USA > New York > New York City > History of New Netherland; or, New York under the Dutch, Vol. I > Part 23
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1 Alb. Rec. ii., 134; iii., 13 ; xix., 143, 144 ; GG, 102, 103 ; Hol. Doc. iv., 247 ; De Vries Voyag. in ii. N. Y. Hist. Soc. Col. i., 264. The prices of stock about this time were : for a mare 400 gl., or $160 ; a colt, 250 gl., [$100;] a milch cow, 150 gl., or $60 ; Alb. Rec. i., 266.
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BOOK take up arms in favor of the Dutch. To stimulate their III. 1641. thirst for blood, he offered ten fathoms of wampum for every head of a Raritan, and twenty fathoms for each of the heads of the Indians who murdered the people on Staten Island. Sept. As a further measure of precaution, he ordered a small re- 12 doubt to be erected on that island "at the lowest expense."1
These rewards did not fail to arouse the bad passions of some of the neighboring savages. Pacham, chief of the Tankitekes, or Haverstraw Indians, who resided in the rear of Sing Sing, soon made his appearance at the fort with the hand of a dead man dangling at the end of a stick. It be- longed to the chief who had killed the planters on Staten Island ; and the savage, in presenting it, boasted that he had thus avenged the wrongs of the Swannekins, " whose friend he was." Peace was fortunately concluded, some time sub- sequently, between the Dutch and the Raritans, which, to their honor be it said, the latter forever after faithfully pre- served unbroken, even when the whole of the neighboring tribes raised the hatchet and the warwhoop against the inhab- itants of New Netherland.
Peace had not been concluded, however, before another murder was to be recorded. The child, whose uncle had been assassinated by the servants of Director Minuit, in 1626, had now grown to manhood. His uncle's spirit was still un- appeased-his murder was unavenged. His voice was heard in the roaring of the storm-in the rustle of the leaves-in the sighing of the winds ; and full of the conviction that that spirit could not find rest until vengeance should be had, the young Weckquaeskeeckª sought for a victim to offer to the
1 Alb. Rec. ii., 128, 129, 133. This disgraceful practice of offering rewards for the murder of Indians, was common for a long time after this in the Amer- ican colonies. Gov. Hunter, of Pennsylvania, offered, in 1756, $150 for every male Indian enemy over twelve years of age ; for his scalp, or for a female Indian or child under twelve, $130 ; or $50 for the scalp of an Indian woman. Dunlap's N. Y. ii., App. clxx., clxxxi.
2 Opposite Tappaan [says De Vries] lies a place called Wechquaesqueeck. Van Tienhoven, describing this place, states : " Wechquaesqueek, on the North River, five (twenty) miles above New Amsterdam, is a right good and suitable land for cultivation ; contains considerable mayze land, which the Indians planted, rising from the shore ; in the interior the country is flat and mostly
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manes of the dead. Shrouding his evil purpose under the CHAP. cloak of a friendly, or business visit, he called at the house of II. one Claes Cornelisz. Smits, the " Raadmaker," an aged set- 1641.
tler, resident on the west side of the river, under pretence of making some purchases. The old man suspecting no harm, (for the Indian had been in the habit of working for his son,) set some food before him, and then proceeded to get from a chest, in which it lay, the cloth which the other wished to pur- chase. The moment he stooped, the savage seized an axe, struck him dead, and then withdrew, having rifled the house of all its contents.
This aggression on an old and helpless man excited, when it became known, considerable feeling at Fort Amsterdam. Director Kieft promptly demanded satisfaction from the chief to whose tribe the murderer belonged. But the sachem re- fused to make any atonement. "He was sorry that twenty Aug. Christians had not been immolated ; the Indian had but 20. avenged, after the manner of his race, the murder of a rela- tive whom the Dutch had slain nearly twenty years before." On receipt of this answer, armed parties were sent out to re- taliate, but they returned, having effected nothing.1
In this state of affairs, Director Kieft, in order to obviate all public censure, concluded to submit matters now to the com- munity at large. All the masters and heads of families, resi- Aug dents of New Amsterdam and its neighborhood, were, there- 23. fore, invited to assemble in the fort on the 28th day of August, then and there to determine on " something of the first import- ance." The people met. It was the first time that their exist- Aug. ence as a component part of the body politic had been recog- 28. nised, or their influence acknowledged. Three propositions were submitted to them by the Director-general and council- Firstly, Whether it was not just that the recent murder should be avenged, and the village destroyed to which the murderer
even ; very abundantly watered with small streams and running fountains. This land is situate between two rivulets called Sintsinck and Armonck, lying between the East and North rivers." Bedenkinge over het aenvaerden van de landeryen in N. Nederlant.
