The story of the city of New York, Part 1

Author: Todd, Charles Burr, 1849- cn
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons; [etc., etc.]
Number of Pages: 1008


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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27



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THE STORY


OF


THE CITY OF NEW YORK


BY


CHARLES BURR TODD .


AUTHOR OF "LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOEL BARLOW "


ILLUSTRATED


"* The harvest of the river is her revenue and she is a mart of nations." "The crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth."-Isaiah xxiii, 3, 8.


NEW YORK AND LONDON G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS The Knickerbocker Press I888


1753319


BY THE SAME AUTHOR.


' Life and Letters of Joel Barlow; with Extracts from His Works, and Some Hitherto Unpublished Poems. By CHARLES BURR TODD. Octavo, with Portrait on Steel, and Fac-Simile of Portion of the Manuscript of the " Hasty Pud- ding." Cloth Extra, Gilt Top $2.50


"The ' Life of Joel Barlow' is a welcome addition to our historical literature. A very real debt of gratitude is due Mr. Todd for a spirited biography and for chosen selec- tions from the interesting material at his disposal."-Atlantic Monthly.


2


Frontispiece.


MANHATTAN ISLAND BEFORE THE DUTCH.


TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY


THEIR FRIEND, THE AUTHOR


iii - IV


PREFACE.


IN writing the story of New York, it has been the author's purpose to present a brief but comprehen- sive survey of the causes which led to the founding of the city, and of the various agencies which con- tributed to its marvellous growth, and to combine with this a narrative of such domestic details and romantic or picturesque incidents as would serve to render the picture clear and complete. The author hopes that his volume, while planned more particu- larly for the requirements of younger readers, may be found of service to citizens of all ages who may wish ' to inform themselves concerning the chief events in the history of the great city of the New World, and who may not find time for larger and more elaborate histories. It is startling to think that in twenty-five years, if the present rate of increase is continued, New York, with her history of two hundred and fifty years, will surpass London, with a life-time of twenty centuries, and will become the capital of the world-that is, in wealth and population. The onward rush of material forces will give her this vantage ; but whether she becomes the capital in a


V


vi


PREFACE.


larger sense-in art, letters, science, and moral influ- ence, in great museums and universities of art, in free libraries for the people, and storehouses of learning for the scholar, in that literary and artistic atmosphere which attracts the author, poet, and painter, and de- velops the best that is in them,-this possibility rests largely with the young people of to-day, who, for the next fifty years, will shape her destinies. Manifestly they will work with greater interest toward this end, if they know that their city has a noble and dignified history, that, notwithstanding grave drawbacks and difficulties, her progress has been such as to chal- lenge the wonder of students of social science the world over, and that her future is so full of possibili- ties that no man can hope to forecast it. This re- sult the author has also had in view.


Some details have been unavoidably omitted-an omission supplied in part by the chronological record in the Appendix. In treating of the modern period, the writer has adopted the view of most scholars, that history ceases fifty years back of the present time -contemporary record taking its place,-and has treated of the modern period only so far as seemed necessary to the completeness of the narrative.


It would be impossible to name here the numer- ous authorities consulted. The author has, however, derived special benefit from the labors of such origi- nal investigators as Messrs. Brodhead, O'Callahan, and Valentine. From the "Corporation Manual," compiled by the last-named gentleman, many of the illustrations, as well as many curious facts, have been taken. He is also indebted to the various histories


·


PREFACE.


vii - VIII


of the city-by Miss Mary C. Booth, David T. Val- entine, Mrs. Martha J. Lamb, Colonel William L. Stone, and Benson J. Lossing,-and to the scrap- books and files of old papers in the Astor and Society libraries. Acknowledgment is also due Mr. George H. Putnam for his encouragement and co-operation.


NEW YORK, January 1, 1888.


CONTENTS.


INTRODUCTION .


PAGE


I-15


New York Bay discovered by Verrazano, 2-By Henry Hudson, 5-The Dutch, their country, customs, and laws, 6-The long-sought northwest passage, 7-The Half Moon in the Hudson, 8-The West India Company and its chambers, 12-The first director, 15.


PART I.


THE DUTCH DYNASTY.


I.


