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644
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
1656. 2 March. Jesuit mis- sion at Onondaga. 17 May. 11 July.
CH. XVIII. tablishment of a French colony among the Iroquois. The governor yielded a ready assent, and Father Le Mercier, the superior general, accompanied by Dablon and five other missionaries, with fifty Frenchmen under the command of the Sieur Dupuys, set out for Onondaga. Entering Lake Genentaha, on the shores of which they designed to pitch their camp, they remarked the salt fountains on the east- ern side, where in the spring there gathered "so great a quantity of pigeons, that thousands are caught of a morn- ing. A grand salute of five pieces of cannon, breaking the silence of the forest, announced their arrival to "the an- cients of the country." Formal possession was taken in the name of Christ; cabins were soon constructed for the French colonists ; and a redoubt, the ruins of which were yet visible fifty years ago, was built on an eminence com- manding the eastern shore of the lake. At the grand coun- cil, the superior, Le Mercier, and Chaumonot, " who spoke the Iroquois language as well as the natives of the coun- 1 try," explained the Roman faith ; and hope whispered that St. Mary's, of Genen- taha. " Saint Mary's, of Genentaha," was to be the pledge of union between Onondaga and Christendom.
12 July.
17 July.
24 July.
of the Ca- yugas, Oneidas, and Sene- cas.
Opposition of the Mo- hawks. The Mohawk delegates to the grand council of the con- federation, disliking the alliance between the Onondagas and the Canadians, " made a harangue full of sneers and Friendship ridicule against the, French." But the Cayugas sought in- struction in the faith ; and Father René Mesnard and two Frenchmen were sent to their villages. The Oneidas, too, asked for a teacher ; and early the next year, Chaumonot passed on toward the Senecas, in the hope of founding a permanent mission. Thus France pushed her influence westward, beyond the beautiful valleys of Onondaga ; and the Jesuit Fathers carried the cross from the banks of the Feelings of the Dutch colonists. Mohawk to the borders of the Genesee. The unjealous Dutch colonists rejoiced at their settlement in those coun- tries, and wished to bring them " horses and other things." The Amsterdam directors, however, viewing the presence 19 Dec. Of the West of the Jesuits in the West with less favor, instructed Stuy- India Com. pany.
vesant to be upon his guard.
645
PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.
But supplies from Quebec soon began to fail; and the CH. XVIII. savages, finding that they received no presents, relaxed their regard for Christianity as they withdrew their affec- 1657. tions from the French. The warlike spirit of the Iroquois was unchanged. The Eries suffered under their exterm- inating wrath ; several Huron converts were massacred ; August. and three Frenchmen were surprised by a band of Onei- das near Montreal. A general conspiracy seemed to have been formed to cut off the Jesuit missionaries. D'Aille- November. boust, who had succeeded De Lauzon in the government quois again The Iro- of Canada, retaliated by imprisoning all the Iroquois with- incensed. in his province. This step produced a violent commotion among the cantons ; but the wary warriors, postponing their vengeance, entreated Father Le Moyne, who was now among the Mohawks, to go to Quebec and intercede for their captive countrymen .*
Le Moyne, however, instead of going to Canada, passed 1658. the winter in New Netherland. He had frequently been in New Le Moyne to Fort Orange with the Mohawks ; and now took the op- dam. Amster- portunity to make a first visit to New Amsterdam, where a number of Roman Catholics were residing. During his stay at the Dutch capital, he formed a warm friendship His intima- with Megapolensis, whose early missionary efforts among gapolensis. cy with Me- the Mohawks led him to look with lively interest, if not with entire sympathy, on the zealous labors of the Jesuit fathers. On this occasion, Le Moyne communicated to his friend an account of his visit, in 1654, to the "salt fount- ains" at Onondaga. In detailing this information to the Classis of Amsterdam, however, the Domine could not help adding, somewhat uncourteously, "I will not debate whether this is true, or whether it is a Jesuit lie."t ...
Stuyvesant availed himself of Le Moyne's presence to obtain, through his influence, a permission from the gov-
* Alb. Rec., iv., 222; Relation, 1655-6, 1656-7; Creuxius, 770; Charlevoix, i., 322- 328 ; Bancroft, iii., 144, 145; Clark's Onondaga, i., 152-179 ; ii., 146, 147 ; Doc. Hist. N. Y., i., 45; ante, p. 612.
t Letters of Megapolensis to Classis of Amsterdam, of 24th and 2Sth September, 1658; ante, p. 592. These letters contain interesting details about the Mohawks, or, as "they eall themselves, Kayingehaga," the restoration of Jogues' missal, ritual, &c., and the zealous efforts of Father Le Moyne to convert his Dutch clerical friend to the Roman faith.
