USA > New York > History of the state of New-York : including its aboriginal and colonial annals, vol. pt 1 > Part 21
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We now return to the journal, and in our conclusion, say he went that day (17th) somewhere near Castleton, that the shore where the ship grounded, and the bank in the channel, where she stuck till flood tide, were in that vicinity, where a bar then existed, which may have since changed its position while others bave formed. Having elcared the bars, Hudson anchored. The next morning (18th) the weather continued fair and calm, and he remained during the day. A very friendly intercourse with the natives appears to have been had. One of the chiefs of the country added another proof to the many proofs already cited, " of that genuine hospitality which distinguished almost invariably the native of the forest in his first interviews with Europeans. i.
On the ninteenth of September Hudson weighed anchor, and proceeded six miles higher up. Here it seems is the fur- therest point to which the ship proceeded. If the shoals (all of which the ship had cleared) which now form the first bar, a few miles below Albany, then existed, the six miles would have brought her near the upper part of the city. If the distance be computed from the vicinity of Castleton, then Hudson would have advanced about midway of the island, (opposite Norman's Kill) a little below Albany, and in either case he would have been in view of the spot where the city has been erected. In coincidence with the opinion that be came as far as Albany, are the additional statements of Pro-
* Sce ante p. 144.
+ " In the afternoon our master's mate went on land with an old savage, a Covernour of the countrey, who carried him to his house, and made him good cheere."-Journal. This was either one of the Maticanni on the east shore, or one of the Mohawks on the west.
248 European Discoveries und Claims to New- York. [PART I.
fessor Ebeling, President Lambrechtsen, Dr. Belknap, and several others .*
Here Hudson moored his vessel nearly four days. The kindness with which the natives welcomed him, and the sin- cerity of their friendship, tested by an experiment, which we shall presently describe, dissipated former suspicions.
He had arrived about noon. The natives flocked on board, brought their wealth, such as grapes, pumpkins, together with otter and beaver skins, j- for which hatchets, beads, knives, and other trifles, were given.
Next morning, (20th) the mate, with four men, went up
Doct. Belknap (Am. Biog. art. Hudson) says that from an enwineration of the computed distances in each day's run, Hudson sailed 53 leagues, and that it is evident that he penetrated as far as Albany. But in this compu- tation he does not seem to have been correct. The given leagues in the journal appear to have been less; but on their accuracy as to distances no reliance can be placed. If it could be, Hudson, according to Dr. B. would have gone as far as the city of Troy and villages of Waterford and Lansing- burgh-Troy being but 6, Lansingburgh ?, and Waterford 10 miles from Albany ; which last city is 144 miles only from New-York, by accurate measurement, according to Goodrich's map, and lies in lat. 42º 29'. Lam- brechisen, President of the Zeeland Society of Sciences, who is presumed to have been acquainted with the records, if any existed on this subject in Holland, says in his short description of the first discovery of New Nether- lands, &c. translated in MS. by Mr. Vanderkemp, that this river was sailed up to the 43º N. latitude. Professor Ebeling (in his History of America, viz. New-York,) gives the same degree, and says the yacht could go no further for want of depth of water. But in the collections of the Dutch East India voyages, (translated from the Dutch, London, 1703) it is asserted that Hudson sailed to the 42º 40', about 50 leagues. This supports the statement of Abraham Yates, jun., who, (in a manuscript letter now in the N. Y. Historical Library, directed to Jedediah Morse, dated May 1, 1793,) says that Hudson proceeded to the 42º 40', and his boat, to where the river divides itself into four branches. Mr. Yates was at that date Mayor of the city of Albany, and was well acquainted with the traditional and his- forical accounts of the first discovery and settlements. If he was correct, Hudson came as far as the present Canal lock and Albany basin, and his boat proceeded to Waterford and Lansingburgh.
i Albany was long celebrated for the beavers caught in its neighbour- hood. It was once called Beaver-wych.
, 51.]
Hudson at Albany. 249
six miles, found but six feet water, the channel very narrow, and towards night returned.
They probably visited the shoals between Albany and Troy, of which there are now several, and the channel at two places particularly is narrow, shallow, and crooked.
The next day, (21st) they determined again to examine the depth and breadth of the river ; but they did not leave the ship, in consequence of multitudes flocking on board to sur- voy the wonder.
