USA > New York > New York City > History of New Netherland; or, New York under the Dutch, Vol. II > Part 27
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A visitation so dreadful, it may easily be conceived, spread the greatest consternation abroad. All the country people, except those of Amersfoort, Breukelen and Mid- wout, and the negro hamlets, "took wing" and fled to the Manhattans. A body-guard of ten Frenchmen was engaged to protect the residence and family of the Director-general, " as the citizens were reluctant to go to a great distance from the fort." The settlers at the Esopus abandoned their farms en masse. Gravesend and the English villages partook also of the panic, and dispatched messengers to New Amsterdam with intelligence that the Indians in- tended to destroy the Dutch in these places, as they had warned them to separate from the Swannekins, "lest in killing these they may injure the English." The colonists of Rensselaerswyck likewise felt the alarm, and fearing that the wild contagion might spread among the Mohawks, prudently renewed, by opportune presents, their ancient friendship with this fierce tribe.2
"Considering it wiser to secure one's own house than to aim at the possession of one at a distance, especially as the loss of the first might be caused thereby," the Council at Fort Amsterdam dispatched an express to the South River recalling the Director-general, for bodies of savages continued prowling over the island, firing and burning whatever came in their way. Whilst this terror still pre- vailed, Stuyvesant returned to the Manhattans, and by his
I The savages of Ahasimus, Aackinkeshacky, Tappaan, and others, were present in this conflict, and were guilty of shocking cruelties, murdering seven men and one woman in cold blood, against their solemn promise, confirmed by an oath, which they never took before, viz. : " May God, who resides above, take vengeance on us if we do not keep our engagements and promises." Alb. Rec. x., 165.
9 Vorders hebbe verstaen den onverwachte oorlogh die costy tusschen de Duytschen en Wilden is gewesen. . . . Wy hebben hierboven met de Maquaasen weder nieue aliantie gemaekt." John B. van Rensselaer's letter. dated 11th October, 1655.
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energy and zeal aided much in re-assuring the colonists. CHAP. He sent soldiers to the out-settlements, laid an embargo on V. the vessels then about to sail, and ordered such of the 1655. passengers as were able to bear arms not to depart " until it should please God to change the aspect of affairs."" A plank curtain was thrown up, to prevent the Indians scaling the city walls, to meet the expense of which six thousand three hundred guilders were raised "from the merchants, traders, skippers, factors, passengers and citizens generally."" No persons, on any account, were to go into the country without permission, nor unless in a number sufficient to ensure their safety.
The savages having now spent their fury, found that the number of their prisoners was rather an incumbrance than a gain. They were desirous of being disembarrassed of them, for their stock of provision was limited and the winter was approaching. Captain Pos, the superintendent of the colonie on Staten Island, being among the captured and considered a man of influence, was sent in with a pro- posal for a ransom. He did not return as soon as was expected, and another messenger followed, with word that Oct. 13. all the prisoners should be brought to Paulus Hook in two days. "Come and see !" was the invitation to treat for their release.3 In a few days Pos brought from the chief Oct. 17
1 Fourteen days after, a number of the principal merchants and citizens pro- tested against Stuyvesant, for preventing their departure for Europe. For this disrespect each of them was fined $10, " in behalf of the poor," and the secre- tary was ordered not to furnish passports to any of them, until the fine was paid. It was further ordered that none should be allowed to embark, except such as had resided at least twelve months in the country. "The others may possess their souls in patience till a more fitting opportunity." Alb. Rec. x., 133.
" A list of the contributors to this levy is in the N. Amst. Records, Oct. 1655.
3 The 15th of the present September, O. S., the commissioners, by the return of the messengers whom they had sent forth for inquiry, received certain intel- ligence of a great massacar perpitrated by the Wampeage and other Indians upon the Dutch att the Monhatoes, and that they had carried away and kept prisoners about seventy captives. The commissioners did forthwith agree to send two or three meet messengers to indeavour their redemtion, but while the mes- sengers were preparing, Mr. Allerton's catch coming into New Haven harbour from the Monhatoes brought letters from himselfe with intelligence from others reporting that they hoped the worst was passed, and that the Indians had sent to offer peace, and that a treaty was begun betwixt the Dutch and them for re- deeming and returning the captives, whence the commissioners conceived that
Oct. 12.
