes, and a part vested 
 in the corporation for the erection of public buildings, or works 
 of defence. The same act appointed commissioners for the 
 purpose of causing " a proper house and other necessary build- 
 ings to be erected on some part of the lands for the use of the 
 government of this state, and to be applied to the temporary 
 use and accommodation of the President of the United States, 
 during such times as congress shall hold their sessions in the 
 city of New-York." Such was the origin of the Government 
 House. Congress having removed to Philadelphia before the 
 completion of the edifice, it was never occupied by the Presi- 
 dent, as originally intended, but was the residence of the gov- 
 

 < ii S ^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 465 
 
 emors of the state until Albany became the seat of government. 
 It was thus occupied successively by George Clinton and John 
 Jay. A publication of 1814 describes this building in the fol- 
 lowing manner : — 
 
 " At its source, [Broadway,] on the spot where Fort George 
 formerly stood, stands a large brick edifice, built by the legis- 
 ture, and originally intended for the residence of the governor 
 of the state. It is most pleasantly situated, having a hand- 
 some area, called the Bowling Green, and affording a complete 
 prospect of the bay and Jersey shore. At present [1S14] the 
 upper apartments are appropriated to the use of the Academy 
 of Arts and the Historical Society'. The lower part is rented to 
 government for the accommodation of the collector, naval officer, 
 and surveyor of the port."* 
 
 The plan of the society originally comprised natural as well 
 as civil history, and at one period considerable attention was 
 paid to the collection of minerals and specimens in the former 
 department. Dr. Mitchell, De Witt Clinton, and Col. George 
 Gibbs, were among the most zealous amateurs of natural science, 
 and the latter gentleman, who was chairman of the mineralogi- 
 cal committee, was particularlj- active in promoting an atten- 
 tion to his favorite study. But the Lyceum of ^Natural History 
 having been formed at that period for the exclusive pursuit of 
 those branches of science, it was proposed to present to that 
 institution the specimens, &c., collected by the society, which 
 was accordingly done. 
 
 An extensive and valuable cabinet of coins and medals was 
 presented to the society in 1818, by the heirs of the Rev. Dr. 
 Kunze, a pastor of the Lutheran Church in Frankfort-street 
 from 1784 till his decease in 1807, and professor of Oriental 
 Literature in Columbia College. Dr. Kunze was a native of 
 Germany, and enjoyed a high reputation for learning and talents 
 among his contemporaries. A portrait of him adorns the rooms 
 of the society. The Colden and Schuyler papers were added to 
 the manuscript collections at about the same time; and among the 
 books were complete sets of the Moniteur, R}Tner's Foedera, 
 and many original Spanish works of great value relating to 
 Mexico and South America. 
 
 Notwithstanding the liberal grant of the legislature, the so- 
 ciety becsm[ie again seriously embarrassed by debt, and so des- 
 perate was its condition regarded that, in 1826, it was determin- 
 ed to dispose of two-thirds of the library to meet its obligations. 
 Recourse was again had to the legislature. A memorial set- 
 ting forth its financial difficulties was drawn up, and Frederic 
 De Peyster, Esq. was requested to proceed with it to Albany 
 
 * Strangers' Guide, &.C., by Thomas N. Stanford. The accompanying view 
 is copied from the New-York Magazine for Januarv, 1795. 
 59 
 
466 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 as the agent of the society. Mr. De Peyster accordingly re- 
 paired to Albany during the session of 1827, and, with the aid of 
 Gov. Clinton, succeeded in obtaining a grant of five thousand dol- 
 lars, on condition that the debts of the society should be so re- 
 duced as to render that sum sufficient to extinguish them alto- 
 gether. The thanks of the society were afterwards presented 
 to the governor and the legislature for this liberal donation ; 
 and to Mr. De Peyster, " for his zealous, efficient, and disinter- 
 ested services in proceeding to Albany, and presentmg to the 
 legislature the claims of the society." 
 
 Three volumes of Collections had already been publish- 
 ed : a fourth was now added, (1828,) containing a continua- 
 tion of Smith's History of New-York to the year 1762, from 
 the original MS. of the author, presented for the purpose by 
 his son, William Smith, Esq_, of Quebec. The first volume, 
 originally printed in London, in 1757, came down to 1732 ; and 
 the society, in 1829, reprinted both volumes in a handsome 
 uniform edition, under the editorial care of Dr. Francis, John 
 Delafield, Esq., and Dr. Hosack.* A memoir of the author, 
 written by his son, was prefixed to this edition. 
 
 The occasional publications of the society have been numerous. 
 The catalogue of the library, the memorials to the legislature 
 with accompanying documents, Dr. Hosack's memoir of Hugh 
 Williamson, originally delivered before the society, and besides 
 the annual addresses inserted in the Collections, first printed 
 separately, those ofCliancellorKent, (now republished,) William 
 Sampson, the celebrated Irish patriot, Joseph Blunt, and Wilham 
 Beach Lawrence, Esqrs., were severally printed. The memoir or 
 .discourse of the venerable Egbert Benson, the first President 
 of the societ}'^, delivered in 1816, was printed at his own ex- 
 pense. This circumstance arose from objections having been 
 made to certain portions of the discourse by individuals, who 
 were desirous they should be omitted if published by the 
 society. At these suggestions Judge Benson took offence, as 
 appears from some remarks relating to the subject published 
 with the memoir. He printed a new edition of it with more 
 copious notes, in 1825, at Jamaica, Long Island, where he re- 
 sided during the latter part of his life. He died on the twenty- 
 fourth of August, 1833, at the age of eighty-seven years.! 
 
 Judge Benson's discourse is a remarkable production, both 
 ^s to matter and style. It professedly treats of local names in 
 .this state, whether x>f Indian or European origin; but while pur- 
 
 * It is a matter of regret that the original preface of the author was omit- 
 ted in this edition. A continuation of i-mith's first volume -vvas commenced 
 ty J. V. N. Yates. Esq., but not extended far. It was printed at A bany. 
 
 + An interestingmemoir of Judge Benson, from the pen of Chancellor Kent, 
 IB contained in Thompson's History of Long Island, pp. 408 — 410. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 467 
 
 suing his curious investigations in relation to this subject, he 
 glances at many striking peculiarities in the manners and cus- 
 toms of the early Dutch inhabitants, (among whom were the 
 Judge's own ancestors,) and throws some light upon the social 
 condition of the primitive colony. The style of the memoir is, 
 perhaps, its most eccentric feature. Aiming at a most rigid 
 conciseness of language, often to the exclusion of connecting 
 particles in the construction of his sentences, be becomes ob- 
 scure, and even unintelligible, without the exercise of great 
 patience and resolution on the part of his readers. The me- 
 moir is altogether so singular a production, that we are not sur- 
 prised it offended persons of fastidious taste, watchful of the 
 dignity of the society as represented by its presiding officers. 
 At the same time it deserves a careful perusal in connexion with 
 other works relating to the early history of New- York. 
 
 In 1S32, the society again removed,^ after occupying its 
 rooms in the New-York Institution sixteen years by a gratui>- 
 lous lease from the city corporation.. On the nineteenth of 
 April, in that year, possession was taken of a new hall in 
 Remsen's building at the corner of Broadway and Chambers 
 street, on which occasion a learned discourse was delivered by 
 William Beach Lawrence, Esq., in the presence of a numerous 
 assemblage. This change of location proved unfavorable to 
 the interests of the society. The rent of the hall, (five hun- 
 dred dollars per annum,) and other expenditures, led to the crea- 
 tion of a new debt, for which the treasurer, John Delafield, Esq., 
 was responsible ; and it soon became necessary in order to pre- 
 serve the property of the institution, to make arrangements for the 
 diminution of its current expenses. During a period of three 
 or four years, (18.33 — 1836,) no minutes of the meetings are 
 preserved. At length, in 1836, measures were taken for re- 
 lieving the society from its embarrassments ; the treasurer was 
 authorized to raise one thousand dollars on the credit of the 
 institution, and a committee raised to select a new location. 
 Mr. Delafield having resigned the office of treasurer, John Glo- 
 ver, Esq., was elected in his place ; but this gentleman soon after 
 resigning the office, Hickson W. Field, Esq., was elected at the 
 November meeting. This gentleman deserves great credit for the 
 ability and attention with which, during a period of four years, 
 he managed the finances of the society. On retiring from 
 office, he had the satisfaction of leaving the institution entirely 
 freed from its pecuniary difficulties, and in a highly prosperous 
 condition. 
 
