USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume I > Part 13
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At this period the States-General began to be acutely apprehensive of future trouble with the New England settlements as well as with those of the Swedes, as it appeared likely that political complications would arise out of the relations of the home governments. Following 1630 there had been a downward tendency in the fortunes of the West India Company. The rich galleons of Spain no longer supplied wealth to its coffers, and the subsidies promised in its charter were largely in arrear. So incapable indeed appeared the company of successfully main- taining even its territory along the North River that a project was set on foot by the States-General to take control, for political purposes, of the entire province of New Netherland, and to obtain the relinquish- ment by the company of its rights in the colony. To this application the company, having a valuable independent charter, refused to agree. The condition of the province was, however, so unsatisfactory that it
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was deemed necessary to make some changes of policy so as to invite a greater volume of immigration. The Amsterdam Chamber conse- quently established a new system; and by an ordinance of 1638 yielded in part its monopoly of trade, and sent special orders to the director to make liberal arrangements with such new colonists as might arrive and desire to acquire land. The director cooperated in the matter as he was advised and the concessions were attended with excellent results. New settlers arrived in numbers, not only from Europe, but from Virginia and New England.
At this time a great many grants were made to settlers on the island of Manhattan and in the surrounding districts. The bouweries were put in order, stocked with cattle and leased; and more than thirty farms belonging to the West India Company came under active cultivation. Andreas Hudde received a grant of a hundred morgens just south of the Harlem at the northeast end of the island of Manhattan, as did also Van Twiller, on the North River strand, at Sapohanican. Hudde was to pay one-tenth of the increase of the stock at the end of ten years and a pair of capons annually. In May, 1638, Abraham Isaacksen Planck received a grant for Paulus Hoeck, east of Ahasimus, on the western side of the North River. Among other leases of the company's bouwer- ies was one to the insatiable Van Twiller in 1639, who was busy letting out his goats and cows. The company's farm at Pavonia was let to John Evertsen Bout. The secretary, Van Tienhoven, leased a bouwery opposite La Montague's plantation of Vredendael, subsequently called Greenwich Village; and we find in the records many other leases and deeds of outlying farms and plantations. Among others a tract was granted to the Englishmen, George Holmes and Thomas Hall, tobacco planters, extending from Deutel or Turtle Bay to the Hill of Schepmoes. A large tract was also conveyed to John Jansen Van Salee near Coneyn, later known as Coney Island.
Dutch and English Meet-Dutch rule went well over the Harlem and into the Connecticut Valley and was being spasmodically settled, so that the borderland between the English and the Dutch began to be lessened and the two peoples to come into contact. The English col- onists of New England looked southward with envious eyes on the more fertile regions of New Netherland and began to adopt measures for dispossessing the Dutch of their lands not merely on the Connecticut but the east of the lower portion of the North River. A settlement had been planted in 1638 at a place called the Roodenberg, or Red Hill; and the foundation of the colony of New Haven was laid. De Vries states in his account that in June, 1639, he anchored at New Haven, where, to his surprise, he found about three hundred houses built and a fine
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church. Hartford was already a flourishing settlement. Other Eng- lish emigrants soon after established themselves in the region about what is now known as Norwalk, Stamford, and Greenwich, interfering with the lands appertaining to the Dutch settlement at Fort Good Hope on the Fresh Water, or Connecticut River, which had been pur- chased from the Indians in 1632-33, as well as the lands at the mouth of the river. On account of these continual encroachments the director thought it expedient at this time to fortify the title of the company to lands on the East River, by purchasing from the aborigines all the main- land and the outlying islands extending northeast of the Great Kill, or Harlem River, as far as the inlet at Norwalk. About this time also the director made extensive purchases from the Canarsee tribe of land or. the western part of Long Island, embracing parts of the modern coun- ties of Kings and Queens.
