Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan

“ A good Christian named Terese, a Huron captive, wishing to pour out her soul to me away from noise and in silence, invited me to visit her in a field cabin where she lived. My God! What sweet consolation to witness so much faith in savage hearts, in captivity, and without other assistance than that of heaven. God raises up Apostles every where. This good Christian woman had with her a young captive of the neutral nation (de la Nation Neutre) , whom she loved as her own daughter. ”

“ Whereas the fortress New Amsterdam is now for some time past, during the War, greatly decayed, and the walls daily leaped over and more and more trodden under foot by Men and Cattle, which tends not only to the disrepute of our Sovereign and High authority, the contempt, yea disgrace of this State by others our Neighbors, whether English, French, Swedes, yea even by the Indians find Heathens, but also to the reproach of Us and our good Inhabitants, and is most perilous and dangerous in time of attack, or of defence against all foreign enemies ”

“ Whereas the Director and Council of New Netherland have ascertained that there are persons here who seek to enrich themselves with the Company’s property and effects, appropriating the same to themselves as if they were their own substance, and Whereas such tends to the prejudice of the Honble Company, all persons, therefore, who have yet any property in their hands belonging to the Company, be it great or small, are warned the same to return within the space of eight days, unless they have purchased it from the former Honble Directors, without which proof no excuse shall be admitted ”

“ There are here fifty men bearing arms. 50 The armorial bearings of this Nation are the Heron for the Achagué, or Heron tribe; the Beaver for the Amekoves; the Birch for the Bark tribe (la famille de l'Ecorce) ; Blood for the Miskouaha or the Bloody people. Remark, Sir, if you please, that besides the bearings of the principal stocks to which I exclusively confine myself, leisure not permitting me to obtain thorough details, each tribe distinguishes itself by peculiar devices. The Iroquois who are masters of this village amount to no more than sixty-three – I mean warriors. ”

“ Whereas it is daily observed that, contrary to Law and the Ordinance of the Lords States General and the Edict published A° 16, grave mistakes occur in the writing and drawing up of evidence of the truth by private individuals, who are neither bound by oath nor called by Authority thereto, whereby many things are written to the advantage of those who have the papers drawn up, interspersed with sinister, obscure and dubious words, oftentimes contrary to the meaning of the Attestors, to the great prejudice and damage of the parties ”

“ Whereas our territory which we purchased, paid for and took possession of, provided in the year 1633 with a Blockhouse, Garrison and Cannon, on the Fresh River of New Netherland, a long time before any Christians were in the said River, hath now, for some years past, been forcibly usurped by some Englishmen and given the name of Hartford, notwithstanding we duly protested against them; who, moreover, treat our people most barbarously, beating them with clubs and mattocks, even unto the shedding of blood; cut down our corn; sow the field by night which our people ploughed by day ”

“ In order to provide in time therefor, We do, therefore, for the public good, interdict and forbid, all persons of what state, quality or condition soever they may be, to receive in payment, or to pay out, any unpolished Wampum during the next month of May except at Five for one stiver and that strung, and then after that Six beads for one stiver. Whosoever shall be found to have acted contrary hereunto, shall provisionally forfeit the Wampum which is paid out and 10 guilders for the Poor, and both payer and payee are alike liable. ”

“ In 1656, the jurisdiction of the Court of New Amsterdam was so far enlarged as to authorize it to pass sentence of branding and whipping, with power to execute the same if confirmed after appeal. But as a general rule, the jurisdiction of each Inferior Court was confined, in criminal matters, to "Acts, Threats, Fighting or Wounding, Brawls, Slanders, Scolding, Simple drawing of a Knife or Sword," with the right of appeal reserved, in most cases, to the accused. Cases of crime of a higher degree were always referred for trial to the Director and Council. ”

“ Therefore We are constrained to find out some plan to pay the Soldiers, or else We must dismiss them, which according to all appearances, will lead to the utter ruin of the country, especially as the Harvest is at hand whereby people must live and fodder be procured for the remaining cattle; for neither grain nor hay can be cut without Soldiers. ”

“ The Honble Director General of New Netherland, Curacao and the Islands thereof, and the Honble Council having by experience seen and observed that some careless people neglect to keep their Chimneys clean by sweeping, and do not pay attention to their fires, whereby recently two Houses were burned and greater damage is to be expected in future from fire, the rather as the houses here in New Amsterdam are for the most part built of Wood and thatched with Reed, besides which the Chimneys of some of the houses are of wood, which also is most dangerous ”

“ And although we are commanded by the States General, his Highness of Orange and the Honble West India Company to maintain our Limits and to assert our Right by every means, which We, also, have the power to do, yet rather have We chosen patiently to suffer violence, and to prove by deeds that we are better Christians than they who go about there clothed with such outward show, until in its time the measure shall be entirely full. ”