PETER MINUIT 19-39


Manhattan Island in 1626, 19-Its purchase from the In- dians, 20-Appearance, dress, manners, and customs of the latter, 24-The beginning of New Netherlands, 26-De Rasières' embassy to Plymouth, 30-Its happy result, 32- The patroons and their purchases, 34.


II


WOUTER VAN TWILLER 40-50


Knickerbocker's description of, 40-His warlike measures, 43-Drives the English from the Hudson, 45-Plants a fort on the Connecticut, 46-His authority contemned by the English, 47-His recall, 50.


ix



X


CONTENTS.


III.


WILHELM KIEFT


PAGE 51-63


His testiness, 51-Despotic powers, 52-Truculent mes- sage to Minuit, 57-Sets a price on the heads of the Rari- tans, 58-Proposes no more meetings, 60-His cruelty, 61 -His recall, 62.


IV.


PETRUS STUYVESANT 64-92


Soldier and Autocrat, 65-Trials of the councillors, 67- Courtly journey to Hartford, 69-Visit to the West Indies, 73-Attacks the Swedes, 74-Corrects Quakers and Ana- baptists, 77-Attacked by the English, 83-Surrenders his fort, 89.


SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC LIFE V.


93-128


The pastor's letter, 93-A walk through New Amsterdam, 95-The city wall, 96-The water front, 98-A Dutch tavern, 103-The old koeck, 108 ; and trumpeter, 109- The Battery in 1663, III-The church-goers, 113-Fulton Ferry under the Dutch, 115-The burgomaster's court, 117-Shopping, 123-Dutch houses, 124-Social amuse- ments, 124.


PART II. ENGLISH RULE.


VI.


THE NEW FLAG 131-145


Twenty royal governors, 132-Colonel Nicolls' reign, 133 -Colonel Richard Lovelace, 136-New York captured by the Dutch, 133 ; restored, 138-Andros appointed gov- ernor, 13S-Governor Thomas Dougan, 141-The first colonial Assembly, 141-New York under James II., 143 -Accession of William and Mary, 145.


CONTENTS.


xi


VII.


PAGE


REBELLION 146-167 The two parties, 147-Leisler usurps the government, 150 -Governor Sloughter arrives, 161-Leisler's arrest, 162 ; Trial, 163 ; Execution, 166.


VIII.


THE ROMANTIC AGE ·


168-179 Pirates and Red Sea men, 168-Fate of the Prophet Daniel, 172-Some of the freebooters, 174-Captain Kidd and his fortunes, 176-Arrival of Lord Bellomont, 179.


IX.


THE EARLIER CHURCHES OF NEW YORK


.


180-185


Garden Street Church, 180-Trinity, 182-Huguenot, 184


-Presbyterian, 185-Baptist, 185-Methodist, 185.


X.


LORD BELLOMONT'S STORMY REIGN . 186-189 Espouses cause of Leislerites, 186-Seeks to abrogate land grants, 187-In Boston, and captures Captain Kidd, 188- Death, 188.


XI.


MIDDLE COLONIAL PERIOD 190-199 Various events, 190-Arrival of the Palatines, 191-Upris- ing of slaves, 191-The first newspaper, and a new char- ter, 192-Trial of Zenger, 194-First Merchants' Exchange, 196-Founding of King's College, 198.


XII.


THE PEOPLE DURING THE COLONIAL PERIOD, 200-257 The Rev. James Wooley describes New York, 200-The Labadists describe Mr. Wooley, 204-Dress, 207-A Walk through New York, 1730-65, 211-The governor and Gov- ernment House, 213-Fête-day ceremonies, 215-Furni-


xii


CONTENTS.


PAGE


ture, 219-The old City Hall, 221-Corporation dinners, 223-The privateers, 225-Shopping in 1745, 229-Quaint craftsmen, 232-Burial customs, 234-Street signs, 236- Coffee-houses and taverns, 237-Fire companies, 240- Slaves, 242-Colonial court scene, 245-Plays and other amusements, 250-Horse - racing, 253-Dancing, 254- Shooting-matches, 256-Snuff-taking, 256.


XIII.