The emigrants from England had in the meantime made considerable purchases at the eastern portion of Long Island, and sought to take possession of a portion of the island to the west, which had been granted to the Dutch by the Indians. Against these proceedings the director took active measures and sent a small military expedition which soon drove away without bloodshed the English trespassers and vindicated the sovereignty of the company over their Long Island possessions. It is to be remarked that Kieft in his instructions ordered "Above all things take care that no blood be shed." In this instance at least he showed prudence and humanity. The English occupation of the eastern part of the island still continued, however, and the towns of South- ampton and Southold commenced their career.
Trouble with the Indians-About the middle of 1640 Raritan In- dians were accused by Kieft on very slender grounds of taking certain property on Staten Island and of attacking a trading yacht. After very little investigation the director sent an expedition against them, which murdered several of the natives and ravaged their fields. The military appear to have acted in accordance with the instructions of their com- mander. Van Tienhoven, the commander, likewise seems to have acted on the counsel of the director-general, and Kieft was generally held re- sponsible for the wrong that had been perpetrated. The affair provided the ground for the feeling of enmity among the aborigines that in a brief time culminated in the terrible Indian wars, which caused great loss of life and property to settlers in Manhattan and on the mainland, and so retarded the progress of the Dutch colonies that they were in no con- dition to offer resistance to the invading forces of the Duke of York in 1664.
The plans adopted by the authorities of the colony in their relations
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with the Indians cannot be said to have been measures of wisdom. In the beginning the aborigines had been treated with a considerable measure of courtesy and fair play by the traders and the Indians had put a good deal of trust in them. But when the whites began to exer- cise fraud and treachery the confidence of the Indians gave place to dis- trust. Liquor also was frequently sold to them, although there were soon consistent efforts on the part of the Indian chieftains and spas- modic efforts on the part of the Dutch authorities to put a stop to the dangerous traffic. Another of the occurrences that intensified the feel- ing of hostility between the Dutch and the aborigines was an attack, made for some motive or cause not apparent, by Raritan Indians on the plantation of De Vries, on Staten Island, in which four of the settlers were killed. This occurred at the end of summer in 1641. Following this affair Kieft offered a reward for the head of any one of the Raritans that might be brought to the fort-an edict that was tantamount to a proclamation of war. There were also other affairs that increased the acerbation of feeling. A wheelwright, named Claes Smits or Switz, who occupied a house at Deutel, or Turtle Bay, an inlet on the East River, was murdered in cold blood by one of the Weckquaesgecks, whose haunts were in the valley of the Bronx, in revenge for the mur- der already related sixteen years previous of his uncle, carrying furs to New Amsterdam by Dutch workers near the Fresh Water Pond, later called the Collect. As the Weckquaesgecks refused to surrender the murderer it was decided to declare war against them. This meant an expedition on to the mainland and a campaign in the region of what is now The Bronx. Before active measures were taken, however, the director resolved to take counsel with prominent men in the community in order that the entire responsibility might not be laid on his shoul- ders. He accordingly sent out the following notice, dated August 23, 1641: "The Director-General of New Netherland informs, herewith, all heads or masters of families, living in this vicinity, that he wishes them to come to Fort Amsterdam, on Thursday, the 29th of August, for the consideration of some important and necessary matters."
A group of the colonists attended and the result of the gathering was that twelve men were selected to consider the question of the measures to be adopted in retaliation. De Vries was chosen president of the new' council of war. Among the others are found the names of Jan Jansen Damen, farmer; Maryn Adriaensen, who afterwards attempted to mur- der the director; Joachim Pietersen Kuyter; Joris or George Rapalje, one of the original Walloon colonists; and Abraham Isaacsen Planck, a farmer from Paulus Hoeck. The council was of opinion that ener- getic attempts should be made to apprehend the murderer; but that
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in case of failure to secure him the settlement of the Weckquaesgecks should be destroyed, not, however, before the Indian hunting expedi- tions had begun. It was recommended also that the director ought to lead the van in case of active war and that the freemen and soldiers be supplied with coats of mail. De Vries, although the principal sufferer from Indian attacks, was of opinion that the colony was not then in a condition for open war with the powerful tribes of the vicinity. The Amsterdam Chamber moreover was opposed to hostilities with the In- dians and the twelve men in general were of that opinion also.