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BOOK V. of the Hackingsacks fourteen of the Dutch prisoners, " men,
women and children, as a token of his good will," in return 1655. for which he requested some powder and ball. The Oct. 18. Director-general sent him a Wappinger and an Esopus Indian in exchange with some ammunition, and promised a fresh supply when other Christians should be brought in. He at the same time warned him and the other chiefs against receiving any message from the fort, unless the bearer exhibited a signet with which he was furnished. No ambassador, unless a sachem or chief in whom the Director could place confidence-" none of the rabble nor any insignificant fellow"-was to be sent.
Claes Jansen de Ruyter and Peter Wolfersten van Cou- Oct. 19. wenhoven accompanied Adriaen Pos to the Indians with Oct. 21. the above presents, and returned with twenty-eight Chris- tians, and another message that from twenty to twenty-four others would be restored on receipt of a proper quantity of friezes, guns, wampum and ammunition. It was vain to expect that any Dutch prisoners would be exchanged for Indians. Such a rule was foreign to the practice of the red man.1 The Director-general wished now to know how much they would be willing to take " for all the prison- Oct. 26. ers en masse, or for each individually." They answered, seventy-eight pounds of powder and forty staves of lead, for twenty-eight persons. This offer was accepted, and as a further mark of his good will, thirty-five pounds of pow- der and ten staves of lead additional were sent, but no more prisoners were returned.
Oct. 21. The late Governor of Fort Trinity now arrived from the South River, in very bad humor. He at once protested against Stuyvesant for a violation of the articles of the late treaty : the public property belonging to his sovereign and superiors was left unprotected and exposed to loss ; proper accommodation had not been provided for him and his suite, and his expenses were not defrayed. Stuyvesant Oct. 26. replied by reminding him that he had offered to place Fort
the matter might be by themselves and som beaver, &c., effected ; and seased any further procetution. Hazard's State Papers, ii., 336.
1 Alb. Rec. x., 154.
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Christina in Rysingh's possession, but that the latter had CHAP. refused to accept it ; he denied being responsible for any V. property for which he had not given a receipt. As for 1655. the complaint that he had not been satisfactorily lodged, the Director-general said: "On account of your high station, I offered more than once to accommodate and entertain you in my own house ; but as this did not satisfy you, we succeeded in persuading you, by others, to reside in one of the principal houses of the city. Here you in- dulged in unmannerly threats that you would return and destroy this place, and so scared the decent people of the house that, for peace sake, they abandoned the lodgings. The rumors of these threats came to the ears of the skip- pers and passengers with whom you were to embark, so that they did not consider it safe to take you with your suite and such a large number of your dependents, except they previously obtained security for their ship and cargoes. They fear to land you in England or France, in conformity to the secret article in the capitulation, except they should chance to meet some French or English vessel in the Channel. Of this we deemed it right to give you timely notice." "We were not bound to defray your expenses, or those of your unusual suite."
Rysingh rejoined in a few words. He held the Director- Oct. 29. general responsible for every article within and without the fort. He accused the Dutch with having broken open the church and taken away all the cordage and sails of a new vessel ; with having plundered Tinnakong, Upland, Finland, Printzdorp, and several other places. " In Chris- tina the women were violently torn from their houses ;1 whole buildings were destroyed ; yea, oxen, cows, hogs and other creatures were butchered day after day ; even the horses were not spared, but wantonly shot ; the plan- tations destroyed, and the whole country so desolated that scarce any means were left for the subsistence of the inhabitants." " Your men carried off even my own prop- erty, with that of my family, although the greatest part of
1 The Dutch were not charged with having offered any violence to their chas- tity, but with having committed pillage. Note to the translation of Acrelius.
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BOOK it had already been placed on ship board, and we were left V. like sheep doomed to the knife, without means of defence 1655. against the wild barbarians." "The few Swedes whose fidelity could not be shaken, were distributed here and there, against the terms of the treaty, into different ships, without being permitted to recover the few bundles of goods they had saved." He concluded by demanding that they should be embarked in the same ship with himself, and that each and every article of the capitulation should be observed inviolate, pledging himself that no injury shall be done by either him, or any of his followers, during the voyage.