 Several offers were made at this period by different public 
 institutions for the gratuitous accommodation of the society ; 
 among them was " the Stuyvesant Institute," an association for 
 hterary purposes, recently incorporated, by whom an elegant 
 
468 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. . 
 
 building had been erected on Broadway. A committee, of which 
 the Rev. Francis L. Hawks, D.D., (then an active and efficient 
 member of the society,) was chairman, reported in favour of ac- 
 cepting the proposals of that institution, in which the society 
 concurred. The library was accordingly removed thither in 
 the summer of 1837, and a gratuitous lease of two spacious 
 rooms was soon after received for the term of ten years. The 
 first meeting was held there on the twenty-eighth of September 
 in that year. 
 
 Effectual measures were now taken to restore the prosperity 
 of the society. Among other means resorted to for this pur- 
 pose, a public course of historical lectures was determined 
 upon, which were commenced in January, 1838, by a brilliant 
 discourse from Rev. Dr. Hawks, before a crowded assemblage 
 in the spacious lecture room of the Stuyvesant Institute. 
 This was followed by a series of lectures, chiefly from mem- 
 bers of the society, which were fully attended. The pecuniary 
 proceeds of this course of lectures sufficed to extinguish the 
 debts of the society. 
 
 At the meeting in April, of the same year, a resolution 
 (offered by the Editor) was adopted by the society, to memo- 
 rialize the legislature on the subject of collecting ma- 
 terials in Europe illustrative of the history of New-York. 
 The memorial was presented so near the close of the session 
 of that year, that it was deemed expedient by the friends of the 
 measure to allow it to pass over to the next legislature, when, 
 through the unwearied exertions of John L. Stephens, Esq. in 
 urging its importance upon the members of both houses, after 
 it had been introduced to their favorable notice by a special 
 message from Governor Seward, it was carried with great una- 
 nimity. During the present season, John Romeyn Erodhead, 
 Esq., has been appointed by the Governor and Senate the agent 
 of the State under the act thus passed, who has already sailed for 
 Europe to discharge the duties of his mission. Mr. Brodhead, 
 having resided for sometime in the Netherlands as an attache 
 to the legation of the United States, and being familiar with the 
 language of the Fatherland, will enjoy great facilities for the 
 discovery of any historical documents, connected with the early 
 settlement of the state, that may exist in the national archives 
 or individual collections of that country. 
 
 Beside this attention to the views of the society, the legisla- 
 ture during its recent session (1841), in compliance with anoth- 
 er recommendation, has determined ^o print the journals of the 
 New York Provincial Congress and Convention, together with 
 the proceedings of the Committee of Safety, from May, 1775, 
 to the adoption of the state constitution and the close of the 
 northern campaign, in 1777. For two years and a half these 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 469 
 
 bodies exercised legislative powers, at a most trying and momen- 
 tous period in the history of this slate ; but their journals having 
 remained in the hands ot the secretary, the late John M'Kesson, 
 Esq., w^ere not deposited among the archives of the government 
 until about tw^enty years since. They include the period of the 
 invasion of the territory of the state by the British army inider 
 General Burgoyne, and constitute altogether a most important 
 mass of pubhc documents. Great credit is due to the Hon. 
 Gabriel Furman, of the Senate, and Hon. William B. Maclay, 
 of the Assembly, for their attention to the memorial of the soci- 
 ety in reference to the pubhcation of these papers. 
 
 A second course of historical lectures during the following 
 season proved even more successful than the first. The pro- 
 ceeds were devoted to the enlargement of the library, to which 
 considerable accessions have been consequently made. Liber- 
 al donations of books and manuscripts began to be received. A- 
 mong the latter a highly valuable mass of original papers and 
 maps, together with the printed report, relating to the subject of the 
 North-Eastern Boundary, was presented by the Hon. Albert 
 Gallatin, formerly one of the Commissioners of the United 
 States for the settlement of that question. These important 
 documents comprise the journal of the Commissioners and 
 several manuscript maps that have not been published. 
 
 The fiftieth anniversary of Washington's first inauguration as 
 President of the United States, was celebrated with great spirit 
 by the society. The splendid address delivered on the occasion 
 by the Hon. John Quincy Adams, will be an ever-during me- 
 morial of that noble festival ; and the recollections of those who 
 participated in it cannot fail to partake of the bright and agree- 
 able character that marked the occasion. To the chairman of 
 the committe of arrangements, Joseph Blunt, Esq., by whom 
 the plan of the celebration was conceived, and admirably car- 
 ried out, great credit is due. 
 
 A new necessity for a change of location has recently arisen, 
 in consequence of the sale of the Institute under the foreclosure 
 of a mortgage of a dale prior to the society's lease. In this 
 emergency it has received the offer of two valuable lots 
 of ground from Peter G. Stuyvesant, Esq., for the erection of 
 a building to answer the future purposes of the institution, and 
 for its exclusive use. It was deemed inexpedient, however, to 
 make the necessary exertion at present to raise the amount of 
 money required for this object, on which the offer of the lots 
 was conditioned ; and in the meantime a liberal proposal from 
 the Newr-York University has been accepted. But it is hoped 
 that before many years a substantial edifice may be erected for 
 the sole and permanent accommodation of the society, so that 
 the increasing and valuable literary treasures and works of art 
 
470 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 belonging to it, may no longer be exposed to loss and injury 
 bv frequent removals. 
 
 We have thus brought to a close a rapid sketch of the more 
 prominent points in the proceedings of the society during the 
 thirty-six years of its existence. They have been, almost with- 
 out exception, gleaned from its recorded minutes, and might 
 have been easily extended, had our space permitted. We re- 
 serve for another occasion the more ample details that were 
 originally intended to be comprised in the present paper. 
 
 SYNOPSIS OF LECTURES DELIVERED BEFORE THE SOCIETY. 
 
 First Course— 1838. 
 
 Introductory by F. L Hawks, D.D., 
 Two lectures by Wm. S. Walker, 
 " " Joseph Blunt, 
 
 One lecture by Samuel Ward, Jr., 
 " " William L. Stone, 
 
 " " Chas. R. King, M.D., 
 
 Two lectures by George Folsom, 
 
 One lecture by John O. Sargext, 
 " " Charles King, 
 
 Second Course— 1839. 
 
 Introductory by Mavton Eastburx,D.D. 
 One lecture by John L. Stephens, 
 
 " «' Caleb S. Henrt. D.D., 
 
 " " Samuel Ward, Jr., 
 
 " '» John R. Bartlett, 
 
 F. L. Hawks, D.D., 
 
 Wm. W. Campbell, 
 George Bancroft, 
 
 Geo.W. Bethuxe, D.D. 
 John O. Sargeni, 
 John W. Ep.monds, 
 George Folsom, 
 
 Third Course— 1640. 
 
 Introductory by Orville Dewet, D.D. 
 One lecture by Hon. Wm. B. Reed, 
 " " Alex. W. Bradford, 
 
 (This course was 
 
 Fourth Course— ISAl. 
 
 Introductory by John L. Stephens, 
 Two lectures by Francis Cathebwood, 
 
 Subjects. 
 Pocahontas. 
 
 The aborigines of America. 
 The origin of the civil and political 
 
 iiistiluiions of the United States. 
 Arnold's cTpedition to Quebec, 1775. 
 Brant, the Mohawk Chief, and tke 
 
 Wyoming massacre. 
 The Huguenots in America. 
 The discovery of America by the 
 
 Northmen in tlie tenth century. 
 The siege of Boston in 1775-6. 
 Sir Edmund Andros. 
 
 Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne. 
 
 The life and character of Mohammed 
 
 Ali. 
 Witchcraft. 
 
 The battle of Long Island, 1776. 
 The supposed expedition of Madoc, 
 
 Prmce of Wales, with a Welch col. 
 
 ony to America, in the 12lh century. 
 Capt. John Smith, and the settlement 
 
 of Virginia. 
 Gen. James Clinton, of New York. 
 The colonial rivalry of England and 
 
 France. 
 H.lland. 
 -.lirabeau. 
 
 Observations on the Indian character. 
 The life and voyages qf Americus Ves- 
 
 pucius. 
 
 Philosophy of History. 
 
 The infancy of the Union. 
 
 The origin of the American Indians. 
 
 not completed.) 
 
 Antiquities of Central America. 
 Same subject. 
 
