USA > New York > New York City > Dutch New York (early history of the Dutch in New York) > Part 22
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It seems that while the masters were being enter- tained to a drink of beer by Mr. Braeck, their servants were taking advantage of their absence to enjoy them- selves also. De Silla sues Cornelis Aersen and Ide van Vorst " For that their servantmen raced on last Sunday evening after the Sermon, within the City with horses and wagons and much noise and singing, from which great damage and disaster might have arisen. Con- cludes, therefore, that defendants, or their servants be condemned each in the fine of £4 Flemish." The defendants acknowledged that their servants did race on the previous Sunday within the city, but contended that they had no knowledge that any damage was
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caused thereby, or that the same was forbidden by ordinance. The court, considering the accidents that might have occurred, and the serious consequences of the same unless provision be made against it, fined the defendants, Cornelis Aersen and Ide van Vorst, for the fault committed by their servants, three guilders each ; and ordered, further, " that they shall hereafter watch themselves and their people, so that all dangers and irregularities be prevented; else other disposition shall be made therein."
Andrees Rees's wife was accused of having ninepins at her house on Sunday during preaching, and the can and the glass stood on the table. Andrees says he was not at home, but on the watch, and that there were no ninepins at his house, nor can the plaintiff say that he saw drinking at his house during the preaching. Mrs. Rees " denies that there was any nine pins or drinking at her house, saying that some came to her house, who said that Church was out, and that one had a pin and the other a bowl in the hand, but they did not play. The Schout states that defendant's wife said she did not know but Church was out, and offered to compound with the Schout." Perhaps the good-wife did not offer the officer enough. Be that as it may, she was fined six guilders.
Jan Schryver was accused of having tapped half an hour after evening bell ring; he pleaded that it was impossible to drive the people out of the house so pre- cisely, and half an hour passed easily by, before each one had paid his money. Nevertheless, he was fined twelve guilders. When Maria Peck was summoned for having tapped after nine o'clock, she denied it, saying that two sat in her house, who counted their money which she owed them, and she did not tap a drop. Peter Pia was accused of tapping on Sunday
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after the watch was set and six persons were at his house; the Schout demanded twenty-five florins' fine and six guilders for each person. Peter explained that there were three at his house who were standing up to leave. He was let off.
On June 27, 1661, Hendrik Assueros was fined for selling liquor and permitting ninepins playing during divine service. In 1662, “ Andries Joghimsen denies having tapped on Sunday during preaching to negroes ; and swears that he gave no drink directly or indirectly, himself or by his wife, at the time when Steenwyck's negro played the Jewsharp at Govert Loockerman's." He was excused.
In many of the low taverns, especially those fre- quented by the soldiers and sailors, drinking-bouts often terminated in drunken brawls and fighting with fists, knives, cutlasses, and pikes, sometimes with fatal re- sults. Thus, in July, 1648, Abraham Pietersen's tav- ern was closed by the authorities on account of a man named Gerrit Clomp having been killed there. When closing-time arrived, and the tap-rooms dis- gorged their drunken patrons, the streets were often the scenes of riotous conduct, such as breaking windows and lamps, breaking into inoffensive citizens' houses to demand drink, and assaulting anybody who objected to their violence. Proceedings against night-brawlers frequently occur in the Court Records.
Even in the better class of taverns quarrels, assaults, and stabbing affrays were not uncommon among the class of citizens who patronized them, - sea-captains, the Company's officers and servants, and burghers who, except when under the influence of liquor, were usually peacefully inclined. The best tavern in the city was not exempt from such scenes, as we have seen. In 1647, a customer named Symon Root, who lost his
A TAVERN BRAWL ADRIAEN BROUWER
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right ear " in a broil at the great Tavern," applied to the Council, and received a certificate reciting the fact. This was necessary when he traveled abroad, where the loss might have been attributed to a crime, committed here or elsewhere, the punishment of which was ear cropping or boring.
Many examples might be given of the excesses com- mitted by the frequenters of taverns; but the follow- ing will suffice. On Aug. 8, 1644, Peter Wolphersen sued three soldiers for cutting his wainscot with their cutlasses. On pleading guilty, two of them were sen- tenced to ride the Wooden Horse for three hours; and the third, it being his second offense, had to stand three hours under the gallows, with a cutlass in his hand. In 1660, Frans Janzen and Abel Hardenbroeck were fined twenty guilders each because they " at night and at unseasonable hours in company with some sol- diers created an uproar and great insolence in the street by breaking windows."
