USA > New York > New York City > History of New Netherland; or, New York under the Dutch, Vol. II > Part 36
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Sickness, however, confined General Stuyvesant to his room, and the authorities of Fort Orange and Rensselaers- Sep. 17. wyck resolved to send ambassadors to the Mohawk country to establish a closer union, and to thank their ancient allies for their unaltered friendship.
The meeting for the renewal of this important treaty Sep. 24. was held at the first castle of the Mohawks, situated at the Indian village of Kaghnuwage, in the present county of Montgomery. The delegates, on the part of the Dutch, were Jeremias van Rensselaer, Arent van Curler, François Boon, Dirck Jansen Croon, Andries Herbertsen, Philip Pietersen Schuyler, Jan Tomassen, Volckert Jansen Douw, Adriaen Gerritsen, Johannes Provoost, and fifteen other burghers. On the part of the Indians, all the chiefs of the three castles attended. The council-fire having been lighted and the calumet smoked, one of the ambassadors rose, and thus spoke :--
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"Brothers ! we have come hither to renew our ancient CHAP. friendship and fraternity. Ye must tell this to your X1. children. Ours will for all time know and remember it 1659. by the records we bequeath them. We shall die, but these will remain, and from them shall they always learn that we have ever lived with our brothers in peace. Brothers ! we bring no cloth, for we could not get people to carry it. Friendship cannot be purchased by presents. Our heart has always been, and is still good. If it were bad, no friendship could be secure though this whole country were covered with beavers and cloth." Here three bundles of wampum were laid down.
" Brothers ! sixteen years have now elapsed since friendship and fraternity were first established between you and the Dutch ; since we were bound unto each other by an iron chain.1 Up to this time, that chain has not been broken, neither by us nor by you. We doubt not but it will be preserved bright and unbroken on both sides. We shall therefore say no more on that point, but shall always live as if we had but one heart. As an ac- knowledgment of our gratitude that we are brethren, we make you a further present of two bundles of wampum.
"Brothers ! eighteen days ago you visited us, and sub- mitted your proposals to your Dutch brethren. We could not give you an answer then, for we were expecting Stuyvesant our chief, and we promised to inform you when he should have arrived. He is now sick and cannot come. Brothers ! when we speak, we are the mouth of the Honorable Stuyvesant ; and all other Chiefs, Dutchmen and children, honor our brothers, in assurance whereof, and that we do not lie, we present these two bundles of wampum.
" Brothers ! we speak once and forever ; for ourselves, and all the Dutch who are now, or shall hereafter come to this country, and for all their children, that ye may henceforth be assured that we shall remain your brothers for all time, for the roads are so bad we cannot come
1 This furnishes the precise date of the first treaty between the Mohawks and the Dutch.
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BOOK hither every day. If any people or Indians, be they who V. they may, attempt to tamper with you, and say, the Dutch 1659. will fight against you, regard them not, believe them not ; but tell them they lie. The same shall we also say, if they speak so of our brothers ; we shall not believe any tattlers ; neither shall we fight, nor leave our brothers in distress when we can help them. But we cannot force our gunmakers or smiths to repair our brothers' fire-arms without pay, for they must earn food for their wives and little ones, who otherwise must die of hunger, or quit our land, if they get no wampum for their work. Then shall we and our brothers be afflicted for their distress." Two additional bundles of wampum were here presented.
" Brothers ! eighteen days ago, you asked us not to sell any brandy to your people, and to plug up our casks. Brothers, if your people do not come to buy brandy from us, we shall not sell any to them. It is not over two days, that twenty to thirty kegs came to us, all to be filled with brandy. Our chiefs are very angry that the Dutch sell brandy to your people, and have always forbid- den them to do so. Forbid your people also. Will ye that we take from your people their brandy and their kegs ? Say so before all those here present. But then if we do so, our brothers must not be angry with us;" and two more bundles of wampum were laid on the ground.
" Brothers ! we present you now this powder and lead. Take good care of it, distribute it among your young war- riors, and should you overtake any hostile Indians, then use it ;" and herewith were given seventy pounds of pow- der, and a hundred weight of lead.
" Brothers ! we see that you are engaged hewing timber for your fort, and you have asked of us men and horses to draw it. This the horses cannot do, the hills here are so steep, and the Dutch are all sick, as you yourselves have seen. How then can they draw palisades ? But as our brothers sometimes break their axes in chopping wood, we now present them with a fresh supply ;" and with these words fifteen axes were laid down.
