USA > New York > A history of the state of New York, from the first discovery of the country to the present time: with a geographical account of the country, and a view of its original inhabitants > Part 7
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" When justly provoked by the first aggression of the In dians in the death of Colman, he sought no retaliation. The mate alone was implicated by the death of the Indian, whose rash curiosity had led him to pilfer some trifles; and the sub- sequent sacrifice of life was caused in self-defence."*
The Iroquois have a curious tradition with regard to the first interview with the whites. They say, that, " A long time ago, before men with a white skin had ever been seen, some Indians, fishing at a place where the sea widens, espicd some- thing at a distance moving upon the water. They hurried ashore, collected their neighbors, who together returned, and viewed intensely this astonishing phenomenon. What it could be, baffled all conjecture. Some supposed it a large fish or animal, others that it was a very big house floating on the sea. Perceiving it moving towards land, the spectators concluded that it would be proper to send runners in different directions, to carry the news to their scattered chiefs, that they might send off for the immediate attendance of their warriors. These arriving in numbers to behold the sight,
* Moulton.
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'and perceiving that it was actually moving towards them, (i. e. coming into the river or bay,) they conjectured that it must be a remarkable large house, in which the Manitto (or Great Spirit) was coming to visit them. They were much afraid, and yet under no apprehension that the Great Spirit would injure them. They worshipped him. The chiefs now assembled at York Island, and consulted in what manner they should receive their Manitto. Meat was prepared for a sacrifice. The women were directed to prepare the best of victuals. Idols or images were examined and put in order. A grand dance, they thought, would be pleasing, and, in addi- tion to the sacrifice, might appease him if angry. The con- jurors were also set to work to determine what this phenome- non portended, and what the result would be. To these, men, women and children looked up for advice and protec- tion. Utterly at a loss what to do, and distracted alternately by hope and fear, in this confusion, a grand dance commenced. Meantime fresh runners arrived, declaring it to be a great house of various colors, and full of living creatures. It now appeared certain that it was their Manitto, probably bringing some new kind of game. Others, arriving, declared it posi- tively to be full of people of different color and dress from theirs, and that one in particular appeared altogether red. This, then, must be the Manitto. They were lost in admira- tion ; could not imagine what the vessel was, whence it came, or what all this portended. They are now hailed from the vessel in a language they could not understand. They answer by a shout or yell in their way. The house (or large canor, as some render it) stops. A smaller canoe comes on shore with the red man in it; some stay by his canoe to guard it. The chiefs and wise men form a circle, into which the red man and two attendants approach. IIe salutes them with friendly countenance, and they return the salute after their manner. They are amazed at their color and dress, particu- larly with him who, glittering in red, wore something (per- haps lace and buttons) they could not comprehend. He must be the great Manitto, they thought ; but why should he have a white skin ? A large elegant hockhack (gourd, i. e. bottle, decanter, &c.) is brought by one of the supposed Manitto's
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servants, from which a substance is poured into a small cup or glass, and handed to the Manitto. He drinks, has the glass refilled and handed to the chief near him. He takes it, smells it, and passes it to the next, who does the same. The glass in this manner is passed round the circle, and is about to be returned to the red-clothed man, when one of them, a great warrior, harangues them on the impropriety of returning the cup unemptied. It was handed to them, he said, by the Manitto, to drink out of, as he had. To follow his example, would please him ; to reject it, might provoke his wrath. And. if no one else would, he would drink it himself, let what would follow ; for it were better for one even to die, than a whole nation to be destroyed. He then took the glass, smell- ed at it, again addressed them, bidding adieu, and drank the contents. All eyes were now fixed (on the first Indian in New York, who had tasted the poison, which has since effect- ed so signal a revolution in the condition of the native Americans.) He soon began to stagger. The women cried, supposing him in fits. He rolled on the ground. They be- moan his fate. They thought him dying. IIe fell asleep. They at first thought he had expired, but soon perceived he