Chapter I: Go on a Voyage (2)

The Swedish captain said all he could to soften the heart of Director Stuyvesant, who would listen neither to entreaties nor arguments, save that he permitted the garrison to march out with full honors of war, and immediately this had been done, a number of our men, sufficient to hold possession of the place, were sent on shore.

Then nearly all the people of the fleet assembled on board the _De Waag_ to hear our preacher give thanks to God for the bloodless victory which had been won, and within four and twenty hours we were on our way to Christina, where, so we learned at Trinity, there was a force of only about thirty men.

Here the trumpeters blew their shrill blasts again in front of the fort and surrender was demanded; but the governor of the colony was not minded to give in without at least a struggle of the tongue. From the second until the fifteenth day of September, we lay there at anchor while he protested against what he called high-handed proceedings, trying vainly to prove to Director Stuyvesant that he and his following had as much right in the wilderness of the New World, as had the Dutch.

It was all in vain, however, and, as may be expected, the result was that we captured Christina as we had Trinity, thus putting an end to this colony of New Sweden.

Again did we give thanks to God, although we had done a wrong, and it was while we were thus praising the Lord, and giving much credit to ourselves for having conquered without bloodshed seventy-seven men with a force of seven hundred, that a messenger came in hot haste from New Amsterdam.

In the twinkling of an eye our rejoicings were turned to something very like fear.

THE UPRISING OF THE INDIANS

And this is the news which the messenger brought:--It seems that two days after our fleet had sailed from New Amsterdam, Master Van Dyck found an Indian woman in his orchard stealing peaches; without parley or warning, he shot her dead, and there were those of her tribe nearby who carried with all speed to the Indian villages information of the murder.

The savages knew that Master Stuyvesant and nearly all the fighting men of the city were away, and speedily they gathered to take revenge. It was said that no less than two thousand savages, having come in sixty-four canoes, paddled down the Hudson River in front of the city while we lay off Christina arguing with the Swedish governor.

The Indians claimed that they had come only in order to find some enemies of their tribe whom they believed had fled there, and proceeded to break open a dozen or more of the houses while searching for those whom they professed to be seeking.

Now there had been left in the fort less than twenty soldiers, while the greater number of our cannon were on board the fleet for the purpose of killing the Swedes, in case they refused to give up their forts to us. Therefore it would have been folly had our people made any attempt at holding the savages in check.

The burgomasters and other officers of the city did what they could to pacify the painted visitors, and so far succeeded, by soft words, as to persuade them to withdraw to Nutten Island.

One can well fancy in what a state of terror were those whom Director Stuyvesant had left behind in New Amsterdam, while so great an army of savages, who had just cause for anger, was so near at hand.

The women and the children fled to the fort for protection, where but little could have been given them had the brown men made an attack, and during all the hours of the day no one dared venture abroad. The shops and the dwellings alike were left unprotected, while those trembling, frightened ones who crouched within the fort, believed that death was close beside them.

AN ATTACK BY THE INDIANS

The Indians remained quietly on Nutten Island until nightfall, when they came into New Amsterdam again, went directly to Master Van Dyck's house, and killed him.

One of his neighbors attempted to lend him aid, and was stricken down in short order,--not, however, before he had given an alarm. Such soldiers as had been left in the fort, together with the men of the city, hastened with true courage to the scene of the murder, where a small battle took place, in which three Indians were killed outright, and many wounded.

It was as if the savages needed only this to send them upon the war path again; but instead of making any attack upon New Amsterdam, where were so few to oppose them, they went to the plantations nearby, killing or capturing men, women, and children, burning dwellings and destroying crops.

Yet this was no more than we had threatened to do to the Swedes, and without such cause as the savages had.

During the three days that the Indians remained near New Amsterdam, so the messenger said, more than one hundred persons had been killed, and nearly twice as many carried to a dreadful captivity. The buildings on twenty-eight of the plantations were burned and the crops destroyed utterly.

It needed not that this man who had come to us pale with terror, and fearing lest on his return he should find those whom he loved butchered, should tell us into what condition the city was plunged because of such a state of affairs. We could see, in our minds, the people of New Amsterdam as they cowered like sheep before wolves, unable to flee.