" Brothers ! some of your people, as well as Mahicanders
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and Senecas, sometimes kill our horses, our cows, and our CHAP. cattle. We request our brothers to forbid such acts ;" and X1. herewith were presented two beavers' worth of knives.1 1659.
This speech gave much satisfaction, and the chiefs and bystanders gladly agreed that the Dutch should seize the liquor kegs of the Indians. The delegates now embraced the opportunity, whilst the savages were in good humor, to interpose in behalf of eight Frenchmen, prisoners in the hands of the Mohawks, and to demand that these unfortu- nate men be liberated and restored to their country. But such proposals could not be acceded to before they were submitted to all the castles. The Indians complained bit- terly of the bad faith of the French. They make treaties, but do not observe them. Whenever hunting parties of the Mohawks were abroad, they were attacked by the French Indians, among whom a number of Frenchmen were always skulking to knock them on the head. They would communicate their determination by two or three of their chiefs.
These negotiations were not yet terminated when an express arrived from Fort Orange, announcing that a col- lision had taken place between the Dutch and the Esopus Indians, and that several had been killed on both sides. This news was immediately made known to the Mohawks, who now promised that, should the Esopus or others of the river tribes come with presents to obtain their co-operation against the Christians, "they would meet them at the threshold and say, ' Away with ye, ye beasts, ye swine ; we will have nothing to do with ye !'" Having thus suc- ceeded in securing the friendship of this influential tribe, the delegates left Caughnawagah on the next morning, Sep. 25. and rode so hard that they arrived at home in the evening of the same day.2
1 Expenses paid by the Company on the occasion of this treaty : For the hire of a horse for Johannes Provoost, the Company's servant, fl. 25. Spent by the committee in French wine when they took leave, and returned, 15. To Rutger Jacobsen for nine cans of brandy, to be delivered to the delegates for presents to the savages, 36. For presents to the Maquaas, 656.10=fl. 732.10.
3 Fort Orange Rec. Hon. Jeremias van Rensselaer's letter to his brother, Jan Baptist, 6th June, 1660. Caughnawagah, where this treaty was made, is forty-
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BOOK V. In the meanwhile the whole province was thrown into the greatest consternation by the unfortunate occurrence 1659. at Esopus. During the whole summer mutual distrust and suspicion had prevailed between Christians and Indians in July 29. that section of the country. The former were disturbed by reports that the savages intended to massacre them when occupied in saving the harvest. The latter doubted the sincerity of the Director-general's desire to preserve peace. They feared that it was his intention to surprise and destroy them, for he had not yet sent those presents he had promised. As for the charges of intended violence circulated against themselves, the Indians utterly denied Aug. 17. them, and their sachems came promptly forward and de- clared them false. "We patiently submit," said these chiefs, " to the blows which have been inflicted on us ; yet the Dutch still plunder our corn ;" and here laying down seventeen small sticks, "So many times have the Swanne- kins struck and assaulted us in divers places. We are willing to live in peace, but we expect your chief Sachem will make us some presents. Otherwise he cannot be sincere."
It was whilst this bad understanding existed that the Sep. I. news arrived of the murders committed at Mespath. Rumors that the Esopus savages were busy night and day, preparing bows and arrows, now became rife, and every man's mind was again agitated by terrors of its own creation. Under such circumstances but little was required to bring about a collision, and as trouble is always at hand when looked for, that little was not long wanting.
A few Indians, some eight in number, were em- ployed by Thomas Chambers,' one of the settlers, till late
one miles west of Albany. Railroads and steam have wrought a wonderful change in travelling since the Dutch delegates travelled this road.