still breathed. Ile awoke, jumped up, and declared he never felt more happy. He asked for more, and the whole assem- bly, imitating him, became intoxicated. After this intoxica- tion ceased, (during its continuance the whites confined themselves to their vessel,) the man with red clothes returned. and distributed beads, axes, lioes and stockings. They soon became familiar, and conversed by signs. The whites made them understand that they would now return home, but the next year they would visit them again with presents, and stay with them awhile ; but that, as they could not live without eat- ing, they should then want a little land to sow seeds, in order to raise herbs to put into their broth. Accordingly, a vessel arrived the season following, when they were much rejoiced t, see each other ; but the whites laughed when they saw the axe- and hoes hanging, as ornaments, to their breasts, and the stock- ings used as tobacco pouches. The whites now put handk (or helves) in the former, and cut down trees before their eyes. and dug the ground, and showed them the use of the stock-
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ings. Here they say a general laughter ensued, to think they had remained ignorant of the use of these things, and had borne so long such heavy metal suspended around their necks. Familiarity 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 spread before them would cover or encompass. They granted the request. The whites took a knife, and, beginning at one place on this hide, cut it up to a rope not thicker than the finger of a little child. They then took the rope, and drew it gently along in a circular form, and took in a large piece of ground. The Indians were surprised at their superior wit, but they did not contend with them for a little ground, as they had enough. They lived contentedly together for a long time; but the new comers from time to time asked for more land, which was readily obtained. And thus they gradually proceeded higher up the Mahicannittuck, (Hudson river,) until they began to believe they would want all their country, which proved eventually the case."*
SEC. IV. While Hudson was exploring the southern waters of the state, a party under the patronage of the French were making similar discoveries at the north. Samuel Champlain, at the head of the Algonquins and Hurons, and in a warlike expedition against the Iroquois, dis- covered and sailed through the lake that now bears his name. He landed, and had a success- ful engagement with the Iroquois in the vicinity of Ticonderoga.f
Champlain, at this time, had the direction of the French settlements in Canada ; and his object in this expedition was to secure the friendship of the neighboring Algonquins, and to weaken the power of their common enemy, the Iroquois. Hle embarked with his new allies at Quebec, sailed up the St. Lawrence, entered and sailed up the Sorelle, until the rapids
* Moulton, originally MSS. in possession of the N. Y. Hist Soc. t Holmes places this event in 1611.
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near Chambly prevented the progress of his vessel. Upon this unexpected impediment, which the duplicity of his allies had previously concealed from his knowledge, his vessel re- turned; but he, with two other Frenchmen, who would not desert him, determined to proceed. They transported their canoes above the rapids, then re-entered the river, and con- tinued their route to the lake. The waters of the river and lake swarmed with fish, and the islands were filled with deer and other animals, which afforded a plentiful supply of pro- visions for the army.
Champlain was much amused by the blind confidence which the Indians paid to their soothsayer, or sorcerer, who, at one of their encampments, went through with his terrific ceremo- ny. After having for several days inquired of Champlain if he had not seen the Iroquois in a dream, and being answered in the negative, they became greatly disquieted. At last, to relieve their embarrassment, and avoid their importunity, he told them he had, in a dream, seen the Iroquois drowning in a lake, but that he did not rely altogether upon the dream. The Indians thought otherwise, and regarded the dream as the sure prelude of victory.
After having entered the lake, they traversed it, until they approached the outlet of lake George, near Ticonderoga. It was their design to pass the rapids between the two lakes, and make an irruption into the country of the Iroquois, be- yond lake George, and surprise some of their villages. The Iroquois, however, suddenly made their appearance at 10 o'clock at night, and, by accident, met their invaders on the Great lake. Both parties, mutually surprised, expressed their joy by loud acclamations, and, as they were not accustomed to fight on the water, hurried to the shore. They landed at or near Ticonderoga, and the allies sent a messenger to the Iroquois to adjust the preliminaries of the engagement. It was resolved to await the approach of day, and both parties encamped for the night.