646
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CH. XVIII. ernor of Canada for Dutch vessels to trade in the Saint 1658. Lawrence. D'Ailleboust promptly wrote to the father that, in view of the friendship between the Netherlands and 18 Feb. Commerce between New Neth- erland and Canada. France, the Dutch might open a commerce with Canada whenever they pleased, provided they refrained from trad- ing with the savages, and from the public exercise, on shore, of " the religion which is contrary to the Roman." The governor's letter was immediately sent to New Am- sterdam by the kind-hearted father, who was then at Fort Orange. The merchants of New Amsterdam hastened to avail themselves of this opportunity to extend their com- 2 July. merce ; and a bark was presently cleared for Quebec, with a cargo upon which all duties were remitted, in considera- tion of its being the " first voyage" from Manhattan to Can- ada. But the unlucky pioneer vessel, in entering the Saint Lawrence, was wrecked on Anticosti.
7 April.
First voyage.
February. Distress of at Ononda- ga. In the mean time, the French colonists of Onondaga had the French passed a winter of anxiety and alarm. Rumors of a gen- eral rising of the Iroquois constantly reached their ears ; and there was no hope of succor from Quebec. Early in the year numerous bands of Mohawk, Oneida, and Onon- daga warriors took the field. Dupuys, informed by a con- verted savage of the plot against him, now resolved to re- troat with his countrymen into Canada. But no means of conveyance were ready, and the enemy was alert and watchful. Light boats were secretly built in the large store-house, where none of the savages were allowed to en- ter. When all was ready, the Onondagas were invited to a feast. Trumpets and drums drowned the preparations for departure. While the revelry was at its height, the 19 March. French were noiselessly embarking on the lake. A heavy sleep overpowered the unsuspecting savages ; and long be- fore they awoke from their lethargy, Dupuys and all his 20 March. Abandon- mission. countrymen, abandoning their chapel and their cabins, ment of the were safe beyond pursuit, working through the floating ice their perilous way to Canada.
Thus ended the attempt of France to found a colony -ithin the present territory of New York. Le Moyne had
647
PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.
already left the Mohawk country ; and the next year, the CH. XVIII. Iroquois, whose warriors were estimated to number more than two thousand, were again in open hostility with the 1658. The Iro- Canadians. As long as Now Netherland continued to' be quois again at war with a Dutch province, the enmity of the Mohawks against the the French. French could scarcely be allayed ; though the milder Onon- dagas sought to bury the hatchet of war, and the bell, which had called the faithful to worship in the chapel of the Jes- 1661. uits, summoned the deputies of the Western Iroquois to the council of peace .*
In the mean time, the settlers who had been driven away Esopus from Esopus by the Indians in 1655, had returned to their colonista. farms, hoping that, with the restoration of peace, they should enjoy security. But, in spite of all proclamations, the farmers persisted in isolating themselves from each other, and in buying peltries from the savages for brandy. 1658. Outrages naturally followed. One of the settlers was kill- 1 May. ed, the house and outbuildings of another were burned, the sav- and the Dutch were forced, by threats of arson and mur- ages. der, to plow up the patches where the quarrelsome savages planted their maize. At this time there were between six- ty and seventy colonists at Esopus, who had just sowed nearly a thousand " schepels" of grain. "We pray you to 2 May. send forty or fifty soldiers," wrote they to Stuyvesant, " to manded. save the Esopus, which, if well settled, might supply the whole of New Netherland with provisions."+
The Amsterdam Chamber had already instructed their director to build a redoubt at Esopus for the protection of the inhabitants, and had sent out an additional military force and a supply of ammunition. Stuyvesant now went 28 May. up the river, accompanied by Govert Loockermans and fifty soldiers. The morrow after he reached Esopus was As- cension day ; and the people, having no church, assembled 30 May. at the house of Jacob Jansen Stol to keep the festival. The
Outrages of
Succor de-
Stuyvesant visits Eso- pus.
* Alb. Rec., xiv., 275 ; Stuyvesant's Letters ; Fort Orange Rec .; Relation, 1657-58, 1659-60 ; Charlevoix, i., 398-338 ; Bancroft, iit., 145-148 ; Hildreth, ii., 91 ; Clark's Onon- daga, i., 179-189 ; O'Call., ii., 363-365 ; Doc. Hist. N. Y., i., 45-55.
t Alb. Rec., xiv., 265 ; xvi., 7-13. To this day the flat lands along the creeks in Ulster county are proverbial for their fertility.
