USA > New York > Suffolk County > Easthampton > A history of the town of East-Hampton, N.Y. > Part 12
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Dongan's Patent called for payment of Quit Rent to the
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King yearly, of "the sum of one lamb, or the value thereof," &c. The state of New-York achieving independence of the Royal authority, succeeded to the sovereignty of the Crown and claimed all quit rents formerly payable to the King. In the deep distress following the Revolutionary war the Legislature of the State absolved all tenants from payment of those rents accruing "between the 29th day of Septem- ber, 1775, and the 29th day of September, 1783." By the same Act, passed April 1st, 1786, all quit rents could be commuted by paying fourteen shillings for every shilling of such annual quit rent at any time on or before the first day of May, 1787." Other Acts further extended the time of payment, showing the humanity of the Legislature "of the people for the people." It is presumed the town commut- ed this quit rent by payment at an early day.
A history of the vessels wrecked and lives lost on the shores of East-Hampton would be intensely interesting and tragic. The first wreck I remember was that of the brig Mars, ashore just west of Lily Pond Lane, near Appa- quogue, about 1828. She was a large, staunch, almost newly built vessel, so far up on the beach that with little difficulty the crew attained the land and no life was lost. The brig came ashore in fair weather, and not driven there- on by a storm. As I remember, the Captain's name was Ring. Coming ashore in the night, crowds on the follow- ing morning went to view the wreck, and among others Capt. Jonathan Osborn, of Wainscott, who closely ques- tioned Capt. Ring as to the wind and weather, and whether he sounded and how often. Evidently Ring was uncom- fortable under the examination and roughly replied to Capt. Osborn, "Old fellow, what do you know about a ship ? If I should tell you, do you think you would know any more than you do now?" Capt. Osborn replied, "I have com-
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manded a ship, larger than your brig, and never ran her ashore, either."
The next vessel I remember wrecked was the barqueship "Edward Quesnel," which had been engaged in the sperm whale fishery from some eastern seaport, and having a car- go of over a thousand barrels of sperm oil, came on shore at Napeague beach, about the year 1838, in a north-east storm. The ship was a total loss. A part of the cargo was saved. Some ten or twelve of the crew were drowned. The bodies were drawn up on the beach near the banks. A ghastly array of corpses, pitiful to behold. The mortal blow leaves on the lifeless body that mark which appalls the onlooker even in the home where it fell. On the wild ocean, or its wild shore, the surging billows, the grinding and groaning wreck, the crash of breaking cargo, the deso- lation of the scene adds four-fold to the desolating horror of death. That vision of lifeless bodies lying in a row on Napeague beach, pale, motionless, ghastly, has followed and haunted me in the darkness of night from that day to this.
"By stranger hands their dying eyes were closed ; By stranger hands their decent limbs composed : By stranger hands their funeral knel was rung ; By stranger lips their funeral dirge v as sung,"
The territory of Long Island has been exempted from earthquakes, blizzards, whirlwinds, waterspouts and stones to such a degree that little note of them is made. No in- stance of damage by earthquake, whirlwind or waterspout is known. One great exceptional storm spread wide dis- aster over the Island, and its saddened memories have sur- vived to this day. The evening of December 23d, 1811, was wild, hazy, and with some fog. The writer was in- formed that it was so warm that a teamster at the Water- mill, from East-Hampton, having procured a wagon load of
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oysters, at 9 o'clock P. M., thought there was no danger of freezing, and decided not to run them in the barn. Some- where about one or two o'clock that night commenced a sudden, terrific north east snow storm. In Thomson's History of Long Island, Vol. I, p. 276, it is stated : "An im- mense amount of property was destroyed and many lives lost. It is supposed that more than sixty vessels were cast ashore upon the north side of Long Island; most of which were destroyed cr so greatly injured as to be of lit- tle value. Whole crews were lost ; the mercury fell to eight degrees before the storm abated. The snow contin- ued to fall, the wind increased almost to a tornado and swept over the plains with desperate intensity. It raged for twenty-four hours. The snow was so drifted that no mail could pass and all travelling was effectually impeded. Many vessels were driven upon Lloyd's Neck, Eaton's Neck and Gardiner's Island. Thirty-six bilged and stranded vessels were counted in one day. The day previous had been remarkably pleasant, and the transition from warm to cold was so great that in many instances human beings perished, on land as well as on water. Sheep expired in great numbers, domestic fowl were frozen to death and neat cattle were overcome by the severity of the cold. Almost every vessel from Hurlgate to Montauk was driven on the shore."