There was no place for them to go, save into the wilderness where lurked brown men who were thirsting for revenge, and they were unable to do more than make the merest show of defence, owing to the fact that Director Stuyvesant had taken with him nearly all the able-bodied men, and a goodly portion of the weapons, to the end that he might do much the same as were the savages doing.

HASTENING BACK TO NEW AMSTERDAM

It can well be supposed that every man of us, from the Director down to the youngest soldier, was eager to get back to New Amsterdam, for I question whether, with the single exception of myself, there was a member of the company who had not left behind him loved ones; and how could our people find any satisfaction in continuing the conquest of the Swedes, when there was every possibility that the savages were murdering and torturing white men, women, and children?

Within an hour after the messenger had arrived, two hundred of the soldiers were sent across the land to New Amsterdam, under orders to march at their swiftest possible pace until they were come to the city. As soon after these men had set off as could be arranged for, the fleet was in motion.

Because of my having received no orders whatsoever, I remained on board the _De Waag_, and my heart was so sore that I could not talk with those around me concerning what we had heard, or what we had done.

To me both were equally horrible. It was villainous work for us to drive the poor Swedes away, and it seemed almost like a judgment of God, that the Indians should have descended upon our city at a time when we were showing ourselves to be no better than savages.

Fortunately, or so it seemed, we had a favoring wind, and within four and twenty hours from the time of making sail, were come to anchor off the fort. That those who had been sent across by land had arrived, we knew because of the numbers to be seen on duty in the bastions, and that the Indians had not made further attack upon New Amsterdam, we also understood because of the people who were gathered to give us welcome.

I went directly from the ship to the storehouse, where I found Kryn Gildersleeve and his fellow clerks working valiantly to pack our goods into cases, which had been brought from Holland, with the hope that these might be saved, even though the savages gained possession of the town.

Although I held my peace, the thought was in my heart that he who could give his time to the saving of such useless trinkets as ours, when mayhap before morning not a single white man would be alive, was much the same as trifling with the Angel of Death.

However, I was soon engaged in the same task, and while thus busy, forgot everything save the fact that I was the clerk in charge of the storehouse, whose duty it was to look after whatsoever we had for barter, whether to my mind it was of value or not.

COAXING THE SAVAGES

And now I have to tell you that which bears witness to Master Petrus Stuyvesant's ability as a ruler. Although I never felt friendly disposed towards him, because of thinking myself neglected, there is enough of honesty in my heart to give praise where it is due.

When Master Kieft was governor of New Amsterdam, and through his folly had caused the Indians to seek revenge, he did no more than meet them with powder and ball, widening the breach between the brown and the white men day by day; but our Director, stern and unyielding as he had ever shown himself to be, had so much of wisdom that he knew when it was useless to beat his head against a wall of stone.

With so many of the savages risen against us, all the white men whom we could muster would not have been sufficient to hold them in check; to wage war with them would have meant the utter wiping out of the Dutch in America.

Therefore it was that Master Stuyvesant, instead of seeking to punish those who had attacked our people, set about coaxing them into a friendly mood, and during the three or four weeks which followed our return from Trinity and Christina, there was a continual coming and going of messengers from the Director to the savage chiefs, who were to be brought, through Master Stuyvesant's plans, to a peaceable life by the means of gaudy toys.

And all this Master Stuyvesant succeeded in doing. Before the winter's snows were come, the savages were seemingly friendly with us once more, it being understood that past crimes, whether committed by white men or brown, were to be forgotten, and, so to speak, all of us who were dwelling in and around the land claimed by the West India Company, were to live on terms of friendship.

INTERFERENCE WITH RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

It must be remembered, that when the West India Company asked people to go out and live in the New World, every one was promised that he should worship God as seemed to him best.

This was a portion of the bargain made when the people left Holland, and yet before another spring had come, Master Stuyvesant declared, by written notices and by the mouth of Stoffel Mighielsen, that no person would be allowed to praise God save he did it according to the belief and the rules of the Dutch Reformed Church.