OFFICERS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
 FROM ITS ORGANIZATION, JAN. 14th, 1805. 
 
 Elected. 
 
 1805 
 1816 
 1817 
 
 1820 
 1828 
 1832 
 1836 
 1840 
 
 1805 
 (( 
 
 1810 
 
 « 
 
 1817 
 
 1S18 
 1819 
 1820 
 1821 
 1823 
 1828 
 
 u 
 
 1832 
 1836 
 1840 
 
 lb05 
 1814 
 1817 
 1819 
 1821 
 1822 
 1827 
 
 PRESIDENTS. 
 
 *Hon. Egbert Benson, LL.D. 
 *Hon. GouvERNEUR Morris, 
 *His Exc. De Witt Clinton, LL.D. 
 *David Hosack, M.D., LL.D., F.R,S. 
 Hon. James Ketvt, LL.D. 
 His Exc. Morgan Lewis, 
 Peter Gerard Stuyvesant, 
 Peter Augustus Jay, LL.D. 
 
 vice-presidents. 
 
 *Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, D.D. 
 
 *Hon. Brockholst Livingston, 
 
 *Hon. Gouverneur Morris, 
 
 *De Witt Clinton, LL.D. 
 
 William Johnson, 
 
 *David Hosack, M.D. 
 
 Col. John Trumbull, 
 
 *Hon. Samuel L. Mitchell, M.D. LL.D. 
 
 *Anthony Bleecker, 
 
 *Hon. Cadwallader D. Colden, 
 
 Peter A. Jay, LL.D. 
 
 Philip Hone, 
 
 Charles King, 
 
 *Samuel Ward, 
 
 William Beach Lawrence, 
 
 Rev, Thomas De Witt, D.D. 
 
 corresponding secretaries. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Miller, D.D. 
 *David Hosack, M.D. 
 John W. Francis, M.D. 
 *Lyman Spalding, M.D. 
 •Rev. Frederick C. Schaeffer, 
 Henry M. Francis, M.D. 
 Frederic De Peyster, Jr. 
 
 Retired. 
 
 1816 
 1817 
 1820 
 
 1828 
 1832 
 1836 
 1840 
 
 1810 
 
 (( 
 
 1816 
 1817 
 1818 
 1819 
 1828 
 1820 
 1821 
 1824 
 1828 
 1840 
 1832 
 1836 
 
 1814 
 1817 
 1819 
 1821 
 1822 
 1827 
 1829 
 
 [Note. — This office was merged in that of Recording Secretary in 1829, and re- 
 vived in 1838.] 
 
 1838 Frederic De Peyster. 
 
 Deceased. 
 
472 
 
 OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 Elected. 
 
 RECORDING SECRETARIES. 
 
 1805 
 
 John Pintard, LL.D. 
 
 1820 
 
 John B. Beck, M.D. 
 
 1823 
 
 Matthew C. Patterson, 
 
 1S24 
 
 *Benjamin Haight, 
 
 1828 
 
 Joseph Blunt, 
 
 1829 
 
 Frederic De Peyster, 
 
 1838 
 
 Benjamin R. Winthrop, 
 
 1839 
 
 John C. Jay, M.D. 
 
 1840 
 
 Benjamin R. Winthrop, 
 
 
 treasurers. 
 
 1805 
 
 *Charles Wilkes, 
 
 1819 
 
 John Pintard, LL.D. 
 
 1828 
 
 John Delafield, 
 
 1836 
 
 HicKsoN W. Field, 
 
 1840 
 
 Archibald Russell, 
 
 
 librarians. 
 
 1805 
 
 *JoHN Forbes, 
 
 1810 
 
 John Pintard, LL.D. 
 
 1812 
 
 John W. Francis, M.D. 
 
 1819 
 
 *Rev. Frederick C. Schaeffer, 
 
 1821 
 
 Henry M. Francis, M.D. 
 
 1822 
 
 Matthew C. Patterson, 
 
 1823 
 
 Henry W. Ducachet, M.D. 
 
 1824 
 
 Robert Greenhow, M.D. 
 
 1827 
 
 *RicHARD Ray, 
 
 1828 
 
 *James a. Hillhouse, 
 
 1329 
 
 John Delafield, Jr. 
 
 1831 
 
 Samuel Ward, 3d. 
 
 1836 
 
 Joseph Blunt, 
 
 1839 
 
 George Folsom. 
 
 standing committee. 
 
 1805 William Johnson, 
 
 " *Samuel L. Mitchell, M.D. 
 
 " *David Hosack, M.D. 
 
 " *Rev. John M. Mason, D.D. 
 
 " *His Exc. Daniel D. Tompkins, 
 
 " *JoHN M'Kesson, 
 
 " *Anthony Bleecker, 
 
 1809 *De Witt Clinton, LL.D. 
 
 1810 Hon. GuLiAN C. Verplanck, LL.D. 
 1814 Peter A. Jay, LL.D. 
 
 1816 Rev. Samuel F. Jarvis, D.D. 
 
 1817 *James Eastburn, 
 
 1818 *JoHN G. Bogert, 
 
 " *Gen. Jacob Morton, 
 
 1819 *J. W. Brackett, 
 
 1820 *Thomas Eddy. 
 
 Retired. 
 
 1820 
 1823 
 1824 
 1828 
 1829 
 1838 
 1839 
 1840 
 
 1819 
 
 1828 
 1836 
 1840 
 
 1810 
 1812 
 1819 
 1821 
 1822 
 1823 
 1824 
 1827 
 1828 
 1829 
 1831 
 1836 
 1839 
 
 1816 
 1819 
 1814 
 1818 
 1809 
 1818 
 1820 
 1810 
 1828 
 1821 
 1817 
 1820 
 1821 
 1820 
 1821 
 1823 
 
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY. 473 
 
 Elected. Retired. 
 
 1820 John W. Francis, M.D. 1629 
 
 1821 William Gracie, 1824 
 " •Anthony Bleecker, 1828 
 " Matthew C. Patterson, 1823 
 
 H. W, Ducachet, M.D. " 
 
 1822 *Zachariah Lewis, 1834 
 *EzRA Weeks, 1823 
 
 1823 William L. Stone, 1825 
 " John B. Beck, M.D. " 
 
 1824 William Coopbr, " 
 
 1825 •Robert C. Sands, 1828 
 *' Joseph Blunt, '* 
 " James E. De Kay, M.D. " 
 
 1828 Henry Brevoort, 1829 
 
 " "William Sampson, " 
 
 " Hugh Maxwell, " 
 
 " *Samuel Ward. « 
 
 [Note- — This Committee was abolished by an amendment of the Constitution 
 of the Society, passed Jan. 13, 1829.] 
 
 committee on printed publications. 
 
 1837 Francis L. Hawks, D.D. 1839 
 
 " Frederic De Peyster, 1840 
 
 « Henrt M. Francis, M.D. 1839 
 
 1839 George Folsom, 1840 
 
 " John L. Stephens, " 
 
 1841 George Gibbs, 
 
 " Archibald Russell, 
 
 " John R. Bartlett. 
 
 committee on manuscripts. 
 
 1837 George B. Rapelye, 
 
 " Gouverneur Morris Wilkins, 
 
 « George Folsom, 1839 
 
 1839 Archibald Russell, 1840 
 " George Gibbs, " 
 
 1840 John Knox, D.D. 1841 
 " William W. Campbell, ** 
 
 1841 Prospbr M. Wetmore. 
 
 60 
 
f. 
 
 MEMBERS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 [Note.— The names of members deceased or resigned are omitted in this list.] 
 
 RESIDENT MEMBERS. 
 
 Alley, Saul 
 Amory, Jonathan 
 Anthon, Henry, D.D. 
 Aspinwall, William H. 
 Astor, William B. 
 
 Baldwin, Micah 
 Barron, Thomas 
 Bartlett, John R. 
 Beebee, Samuel J. 
 Beekman, James W. 
 Beers, Joseph D. 
 Betts, Hon. Samuel R. 
 Blatchford, E. H. 
 Bleecker, James W. 
 Blunt, Joseph 
 Borrowe, James H. M.D. 
 Boorman, James 
 Bradford, Alex. W. 
 Brodhead, John R. 
 Bucknor, William G. 
 Butler, Charles 
 
 Campbell, William W. 
 Catlin, George 
 Clark, L. Gaylord 
 Coffin, Edmund 
 Cogswell, Joseph G. 
 Coit, Joshua 
 Colden, David C. 
 Colgate, Charles 
 Constant, Joseph H. 
 Cotheal, Alex. J. 
 Cruger, Bertram P. 
 Cruger, John C. 
 
