USA > New York > Schoharie County > History of Schoharie county, and border wars of New York > Part 15
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" Ik wens u glucksaalic nieu jar ! Dat gy lang leben mag- Veel geben mag- En de kernigh-reich von de himmel erben mogh !"
I wish you a happy new-year ! May you long live- Have much to give- And in heaven at last appear !
Christmas is a day still observed in the Dutch and German settlements of New York, though not as much as formerly. On the evening before Christmas, children hang up their stockings on going to bed, expecting to find them filled in the morning with presents, such as cakes, fruit, nuts, &c. by an imaginary visitor called Santa Claas. If the children have been wilful and refrac- tory, the messenger of St. Nicholas, who is only a neighbor dis- guised, sometimes arrives before bed-time with a whip instead of
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a present ; and lucky are the mischievous urchins who can hide themselves under a bed, or their mother's apron to avoid chas- tisement. Formerly, the occasion was improved to punish dis- obedient slaves, whose superstitious fears prevented them from penetrating the disguise which often concealed some member of the family in which they lived.
Paas, Easter-day; and Pinkster, Whitsunday, are days also noted in the annals of the Dutch. The former day is ushered in by the young, with presents of eggs colored various hues ; while the latter is more particularly observed by the colored population. The blacks are seen with smiling faces on that day, clad in their best apparel, going to visit their friends-often bearing flowers called by them Pinkster-bloomies ; which are known in New Eng- land as blossoms of the swamp-apple.
The early farmers of Schoharie turned their attention mostly to raising wheat, as do their descendants-or rather did, until the weevil prevented. They have ever kept too many horses, and too few cattle and sheep for profit-the well fed horse being a very expensive boarder. Not many of the Dutch to this day keep large dairies, as very few of them make English cheese. Some of them, however, make considerable butter, and the world may be chal- lenged to excel them in making it palatable. Many of them churn the milk with the cream, and when that is not done, it goes through a process in working it called washing, which in either case, divests it of a greasy flavor more common to butter made in English settlements. The Dutch also make excellent bread.
Sour-crout* is a German dish much eaten in the Schoharie and Mohawk valleys. Many families make a barrel of it every fall.
* This article is made as follows. Late in the fall a quantity of good sound cabbage is prepared as it would be for slaugh, or salad, to conform to Web- ster. It is cut with knives set in a plank. In a clean barrel the packing is commenced. A layer of cabbage is closely laid by the aid of a heavy pounder, after which a handful of common salt is sprinkled upon it, and also a little water, to moisten the whole. This process is repeated until a sufficieney is secured ; when a board is laid upon the top and kept down by weights. The barrel is then put in the cellar. Fermentation causes a scum to rise upon
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I have before observed that witchcraft was believed in by some of the Schoharie people, many years ago. A man by the name of Rector once shot, with impunity, an old woman living on the bank of the Schoharie, opposite the present village of Esperance, said to have been bewitched. She was shot through a window of her own house. Cattle were sometimes killed for the same supposed malady and burned up. I have spoken of old Doctor Moulter, as a believer in witchcraft. He is said to have had re- peated battles with witches, and on one occasion to have encoun- tered seven at once, at a small brook, near the corner of the roads in the north part of Schoharie village, and retreated until he placed his back against the brick church, when he overpowered them. It is not unlikely he met a Mary Magdalene, as they still lurk at times about the same corners. One anecdote more of the old Doctor. He pretended he could drive rats from one house to another, and was often hired by the superstitious-by whom he was very liberally paid, to drive the rats from their dwellings to those of their neighbors with whom they were not on good terms. Moulter, at precisely such an hour of the night, would rap on the corners of the house-repeat a lingo of his own, and command every rat, dead or alive, to leave the house thus thumped, and go to such an one as he was hired to send them to. Possibly he threatened to bewitch them if they did not pack up and be off. The silly doctrine of witchcraft has fled the Schoharie valley, never more to enter it.