Nov. 3. Two vessels, the Spotted Cow and the Bear, sailed shortly after from the Manhattans, having on board Gov. Rysingh and the Swedish soldiers. Arrived off the coast Dec. 26. of England, they were forced by stress of weather to put into Plymouth. Rysingh hastened to London to report to the Swedish ambassador the disasters that had befallen the crown on the South River. On his arrival in that city he received, on Stuyvesant's order, from a London mer- chant, the three hundred pounds guaranteed to him by the treaty.1
These vessels took, also, to the States General, the West India Company and the Burgomasters of Amsterdam, a memorial detailing, at considerable length, the particulars of the late troubles with the Indians, representing the de- fenceless condition of the country, and imploring assistance to enable the colonists to avenge the aggression which had been so wantonly committed on them.2 As this relief could not arrive before the spring, and as the public mind Nov. 10. continued uneasy, the Director-general called on his Coun- cil to say whether, under existing circumstances, war
1 Alb. Rec. x., 82-95, 134-137 ; xiii., 345-361, 364-367 ; Hol. Doc. viii., 1, 16, 108-117; Rysingh's report, N. Y. Hist. Coll. 2d ser. i., 443. From General Stuyvesant, Rysingh received two bills of exchange; one for 800 fl. on the Hon. Cornelis Jacobsen Steenwyck, and another for 1000 fl. on Thimotheus de Cruso, merchant in London.
9 Simple and True Narrative of the Cruelties of the Barbarous Savages against the Dutch nation in our days, presented in the form of a Petition to their High Mightinesses the States General of the United Netherlands. Oct. 1655. Alb. Rec. x., 139-142.
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with the Indians were lawful ; if so, was it advisable, and CHAP. when ? if advisable would it be successful ? if it should be V. neither lawful nor prudent, what course ought to be adopted 1655. towards the Indians, and for the recovery of the prisoners in the hands of the Weckquaesqueecks and Highland savages ? and lastly, what steps should be taken to obtain ways and means, as the revenue had decreased one-third, whilst the expedition to the South River and the ransom of the Christians had exhausted the treasury, and rendered it doubtful whether the garrison could be maintained during the winter.
The Council was divided in opinion. The only person decidedly in favor of war was the Schout-fiscaal. The Director-general considered the last outrage to have been caused by want of vigilance on the part of the citizens, and precipitate rashness "of a few hot-headed individuals," whereby the Indians had been diverted from their original design, which was, in his opinion, to attack the tribes on the east end of Long Island. He considered war, under existing circumstances, both unwise and indefensible. The colonists should begin the work of reform rather with themselves ; abate drunkenness, sabbath-breaking, public swearing, meetings of sectaries, and other irregularities, and promote the formation of villages, each of which should be provided with a block-house to serve, in case of danger, as a place of retreat. One of these ought to be erected at Hackinsack, another at Weckquaesqueeck, and all Indians should be rigidly excluded from European settlements at night, and not admitted, at any time, with arms in their hands. Every effort should be used to redeem the Christians still in the hands of the savages, and to accom- plish this purpose, he proposed increased taxes on land, houses and liquors, "as the sumptuous dress, the profuse consumption of strong drink, with the consequent lazi- ness, rendering it difficult to procure laborers for reasonable wages, do not suppose inability to contribute to the public burthens ; rather a malevolent unwillingness, arising from an imaginary liberty in a new, and, as some pretend, a free country." The condition of the province, however, opposed
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BOOK v. any direct taxation. The Council, therefore, contented
- itself in augmenting the excise. That of New Amsterdam 1655. was farmed for the ensuing year for five thousand and thirty florins, or $2,012 ; that of Beverwyck and the neigh- boring settlements of Esopus, Katskill and Rensselaers- wyck, for two thousand and thirteen guilders.1
The Long Island Indians, aware of the enmity enter- tained against them by the other savage tribes, hastened now to secure the good will of the Dutch. A delegation Nov. 27. from Tackpushaau, chief of the Marsapeagues, presented themselves accordingly at Fort Amsterdam to conclude a treaty of peace. They declared that since the last general war, they had not done the Dutch the least harm-" no, not even to the value of a dog." "Our chief," proceeded the orator, addressing the Director-general, "has been twelve years at war with those who have injured you ; and though you may consider him no bigger than your fist, he would yet prove himself strong enough. He has hitherto sat, his head drooping on his breast, yet he still hoped he should be able to show what he could achieve." With these words the Indian ambassador deposited his present -- a bundle of wampum-in token of the friendship of Tackpushaau and the chiefs of the east end of Long Island, and as a proof that when these sachems or their warriors were required, " they were ready."" The presents were accepted, and the sachems received every assurance of good will. The northern savages, however, stood out, and detained a number of the Christians as hostages, under the impression that so long as they kept them, the Dutch would remain at peace. No measures were taken to punish the perpetrators of the massacre. Stuyvesant sent delegates to New England, to endeavor to engage these colonies in a league offensive and defensive against the Indians, but without any result.