 Dana, Alexander H- 
 
 De Kay, James E., M.D. 
 De Peyster, Frederic 
 Dillon, Robert J. 
 Dorr, George B. 
 Draper, John W., M.D. 
 Draper, Simeon 
 Dubois, Cornelius, Jr. 
 Duer, John 
 Duyckinck, Evert A. 
 
 Eames, Charles 
 Eastburn, Munton, D.D. 
 Edmonds, John W. 
 Emmet, Thomas A. 
 
 Fessenden, Thomas 
 Field, David D. 
 Field, Hickson W. 
 Fish, Hamilton 
 Fleming, Gen. Augustus 
 Folsom, George 
 Fowler, Joseph 
 Francis, Henry M., M.D. 
 Francis, John W., M.D. 
 Frelinghuysen, Hon. Theo- 
 dore, LL.D. 
 Furman, Hon. Gabriel 
 
 Gibbs, George 
 Gilchrist, Robert 
 Glover, John 
 Goodhue, Jonathan 
 Graham, John L. 
 Griffin, Francis 
 
 Haggerty, James 
 Haggerty, John 
 
RESIDENT MEMBERS. 
 
 475 
 
 Haight, Rev. Benjamin I. 
 Hall, Hon. Willis 
 Hamilton, John C. 
 Hawks, Francis L., D.D. 
 Henry, C. S., D.D. 
 Herring, James 
 Hicks, Henry W. 
 Hobart, Dayton 
 HofTman, Charles F. 
 Hoflman, Hon. Murray 
 Hofl'man, Hon. Ogden 
 Hone, Philip 
 Hosack, Alex. H., M.D. 
 
 Inman, Henry 
 Irving, Washington 
 
 Jay, John 
 
 Jay, John C, M.D. 
 
 Jay, Peter a., LI^.D. (Pres.) 
 
 Johnson, Prof. E. A. 
 
 Johnston, John 
 
 Jones, David S. 
 
 Jones James J. 
 
 Jones, Hon. Samuel 
 
 Kelly, William 
 
 Kext, Hon. James, LL.D., 
 
 (Pres.) 
 King, Charles 
 King, Charles R., M.D. 
 King, John A. 
 
 Laight, Edward W. 
 Laight, Henry 
 Lawrence, John L. 
 Lawrence, Richard M. 
 Lawrence, William B. 
 Ledyard, Henry 
 Lewis, Hon. Morgan (Pres.) 
 Livingston, Charles L. 
 Lord, Rufus L. • 
 Low, Cornelius 
 Ludlow, Ezra 
 Ludlow, Thomas W. 
 
 Mackenzie, Alexander Sli- 
 
 dell, U.S.N. 
 Mactier, Alexander 
 Maroncelli, Piero 
 
 Mason, Prof. Cyrus 
 M'Cracken, John L. H. 
 Mercein, Thomas R. 
 Meredith, Samuel 
 Mills, Abraham 
 Minturn, Robert B. 
 Moore, Jacob B. 
 Morris, Gerard W. 
 Morris, Gouverneur 
 Morris, James V. C. 
 Mumford, William W. (Ro- 
 chester.) 
 Murray, James B. 
 Murray, John R. 
 Murray, Robert J. 
 
 Nathan, Jonathan 
 Neilson, Anthony B, 
 Neilson, John, Jr. 
 Neilson, William H. 
 Nevins, David H, 
 Nevins, Russell H. 
 Nicoll, Henry 
 Noah, M. M. 
 Noyes, William Curtis 
 
 Ogden, Richard H. 
 Olmstead, Francis 
 O'Rielly, Henry, (Roches- 
 ter.) 
 
 Packwood, Samuel 
 Palmer, John J. 
 Paulding, Hon. James K. 
 Pearsall, Thomas W. 
 Pearson, Isaac G. 
 Peck, Rev. Isaac 
 Pell, Ferris 
 Peters, Absalom, D.D. 
 Phillips, William, D.D. 
 Pierrepont, Henry E. 
 Post, Alfred C, M.D. 
 Powers, William P. 
 Prime, Edward 
 Putnam, George P. 
 
 Rapelye, George B. 
 Rhinelander, William C. 
 Richmond, Rev. William 
 Robbins, George S. 
 
476 
 
 HONORARY MEMBERS. 
 
 Robinson, Beverley 
 Robinson, Morris 
 Rogers, Benjamin W. 
 Rogers, J. Smyth, M.D. 
 Russell, Archibald 
 Russell, Charles H. 
 Rutherfurd, Walter 
 
 Sanford, Charles W. 
 Sargent, John O. 
 Schell, Augustus 
 Schell, Richard 
 Sedgwick, Theodore 
 .Sidell, John A. 
 Silliman, Benjamin D. 
 Smith, Jotham 
 Stephens, John L. 
 Stevens, John A. 
 Stevens, Alex. H., M.D. 
 Stone, William L. 
 Stuyvesant, Peter 
 Stuyvesant, p. G. (Pr«s.) 
 Sullivan, George 
 
 Thompson, C. Giovanni 
 Tomes, Francis, Jr. 
 
 Van Rensselaer, Robert 
 Verplanck, Hon. Gulian C. 
 Verplanck, Samuel 
 
 Waddington, William D. 
 Wainwright, John M., D.D. 
 Ward, Elijah 
 Ward, Richard R. 
 Ward, Samuel 
 Washington, John A., M.D. 
 Webb, James Watson 
 Weeks, J. Abeel 
 Weir, Robert R 
 Weld, H. Hastings 
 Welford, Charles 
 Wetmore, Gen. Prosper M. 
 Wilkins, Gouverneur M. 
 Willett, Edward M. 
 Williams, Stephen C. 
 Winthrop, Benjamin R. 
 Winthrop, Henry R. 
 Winthrop, John S. 
 Wolcott, Fred. H. 
 Wolfe, Christopher 
 
 Zabriskie, Martin R. 
 
 HONORARY MEMBERS. 
 
 IN THE UNITED STATES 
 
 Adams, Hon. John Quincy, 
 Adams, Jasper, D.D., 
 Allen, William, D.D., 
 Allston, Washington, 
 Armstrong, Gen. John,* 
 Bacon, Leonard, D.D., 
 Bancroft, George, 
 Barlow, Timothy, 
 Beck, Lewis C, 
 Bethune, George W., D.D. 
 Binney, Horace, 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 South Carolina, 
 
 Maine. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 New-York. 
 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Illinois. 
 
 Missouri. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 * By a former provision of the constitution of the society, residents in the 
 state of New- York were eligible as honorary memberf. This is not now the 
 
HONORARY MEMBERS. 
 
 477 
 
 Brackenridge, Henry W., 
 Bradford, Alden, LL.D. 
 Channing, William E., D.D., 
 Chaunccy, Hon. Charles, 
 Coffin, Rev. Charles, 
 Cogswell, William, D.D., 
 Condit, Hon. John S., 
 dishing, Hon. Caleb, 
 Davidson, Richard, 
 Davies, Hon. Charles S., 
 Davis, Hon. John, 
 Dickenson, Hon. Mahlon, 
 Drake, Samuel G,, 
 Dunbar, Rev. Elijah, 
 Duponceau, Peter S., JjL.D., 
 Ducachet, Henry W., D.D., 
 Duer, Hon. William A., 
 Elton, Prof. Romeo, 
 Evans, David E., 
 Everett, Hon. Edward, LL.D., 
 Farmer, Henry T., M.D., 
 Felt, Rev. Joseph B., 
 Fine, Hon. John, 
 Flagg, Hon. Azariah C, 
 Gaines, Gen. E. P., 
 Garden, Major Alexander, 
 Gardiner, David, Esq., 
 Granger, Hon. Francis, 
 Green, Rev. Ashbel, D.D., 
 Hall, John E., 
 Harris, Thaddeus M., D.D., 
 Harley, Isaac, 
 Hawley, Jesse, 
 Hitchcock, Prof. Edward, 
 Hopkinson, Hon. Joseph, 
 Ives, Eh, M.D., 
 Jackson, James, M.D., 
 Jackson, Hon. Andrew, LL.D., 
 Lowell, Charles, D.D., 
 Marsh, George P., 
 Mcllvaine, Rt. Rev. C. P., 
 Mease, James, M.D., 
 Milledoler, Philip, D.D., 
 Moore, Rt. Rev. Richard C, 
 Murdock, James, D.D., 
 Nichols, Ichabod, D.D., 
 Nott, Rev. Eliphalet, D.D., 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Tennessee. 
 