1 Journael van Nieuw Nederlant ; Capt. Patrix brief in dato den 21 Aug. 1641 ; also Hol. Doc. v. 314. De Vries corroborates the statements in the text.
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belonged, if he were not surrendered or punished ? Secondly, 111. In what manner this object ought to be accomplished ? and, Thirdly, By whom the project should be effected ?
1641.
Aug. 29.
On the day following, the commonalty of New Amsterdam, and the adjoining settlements, handed in their opinions on these propositions. The harvest was still unsaved ; the cattle scat- tered through the woods ; many of the inhabitants at a dis- tance. It was therefore considered prudent to wait for a more fitting opportunity to prosecute this undertaking. "Mean- while all the means were to be got ready, and the Director-gen- eral was requested to procure two hundred coats of mail (malj rocken) from the north, as well for the soldiers as for the free- men who may be willing to pay their share in these expenses." It was further recommended that kind intercourse, and the trade in corn, be continued as usual, in order to throw the savages off their guard ; and that no person, of whatever rank he may be, should on any account adopt any hostile measures, except against the murderer, until the hunting season, when, it was suggested, two expeditions should be got up-one to land in the neighborhood of " the Archipelago," or Norwalk Island-the other, at Wechquaesqueck ; on which occasions the Director-general (who it was significantly hinted should " lead the van") was advised to employ as many of the most active negroes as he could spare, to be armed each with a tomahawk and half-pike. In the mean time, it was strenuously urged, that a messenger should be sent once, twice, "yea, even a third time," to demand, in a friendly manner, the surrender of the murderer, in order that he be punished according to his deserts.
Twelve men were then chosen by the commonalty at large, to co-operate with the Director-general and council, in the exe- cution of the foregoing conclusions. The names of these dele- gates-the first representative body of which we have any mention in the annals of this state-were, Jacques Bentyn, Jan Dam, Hendrik Jansen, David Pietersen De Vries, Jacob Stoffels, Maryn Adriaensen, Abram Molenaer, Fredrik Lub- bertsen, Joachim Pietersen, Gerrit Dircksen, George Rapelje, and Abram Plank.1 They were immediately sworn into office,
1 Hol. Doc. v., 327, 328, 329. Alb. Rec. ii., 136, 137.
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Capt. De Vries having been named their president ; but, CHAP. though in every sense of the word the representatives of the 11. people, their influence over the councils or determinations of the Director-general does not appear to have been very great. Kieft made this concession to popular rights neither willingly nor in good faith. It was wrung from him rather by the ne- cessities of the times, to serve as a cloak to protect him from responsibility or censure ; to be cast aside when it ceased to serve this purpose.1
He was not, it seems, altogether pleased with the conclu- sions to which the commonalty had come ; he was impatient to attack the Indians, against whom he entertained strong pre- judices and dislike, and, therefore, when the winter approached, he called the Twelve Men again into his presence-not in a Nov. I. body, however, but separately-to obtain their consent to an attack, "as the time and opportunity were presenting themselves to surprise the Indians on their hunting expeditions." But the majority still counselled patience. The savages were not suf- ficiently lulled-it were better, some added, to await the arri- val of a vessel from Patria; and thus Director Kieft was obliged to defer, to a future time, his attack on the unsuspect- ing natives .?
But his purpose against the Indians did not sleep, for all 1642. that. The moment the winter effectually set in, and the rivers
1 Van der Donck says, very plainly, that Kieft allowed these representatives to be chosen merely " to serve him as a cloak, and as cats-paws"-that they had neither vote nor voice in the council, and were of no moment, when their opin- ions differed from that of the Director, who looked upon himself as sovereign in the country. " De 12 mannen" (he says) "en daernaer de acht, hadden in gerechtsaacken noch stem, noch advys ; maar sy waeren ten opsien van den oorloch en eenige andere voorvallende saaken gekoren, om als deckmantel en cattepooten te dienen ; anders quamen in geen consideratie, en werden wey- nich geacht, als sy tegens des Directeurs meyninge yetwes verstonden ; die sich doch inbielde, ofte immers andere wilde doen geloove, als souverain te wesen ; endat alles in zyn handt absolnyt stont te doen en te laten." Kieft himself repudiated, before three months were passed, the idea that the Twelve Men were to have any participation in the management of public affairs ; though De Vries (who was one of the Twelve) alleges that they were elected to take the reins of the government with Kieft. Van der Donk's view is, no doubt, the correct one.