THE HEROIC AGE 258-282 The Stamp Act, 258-The British Constitution, 259-Re- sistance, 260-The American Aventine, 265-The tri- bunes, 265-The praetors, 266-The last day of liberty, 268-Stamp-Act day, 270-The liberty poles, 273-The first bloodshed. 275-New York's tea-party, 279.


XIV.


WAR 283-301 Trail Bissel's message, 283-Welcoming Hancock and Adams, 287-Washington's arrival, 289-The capture of the arms, 291-Fortifying New York, 293-The patriot army transferred, 294-Tory rides, 295-Reading the Declaration of Independence, 296-The enemy's fleet, 297-The Hessian contingent, 300.


XV.


Two BATTLES .


302-333 Where would the enemy strike ? 302-The city defences, 304-Its defenders, 307-The opposing force, 309-The prelude, 310-The attack, 317-At Battle Hill, 318-Stir- ling routed, 319-The retreat, 321-The city evacuated, 323-The British attack, 323-A panic, 325-Mayor Burr's gallant act, 327-Battle of Harlem Heights, 328.


XVI.


NEW YORK IN CAPTIVITY 334-348 The great fire of 1776, 334-Nathan Hale executed, 338 -British prisons, 339-New York evacuated, 344-Ameri- can loyalists, 346-The final parting, 346.


CONTENTS. xiii


XVII.


PAGE


CONSTITUTION MAKING 349-368


The Philadelphia Convention, 350- The Constitution adopted, 352-Ratified by New York, 354-The Federal procession, 355-Federal Hall, 361-The first Congress meets, 363-Washington inaugurated, 365.


PART III. THE FREE CITY.


XVIII.


THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS 371-390


Court life, 371-Philadelphia, the capital, 375-Two par- ties, 376-Their struggle for power, 377-The result, 382 -Early newspapers, 383-Duel between Burr and Hamil- ton, 386-Hamilton's death, 388-Funeral ceremonies, 388.


XIX.


A TYPICAL NEW YORK MERCHANT 391-400


John Jacob Astor : birth, 391-Emigrates to America, 391 -Engages in the fur trade, 392-Founds the American Fur Company, 394 ; and the Pacific Fur Company, 396- Builds Astoria, 396-Death, 400.


XX.


COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT 401-419


The three genii, 401-Fulton and his steamboats, 402- Cornelius Vanderbilt, 406-Erie Canal, 408-The first tele- graph, 411-Earliest railroads, 418.


XXI.


SHIPS AND SAILORS 420-430


The packet service, 420-The clipper ships, 422-Their exploits, 425.


xiv


CONTENTS.


XXII.


PAGE


MINOR EVENTS, 1784-1860 . 431-444


King's College re-chartered as Columbia, 431-New York Historical Society founded, 435-Academy of Fine Arts, incorporated, 433-Knickerbocker publishes his " History of New York," 434-City Hall built, 434-Victories of war of . 1812, 436-The city's progress, 438-An old man's remi- niscences, 439-New York in 1825, 439-Lafayette's visit, 442.


XXIII.


NEW YORK IN THE CIVIL WAR 445-451 Major Wood's project of an independent city, 446-The uprising, 447-Union Defence Committee organized, 448- Sanitary Commission, 449-Christian Commission, 449- Draft riots, 450-Obsequies of Abraham Lincoln, 451.


XXIV.


THE MOUSE IN THE CHEESE 452-458 Formation of the Tweed Ring, 453-Its thefts, 454-De- tection and disruption, 454-Tweed's imprisonment and death, 456-The moral of it, 456.


XXV.


THE TRIUMPHS OF ART .


459-464 The Brooklyn Bridge, 459-Opening ceremonies, 460- Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty, 462.


APPENDIX A.


Mayors of New York since the Revolution, 465.


APPENDIX B.


Notable and curious events in the history of New York, chronologically arranged, 466


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


PAGE


MANHATTAN ISLAND BEFORE THE DUTCH


Frontispiece


DUTCH VESSEL, 1609 5


MANHATTAN ISLAND BEFORE THE DUTCH


25


THE EARLIEST MAP OF THE CITY . 50


THE FORT IN KIEFT'S DAY


63


THE STADT HUYS, 1642 .