It was on a certain Easter Monday, when all over the city the young men and maidens were playing at egg cracking, that Master Stuyvesant's plan for punishing those who did not choose to go to the same church as did he, was begun.

The Dutch had brought with them from Holland all the old games such as are played to-day; but the favorite among them was the cracking of eggs on Easter Monday, and I dare venture to say every young person in this land of America knows the game well by this time.

The shops were gay with boiled eggs of various colors, hung in the windows by many-colored ribbons, and it is not much straining at the truth to say that every person in New Amsterdam, save those who, like the soldiers, could not leave their posts of duty, was in the street, walking to and fro watching the young people as they strove to see how many eggs they could capture by cracking them, when a Quaker, and an Englishman at that, was taken into custody for preaching nearby New Amsterdam without permission of Master Stuyvesant.

Although this was directly opposite to what the West India Company had said might be done in such portion of the new land as they claimed, it would have passed almost unheeded had the arrest been made quietly; but, so I have heard it said, and so I believe, Master Stuyvesant himself gave positive commands as to how the prisoner should be treated, and what should be done with him before he was lodged in jail.

PUNISHING THE QUAKER

A godly man was this Quaker, and yet he was tied face down to the back end of a cart, in which were two women accused of giving him shelter, and this sorry spectacle was paraded through the streets in the midst of our merrymaking.

Even though the man had been accused of some crime, it would have been more to the credit of our Director had he been lodged in jail without first marching him up and down that all the people might look upon the disgrace.

That he had done no more than preach the word of God in a manner such as was not set down by the rules of the Dutch Reformed Church, caused the arrest to seem much like wickedness, and there were many persons in New Amsterdam who in private cried out against it, for to speak in those days openly against whatsoever the Director commanded was cause for imprisonment in the dungeons, as in the case of Master Keller's raising his voice against the capture of the Swedish forts.

Nor was this punishment, severe though you will say it was, all that the Director imposed upon the God-fearing Quaker. He ordered that unless he could pay the sum of six hundred florins at once, he should be chained to a wheelbarrow by the side of a negro, who had been condemned to such labor for the good of the city because of having brutally beaten a Dutchman, and this for the term of two years.

The Quaker refused to move when they chained him to the black man, and it seemed to me well that he did so; but the refusal cost him dearly, for he was hung up by the thumbs and beaten with thirty lashes each morning for the space of four days, when a sister of Master Stuyvesant mercifully begged for, and succeeded in obtaining, the prisoner's release.

Now you may be certain that our people of New Amsterdam, although knowing what might be their punishment for speaking against such an act, did not hold their tongues.

Wherever two or three of the common people were gathered on the green, or in the streets, there could one hear harsh words spoken against the Director, and because of such tongue-wagging there were seventeen free men of New Amsterdam at one time imprisoned in the jail by the orders of Master Stuyvesant.

OTHER PERSECUTIONS

Instead of seeking to soothe the people, our Director became more harsh and severe in such matters, and followed the arrest by sending back to Holland a preacher who had come at the request of the Lutherans of our city. Fathers and mothers to the number of six were put in jail because of refusing to have their children baptized in the Dutch church, desiring it should be done according to the Lutheran faith.

That he fined the Baptist preacher one thousand pounds and banished him from the West India Company's lands, was no secret, since it was all done in open court with our Director acting both as judge and jury, and this despite the charter sent from Holland.

I might go on until you were wearied, telling of the religious persecutions in New Amsterdam while Master Stuyvesant was Director; but there is no good reason why one should repeat each case of suffering.

It is enough that it was done, and verily did it seem to me in later days, that in the doing of it Master Stuyvesant was digging a pit for his own downfall.

To you who hear these things after they have passed, and concerning people whom you know not, they seem of but little importance; but to one like myself, who had been told on the other side of the ocean that this new land of America would be a refuge for all who were oppressed because of their faith, it is a sore that will take long in the healing.

DULL TRADE

It seems to me, as I look back upon it, that at about the time Master Stuyvesant was hunting down with such a heavy hand those people who did not come regularly to the Dutch church, preferring to hear some other preacher, that our trade in furs fell off in a manner to cause alarm.

