Journal of Jasper Danckaerts, 1679-1680 Part 14

[IN NEW YORK.]

_Continuation, of what happened in New York during the Winter._

_4th, Thursday._ It was now Christmas, according to the old style. It had frozen very hard during the night. We went to church, in order to hear Do. Niewenhuise preach, but more to give no offense to the people, than either on his or our own account.

_5th, Thursday [Friday]._ We began writing.

_6th, Friday [Sat.u.r.day]._ It continued to freeze hard, though during the day the weather was more moderate. The ice was strong and mixed with snow.

_13th, Sat.u.r.day._ It felt like a change of weather. In all this time nothing occurred worthy of note except the s.h.i.+ps left the harbor in front of the city, on Thursday, for Deutel Bay, a cove of Long Island in the East River, about three miles east of the city, opposite h.e.l.lgate, where they lie during the winter, to be out of the way of the floating ice, which is sometimes very great.[285] On Friday, the governor's yacht arrived from Virginia, having been twenty-two days on the way. They had brought a _sackemaker_ from there with whom the governor had negotiated for peace between the Indians and English in that quarter. In all this frost and cold we have discovered little difference from the cold in Holland, except that when the sun is high, that is, about nine o'clock in the morning, it is a little milder here. It thawed every day until the

_16th, Tuesday_, when all the ice and snow disappeared. De la Grange having a new small map of a portion of the South River, I copied it.

[Footnote 285: Deutel Bay was a small bight in the East River, about at the foot of Forty-seventh Street. The name was later corrupted into Turtle Bay. It was not a cove of Long Island.]

_24th, Wednesday._ Fred. Flipsen[286] met me, and told me the governor had been at his house, and spoken to him about us, and that he desired to see us and talk with us. We, therefore, determined to call upon him, and at the expiration of three days of rain and stormy weather, on the

_25th [26th], Friday_, we went to Fredryck Flipsen, that he might take us to the governor, as he had promised, and as he did do. The governor received us kindly, and told us he had wondered at our being so long in the country without coming to see him. We replied, that we should undoubtedly not have failed in doing so, if he had been in the city, for when we arrived here he was at Penequik,[287] and afterwards when he had been only a few days at home, with much business to occupy him, he left for Fort Albany just as we were going to the South River. We parted politely from each other.

[Footnote 286: See p. 5, note 1, _supra_.]

[Footnote 287: Pemaquid, on the Maine coast, where Governor Andros had caused a fort to be erected, which he visited in the autumn of 1679.]

_30th [29th], Monday._ A person who, they said, was the thief-catcher, came to our house in the evening, and, by order of the governor, summoned us to appear at eight o'clock the next morning at the house of ---- Rombouts,[288] the mayor of the city, and give our names and further information as to our doings and condition, as all strangers now and henceforth, whether men or women, must do. We were somewhat astonished, since they had told us, as was certainly true, that such had never been the custom. What induced them to adopt this course, we do not know.

[Footnote 288: Francis Rombouts was mayor of New York in 1679-1680.]

_31st [30th], Tuesday._ We went in company with the old woman where we lodged, to Mayor Rombouts, at the appointed time. When we arrived, there was a magistrate's officer or two in attendance, and some came in while we were there. Addressing us, he said: "Friends, we have summoned you here, not because we have anything to say to you, or have any debt to claim, or because any one has sought of us to demand of you any such thing, or to summon you." The reason, he said, was because we had been so long in the country without having reported our names, who we were, our profession, trade or business, condition and purpose. We answered, we would by no means have been in default, if there were any law or order which required us to do so, or if we had been informed that it was customary, or had ever been done; and it therefore surprised us that they complained and charged us with neglect of duty, or found fault with us, or wished to convict us of a matter where there was no law, obligation, custom, or even precedent; that this treatment struck us as very strange, since there were several foreigners who had come over in the s.h.i.+p with us, from whom they had not required what they required of us. "You know well," he said, "it is the custom in Europe." We replied, "it was not so in any of the United Provinces or any other places except upon the frontiers." "Well," he continued, "we are no frontier, but a capital, and it must and shall be so in the future." He then inquired after our names, trade or profession, and place of residence in Fatherland, all of which we told him, namely, that my comrade was a theologian, and had studied at Leyden;[289] that I was a wine-racker, and that we both lived near Leeuwarden, in Friesland. He asked further what we came there to do, or what was our purpose or intention. We told him it was to look at the country. "How, look at the country?" he asked: "some come here to look at the cities, others at the fortifications; some to learn the mode of government and policy, others the manner of regulating the militia; others again to learn the climate, and times, and seasons, and you run and travel through the country without giving us any notice why." We replied, we had come here and travelled through the country in order to make ourselves acquainted generally with the nature and fertility of the soil, as was convenient, or we might perhaps go around mornings and evenings. He inquired further of us how we wished to be regarded in the future, whether as citizens or foreigners. We answered, as foreigners. "Well then," he proceeded, "you are forbidden to carry on trade, particularly with the inhabitants, that is, to sell anything to private persons, but you may dispose of it to merchants who sell to private individuals." He said the privilege, or burgher right cost ---- beavers,[290] each beaver reckoned at five guilders in Holland money, or twenty-five guilders in _zeewan_, and was prohibited to all persons who reside out of the city; and as we resided out of the city, we must be treated like others. We replied to this, we would cheerfully obey the law. We were also told to travel nowhere, particularly to Albany, without special permission from the governor, which we said we would ask from his Excellency, and thereupon we left.