Capt. Conkling and his vessel and crew were lost in Long Island Sound at this time. He was a resident of Amagansett. Hence old people called this the "Conkling Storm," and sometimes the "Christmas Storm." Probably the change from temperate to extreme cold weather was more sudden and disastrous than any of which we have record. My mother told me it was so mild that the horses were left in the pasture all night. In the morning my
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father and his hired man went out, and the first time failed to find them in the fierce blinding storm. Exhausted, and returning and resting, they again started, and could not see them, but by running against them found and took them home.
THE AMISTAD CASE.
In August, 1839, "a long, low, black schooner" was re- ported off Long Island, and about the 26th of that month anchored in Fort Pond Bay, at Montauk. A boat put ashore on North Neck, manned by blacks, solely, who there found Peletiah Fordham and Capt. Harry Green, both of Sag-Harbor, gunning, and conferred with them through Cinquez, their chief, who, as claimed by Green, contracted with him to take charge of the vessel and pilot her into Sierra Leone, Africa.
During the negotiation and conference, Green discovered a United States brig from New London, Ct., bearing down on this schooner, and suspecting something wrong about her, purposely and skilfully, with some peril to himself and Fordham, delayed the Africans on shore, who were uncon- scious of danger, until when seen by Cinquez, the chief, escape was impossible. The chief embarked too late to defend his vessel. He jumped overboard, loosing a belt containing some 600 doubloons, which sank to the bottom. The schooner and all on board were captured and carried into New London.
The later discovered history showed that these Africans were slaves, recently imported from Africa, who in trans- portation from Havana to an adjacent island, rose on the captain and crew, slaying all the whites on board except Pedro Montez, a passenger, and Jose Ruize, their slave- master, who were saved to navigate the vessel to Sierra Leone. During the day the vessel was steered by the
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slaves, by the sun, and during the night at the peril of their lives in a northerly course, by the whites.
In the judicial proceedings at Hartford, the Africans, something over thirty in number, were taken there. Up to that time they had not spoken, and it was thought they were unable to speak a word of English. So thought the court, the lawyers, the officials, the spectators, the Aboli . tionists who championed their cause, the interested thous- and who were reading and hearing reports of them. When Capt. Green testified that he conversed with Cinquez, the chief, in English, made a contract with him to take the schooner to Sierra Leone for a consideration, detailed other conversation with him, the astounding statement was deemed a baseless fabrication and he was stamped by all onlookers as a perjured witness. Stung with this impeach- ment of his veracity and honor, he appealed to the Court for permission to talk with Cinquez-declared that he had conversed with him in English and had made him talk and could do it again. ,He finally obtained the promise of the desired interview at the opening of the court the following morning. His counsel, Gov. Ellsworth, advised him to withdraw from the attempt, assigning as reasons his right to decline, the probable disinclination of Cinquez to speak English, the strong nerve force required of a speaker to face thousands, the probability of failure and its disastrous results, which counsel was received by Green with the re- spect due to his distinguished legal adviser, but in no wise changed his resolution.
Capt. Green told me when he entered the court room the next morning it was packed to its utmost capacity. All eyes were on him. Cinquez was there. He went up to him, took his hand, looked him in the eye and said : "Cin- quez, how you do ?" but received no response.
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Let me here state that Capt. Green's black penetrating eyes were keen beyond expression, as if looking into the secret soul ; the grip of his hand like the grip of fate. Again, and looking sharper, gripping his hand, he asked the same question, and again no reply. With sterner look, and mightier grip, he asked the third time, and Cinquez, overpowered by a spirit mightier than his own, said, "Me pretty well ; how Capt. Green do ?"