71


NEW YORK UNDER STUYVESANT


79


STUYVESANT'S HOUSE 91


BLOCK-HOUSE AND CITY GATE 95


RIVER AND DOCK FRONT


97


BROAD STREET, 1663


101


THE BATTERY IN 1663


III


DE PEYSTER PUNCH-BOWL 125


SEAL OF NEW NETHERLAND, 1623 TO 1664


127


MAP OF THE CITY IN GOVERNOR FLETCHER'S TIME


177


MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE, 1827


195


KING'S COLLEGE . 197


FULTON FERRY, 1746


209


A PLAN OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, 1763 . Face 21I VIEW OF CITY FROM THE NORTH-MIDDLE COLONIAL PERIOD, 213


VIEW OF CITY AND HARBOR-MIDDLE COLONIAL PERIOD . 215


FEDERAL HALL


.


221


FIREMEN'S CERTIFICATE OF MEMBERSHIP ABOUT THE


YEAR ISOO . Face 242 JOHN JAY . 267 .


THE BATTERY AND BOWLING GREEN DURING THE REVOLUTION, 305


AUTOGRAPH LETTER OF ISRAEL PUTNAM . Face 314


ROGER MORRIS' HOUSE (THE JUMEL MANSION) · 329


TRINITY CHURCH AFTER THE GREAT FIRE


·


335


xv


xvi


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


PAGE


OLD SUGAR-HOUSE PRISON · 339


AUTOGRAPH PERMIT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON


343


FRAUNCES' TAVERN · . 347


THE INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON


36


AARON BURR .


379


EDWARD LIVINGSTON


381


" THE GRANGE," HAMILTON'S HOME, 1804


387


ALEXANDER HAMILTON


. 389


JOHN JACOB ASTOR


399


ROBERT FULTON


402


THE "CLERMONT"


403


COMMODORE VANDERBILT


. 407


DE WITT CLINTON .


. 409


AUTOGRAPHS OF INVITED GUESTS, ERIE CANAL CELEBRA- TION


. Face 412


BROADWAY, PARK THEATRE, AND CITY HALL


. 417


THE " DREADNOUGHT" .


. 423


SOUTH STREET IN THE CLIPPER PERIOD . . 429


PENNY CURRENCY-1790


432


WASHINGTON IRVING


. 433


PRESENT CITY HALL


.


435


PLAN OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK ABOUT 1804 Face 438


BROADWAY STAGES 440


WILLIAM PAULDING


. 443


BROOKLYN BRIDGE .


. 461


STATUE OF LIBERTY


· 463


THE STORY OF NEW YORK.


INTRODUCTORY.


THE year 1524 was a very good year to have been . born in. Men in one corner of the world, at least, were waking up. Kings were learning that mer- chants and navigators had their value as well as men- at-arms. Thirty-two years before, Columbus had dis- covered America. Twenty-seven years before, De Gama had opened up the passage to India around the Cape of Good Hope, and had given the merchants of Spain and Portugal the treasures of India ; and five years before, Magellan had rounded Cape Horn, and triumphantly circumnavigated the globe. Just now the strife among navigators was for the discovery of a shorter passage to India, either around the frozen pole or through newly found America. One of the great captains who aspired to make this discovery was Jean Verrazano, a native of Florence, but who easily found in Francis I., King of France, a patron willing to commission and despatch him on such an errand. Verrazano left France late in the year 1524


I


2


THE STORY OF NEW YORK.


with two ships-the Norman and the Dolphin,-but was forced by a terrible storm "to land in Bitaine " and repair his ships. His account of the voyage that followed, given in his quaint " Relation," brings back the soft-toned atmosphere of the age.


" Afterwards," he says, "with the Dolphin alone we de- termined to make discoverie of new countries, to prose- cute the navigation we had already begun. . The 17th of January, the yeere 1524, by the grace of God, we departed from the dishabited rock by the isle of Madeira, apperteining to the king of Portugal, with 50 men, with victuals, weapons, and other ship munition very well pro- vided, and furnished for eight months. And sailing westward with a faire easterly wind in 25 dayes we ran 500 leagues, and the 20 of Februarie we were overtaken with as sharp and terrible a tempest as ever any sailors suffered, whereof with the divine helpe and mercifull as- sistance of Almighty God, and the goodnesse of our shippe, accompanied with the good happe of her fortu- nate name, we were delivered, and with a prosperous winde followed our course west and by north, and in other 25 days we made about 450 leagues more, when we discovered a new land never before seen of any man either ancient or modern."