[Footnote 289: The _Alb.u.m Studiosorum Academiae Lugduno-Batavae_ (Hague, 1875) contains the entry of "Petrus Sluyter Vesaliensis"

(_i.e._, of Wesel) as entering the University of Leyden in 1666 as a student of theology, at the age of twenty-one. Also, Sluyter in 1670 told Paul Hackenberg at Herford that he had studied three years in the Palatinate (without finding one truly pious pastor or teacher). Domine Selyns, in a letter to Rev. Willem a Brakel, says that Sluyter gave himself out as a physician, but unsuccessful in practice, Danckaerts as a wine-racker, as here. Danckaerts is understood from Zeeland sources to have been originally a cooper for the Dutch West India Company at Middelburg.]

[Footnote 290: Six beavers, according to a munic.i.p.al ordinance of 1676.]

On arriving at our house, we found there Simon of Gouanes,[291] who had brought a boat-load of wood, and with whom my companion went to Long Island, but I remained at home; the Lord exercising me somewhat, I was rather quiet. We had been to the strand several days, watching for Claes, the ferryman, or some other opportunity to cross over to Gamoenepaen, but we found none; and as there was some difficulty between this governor and the governor of New Jersey, we were contented to wait and follow the providence of the Lord therein, although our purpose in going over was not on that account.

[Footnote 291: Simon Aertsen de Hart.]

FEBRUARY _1st [January 31], Wednesday._ Gerrit, the son-in-law of our host, having been a long time upon Long Island, came over with a cask of tobacco, which he intended to s.h.i.+p in the s.h.i.+p _Beaver_; he repacked it, and I helped him cooper it.[292] He said he had another one to bring over from the island, and then he would take Simon's boat and go with us to Ackquakenon. After he had finished packing this one, the boat going to Gouanes after wood, I left along with him on the

_3d [2nd], Friday_, at nine o'clock in the morning. I heard that my companion had gone from the Bay to Najack, where I proposed to follow him, because we might not be able to obtain these people who, in order to go to Ackqueqenon, resolve upon it half a year beforehand, for when one can go, the other cannot, and we were not able to wait. Simon told us now he could not accompany us. The other person was uncertain, and Gerrit was not any more sure. I arrived at Najack in the evening, and my comrade also arrived there from the bay, in company with Jaques.[293] He concluded to return to the city with me in the morning.

[Footnote 292: The _Beaver_ was the s.h.i.+p by which Gerrit van Duyn's wife had just come out. For the writer as a cooper see p. 168, note.]

[Footnote 293: Jacques Cortelyou.]

_4th [3d], Sat.u.r.day._ Our resolution was defeated. We started on the road, but were compelled to return, as it had rained hard the whole night, and continued to do so all day.

_5th [4th], Sunday._ It snowed all night and until about nine o'clock in the morning, when it cleared up, and we set out on our journey. We reached the ferry at one o'clock, where we waited three hours to be taken over by the lame brother-in-law of Jan the baker, or Jan Theunissen.[294]

[Footnote 294: Probably a mistake for Jacob Theunissen, who was a baker at this time.]

_6th [5th], Monday evening._ M. de la Grange came to call upon us, being somewhat under concern of mind, and giving us some hope. His wife, being touched also, has been to see us several times; and certainly the Lord will comfort us about His people. I will take some other occasion to speak more particularly in relation to this matter, if the Lord continue it. Meanwhile, I had translated the _Verheffinge des Geestes tot G.o.d_[295] into Dutch, for Elizabeth Rodenburgh, wife of Ephraim Hermans, in order to send her a token of grat.i.tude for the acts of kindness enjoyed at her house, as she had evinced a great inclination for it, and relished it much, when sometimes we read portions of it to her while we were there. I also began a translation of the last exercise of the _Heylige Decades_.[296] Nothing further occurred worthy of mention, except that the snow, frost, rain and inclement weather prevented us from going to Ackquequenon.[297]

[Footnote 295: "The Liftings up of the Soul to G.o.d"; one of Labadie's publications (Dutch, Amsterdam, 1667), of which, however, Danckaerts evidently had with him only the original French, _Elevations d'Esprit a Dieu_ (Montauban, 1651).]