2 Alb. Rec. ii., 140, 141.
1641.
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BOOK and streams became frozen over, he again called on the Twelve III. Men, to take into their consideration the three propositions 1642. which he had already submitted to them, and to decide what was best to be done. They could no longer, now, refuse their concurrence in the wishes of the Director-general. The murder- er of Claes Smits had neither been delivered up nor punished. They therefore consented that preparations should be made Jan. 21. for an expedition, in which they promised their co-operation, provided, however, the Director himself accompanied thein, to prevent all disorder ; and on condition, also, that he should furnish, in addition to powder and ball, provisions necessary for the expedition, " such as bread and butter ;" and appoint, moreover, a steward to take charge of the same, in order that all waste should be prevented. " If any person required any thing more than bread and butter, he was to provide himself therewith." " But if it happened that God Almighty were pleased to permit one or more of the freemen to be wounded in the expedition, or in the attack on the savages, the noble Director and council were to remain obliged to support such wounded persons, and their families, in a decent manner, and to have them cured at the expense of the provident com- pany."1
Having made these concessions to the personal wishes of the Director-general, the Twelve Men turned their attention to the faulty composition of their local government ; to the unlimited power of the executive ; and to the absence of all municipal authority in the settlements and villages which were gradually rising up.
Though a servant himself of the West India Company, nominated by the Assembly of the XIX., and commissioned by the States General, the Director was in fact absolute in New Netherland, and beyond all control within the colony. As representative of the sovereign authority, he extinguished Indian titles to land, and sanctioned all purchases from the aborigines. No contracts, engagements, transfers, bargains, nor sales were valid, except such as were passed before and written by his secretary. He erected courts ; appointed,
' Hol. Doc. v., 330, 331.
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either directly or indirectly, all public officers, except such as CHAP. came out with commissions from Holland ; made laws ; is- sued ordinances ; incorporated towns ; imposed taxes ; levied fines ; inflicted penalties ; and could affect the value of any man's property at a moment, by raising or lowering the value of wampum, which constituted the chief currency, at this period, of the country. He not only acted in an executive and legislative, but also in a judicial capacity. He decided all civil and criminal questions, without the intervention of a jury, such an institution being unknown in the province ; and before him were brought all appeals from inferior courts. When we add to this the fact, that all such municipal regula- tions as circumstances demanded, emanated from him and his council, we cannot be surprised to learn that many things were left undone which ought to be attended to ; that many things were performed, which might better have been left undone ; and that dissatisfaction necessarily prevailed among the sturdy sons of that republic, who ever evinced a lively and honorable jealousy of despotic power.
This, indeed, could not well be otherwise. The colonial council consisted, as we liave already remarked, of the Di- rector-general and Mr. La Montagne, and as the management of the various interests of the country, and the performance of the numerous duties which we have enumerated, devolved on these two, they were necessarily obliged to call in some of the common people, usually the servants of the com- pany, dependents on the pleasure of the Director-general, to assist in the administration of justice,-a course which, from the nature of things, excited suspicion, distrust, and dis- content.
This faulty composition of the council attracted, therefore, the early attention of the Twelve Men. To obtain a reform of that, and other grievances under which they labored, their principal exertions were now directed. With this view, they Jan 21. addressed a respectful memorial to the Director-general, at the same time that they offered their services against the In- dians, in which they called his particular attention to the fact, that in their native country-their beloved " Fatherland" -- the smallest village had a board of from five to seven schepens,
II. 1642.
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BOOK III. or magistrates, for the management of its local affairs.1 They
1642.