The inhabitants of Schoharie suffered but little in the French war. A block fort was then erected on the west side of the road, nearly opposite the residence of the late Philip Dietz. It is said, however, to have been but little used and not even garrisoned. The Six Nations of Indians which embraced the Schoharie tribe, were English allies in the war, consequently the frontier settle- ments were not much exposed. A small number of hostile In- dians entered Schoharie once during this war. Jacob Folluck
the board, which should be cleansed as often as the barrel is disturbed. Sour- crout is usually cooked with potage, and for persons who exercise, it is very nutritious. It is much used in long voyages at sea.
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was the only person killed by them. Near the present residence of David Lawyer, on Foxes creek, the enemy were secreted by an oat-field, intending the capture of several persons expected there to cut oats. Mr. Folluck with his dog and gun had just left home to go hunting. Passing the Indians, his dog began to bark ; when the former, fearing discovery, shot the dog and his mas- ter, whom they scalped; and then precipitately left Schoharie. Mr. Sternberg, returning from Beaver Dam, passed unmolested by his concealed foes, just before his neighbor was shot. They were desirous of taking several prisoners at once, and he, being alone, passed unmolested. Sternberg had lost part of his nose, which was observed by the Indians in ambush. After the war he was recognized by some of them in the Mohawk valley, by the deficiency of his nasal organ. He was asked if he did not remember passing by the oat-field on the morning his neighbor was killed, leading a cow by a rope ? He replied that he did. He was then assured that Folluck would not have been injured, but for his dog.
At the beginning of the French war a treaty was held with the Indians near where Boyd's mill now stands, in the present town of Middleburgh. The meeting was very numerously attended. Queter, (Peter,) an Oquago chief, who it would seem was in the French interest, closed a speech as follows. Laying down an iron wedge upon a fallen tree, said he, alluding to their union with the French, " We are like that-strong and can not be bro- ken !" Mrs. Josiah Swart, who perfectly understood the Indian dialect, is said to have acted as interpreter on the occasion. When the symbol was explained, Mrs. S. emphatically address- ed Queter in his native tongue, and in behalf of the British interest as follows. Said she-taking a guinea from her pocket and laying it upon the wedge, " We are like that, which is equally strong and can outlive your symbol; for if both be buried in the ground the rust will destroy yours, while ours will come out as strong and as bright as ever !" When the squaw's speech was in- terpreted-Indians call all women squaws-it was pronounced superior to any other delivered on the occasion. It is supposed
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Sir William Johnson-under whom some of the white citizens and Indians of Schoharie served during this war, was present at this meeting, as there were chiefs assembled from several tribes. Abraham, a Schoharie chief, was among the speakers on the oc- casion. On the same ground, after the Canadas were conquered, a jubilee was held, at which time a barrel of rum was drank. A bonfire was also made by piling a large quantity of pine knots around a dry tree, the light of which, when "the evening shades prevailed," beautified the rich mountain scenery around. At this jolly festival, Judge Brown, from whom these facts were obtained, wrestled with a young Indian and threw him. He bellowed ter- ribly when he got up, and his mother hearing his cries, ran to the spot and struck Brown upon the head with a pine knot, which felled him to the ground and nearly extinguished life.
Pleasure wagons were unknown in Schoharie in former times, and persons attending church, going to frolicks, or to visit distant friends, usually went on horse-back. Many a horse, to which had been fed a double allowance of wheat for the occasion, has borne not only his master to a dance, but at the same time a sub- stantial guest of the gentler sex. Riding on horse-back was a healthy exercise much indulged in by ladies formerly. The side- saddles upon which they rode, exhibit the pretty form of a large mud-turtle.
When neighbors returned from social visits, they always car- ried home for the children, a liberal quantity of oli-cooks-small round cakes with raisins in the centre and fried in lard, and sweet cakes.
The practice among the early Germans and Dutch, of sparking it without fuel or rush-light, has now become obsolete.