The prejudices they imbibed in Europe, or in their coasting voyage, against a people whom Europeans denominated sa- cages, had given a tone of suspicion to their intercourse. In order to discover whether " any of the chiefe men of the country here had any treacherie in them, our master and mate" resorted to the following singular expedient : They took them into the cabin, and gave them so much " wine and aqua vitæ, that they were all merrie ; and one of them had his wife with him, which sate so modestly, as any of our countrey women would doe in a strange place."" The de- nouement to this ludicrous pantomime was, that one of them became intoxicated. On beholding bim stagger and fall, the natives became dumb from utter astonishment. They could say by their looks and gestures only, that it " was strange to them, for they could not tell how to take it."f They all hur- ried ashore in their canoes. Some time after, a few of them came again, brought stropes of beads for the intoxicated man, (perhaps to enable him to propitiate the good will of those who could exercise so strange a power over him.) He slept all night quietly. In the morning, (Sept. 22) the mate and four others, embarked in the boat to sound the river higher up than they had been. The natives did not venture to renew their visit to the ship till noon, when some of them came, and
* Journal.
+ Journal.
Vor. 1.
32
250 European Discoveries and Claims to New-York. [PART.I.
finding their chief well, were highly gratified. In the after- noon, they repeated their visit, brought tobacco and beads, " and gave them to our master, and made an oration, and showed him all the country round about."* Not contented with this proof of their gratitude, and this oratorical expres. sion of their friendship, in a language which they did not seem to be aware that Hudson could not interpret, they sent off' one of their attendants, who presently brought a great " platter" of venison, dressed in their own style, and " caused him to eate with them : then they made him reverence, and departed all," except the old chief, who, having got a taste of the fatal beverage, chose to remain a little longer on board. This poison, (which, combined with other causes, has since operated to deprive the descendants of these unsuspect- ing people of the fine regions, which the native orator, in the boldness of a free spirit, and with so much pride and pleasure, then displayed to Hudson,) was now introduced among our Iroquois Indians by the first European who had ever entered their Cahohatat>a, t visited their Schenectadea, { or passed their Tioghsahronde Cohohatatca.§
These people were of the Mohawk nation, then one of the most formidable of the Iroquois confederacy, afterwards the victorious enemies of the Mahicanni, and the terror of the New-England Indians, || but now not distinctly known within
* Journal.
t The Iroquois name of the North or Hudson River.
# Iroquois name for Albany, signifying the place the Iroquois arrived at by travelling through the pine-trees. (I. N. Y. Hist. Coll. p. 44.) It will appear in our Colonial History, that this place has had the names of Fort Orange, Beaverwyck, William's Stadt, Fuyck or Hoop-net, Albany, New- Albania, besides that of Schenectadea, and the Mahicanni name of Gaschte- nick.
$ That is, the North River when spoken of in relation to the Norman's Kill, (off which perhaps Hudson first anchored while he remained these four days near Albany,) or to the water-vliet-kill, the Mohock, or other Streams, discharging into the river. (1. N. Y. Ilist. Coll. p. 44. )
#| Sec ente p. 232.
3
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251
Hudson at Albany.
$ 51.3
the limits of this State. They occupied the spot which now exhibits more than two thousand edifices and fourteen thou- sand inhabitants, displaying the bustle of commercial enter- prise, the splendour of private opulence, and the stateliness of official authority. At the present period, scarcely a de- scendant of that powerful tribe is seen in this region, unless, indeed, as an occasional wanderer, to revisit the seats of his ancestors, to view the strange transition that has occurred since their interview with Hudson, and perhaps to gaze, as he approaches the legislative and judicial capitol, upon an emblem on its cupola, the prototype of which he may possibly think had been sometimes concealed from the eyes of his forefa- thers.
While Hudson, unconscious of the ulterior effects of the pernicious evil, thus introduced the knowledge of it, at the central part of our State, Champlain, we have heretofore seen, was exploring our northern waters during the same season, and gave to the same people their first knowledge of the effects of gunpowder .*
It is a remarkable fact, that a tradition prevails at this day among the Iroquois, that a scene of intoxication occurred with a party of the natives on the arrival of the first ship. i. As a singular coincidence, also a similar tradition, most satis- factorily authenticated, prevails among the descendants of the ancient Lenni Lenape, (or Delaweres) one of the branches of which, was the Mahicanni who resided opposite Albany when Hudson arrived ; and other branches of whom, were the Mon- sey's and Delawares, who at that time occupied Manhattan and Staten Islands, and the Jersey shore.
