Peter of New Amsterdam: A Story of Old New York

by Harry Castlemon

  ORDERS FROM HOLLAND

  We had settled down to the belief that while Director Stuyvesant ruledus with an iron hand, neither allowing the people nor the West IndiaCompany to interfere with his wishes, he was improving the city, whenorders came from Holland which aroused us all to the highest pitch ofexcitement.

  The West India Company had sent positive commands that the Swedes, whomMaster Minuit had settled on South River, were to be driven out fromtheir posts, and there was not a Dutchman in New Amsterdam who did notburn with the desire to have a hand in the driving; as if this bigcountry of America were not large enough for all the Swedes and theDutchmen that might want to live in it.

  Now you must know that when Master Minuit was made governor of theSwedish people on South River, there had already been built there a fortby the Dutch, which was called Casimer. This the Swedish people capturedand changed its name to that of Trinity. When Master Minuit came, hebuilt a fort on the river above Trinity, and named it Christina, inhonor of the Swedish Queen.

  They were not bad neighbors, these Swedish people whom the Queen hadadvised to make a home in the New World. They minded their own businessfar better than did either the Dutch or the English, and were at peacewith the savages, dealing honestly by them and treating them as if theywere equals; therefore, why the West India Company should want themdriven out of the New World was more than I could then, or can yet,explain to my own satisfaction.

  However, the order had come that these people, who had been harming noone, be deprived of the homes which they had built in the wilderness,and there was in my mind the belief that Director Stuyvesant was onlytoo well pleased to receive such commands.

  MAKING READY FOR WAR

  Straightway there was much marching to and fro by the soldiers; andgreat scurrying by the seamen, who were at once set about carryingcannon and ammunition aboard the vessels, for Master Stuyvesant haddecided he would fit out a fleet of no less than seven ships.

  The trumpeters were sent up and down the land to every Dutch farm andsettlement calling for those who were willing to aid in driving out theSwedes, to present themselves at the fort that they might be drilled andequipped, and many there were who obeyed the summons.

  Those were idle days for me. No one thought of trading, and ifperadventure a solitary Indian did venture into the city with a bundleof furs, he saw so much in the way of war-like preparations, that hescurried away, forgetting his desire for beads or cloth, to tell hispeople that the Dutch of New Netherlands were making ready to driveevery other person off from the face of the earth.

  Master Tienhoven no longer visited the storehouse, because of being busywith taking down the names of those who would join Director Stuyvesant'sarmy, and I was at liberty to wander at will around the fort, if I butkept a watchful eye over my quarters, in case any came who was braveenough to venture in for trade where was so much of militarypreparations.

  More than once I said to myself that if Master Minuit could have beenspared to the Swedes, our people would not have an easy task of drivingthem away; but I knew, from word brought a long time before, that he wasno longer in this world; therefore, perhaps, Director Stuyvesant wouldbe able to work the will of the West India Company.

  AN UNEXPECTED QUESTION

  That I should be counted as among those to accompany the expedition,never once had lodgment in my mind, until Master Tienhoven came to methe day before the fleet was to sail, asking if all my preparations forthe voyage had been made.

  I was in a maze of perplexity because of the question. He who has chargeof a company's goods is supposed to remain where he can keep them underhis hand, more particularly in time of war, and for me to be pinned toMaster Stuyvesant's coat sleeves not only seemed useless, but positivelyfoolish.

  It may be that I said something of this kind to the Secretary, for heshut me up in short order by curtly saying, as if he had hisinstructions so to do, that the Director had supposed I would know myduty sufficiently well to follow the army because of its being possiblethere might be much plunder, in which case I was the one person whoshould take charge of the Company's share.

  I was not such a simple but that I could understand it would pleaseMaster Tienhoven right well if I made protest against going, for therewas little love lost between us two, and, believing he would repeat tothe Director in his own fashion whatsoever might be said by me, I heldmy peace, save in so far as to ask on what ship I would be expected tosail.

  He told me that Master Stuyvesant would himself embark upon one of thevessels which had been sent out from Amsterdam, called the _De Waag_,and that as an officer of the Company, even though an humble one, Iwould be expected to journey on the same vessel.

  To one who had not been given to spending his wages upon brave attire,and who owns little more than that in which he stands, it is not alengthy task to make ready for a voyage, however long.

  And here, by the way, let me say, lest any should think I was notprudent, that I had carefully saved the wages paid me by the West IndiaCompany, to the end that I might have sufficient of money to start insome business on my own account, when the day came--as I believed itwould soon, yet without having much reason to do so--that my serviceswould no longer be required in New Amsterdam.

  WITH THE FLEET

  And now to go back to the war against the Swedes: I left the storehousein charge of Kryn Gildersleeve, and on Sunday morning bright and earlywas in church to hear the sermon which was to be preached, as a portionof the religious preparations for the driving out of the Swedes.