1 Thomas Chambers came originally to this country as a farmer under the first Patroon of Rensselaerswyck, and occupied the alluvial tract on which the city of Troy now stands. He removed in 1652 to the Esopus, where he accu- mulated, by commercial and other speculations, large parcels of land. On the 16th October, 1672, an order was issued by Gov. Lovelace, setting forth that Capt. Thomas Chambers, Justice of the Peace at Esopus, hath done signal and notable service in the time of the wars against the Indians ; and having by his industry acquired a considerable estate, and having, among the rest, a man-
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in the evening, shelling or husking corn. At the termina- CHAP. tion of their work, they asked for brandy, a bottle of which XI. was imprudently furnished. With this the party now with- 1659. drew to within a short distance of the fort, where they sat down and indulged in their excesses until midnight. Exci- ted by the liquor, they now " began making a terrible noise," and having some wampum, they determined on purchasing an additional supply of drink. They succeeded, unfortu- nately, in obtaining a present of another bottle from a Dutch soldier, and they again renewed their carousal ; but " the bottle had scarce made one round when they commenced pulling each other's hair." At this stage of the debauch, a drunken savage discharged his gun loaded, however, only with powder. Now one of the party proposed adjourning. " He felt some sensation in his body as if they should all be killed." He was jeered for his alarm. "Who'd kill us ? We never harmed the Dutch. Why should they kill us ?" This, however, did not appease his fears. "My
sion house not far from the town of Kingston, with a great tract of land there- unto belonging, which said house is made defensive against any sudden incur- sion of the Indians or others, in acknowledgment of those services, and in part recompense thereof, the said house and lands were erected into the Manor of FOXHALL .. This grant was confirmed in October, 1686, by Gov. Dougan, who invested the manor with power to hold Court Leet and Court Baron ; to appoint a steward to try causes arising between the vassals ; and granted, also, all waifs, estrays, felons' property, &c., to the lord, with right of advowson and patronage to such church as he may establish on his premises. With all these temporal honors, Chambers' heart seemed unsatisfied. His first wife, Margaritta Hen- drix, dying without issue, he married, in 1681, Laurentia Kellenaelt, widow of Daniel van Gaasbeck, whose son Abraham assumed the name of Chambers, and became heir to the manor of Foxhall, on the death of his step-father, 1694. Under the dread that his name should become extinct or his manor broken up, Thomas Chambers established by his last will, a most intricate entail. For in case Abraham Gaasbeck Chambers died without issue, the estate went to his sister Jannetje, " on condition that she and her children should bear the name of Chambers, as well as whoever should marry her." Under like failure here, it passed to her next eldest sister, Maria Salisbury, on like condition, whose eldest son was to inherit both the property and the name. But if he died with- out children, it was to go successively from her second to her tenth son, and if no sons survived, to her eldest daughter, on the conditions already mentioned. In all cases the manor was to be left entire. Whether any descendants of this ancient family remain, we cannot say ; but the manor of Foxhall, with its stew- ards, its Court Leet and Court Baron, its advowson and patronage, has itself become "a waif and estray." The name has disappeared except from the Book of Patents.
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BOOK heart feels heavy within me-my heart is full of fear," he V. n replied, as he again entreated his companions to leave the 1659. place. And well it might. The crackling of the under- wood told but too plainly the approach of danger. For whilst these heedless fools were thus destroying their reason, the Dutch in the fort became alarmed by the hideous noises which disturbed the silence of the night. Forthwith, the sergeant of the guard was ordered out to reconnoitre, and on reporting at his return that the dis- turbance proceeded from some drunken savages, Jacob Jansen Stol called on several of the people to follow him in a sortie against them. Contrary to the orders of Ensign Smith, he left the fort accompanied by Jacob Jan- sen van Stoutenbergh, Thomas Higgins, Gysbert Phillipsen van Velthuysen, Evert Pels, Jan Arentsen, and Barent Harmensen, and attacked the savages as they lay huddled in sleep, and fired a volley of musketry among them.1 The unfortunate wretches immediately jumped up. One was knocked on the head with an axe ; a second was taken prisoner ; a third fled ; a fourth, whilst lying intoxicated, " was hewn on the head with a cutlass," which had the effect of rousing him from his slumbers, and he made off. " The Dutch thereupon retreated to the fort with great speed."
The Ensign now instituted an enquiry as to who had commanded the fire. The guilty party cast the blame on the savages, who, they averred, fired first .? The truth
1 Another entry states that Martin Hofman, Gilles de Wecker, Abel Dircksen, and James the mason, also accompanied this party.
That the Indians, on this occasion, were "more sinned against than sin- ning," is evident from the statement of the Katskill savages, who were friendly to the Dutch throughout the whole of these troubles, and from whose report the particulars of the Indian debauch is taken. The report of the Mohawk chiefs, Oct. 29, 1659, corroborates the fact. " They with their four castles had delib- erated on the exploit which took place between the Dutch and the Indians at the Esopus. All their Zaakemaakers (chiefs) lay the cause of the war on us," the Dutch. MSS. in County Clerk's Office, Albany. The Hon. Jeremias van Rensselaer confirms this statement in a letter which he subse- quently wrote to his brother. "The Esopus war," he says, " was commenced in a wholly disorderly manner, and the Dutch are most to blame, for they first shot an Indian." After reading the whole of the evidence, the Directors in Holland declared, " our people did court and begin this conflict." Alb. Rec.