The parties were nearly equal in numbers, but the allies, depending on the fire-arms of the French, displayed only a part of their warriors. At break of day, Champlain placed his two Frenchmen and some savages in the wood, to attack the
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enemy in flank. The allies first made a sortie, and ran two hundred feet in front of the enemy, then stopped, and divided into two bands, when Champlain, advancing to the centre, placed himself at their head. At the first report of his arquebuse, from the spot where he had posted four men, the Iroquois saw two of their chiefs fall dead, and the third dangerously wounded. The allies shouted, and discharged a few ineffective arrows. Champlain and the other Frenchmen recharged their pieces, and continued the fight. This was the first time the Iroquois had ever witnessed the effects of fire-arms ; and, filled with consternation and dismay at this new mode of destruction, they soon fled in confusion. They were hotly pursued, and many were killed, and taken prison- crs. The conquerors were beginning to suffer for provisions, but obtained seasonable relief from the maize which the fu- gitives, in the hurry of flight, had abandoned. After feasting and dancing on the field of battle, the allies prepared to return homeward. On their way, they tortured one of their prison- ers, whose miseries Champlain humanely ended.
SEC. V. Hudson, on his arrival in England, being forbidden by the English government to return to Holland, or again enter the service of the Dutch, re-entered the service of the Lon- don company, which had patronised him in his two first voyages.
He transmitted to the Dutch East India di- rectors the journal of his recent voyage, with an account of his discoveries ; and the " Half- Moon," after being some time detained at Dart- mouth, was permitted to return to Amsterdam, where she arrived early in 1610. In April of the same year, Hudson was again sent out, by the London company, on a northern expedition, from which he never returned.
'The last voyage and tragical fate of this distinguished navi-
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gator are subjects, to which we cannot advert without the most painful emotions. After encountering for a long time the dangers of the northern seas, a mutiny broke out among the crew, and Hudson, with eight others, was placed in an open boat, and abandoned to the tempests of those inhospita ble regions.
Nothing more has ever been heard from them; and they probably either perished in a storm, or by the more protract- ed horrors of famine. The English deeply lamented the loss of a countryman, whose achievements as a navigator had reflect- ed honor on a nation already distinguished for its illustrious seamen. Hudson's personal qualities and virtues, displayed during his four voyages, at times which were calculated to try character, will ever be contemplated with pleasure and admiration
SEC. VI. 1610: The Dutch East India Com- pany fitted out a ship for a second visit to the newly-discovered land, for the purpose of trade. The only object was a cargo of furs, but the voyage was more important in its consequences, being the prelude to the fur trade, which led to the subsequent colonization of the country.
The directors of the East India Company, who had pat- ronised Hudson's design of a northern passage to India, though disappointed in this object, appreciated his minor dis- covery. They looked to the Great River, and anticipated in the fur trade an indemnity for past expenses. This article could now be obtained from the Indians in America on more advantageous terms than formerly from the north of Europe.
The voyage was successful, and therefore repeated. The fame of its profits, and of the country, stimulated adventurers ; and, within three years, much competition arose in this new branch of the commerce of Holland.
The effects of this rivalry were sensibly felt by those who had seconded Hudson's voyage. A memorial was therefore presented to their High Mightinesses, the Lords States Geno-
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ral, stating, that they, who had incurred the expense and risk of originating discoveries, were prevented, by an unjust com- petition, from realizing an adequate remuneration.
SEC. VII. 1614. The States passed an edict, on the 27th of March, that " all persons, who had discovered, or might .discover, any rivers, bays or harbors, or countries before unknown, should enjoy, besides other advantages, the exclusive trade there for four successive voyages." This act was the foundation of the Amsterdam Li- censed Trading West India Company.
The members of this company had a double object-to se- cure the possession of the Great River by fortifications, and to extend their commercial privileges under the edict by the discovery of circumjacent places. Two ships, commanded by Adriaan Blok and Hendrik Christiaanse, were the same year fitted out for the accomplishunent of this purpose.