Kieft, however, was burning for revenge. Though the advice of the twelve men postponed action for the present the director kept his mind on the idea of punishment. The time was not then propitious and his insistence had been such that he had at least secured from the twelve a commission to engage in an expedition. These twelve men, all per- sons of consequence, and able to weigh the director's tendency to arbi- trariness, and recognizing the circumstance that there was in fact no practical limit to his authority, thought the season opportune for mak- ing a formal representation to him to the effect that the people of the colony should have a permanent representation in the administration at least of municipal affairs, based upon the burgher rights of the Fath- erland. They suggested an increase in the permanent council so that the number should be at least five; and that four out of the twelve men to be elected by the citizens should be assigned places in the council, who were to take part in judicial as well as civil proceedings. Other important demands were made. Under popular pressure the director conceded the right that the commonalty might select the four men de- sired to be associated in the council to act in judicial matters; and that at certain specified times they should be called upon to advise upon pub- lic affairs. It was conceded also that the inhabitants might in future trade with friendly colonies, upon paying certain imposts to the com- pany and for the purpose of protecting the cattle trade the New Eng- land colonies were to be prohibited from selling cows and goats in the colony. These concessions were carried into execution to a limited ex- tent only, for the director soon resumed his arbitrary powers, dismissing the twelve men, whose presence he found embarrassing, and prohibit- ing the calling of any assembly of the people without his express or- der, as leading to dangerous consequences and to the great injury both of the country and of his authority.
Preparations for War-Meanwhile warlike preparations were going on and the expedition against the Weckquaesgecks was sent out in March, 1642. It consisted of eighty men under the command of En- sign Van Dyck, an officer of the fort, Kieft himself surrendering the
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honor of leading the forces. The expedition crossed the Harlem River and entered the Westchester region, with orders to punish the savages with fire and sword. Owing to a mistake, however, in the route, and the darkness of the night the settlement of the Indians was not reached and the ensign ordered a retreat to New Amsterdam. The savages, however, were intimidated by these martial manoevres and offered to surrender the murderer, an offer which they took good care not to put into execution. Peace, however, was concluded on this verbal act and formally signed at the house of Jonas Bronck, the leading pioneer in the valley of the river that was to bear his name. The interval of peace was destined to be a short one. There was an attempt to impose a tribute upon the tribes in The Bronx vicinity and the cattle of the set- tlers still were permitted to trample the crops of the aborigines. The feeling of hostility deepened and then another incident occurred which served as a spark to bring about a conflagration.
One of the Red Men in the course of a quarrel deliberately shot a Dutch colonist who was at work at Van der Horst's plantation, near the Hackingsack and North rivers. In spite of the fact that the chiefs of the tribe offered to come to the fort and make compensation in the form of blood money, Kieft demanded as the sole reparation that the murderer should be delivered at the fort. The reply was that he had absconded and taken refuge with the Tankitekes and that such ocur- rences only came about through the whites selling liquor to the In- dians. The director at once made the demand on Pacham, chief of the Tankitekes, for the delivery of the murderer; but a merely scoffing an- swer was returned. A body of the Iroquois had in the meantime ap- peared in the north to collect tribute from the Westchester and River tribes and drove before them a host of terrified fugitives, who took habitation, some on De Vries's plantation at Vriesendael, some among the Hackingsacks on the west side of the river, and others in The Bronx and on Manhattan. Kieft showed anything but sympathy with the victims who had been thus delivered into his power. He con- sidered that the occasion was an appropriate one for the retaliation which he had vowed for the Smits and Van Voorst murders and swore that he would make the savages "wipe their chops." Some of the more prudent of citizens were urgent in their opposition to reprisals, but three of the former twelve men were as urgent in their call for venge- ance, and they signed a petition to that effect, apparently in the name of the whole body. Kieft required no persuasion, and remonstrance from citizens was of no avail. He prepared an expedition and had it fitted out so hastily that no proper warning was given the settlers in outlying localities. De Vries warned him that these isolated settlers.