As a matter of course we did not reckon that time when the savages were bent on killing us, and, therefore, remained away entirely; but as compared with what we took in when matters with the Indians were most friendly, we were losing ground rapidly.

With the Swedes driven out of the land, it surely seemed as if the West India Company should have been able to get, by trading, all the pelts taken by the Indians, and yet, from all I could hear, I knew that not more than one half were coming our way. In addition to this, the savages were bent on driving keener bargains, as if there were people close around who were offering bigger prices than we of New Amsterdam.

All this caused me no little trouble of mind, for although it was not my concern to go abroad urging the Indians to come in for trade, I knew that more than a fair share of blame would attach to me when the profits of the year were reckoned.

THE CHARGE MADE BY HANS BRAUN

Kryn Gildersleeve and I had many a talk regarding the matter, until on a certain day he came with word which aroused me in no little degree, for he claimed to know that Hans Braun had been to the Director with the charge that I was neglecting my work, thus causing a falling off in our take of furs.

It had for some time been in my mind that at the first good chance I would bid good-bye to the Dutchmen of New Amsterdam, and go to the English, my countrymen, either in Boston or Salem, for I had laid by sufficient of money, not having squandered my wages, to set me up in fur-buying on my own account. I had been told, by those who knew, that in the English colonies there was no Company with the sole right to deal in pelts.

In addition to all that, the Englishmen had begun to rule the land themselves, save as their king might interfere, and such government pleased me far better than to be under the iron hand of a single man like our Director.

Therefore it was that I went straightway to Master Stuyvesant, determined to know if he believed what Hans might have said; and, if you please, it was three long hours that I cooled my heels at the entrance to his chamber of business before I, the keeper of the storehouse and a regular officer of the Company, was allowed to enter, such kingly airs had he taken upon himself.

When at last I stood before him, it was not as a beggar, though of course my hat was in my hand, but as one who knows that he may not lawfully be displaced save by direct orders from Holland.

Speaking to him as the head of the city should be spoken to, I repeated what Kryn had told me, and asked if he had cause to complain of me.

DISMISSED BY MASTER STUYVESANT

Had I been a Lutheran preacher, or a Quaker, I could not have been treated more shamefully. Instead of questioning as to why our trade was growing small, in which case I should have told him that in my belief it was owing to the English colony in the country of Connecticut, he cried out upon me in a most violent rage, declaring that I had been spending my time breeding discontent among the people, instead of having a watchful eye over the interests of the Company.

And this when I had never been outside the fort, save while Master Tienhoven was in the storehouse giving the advice that I take my ease!

Nor was this the end of the matter; it seemed as if, being in a bad humor, he was bent on venting his spleen upon me, and without giving any reasons, other than as I have told you, the Director declared that I was no longer in the employ of the Company.

When I spoke to him of the rule that a storekeeper may not be deprived of his office save by the Council of the Company in Holland, he called me a mutinous hound, and threatened that if I showed myself inside the fort after the sun had set, I would be thrown into prison.

I knew full well that I would be powerless if he did such a wicked thing, for of course the word of the Director would be heeded by the Company when set against one of the lower officers like myself, therefore did I hold my temper in check, striving to look the submission which I did not feel.

It is no more than just that I should give Kryn Gildersleeve credit for grieving over the injustice that had been done me; but he could not mend matters, even if I would have had him, and two hours before sunset I had made a bargain for lodgings on the plantation belonging to Martin Kip, who was glad to have in his family one who knew the Indians so well that he might be expected to get some hint if the savages were bent on more mischief.

I had known Martin for many a year, he having come over in the _Sea Mew_ when I did, and trusted him for a true friend, if so be he was not called upon for an outlay of money.

To him I told my plans for joining one of the English colonies, and much to my surprise he gave me his reasons for believing that I would soon be in an English colony, if I remained in New Amsterdam taking good care not to show myself in such a manner as would arouse Director Stuyvesant's ire.

ENGLISH CLAIMS

It was a long story concerning England, and the rights she claimed in the New World, which he told, the repeating of which would not be of interest to you who know all he could have said, and, most likely, much more.