Typical tavern interiors of the period face pages 266 and 288.
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CHAPTER XIII
SPORTS, FESTIVALS, AND PASTIMES
I N the Seventeenth Century, the majority of people were fond of games that required violent exer- cise, such as disc-throwing and all varieties of ball games. Noblemen, burghers, and peasants shared this taste. Games of " short ball," "long ball," balls driven through gates or wickets, balls thrown against a stake, balls struck by the gloved or ungloved hand, racket, stick, club, or mallet, subject to various rules and known under various names, such as tennis, golf, paille-maille, bowls, skittles, ninepins, hockey, etc., were favorite pastimes with the New Netherlanders.
The game of Kaetzen was played by striking the ball against a post for the adversary to drive it back after its rebound. Sometimes the ball was solid, filled with horsehair, and struck with a club or racket, and some- times a soft hollow ball struck by the hand or fist was used. In the early days it was a nobleman's game. The ball court for this game occupied a pretty large square, the larger the space the better. Before the game began, a tree, wall, or post was selected for the goal. The citizens and farmers also enjoyed themselves at these games, but they were so noisy that they were not allowed in churchyards or convent grounds. In Dordrecht there was a city golf-link. In the Seven- teenth Century, when golf became a national game, the links were made outside of the cities, in the neigh-
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borhood of which gradually taverns were erected, which bought or rented the courts or links. The ball was struck with the bare palm; but those who had tender hands wore thick double gloves, while some persons, in order to strike a still stronger blow, strengthened the inside of the gloves with cord. The women used a kind of racket made of netting with a handle at the end; and a lighter kind of ball was made for their use.
The Klos, or Klootbaan, was a game of princes in the Middle Ages, but during the Seventeenth Century it was a burgher's game, and finally descended to the farmer class. At the end of a long alley two iron staves or pieces of wood were fastened in the ground and made to join at the top so as to form a sort of gate, and through this gate, from the end of the alley and at a set distance, the player had to throw a round disc. If he missed, he had to take up the disc where it landed and throw until he hit one of the posts, which counted one. Throwing through the gate counted two; and this continued until one of the players had reached the number of twelve, or any other number agreed upon.
Not less primitive, but certainly not less liked, was the kingpin or skittle game, or pin bowling, - called jeu de quille in French, and derived, according to Du Cange, from the old Dutch word "bell " or " clock," as the pins were wide at the bottom and more or less in the shape of a bell. In the earliest accounts of the Counts of Holland this game is mentioned, and a num- ber of early authors show how popular it was with knights and nobles. In the Seventeenth Century, there was hardly a tavern without a wooden or stone plat- form where the game of skittles could be played. Sometimes there were covered alleys with the nine pyramid-shaped pins, one of which was provided with a knob or even a crown which was called the kingpin.
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These were often very heavy, and to knock them down with the disc required a strong arm. Children had toy games then as now. The single disc game was also a favorite pastime. This was the rolling of a disc on its rim over a certain space of ground. Cleverly thrown, it would roll a long distance. When it fell, it was thrown again. He who covered the most ground, in a certain number of throws, while the disc rolled upright won the game. This game was generally played in winter on the ice, and also by the fishermen on the sands, where the smooth surface afforded a fine playing- ground.
Prizes were offered for "Clubbing the Cat." This game generally took place on the square in front of the inn, or on the bowling-green, where from two heavy spiles driven into the ground a strong rope was stretched. In the centre of the rope hung a lightly cooped barrel in which was a live cat. At the appointed hour all who wished to throw the club gave their names, and paid an entrance fee. It was also agreed that the winner should pay for three or four bottles of wine, and the landlord gave each of the players a bottle. When a sufficient number of players had entered, the name and number of each was written on a board with chalk, and drawing took place. Then a line was drawn on the ground or a long pole was laid down to show the distance from which the " throwing " was allowed. Now number one stepped forward with his club, which he threw with great force at the barrel. The winner was he who broke the cask and let the cat escape. Sometimes the cat, too dazed or frightened to jump out of the barrel when it was split open, only fell out. In every case the winner was always he whose throw made the cat leave the barrel; and as soon as the cat was out, it was chased, and he who caught it got a bottle
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of wine as a prize. Sometimes a peacock or goose was used; and sometimes, instead of a barrel, the bird was simply tied to a rope and killed.