[Footnote 296: _Les Saintes Decades des Quatrains de Piete Chrestienne_ (Amsterdam, 1671), poems by Jean de Labadie.]

[Footnote 297: Pa.s.saic.]

_11th, Sunday._ We received letters from the South River, from Mr.

Ephraim Hermans, and Heer Johan Moll, which consoled us as to their state, and gave us some hope at least of great progress, as appears by the same. We answered them, and dispatched our letters by the same person who brought theirs, and who was to return on the

_14th, Wednesday_, and with whom we sent the translation of the _Verheffinge des Geestes_ with a small package of knitted baby-clothes. The s.h.i.+p _Beaver_ came out of Deutel Bay, and was up for Europe and Holland immediately. Therefore, on the

_15th, Thursday_, we began writing to our friends in the Fatherland.

The winter gradually pa.s.sing away, the weather was during the last of February, and first of March, as pleasant as it were the month of May.

I finished the translation of the _Decades_.

MARCH _2d, Sat.u.r.day._ M. de la Grange has chartered a yacht to go to the South River, with a lot of merchandise, and to take to his land there the boor, whom he had brought for that purpose from the Fatherland. This person came from near Sluis,[298] and had done nothing here as yet, because De la Grange had not gone to Tinaconcq, as he had first intended. He designed to take him now to the land he had bought on Christina Kill, and have it put in order. He had obtained exemption from tax on his merchandise, and was the first one who had enjoyed this advantage, that is, from the second tax, he having paid the first tax when the goods were unladen here. All merchandise pays a second tax when it is sent to the South River, or Albany. I gave him _Les Paroles de Salut_[299] for Heer Johan Moll, who had urgently requested us to send him some religious book or other, writing to him what was necessary on the subject.

[Footnote 298: Sluis in Staats-Vlanderen, now in Zeeland.]

[Footnote 299: What appears to be the Dutch version of this, _Handboekje van G.o.dsaligheid_, by Labadie, was published at Amsterdam in 1680.]

We had waited till this time to go to Ackquekanon, either on account of the weather, or because it was not convenient for the persons on Long Island. We finally determined to go with Gerrit, who could speak very good Indian, and who had sent word to us from Long Island, that we must be at Simon's house in Gouanes for that purpose on Sunday morning in order to go in his boat. We accordingly prepared ourselves.

_3d, Sunday._ We both went over to Long Island, at eight o'clock; and as we were entering the ferry boat, Madame de la Grange came aboard with her nephew, Kasparus Reinderman, who, when they had landed, took a wagon and rode on to the bay. We went through Breukelen to Gouanes, where we arrived about ten o'clock, and found Gerrit was not yet there. Several families of Indians had erected their huts upon the beach, whereby Simon's house was very accessible. This was done with the consent of his wife, with whom he had left the profit from the Indians. While we were engaged in obtaining some oysters, Gerrit with Jaques and his son and daughter rode up in a wagon. Jaques had come for the purpose of attending to a sick horse of Simon, which had a certain disease, they call here the staggers, to which their horses are subject, and with which the creatures whether going or standing constantly stagger, and often fall; this increasing they fall down at last, and so continue till they die. It is cured sometimes by cutting the tip end of the tail, and letting the blood drip out; then opening a vein, giving the animal a warm drink and making a puncture in the forehead, from which a large quant.i.ty of matter runs out. The boat being leaky, and a right calculation not having been made as to the tide, we remained here to-day, intending to leave early in the morning, and, therefore, made every preparation. We had expected another person to go with us, but there were only us three.

