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"Comedian" Van Twiller
methods of government in the colony, and openly censured the director. Van Twiller refused payment of Van Dincklagen's salary, and wrathfully ordered him out of the coun- try. Returning to Holland, the schout ap- pealed for justice to the States General, and presented a review of Van Twiller's adminis- tration. His memorial was referred to the Amsterdam Chamber, but was there dealt with in so unsatisfactory a manner that Van Dincklagen prepared a second document, and again asked the interposition of the home government. Upon the arrival of De Vries his knowledge of affairs was also promulgated, and his opinions freely expressed, and the States General notified the West India Com- pany that they must refute the charges against Van Twiller or recall him.
The latter measure proved the easier, and in 1637 the Waverer was removed from office. He remained for a while in New Amsterdam
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occupying the Company's bouwerie, which he had fitted up to his own satisfaction, and for which he paid two hundred and fifty guilders a year, while finding profitable occu- pation in the care of his own estates in New Netherland. When the greater portion of these reverted to the Company, Van Twiller returned to Holland, where his death in 1657 is recorded.
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VI The Early Administration of William Kieft 1638-1641
P ROCLAMATIONS, protests and restrictions made eventful the first months of William Kieft's administration in New Nether- land. The third governor arrived in the spring of 1638, and immediately became engrossed in the reformation of colonial affairs; issuing regulations so rapidly, that Fiske comprehen- sively comments: "If proclamations could reform society, the waspish and wiry little governor would have had the millenium in full operation within a twelvemonth."
Director Kieft did not enter office with an unsullied reputation, for he had been a bank- rupt in business in the mother country; a misfortune that in Dutch estimation merited
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the ignominious publicity procured by the annexation of his portrait to the gallows of his native city. Subsequent to this humiliation he had been sent to Turkey to negotiate the freedom of Christian captives, but rumor maintained that some were left in bondage whose ransom-money had been intrusted to the unworthy deputy. Although he was not cordially received in New Amsterdam, the activity and energy evinced by the "fussy, fiery Kieft," soon shone in vivid contrast to Van Twiller's dilatory deeds, and few were found able to evade the arbitrary edicts of the new governor. His first measures were strongly suggestive of a determination to ren- der his individual authority the only law in the colony, for, having been granted the privilege of fixing the number of his council, he chose but one representative, the learned and law-loving, polished and prudent Jo- hannes La Montagne. To this distinguished
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councillor Kieft gave but one vote, however ; while, " to prevent all danger of a tie," two were retained for himself.
There was abundant scope for all the di- rector's efforts at reform. The fort, "open at every side, except the stone-point," presented a discouraging view of dismounted guns ; while windmills that would not work, farms without tenants, and vessels falling to pieces in the harbor, formed a trio of embarrass- ments fitted to challenge the courage of a less energetic man. The colonists found little re- ward for farming when they were denied a title to the land they cultivated, and smug- gling of both furs and tobacco was widely practised, while arms were sold to the Indians whenever such trade proved profitable.
Kieft posted his placards on barns and trees and fences; forbidding, on pain of death, the sale of guns or powder to the savages, and affixing heavy penalties to the illegal traffic
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Annals of Old Manhattan in furs. In order that his authority might more readily be enforced, restrictions were placed upon personal freedom; no one was permitted to leave the island without a pass- port; and sailors were forbidden to be absent from their ships after nightfall. The director was a strictly temperate man, and endeavored to prevent the occurrence of the "lively ca- rousals" which had been too obviously in accordance with Van Twiller's tastes to suffer restraint under his legislation. Kieft's law enacted that no liquor should be sold at retail except "wine in moderate quantities," and every evening at nine o'clock the town bell proclaimed the proper hour for retiring. Morning and evening the same messenger summoned and dismissed the laborers, and on Thursdays its tones were the signal for prison- ers to appear in court.