The tradition is sanctioned by the names of Doctor Barton and the Rev. Mr. Heckewelder, and confirmed by the earli- est Dutch historians1 of New Netherlands. It differs from
* Sec ante p. 177, 180.
f Doct. Miller Disc. V. I. N. Y. II. Coll. p. 35.
{ This account is taken from the MSS. in possession of the N. Y. Ilist. Society, and the relation of Mr. Heckewelder agrees with that since pub-
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252 European Discoveries and Claims to New- York. [PART I.
the foregoing description in one important particular. The scene of it is laid on York or Manhattan Island.
The following is the tradition. " A long time ago, before men with a white skin had ever been seen, some Indians, fish- ing at a place where the sea widens, espied something at a distance moving upon the water. They hurried ashore, col .. lected their neighbours, who together returned and viewed in- tensely this astonishing phenomenon. What it could be, bafiled all conjecture. Some supposed. it a large fish or ani- mal, others that it was a very big house floating on the sea. Perceiving it moving towards land, the spectators concluded that it would be proper to send runners in different directions to carry the news to their scattered chiefs, that they might send off for the immediate attendance of their warriors. These arriving in numbers to behold the sight, and perceiving that it was actually moving towards them, (i. e. coming into the river or bay,) they conjectured that it must be a remarkable large house, in which the Manitto (or Great Spirit) was com- ing to visit them. They were much afraid, and yet under no apprehension that the Great Spirit would injure them. They worshipped him. The chiefs now assembled at York Island, and consulted in what manner they should receive their Manitto : meat was prepared for a sacrifice. The women were directed to prepare the best of victuals. Idols or images were examined and put in order. A grand dance they thought would be pleasing, and in addition to the sacrifice, might ap- pease him if angry. The conjurors were also set to work to determine what this phenomenon portended, and what the result would be. To these, men, women and children, look- ed up for advice and protection. Utterly at a loss what to do, and distracted alternately by hope and fear, in this con- fusion a grand dance commenced. Meantime fresh runners
lished by him in Vol. I. of ITist. and Lit. Transactions of Amer. Philo. Soci- ety, Phila. 1519. A MS. extract from Dr. Barton's Journal (in N. Y. H. Soc. Library) is to the same purport,
451.] Hudson. Tradition of first interview. 253
arrived, declaring it to be a great house of various colours, and full of living creatures. It now appeared certain that it was their Manitto, probably bringing some new kind of game. Others arriving, declared it positively to be full of people of different colour and dress from theirs, and that one in particu- lar appeared altogether red .* This then must be the Manitto. They were lost in admiration, could not imagine what the vessel was, whence it came, or what all this portended. They are now hailed from the vessel in a language they could not understand. They answer by a shout or yell in their way. The house, (or large cance, as some render it) stops. A. smaller canoe comes on shore with the red man in it, some stay by his canoe to guard it. The chiefs and wise men forin a cir- cle, into which the red man and two attendants approach. He salutes them with friendly countenance, and they return the salute after their manner. They are amazed at their colour and dress, particularly with him who, glittering in red, wore something (perhaps lace and buttons) they could not comprehend. He must be the great Manitto they thought, but why should he have a white skin ? A large elegant Hock- hack (gourd, i. e. bottle, decanter, &c.) is brought by one of the supposed Manitto's servants, from which a substance is poured into a small cup or glass, and handed to the Manitto .. He drinks, has the glass refilled and handed to the chief near him. He takes it, smells it, and passes it to the next who does the same. The glass in this manner is passed round the circle, and is about to be returned to the red clothed man. when one of them, a great warrior, harangues them on the impropriety of returning the cup unemptied. It was handed to them, he said, by the Manitto, to drink out of as he had. To follow his example would please him-to reject it might pro- yoke his wrath. And if no one else would, he would drink it
* It will be recollected, that Hudson clothed in red the savages he took on board near Sandy Hook Bay. This shows that he had red clothes on board, and when he or his mate landed, he might have been thus clothe !.