 Dartmouth Coll., N. H. 
 
 Neiv-Jersey. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 South Carolina. 
 
 Maine. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 New-Jersey. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 New-Hampshire. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 New- York. 
 Rhode Island. 
 Neiv- York. 
 Massachusetts. 
 South Carolina. 
 Massachusetts. 
 New- York. 
 New- York. 
 U. S. A. 
 
 Neiv- York. 
 
 District of Columbia. 
 
 New-Jersey. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 South Carolina. 
 
 New- York. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Tennessee. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Vermont. 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 New-Jersey. 
 
 Virginia. 
 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Maine. 
 
 New- York. 
 
478 
 
 HONORARY MEMBERS. 
 
 Peale, Charles W,, 
 
 Pennington, Gov. William, 
 
 Perkins, Cyrus, M.D., 
 
 Pierce, John, D.D., 
 
 Pickering, John, LL.D., 
 
 Plumer, Hon. William, 
 
 Porter, Hon. Peter B., 
 
 Prescott, Hon. Samuel J., 
 
 Prescott, William H., 
 
 Quincy, Hon. Josiah, 
 
 Reed, Hon. William B., 
 
 Root, Hon. Erastus, 
 
 Rush, Hon. Richard, 
 
 Savage, Hon. James, 
 
 Savage, Hon. John, 
 
 Schoolcraft, Henry R., 
 
 Smith, Gerrit, 
 
 Smith, Rev. Isaac, 
 
 Sparks, Prof. Jared, 
 
 Spencer, Hon. John C, 
 
 Staples, Hon. Wilham R., 
 
 Stevens, Hon. Samuel, 
 
 Stevens, WiUiam B., M.D., 
 
 Stewart, Commodore Charles, 
 
 Story, Hon. Joseph, LL.D., 
 
 Sutherland, Hon. Jacob, 
 
 Tallmadge, Hon. James, 
 
 Tappan, Benjamin, D.D., 
 
 Tracy, Hon. Albert W., 
 
 Treadwell, John D., M.D. 
 
 Trumbull, Col. John, 
 
 Tyler, John, President of U. States, 
 
 Van Buren, Hon. Martin, 
 
 Vaughan, John, 
 
 Vroom, Hon. Peter D., 
 
 Watson, John F., 
 
 Watts, Charles, 
 
 Webb, Thomas H., M.D., 
 
 Webster, Noah, LL.D., 
 
 Williamson, Hon. W. D., 
 
 Willis, William, 
 
 Wilson, Rev. Joshua L., 
 
 Winthrop, Adam, 
 
 Wood, Hon. Silas, 
 
 Woods, Leonard, D.D., 
 
 Wright, Hon. Silas, Jr., 
 
 Young, Hon. Samuel, 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 New-Jersey. 
 New -Hampshire. 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Neio-Hampshire. 
 
 New-York. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Neio-York. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 New-York. 
 
 Michigan. 
 
 New- York. 
 
 Massachusetts, 
 it 
 
 New- York. 
 Rhode Island. 
 New- York. 
 Georgia. 
 U. S. N. 
 Massachusetts. 
 New- York. 
 
 Maine. 
 
 Neiv- York. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Connecticut. 
 
 District of Columbia. 
 
 Neiv-York. 
 
 Pennsi/ivania. 
 
 Neiv-Jersey. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Louisiana. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Maine. 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 Louisiana. 
 Neiv- York. 
 Massachusetts. 
 New- York. 
 
HONORARY MEMBERS. 
 
 479 
 
 FOREIGN 
 
 Arfwedson, Charles David, Stockholm. 
 
 Aspinwall, Col. Thomas, London. 
 
 Brewster, Sir David, Edinburgh. 
 
 Friederichstahl, le Chevulier, Vienna. 
 
 Greene, George W., Rome. 
 
 Jeffrey, Francis, Scotland. 
 
 Julius, Dr. N. C, Ha7nhurg. 
 
 Kemper, J. M., Ley den. 
 
 Lambrechtsen, Sir N. C, Netherlands. 
 Leopold, Aich-Duke of Tuscany. 
 
 Magnussen, Finn, Prof., Copenhagen. 
 
 Murray, John, Scotland. 
 
 Niel, Patrick, Edinburgh. 
 
 Ombrosi, James, Florence. 
 
 Pazos, Don Vincent, South America. 
 
 Pearson, Geurge, M.D., F.R.S., London. 
 
 Puccino, Aurelis, Florence, 
 
 Rafn, Christian C, Prof., Copenhagen. 
 
 Ridolfi, Marquis Cosimo,. Florence. 
 
 Roxburgh, William, M.D. Calcutta. 
 
 Southey, Robert, LL.D England. 
 
 Smith, Charles H., Antwerp. 
 
 Smith, Hon. William, Quebec. 
 
 Stewart, Arch-Deacon, York, Cafiada. 
 
 Swainson, William, Liverpool. 
 
 Teignmouth, Lord, London. 
 
 Thourie, Andre, Paris. 
 
 Valiancy, Charles, Ireland. 
 
 Vander Palme, J. H., Leyden. 
 
 Van Royen, Henricus, Netherlands. 
 
 Wilson, Prof. John, Edinburgh. 
 
 Yeates, G. D. M.D., F.R.S., London. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Alsop, John, 23. 
 
 Albany, 25. 28. 33. 92. 334. 384. 465. 
 
 Acadia, 85. 333. 
 
 Arrowsmith, (Map,); 92. 
 
 Amsterdam, city of, 105. 
 
 Alrichs, Jacob, 109. 123. 402. 420. 
 
 421. 422. 423. 424. 
 Argall, Samuel, 120. 121. 316. 333. 
 
 384. 404. 
 Averstro, 262. 
 Amersfoort, 275. 
 Anchor Bay, 294. 
 Allerton, Isaac, 383. 
 Acrelius, Rer. Israel, 401 . 402. 426. 451- 
 Ancocus Creek, 411. 
 Andriessen, Jan, 417. 
 Ancocus, 417. 
 Altona, 419. 421. 424. 
 Alrich, Peter, 421. 424. 426. 
 Apoquimini, 425. 
 Arosapha, 384. 425. 426, 
 Aurania, 384. 426. 
 Abeel, Rev. John M. 458. 
 Alden, Rev. Timothy, 460. 
 Adams, John Q. 469. 
 
 B. 
 
 Burke, Edmund, 19. 
 
 Burnet, William, Gov. 20. 
 
 Burgoyne, Gen. 27. 
 
 Benson, Egbert, 15. 31. 456. 458. 466. 
 
 Broome, John, 31, 
 
 Boston, 46. 98. 
 
 Barlow^, Joel, 463. 
 
 Bethlehem, 70. 
 
 Barndegat, 85. 
 
 Block, Adrian, 88. 283. 285. 292. 293. 
 
 294. 301. 315. 
 Brown, Robert, 96. 
 Binkes, Jacob, 114. 
 Bronx, 127. 
 
 Basselt, Rev. John, 128. 
 Bear.gat, 140. 
 Barnegat, 140. 
 Bout, John Everts, 109. 276. 
 Bancroft, George, 245. 247. 315. 454. 
 61 
 
 Bloemart, Samuel, 250. 262. 264. 417. 
 
 Bicker, Jan, 258. 
 
 Beeren Eyland, (or Bears'' Island,) 262. 
 
 378. 380. 
 Brant, Pylen, 262. 
 Breukelen, 275. 
 Bevechier, Cape, 292. 
 Block's Island, 293. 
 Barnard, D.D. 316. 
 Biencourt, Gov. 340. 341. 
 Biart, Pere, 341. 
 Bradford, Gov. Wra. 356. 363. 366. 
 
 367. 451. 
 Backenus, Rev. 377. 
 Bogardus, Everardus, 390. 452. 
 Bayard, Mrs. Judith, 399. 455. 
 Bayard, Col. Nicholas, 400. 425. 455. 
 Beekman, William, 421. 402. 422. 423. 
 