This new land was probably the Jersey shore. Verrazano first sailed southward in quest of a har- bor; but finding none, he returned and coasted north until he found "a very pleasant place sit- unted among certaine little, steepe hills; from amidst the which hills there ranne downe to the sea an exceeding great streme of water which within the mouth was very deepe, and from the sea to the


3


INTRODUCTORY.


mouth of the same with the tide, which we found to rise 8 foote, any greate ship laden may passe up. But because we rode at anker in a place well fenced from the wind we would not venture ourselves with- out knowledge of the place, and we passed up with one boate onely into the sayd river and saw the coun- try very well peopled." This bay in which the Dolphin rode "fenced in from the wind," most geog- raphers agree was the bay of New York, and the "exceeding great streme of water " between the hills must have been the Hudson itself. Verrazano was, therefore, the first European to discover and sail into the bay of New York. Without doubt his first act on going ashore was to take possession of the country in the name of his royal master in the beau- tiful and dramatic fashion peculiar to explorers of the Latin race. Landing with the pomp and display of arms, he planted first a large wooden cross in the ground, and hear it a cedar post bearing a metal plate on which was engraven the royal arms of France. Then standing beside the cross, with head bared and his men-at-arms grouped about him, he repeated these words :


"In the name of the most high, mighty, and redoutable monarch, Francis, first of that name, most Christian king of France and Navarre, I take possession of this island, as also of the bay, river, and all countries, rivers, lakes, and streams contiguous and adjacent thereunto, both those which have been discovered, and those which may be discovered hereafter, in all their length and breadth, bounded on one side by the seas of the north and west, and on the other by the south sea ; declaring to the


4


THE STORY OF NEW YORK.


nations thereof that from this time forever, they are vas- sals of His Majesty, bound to obey his laws and to follow his customs, promising them on his part all succor and protection against the invasion and incursion of their enemies ; declaring to all other potentates, princes, sov- ereigns, states, and republics, to them and their subjects, that they cannot and are not to seize or settle upon any parts of the aforesaid country, save only under the good pleasure of His Most Christian Majesty, and of him who shall govern in his stead, and that on pain of incurring his displeasure and the effort of his arms."


Having thus imparted to our island this pleasant touch of medieval romance and chivalry, Verrazano sailed away to France, where, at Dieppe, he wrote a " Relation " of his discoveries, as has been remarked. The French king, however, made no attempt to set- tle his new territories, his attention that year being fully absorbed by his campaign against the Spanish Emperor Charles V .; a campaign which ended in the defeat of Francis at Pavia, and in his being carried off to Spain a prisoner.


For nearly one hundred years the island retained its primeval wildness and beauty ; vessels passed by in the distance,-discoverers, fishermen, traders, pirates-but none came into the bay, or if they did they left no traces of their presence. At length, however, on a September day in 1609, a ship sailed in-a craft of moment. She was, indeed, an odd- looking vessel, with carved prow, a stern much higher than her bows, and carrying square sails on the two masts of a schooner. She flew a banner new among nations-the Dutch flag : orange, white,


5


INTRODUCTORY.


and blue, in three horizontal stripes,-and she was in fact a Dutch craft, " the Texalina vessel," called the Half Moon. I cannot clearly explain her presence here without speaking somewhat at length of the people to whom she belonged. These people were called the Dutch. Their country lay along the


LOSSING- BARRI


i


DUTCH VESSEL, 1609.


southern shore of the North Sea, and was called in- discriminately the Netherlands, the United Prov- inces, and the Low Countries. It was so very flat and low that the quaint writers of the day described it as "a bridge of swimming earth," and the people as "living lower than the fishes, in the very lap of the


6


THE STORY OF NEW YORK.