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was now manifest ; Ensign Smith could no longer control CHAP. the movements of the people. " All acted their own way." ~ XI. He thereupon announced that he had already received 1659. orders to return with his soldiers to the Manhattans, and that, in obedience thereto, he should depart on the morrow. This caused only additional excitement, and he discovered, when the morrow came, that the settlers had cut off his retreat by chartering, on their own account, all the yachts which lay at the shore, and in which he and his men in- tended to embark. Nothing, therefore, remained but to send an express to Fort Amsterdam to announce to the Director-general the actual state of affairs, and to request his presence at that place. With this view, an armed party, eighteen or nineteen in number, with a sergeant and eight soldiers, set out for the shore, to forward the Sep. 21. dispatches. On their return, they fell into an ambuscade ; were unexpectedly surrounded by the Indians, to whom thirteen of the party, including the sergeant and six of his men, surrendered, with their arms in their hands, without firing a shot or offering the least resistance.1
War was now openly declared by the Indians, who, as may be easily conceived, were considerably inflamed against the Dutch. All the houses, barns, and corn stacks within their reach were burnt ; the horses and other cattle killed ; whilst the savages, estimated at from four to five hundred warriors, harassed the Dutch night and day in the fort, which they made desperate attempts to fire, and from which none of the settlers durst venture, so closely and so constantly was the place invested. During this siege, which lasted nearly three weeks, hostilities con- tinued with but trifling interruption. But, owing either to
iv., 330. Secretary Van Ruyven also corroborates this fact. The whole trans- action clearly illustrates Mr. Moulton's observation, that " the cruelty of the natives towards the whites, will, when traced, be discovered, in almost every case, to have been provoked by oppression or aggression."
1 The following are the names of the settlers who were taken prisoners on this occasion: Jacob Jansen van Stoutenbergh, Thomas Clapboard, William Carpenter, Pieter Hillebrant, Abraham Pieterz. Vosburg, Evert Pels' son. Clapboard subsequently made his escape, and young Pels was adopted into the tribe. " The youth took there a wife, who became pregnant, and unwilling to part with him or he with her." See also Alb. Rec. xxiv., 68.
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BOOK V. the lack of ammunition or the inadequacy of their weapons, but little impression was made on the fort by the assail- 1659. ants.1 Their want of success here served, however, to whet the more their desire for vengeance. They turned on the unfortunate men, already in their hands, with the most ungovernable fury. Selecting some eight or ten of these, among whom were Stoutenbergh and Abraham Vosburg, they tied them to the stake, and having hacked and cut them in the most cruel manner, sacrificed them, whilst yet alive, by enveloping them in flames.2
Sep. 23.
When the news of this outbreak was received at the Manhattans, it caused the greatest consternation. "The farmers, apprehending a new massacre, fled in every di- rection, abandoning their harvested grain, cattle, and even their nearest inhabited villages on Long Island." The situation of the country "was never worse than at this time." Fever and other diseases were prostrating the energies of the people. The garrison at Fort Amsterdam consisted of " only six or seven sick soldiers," and despair seemed to have taken hold of men, women, and children. Yet the more imminent the crisis, the more active became the energies of the Director-general, and the more abund- ant the resources of his mind. Though laboring under severe indisposition, he visited in person all the adjoin- ing villages, encouraging the well disposed, stimulating the timid, and urging the farmers everywhere to fortify Sep. 30. and defend their villages. He summoned next the Burgo- masters, Schepens, and officers of the militia of New Am- sterdam, and laid before them the distressing situation of Esopus. They proposed to enlist, by beat of drum, a sufficient number of men, and to encourage volunteers by resolving that whatever savages might be captured should be declared " good prizes." Stuyvesant, however, was opposed to this mode of proceeding. It would cause, in his opinion, too great a delay, as those at Esopus were already besieged some nine or ten days. He was left, not- withstanding, in a minority. Two more days were thus
1 Alb. Rec. xvi., 60-65, 67, 70-80, 83, 85, 87, 93-97.
2 Hon. Jeremias van Rensselaer's letter book.
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irretrievably lost, for at the end of that time only six or CHAP. eight had enlisted, " such a terrible horror had overpow -~
XI. ered the citizens." Capt. Newton and Lieut. Stillwell were 1659. now dispatched to all the English and Dutch villages, and letters were addressed to Fort Orange and Rensse- Oct. 2. laerswyck ordering out the Company's servants, calling for volunteers, and authorizing the formation of a troop of mounted rangers. The half dozen soldiers in Fort Amster- dam ; every person belonging to the artillery ; all the clerks in the public offices ; four of the Director-general's servants ; three of the hands belonging to his brewery, and five or six new-comers, were put under requisition. But when these were mustered, they numbered only thirty-six in all. Nothing could overcome the reluctance of the burghers. "The one disheartened the other ; the more violent maintaining that they were obliged to defend only their own homes, and that no citizen could be forced to jeopardize his life in fighting barbarous savages." Dis- couraged and almost deprived of hope by this opposition, the Director-general again summoned the city magistrates ; he informed them that he had now some forty men, and expected between twenty and thirty Englishmen from the adjoining villages. He, therefore, ordered that the three companies of the city militia be paraded next day in his presence, armed and equipped, in order that one last effort be made to obtain volunteers. If he should then fail of success, he announced his intention to make a draft.