What I had not known was that the English believed they owned all the land that had been settled by the West India Company, because, so they said, of John Cabot's having been the first white man to set foot on it; but the Dutch claimed that Henry Hudson first found the river which was sometimes called the North, therefore the country between it and the South river belonged to them.

Because of no one's knowing at that time how large a country had been found in this New World, and because of the English kings' having given away lands to this person or that company, everything was in a snarl; but I said to myself that if the Swedes could be driven out of their settlements by Master Stuyvesant, it would be no more than turn about for him to get the same treatment from the English.

And, even though I had been working for the Dutch during so many years that I had grown from boy to man, there was a great hope in my heart that Master Kip had made no mistake when he believed we were like to have a change of rulers before many years went by.

IDLE DAYS

While I waited, making myself as small as possible lest the Director should see me and remember that he had threatened to throw me into prison, the people were growing more and more discontented because of Master Stuyvesant's not ceasing to punish Lutherans, Baptists, or Quakers when they refused to attend the Dutch church.

Many a one threatened, in private, to do what he might toward teaching the Director a lesson, if a fitting chance came his way, and I have been told that a dozen or more Dutchmen, who had friends in power in Holland, sent to the West India Company many complaints concerning Master Stuyvesant, praying that he might be deprived of his office.

It was during these idle days that I learned, because of asking many questions, much concerning the village of Hartford, which had been begun by the preacher Hooker, and all who went to his church in New Town of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

These people wanted a village of their own, therefore entered the forest with but little of goods, suffering much in the battle with the wilderness, but coming out victors owing to their industry.

While we of New Amsterdam had built a city, we could count no more than fifteen hundred people in it, and this settlement on the Connecticut river, which was by this time made up of three villages, boasted of more than eight hundred persons.

It was to Hartford I would first go when a fitting opportunity came, so I said to myself after hearing all that could be told concerning these people, and to such an end I began to make plans.

Wherever I might go, however, I could not find so much to please the eye as in New Amsterdam, for the English people in this New World are much more prim and sedate, both in manner and dress, than are the Dutch.

ON BROAD WAY

It was indeed a brave sight to see the people of quality walking on Broad Way, or strolling to and fro upon the Bowling Green, of a summer evening, and although I so disliked the man, I must confess that Director Stuyvesant and his family went far toward adding to the fine array.

The ladies dressed exceeding gay in high-colored gowns of silk, satin, or some other such stuff, open up and down in front of the skirt that their petticoats, ornamented with fine needlework, might be seen. Their hose were of bright colors, and the low shoes, with very high heels, had bows of ribbon, or buckles of silver, even of gold, which added much to the looks of the wearer. It was the silken hoods which I disliked, for those ladies curled or frowzled their hair in a most bewitching fashion, afterward covering it with powder, and the hood concealed far too much of it.

To see the rings set with precious stones on their fingers; the lockets, or toys, of gold hanging over the stiff fronts of their waists, and, on Sundays, the Bibles and psalm books richly decked with gold and hanging by golden chains to their waists, one would hardly believe that we were living in such a wild land, with savages on every hand, who might at any moment be at our throats.

Our gentlemen did not allow the ladies all the bravery of attire, as you shall hear when I tell you how Director Stuyvesant was dressed when, standing half-hidden behind the whipping-post one evening, I saw him parading with his wife and sister, showing by the way he stumped along with his head high, that he believed himself the greatest man this side Holland.

He wore a long coat of blue velvet on which were silver buttons, and the huge flaps of the pockets were trimmed with silver lace. His waistcoat, so long that the front came nearly to his knees, was of buff silk embroidered with silver threads, and fastened by buttons of gold in which were set jewels of different colors. His breeches of velvet were of a deeper hue than the coat, while the low shoe had on it a silver buckle so large that the wonder of it was how he could move his foot.

He wore on his head a soft black hat, whose wide brim was caught up on one side with a gay knot of blue ribbon that fell down athwart his big, white wig. From the knot on his hat to below the black silk hose, he was, when viewed on one side, a very gallant gentleman; but turn him about so that his wooden stump with its heavy bands of silver might be seen, and one could not but remember the battle at St. Martins, where he left his leg during a desperate fight.