That the Americans as a people have degenerated from their ancestors in point of stature, limitation of life, and ability to en- dure fatigue, would seem to be a fact generally admitted. Some of the causes it may be well to notice, as it is highly important as a nation, we should not only have vigorous understandings, but strength of body to plan and execute any undertaking man may perform. One of the most obvious causes of declining
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strength, is the sedentary life of an increasing number of our ci- tizens, added to the fact that far too little exercise is taken in the open air. It is so ordered on our planet, that man shall acquire a living by the sweat of his brow-and it is further ordained, that the labor implied in the mandate shall invigorate his bodily pow- ers. Another reason why we do not possess the constitutions of our ancestors, is, our luxurious mode of life when compared with theirs. We use more tea, coffee and sugar than they did, and our food is frequently seasoned to death. In fact, modern cookery is becoming a science, calculated to pamper the appetite of the in- dolent ; leaving the victim no other excuse than pastry for be- coming a gouty dyspeptic. Another palpable cause of pulmona- ry habits, is fashionable dressing. What tends much to weaken us, although perhaps not so considered, is the use of stoves instead of fire-places for warming rooms : and I may add to this another, in the general introduction of bolting-cloths into grist-mills. An- drew Loucks, who, at our interview, was in his ninety-seventh year, in answer to the question, " why were people of your day healthier than those born at a later period," replied-" We ate lighter food when I was a boy than at present, such as soups ; used a great deal of milk and but little tea and coffee : we some- times made chocolate by roasting wheat flour in a pot, though not often. But ah! added the old man, " young people are now up late nights-to run about evenings is not good, but to take the morning air is good."
I should, perhaps, have remarked that the feeding of candy and sweat-meats to children, has tended more than most people imagine, to destroy the vigor of our race. There are, however, in spite of the evils of infant pupilage, causes beginning to oper- ate favorably, for the extension of human life, so that in the ag- gregate, it is estimated that the average limitation of man's exist- ence is now annually on the increase. Reasons obvious for this are, that science is augmenting its mastery of disease, while tem- perance is manifesting its benevolent operations in its prevention.
The first tea party in Schoharie county was given by one of the Vrooman families, in Vrooman's Land. Miss Loucks, a sister of
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my informant, was a guest. When the enlivener was announced as ready, the party gathered about a round table, upon which stood not a morsel of any thing to eat, except a liberal lump of maple sugar, placed beside each cup. As the India beverage en- tered the cups from a kettle in which it had been boiled as one, would boil potatoes, great was the curiosity to know how it might taste ; but it was soon satisfied in most of the guests, who sipped and did nothing but sip, at a beverage that would have borne an egg. No milk was used in the tea at Vrooman's. Miss Loucks, who did not like sugar, ashamed to have the rest of the party think she had not used her's, slipped it into a side pocket and car- ried it home. The ancient Dutch custom always placed a lump of sugar beside each cup, and did not allow it to dissolve until it entered the mouth, when a frequent nibble sufficed .- A. Loucks. In doing the honors of a tea-table 25 years ago, the question- will you bite or stir ?- was asked each guest.
Before tracing those events of the American Revolution, which the reader, in the course of this work, is to expect, I will insert for the benefit of the young, some of the leading causes which brought it about.
Much had occurred during the colonizing of the several Ame- rican states, to estrange their affection and allegiance from the British Crown. Repeated attempts had been made to abrogate their charters-limit their manufactures, and circumscribe their commerce : while numerous measures were adopted to render them more servile, and less confident in their own capacity for govern- ment and self-protection.
The war between Great Britain and France, called the French war, which lasted from 1755 to 1762, and ended so gloriously for Britain in the conquest of Canada and other French possessions in America, discovered to England the importance of her Ameri- can colonies. The English, at that period, knew but little of the true state of feeling existing in America, except that obtained through prejudiced sources : which remark is not wholly inappli- cable, even at the present day. The war to which I have alluded, created for Britain a heavy national debt. To liquidate this debt, the colonies were taxed, without having a voice in the councils
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of the mother country ; against which they firmly, and with great unanimity remonstrated. The British ministry, ignorant of the geography of the colonies, treated those popular remonstrances with a degree of indifference and contempt, that tended to lessen the confidence of the colonists in the English government. To the mad policy the British ministry pursued, there were in England some most honorable opposers. Among the foremost may be re- gistered the illustrious names of a Pitt, a Conway and a Barre. From the fact, that the colonists found some noble champions in England to assert their rights, they were the more united and un- tiring in their attempts to obtain redress. As the criminal, if re- strained even for an imaginary offence, is the more closely confined and watched if he makes any attempt to regain his liberty, so it was with the colonies ; the more they remonstrated, the heavier the manacles that were wrought for them. It is not to be won- dered at, that a people taught from the cradle to appreciate liber- ty, should manfully assert and maintain it.