The companies paraded before the fort on the following morning, according to orders. Stuyvesant addressed them in most exciting terms. He appealed to their sense both of honor and of duty ; represented to them how ardently they would look for aid, if they, unfortunately, were placed in a situation similar to that in which their brethren of Esopus now found themselves, and concluded his harangue by calling on all such as would accompany him either for pay, or as volunteers, to step forward to the rescue. "Few came forward; only twenty-four or twenty-five persons." This number being considered insufficient, lots
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BOOK V. were immediately ordered to be drawn by one of the companies, and those on whom they fell were warned 1659. to be ready on the next Sunday, on pain of paying fifty guilders. "However, if any person was weak-hearted or discouraged, he might procure a substitute," provided he declared himself instantaneously. "Honor and shame silenced every mouth."
All arrangements having been completed, the expedition embarked on Sunday evening, " after the second sermon." It consisted of one hundred drafted men, forty volunteers, twenty-five or twenty-six Englishmen, and nearly as many friendly Indians, belonging to the Marespinck tribe, of Oct. 10. Long Island. With this party Stuyvesant sailed next day for the Esopus, where, on his arrival, he learned that the siege had been raised thirty-six hours previous, the savages finding, after having stormed the works seve- ral times, that they could make no impression on the place. The loss of the Dutch during the siege, was one killed and five or six wounded. The Indians had succeeded in firing one dwelling-house and four stacks of corn by means of burning arrows. As there was now no evident employ- ment for the large force from the Manhattans, the heavy rains having inundated the country all around with nearly a foot of water, and thus prevented any possibility of pursuing the foe, Stuyvesant prepared to return to the Manhattans. At the moment of re-embarkation he was doomed to witness an occurrence, which, he declares, he " blushes to mention." As all the troops could not go on board at once, those who had been drafted were obliged to wait until the first division had embarked. During this interval, the sentinels, hearing a dog bark, fired two or three shots. The impression immediately prevailed that the Indians were at hand, and such a panic seized the citi- zens that many of them " threw themselves into the water before they had seen an enemy." The alarm, however, soon subsided, and all got in safety on board.
The authorities at Fort Orange now exerted themselves to bring about, if possible, an armistice and the release of those Christians who remained in the hands of the savages.
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With this view, they obtained the co-operation of some CHAP. Mohawk and Mohegan chiefs, who, after remaining five XI days among those of Esopus, brought in two of the 1659. prisoners. These were accompanied by several sa- Nov. 1. chems, who, being compelled by the Mohawks, the Mohegans, and the Katskills, concluded an armistice, to continue as long as the same should be agreeable to the Director-general. The latter returned, in the hope of Nov. 28. making a permanent treaty, but the savages were afraid to meet him. A conference was again held in the course of Dec. 18. the ensuing month, and the Indians were persuaded to bring in some supplies in exchange for powder. But the truce was a hollow one. They still retained the young prison- ers, having killed all the others. Those who had agreed to the armistice were not, it seems, the principal sachems. Under these circumstances, the Director-general wrote in Dec. 29. the most urgent terms to the Chamber at Amsterdam, for reinforcements. " If a farmer cannot plough, sow or reap, in a new-settled country, without being harassed and dis- turbed ; if a citizen and merchant cannot freely navigate the streams and rivers, they will, doubtless," he urged, "leave the country and look out for some place of resi- dence and such government where they will be protected." The Directors wrote back instructing him to employ the Mohawks and other savages against the Esopus Indians. But this, for reason, he declined. "The Mohawks are, above all other savages, a vain-glorious, proud and bold tribe, yet more presumptuous on account of their con- tinued victories over the French, and the French Indians, in Canada. If their aid be demanded and obtained, and success follow, they will only become the more inflated, and we the more contemptible in the eyes of the other tribes. If we did not then reward their services in a manner satis- factory to their greedy appetites, they would incessantly revile us, and were this retorted, it might lead to collision. It was, therefore, safer," he concluded, "to stand on our own feet as long as possible."1
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