LOOKING AFTER THE FERRY

During a portion of my idle time, I worked at fair wages for Nicholas Steinburg, who ran the ferry from near the water-gate to the Long Island shore, and of a verity I earned all he paid me.

The boat on which wagons were taken across, was the most clumsy scow it was ever my ill fortune to handle, and his slaves the most stupid to be found in all New Amsterdam. One was forced to send the unwieldy craft along by heavy sweeps, which were fashioned so rudely that I dare venture to say there was twice as much of timber in them as was necessary, and that foolish negro who failed to lift one of them at the proper time, found that the current swung it around with a force that sent him sprawling in the bottom of the boat.

More than once have I picked one of the thick-headed black men up from beneath the feet of the horses, and spent no little time trying to recover the oar.

However, there was not much passing to and fro, for there were but few farms on the big island, and a goodly portion of the time I spent in the thatched shed which was put up for the pleasure of those who were forced to await Nicholas Steinburg's slow motions.

It is wearying work, looking after a ferry, even though one gets as wage one-half the money paid over to him, and I would not thus have spent my time, had I not been taught by Master Minuit that he who squanders his days in idleness is the same as reproaching God for permitting him to live.

Then came the day when I rejoiced secretly, and many another man with me, because of what Director Stuyvesant had done to wrong us.

THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH

It was reported that the English, with four ships, had arrived at Boston from England, and were making ready to come against New Amsterdam, to the end that it might be taken from the Dutch, even as they had taken Trinity and Christina from the Swedes.

We knew that there could be no doubt as to the truth of the news, for even the names and strength of the ships were given, and there was little question but that they had already sailed from Boston, therefore did we have reason to believe the fleet would be in our harbor very soon.

The force which King Charles had sent on advice of his brother, the Duke of York, was made up of the _Guinea_, carrying thirty-six guns, the _Elias_ with thirty, the _Martin_ with sixteen, and the _William and Nicholas_ with ten, making ninety-two guns against our twenty-two bombards, culverins, and serpentines.

It was reported also that many of the English from Hartford, who believed they had cause of complaint against Master Stuyvesant, had joined themselves to the soldiers sent from England, and that no less a person than Governor Winthrop was with them.

To show how complete was the information which came to us discontented ones of New Amsterdam, it is only needed for me to say that we even knew that the English commander was Colonel Richard Nicolls, who was to be Deputy Governor of the West India Company's possessions when he had captured them.

A WEAK DEFENSE

I knew, in addition to all this, because of having lived so many years in the fort, that we were not in a condition to hold our own against even one of these English ships, because of many of our soldiers' being in the same frame of mind as was I, concerning the Director, and even though each and every one had been heart and hand with Master Stuyvesant, there was not in all the city enough of ammunition to serve the guns during a battle.

It stood on the accounts that we had thirteen hundred pounds of powder in the magazine; but I knew, as did many another, that of the whole amount a full seven hundred pounds would not burn even though it was thrown into a blazing fire.

We had one hundred and fifty soldiers under arms, and Martin Kip had the names of ninety-six of these who had declared that if English, French, or Swedes came against us while Petrus Stuyvesant was Director, they would not raise a hand in defense of the city.

There were also near to two hundred and fifty citizens who had been armed and commanded to be ready for service in time of danger; but I knew beyond a question that more than half the number would stand with hands in their coat pockets, rather than raise them in obedience to an order from Director Stuyvesant.

Thus it can be seen that the English had chosen a most favorable time for coming against us, and, as if to make their chances even better, Master Stuyvesant, suspecting no evil, had gone on a tour of inspection far up the North river.

MASTER STUYVESANT ABSENT

On the night this welcome news was brought to New Amsterdam, the farm buildings belonging to Martin Kip were actually crowded with men, who had come thus far out of the city that they might decide upon what should be done when the Director gave orders for all the citizens to stand to their weapons, and a most excited throng it was.

Some one brought word that a messenger had been sent in hot haste up the river to summon Master Stuyvesant, and others had learned from fishermen who had been in the lower bay, that the English fleet was even at that moment in sight.