_4th, Monday._ We left Gouanes Bay at high water, about eight o'clock, with a southerly wind, but calm, and rowed with the current to Gheele Hoeck,[300] where we made sail, and crossed the bay to Achter Kol, where we knew there were some Indians lying behind Constables Hook. We sailed there in order to request one of them, named Hans, to go with us as a guide. Hans had long frequented among the Dutch, and spoke the Dutch language tolerably well. He was a great _nitap_, that is, friend of Gerrit. He refused at first to accompany us, saying he had just come from there; and when we urged it upon him, he said, "would you Christians do as much for us Indians? If you had just been there and had come back tired and weary, and some Indians should come and ask you in the midst of your children, in your own houses, while busied with your occupation, would you be ready immediately to go back with them?" We answered yes, upon proper terms. He said, "I do not think so, I know well what you would do." We told him, we would fully satisfy him. He wished to make a bargain beforehand, which we did not, as we wanted to see whether he would earn anything. He allowed himself to be persuaded; "but," he said, "I will lose so much time in making _zeewant_," which is their money and consists only of little beads. "I am very cold; you are all well clothed and do not feel the cold; I am an old man (as he was), and have nothing but a little worn-out blanket for my naked body." We must give him a blanket and then he would be willing to go with us. We said we had none with us. "Well," he replied, "I do not ask you to give it to me now, but when I come to the city." We told him he should be satisfied, and have no cause of complaint. After he had fitted himself out a little he went with us.

We had some of the flood tide left; but before we reached Schutters Island the wind changed, and it was quite calm. We therefore struck our sails and went to rowing in order to strike the current. By sc.r.a.ping along we reached the Slangenbergh, on the west point of the Northwest Kill,[301] where there is a very large piece of salt meadow, and where the tide ran so strong against us we could not proceed any further. We therefore lay to and went ash.o.r.e, in order to walk about a little. This was the largest, cleanest, and most level piece of salt meadow that we had observed anywhere. After having been an hour or a little more on sh.o.r.e, a light breeze sprang up out of the east, when we took the boat again and putting off, came to Milfor,[302] an English village, lying upon high land on the south side of the creek, having left Santfort on the right hand, which is an English village also, lying on the west side of Hackingsackse Kill. We then came to high land; and the wind falling, we rowed up against the ebb tide to a house on the northeast side belonging to one Captain Berry, where it being evening and commencing to rain, we stopped, made the boat fast, and took every thing out of her. We entered the house which was large enough, but poorly furnished. We found n.o.body there except a negro who could speak nothing but a little broken French. We warmed ourselves, and ate from what we had brought with us, Hans, the Indian, sharing with us. In the meanwhile we engaged in conversation with him, and he told us certain things which we had never heard any Indian or European mention, the opinion of the Indians in relation to the G.o.dhead, the creation, and the preservation and government of all things.

[Footnote 300: Yellow Point.]

[Footnote 301: Pa.s.saic River.]

[Footnote 302: Milford, _i.e._, Newark, founded in 1666 by settlers from Milford, Connecticut, and other Connecticut towns. Opposite, between the Hackensack and Pa.s.saic rivers, lay Captain William Sandford's plantation (granted 1668), afterward called New Barbadoes.

North of his grant lay that of Captain John Berry (1669), still higher that of Jacques Cortelyou and his partners.]

We acknowledge, he said, a supreme first power, some cause of all things, which is known by all the Indians of North America, hereabouts, whether Mahatans, Sinnekes, Maquaas, Minquaas, southern or northern Indians, not only by the name of _Sackamacher_ or _Sachamor_ (which the Dutch for the sake of convenience will pervert into _Sackemacher_), that is to say, lord, captain, or chief, which all persons bear who have any power or authority among them, especially any government or rule over other persons and affairs, and that name, it appeared to him, was used by others to express G.o.d, more than by themselves; but the true name by which they call this Supreme Being, the first and great beginning of all things, was Kickeron,[303] who is the origin of all, who has not only once produced or made all things, but produces every day. All that we see daily that is good, is from him; and every thing he makes and does is good. He governs all things, and nothing is done without his aid and direction. "And," he continued, "I, who am a captain and _Sakemaker_ among the Indians, and also a medicine-man (as was all true), and have performed many good cures among them, experience every day that all medicines do not cure, if it do not please him to cause them to work; that he will cure one and not another thereby; that sickness is bad, but he sends it upon whom he pleases, because those upon whom he visits it are bad; but we did not have so much sickness and death before the Christians came into the country, who have taught the people debauchery and excess; they are therefore much more miserable than they were before. The devil, who is wicked, instigates and urges them on, to all kinds of evil, drunkenness and excess, to fighting and war, and to strife and violence amongst themselves, by which many men are wounded and killed.

He thus does all kind of evil to them." I told him I had conversed with Jasper or Tantaque, another old Indian,[304] on the subject, from whence all things had come, and he had told me they came from a tortoise; that this tortoise had brought forth the world, or that all things had come from it; that from the middle of the tortoise there had sprung upon a tree, upon whose branches men had grown. That was true, he replied, but Kickeron made the tortoise, and the tortoise had a power and a nature to produce all things, such as earth, trees, and the like, which G.o.d wished through it to produce, or have produced.

[Footnote 303: Probably connected with _Kitchi_, great.]

[Footnote 304: See pp. 76-78, _supra_.]