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would be sure to suffer grievously, but with little avail. It was de- termined to send a force to Pavonia, and a force to drive away those In- dians who had taken refuge at Corlaer's Hoeck. The marching orders for the expedition to Pavonia were as follows: "Sergeant Rodolf is authorized and commanded to take under his command a troop of sol- diers and lead them to Pavonia, and drive away and destroy the savages being behind John Evertsens; but to spare, as much as it is possible, their wives and children, and to take the savages prisoners. Done, Feb- ruary 25, 1643."
The body of men that proceeded to the Jersey shore made a mur- derous midnight attack upon a group of the refugee Tapaens, and re- lentlessly slaughtered for the most part in their sleep over eighty men, women, and children. The shrieks of the victims were heard at the fort of Amsterdam. The other expedition attacked the unfortunate aborigines gathered at Corlaer's Hoeck, surprising them also in their sleep. At that point about forty were killed, neither infants nor women being spared. There was a certain subdued exultation in New Am- sterdam on the return of the two expeditions. The misgivings among those who felt them were not given expression. A foray was also made, without the director's authorization, by certain of the inhabitants of New Amersfoort, on Long Island, against the Marechkawiecks, a peace- ful tribe, living within the limits of the present Brooklyn.
Enmity of the Indians-The effect of these atrocities was to excite the extreme enmity of all the Indians in the environs and to force them into unity against the common enemy. Something like eleven tribes were soon in combination for the destruction of the whites. Settle- ments were attacked and devastated; cattle and crops were destroyed ; houses were burned; and the families on farms were slaughtered with- out mercy, or carried into captivity. Every plantation in New Nether- land was exposed to destruction. The terrified planters fled to the fort for safety, and many abandoned the colony for the home country. Roger Williams, who was in New Amsterdam at the time, taking ship for Europe, was a witness to the desolation and the havoc that prevailed. "Before we weighed anchor," he wrote, "mine eyes saw the flames of their towns, and the flights and hurries of men, women, and children, and the present removal of all that could to Holland." In a short time only three bouweries remained entire on the island of Manhattan, and there were two on Staten Island. De Vries relates that the savages burned his farm, cattle, corn, barn, tobacco house and all the tobacco, and attacked his people, who took refuge in the house, which was made with embrasures, where they defended themselves. They were saved from destruction by a friendly Indian, whom De Vries had formerly
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protected, and his house and brewery were spared. All the male col- onists in Manhattan and those over the Harlem were then enrolled as soldiers under pay and peace was sought to be made with the Long Island Indians, though at first scornfully rejected. Later they showed a disposition towards peace and sent delegates to the fort. They had acted heretofore in hostility, because members of their tribe had been slaughtered at Corlaer's Hoeck, and others at Amersfoort. De Vries, whose dealings with the Indians had won their confidence, offered to go to one of their settlements, to treat with them, and with a companion named Olfertsen proceeded to a place called Rech-quaakie, later Rock- away. After being hospitably entertained and lodged for the night, De Vries and his companion proceeded, at break of day, with the Indians to a neighboring wood, where the council began its sessions.
At the head of the assemblage sat Pennawitz, chief of the Canarsees, with sixteen of his principal sachems, says one account; "while several hundred sulky warriors stood in a circle, looking with little favor upon the bold delegates who had come from the fort. There was at first a gloomy silence. Then Pennawitz began a rehearsal of the wrongs the Indians had received at the hands of the Dutch; and, at the end of every charge, laid down, for emphasis and enumeration, a little stick. Finally, De Vries, growing impatient at the number of charges and sticks, which seemed to act as irritants upon the savages, proposed to them that delegates from their number should go to the fort, where they should receive presents and make a peace." The Indians naturally hesi- tated about going to New Amsterdam and placing themselves in the hands of their enemies; but finally, in the words of De Vries, 'One of the chiefs, who knew men, said, 'We will go on the faith of your word, for the Indians have never found you to be as they have other Swan- nekens ;' and finally, twenty of us went, sitting in a canoe or hollow tree, which is their boat; and the edge was not a hand's breadth above the water. Arrived at the fort, William Kieft came and made peace with the Indians and gave them some presents. He requested them to bring those chiefs to the fort who had lost so many Indians, as he wished also to make peace with them and to give them presents. Then some of them went and brought the Indians of Ackinsack and Tapaen and the vicinity, and the chiefs came forward, to whom he made presents, but they were not well content with them. They told me that he could have made peace by his presents, so that those days would never again be spoken of; but now it might fall out that the infants on the small boards would be remembered. They then went away grumbling at their presents.' The terms of the peace were that all injuries mutually re- ceived should be considered forgiven, and no further molestation should
Bronx-8
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be made on either side; and the Indians were to give notice of any plots by other savages not represented in the treaty."