asked that the same privilege should be extended to them, and that the council of New Netherland should be increased, as the Director already proposed, by the addition of four more persons, so that the board should consist in future of at least five members. And as rotation in office was a good and wholesome practice, they further demanded that two of these should annually retire, to be succeeded by two others from among " the twelve men." They objected, in the next place, to so many of the " common people" having seats on the bench ; and required that the Director and council should not, hereafter, sit in judgment on any accused persons, or evil- doers, unless, as was laid down in the instructions to the schout-fiscaal, five members of the council preside in the court. They further proposed, with a view to render the de- fence of the country more perfect, that there should be an annual muster of all male persons capable of bearing arms, each man to attend with his gun, and to be furnished by the company, on that occasion, with half a pound of powder ; that every freeman should be allowed to visit all vessels arriving from sea, " whether Dutch, English, or French," after the fiscaal had been on board, " as is the custom in Holland ;" and that all the inhabitants, " be they who they may," have the right to repair to and return from all places round about, belonging to friends and allies, and to transport thither such goods as they may please, on receiving the necessary permit, and paying such duties as the company may demand. Hav- ing thus disposed of those general matters, they next repre- sented that in consequence of the sale, in New Netherland, of
1 Dan les lieux où les Communes avaient acquis plus d'autorité, on trouve des Echevins comme juges nommés par le souverain. Il paraît qu'ancienne- ment les Echevins Communaux, de même que les Scabini des Francs, formaient une classe, ou un état de personnes désignées comme plus propres à se charger de rendre la justice sans que le nombre total fût déterminé, ou qu'ils constituas- sent un tribunal permanent. Plus tard le nombre des Echevins fut fixé ; et ce nombre est si souvent tellement petit qu'on ne peut douter qu'ils n'aient été plutôt un tribunal stable que des juges appelés selon la convenance du Bailli. Ce n'est que vers le quinzième siècle qu'on trouve généralement les Echevins nommés pour un certain tems, et positivement désigné comme formant un tri- bunal qui jugeait à la semonce du Bailli. Institutions Judiciaires, 165, 166.
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cows and other stock by the English, the cattle owned and CHAP. introduced by the Dutch were held in small esteem, and were not so valuable as they had heretofore been. They therefore asked-and it was a demand as injudicious as it was near- sighted and destructive to the improvement of their own stock -that the English should not be permitted, hereafter, to sell either cows or goats within the Dutch jurisdiction, but that this privilege should be confined to oxen and poultry. The currency of the country was the last subject to which their memorial referred. They asked, that its value should be raised, on the fallacious plea that it would thereby be retained in the province and not be carried off by foreign nations.
Director Kieft lent a favorable ear, for the moment, to this representation. He informed the petitioners that he had already written to Holland on the subject referred to in the first part of the memorial, and that he expected by the first ship, the arrival of " some persons of quality," and to be also furnished with a complete council. The presence of " com- mon people" on the bench was caused, he said, by the fewness of the council, but he doubted if any persons had grounds to complain of unrighteous judgments on that account. If they had, he should like to know who they were. He consented to select four persons to assist in the administration of justice, and to sit in the council at certain times, when summoned so to do ; with the further privilege of assembling together on public affairs, and voting on such propositions as should be submitted to them ; to which extent their authority and power should be confined ; and that two of these should retire every year. But as for the Twelve Men, he told them that they were not invested by the commonalty with any greater power than to give their advice as to the proper course to be adopted to revenge the murder of Claes Smits.1 He agreed that there
III. Dat den Raed van Nieuw Nederlandt van nu af sal compleet gehouden worden van raden, temeer, alsoo in 't Vaderlant deu raet op een cleyne dorp, by vyff a 7 schepens bestaet ; meede dat van nu voortaen by den Directeur en Raed genige misdadigen en sullen veroordeelt worden, ten ware sy vyff raden in 't getal sterck waren, endat, omdat de gemeene man daer veel plaets van heeft.
Answer : Daer is in Hollandt om geschreven, soo dat wy vertrouwen met d'eerste schepen eenige persoonen van qualiteyt te becomen, en alsoo een
11. 1642.
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should be an annual muster, but refused to furnish the half
1642.
BOOK III. pound of powder, as the company was bound to provide set- tlers with ammunition, in cases of emergency, and furnish the Patroons, besides, with sufficient. means to defend them- selves and property from attack. It was contrary to his in- structions to permit the freemen to visit arriving vessels. "Such a course would lead to disorder," as several of the company's ships were expected at the Manhattans with prizes. This part of the memorial was, therefore, refused. But the inhabitants were allowed to visit the neighboring country, and the ports of friendly governments, on payment of the proper dues, on condition that the goods should not be sold to any of the public enemy. The Director-general concluded by promising that the English should not be permitted to sell cows or goats, for the future, within New Netherland, and that the value of the currency should be raised, as re- quested.