Another favorite game was "Pulling the Goose." A goose with its head well greased was fastened to a rope that was stretched across a road, and the sport was for a man to try to catch the bird by the head and carry it off as he rode on horseback at a gallop or drove beneath the bird in a cart going at full speed. This was also called " Riding the Goose." A variation of the game was made by stretching the rope across a ditch or canal or stream, under which a boat was swiftly rowed, and the man, standing on a plank, tried to carry off the bird in the same way, as shown in the illustra- tion facing page 296. If he missed, the plank tipped and he fell into the water; and then he had to swim back to the boat and repeat the attempt. There were always several contestants, and the game was extremely popular. It belonged especially to the Shrove Tuesday pastimes, and was frequently prohibited in New Am- sterdam and Albany. Stuyvesant called it "an un- profitable, heathenish and Popish festival and a perni- cious custom," and prohibited it, but some people per- sisted in Pulling the Goose and were fined and impris- oned in consequence, " in order to prevent more sins, debaucheries and calamities." On Feb. 19, 1654, Har- men Smeman and divers farm servants were examined on a charge of "Plucking the Goose," and fines were imposed. Two others were condemned to imprison- ment for the same offense and for threatening the Director-General. At the request of the Burgomasters and Schepens, the two prisoners were released from confinement two days later.
The prosecution of these men for Pulling the Goose caused friction between the upper and lower court.
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The story is told in the following extract from the records, Feb. 16, 1654:
The Hon. Director General has reported to the Council that both the Burgomasters and the majority of the Sche- pens appeared before his Honor on the 25th Instant, rep- resenting themselves aggrieved by the Director General and Council having without their knowledge interdicted and forbidden certain farmers' servants to ride the goose on the feast of Bacchus at Shrove-tide for reasons the Director General and Council thereunto moving. Besides its never having been practised here in their time, it is moreover altogether unprofitable, unnecessary and censur- able for subjects and neighbours to celebrate such pagan and popish feasts and to practise such evil customs in this Country, even though they may be tolerated and looked at through the fingers in some places in Fatherland. Which interdict and prohibition was by the Court Mes- senger Claes van Elsland served on the farmers' servants the day before the act, who, notwithstanding such ser- vice, nevertheless in contempt of the supreme authority, violated the same. Whereupon, some delinquents were legally cited and summoned before the Director General and Council by their Fiscal to be examined and mulcted for their contempt as may be proper. Two or three of them behaving in an insolent and contumacious manner, threatening, cursing, deriding and laughing at the chief magistracy were therefore, as is customary committed to prison, by which the Burgomasters and Schepens esteem themselves particularly aggrieved in their quality, because the Director General and Council have done so without their consent and knowledge; as if we can issue no order or forbid no rabble to celebrate the feast of Bacchus with- out the knowledge, advice and consent of Burgomasters and Schepens, much less have power to correct such per- sons as transgress the Christian and Holy Commandment, without the cognizance and consent of an Inferior Court of Justice.
The Director General and Council appreciating their
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office, authority and commission better than others, hereby notify the Burgomasters and Schepens that the establish- ing of an Inferior Court of Justice under the name and title of Schout, Burgomasters and Schepens or Commis- saries, does in no wise infringe on or diminish the power and authority of the Director General and Council to enact any Ordinances or issue particular interdicts, espe- cially those which tend to the glory of God, the best in- terests of the inhabitants, or will prevent more sins, scan- dals, debaucheries and crimes, and properly correct, fine and punish obstinate transgressors. What is solely the qualification of Schout, Burgomasters and Schepens, and for what purpose they are appointed, appear sufficiently from the Instructions given to them, by which they have to abide and conform themselves, without henceforth troubling and tormenting the Inspector General individu- ally about any enacted ordinance, law or order, penalty or punishment issued and executed against and concerning the contraveners thereof by previous resolution of the Director General and Council.