This was splendid, but the depth of enmity that had been aroused could not be composed so easily. The strong rancor against their op- pressors remained in the breasts of the Indians. Pacham, the warlike chief of the Tankitekes, was unsleeping in his efforts to stir up the river tribes to a renewal of hostilities. A few months after the con- clusion of peace an Indian chief informed De Vries that he was much troubled because the young men of his tribe wanted to make war on the Dutch. Had the director made a proper compensation for the mur- ders that had been committed they would have been forgotten. Evi- dently there was a great deal of trouble still to come. It came in the late summer of 1643, and was begun by the Tankiteke and Wappinger tribes, these latter located near the highlands of the North River, and it took the form of an attack on some boats laden with beaver skins, descending the river from Fort Orange. In this attack twelve of the Dutch were killed. Kieft realized that the occasion was critical and called again upon the community for counsel, eight men being finally selected to act in conference with him. The decision of the council and the eight men was that peace was to be maintained with the Long Island Indians ; but war was promptly declared against the river tribes. The colonists and the company's employees were thereupon armed and drilled and, in addition, some English settlers and soldiers under Cap- tain John Underhill to the number of fifty, who were to receive pay and to take an oath of fidelity to the States-General and to the local govern- ment. Underhill was an expert Indian fighter, having fought in the ,wars of the New Englanders against the Pequods in 1637.
War in Bronx Territory-The warlike Weckquaesgecks joined at this juncture the hostile upper tribes and commenced their depredations by attacking the unsuspecting settlers who had received grants in the valley of what was then called the Aquahung but which later came to be called the Bronx River, as well as along the coast of Pelham Bay. It was in this campaign that Anne Hutchinson and her family were treacherously killed. The Throgmorton and Cornell plantations were devastated and many members of the Throgmorton and Cornell families were murdered. Several of the Long Island tribes attacked the settle- ments of Gravesend and Mespat; the first of which was successfully defended by the English refugees there, Lady Deborah Moody and her associates; but Francis Doughty, the English clergyman, and his peo- ple, who were located at Mespat, were driven from their settlement, with loss of life, and their plantations and houses were burned. Other settlements on Long Island were devastated, and the inhabitants fled
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in terror before the savage invaders. The Nevesincks, located near the Atlantic and Raritan Bay, south of the Raritans, joined in the uprising, and commenced murderous attacks, while the discontented Hacking- sacks, in September, 1643, attacked Van der Horst's colony, at Achter- Cul, and Stoffelsen's plantation at Pavonia. They treacherously ap- proached the latter place and those left there to defend it, having im- prudently laid aside their arms, were slain. As the incursions of the Indians grew bolder and houses and farms were successively attacked, the terrified colonists from the outlying plantations took refuge in the huts about the crumbling fort at New Amsterdam. An army of fifteen hundred men out of seven allied hostile tribes, supplied with guns and ammunition, was preparing to attack it, their scouting parties already showing themselves in the woods north of the town, firing at times on the outposts and killing the sentinels. It became evident to the citizens that they would be compelled to make a supreme effort in defence of their lives and property, threatened as they had not been threatened be- fore. Their army was small. It consisted merely of fifty or sixty sol- diers of the garrison, the English contingent, and about two hundred armed freemen. The New Haven colonists did not make any favorable response to the plea sent to them for assistance. They merely offered provisions, if they were needed.
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