USA > New York > History of the state of New York, for the use of common schools, academies, normal and high schools, and other seminaries of instruction > Part 3
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Geological features. - Climate, soil, and productions.
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FIRST PERIOD.
INDIAN OCCUPANCY. - THE IROQUOIS, OR FIVE NATIONS.
1. LONG before the white man made his appearance, the ter- ritory now constituting the State of New York was occupied by roving tribes of Indians, engaged in continual and bloody wars with each other and with neighboring trikes, and obtaining a subsistence mainly by hunting, fishing, and predatory incur- sions.
2. One portion of them, known as the LENNI LENAPE, or ALGONQUINS, occupied the southeastern portion of the State, chiefly on the banks of the Delaware River ; another, and far
The Algonquins or Delawares.
11
INDIAN OCCUPANCY.
the most numerous, known as the IROQUOIS, occupied the entire region between the Hudson River and Lakes Erie and Ontario. A portion of the MOHEGAN tribes, including the Pequods, were found upon Long Island ; and the MANHATTANS upon the island of that name, now constituting the city of New York, and the lower portions of Westchester County bordering on the Hudson.
3. The IROQUOIS were originally separate tribes or nations, con- sisting of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Sen- ecas. In consequence of the perpetual inroads made upon them by the Algonquins or Delawares, the Adirondacks, Hurons, Eries, and Ottawas of Canada, these tribes, probably as early as the middle of the sixteenth century, formed themselves into a league or confederacy, since known as the FIVE NATIONS : expelled the Adirondacks from their hunting-grounds in Canada; defeated the Hurons and the Ottawas, extirpated the Eries, humbled the Delawares, and carried the terror of their arms as far west as the Mississippi River and southerly to the Gulf of Mexico.
4. The Iroquois Confederacy was the most celebrated and powerful of all the Indian leagnes on the continent ; and in its leading features strongly resembled the Confederation of States long afterwards established. Each tribe was independent of all the others, except so far as related to the general purposes and object of the league. The head-quarters of this formidable body were established on the banks of the Onondaga Lake, near the site of the present city of Syracuse ; and here annually, or as often as the common interest required, its councils were held.
5. Hither, summoned by trusty and faithful messengers, came the sachems and leading warriors of the various tribes from the banks of the Hudson and Mohawk and the shores of the Onta- rio, Erie, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Onondaga Lakes, to con- sult in solemn conclave upon the general welfare, to smoke the pipe of peace, or to dig up the tomahawk and hatchet, and plan the savage war-path against the common enemy.
6. Here, from time to time were heard the eloquent and spirit- stirring appeals of the ATOTARHO, or presiding officer, of the sage
Mohegans. - Manhattans. -. The Five Nations, - their origin. confrd- eracy, conquests. - Character and objects of the confederacy. - Its chuis, sachems, and orators.
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FIRST PERIOD.
HIAWATHA, the fierce and stormy THAYANDENAGA of the Mo- hawks, the noble and solitary LOGAN of the Cayugas, the elo- quent RED JACKET of the Senecas, the chivalrous SKENANDOAH of the Oneidas, and the brave GARANGULA of the Onondagas, with others whose daring exploits and tried wisdom and sagacity entitled them to the confidence and regard of the confederacy.
7. Here, too, came the accredited representatives of the " Tor- toise " the " Bear " and the " Wolf" tribes of the respective na- tions, to mingle their counsels with those of their brethren :-
" By the far Mississippi the Illinois shrank
When the trail of the TORTOISE was seen on the bank;
On the hills of New England the Pequod turned pale When the howl of the WOLF swelled at night on the gale ; And the Cherokee shook in his green smiling howers
When the foot of the BEAR stamped his carpet of flowers."
STREET'S Frontenac.
8. The confederacy owed its immediate origin to the necessity of combining its forces for the protection or defence of the sep- arate tribes composing it, against the perpetual assaults and in- roads of its enemies. Three of the wisest and most venerated chiefs, - ATOTARIIO, after whom the presiding sachems were named, TOGANAWETAI, and HAI-YOU-WOUT-HAI, were regarded as its projectors and founders, and revered as possessed of preter- natural qualities.
9. The traditions of the Iroquois concerning these great chiefs are exceedingly interesting and romantic. Toganawetah is described as a young man of remarkable beauty and unknown origin. After the formation of the confederacy he predicted its final dissolution by the "White Throats," - a people of whose existence they had never heard, but for whose certain ad- vent they watched until their fears were realized by the fulfil- ment of the prophecy.