1 Alb. Rec. x., 150-170. The excise now was 8 fl. on every hogshead of wine ; 4 fl. on every tun of home-brewed, and 6 fl. on every tun of European beer.
2 Alb. Rec. x., 172, 173; Heemstede Rec. i., 25.
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CHAPTER VI.
Further labors of the Jesuits in the Mohawk country-Death of Father Jogues- Ill treatment of Father Poncet-Kindness exhibited towards him by the Dutch-Father Le Moyne accompanies the Onondagoes to their country- The Kayingehagas or Mohawks displeased,-Their speech-Discovery of the Salt Springs-Renewal of difficulties at Fort Orange-Stuyvesant ex- tends the Company's jurisdiction-Claims the excise and the tenths of the colonie-Commissary Dyckman superseded-De Decker appointed Vice Di- rector-Father Le Moyne visits Fort Orange-A new church erected in Beverwyck-The authorities of the colonie remonstrate against paying excise or tenths-Sequence of that misunderstanding-De Decker resigns-Council- lor La Montagne appointed in his place-The Burgomasters and Schepens of New Amsterdam renew their demand to nominate their successors-Pro- ceedings in consequence-Expedition against Pell's settlement at Westchester -Result thereof-Population of that town-Religious persecution breaks forth in New Netherland-Proclamation against dissenters-State of religion throughont the province-Effort to convert the Indians-Proceedings against the Lutherans and Baptists-Cornelis and Adriaen van Tienhoven disgraced -Burgomasters and Schepens demand a Burger Schout-Nicasius de Sille succeeds C. van Tienhoven-The jurisdiction of the court of the Burgomas- ters and Schepens enlarged.
THE wars so long waged between the Iroquois and the CHAP. French Indians, had been prolific of misfortune to the Jesuits, whose efforts to christianize the heathen generally 1646. terminated in their own destruction. Though ten of the twelve missionaries sent from France had already laid down their lives for the Gospel, fresh laborers were not wanting to supply the places of those who had fallen.
Father Jogues remained but a few months in his native country. On his return to Canada, he was commis- sioned by the Governor of that province to proceed to the Mohawks, to congratulate that tribe on the conclusion of a recently negotiated treaty. He set out with some May 16. Indians for the scene of his former sufferings in company with Sieur Bourdon, royal engineer, and arrived on the festival of Corpus Christi, at Lake Andiatorocté, to which, in honor of the day, he gave the name of the Lake of the
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BOOK Blessed Sacrament.1 Embarking, soon after, on the waters
v. of Oïogue, (" called by the Dutch the River Mauritius,") 1646. they at length arrived at Fort Orange, where they were June 4. most hospitably received, and after a short sojourn pro- ceeded to Oneugioure, the first castle of the Mohawks.2 Presents were here exchanged in ratification of the peace ; the French received every assurance of future welcome, June 16. and took their leave much gratified at the friendly manner in which they had been treated.
. Encouraged now by the hope that a way was at length open for the light of Christianity, Jogues again returned to the Mohawk country. Superstition, the handmaid of ignorance, was busy in the mean time arousing the prejudices of the savages against him. At his departure in June he left with his hosts, as a guarantee of his return, a small box containing some necessaries for which he should have occasion. Sickness unfortunately broke out during his absence among the tribe, and the worm de- stroyed their harvest. They became now convinced that he had left. the Evil One in that box, and on his re-appear- Oct. 17. ance among them, they stripped him of his clothing, beat him with heavy clubs, and, as he was entering a wigwam Oct. 18. to supper, he was treacherously felled with an axe, his head cut off and stuck on the palisades, and his sainted body flung into the river. The Mohawk country is known since in Catholic annals as "the Mission of the Martyrs."3 1653. War now interrupted all peaceful relations between the French and the Iroquois, and persecution ceased in the Mohawk country solely through lack of fuel, when the savages of that quarter made another incursion into the Aug. 20. heart of Canada, and captured Father Joseph Poncet, who
I Lac du Saint Sacrament, now Lake George. The signification of the In- dian name is, " the place where the lake contracts." Relation de ce qui s'est passé en la N. F., 1645-6., 50.