floods." The Dutch were of an ancient civilization. Originally formed of various rude tribes, the Frisians, Batavi, and Belgæ, of whom Cæsar speaks, and later mingled with the conquering Franks and Saxons, they grew to wealth and power under the successive rule of the great Charlemagne, of the lords and bishops of the feudal age, and of the dukes and kings of the house of Burgundy. In 1550, we read, under Charles V. they had 208 walled cities, 150 chartered towns, 6,300 villages, and 60 fortresses. The Netherlands were Protestant in religious faith -- disciples of Calvin of Geneva. This did not please Catholic Spain, to which country they were subject, and she so bitterly persecuted them that seven provinces revolted, and formed themselves into a republic. Another terrible war followed this act, which had been closed six months before the Half Moon sailed into New York Bay, by both parties agreeing to a truce for twelve years. You will find the whole story graphically told in Mr. Motley's " Rise of the Dutch Republic." I will speak briefly of the political divisions of the state into which the seven provinces had been welded.


Its government was republican in form, though much more complex and unwieldy than is our own beautiful system. Four great bureaus or departments managed its affairs-the States-General, the Council of State; the College of the Admiralty, and the Chamber of Accounts. The States-General was the principal bureau, and will be most frequently referred to in our pages. This chamber was usually com- posed of twelve deputies from the various provinces,


7


INTRODUCTORY.


and its powers more nearly approached those of the president of modern republics. It was the execu- tive body of the system. The genius of the Neth- erlands was almost purely commercial. It was a nation of great merchants, not of shop-keepers, as Napoleon later styled the English. It had at the time of which we write three thousand ships, one hundred thousand sailors, and a trade of sixteen millions per annum, against England's six millions. . Old Peter Heylin tells us that at Amsterdam in 1623, at one tide, one thousand ships were seen to go out and in, and that though scarce a stick of ship timber grew on their soil, yet they supplied the world with ships. Its great mercantile corporation-the privileged East India Company, chartered after the rupture with Spain to secure the rich trade of India and the East which Spain and Portugal had so long enjoyed, was now the wealthiest and most powerful association of merchants on the globe. The Dutch Company had, however, a rival in the Eng- lish East India Company, chartered in 1600, and which, though not then so strong, eventually out- stripped it.


Both companies were eager rivals in the discovery of a shorter passage to India than that by the Cape of Good Hope around Africa. The Dutch com- pany believed that such a passage existed through the " Frozen Ocean behind Norway," that is, around the northern shores of Europe and Asia, and in 1608 had fitted out the Half Moon, and given her in charge of the famous English navigator, Henry Hudson, with orders to sail by the way of Nova


.


8


THE STORY OF NEW YORK.


Zembla and the Straits of Arian in search of this passage. Hudson sailed into those frozen seas until his path was blocked by ice, and then returned, and began coasting south ward along the shore of America 5


searching for a passage through the continent. He reached Virginia without discovering this passage, and then turned and sailed back by the way he had come, examining the shores more closely than he had previously done. In this way, on the 3d of Sep- tember, 1609, he discovered, and the next day en- . tered, the beautiful bay of New York. Hudson no doubt believed that the long-sought passage to India was found, and after resting for several days, and exploring the neighboring shores, he made sail and continued on up the river where keel of white man had never before ventured. The freshening water and shoaling channel must soon have convinced him that he was in no strait, but a river, a sad disap- pointment no doubt to the enterprising, ambitious sailor ; nevertheless, with a resolution that increases our respect for him, he decided to press on and ex- plore the mighty stream. He was nine days ascend- ing to the present site of the city of Albany, sailing only by day. Some nights the Half Moon cast an- chor under the frowning mountains. At other times she was so enshrouded in spectral mists that the mariners could see nothing except what fancy pic- tured for them.


Often they stopped to trade with the Indians, sometimes going on shore for the purpose. One of these occasions is thus quaintly described by Cap- tain Hudson in his narrative of the voyage.


9


INTRODUCTORY.


"I went ashore in one of their canoes with an old man who was chief of forty men and women, whom I found in a house made of the bark of trees, and was exceed- ing smooth and well finished within, and all round about. I found there a great quantity of Indian corn and beans, and indeed there lay to dry, near the house, of those articles, as much as would load three ships, be- side what was still growing in the fields. When we went to the house two mats were spread to sit on, and immedi- ately eatables were brought to us in wooden bowls well made, and two men were sent off with their bows and arrows to kill wild fowl, who soon returned with two pigeons. They also killed immediately a fat dog, and in a little time skinned it with shells they got out of the water."




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