Although the people had been so disposed, nothing could be done in the way of making ready to defend the city until Master Stuyvesant came back, and from all I could hear, though as a matter of course I had no speech with those who were friendly with the Director, no one was sorry because of there promising soon to be an end to Dutch rule in America.

We were well content to remain idle, knowing that each hour of the Director's absence made more certain the end we desired, and it was rather from curiosity than anxiety, that Martin Kip and I stood half sheltered by one of the bastions of the fort when Master Stuyvesant arrived.

During the hurried journey he must have settled in his own mind exactly what should be done, for within ten minutes after having come, orders were given that every third man of all the citizens should, with axe, spade, or wheelbarrow, present himself at the fort ready to aid in strengthening the works.

DISOBEYING COMMANDS

Not above ninety obeyed this command, and the greater number of those who did so were, in one way or another, under Master Stuyvesant's thumb.

At the same time guards were placed at the city gates to prevent any from leaving the city over the land, and every farmer was commanded to send in all the grain he had on hand, together with what his slaves could thresh during the next eight and forty hours.

Martin Kip laughed at this last order, declaring that he would hold all he had of food-stuff at the muzzle of his gun, and no man in the country should force him to give up to the use of others, what might be needed for his own family and for his slaves.

Nor did he stand alone in such refusal; I heard of but two who obeyed, and one of these was the schout who had been appointed to office at the time when Master Stuyvesant refused to give us the rights called for by the charter which had been sent from Holland.

It must be told to the credit of the Director, that he set a good example of obedience, for all his servants and slaves were hard at work hauling grain into the city from his farm above the swamps, or engaged in threshing that which yet remained on the stalk.

It seemed as if Master Stuyvesant believed it would be possible for him to hold out a long while against the English, and he was preparing for a regular siege.

SURRENDER OF THE CITY DEMANDED

There had been no more than time to issue commands, when the fleet we had been expecting sailed up the harbor, and anchored within full view of the city. The ships were seemingly crowded with soldiers, and even those who were eager to prevent the English from working their will, must have begun to understand that there was no hope of making a successful defense.

The streets of the city were filled with men, women, and children, who wandered about aimlessly, too much excited to be able to remain within doors, and as messengers came and went from the fleet, enough of what was being done leaked out to give us a good idea of the matter in hand.

First we knew that the commander of the fleet had demanded the surrender of the city, and this we would have understood even though no one told us, because of the officers who came ashore under flag of truce.

Then it was whispered about that Master Stuyvesant wanted to talk over the situation with the English commander; but was told that the fleet had been sent to take the city, not that its officers might argue.

A THREE DAYS' TRUCE

Upon this Master Stuyvesant asked for three days in which to consult with his advisors, forgetting, perhaps, that the Swedes had asked for only twelve hours, and he had refused.

To this request Colonel Nicolls agreed, but at the same time made all his preparations for opening fire upon the city, in case Master Stuyvesant was so pig-headed as to refuse to surrender.

Two of the ships were sent up the river and anchored where they could throw shot into the fort at short range, while the others were moored off Nutten Island, sending five companies of soldiers ashore near the ferry landing on Long Island, where they went into camp.

Next morning a company of horsemen and a band of soldiers came down from Hartford, and were ferried across in the boats of the fleet, thus showing that the Massachusetts Bay Company would do what they might to carry out the wishes of King Charles.

That night the commander of the English fleet sent ashore, secretly, twenty or more written messages to the people, and both Martin Kip, on whose farm the messengers landed, and I, knew beyond a peradventure that there were found men in New Amsterdam willing to spend their time carrying them where the most good might be done to the enemy.

In these messages Colonel Nicolls promised all who would lay down their arms, full liberty to remain on the land, without being molested in any way, and agreed that his king would protect them in the holding of all their property.

Now even those who had been hesitating whether to side with the Dutch or the English, were eager to see the surrender of the city, and when the Director called upon citizens to work on the fort or the palisade, he could find none save servants or slaves to answer his summons, and even these it was necessary to drive with such of the soldiers as were yet willing to obey orders.