Having thus disposed of these various demands, without, however, carrying out, afterwards, the reforms in the council which he had so solemnly promised, Director Kieft seems to
geheele geformeerde Raet te hebben. Dat de geemene man veel plaets heeft, van swaackheyd des raets, can wel wesen ; dan wy wenschten wel te weten offer oock iemant is, die sich heeft te beclagen, over onrechte sententie, en wie de geene syn, die daer veel plaets van hebben.
IV. Van gelyck, indien U. E. 4 persoonen gelieft te verkiezen, die in den Raed alhier acces sullen hebben, gelyck voor desen by U. E. is voorgestelt, zyn wy supplianten wel te vreden, te meer alsoo het lant met beswaert mach worden, sonder de 12 te vergaderen.
Answer : Wy syn wel te vreden 4 persoonen te verkiesen die de Gemeenten in haer recht helpen mainteneren, die wy oock in onzen raed willen sullen roepen, als den noot vereischt, meede seekere tyden in 't jaer bostemmen, om gezamentlyck over des lants saken te vergaderen ; oock eenige articulen te beraemen, hoe hooch haer auctoriteyt sal strecken ; de 12 mannen belangende, is ons niet bekent dat zy wyder macht van de gemeente ontfangen heb- ben, als alleen haer advys te geven, over de moort aen de zaliger Claes Smitz begaen.
VI. Ingevalle U. E. vier de bequaemste quam te verkiezen, omme in U. E. vergaderingh te compareren, gelyck geseyt is, staet te noteren datter alle jaren twee van den 4 sullen afgaen, en ander twee in plaets gecoren worden uyt de 12.
Answer: Zyn wel te vreeden dat alle jaren twee van de 4 verandert worden. Hol. Doc. iii., 176.
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have had enough of popular movements, and popular repre- CHAP. sentations. He, shortly after, issued a proclamation extin- Il. guishing the " Twelve Men," whom he forbade, on pain of cor- Feb.18. 1642. poral punishment, to hold any further meetings, without his express permission ; "as they tend to dangerous consequences, and to the serious injury both of the country and of his au- thority."1
Being now untrammelled, and rid of those who were hitherto a check on his actions, Kieft proceeded forthwith to indulge his desire for war. He ordered Hendrick van Dyck, ensign in the company's service, who had been already over two years stationed at New Amsterdam, to proceed with a force of eighty men against the Wechquaesqueeks, to execute summary ven- geance upon that tribe, with fire and sword. To ensure com- plete success, the expedition was placed under the direction of a trusty guide, who professed to be intimately acquainted with the homes and haunts of the savages.2
This party started in the forepart of March, and pushed ac- tively forward towards the Indian village, but fortune favored the red-man. The night set in clouded and dark ; and when the expedition reached Armenperal, Van Dyck called a halt, notwithstanding the entreaties of his men to push on, ere the savages should have warning of their approach. An hour and a half was thus lost ; the guide then missed his way, where-
1 Hol. Doc. iii., 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180. The following is a translation of this placard :- " Whereas the commonalty hath, at our request, commis- sioned and charged the Twelve Men to communicate their good council and advice concerning the murder of one Claes Cornelissen Smitz, committed by the Indians, which now being done, We thank them for the trouble they have taken, and shall make use of their written advice, with God's help and fitting time ; and as we propose no more meetings, as such tend to dangerous conse- quences, and to the great injury both of the country and of our authority ; We. therefore, do hereby forbid the calling of any assemblies or meetings, of what- soever sort, without our express order, on pain of being punished for disobedience. Done in Fort Amsterdam, 18th Feb., 1642, in New Netherland."
2 Op dien tyd hadde den oorlochsucht den Directeur alingenomen, toch dese byeenkomste van de voors: 12 mannen heeft niet langer als den 18 February daeraen mogen standgrypen, off men heeft dieselvige op lyffstraffe haer byeen- komste laten verbieden ; een weynich tyts daeraen den oorloch met die van Wesqueeckqueeck naer zyn eygen zyndelyckhied aengevangen, als blyckt by request van de 12 mannen. Letter of the Eight Men, Hol. Doc. iii., 214, 215.
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