The complaints against Van Twiller having directed the attention of the States General
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of Holland to the complications in New Netherland affairs, their High Mightinesses considered it prudent to continue their inves- tigations, and at length informed the West India Company that measures must be taken "such as should be found advisable for the ser- vice of the state and the benefit of the Com- pany." Thereupon the Amsterdam Chamber proposed more liberal conditions for colonists. A farmer willing to emigrate was to be car- ried free of expense to New Netherland, where a farm as large as he could satisfactorily culti- vate would be provided, with house and barn, horses, cows, pigs, and needful implements of agriculture. For this equipment the farmer was to pay a quit-rent equivalent to two- hundred dollars per annum, for six years, and at the end of that period he might claim the land, with all that had been gained above the value of the stock originally furnished. Each colonist was required to sign a pledge to sub-
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mit to the authority of officers appointed by the West India Company, and that corpora- tion again agreed to keep in repair the fort and the public buildings, and to provide ministers, schoolmasters, and negro slaves. Somewhat later, a revised charter for the patroons modified the privileges of the aris- tocracy, and gave the colonists commercial and manufacturing rights.
Among the earliest settlers of New Neth- erland the thrifty and prosperous element of Holland's population was not widely repre- sented, but the later charter of privileges tempted members of good families to emi- grate, and the West India Company reaped the reward of their more liberal policy. In 1639, the number of bouweries on Manhat- tan Island had increased from seven to over thirty, and the tolerant temper shown by the Dutch toward persons of every religion brought, not long afterward, to New Nether-
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land many New Englanders, who had been exiled from their homes by the fanatical zeal of magistrates. Among these was Anne Hutchinson, that "masterpiece of wit and wisdom" whom Winthrop claimed to have entangled in twenty-nine errors, and the dissenting clergyman, Francis Doughty, who while preaching at Cohassett, had been dragged from his pulpit for saying that Abra- ham's children ought to have been baptized.' Many fugitive servants "carrying their pass- ports under the soles of their shoes" came also from New England and from Virginia, until the conduct of some immigrants having been reported to occasion " mischief and com- plaint," Kieft forbade the people of New Am- sterdam to harbor any stranger more than one night, or to provide for him more than one meal, without notification to the director, ac- companied by the name of the newcomer. I Fiske's Dutch and Quaker Colonies.
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Upon taking an oath of obedience to the States General, the aliens were received; equal rights and entire religious freedom were granted to all, and New Amsterdam entered upon its cosmopolitan career.
Trespassers upon territory on the South River soon called Kieft's attention from af- fairs at Fort Amsterdam. The ex-director, Peter Minuit, after returning to Holland, had offered his services to the government, then guided by the great Chancellor Oxen- stein, and his proposition to plant a Scandi- navian colony in America had been favorably received. With about fifty Swedes, includ- ing a Lutheran minister, Minuit arrived in Delaware Bay, and for "a kettle and other trinkets " purchased from the Indians a tract of land not far from Fort Nassau. Through the deed signed by the sachem, the Swedish claim included all the territory on the west bank of the Delaware River from Cape Hen-
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lopen to Trenton Falls, and extending inland indefinitely. A fort was built and named for the young queen, Christiana, and as Minuit had brought material for the Indian trade, he was soon able to send to Europe a cargo of furs.
Angry messages of remonstrance against these encroachments upon the rights of the Dutch were issued from Fort Amsterdam, and a Swedish sloop challenged from Fort Nassau was warned to depart from the waters of the South River, but Minuit ignored these protests, and, as it was not the policy of Hol- land to offend Sweden, the little colony re- mained for several years unmolested. Minuit on a voyage to Sweden perished in a hurri- cane, and under the next governor, John Printz, the settlement of New Sweden was rapidly strengthened, and the West India Company's trade with the Indians of that region was for a time practically closed.
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After the English settlements in the neigh- borhood of Long Island Sound had united their strength in the federal colonies of New Haven and Connecticut, the Dutch boundary line on the Fresh River was again narrowed by the advance of settlers. Declaring that it was "a sin to leave unused ground that could produce such excellent corn," the English began to cultivate the land in the immediate vicinity of Fort Good Hope, where Gysbert Op Dyck was established with a garrison of fourteen or fifteen men. " They gave out," said De Vries, "that they were Israelites and that the Dutch were Egyptians." The situa- tion elicited several new proclamations from Kieft which failed to tranquilize affairs, how- ever, and finally Op Dyck relinquished a position which brought only annoyance with- out honor.