648
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
1658. The colo- nists ad- vised to form a vil- lage at Eso- pus.
CH. XVIII. director immediately recommended them to form a village, which could easily be palisaded, and afford them full pro- tection ; but the colonists objected that it would be incon- venient to remove their residences while their crops were yet ungathered, and that it would be difficult to select a site for a village which would please all. They, therefore, asked that the soldiers should be allowed to remain with them until after harvest. This the director refused, but promised that, if they would agree at once to palisade the ground for a village, he would stay with them until the work should be completed.
30 May.
Conferenc with the savages.
Word had meanwhile been sent to the neighboring chiefs to come and meet the "grand sachem from Manhattan ;" and some fifty savages, with a few women and children, soon appeared, and seated themselves under an old tree. The director went to meet them, accompanied by two fol- lowers and an interpreter. One of the chiefs made a long harangue, reciting the events of Kieft's war, and the losses which his tribe had then suffered. The director replied that the general peace had settled all the questions con- nected with that war. "Has any injury been done you," he demanded, "since that peace was made, or since I came into the country ?" " Your sachems have asked us, over and over again, to make a settlement among you. We have not had a foot of your land without paying for it, nor do we desire to have any more without making you full compensation. Why, then, have you committed this mur- der, burned our houses, killed our cattle, and why do you continue to threaten our people ?" After a long pause, one of the chiefs replied, " You Swannekens have sold our chil- dren drink. The sachems can not then control the young Indians, nor restrain them from fighting. This murder has not been committed by any of our tribe, but by a Minni- sinck, who is now skulking among the Haverstraws." "If this be not stopped," rejoined Stuyvesant, " I shall have to retaliate on old and young, on women and children. I expect that you will repair all damages, seize the mur- derer if he come among you, and do no further mischief.
649
PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.
The Dutch are now going to live together in one spot. It CH. XVIII. is desirable that you should sell us the whole of the Eso- pus land, as you have often proposed, and remove further 1658. into the interior." Thus ended the conference; and the In- dians departed, promising to consider well what had passed.
The settlers, adopting Stuyvesant's advice, now signed 31 May. an agreement to form a village, the site of which they left out at Eso- to the director's judgment. He accordingly ehose a spot" pus. at a bend of the kill, where a water-front might be had on three sides ; and a part of the plain, about two hundred and ten yards in eireumference, was staked out.
Village laid
the land by ages.
A few days afterward, while the Duteh were busily at work stockading their village, a band of savages was ob- served approaching, and the soldiers were ordered to stand 4 June. by their arms. But the visit of the Indians was one of Cession of peace. They had come to give the land on which the vil- the sav- lage was commeneed as a present to the grand saehem of the Hollanders, "to grease his feet, as he had taken so long and painful a journey to visit them." The work now went merrily on. In three weeks the palisade and ditches were completed, the buildings removed, a bridge thrown over the kill, and a guard-house and temporary barracks built. Stuyvesant detailed twenty-four soldiers to remain as a garrison ; and, after seeing the new village fairly started, 24 June. he took leave of Esopus and returned to the capital .*
The next month witnessed the settlement of the diffi- July. culties between the provincial government and the author- of difficul- ities of Rensselaerswyck. In place of the tenths demand- erwyck. ed by Stuyvesant, the colonists agreed to pay a yearly con- tribution of three hundred schepels of wheat. About the same time, John Baptist van Rensselaer was succeeded as director of the colonie by his brother Jeremias, who contin- Jeremias ued for sixteen years to manage its affairs with diseretion selaer di- and acceptance. He soon acquired a great influence among Rensse- rector of the neighboring savage tribes, and was sincerely respected by the French in Canada.t
Settlement
ties at Bev-
van Rens-
laerswyck.
* Alb. Rec., iv., 248; xvi., 15-35 ; Kingston Rec. ; O'Call., ii., 357-362.
t Renss. MSS .; O'Call., ii., 310, 551, 552 ; ante, p. 624.