Then the charge of perjury laid to his door was demon- strated to be baseless, and by the event his reputation was redeemed from the dishonor universally attributed to him. Then it appeared that these Africans, under the word from their chief, had delude 1 and deceived the court, judge, law- yers. officers, witnesses, spectators, Abolitionists, and all. In the arts of diplomatic deception the barbarian was in no respect inferior. The word once spoken, Green continued drawing by degrees and in pigeon English a confirmation of his statement of an agreement made with him to pilot 'the schooner to Sierra Leone. The veteran commander of a ship visiting all coasts and all tribes and languages, has resources of communication with them incredible to the inexperienced.
The public prints of New London had circulated un- founded reports of gold left with residents of Long Island, through traffic with the Africans, in large sums, and the box of doubloons on the schooner was yet unaccounted for and unreported. Green asked Cinquez about this box and obtained answers as to its length, width, depth, and was asking him how full it was, and the answer that it was half full was being given, when of a sudden the conference was growing too dangerous for some present, and further de- velopments were stopped by the objections of lawyers to the continuance of the interview as irrelevant, which the
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court sustained, and the door Green had just begun to open was apparently to the comfort of the objectors, closed. His story of the bargain made with the chief, of the box of doubloons unreported, was confirmed. He was transformed from the obscure, discredited, dishonored witness, to be in the estimation of all observers a man of unflinching veraci- ty, of undaunted courage, of unquailing nerve, of overcom- ing power, a born leader and the hero of the hour.
On a cold January morning in 1840, on the steps of the Tontine Hotel, in New Haven, on my way to the law school where I was a student, I saw Capt. Henry Green and Pela- tiah Fordham. They had a case to be heard in the United States Court, to be there holden on the ensuing Monday. As nearly as I remember the steamer Lexington had just been burned on Long Island Sound, with all on board lost save four persons, and this sad story was the talk of the day. Without reports of the Amistad case I must write from unaided memory of events transpiring more than half a century by gone, and while sure of the main facts, may err in minor details. Permission was given for law stu- dents to attend the trial. The court sat in the old State House, on the green. Judge Judson presided, and a jury was impanelled. The court room was packed, and interest high wrought and unflagging, animated the audience. The questions before the court were of grave magnitude. The array of counsel was large, eminent, imposing. Were Green and Fordham, as contributors in aiding the capture of this schooner by the United States brig Washington, en- titled to salvage ? Were the officers and crew of the brig. so entitled ? If salvage was recoverable should the schoon- er pay ? the freight on board pay ? the slaves pay ? or all pay? Were the enslaved Africans, fighting their way to liberty on the high seas, to be re-enslaved and delivered to
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their masters, or to the Spanish government, or to be set free ? Brainard and Gen. Isham, of New London, grand- father of the present Rufus Rose, Hungerford and Gov. Ellsworth, of Hartford, Baldwin, of New Haven, afterward Governor, Seth P. Staples and Theodore Sedgwick, of New- York, were some of the lawyers engaged in the case. The Africans, on pleasant days, had been taken from the jail and permitted to walk out on the green in charge of officers, and there solicit alms, and sometimes performed somersetts, walked on their hands. &c., as an inducement to procure more pennies when they passed the hat. Cinquez was an athlete surpassing all others in these gymnastics. All this inflamed curiosity to see them and hear their testimony, it being rumored that they would be witnesses in their own behalf on this trial. National influences and National pol- icy, slavery and freedom, humanity and cruelty, North and South, right and wrong, were wrestling for the mastery in this as a test case. The sallies of wit, the heights of logic, the surprise of retort, the crushing of sarcasm, the extent of research evoked in this trial, would require a report vo- luminous, but fairly made would be brilliar t, instructive, and of intense interest. Often some question of tides, of distances would arise and the lawyers and court would say, "Capt. Green, how far is it from Fort Pond Bay to New London ?" or "how far to New-York ?" and his answer was admitted as final by all concerned. The deference and re- spect shown Capt. Green was & marked feature of this trial. His commar ding presence lost nothing in the grand array of eminent men there gathered. If this were the appropri- ate place, mas er mariners from Sag-Harbor could be named whose enterprise and genius would have shone conspicuous as navigators in any land and under any flag.