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234 European Discoveries and Claims to New- York. [PART I.
himself, let what would follow, for it were better for one even to die, than a whole nation to be destroyed. He then took the glass, smelled at it, again addressed them, bidding adieu, and drank the contents. All eyes were now fixed (on the first Indian in New-York who had tasted the poison which has since effected so signal a revolution in the condition of the native Americans.) He soon began to stagger. The women cried, supposing him in fits. He rolled on the ground. They bemoan his fate. They thought him dying. He fell asleep. They at first thought he had expired, but soon perceived he still breathed. He awoke, jumped up, and declared he never felt more happy. He asked for more, and the whole assem- bly imitating him, became intoxicated. After this intoxication ceased, they say, that while it lasted the whites confined them- selves to their vessel, the man with red clothes returned, and distributed beads, axes, hoes, and stockings. They soon became familiar, and conversed by signs. The whites made them understand that they would now return home, but the next year they would visit them again with presents, and stay with them awhile ; but that as they could not live without cating, they should then want a little land to sow seeds, in order to raise herbs to put into their broth. Accordingly a vessel arrived the season following, when they were much rejoiced to see each other ;* but the whites laughed when they saw the axes and hoes hanging as ornaments to their breasts, and the stockings used as tobacco pouches. The whites now put handles (or helyes) in the former, and cut down trees before their eyes, and dug the ground, and show- ed them the use of the stockings. Here they say a general laughter ensued, to think they had remained ignorant of the use of these things, and had borne so long such heavy metal suspended around their necks. Familiarity daily increasing between them and the whites, the latter now proposed to stay
* It is certain that the Dutch sent one ship the year after Hudson's dis- covery, and it is highly probable that a part of the crew who had been with him, returned with this vessel.
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255
§ 51.] Hudson. Tradition of first interview.
with them, asking them only for so much land as the hide of a bullock spread before them would cover or encompass. They granted the request. The whites took a knife, and beginning at one place on this hide, cut it up to a rope not thicker than the finger of a little child. They then took the rope and drew it gently along in a circular form, and took in a large piece of ground ; the Indians were surprised at their superior wit, but they did not contend with them for a little ground, as they had enough .* They lived contentedly togeth- er for a long time, but the new comers from time to time asked for more land, which was readily obtained. And thus they gradually proceeded higher up the Mahicannittuck, (Hudson river) until they began to believe they would want all their country, which proved eventually the case."
The name (says Barton) which these Indians gave to the whites who surprised them so much, was Woapsid Lennappe, which signifies the white people. But in process of time, when a number of disagreeable events had taken place between the natives and new-comers, the former laid aside the original appellation, and called them Schwonnach, " the salt people," because they came across the saltwater ; and this is the ge- neral name of the whites to this day.
That this remarkable tradition has a reference to one of the first visits which the Europeans paid to the country in the neighbourhood of the city of New-York, there is very little reason to doubt. We are left to conjecture (says Dr. Barton) at what time the visit was made, and by what nation, and of course to whom the Indians are indebted for the first introduc- tion of spiritous liquors among them.
But Vander Donckt (who wrote about forty-three years after the above scene took place) in his chapter, headed by the inqui-
" These Dutchmen (says Mr. Heckewelder) turned their classical knowledge of Queen Dido to a profitable account.
+ Adriaen Vander Donck. " Beschryvinge, Van Nieuw Nederlant," &c. printed Amst. 1655. (Printed 16 years after the above arrival and inter. view took place. ) His work passed through two editions,
256 European Discoveries and Claims to New- York. [PART I.
ry, " why this country was called New-Netherlands ?" answers, by assigning, among other reasons, that it was first discovered by the people of Netherland. In proof of which, he says, that the Indians or natives, many of whom were then liring, say from their own knowledge and recollection, that before the arri- val of the ship Half-moon in 1609, they did not know there were any more people in the world, than of the same kind with themselves, much less people who differ so widely from each other as our nation and theirs ; so that when they first discovered our ship, they did not know what to make of it. They were in great fear, and knew not whether it might not be an apparition ; but whether from heaven or hell they could not divine. Others supposed it to be a great sea monster, and that those on it had more the appearance of devils than human beings, at least a strange report circulated through the country, and caused a great consternation among the Indians, as many of them have frequently told me, (says Vander Donck.) We therefore receive this as a sufficient proof, that the people of Netherlands were the first discoverers or possessors of New Netherlands, for there are Indians who recollect a hundred years, so that if there had been any before us, they would certain- ly know something of it, either personally, or from the rela- tion of their ancestors.