10. Toganawetah, having uttered his solemn and mysterious warning of doom from the " Pale Faces," suddenly disappeared and was seen no more. Hah-yoh-wout-hah soon afterwards as- cended to heaven in the presence of the assembled multitude, " amidst bursts of the sweetest melody, in a snow-white canoe
The Tortoise, Bear, and Wolf Tribes. - The founders of the confed- eracy. - Traditions of the Iroquois.
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THE IROQUOIS, OR FIVE NATIONS.
suddenly shot down from the sky, rising higher and higher until he melted away in the upper distance." Atotarho alone re- mained to place himself at the head of the confederacy on the banks of the Onondaga Lake, to govern and instruct his people, and transmit his name and authority to a long line of successors.
11. It was the belief of this primitive and simple people that when, after death, they reached the "happy hunting- grounds " the Great Spirit would provide for them the inost delicious fruits known to their native forests, - chiefly the strawberry, which, as fast as consumed. would be eternally and unfailingly renewed. When one of their number is dying, with that calm and placid stoicism characteristic of the race, those around him are accustomed to say, "He is scenting the straw- berry of the Great Spirit !"
12. Having in 1655 accomplished the subjugation of the Hu- rons and Algonquins in Canada and the vicinity of Lake Huron, these indomitable and fiery warriors attacked and conquered, two years later, the Miamis and Ottawas of Michigan. In the beginning of the ensuing century they prosecuted their con- quests as far south as the waters of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, and at a subsequent period nearly exterminated the Cherokees and Catawbas in South Carolina, Georgia, Alt- bama, and Tennessee.
13. In 1714 they were joined by the Tuscaroras of North Carolina, and from thenceforth assumed the title of the Six NATIONS. They uniformly adhered to the British interests, or " Corlear " as they termed that nation, against " Yonondio." or the French ; and on the revolt of the Americans in the Revolu- tionary struggle inflicted the most dire calamities on their for- .mer friends at Wyoming in Pennsylvania, and at Cherry Valley and the Mohawk settlements in New York.
14. At the period of the first settlement of New York, the aggregate number of this confederacy amounted to about forty thonsand. Not more than seven thousand remain in existence, and of these a small remnant only is now to be found in the Statc.
The strawberry of the Great Spirit. - Conquests of the Iroquois. - le- cession of the Tuscaroras. - Fidelity to the English. - Comparative num- bers.
Minuit's Purchase of Manhattan Island.
SECOND PERIOD.
DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS .- THE DUTCH GOVERNMENTS. .
CHAPTER I.
DISCOVERY OF THE HUDSON RIVER. - FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW NETHERLANDS.
1. THE first Europeans who landed on the soil of New York were probably the crew of a French vessel under the com-
1524. mand of JOHN DE VERRAZZANO, a Florentine, in the service of Francis I. of France. From the journals of the voyage pre- served by him, it appears that about the middle of March, 1524, he arrived on the American coast in North Carolina, from whence, after proceeding south as far as Georgia, he sailed northward to the latitude of 41", where he entered a harbor, which, from his
John de Verrazzano.
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DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS.
description, was probably that of New York. He seems to have remained there about fifteen days, visited by the Indians, and trafficking with them.
2. After an interval of nearly a century, SAMUEL CHAM- 1609. PLAIN, a French navigator, on the 4th of July, 1609, while descending the St. Lawrence River and exploring its tributaries, discovered the lake which bears his name. A few days subse- quently, uniting his forces with the Hurons, Algonquins, and other Indian tribes in the vicinity, he enabled them by the use of fire-arms, hitherto unknown to the natives, to obtain a deci- sive victory over their hereditary enemies, the Iroquois.
3. Early in 1609, HENRY HUDSON, an English navigator, after the failure of two expeditions in the employ of a company of London merchants for the discovery of a nearer passage to Asia, offered his services to the Dutch East India Company in Holland ; and on the 4th of April set sail for China in the yacht Half Moon, with his son, and a crew composed of English and Dutch sailors. After several ineffectual attempts to accom- plish his object, he entered Delaware Bay in August, and on the 3d of September found a safe anchorage at Sandy Hook.