A system of taxation was devised by the British ministry as early as 1754. The plan proposed that the colonies should erect fortifications, raise troops, &c .; with power to draw on the Bri- tish treasury to defray the expense of the same-the whole ulti- mately to be reimbursed by a tax from the mother country on the colonies. This plan was objected to by the sagacious Franklin, who, in a written reply to Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, proved clearly that the Americans could never submit to a tax that would render them servile-that they were already taxed in- directly without having a voice, being compelled to pay heavy du- ties on the manufactures of the mother country ; although many of the articles might be manufactured on American soil, or pur- chased cheaper in some other foreign market.
Dissatisfaction was for years gaining ground in the colonies ; and as the intelligence of the people increased, so that they could the better appreciate the value of liberty, the prejudices against the mother country were correspondingly augmented. Every new step the ministry took, having for its ultimate object to fix upon the Americans a system of taxation, was regarded with jeal-
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ousy. They were aware that Great Britain had so fettered their foreign trade, as almost wholly to confine their commerce to her- self.
The French war had swelled the national debt of England to nearly three hundred and twenty millions of dollars. George Grenville, then prime minister of England, wishing to devise some means for raising a revenue to meet the increased expenses of the British government, which should not prove onerous at home, pro- posed to raise a revenue in America to go into the exchequer of Great Britain. The first act for this object was passed in 1764. It imposed a duty on " clayed sugar, indigo, &c.," and would have been submitted to, had it not been closely followed by others still more oppressive. Governor Bernard, of Massachusetts, issued a pamphlet, doubtless from sinister motives, justifying the course of England. He recommended abolishing the colonial charters-a new division of the colonies-a nobility for life in each division- the whole to come under one general government, and that to be under the control of the King, abolishing, at the same time, re- ligious freedom of opinion, etc. It may well be imagined what effect sentiments would produce in America, which were intended to demolish colonial rights. In March, of the same year, Mr. Grenville reported a resolution imposing certain stamp duties on the colonies. It was not to be acted upon, however, until the next session of Parliament. Opportunity being thus afforded the colonies, nearly all expressed in the interim, their disapprobation. In strong terms the House of Burgesses, of Virginia, signified their sense of the measure. They addressed lucid and sensible remon- strances to the King and both houses of Parliament. In those, they exhibited the want of a precedent to such a proceeding-the subversion of their rights as subjects of Great Britain-the ex- hausted state of their finances by the late war, which left that colony involved in a debt, to cancel which must impose for years to come a tax on her citizens-the general depression of business- their present exposed state, as the Indians on the frontier were unsubdued, and might increase their colonial debt, &c. The ad- dresses throughout, breathed a tone of humble firmness. Those
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memorials were not even allowed to be read in the House of Com- mons. Doctor Franklin, who was then in England, waited upon Mr. Grenville in person, to persuade him to abandon a measure, he well knew must excite the whole continent. Grenville perse- vered, and in March, 1765, the obnoxious bill was brought into the House of Commons. General Conway was the only member who openly contended against the right of Parliament to enact such a law. Charles Townsend, an advocate for the bill, closed a long and rather eloquent speech as follows :
" And now will those Americans, children planted by our care, nourished by our indulgence, till they are grown to a degree of strength and opulence, and protected by our arms, will they grudge to contribute their mite to relieve us from the heavy weight of that burden which we lie under ?"