The New Neth. Verloogh, ; printed 1650, (41 years after the . discovery by Hudson) and cited in the Kort Verhael, f relates the first discovery and reception of Hudson, thus : In 1609, the privileged East India Company (though its view was direct- ed elsewhere at her expense by the ship, the Halve moon, (crescent) whereof captain and cargo (skipper en koopman) was Henrick Hutson, discovered first the country which our people call New Netherl. insomuch that even now inhabitants
¡ P. 17.
* P. 11 to 14.
257
Hudson -- Tradition of first Interview.
of the country remember it, and witness, that when the Dutch ships came hither first, and were seen by them, they did not Know whether they came from heaven, or were devils. Others thought them to be sea-monsters, or fishes .* They knew before nothing of other sort of men ; a strange tale thereof run through their country now. "f
1
Whether the preceding interview actually occurred on Man- hattan Island, opposite to which, by short removes, Hudson Jay about two days, and is said to have landed ; whether it took place on Coney Island, or at the foot of Sandy Hook Bay, where the journal describes the people in great numbers, men, women, and children, ranged on the beach to receive their new visitors, and where one account describes them as singing ; or whether it happened at the place where Indson's ship was last moored, and where the chief and his followers became so "merrie," according to the journal, are inquiries that it would be impossible satisfactorily to answer.
-
Mr. Heckewelder received the tradition about sixty-five years ago, and took it down verbatim, as it was related to him by aged and respected Delawares, Monseys, and Mahicanni. Dr. Barton says the story is told in the same way by all the Indians of the tribes of Delawares, the " Monces," and Mo- hiccans ; and in relating the incidents, they laugh at their own ignorance. But what still further shows (says Dr. B.) that considerable dependence may be placed upon the tradition, is this, that to this day, the Delawares, the Monscys, and Mo- hiccans, call New-York Manahachtanienks, that is, the place at which we were drunk, being the name they bestowed on the place, immediately after the incident related. Mr. Heckewel- der also says, that the Delawares call this place Mannahatta-
* It is related that a similar perplexity and consternation seized the minds of the Indians bordering on Detroit River, at the time the Lake Eric steam- boat " Walk-in-the-Water" made her first appearance in that river, advan- cing against wind and'tide, and sending forth volumes of flames and smoke. { MS. in N. Y. Ilist. Soc.
VOL. I.
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258 European Discoveries and Claims to New-York. [PART I.
nink and Mannakachtanink to this day. They have frequent- ly told him that it derived its name from this general intoxica- tion, and that the word comprehended in its meaning, the island or place of general intoxication. The Mahicanni, * (otherwise Mohiggans by the English, and Mahicanders by the low Dutch) call the place by the same name, but think it was given in consequence of a kind of wood which grew there, and of which the Indians used to make their bows and arrows. This wood they call Gawaak .* Unless Hudson, after the interview, (if it took place at Manhattan Island) might have heard the ex- clamation, " Mannahattanink," or afterwards heard it from the Indians (perhaps from those he took with him up the river, and who escaped at West Point) during his month's visit in our waters, we should incline to believe, that the Mahicanni were most correct in the origin of the name. For Hudson, on his return, (Oct. 2d) while opposite the island, refers to " that side of the river that is called Mlanna-hata." It might be sug- gested that Varrazano, 85 years before, or some other Euro- pean visiter, had been there, and had the interview, as given in the foregoing tradition ; but there is no proof to support such suggestion. Indeed, all the accounts contradict it, inas- much as they say the next year, the visit was renewed. This cor- responds with the fact, that the next year after the discovery, the Dutch sent out a vessel, in which it is probable some of the Dutch . sailors who had accompanied Hudson, returned as pilots and for traffic. " The universal name the Monseys have for New- York (says Mr. H.) is Laaphawachking, that is, the place of stringing wampum beads. They say this name was given in consequence of the distribution of beads among them by Eu- ropeans, and that after the European vessel returned, wherever one looked, the Indians were seen stringing heads and wam- pum the whites gave them."
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