4. On the succeeding day he proceeded up the present New York Bay along the Jersey coast, sending from time to time his boats on shore, and receiving the visits of the natives, who came on board in great numbers, clad in loose furs, singing their wild songs, and in the most friendly manner offering to traffic with the strangers in exchange for pipes, tobacco, maize, beans, and oysters. For several days this mutual interchange of friendly civilities was continued ; and on the 12th of September Hudson entered through the Narrows the river which bears his name, and sailed up its broad channel as far as the present site of Manhattanville.
5. On the 13th and 14th, passing the present site of Yonkers, he proceeded up as far as the Highlands, anchoring in the neigh- borhood of West Point ; and on the evening of the 17th landed just above the present site of Hudson, where on the ensuing lay he had a pleasant interview with the natives. On the 19th he
Samuel Champlain. - Henry Hudson. - His employment by the Dutch East India Company. - Entrance into New York Bay. - Intercourse with the Indians. - Discovery of the river.
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SECOND PERIOD.
reached the present site of Kinderhook, from whence, after having sent a small boat up the river to a point a little above Albany, he commenced on the 23d his return voyage.
6. During his trip up the river he was frequently visited by the Indians who care in considerable numbers on their boats, and manifested the most friendly disposition. On his return, how- ever, several attempts were made a little below the Highlands, by the natives, to attack his crew, and in the effort to repulse them some ten or twelve were killed. On the 4th of October he set sail for Europe, and in the ensuing year engaged in another voyage for the discovery of the northwest passage to Asia, in which, near the straits in British America which now bear his name, he was abandoned by his mutinous crew and perished miserably.
1610. 7. Stimulated by the favorable accounts given by Hudson on his return to Holland, another vessel was equipped, during the succeeding year, for the fur-trade with the Indians on the banks of the newly discovered river ; and this adventure having proved successful, HENDRICK CHRISTIAN- SEN and ADRIEN BLOCK in 1612 fitted out two additional 1612. ships for the same purpose, which were speedily fol- lowed by three others under the command of Captains De Witt, Volckertsen, and May. The island of Manhattan was made the chief depot of the trade, and Christiansen received the appoint- ment of agent for the traffic in furs during the passage of the vessels to and from Holland. He immediately set about the construction of a small fort with a few rude buildings, on the southern extremity of the island, thus laying the first founda- tions of the future city.
8. Adrien Block, having lost one of his vessels by an 1614. accidental fire, set about the construction of another, which he completed in the spring of 1614, and immediately commenced an active exploration of the neighboring country. Passing by the upper waters of the East River into Long Island Sound, and the outlet of the Housatonic River, he ascended the Connecticut to the head of navigation, - thence returning to
Voyage up the Hudson to Albany. - Return to Europe. - His death. - Expeditions from Holland in the fur-trade. - Adrien Block. - Foun- dation of New York City.
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DUTCH GOVERNMENT.
the Sound, he reached Montauk Point and the present Block Island ; then, turning his course eastward, he explored the Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, Nahant Bay, and the inter- vening islands, and, leaving his vessel at Cape Cod in charge of Cornelis Hendrickson, embarked for Holland in one of the ships on its way from Manhattan.
9. On the 11th of October a charter was granted by the States-General, conferring upon the merchants engaged in these expeditions the exclusive right of trading in the new territories situated between the fortieth and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude, for four voyages to be completed within three years ; and giving to this entire region the name of New Netherlands. In the mean time Cornelissen Jacobsen May had explored the south- ern coast of Long Island, visited Delaware Bay, and given hi- name to its northern cape, while Hendrick Christiansen had ascended the Mauritius, as the Hudson River was then termed, to a point a little below Albany, where he established a fort and warehouse on Castle Island, calling it Fort Nassau. Shortly afterwards, however, Christiansen was murdered by a young In- dian in his employ, and Jacob Eelkins was appointed to succeed him as agent. An association of merchants was formed under the title of the United New Netherlands Company, and the trade in furs with the Indians was vigorously prosecuted.
10. In the spring of 1617, a solemn council of the 1617. chiefs and warriors of the several Iroquois tribes, and the representatives of the New Netherlands, was held at a place called Tawasentha, near the present site of Albany, and a for- mal treaty of alliance and peace entered into between them. Protected by the provisions of this treaty the trade with the In- dians became so flourishing and profitable that on the expiration of the charter of the Company in 1618 its renewal was refused by the States-General. Permission was, however, given by special license for a temporary continuance of their operations.