In 1641, Kieft ordered a force of fifty men to protect the thirty acres which alone re-
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mained to the Dutch, but just at that time hostile demonstrations from the Indians com- pelled him to detain the troops at Fort Am- sterdam, and Winthrop joyfully wrote, “ It pleased the Lord to disappoint this purpose."
De Vries, finding Staten Island an unsatis- factory estate, pursued his habit of leisurely travel, and left for the perusal of future gen- erations an entertaining account of intelligent journeyings at a time when the Falls of Cahooes appeared " as high as a church." He explored the shores of the Mauritius as far as Fort Orange, and although his proph- ecies concerning settlements upon the river's bank were not optimistic, he purchased a few miles north of New Amsterdam a tract of land to which he gave the name of Vriesen- dale.
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1º
A. The Fort. B. The Church. C. The Windmill. D. Flag which is hoisted when Vessels arrive in Port. E. The Prison. F. The General's House. G. The Place of Execution. H. The Pillory. I. The Company's Warehouse. K. The Town Tavern.
VII A Chapter of Disgraceful Deeds. 1640-1643
I IN 1634 that " weak brother, Van Twiller," had compassed a deed of great importance to the colony at Fort Amsterdam, by conclud- ing an advantageous peace with the Raritan Indians. The friendly relations then estab- lished were maintained for several years, but when the colonists began to employ Indians as household servants, the temptations pre- sented were too strong for savage nature to resist; and, after possessing themselves of prop- erty belonging to their employers, the ser- vants often departed suddenly to use their knowledge of the settlers' habits to the latter's disadvantage. The savages had learned to be shrewd in trade and exacting in their bargains, " requiring a cod if they gave a herring,"
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and when it was no longer found profitable to indulge them, they were treated with con- tempt.
Other irritating conditions were fostered when the Dutch, in their eagerness for trade, neglected the care of their bouweries, and their straying cattle, intruding upon the un- fenced cornfields of the Indians, were killed or captured. The edict against the sale of fire- arms to the Indians had been often evaded, and they, who at first looked upon a gun as " the devil," and refused to touch one, became so debased by familiarity with that implement of destruction that in their eagerness to pos- sess a musket they would offer twenty beaver skins in exchange. Tempted by such extra- ordinary profits many colonists traded, until they were devoid of all means of defence in time of danger, and the savages were equipped for the war soon to be precipitated by the rash and reckless director.
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Disgraceful Deeds
Upon the pretext that the savages were re- sponsible for the necessity of maintaining the forts and their garrisons, and on the plea of express orders from Holland, Kieft levied a tax of "maize, furs, or sewant," upon the In- dians. Naturally the tribute was refused by the warriors, on the ground that the troops and the fort furnished them no protection; and, declaring that the Dutch were still under ob- ligations for food provided them during the early years of the settlement, the Indians con- cluded by announcing, " If we have ceded to you the land you occupy, we will yet remain masters of what we have retained."I
By this injudicious attempt at taxation, the River Indians were totally estranged, and as there were rumors of a projected attack upon Fort Amsterdam, Kieft ordered all inhabit- ants of Manhattan to provide themselves with firearms. But the burning brand was cast by I Brodhead, vol. I, 311.
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the governor's own hand. Some petty thefts committed on Staten Island were charged up- on Raritan Indians, and although there was no proof that the criminals belonged to that tribe, soldiers were sent to demand from them restitution. In the conflict that ensued, al- though Van Tienhoven, the leader of the troops, made an effort to restrain his men, sev- eral Indians were killed, and the crops in the Raritan settlement were destroyed. This epi- sode occurred in 1640, and revenge was not long delayed. In 1641 the unprotected plan- tation of De Vries, on Staten Island, was at- tacked by the Raritans, the buildings burned, and four planters killed. Kieft, more savage than the savages, more revengeful than the wronged De Vries, proclaimed a bounty of ten fathoms of wampum for the head of any Raritan ; thus inciting against them the In- dians of other tribes, and before long one of the River savages brought to the fort a hand
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which he declared to have belonged to the chief who had murdered the Dutchmen on De Vries' estate.