 424. 455. 
 Biork, Rev. Eric, 403. 
 Boyandh, Jost Van dem, 411. 
 Broen, Thomas, 411. 
 Boyer, Alexander, 411. 442. 
 Bambo Hook, 417. 418. 421. 424. 
 Bengston, Anders, 419. 
 Baltimore, Lord, 422. 
 Block, Hans, 424. 
 Blancke, Jurriaen, 430. 431. 431. 
 Boyer, Sander, 430. 434. 
 Braes, Thomas, 440, 
 Beavers Rheede, 441.! 
 Bleecker, Anthony, 458. 461. 
 Bayard, Samuel, 458. 
 Bowden, Rev. John, 459. 
 Bruce, Dr. A. 459. 
 Blunt, Joseph, 4G6. 469. 
 Brodhead, J. R. 468. 
 
 C. 
 
 Clinton, George, 19. 20. 21. 22. 29. 
 
 Chatham, Lord, 22. 
 
 Cuyler, Jacob, 27. 
 
 Cantine, Mathevt^, 27. 
 
 Clinton, Sir Henry, 29. 455. 
 
 Cogswell, Joseph, G. 37. 
 
 Clinton, De Witt, Gov. 78. 458. 462. 
 
482 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Connecticut River, 18, 144, 260, 
 
 Chambly, 24. 
 
 Cumberland, 27. 
 
 Connecticut, 27, 92. 
 
 Campbell, Lieut.-Col, 29. 
 
 Coligny, Admiral, De, 81, 
 
 Cape Cod, 85, 274. 290, 301. 
 
 Cape Henlopen, 85. 303. 409, 421. 424. 
 
 Christianse, Hendriek, 88, 89, 299. 
 
 301. 342. 
 Christiana, (fortress,) 89. 109.273. 409, 
 
 413. 415. 416. 418. 419. 423, 424. 
 
 428. 443. 445. 456. 447. 
 Charles' River, 98. 
 Charlcstown, 98. 
 Colton, Rev. Mr. 99. 
 Carolina, 118. 318. 
 Cabot, John, 118. 
 
 Sebastian, 118. 
 
 Corsen, Arent, 162. 440. 
 Cooper's Creek, 252. 
 Catskill, 262. 
 Corlaer's, 268. 
 
 Cape Malebarre, 289. 
 Cape May, 302. 303. 417. 
 Cape Cornelius, 303. 
 Colman, John, 323. 324. 
 Colman's Point, 324. 
 Champlain, 338. 
 Castle Island, 342. 382. 
 Chestapeak, 353. 
 Carr, Sir Robert, 384. 426. 
 Collin, Nicholas, 401. 403. 406. 
 Chartiers, Jaques, 404. 
 Clay, Rev. J. C. 406. 
 Canarosse 417. 
 
 Christiana Creek, 417. 418. 444. 
 Grato Johan, 424. 
 Colve, Anthony, 456. 
 Collections, 461. 456. 
 
 D. 
 
 Delafield, John, 11. 467. 
 
 Duke of York, 15.426. 453. 
 
 Duane, James, 22. 27. 
 
 Duer, William, 26. 
 
 Do Witt, Cliarles, 27. 
 
 Duponceau, P. S. 70. 404. 405. 
 
 Danbury, 27. 
 
 Delaware, 85 245. (See South river.) 
 
 De Laet, John, 87. 88. 245. 250. 262. 
 
 264. 281. 283, 
 Dorchester, 98. 
 De Vries, Dav. P. 243. 245. 246. 247. 
 
 248. 250. 
 
 Frederick, 246. 260. 263. 
 
 Du Simittierc, M. 347. 
 
 De Kay, 455. 
 
 De Vries, Jan, 248. 
 
 Martin G. 248. 
 
 Delaware, Lord, 254. 
 DawM. Jan Claes, 268. 
 
 Dermer, Thomas, 283, 343. 353. 354. 
 
 De Laet, Johanna, 285. 
 
 Dry Cape, 290. 
 
 Dale, Sir Thomas, 334. 336. 337, 
 
 Du Thet, Gilbert, 339. 
 
 D'Abbeville, Chs. F. 339. 
 
 De La Ware Castle, 384. 
 
 De Witt, Rev. Thomas, 390. 
 
 Drisius, Dominie, 390. 
 
 Davids, David, (Davitsen,) 411. 434. 
 
 De Peyster, Johannes de, 115. 
 
 De Sylle, Nicatius, 447. 
 
 Dunlap, Hist. New- York, 454. 
 
 De Peyster, Frederic, 465-6. 
 
 Estrades, Count de, 110. 
 
 Esopus, 111. 115. 262. 298. 384. 425. 
 
 456. 
 Evertsen, Capt. Cornelius, 114. 115. 
 
 117. 
 Egg Harbours, Groat and Little, 160. 
 East River, 145. 
 Ebeling, Professor, 247. 248, 
 Elkens, Jacob, 255. 299. 307. 
 Elsenburg, 273. 428. 443. 
 Ebbingh, Jeronimus, 285. 
 Elizabeth's Islands, 293. 
 Egg Harbour, 302. 
 Epinow, (Indian,) 348. 
 Elfsborg, 412. 
 Elswyck, (Factor,) 415. 
 Evertsen, Admiral, jun. 425 . 
 Elsvii, 444. 445. 
 
 F. 
 
 Fish, Col. Nicholas, 455. 456. 
 
 Francis, John W. 10. 463. 
 
 Five Nations, their dominion, 12. 
 
 Fletcher, Governor, 16. 
 
 Francis I. King of France, 39. 86, 
 
 Fort Schuyler, 13. 28. 29. 
 
 Fort Stanwix, 25. 26. 
 
 Fort Edward, 25. 
 
 Fishkill, 26. 29. 
 
 Fort Montgomery, 29. 30. 
 
 Florence, 39. 
 
 Fort Nassau, 91. 103. 252. 254. 259. 
 
 273. 409. 412. 442. 433. 437. 438. 
 Fort Orange, 91. 92. 103. 127. 262. 
 
 264. 267. 285. 342. 377. 
 Fort Amsterdam, 91. 464. 
 Fort Good Hope, 92. 103. 468. 
 Fresh Water River, 103. 105. 
 FortCasimir, 105.109. 412. 414. 416. 
 
 417, 418. 419. 420. 422. 425, 443. 
 
 444. 445. 
 Flushing, 111. 
 Forester, Captain, 000. 
 Flat Hook, 292. 
 Finland, 431. 
 Fcndal, Josiah, 422. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 483 
 
 Flom, Moens, 433, 
 Fish Creek, 446. 
 Federal Hall, 460. 
 Fulton. Robert, 463. 
 Field, H. W. 466, 
 
 G. 
 
 Graydon, Memoirs of, 25, 
 
 Gates, General, 28. 463. 
 
 Gansevoort, Colonel, 29. 
 
 Gansevoort, Leonard, 31, 
 
 Gelston, David, 31. 
 
 Greene, G. W. 39. 55. 
 
 Gloucester, 27. 
 
 Grabouski, Count, 29. 
 
 Grant, Alex. Major, 29. 
 
 Gallatin, Hon. Albert, 74. 469. 
 
 Godinspoint, 85. 
 
 Gothenburg, 89. 
 
 Greenwich,' Bay of, 99. 104. 
 
 Greenwich, 104. 275. 
 
 Graveacnd, 111. 275. 
 
 Godyn's Bay, 139. 417. 
 
 Godyn, Samuel, 88, 250. 255. 262 
 
 264. 417. 
 Gates, Sir Thomas, 337. 
 Gucrcheville, Mad, de, 340. 
 Gorges, Sir Ferdinaudo, 344. 346. 366. 
 Gloucester, 409. 
 Gcrneert, Philip, 430. 
 Gibbs, Col. George, 465, 
 Government House, 464. 
 
 H, 
 
 Howe, Lord, 20. 
 
 Harper, Robert, 27. 
 
 Hobart, John Sloss, 27. 31. 
 
 Herkimer, Brig. Gen. 29. 30. 
 
 Hamilton, Alex. 31. 
 
 Hakluyt, 39. 40. 55. 86, 
 
 Heckewelder, Rev. John, 70. 
 
 Hartford, 14. 99. 105. 110. 261. 283. 
 
 Harlem, 26. 
 
 Heernskeck, Jacob, 84. 
 