650
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CH. XVIII. In the mean time, the Mohawks had obtained from the 1658. May. Canadian government the release of some of their captive warriors. Six of them, however, were detained until the Iroquois sachems should come in person and make a gen- 13 August. eral treaty of peace. Several Mohawk chiefs now visited at Fort Or- Fort Orange to procure an interpreter to go with them to Mohawks ange. Canada, as they did not understand the French tongue. But Le Moyne had now returned home, and the Dutch au- thorities did not know of any one who could serve their purpose. The Mohawks were dissatisfied. "When you were at war with the Indians," they replied, "we went to the Manhattans, and did our best to make peace for you. You are, therefore, bound to befriend us now." The Dutch could not resist this appeal ; and the public crier was sent around to offer a bounty of one hundred guilders for a vol- 15 August. unteer. One of the soldiers, Henry Martin, agreeing to Interpreter furnished by the Dutch. go, was furnished with a letter from Vice-director La Mon- tagne to La Potherie, the governor of the Three Rivers, and accompanied the savages under a promise to be brought safely back in forty days. When near the Three Rivers, Martin lost himself in the woods; and ten of the Mohawks, presenting themselves to La Potherie without La Mon- tagne's letter, were seized as spies, and sent as prisoners to Argenson, the new governor general of Canada, who " did good justice" upon them for the recent murder of some Algonquins under the very guns of Quebec .*
16 October Stuyvesant revisits Esopus.
15 October. Before the winter set in, Stuyvesant revisited Esopus, to provide for its security and obtain some further concessions . from the Indians. The savages demurred, and adroitly en- deavored to divert him from his purpose by promising a large trade with the Minquas and Senecas, if the Dutch would furnish them with ammunition. After waiting sev- eral days, the director found that the chiefs would not yield to his wishes ; and, from their anxiety to have the soldiers removed, he suspected them of treacherous designs as soon as the closing of the river should isolate the settlers. ; On his return to New Amsterdam, he, therefore, left a garrison 19 October
* Relation, 1657-58, 60-69 ; Charlevoix, i., 338, 339 ; O'Call., ii., 366, 367; ante, p. 647.
651
PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.
of fifty men, under the command of Ensign Dirck Smit, CH. XVIII. with instructions to keep a steady watch, act only on the defensive, allow no Indians inside the stockade, and detail 1658. Dirck Smit command- ant. a proper guard for the protection of the farmers while work- ing in the fields .*
On the South River, New Amstel-where several ship- South Riv- wrecked Englishmen from Virginia, whom Alrichs had ran- er. somed from the savages, had become residents-began to wear an appearance of prosperity, and was now "a goodly town of about one hundred houses." An inevitable con- Conse- sequence, however, of the establishment of the city's col- the estab- quences of ony was the increase of smuggling. The revenue suffered New Am- severely, and the regular traders complained. The colo- stel. nists at New Amstel seemed to think themselves inde- pendent of the company and of its provincial authorities at New Amsterdam. These and other considerations in- duced the council to advise Stuyvesant to go there, and correct all irregularities in person.
Accompanied by Tonneman, the director accordingly set 20 April. sail for the South River. On his arrival at Altona, the 8 May. Swedes were called upon to take the oath of allegiance visits Al- which was required of all the other colonists. This they tona. willingly took, and at the same time asked for certain spe- cific favors; among others, that they should be allowed to remain neutral in case of war between Holland and Swe- den. Some of these requests were evaded ; others were granted ; and the Swedes were allowed to choose their own officers. On his return to New Amsterdam, Stuyvesant 13 May. informed the council that "many things are there not as the council. Report to they ought to be;" smuggling and fraud had prevailed, by reason of the shipments to the city colony ; and Alrichs, though he now promised amendment, had entirely omitted from the oath, required of the newly-arrived colonists, any mention of the West India Company and of their provin- cial authorities of New Netherland.
Fearing that the English from Virginia would endeavor to intrude at Cape Hinlopen, "as they before tried it from , * Alb. Rec., xiv., 380 ; xvi., 41-59 ; O'Call., ii., 367-370.
lishment of
Stuyvesant
1
652
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CH. XVIII. the side of New England," the West India directors now 1658. 28 May. recommended that Alrichs should "disentangle himself, in the best manner possible," from the Englishmen whom he had allowed to settle at New Amstel, and, " at all events, not to admit any English besides them in that vicinity, 7 June. Instruc- much less to allure them by any means whatever." A few tions of the days afterward, they instructed Stuyvesant to purchase pany to buy from the Indians the tract between Cape Hinlopen and W. I. Com- lands at Cape Hin- lopen. the Boomtje's Hook, so that it might be afterward legally conveyed to the commissaries of the city of Amsterdam. "You will perceive," they added, "that speed is required, if for nothing else, that we may prevent other nations, and principally our English neighbors, as we really apprehend that this identical spot has attracted their notice." "When we reflect on the insufferable proceedings of that nation, not only by intruding themselves upon our possessions about the North, to which our title is indisputable, and when we consider the bold arrogance and faithlessness of those who are residing within our jurisdiction, we can not expect any good from that quarter."