Meanwhile, in accordance with Indian cus- tom, a vow of vengeance religiously cherished for long years was executed, and retribution followed an evil deed done in the days of Minuit's rule. A Weequaesgeek Indian, on his way to Fort Amsterdam to dispose of beaver skins, had been attacked by three of Minuit's servants, robbed and murdered; but his nephew who accompanied him, a young lad and swift of foot, escaped to plan methods of revenge. Grown to manhood, he went to the house of a harmless old man named Claes Smits, upon pretence of bartering beaver- skins for cloth, and while, unsuspicious of evil, the victim stooped over his chest to find the articles desired, he was killed by a blow from the Indian's axe.
Kieft demanded that the murderer should
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be surrendered for punishment, but the chief of the Weequaesgeeks refused, on the ground that he had but avenged the death of his uncle, and the wrathful governor was only restrained from immediate declaration of war by the popular opposition to that course. In the serious exigencies of the situation, Kieft was induced temporarily to relinquish his au- tocratic method of procedure, and represen- tatives of the families of New Amsterdam were summoned to meet in council.
On August 28, 1641, this first popular as- sembly of New Netherland was convoked, and by its vote twelve men were appointed to co-operate with the governor, in measures for securing the welfare of the colony. This committee agreed that the murder of Claes Smits must be avenged, but "God and the opportunity " must first be considered. They advised a continuance of trade with the In- dians until the hunting season should arrive,
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when the scattered foe might be more easily overcome; and when the proper time for an attack should be at hand, they agreed that the governor "ought to lead the van." But the pacific policy of De Vries exerted its influ- ence upon all the meetings of the council, and when the hunting season came, and the savages were still on their guard, the choleric Kieft was forced again to delay his antici- pated vengeance, though to possess his soul in patience was quite beyond his power.
The Twelve Men once more convened, availed themselves of the opportunity for se- curing some popular rights long desired by the democratic Dutchmen, and although the director angrily dissolved the meeting, he found, like the second Stuart sovereign of England, that his prerogatives rested upon the will of the people. The Twelve Men demanded that thenceforth the governor's council should consist of at least five mem-
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bers, of whom four should be chosen by popular vote, "to save the land from oppres- sion"; and for all colonists they claimed the right to trade with neighboring people, and the privilege of visiting vessels arrived from abroad.
Hitherto Kieft had exercised the right to impose taxes and fines, and to change the value of wampum as he chose, thus affecting all property values. His had been the sole voice of authority in the settlement of all criminal questions, as well as civil contro- versies, and in autocratic complacency he had regarded his position as supreme and invul- nerable. But now he realized the imprudence of refusing concessions to the Twelve Men, and feigning to yield to their wishes in many points, he replied to the demand for a per- manently enlarged council by announcing that "some persons of quality," appointed in Holland, were expected soon to arrive.
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Promptly following this news appeared a proclamation forbidding any meeting for the discussion of public affairs, unless by the di- rect summons of the governor.
The Twelve Men continued to refuse their sanction to active operations against the In- dians, and at length Kieft, assuming personal responsibility for the act, sent Ensign Van Dyck with eighty men against the Wee- quaesgeeks. "But," says the chronicle, "the guide lost his way and the commander his temper," and the party returned ingloriously to Fort Amsterdam. The Indians were, how- ever, alarmed by the demonstration, and sent to the fort to sue for peace. With the stipu- lation that the murderer of Claes Smits should be surrendered, a treaty was concluded, but the promise given was never fulfilled, and the peace was soon violated.
Near Hackensack, one evening in 1643, De Vries encountered a drunken Indian, who
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vehemently asserted a purpose to seek revenge for the theft of his beaver-skin coat. If ven- geance could be executed, the individual upon whom it was visited was of little ac- count, and the following day a settler, quietly engaged in the work of thatching his house, was shot by the savage.