That Cinquez, the barbarian chief. unread, unlearned, un-
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taught, was born to command, this trial proved. As a wit- ness he was cross-examined concerning the murder of the master and crew of the schooner, when at their head he led the Africans to fight and take the schooner. "Who slew the captain ?" "Who the crow ?" "What part did such an one take ?" "What part did he take ?" £ He had been squatted on his marrow bones on the floor, apparently a dull, ignorant heatnen. As question after question poured in upon him, closer and hotter, he gradually rose. The sense of injustice, of wrong, wreaked upon l:im and his people ; of his absolute right to break all bonds and battle for freedom, overpowered him. I see him now, hesitation overcome by the storm of feeling; indignation animating every feature ; the loftiest scorn beaming from his massive brow ; the most expressive gestures waved from his manly arm ; the most overpowering eloquence flowing from his lips ; the commanding air and attitude, all told that this man knew that he had come to and must meet the crisis of his life. I have heard orations and eloquence expressed in words I understood. I never heard his eloquence sur- passed although uttered in words not understood. All knew he was justifying his course in fighting for liberty. All were overpowered by his outburst as if it were the ir- resistible lightning from heaven. All, court, lawyers, spec- tators, were unconscious of the impropriety of this exhi- bition in a court of justice, until after what seemed some fifteen minutes, a lawyer mentioned to the court the fact and was sustained. Thus long, amazement at the unex- pected display of human genius held judgment in abeyance. The trial occupied the entire week, from Monday morning until Saturday afternoon. Sometime during Friday it was discovered that the testimony of the African witnesses, given through an interpreter, was controlled by Cinquez.
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In all the trial thus far the answers were directed by him His signs and signals, unobserved by the spectators, the court and keenest lawyers on the continent, had dictated and governed the testimony and were unhesitatingly obeyed. This remarkable man, gifted with natural endowments that gave him ascendency over his race and tribe, was in the whole field of artifice and stratagem superior to his com- peers of almost any race or nation. The decision of the court denied salvage to all claimants, directed the delivery of the Africans to the President of the United States. On appeal from this decision of Judge Judson, John Quincy Adams argued for the Africans, before the Supreme Court of the United States, that they, on the high seas, uncon- trolled by any law but that of Nature and of Nations, had a right to fight their way to liberty, and that even the President had no right to control them ; that they must be set at liberty. And the decision of our highest tribunal was in accordance with his argument.
That a United States war vessel was off the harbor of New Haven at the time of the decision, and apparently ready to execute it, I know. It was said the Abolitionists. anticipating a decision of the court subservient to the then domination of the slave power, had papers prepared for an appeal, and thwarted the scheme of the Administration to control the Africans and deliver them possibly to the mas- ter, or government of Spain. They were, chiefly through the efforts of the Abolitionists, returned to Africa, where, according to later reports, they were not improved by their experience in so called Christian lands. It was said Cin- quez became re-instated as chief, and was an ally of the slave traders.
CHAPTER XI.
Three Beechers in one day, p. 162. John Howard Payne, p.
167. Miss Cornelia Huntington, p, 170. General Train- ing, p. 172. The Whale Chase, p. 174.
THREE BEECHERS IN ONE DAY.
In August, 1843, Lyman Beecher, D. D., formerly minis- ter in East-Hampton from 1798 to 1811, visited there with his sons Edward and William, who were born there, as was Catherine E., his daughter.
On the Sabbath of August 27th the three preached in the old historic church built in East-Hampton in 1717. Edward preached in the morning, his father in the after- noon and William in the evening. Forty-five years had gone by since the father first came to minister there, and a generation had passed since he had removed.
Tradition and story had treasured and reiterated events that occurred, sayings he had uttered, traits of character he exhibited, gifts that he possessed, during his early career. It was said he was so small an infant that he was put in a silver tankard, and the top shut down over his head. That he was an enthusiastic lover of fishing, which was confirmed by his fishing then at Alewive Brook for perch, and giving especial care and watchtul attention to cooking the catch. It was said he was fond of hunting, and an ardent pursuer of game. Stories were told of his fishing and hunting with a company, who secured, as a guide, an Indian expert in the then great wilderness of the west, who at first doubted his ability to undergo the toil and hardship of the expedition, but as day after day he exhibited increasing elasticity and
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power of endurance, extorted from the guide the admiring exclamation, "This little old man all Indian."