  When the sermon was at an end, instead of looking around the fort to seethe soldiers paraded before being sent on board the fleet, I quietlytook boat for the ship _De Waag_, and was there an hour after noon, whenDirector Stuyvesant, attended by eight trumpeters, and a bodyguard ofsixteen men, put off from the shore amid the booming of cannon, as if hehad been a veritable king.

  I know not whether the Director had really given orders to his secretarythat I should be informed as to what was expected of me, but supposesuch must have been the case, although no heed was given to so small anofficial as myself, from the time of setting sail until we were returnedto New Amsterdam.

  So far as Master Stuyvesant was concerned, I might as well not have beenthere, but this overlooking me did not cause my heart to burn, for I waswell content to be forgotten entirely by the gentleman who ruled overour city with an iron hand.

  The officers of the ship, whose acquaintance I had already made, gave mefairly comfortable quarters, apart from the Director's following, andalthough such expeditions were not to my mind, I drank in all of theenjoyment that could come to one who was embarked upon a venture whichto him seemed wrongful.

  There is no need why I should tell you anything whatsoever concerningthe journey from New Amsterdam to Trinity, save to say that we arrivedoff that fort at noon on the following Friday, when without delay ourtrumpeters were sent on shore to demand the surrender.

  DRIVING OUT THE SWEDES

  In the fort were forty-six men with a captain, and, as a matter ofcourse, they could do no less than surrender when called upon so to do,for our force numbered upwards of seven hundred, and we had sent fromthe fort in New Amsterdam, on board the vessels, guns enough to tear thefort into splinters within an hour.

  The Swedish captain said all he could to soften the heart of DirectorStuyvesant, who would listen neither to entreaties nor arguments, savethat he permitted the garrison to march out with full honors of war, andimmediately this had been done, a number of our men, sufficient to holdpossession 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 whichhad been won, and within four and twenty hours we were on our way toChristina, where, so we learned at Trinity, there was a force of onlyabout thirty men.

  Here the trumpeters blew their shrill blasts again in front of the fortand surrender was demanded; but the governor of the colony was notminded to
give in without at least a struggle of the tongue. From thesecond until the fifteenth day of September, we lay there at anchorwhile he protested against what he called high-handed proceedings,trying vainly to prove to Director Stuyvesant that he and his followinghad 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 wasthat we captured Christina as we had Trinity, thus putting an end tothis colony of New Sweden.

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

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

  THE UPRISING OF THE INDIANS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  AN ATTACK BY THE INDIANS

  The Indians remained quietly on Nutten Island until nightfall, when theycame 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 inshort order,--not, however, before he had given an alarm. Such soldiersas 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 smallbattle took place, in which three Indians were killed outright, and manywounded.

  It was as if the savages needed only this to send them upon the war pathagain; but instead of making any attack upon New Amsterdam, where wereso few to oppose them, they went to the plantations nearby, killing orcapturing men, women, and children, burning dwellings and destroyingcrops.

  Yet this was no more than we had threatened to do to the Swedes, andwithout such cause as the savages had.

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

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

  There was no place for them to go, save into the wilderness where lurkedbrown men who were thirsting for revenge, and they were unable to domore than make the merest show of defence, owing to the fact thatDirector 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 muchthe 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 tothe youngest soldier, was eager to get back to New Amsterdam, for Iquestion whether, with the single exception of myself, there was amember of the company who had not left behind him loved ones; and howcould our people find any satisfaction in continuing the conquest ofthe Swedes, when there was every possibility that the savages weremurdering and torturing white men, women, and children?

  Within an hour after the messenger had arrived, two hundred of thesoldiers were sent across the land to New Amsterdam, under orders tomarch 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 fleetwas in motion.

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

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

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

  I went directly from the ship to the storehouse, where I found KrynGildersleeve and his fellow clerks working valiantly to pack our goodsinto cases, which had been brought from Holland, with the hope thatthese might be saved, even though the savages gained possession of thetown.

  Although I held my peace, the thought was in my heart that he who couldgive his time to the saving of such useless trinkets as ours, whenmayhap before morning not a single white man would be alive, was muchthe 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 thestorehouse, whose duty it was to look after whatsoever we had forbarter, 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 PetrusStuyvesant's ability as a ruler. Although I never felt friendlydisposed towards him, because of thinking myself neglected, there isenough of honesty in my heart to give praise where it is due.

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

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

  Therefore it was that Master Stuyvesant, instead of seeking to punishthose who had attacked our people, set about coaxing them into afriendly mood, and during the three or four weeks which foll
owed ourreturn from Trinity and Christina, there was a continual coming andgoing of messengers from the Director to the savage chiefs, who were tobe brought, through Master Stuyvesant's plans, to a peaceable life bythe means of gaudy toys.

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

  INTERFERENCE WITH RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

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

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