Blok arrived first at Manhattan, but his ship was accident- ally burned. He erected on the shore of the river a small vessel,* the first specimen of marine architecture, superior to a canoe, which had probably ever been constructed here, and the first ocular demonstration to the Indians of the pre-emi- nent intelligence and skill of the Europeans. In this vessel, he sailed from the Great River on a voyage of exploration and discovery. He proceeded to Cape Cod, where lie met Christiaanse's ship, in which he embarked, leaving his yacht to be used by a fishing party. They thien proceeded to exam- ine the coast and neighboring islands, discovered Naragan- set bay, and the Connecticut river, which was thoroughly explored. After completing their discoveries, and spending some time in fishing, and traffic with the natives, they returned to the Great River, to superintend the establishment of a fortified settlement.
SEc. VIII. In the fall of 1614, the first forti- fied settlement was established on Castle Island,
* Yacht, 44} feet long on deck, 11} wide.
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a short distance below Albany. In the following year, 1615, a similar establishment was effected at Manhattan, on an elevated spot near the southern extremity of the island .*
It has been affirmed, that, as early as 1613, an insignificant warehouse was erected on a small island just below Albany ; and that, in 1614, four houses were on the island of Man- hattan.
If such was the fact, they must have been temporary in design, and consequently frail in structure ; for it is hardly probable, that any fortified or permanent settlement could have been contemplated so long as the country was unappro- priated, and its trade participated by all adventurers.
SEC. IX. In 1617, the fort on Castle Island was abandoned in consequence of the high floods, and a new fortification erected a few miles south, on the shore of Nordtman's Kill. About the same time, a treaty with the Iroquois was here concluded in all the primitive solemnity which characterized the public transactions of the In- dians. This treaty was preserved in good faith, and was highly conducive to the prosperity of the Dutch, and the ascendency which the Iro- quois so long maintained over the other Indians of North America.t
These establishments must, at this period, be viewed as purely of a military and commercial character. Nothing fur- `ther was contemplated until 1620, when the Dutch conceived the project of forming a great national society, and, under its auspices, a permanent settlement on the Great River.
SEC. X. 1621. On the third of June, the grant was obtained from their High Mightinesses,
. On the site of the Macomb houses in Broadway, New York. .
៛ Moulton.
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the States General, for the establishment and organization of the Privileged West Indian Com- pany ... 1
The Amsterdam Licensed Trading Company, with all its rights to the trade and territory of the new world, became merged in this national soci- ety, which, being endowed with more ample pow- ers and greater resources, would be able to es- tablish fortifications and settlements on a strong- er and more enlarged basis.
SEC. XI. In 1623, the first ship of the West Indian Company arrived at the Great River .- The name of Belgium, or New Netherland, was bestowed upon the country.
This name was intended to comprehend the country discovered by Hudson; and though its boundaries became involved in doubt and con- troversy, yet it was apparently understood, at that time, by the Dutch, to extend from the Del- aware river to Cape Cod.
Two forts were, this year, (1623,) commenced-fort New Amsterdam, on a commanding elevation, south of the original redoubt on Manhattan, and fort Orange, on the west bank of the Hudson at Albany.
SEC. XII. In 1625, the West Indian Company freighted two ships, in one of which the first governor, or director, Peter Minuit, arrived in New Netherland.
The first emigrants under Minuit appear to have been from the river Waal, in Guelderland, and, under the name of Wauloons, founded the first permanent settlement beyond the immediate
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protection of the cannon of fort Amsterdam. They settled on Long Island, at the bend of the shore opposite Manhattan.
They were the first who professionally pursued agricul . ture. Temporary locations, for other purposes, had been made at other places. The limited extent of settlements, the single condition, and peculiar pursuits of those who had ar- rived previous to this period, may be inferred from the fact, that, in June of the present year, the first child of European ,`parentage was born in New Netherland .*
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SEC. XIII. For some years, the settlements progressed but slowly. In 1629, the company adopted a charter of " Liberties and exemptions for patroons, masters, and private individuals, who should plant colonies in New Netherland, or import thither any neat cattle."
The liberality of this charter towards patroons induced Goodyn, Bloemart, Van Renselaer, and others of the com- missioners of New Netherland, to send Wouter Van Twiller, as, agent, to inspect the condition of the country, and the pur- chase of lands from the natives, for the purpose of settlement. During this and the subsequent year, several purchases were made.
SEC. XIV. 1633. Minuit was recalled, and Wouter Van Twiller arrived at fort Amsterdam with sole power as governor of New Netherland.