11. In 1620 Captain Thomas Dermer, an Englishman in the service of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, appeared at 1620.
Exploration and discoveries. - New charter. - Association of merchant .. - United New Netherlands Company. - Council with the Indian tribes at Tawasentha. - Treaty of alliance. - Progress of the fur-trade. - Refusal to renew the charter. - English claims to the territory.
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SECOND PERIOD.
Manhattan on his voyage to New England, and laid claim to the entire territory occupied by the Dutch traders, upon the ground of prior discovery and occupancy. On the representa- tion of bis employers, James I., the English monarch, granted Gorges and his associates a charter of exclusive jurisdiction over all the territories in America between the fortieth and forty-eighth parallels of latitude, and the English ambassador at the Hague was directed to remonstrate against the intrusion of the Dutch occupants.
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12. This remonstrance was, however, unheeded ; and 1621. in June, 1621, the States-General granted a new charter to the Dutch " West India Company," conferring upon them exclusive jurisdiction for a period of twenty-one years over the Province of New Netherlands, with full and ample powers to trade with the natives from Newfoundland to the Straits of Magellan, to appoint governors subject to, the approval of the States, to colonize the territory, erect forts, and admin- ister justice throughout the entire territory. The executive management of the association was intrusted to a board of nineteen directors, one of whom was to be appointed by the Government and the remaining eighteen by the Company, dis- tributed through five separate Chambers in different cities of Holland.
13. The Amsterdam Chamber, to which had been spe- 1623-5. cially assigned the charge of the Province of New Neth- erlands, sent out a vessel under the command of Cornelissen Jacobsen May as director, with thirty families, consisting chiefly of Walloons or French Protestants, with the view of lay- ing a permanent foundation for the projected colony. Eight of these families settled at Manhattan, others took up their abode on the Jersey shore, the Connecticut River, and as far up the Mauritius or Hudson River as the present site of Albany, where they built Fort Orange, four miles above Fort Nassau. George Jansen de Rapelye, with a few Walloon families, occu- pied a portion of Long Island in the vicinity of Walloon's Bay.
Charter to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his associates. - The West India Company. - Colonization of New Netherlands. - Cornelissen Jacobsen May the first director. - Settlements at Manhattan. - Fort Orange and Long Island.
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19
DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS.
Reinforced by other accessions to their number, the Manhattan settlement in 1625 amounted to some two hundred persons, and the work of colonization was fairly commenced. May was suc- ceeded in the directorship in 1625 by William Verhulst, who remained, however, only for about one year.
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CHAPTER II.
ADMINISTRATION OF PETER MINUIT. - PURCHASE AND SETTLEMENT OF MANHATTAN ISLAND.
1. IN May, 1626, PETER MINUIT arrived at New Neth- 1626. erlands as Director-General, and immediately effected the purchase of the island of Manhattan, of the Indians, for goods and trinkets to the value of sixty guilders, or about twenty-four dollars. An interchange of friendly relations was established with the English settlement at Plymouth, and ar- rangements for a mutual trade were entered into. In 1628 1628. a church was organized with fifty communicants, under the auspices of Jonas Michaelius, a clergyman from Holland. The colony grew apace, and the traffic in furs with the surrounding Indian tribes was, for a time, quietly, industriously, and profit- ably pursued by the incipient colony.
2. The germs of future trouble soon, however, began to make their appearance. The murder of a Westchester Indian, who had visited the settlement for the purpose of trade, by three of Minuit's farm servants, had aroused a spirit of revenge which awaited only a favorable opportunity for its gratification. Not- withstanding the fact that the authorities at Manhattan were entirely ignorant of the commission of this rash outrage, and disclaimed all participation in it, the native tribes sullenly brooded over the unprovoked injury, and patiently bided their time for a bloody retribution.
3. In the mean time, the slow growth of the colony 1629.
Peter Minuit. - Purchase of Manhattan Island. - Establishment of friendly relations with the English colonists at Plymouth. - Organization of a church. - Murder of a Westchester Indian.
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SECOND PERIOD.
induced the States-General, on the recommendation of the Assembly of Nineteen, to adopt an ordinance granting to any member of the Company who should within four years estab- lish a colony of fifty persons, exclusive of children under fifteen years of age, the privilege of selecting, with the title of Patroon, a tract of land, outside of the island of Manhattan, sixteen miles in length on one side, or eight miles on each side of any naviga- ble river, and extending as far inland as the proprietor should choose.