Colonel Barre, one of the most respectable members of the House of Commons, with strong feelings of indignation in his countenance and expression, replied to Mr. Townsend in the fol- lowing eloquent and laconic manner :
" THEY PLANTED BY YOUR CARE ?- No. Your oppressions plant- ed them in America. They fled from your tyranny into a then uncultivated land, where they were exposed to all the hardships to which human nature is liable ; and among others, to the cruel- ties of a savage foe, the most subtle, and, I will take upon me to say, the most terrible, that ever inhabited any part of God's earth. And yet, actuated by principles of true English liberty, they met all these hardships with pleasure, when they compared them with those they suffered in their own country, from men who should have been their friends.
" THEY NOURISHED BY YOUR INDULGENCE ?- They grew up by your neglect of them. As soon as you began to care about them, that care was exercised in sending persons to rule them in one de- partment and in another, who were perhaps the deputies of depu- ties to some members of this House, sent to spy out their liberties, to misrepresent their actions, and to prey upon them .- Men whose behavior on many occasions, has caused the blood of those sons of liberty to recoil within them .- Men promoted to the highest seats of justice, some of whom to my knowledge were glad, by going to a foreign country, to escape being brought to the bar of a court of justice in their own.
" THEY PROTECTED BY YOUR ARMS ?- They have nobly taken up arms in your defence. They have exerted a valor amidst their constant and laborious industry, for the defence of a country whose
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frontier was drenched in blood, while its interior parts yielded all its little savings to your emolument. And believe-remember I this day tell you so, that same spirit of freedom which actuated that people at first, will accompany them still: but prudence for- bids me to explain myself further. God knows I do not at this time speak from any motives of party heat; what I deliver are the genuine sentiments of my heart. However superior to me in general knowledge and experience the respectable body of this House may be, yet I claim to know more of Americans than most of you, having seen and been conversant in that country. The people, I believe, are as truly loyal as any subjects the King has, but a people jealous of their liberties, and who will vindicate them, if ever they should be violated: but the subject is too delicate-I will say no more."
The bill was passed by the Commons, and met with no oppo- sition at all in the House of Lords. On the twenty-second of the same month, 1765, it received the royal assent. Soon after the passage of the bill, Doctor Franklin, in a letter to Mr. Charles Thompson, afterwards secretary to Congress, thus writes : "The sun of liberty is set ; you must light up the candles of industry and economy." Said Mr. Thompson, in his reply to Franklin,- " Be assured that we shall light up torches of quite another sort." To Mr. Ingersoll, who left London about the time the bill passed, Doctor Franklin said: "Go home and tell your people to get children [for soldiers] as fast as they can." The act, which was not to take effect until the following November, provided, that all contracts should be written on stamped paper, or have no force in law. As a matter of course, the paper was to be furnished at extravagant prices. As it was foreseen that unusual measures would be required to enforce a law, which, from its very nature, must meet with resistance, provision was made that all penalties for its violation might be recovered in the admiralty courts, which received their appointment from the crown. This was intended to obviate the process of trial by jury, as it was supposed no co- lonial jury would aid in enforcing a law so obnoxious. The news of its final passage was received in the colonies with sorrowing of heart. Almost every thing was done by the people that could be, to manifest their abhorence of the stamp act. The shipping in the harbor at Boston displayed colors at half mast; church-
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bells were muffled and tolled, and societies in most of the colonies were formed to resist the execution of the law. Masters of ves- sels who brought the stamps, were treated with indignity, and compelled to deliver up the stamps to the populace, who made bonfires of them and the law. Effigies of Andrew Oliver, who had been appointed stamp-distributer for the colony of Massachu- setts, and the British minister, lord North, (who had succeeded Mr. Grenville,) and some of his advisers, were made, and in so- lemn mockery, publicly burned. Justices of the peace refused to interpose their authority to enforce the law. Stamp officers were compelled to yield to the popular will, and agree never to deliver a stamp. And what was most alarming to Great Britain, many of the merchants entered into solemn engagements to import no more goods from the mother country, until the act was repealed.
In the month of May following the passage of the act, five spirited resolutions against the law were introduced into the le- gislature of Virginia, by Patrick Henry, and after a very warm debate, were adopted. The fifth resolution read as follows :
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