2 Le lendemain au soir ils arriverent en leur première bourgade, appelée Oneugioure, jadis Osserrion. Relation, 52. The French called this place, The Holy Trinity ; the Dutch, Caughnawagah, (see post, p. 390.)
3 Relation, 1645-6., 59 ; Ib. 1647., 6, 7, 125, 127, 128; Creuxius, 457. Father Jogues' Missal, Ritual, and a few of his clothes, were afterwards presented by the savages to the Rev. Mr. Megapolensis.
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happened to be abroad " endeavoring to get some persons CHAP. to cut the harvest of a poor widow." Hurrying the mis- VI. sionary away, with other unfortunate persons who fell into 1653. their hands, they stripped the captives and forced them to run the gauntlet through half a hundred armed savages, then mounted them on a lofty scaffold and obliged them to sing. Yet uncertain of his fate, a woman asked that her child be permitted to cut off one of the Father's fingers. The favor was granted, and whilst the young barbarian was practicing this early lesson in cruelty, Poncet mani- fested his resignation by chanting sacred songs. For two days and three nights was he doomed to additional tortures, whilst one of his companions was roasted alive before his Sep. 8. eyes. But Providence abandoned not its servant. He was adopted by an old crone belonging to one of the castles, and a messenger arrived a few days after with in- telligence that their warriors were on the eve of conclud- ing a peace with the Governor of Canada, who insisted as a preliminary that " the black gown" should be restored. Father Poncet now found his situation wonderfully im- proved. He was immediately conveyed to Fort Orange to be supplied with clothing and proper surgical attend- ance. Here he was presented to Commissary Dyckman, Sep. 20. who, notwithstanding M. de Lauzon, the French Governor, had written recommending the Father to that officer's attention, received him coldly ; and he was about to lie down supperless on the bare boards, having no bed, when " a worthy old Walloon" invited him into his house and treated him with the kindest hospitality. Other settlers furnished him with clothes, whilst a Scotch matron, " who was always kind to the French," sent a surgeon to dress his wounds. During his sojourn, Poncet was still alive to the duties of his calling. Having discovered two Catholics among the settlers-one a Brussels merchant, the other a young Frenchman who acted as interpreter to the settle- ment-he administered to them the consolations of religion, and then prepared for his return. On the day of his de- parture, his generous Dutch friends crowded around him with presents, and expressed the warmest regrets at his
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BOOK leaving them. He cheered them with the promise that he V should return again in the course of the ensuing summer, and 1653. consented to accept only an overcoat, a pair of moccassins, and a pair of shoes, with a blanket " to serve him as a bed on the road." A few fish were all his stock of provisions, and with Oct. 3. these he set out for home, where he arrived in the course of the following month. His journey to the Mohawk country had been by the Richelieu River and Lake Champlain. On his return he was conducted by way of the Oswego to Lake Ontario, and thence down the St. Lawrence to Que- bec.1 It is more than probable he was the first white man that traversed that region. A peace was now solemnly concluded between the Mohawks and the French, the latter leaving two of their countrymen hostages for its faithful observance.2
The friendship exhibited at this period by the savages covered, however, a deeper policy than the mere desire for peace. Their continual wars had thinned their ranks, and they were desirous to obtain the removal of the Hurons to their country to supply the places of those they had lost. This motive alone had induced them to restore Poncet.3 But this policy was not confined to the Mohawks. The Onondagoes had suffered also from their contests with the Chats or Cat Indians, and wished to embody the Hurons among their tribe. They were likewise anxious to be independent of the Mohawks, at whose hands they experi- enced considerable ill treatment in their passage through the lower country to the Dutch. They calculated that they could secure this by uniting themselves more closely with the French, whom they wished to build them a fort, where their wives and children might retire in time of Feb. 5. danger. To accomplish all these purposes, they now visit- ed Canada, and solicited the Governor of that country to send, as a preliminary, a Jesuit Father among them. Simon Le Moyne, a missionary of much experience, who had already passed eighteen years among the Indians, was
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