4. The sole conditions, except that of colonization, imposed upon the grantees were : satisfaction to the Indians for the lands selected, the maintenance of a minister and schoolmaster, and the payment of a duty of five per cent on all trade carried on by them, exclusive of that in furs, which the Company re- served to themselves. The Company on their part agreed to . strengthen the forts at Manhattan, to protect the colonists against all attacks from the Indians or English, and to supply them with a sufficient number of negro servants for an indefi- nite period of time. This was the first introduction of slavery into the province.
5. The Company also encouraged the emigration of individual settlers by offering them the grant of as much land as they could cultivate, with an exemption from taxation for ten years ; precluding them, however, as well as the settlers under the Pa- troons, from any voice in the government of the colony, and from the manufacture of any linen, woollen, cotton, or other cloth. The Patroons were a species of feudal lords, with full powers over their tenants, the appointment of all local officers, and unrestricted privileges of hunting, fowling, and fishing.
6. Under these grants large tracts of land on each side of the Hudson, including the present counties of AAlbany and Rens- selaer, were secured by Kilian Van Rensselaer, a director of the Company, under the title of Rensselaerwyck ; and another di- rector, Michael Panw, appropriated Staten Island and a large tract in New Jersey, including the present Jersey City and Hoboken, to which he gave the name of Pavonia. A large por-
Grants of territory to Patroons and other settlers. - Introduction of sla- very. - The Rensselaerwyck Patroons.
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DUTCH GOVERNMENT.
tion of the manorial estate conferred upon Van Rensselaer still remains in the possession of his descendants, and the descend- ants and successors of the original tenants, held by them under nominal rent charges.
7. The settlement at Manhattan in the mean while continued in a prosperous condition ; its internal and foreign commerce was steadily increasing ; a large vessel of eight hundred tons was built and despatched to Holland ; settlements on the Brook- lyn shore and in the interior of Long Island were springing up ; and immigrants of every shade of religious faith, attracted by the liberal inducements offered by the Dutch Government and by the free toleration of their theological opinions, were flocking to the settlements.
8. A controversy having arisen between the Company 1632. and the Patroons, originating in the interference of the latter in the fur-trade, from all participation in which they were excluded by the terms of their charter, Minuit, who was sus- pected of favoring their pretensions, was in 1632 recalled. The ship in which he had embarked for Holland having been detained on her return voyage by the English authorities at Plymouth as an illegal trafficker in English goods, a correspondence ensued between the representatives of the two governments in reference to their respective claims to the title of the New Netherlands.
9. On the one hand, the Dutch relied upon the discoveries of Hudson ; the subsequent immediate occupation of the territory by themselves, ratified and confirmed by charter ; the establish- ment of forts and garrisons for its protection ; the purchase by them of the land from the natives, and the failure of the Eny- lish to occupy any portion of the territory claimed. The latter relied upon the prior discovery of Cabot, and the patent to the Plymouth Company granted by James I., covering the territory in question, - ignoring and denying the validity of any title procured from the Indians, who had themselves a miere posses- sory claim, - and offering to permit the continued occupation of the province by its present colonists, with a full guaranty of all their rights of property and person, on condition of the transfer of their allegiance to the English Crown.
Progress of the colony at Manhattan. - Controversy between the Com- pany and Patroons. - Recall of Minuit. - English claims.
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SECOND PERIOD.
10. A definitive settlement of the controversy was, however, deferred to a future period, and the vessel released. Minuit subsequently returned to America during the administration of Governor Kieft, and, under the auspices of Queen Christina of Sweden, laid the foundation of a Swedish colony on the Dela- ware River by the erection of a fort, which he named after his royal patroness, where, in 1641, he died and was buried.
CHAPTER III.
ADMINISTRATION OF WOUTER VAN TWILLER.
1. Ix April, 1633, the new Director-General, WOUTER VAN TWILLER, arrived at Manhattan with a small military force 1633. and a Spanish vessel captured on the voyage from Hol- land. Among the passengers were EVERARDUS BOGARDUS, a cler- gyman, and ADAM ROELANDSEN, the pioneer schoolmaster of the colony. Van Twiller had previously visited the province with a view to the selection of lands under the patroon grants, and had married a niece of Killian Van Rensselaer. With the exception of the influence, and knowledge of the country, thus obtained, he seems to have been thoroughly incompetent to the discharge of the duties imposed upon him.
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