 Hudson, Henry, 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 
 
 136. 254. 290. 299. 317. 318. 461. 
 Hudson's River, 86. 294. 
 Hudson's Bay, 87. 
 Helkens, Jacob, 88. 89. 
 Helsinburg, 89. 90. 108. 
 Holm, Thomas Camp. 90. 405, 
 Hoboken, 91. 121. 
 Hoogeveen, 92. 190. 
 Hooker, Rev. Mr. 99. 
 Hemnstcad, 111. 275. 
 Half Moon, 119. 136. 
 Heerman, Auguntin, 154. 
 Hamel, Hendrick, 250. 
 Hellegat, 256. 297. 301. 306. 
 Holmes, Dr. Abiol, 283. 
 Henry Christian's Island, 293, 
 Haverstroo, 295. 
 
 Hunt, 347. 
 
 Huyghens, Cornelius, 380. 381. 
 
 Huddc, A. 405. 411. 413. 418. 421, 
 
 428. 431. 451. 
 Hollendaer, Peter, 410. 
 Hermanson, Peter, 411. 417. 441, 
 Hoaack, Dr. David, 458, 462. 464, 
 Hutchinson, Ann, 27G. 
 Horekill, 421. 422. 424. 
 Hinoyosa, Lieut. Alexander, 421.423, 
 
 424. 425. 
 Helm, Isaac, 421. 
 Huygen, Hendrick, 430. 433, 441. 438, 
 
 440. 
 Hendrickscn, Jacob, 434. 
 Huygen, Claert, 438. 
 Hook, Sven, Lieut, 444. 
 Haerlem, 456. 
 Harris, Rev. Wm. 459, 
 Hein, Admiral, P. 84, 
 Hawks, Rev. F. L. 468, 
 
 Isle aux Noix, 24. 
 
 Jay, John, 22. 27. 31. 32. 29. 455. 
 Johnson, Sir John, 24. 29. 
 Johnson, Jeremiah, 125, 128, 
 James River, 273. 
 Jamestown, 273. 
 Juet, Robert, 284. 317. 318. 
 James City, 353. 
 Jacobson, John, 362. 363. 
 Jacquet, Paul, 402. 418. 420. 
 Jurgen, Andres, 419. 
 Jersey, 427. 
 Jansen, Carel, 430. 
 Jacobsen, Hans, 440. 
 Jochems, Peter, 441. 
 Johnson, William, 459. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kent, James, 9. 10. 
 
 King, Hon. Rufus, 459. 
 
 Kieft, William, Gov. 13. 127. 16] 172 
 
 227. 246. 2G0. 264. 270. 280 405 
 
 409. 413. 432. 452. 
 Kingston, 26. 29. 
 Kayuzoon, Ab. 113, 
 Koll, Col, 141. 
 Koeck, Hendrick, 250. 
 Kuyter, Jochem Pieterzen, 965. 
 Kecoughtan, 353. 
 Koorn, Nicholas, 381. 
 Klein, Almerhausen, 418. 
 Kingse-ssing, 421. 429. 438. 439 
 Kakarikonk. 429, 439. 
 Klingo, Moens, 439. 
 Konish, Capt. F. 445. 
 Kemp. Prof. John, 459. 
 Kunze, Rev. John C, 459, 466. 
 
434 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Livingston, Gilbert, 455. 
 Livingston, Judge, 18. 
 Livingston, R. R. 22. 27. 31. 
 Livingston, Pliilip, 31. 
 L'Hommedieu, Ezra, 31. 
 Lambrechtsen, Sir N. C. 4. 75. 76. 77. 
 
 78. 79. 60. 247. 
 Lake George, 25. 
 Labrador, 87. 
 
 Long Island, 92. 139. 257. 275. 
 La Montagne, 161. 440. 
 Lewistown. 245. 
 Long Island Sound, 294, 
 Lescarbot, 339. 
 La Saussaje, 339. 
 La Motte, M. 339. 
 Lovelace, (Gov.) Col. 3S4. 
 Lindstroem, Peter, 414. 
 Lawrenson, Andries, 422. 
 Lorkenius, Lars, 425. 
 Linn, Rev. Wm. 458. 
 Library, 460. 
 Lawrence, W. B. 466. ' 
 
 M. 
 
 Moore, Sir Henry, Gov. 19. 
 
 Morris, Lewis, 22. 
 
 Montgomery, Gen. 24. 30, 
 
 Morris, Gouvemeur. 26. 27. 462. 467. 
 
 McDougall. Alex. Gen. 31. 
 
 Marshall, C. Just, 33. 
 
 Maier, Rev. Samuel, 49. 70. 86. 403. 
 
 407. 458. 
 Mappa, Col, 78. 
 Montreal, 24. 
 Mount Independence, 26. 
 Magliabecchian Library, 39. 
 Mannahattanlnk, 73. 
 Mahicaiinituk, 74. 
 
 Megapolensis, Johannis, 84. 158. 391. 
 Megapolensis, Samuel, 391. 
 Moucheron, Balthasar, 85. 
 Manhattan, 91. 121. 333. 334. 418. 
 Massachussetts, 97. 
 Merrimack River, 98. 
 Mohawk River, 143. 
 Minuit, Peter, 156. 160. 285. 408. 409. 
 
 410. 429. 439. 450. 
 Moulton, Jos. W. 247. 450. 
 Mauritz River, 255. 
 Melyn, Mr. 264. 
 Matthews, Capt. 273. 
 Magdalenen, 274. 
 IVIespat 275. 
 
 May, Cornelius, J. 285. 293. 306. 
 Marten VLngers Island, 293. 
 Montauk Point, 295. 302. 
 Martha's Vmeyard, 306. 352. 
 Monhegan, 344. 
 Martyn, Capt John, 346. 
 
 Meyn, Cornelius, 377. 
 Mather, Cotton, 390. 
 Marsh, Geo. P. 405. 406. 
 Mantua's Hook, 411. 
 Marizen, Cornelius, 411. 
 Minquas Creek, 417. 428. 
 Matinnekonk, 429. 439. 
 Meerkedt, 432. 
 Martie Hoock, 439. 
 Mauntsen, Cornelius, 441. 
 Marsh, George, P. 443. 
 Mason, Dr. John M. 000. 
 Mitchell, Dr. Samuel, L. 459. 465. 
 Moore, Bishop, 459. 
 McKesson, John, 459. 
 Memorial, 462. 
 
 N. 
 
 New-Netherlands, 12. 75. 135. 282. 
 
 285. 289. 
 New-Amsterdam, 14. 91. 425. 
 Narraganset Bay, 49. 
 Newport, 49. 
 North River, 86. 103. 142. 297. 308. 
 
 425. 
 Nut Island, 91. 121. 257. 297. 
 New.Plymouth, 98. 
 New-Hampshire, 98. 
 New-Amstel, 109. 
 New- York, 112. passim. 
 New-Orange, 115. 
 Nova Scotia, 118. 
 New-Haven, 120. 261. 274. 
 Nieuwenhof, Evert, 128. 
 New-Sweden, 137. 401. 408. 
 New-England, 133. 
 Neversinck, 140. 
 New-Gottenberg, 273. 434. 445. 
 New-France, 290. 
 Newfoundland, 290. 
 New-Holland, 290. 
 Nassau, River of, 293. 
 Nicolls, Colonel, (Gov.) 334. 
 Nieuwenhuyscn, W. Van, 390. 
 Narralicon, (Raccoon,) 410. 411* 417. 
 Niewer Amstel, 419, 420, 421. ^ 
 New -Virginia, 427. 
 New.Holm, 440. 
 
 O. 
 
 Oriskany, 29. 
 Ontario, 143. 
 Osset, Gilles, 266. 
 
 Piatt, Zephaniah, 27. 31. 
 Pintard, John, 76. 458. 
 Poughkeepsie,2 6. 
 Pennsylvania, 70. 
 Philipi (King of Spain,) 81. 
 Pavonia, 91. 121. 257. 259. 264. 268. 
 269. 271. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 485 
 
 Penobscot, 95. 
 
 Providence, 98. 
 
 Pelen, Brandt, 159. 
 
 Poulaz, Michael, 257. 
 
 Pauw, Michael, 259. 264. 
 
 Pieterz, Joachim, 261. 
 
 Pieters, Capt. Cornelius, 263. 
 
 Port Fortune, 269. 
 
 Pye Bay, 292. 
 
 Petochnock, 293, 
 
 Purchas, Rev. Samuel, 318. 461. 
 
 Ployden, Sir Edmund, 334. 
 
 Port Royal, 340. 
 
 PoutrincDurt, 341. 
 
 Prince, Rev. Thomas, 356. 
 
 Provost, David, 381. 
 
 Printz, John. (Gov.) 273. 410. 411. 
 