John Edwards told me that when a boy he caught a lot of perch in Wainscott pond, stringing them the largest first on a forked stick. Beecher and Dr. Abel Huntington had
been unsuccessful, getting nothing there. Beecher said to John : "Boy, how do you sell your fish ?" Ans. : "A shil- ling a dozen if you pick them, and sixpence if you take them as they come." Beecher deliberately took the stick, counted twelve of the largest, beginning at the bottom, cut them off and handed the remainder to John, with a six pence, saying, "Boy, I'll take a dozen as they come." The narrator said, "Huntington looking on with astonishment, exclaimed, 'Lyman, that's a Yankee trick.'" All knew, not the saving of money, but the triumph in wit, was the mark aimed at by Beecher. How he caught sharks in the ocean ; how on a time he tied the line to his body and a large shark took him down in the water so that the fishermen rescued him from drowning; how after that he tied the line to the whiffletree, and when he had a shark bite, made his horse haul the shark on the shore ; how Beecher could sing with sweet and charming voice ; how he could beat all other experts on the violin ; how nimble and agile he was and could outrun the boys ; how fertile in resource, how keen in perception, how overcoming in argument, how elo- quent in discourse ; how sympathetic in heart, how simple in manners, how regardless of ceremony. All this from the lips of age to the ears of youth, made this visit the talk and the thought of the town.
When that clear Sabbath afternoon came the old church was packed to the utmost endurable pressure. The Rev. Samuel R. Ely, then minister of the church, and Dr. Beecher with his two sons, occupied the high pulpit. The
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introductory services, invocation, reading and singing of hymns, the prayer before the sermon, (not long) were un- marked by any noticeable impressiveness. The afternoon sun shone on the marked features of the speaker when he rose to address the people. The full, expressive blue eye, the perpendicular forehead, steep as the palisades, the con- vex nose, the firm under jaw, the projecting under lip, all revealed a man who would maintain to the death "the faith once delivered to the saints." Without preamble he announced as his text Romans 5th chap., 1st verse : "There- fore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." In the course of his ser- mon he referred to his trial on the charge of heresy ; he stated that he had never preached any other doctrine of justification than that by faith through Jesus Christ ; he appealed to the older people who sat under his preaching during his ministry there, to bear testimony to the truth of his statement, that his doctrine then and his doctrine now were one and the same. That he would live and die in this faith. He spoke of an infidel club existing in East- Hampton in his early ministry, and in view of this doctrine of justification by faith then preached, one of the club sent him word he believed he had as good prospect of getting to heaven as any of his church; for when he sold w heat, every time he struck the half-bushel he put a handful back on the measure. Rising to his utmost height he said, "I sent him back word if he ever expected to get to heaven that way he had better save his wheat."
The sermon was written. The preacher read from man- uscript until it seemed some burning thought demanded immediate extemporaneous delivery, when, pushing his spec- tacles over his forehead, with a rare spontaneous eloquence he expressed and illustrated the thought, again reading and
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then unexpectedly surprising and electrifying his audience by extemporaneous speaking. It was an occasion and a sermon never to be forgotten.
At the close of this magnif- icent effort-magnificent in directness, in eloquence, in sub- lime sincerity-exhausted and sitting down, his two sons took him under each arm and gently eased him to the seat. Sweetly, tenderly, they broke the suddenness of the fall, exhibiting their affection, their sympathy, their intelligence and their experience. If listening to the old man eloquent his hearers felt indignation towards his accusers, who could say it was unwarranted ? The impression of that sermon was deep and abiding. The electric power of the sermon- izer attracted the attention, enlisted the approval, convinced the reason, gained the judgment and won the affection of the audience.
In the morning of this memorable day Edward Beecher preached from Deuteronomy 8th chapter, 2d verse : "And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness to humble thee and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, wheth- er thou wouldst keep his commandments or no." The scholarly air, the pale expanded forehead, the wealth of expression, the abounding flash of illustration marked him as the student of the family. He looked as if he could study all day and wake up at midnight to commence again. The intellectual temperament so predominated that it seemed as if to wrestle with the deepest problems of our faith and being was play for him. If man could sound the deeps of Theology, could read the mind of God and speak God's thoughts and word and will to his fellowman, that high prerogative if in the range of human learning or hu- man thought must be the mission of Edward Beecher. The exposition of the training of a human mind, of the
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