The common people were not inclined tamely to sub- mit to interference with their pleasures, for, on Feb. 8, 1655 :
Corns van Tienhoven informed the Court that he had been informed that the country people intended Riding the Goose again as they did last year, and enquired therefore if their worships would do anything to oppose it; that it. was forbidden by resolution of the Supreme Councillors and prevented. Therefore it was decided that the Fiscal Tienhoven shall, ex officio, seasonably declare the same to be illegal.
On Feb. 26, 1658, an order was issued refusing per- mission to the farmers and their men in the vicinity of New Amsterdam to "pull the goose."
Cats and hares were also used for this cruel sport,
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as we learn from a proclamation at Albany in 1677, " prohibiting all misdemeanors which have occurred here on Shrove Tuesday, viz., Riding at a goose, cat, hare, etc., etc., on a penalty of £25 seawan."
Not less popular was the game called " bird cutting." A cock, a duck, or any other bird, was hung head down- wards from a rope, and the contestants were blind- folded and placed at a certain distance from the bird. The game was to cut off the bird's head; and whoever was lucky enough to do so, received the bird as a prize.
The fondness of the Dutch for archery and shoot- ing with the crossbow is too well known for detailed description of their shooting-matches and galleries. The sport was a favorite one in New Amsterdam. We learn that on June 16, 1644, Henry Hewit sued Gerrit Jacobson for destroying his eye with an arrow. Jacob- son pleaded that more persons than he were shooting arrows at the time; and the next court day he pro- duced two witnesses who were discharging arrows, but they denied having hit the plaintiff.
The vast amount of game afforded the sportsman great opportunity for pleasure. The woods were full of birds and deer, and the marshes of water-fowl. It would seem that birds were plentiful in the city itself, for it is ordered, on Oct. 9, 1652, that guns are not to be fired at partridges or other game within the limits of the city.
The following prohibition on June 12, 1657, shows how fond the New Amsterdam carters were of racing :
No person shall gallop or race within the gates and walls of this city with any wagon, cart, or sleigh, and no driver shall sit on such, whether drawn by oxen or horses, but walk alongside the same; and if he shall be found sitting or standing thereon, he shall pay a fine of
From an old print
PULLING THE GOOSE
SPORTS, FESTIVALS, AND PASTIMES 297
one pound Flemish, and be interdicted six weeks from using such vehicle and the draught cattle thereof.
Cards, chess, backgammon, dice-throwing, were among the pleasures of the age; billiards, too, were not unknown. Francis Hulin has one "old billiard table " (£3) in 1702. Cards appear in many of the inventories and lists of shop-goods. Lawrence Deldyke had three gross and two dozen cards in 1692, and John Coesart one hundred and eighty-seven packs of cards of various qualities in 1700.
Not only were games indulged in at home and at taverns, but there were special gaming-houses. In 1681, for instance, John Tudor was fined by the Mayor's Court for keeping a gaming-house. A picture by Jan Steen and variously known as The Parrot Cage and the Backgammon Players faces page 202.
A game that was doubtless indulged in, especially in the early days, was one spoken of by De Rasières in 1626, which he saw the Indians play :
They are very fond of a game they call senneca, played with some round rushes, similar to the Spanish feather- grass which they understand how to shuffle and deal as though they were playing with cards; and they win from each other all that they possess.
Saint Nicholas was the patron saint of New Am- sterdam. The choice was most appropriate, for he was the patron of sailors and all Dutch trading-towns. He was the patron of Amsterdam and other emporiums of Dutch trade. The church in the Fort bore his name, and his festival was celebrated here with as much fervor as at home. Saint Nicholas Eve (December 5) was particularly a children's holiday, and was anticipated by them with feelings of delight and curiosity, for the
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good children were always rewarded with presents in their shoes, cakes and sweetmeats, while the naughty ones received a rod or switch. Great preparations were made for the festival. Nothing was more important than the Saint Nicholas cake, or bread, sometimes called "Saint Claes baking." Young people assembled at vari- ous houses to paste gold and silver leaf on these Saint Nicholas cakes, - an amusement called cake-pasting (koek-plakken), after which usually followed a sup- per, dancing, and a frolic. Many songs were sung on these occasions, among which was the following:
Sancte Claus goed heijlig Man ! Trek uw beste tabaert an, Reis daer me'e na Amsterdam, Van Amsterdam na Spanje, Daer appelen van Oranje, Daer appelen van Granaten,
Die rollen door de straten.