 412. 413. 414. 423. 428 429. 430. 
 
 431. 334. 434. 436. 437. 437. 440. 
 
 441. 
 Pappegoia, Johan, 414. 423. 446. 
 Planck, Abraham, 417. 
 Passayun^, 421. 422. 438. 
 Pagha^hacking, 439. 
 Passegay, Lieut. 440* 
 Prince, Rev. Thomas, 344. 356. 
 
 Quebec, 24. 
 
 Q. 
 
 R. 
 
 Roosevelt, Isaac, 31. 
 Ramusio, 39. 40. 55. 
 Renssalaerwyck, 84. 94. 126. 127. 274. 
 
 377. 
 Raynal, 89. 
 Rising, Gov. John, 90, 108. 494. 415. 
 
 416. 417. 442. 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, 95. 
 Robinson, John, 96. 
 Rosborough, 98. 
 Rliode Island, 98, 274. 
 Raritan, 140. 161. 
 Rademaker, Claes, 265, 
 Rockewack, 268. 
 Rocraft. Capt. 354. 
 Razier, Isaac de, 356. 360. 450. 
 Russell, Jonathan, 407. 
 Rudman, Rev. Mr. 407. 
 Ruth, Simon, 411. 417. 441. 443. 
 Renwick, Prof. James, 462. 
 
 S. 
 Stuyvesant, Peter, Gov. 13. 104. 1C5. 
 
 108. 110. 127. 275. 399. 411. 414. 
 
 418. 421. 422. 423. 437.441.443. 
 
 453. 
 Stuyvesant, Balthazar L. 455. 
 Stuyvesant, Nicholas W. 455. 
 Stuyvesant, Gerardus, 455. 
 Stuyvesant, Petrus, 400. 454. 
 Stuyvesant, Peter G. 455. 458, 460. 
 
 Stuyvesant genealogy, 455. 
 Schuvler, Philip, 19.20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 
 
 25.'26. 28. 32. 33. 34. 35. 
 Schuyler, Peter, 19. 
 Schuyler. Philip (2d.) 20. 
 Scott", John Morin. 27. 31. 
 St. Clair, Gen. 28. 
 St. Leger, Col. 28. 
 Spafford's Gazetteer, 78. 
 St. Johns, 24. 
 
 Skeensborough, (now Whitehall) 25. 
 Saratoga, 30. 33. 
 Strait of Hudson, 37. 
 South River. 89. 105. 109. 138. 141. 
 
 251. 252. 260. 303. 418. 423. 428. 
 
 435 441 _ 442 
 
 Staten Island, 91. 121. 139. 254. 260. 
 
 264. 266. 
 Swan-Vale, 91. 266. 
 Sagadahoc, 95. 
 Smith, John, 95. 346. 347. 
 Salem, 98. 99. 
 Southampton, 100, 
 Southold. 100. 
 Stamford, 104. 274. 
 Surinam, 113. 
 
 Stirling, Earl of, 117. 118. 119. 
 Spyten Duyvel, 127. 
 Sawmill Creek, 127. 
 Sandv Hook, 140. 260. 419. 425. 427. 
 Staffelz, Jacob, 272 
 Sterling, Maria dowager Van, 275. 
 Smits, Claes, 277. 
 Sanhickhant, 287. 
 Sloop Bay, 294. 
 St. Croii, 340. 
 Squanto, 347. 350. 
 Stephenson OlofF, 276. 
 Selyns, Rev. Henry, 389. 390. 
 Salem, 413. 
 
 Schute, Sven, 414. 416. 419. 443. 
 Smidt, Capt. Deryck, 
 Svenske, Jacob, 419. 
 Sassafras River, 423. 
 Svearing, Van, 424. 
 Selskoom, Abelius. 425. 
 Schuylkill, 429. 430. 431. 432, 439, 
 
 440. 441. 
 Stille, Oloff, 433. 
 St. Mark's Church, 400. 454. 
 Stone, Rev. Mr. 456. 
 Smith's History of Xew-York, 451. 
 
 455. 466. 
 Sampson, William, 466, 
 Stephens, John L. 468. 
 
 Tappan, Christopher, 27. 
 ' Tredwell, Thomas, 27. 31. 32. 
 
 Tompkins. Jona. D. 27. 
 
 Tompkins, Daniel D. 455. 
 I Ten Broeck, Abraham, 31. 
 
486 
 
 INDIX. 
 
 Ten Broeck, Dirck, 459. 
 
 Tay'or, John, 31.32. 
 
 Trvon County, 24. 
 
 Ticondcroga, 24. 25. 28. 33. 
 
 Trumbull, Col. 30. 
 
 Tamhert, Fort, 99. 
 
 Troost, Dr. G. 243. 247. 
 
 Tappaen, 202. 263. 267. 
 
 Turncl, William, 239. 
 
 Tenackong,(Tinnecum),411.423.429. 
 
 431. 440. 
 Tenechong, 412. 417, 
 Trenton, 412. 
 Third Hock, 445. 
 Timber Island, 445. 446. 
 
 U. 
 
 Utie, Col. Nathaniel, 108. 422. 
 Underhill, John, 276. 381. 
 Usselinx, William, 408. 
 Upendarn, Jan Jansen, 413. 
 Upland, 421. 439. 
 University, New-York, 409. 
 
 V. 
 
 Van Cortlandt, Pierre, 27. 31. 
 Van Rensselaer, Robert, 31. 
 Verrazzano, John D. 37. 39. 40. 41. 54. 
 
 55. 86. 
 Van Der Kemp, FrancisAdrian, 75. 76. 
 
 77. 78. 123. 
 Van Polanen, 77. 78. 
 Van Cortlandt, Col. 15. 
 Van Schaick, Col. 15. 
 Van Schaack, Peter, 15. 
 Van Vechten, Abm. 15. 
 Vermont, 27. 
 Van der Donck, 83. 84. 86. 125. 126. 
 
 127. 128. 129. 377. 378. 413. 452. 
 Van Twiller, Gov. Gen. 92. 254. 255. 
 
 279. 279. 280. 377. 
 Virginia, 95. 102. 105. 138. 452. 
 Van Ruyven, 115. 
 Van Rensselaer, Killian, 126. 156. 245 
 
 250. 262. 264. 285. 
 Van Tienhoven, Cornelius, 162. 263. 
 
 276. 380. 
 
 Van Tienhoven, Adrian, 442, 
 
 Vriesendalo, 246. 263. 
 
 Van Keulen, Matlhys, 250. 
 
 Van Siltongh, Nicolaes, 250. 
 
 Vine Creek, 254. 
 
 Van Vorst, Cornelius, 259. 
 
 Van Dyck, Gysbcrt. 261. 
 
 Van der Horst, Mr, 264. 
 
 Vlissingen, 275. 
 
 Van Rensselaer, Stephen, 316. 
 
 Vaugiian, John, 406. 
 
 Van Dyke, Gocran. 419. 421, 
 
 Van Gizct, Gert, 423. 
 
 Van Gizei, Cornelius, 424. 
 
 Van Dyck, Gregory, 430. 440. 
 
 Van Dincklagen, L. 440. 
 
 Verplanck, G. C. iv. 462. 
 
 Verplanck, Samuel, 455. 
 
 W. 
 
 Woodhull, Nathaniel, 20. 26. 30. 
 Washington, 22. 31. 33. 
 Wooster, Gen. 24. 
 WiUett, Col. Marinus, 29. 32. 
 Wood Creek, 25. 28, 
 White Plains, 26. 
 Wickquaesgeck, 262, 267. 
 Wick Bay, 292. 
 Wapenocks, 294, 
 Ward, Capt. 351.353. 
 Westbrook, Rev. C. D. 386, 
 William-s Roger, 186. 358. 
 West Jersey, 427. 
 Wirakehen, 432. 
 Wisscmenets, 439. 
 AVinthrop, Benjamin, 455. 
 Winthrop, Governor. 456. 
 Wilkes, Charles, 459. 
 
 Yates, Abraham Jr. 27. 
 Yates, J. V.N. 466, 
 Yates, Robert, 31. 
 Yonkers, 127. 
 
 Zwanendaal, 121. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 183, for 1645 read 1642. 
 " 342, tenth line from bottom, for appeared read appear. 
 " 345, note, last line, for i, Zd. series read ix, 2rf. series. 
 " 453, fourth line from bottom, for Charles I. read Charles 11. 
 " 470, last line, for Francis read Frederick. 
 
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