The chiefs of the tribe, anticipating retal- iation, sought advice from the trusted De Vries, and offered to give the widow of the murdered man twenty fathoms of wampum. De Vries persuaded them to go with him to Fort Amsterdam, but Kieft refused to agree to any terms of peace in which the surrender of the murderer was not included. The chiefs declared that he had fled "two days' journey away," and, asserting that strong drink had caused the crime, they again offered atone- ment in money. Before negotiations had been concluded, however, the River Indians were attacked by the Mohawks, those "kings of
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the forest," whom all feared, and flocking to the Dutch for protection, several hundred savages encamped at Pavonia and on Man- hattan Island. The time seemed at hand for securing their permanent friendship, but Kieft viewed the conditions in a different light, and, supported by some members of the council, rejoiced in the opportunity afforded for striking the long delayed blow. Dominie Bogardus, La Montagne, and De Vries argued in vain. At midnight of February 25, 1643, detachments of soldiers were sent from Fort Amsterdam, and eighty Indians, men, women, and children were massacred at Pavonia; while at Corlear's Hook, forty more were murdered in their sleep. Dutch annals were dyed deep in wickedness that night. The next morning Kieft welcomed home his brutal bands, who came bringing the heads of vic- tims, while many inhabitants of New Am- sterdam, with evil passions inflamed by the
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bloody sight, extolled the most disgraceful deed in all their history.
Intelligence of the massacre incited the colonists on Long Island to seek occasion for attacking the Indians in their neighborhood, and although Kieft directed them to continue at peace unless signs of hostility were shown, movements innocent of evil design were often construed into hostile indications by those who coveted neighboring cornfields ; and in return for the loss of grain there were deadly deeds of Indian vengeance.
Retaliation for the massacre at Pavonia was not delayed. Eleven Algonquin tribes made common cause against the Dutch, and began those stealthy tactics to oppose which the civilized soldier possessed no weapons. Farmers were shot down on their bouweries, their families carried into captivity, and their homes destroyed by an enemy, who myste- riously appeared, and as suddenly vanished
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when his work was done. Only those within the protecting walls of the fort were secure of life, and to prevent the colonists from re- turning to Holland, Kieft was compelled to receive many into the Company's service as soldiers. Even Vriesendale was attacked, though saved by the intervention of an In- dian, whose life the patroon had protected on the night of the Pavonia massacre.
Realizing too late his error, Kieft again sum- moned a popular assembly, who chose eight men as councillors. Five of these were Dutch; two English ; and one, named Kuyter, a Ger- man." By their advice, efforts were made to pacify the savages on Long Island, but, characterizing the governor's messengers as " corn thieves," those Indians scornfully de- clined to consider any proposition for peace.
I The Eight Men were Jochem Petersen Kuyter, Cornelis Melny, Jan Jansen Dam, or Damen, Barent Diercksen, Abram Pietersen, Gerrit Wolfertsen, Isaac Allerton, and Thomas Hall ; but when the other men declined to act with Damen, Jan Evertsen Bout was chosen to take his place.
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The destitute and wrathful farmers charged the director with responsibility for all that had befallen them, and the project of send- ing him back to Holland was openly dis- cussed. Kieft endeavored to throw the blame upon others, until he roused the people to such frenzy that some officials on whom he had cast discredit made efforts to assassinate him. Their agent was shot down and his head set upon the gallows, but the policy of the governor was not vindicated.
One morning in the spring of 1643, three delegates from the Indians on Long Island approached Fort Amsterdam bearing a white flag. The director dared not go forth to meet them, but sent De Vries and Jacob Olfertsen, to whom the messengers communicated the desire of their chief that the Dutch would " go to speak with him at the sea coast." The dauntless patroon and his companion thereupon accompanied the savages to a
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point near Rockaway, Long Island, where three hundred of the tribe were assembled. The visitors were offered refreshments, and at daybreak were led into the woods, where were gathered the sixteen chiefs of Long Island. Seating themselves in a circle, the sachems placed the two white men in the cen- tre, and then one chief arose, who carried in his hand a bundle of small sticks. This chosen orator then began a long harangue, enumer- ating the wrongs which the Indians had en- dured, and laying down his twigs one by one as he recounted his grievances. He was at length interrupted by De Vries, who asked the Indians to return with him to Fort Am- sterdam, promising them an atonement for their injuries, in gifts from the director. To this proposition the sachems consented, for though warned by some of their number against putting themselves in the power of the man who had slain so many of their race,
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