30 July. Willem Beeckman appointed vice-di- rector.
To maintain the rights and authority of the company, Stuyvesant immediately appointed Willem Beeckman, " an expert and respectable person," and one of the earliest magistrates of New Amsterdam, as commissary and vice- director on the South River. Beeckman, however, did not 28 October. receive his instructions until late in the autumn. They Beeck- man's in- structions. required him to live at first at Altona, but to have his per- manent residence at or near New Amstel, where he could more conveniently attend to the collection of the revenue. He was invested with all the powers of the company on the whole of the South River, except the district of New Amstel, and was bound to maintain the Reformed relig- ion. With regard to the proposed purchase, he was to act in concert with Alrichs, and obtain a deed from the In- dians as soon as possible.
Failure of the harvest, and sick- ness at New Am- stel.
The prosperity of New Amstel had, meanwhile, become clouded. The colonists had planted in hope ; but heavy rains setting in, their harvest was ruined, and food became
653
PETER STUYVESANT, DIRECTOR GENERAL.
scarce and dear. An epidemic fever broke out; the sur- CH. XVIII. geon and many children died ; and most of the inhabit- ants suffered from a climate to which they were not ac- 1658. customed. While the disease was yet raging, the ship " Mill" arrived from Holland, after a disastrous voyage, September. bringing many new cmigrants, among whom were several children from the Orphan House at Amsterdam. The 10 October. population of New Amstel now exceeded six hundred; but Population. its inhabitants were "without bread," and the ship which brought the new emigrants brought no supply of provi- sions. Industry was crippled, while wages advanced ; Commissary Rynvelt and many " respectable" inhabit- 28 October ants perished, and a long winter stared the famished sur- vivors in the face .*
In the autumn of 1658, an important event happened in England. After raising his country to a prouder position among the nations of the earth than she had ever before held, the grand adventurer Cromwell died, in the zenith 3 Sept. of a power which eclipsed the majesty of legitimate kings. Oliver The night before his death was stormy. The wind blew a hurricane. Trees were uprooted in the Park at West- minster, and houses were unroofed about the London Ex- change. The Roundhcads asserted that God was warn- ing the nation of the loss it was about to suffer ; while the Cavaliers maintained that the Prince of the power of the air was hovering over Whitehall to seize the soul of the expiring Protector.
The reins of government fell quietly into the hands of Oliver's oldest son, Richard. But the feeble young man was not the heir of his father's great qualities. Hc sign- 1659. ed a commission for the dissolution of Parliament, and Downfall found that he had signed his own act of abdication. The tectorate. army again became supreme. Monk marched his sol- diers across the Tweed ; and before many days it was cer- tain that Charles the Second would be restored to the throne of his ancestors.t
* Alb. Rec., iv., 273, 274 ; viii., 185 ; xii., 285, 456-485; xiv., 227-249, 314, 386-392 ; Hol. Doc., xvi., 57-79 ; O'Call., ii., 372-375 ; S. Hazard, Ann. Penn., 239-254 ; ante, p. 633.
t Lingard, xi., 298-300; xii., 1-60 ; Macaulay, i., 136-147 ; Bancroft, ii., 23-28.
Death of Cromwell.
22 April. of the Pro-
654
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAPTER XIX.
1659-1660.
CH. XIX. THOUGH the treaty at Hartford had not been ratified by 1659. the English government, and the New England colonies had taken no steps to procure such ratification, its provi- sions had now, for several years, met a general and quiet acquiescence. Up to this period, whatever annoyance had been caused to the Dutch province by the progress of En- glish encroachment at the East, had been chiefly caused by Connecticut and New Haven. But the time had come for Massachusetts to take a step which brought her in di- rect conflict with New Netherland.
The Hartford treaty had settled the boundary "be- tween the English United Colonies and the Dutch prov- ince" on the main land, as extending from the west side of Greenwich Bay on a northerly line "twenty miles up into the country, and after, as it shall be agreed by the two governments of the Dutch and of New Haven, provid- ed the said line come not within ten miles of Hudson's Riv- er." That treaty had been solemnly signed by the pleni- potentiaries of the New England commissioners, of whom Simon Bradstreet, of Massachusetts, was one. Massachu- setts, however, now found it convenient to understand the agreement as extending only " so far as New Haven had jurisdiction." Under her own charter, she claimed all the American territory between a line three miles south of the Charles River and a line three miles north of the Merrimac River, and extending west from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The most northerly of these lines was claimed to be three miles north of the outlet of the Winnipiseogee Lake. The southernmost was at about the forty-second parallel of
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