Sancte Claus, mijn goeden vriend,
Ik heb u allen tijd gediend ! Wilt u my nu wat geven, Dan dien ik u al mijn leven.
Santa Claus, good holy man ! Put on your tabard, the best you can, Go clad in it to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam then go to Spain. There golden apples And also pomegranates Roll through the streets. Santa Claus, my dear good friend, I have always served you; If you will now give me something, I will serve you all my life long.
This verse is still sung by the children of Holland. Another ran :
Saint Nicholas, Bishop, put your tall hat on, give the good children something sweet, and give the bad ones a spanking.
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Another was:
SINTER KLAAS, BISSCHOP
Zet je hooge muts op; Trek je langen tabbaard aan, Rydt er mêe naar Amsterdam ;
Amsterdam en Spanje,
Appeltjes van Oranje;
Appeltjes van de boomen.
Ryke, ryke Oome;
Ryke, ryke juffertjes
Dragen lange mouwen;
Hansje willen wy trouwen,
Hansje die sprong over de sloot;
Onze Hans die brak Zijn poot, Tien pond suiker ! Leg de lepel Ob de ketel;
Brandewyn met suiker !
SANTA CLAUS, BISHOP
Put your high cap on;
Put your long tabard on,
Ride with it to Amsterdam;
Amsterdam and Spain,
Apples of Orange;
Apples from the trees,
Rich, rich uncle;
Rich, rich damsels Wearing long sleeves;
Little Hans will you marry me?
Little Hans he jumped over the ditch;
Our Hans he broke his leg. Ten pounds of sugar! Lay the spoon Upon the kettle; Brandywine with sugar.
Returning to their homes, or when their guests had gone, from the cake-pasting, the children placed their wooden shoes (klompen) outside of the bedroom door or by the side of the chimney. Saint Nicholas was supposed to fill these with presents.
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Saint Nicholas Eve has always been a favorite sub- ject with the Little Dutch Masters. Jan Steen painted two graphic pictures, one of which faces this page. The painter himself and his family are represented. The interest centres in the little girl, who has a pail full of toys on her left arm while she holds in her hands a doll dressed in the garb of the saint with halo on its head, and her older brother, who is crying because his shoe contains a switch, which his sister is handing to him. His grandmother is beckoning to him in the distance; she may have something hidden be- hind the curtains of the bed. A younger brother, who is about to ride on his father's stick, points to the un- happy child with heartless derision. Another son is
explaining to a baby and a younger brother how Saint Nicholas came down the chimney. By the side of Vrouw Steen is a table filled with sweets and cakes, and a basket of cakes, Saint Nicholas bread, and wafers is standing on the floor. Leaning against the table is a large cake which has been decorated by the cake- pasters with figures of cocks.
Among the special sweets belonging to the Saint Nicholas festival, marsepein (marchpane) or almond- paste held a conspicuous place.
A great many confections were undoubtedly im- ported, but the bakers and cooks in New Amsterdam were skilful, and ceremonial cakes and breads were made here for every festival. That such delicacies were made in rich houses we know from the kitchen utensils mentioned in the inventories; for instance, Cornelis Steenwyck had "tin ware to bake sugar cakes " and a "marsepyn pan " worth £2. Books of gold leaf and boxes of gold leaf are often found in the New Amsterdam inventories, doubtless for the decora- tion of holiday cakes, Twelfth Night beans, and sugar
ST. NICHOLAS EVE JAN STEEN
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plums. Mrs. Drisius and Mrs. Van Varick, for in- stance, each had a parcel of leaf gold. Presents were exchanged on Saint Nicholas Eve by the children of the rich; and all the poor of the city - widows, orphans, and helpless old people - were generously remembered by a good meal.
The next festivals to come were Christmas, New Year's Day, and Twelfth Night or Three Kings' Even- ing. Little business was transacted during the holiday season. From a proclamation issued in December, 1655, we read :
Whereas Christmas is at hand, the Court resolve and order that, according to the custom of our Fatherland, no ordinary Court day, or meeting shall be held for eight days after Christmas.
New Year's Day partook somewhat of the character of Sunday and days of special Thanksgiving. Al- though visits were exchanged, the day was strictly observed, and the same ordinances were issued in Stuy- vesant's time for New Year's and May Day. For in- stance, that issued in December, 1655, reads :
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