VISITORS FROM THE ENGLISH

At noon of the second day of the truce, a boat put off from the fleet, coming directly toward the city, and before she was near to the dock some of the Englishmen among us cried out that he who stood in the bow was Governor Winthrop, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Then it was that Master Stuyvesant ordered a salute to be given, as if the gentleman were coming to us as a friend, and when the latter stepped on shore, followed by five officers from the English army, the schout conducted them to the city hall, where it was said the Director and the burgomasters were waiting.

It can well be fancied that every person in the city, save, perhaps, Master Stuyvesant's family and servants, gathered around the city hall to hear what might be going on, and there we speedily learned that the Director had fallen into a rage, even going so far as to quarrel with those other officials who had been his best friends.

The visitors from the fleet did not stay overly long, and when they went away it was whispered among the excited citizens that Governor Winthrop had left a letter, which some of the burgomasters believed should be read to the people.

MASTER STUYVESANT'S RAGE

It seemed, as we learned very shortly, that in his rage Master Stuyvesant had torn the letter into little pieces claiming that it did not concern the common people, and then it was that his own friends left him in anger.

Within half an hour the people insisted that the letter be demanded of the Director, and five men were sent to Master Stuyvesant, claiming that which Governor Winthrop had brought.

It was Martin Kip who headed the messengers from the free men of New Amsterdam, and he told me Master Stuyvesant was in a fine rage. He stumped to and fro threatening, but finally showed in his hand the tiny bits of paper, throwing them on the floor.

Then some one of the house, I do not know who, picked up the pieces, putting them together so that the words might be read, and Martin Kip, speaking from the steps of the city hall, told us what had been written.

I do not remember it all, but there was in the letter a promise that the Dutch should not be driven out after the city was captured. They would be allowed to remain, each man on his own land, free to come or go as it pleased him best, and other Dutchmen were at liberty to live in New Amsterdam with the same rights as belonged to any English man.

It was all up with Master Stuyvesant after that. He did not cease to storm and rage at those who refused to stand by the guns in the fort, and threatened that he would hold the city till the last building in it was destroyed; but what could he do alone?

THE END OF DUTCH RULE

When the three-days' truce was at an end, Colonel Nicolls landed three more companies of the King's soldiers, and himself marched at their head to join those who were encamped at the ferry-way. All the ships came into position for opening fire upon the city, and it was time for Master Stuyvesant to surrender, or have it done for him by those of us who were not minded to make fools of ourselves.

I have heard it said that he was near to being broken-hearted because of having come to such a plight; but it was no worse for him than it had been for the Swedish governor whom he bullied, and, by thus making promises to the people, the English commander was showing himself more of a man than had Director Stuyvesant, when he drove away every last Swede out of their homes.

Whoever gave the command to hoist the white flag over the fort in token of surrender, I know not; but it was done before the English had time to open fire, and New Amsterdam was no longer under Dutch rule.

It was Monday, September 8th, in the year of our Lord, 1664, when Master Stuyvesant, at the head of the hundred and fifty soldiers, marched from the fort to take ship for Holland, and an hour later Colonel Nicolls came in with seven companies of soldiers, who, instead of remaining to eat us out of house and home, went at once on board the ships until they could go into camp on the Long Island shore.

THE CITY OF NEW YORK

That same day Colonel Nicolls was chosen governor by the Dutch themselves, and his first order was that the city be called New York in honor of the Duke of York, who had really had charge of the matter.

Next day came a message from the new governor, in which it was promised that people from all lands might come into the City of New York, with the same rights as any other; that there would be no change in the affairs until an election by the people could be held, and that each man might worship God in whatsoever way seemed to him best.

We who had lived so long in the New World had seen the last of New Amsterdam with its Dutch rulers, who knew no law but their own whims, and now were we like men who have finally thrown off a heavy burden, able to breathe freely once more.

I would that I had enough of knowledge to set down in words all that I have just told you; but I am ignorant of nearly everything, save furs and bargaining with the Indians, therefore it is, that unless you shall repeat what I have said, the people of this country may never hear the story of Peter of New Amsterdam.

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