Disturbances in the colony, which, by some, have been at- tributed to the influence of Van Twiller, during his first visit, occasioned the recall of Minuit. The arrival of Van Twiller as governor gave a fresh impulse to the settlements, and ag- ricultural pursuits, which, under Minuit, had been less flour- ishing than the commercial concerns of the colony. Under Minuit's administration, commerce had increased, the exports having nearly doubled, while the imports gradually diminished.
* Sarah Rapaelje, daughter of Jan Joris Rapaelje.
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In its course of nine years, the whole amount of exports was nearly 200,000 dollars in value; while the imports were a little more than 100,000 dollars. During Van Twiller's ad- ministration originated the controversy occasioned by the encroachments of the English, which afterwards proved the source of so much rancorous, but bloodless hostility.
SEC. XV. 1638. William Kieft succeeded Van Twiller as governor of New Netherland. Two years after the commencement of his ad- ministration, the English had overspread the eastern part of Long Island, and advanced to Oyster bay.
Kieft broke up their settlement in 1642, and fitted out two sloops to drive the English out of the Schuylkill, of which the Marylanders had lately possessed themselves.
The English from the eastward soon after sent deputies to New Amsterdam, for the accommodation of their disputes about limits. We do not learn, however, that any settlement resulted from their negotiations.
The English were continually becoming more powerful, and constantly extending their possessions. In 1643, the col- onies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven entered into a league, both against the Dutch and Indians, and are said to have met, shortly after, upon a design of extirpating the former.
In addition to the New England controversies, the Dutch appear to have suffered, about the close of Kieft's administra- tion, from the hostilities of the Indians. In 1646, a severe battle was fought on a part of Strickland's Plain, called Horse Neck. The battle was contested with mutual obstinacy and fury, and great numbers were killed on both sides. The Dutch ultimately kept the field.
SEC. XVI. 1647. Peter Stuyvesant arrived at fort Amsterdam as governor, and laid claim
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to all the lands, rivers and streams from Capo Henlopen to Cape Cod. Three years after, he went to Hartford, and demanded a surrender to the Dutch of all the lands on Connecticut river.
After a controversy of several days, the subject was left to the decision of arbitrators, who con- . cluded articles of adjustment with regard to boundaries and occupancy of lands already set- tled.
Long Island was divided ; the eastern part was to be held by the English, the western by the Dutch. On the main, the boundaries were amicably adjusted. The Dutch were to hold the lands on Connecticut river, of which they were then possessed ; the residue, on each side of the river, to belong to the English.
SEC. XVII. 1664. Charles the Second, king of England, fearful of the consequences of hav- · ing the Dutch settled in the midst of his colonies, determined to dispossess them, and, for this purpose, made a grant to his brother, the duke of York and Albany, of all the territory claimed by the Dutch, together with other parts of North America.
The patent included all the main land of New England, beginning at St. Croix, extending to the rivers Connecticut and Hudson, " together with the said river called Hudson's river, and all the lands from the west side of Connecticut river to the east side of Delaware bay." Col. Richard Nichols, with several others, was commissioned to take possession in the king's name, and to exercise jurisdiction.
SEC. XVIII. Nichols, with four frigates and 300 soldiers, appeared before Manhattan, and demanded the surrender of the fort. As the fort was in no condition for defence, Stuyvesant,
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after some negotiation, was compelled to surren- der on the 27th of August, 1664. The most liberal terms of capitulation were granted.
By the terms of surrender, the governor and inhabitants were to become British subjects, to possess their estates without molestation, and enjoy their modes of worship without hinderance. New Amsterdam was now called, in honor of the duke of York, New York; and fort Orange, which surrendered soon after, was called Albany.
The squadron then sailed for the Delaware, to reduce the Dutch and Swedes on that bay and river, who soon were compelled to surrender to the English.
Col. Nichols represented the town of New York as being, at this time, " composed of a few miserable houses, occupied by men extremely poor, and the whole in a mean condition." He, however, prognosticated its future greatness, if indulged with the immunities which he then recommended.
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