James Otis

“ 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 [Pg 158] , and now were we like men who have finally thrown off a heavy burden, able to breathe freely once more. ”

“ Now although the land was goodly and fair to look upon, a veritable garden of pleasure, to those who had come from a long voyage on the angry waters, as had we of the Sea Mew, yet there came into my mind the fear that these brown men who wandered here and there, giving little heed to us who were so lately arrived, and who were the owners of this New World, might come at some future time to say to themselves that it were better the Dutch had never landed in their midst. ”

“ From that moment until this I have never sought for employment; there has ever been something which I should do for others, or was in duty bound to do for myself, until I am come to think that he who goes into a new world to help in building there a city, much the same as fastens himself into a treadmill in such a fashion that he may not contrive his own escape. ”

“ No one thought of trading, and if peradventure a solitary Indian did venture into the city with a bundle of furs, he saw so much in the way of war-like preparations, that he scurried away, forgetting his desire for beads or cloth, to tell his people that the Dutch of New Netherlands were making ready to drive every other person off from the face of the earth. ”

“ When Master Kieft stirred up so much trouble with the savages, the last one of the Manhattans fled to the forest, there, most like, to join with our enemies against us, nor did we see any of them save when they came in with furs or wild fowl for barter.
Where the village of the Manhattans had stood were gardens and houses, many built of stone in the Dutch style, and in front of the fort, from the lower bastion to the water's edge, was the green, or the common, where the soldiers paraded on feast days that people might admire them. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Master Minuit was not the only one who could deal out soft words, for the chief savage of the company was quite his match in such business, and made it appear as if this island of Manhattan were the one place in all the great world, while at the same time he claimed that the Manhattan Indians were the only real men ever born. ”

“ When I came to have a good look at him, as he beckoned me to follow to that portion of the ship where he and his mate found lodgings, I said to myself that there at least was one in this New World who would never lend a helping hand, and would not hesitate to do a wrong if thereby he could compass his own ends.
The other servant was Kryn Gildersleeve, who, mayhap, was three or four years my elder; a dull, heavy lad, who did not give promise of being a cheerful comrade, and yet I would have put faith in him under the same conditions that I would have suspected Hans of working me harm. ”

“ During the year the affairs of New Amsterdam were looked after by the Council of the town, and then came a new Director by the name of Wouter Van Twiller. Of him I can tell you very little, for, unlike Master Minuit, he showed no interest in the welfare of those who were serving him.
A short, fat man, who was overly fond of good dinners, and if I, who am nothing but a clerk in the employ of the Company, may say it, with not of brains enough to look after the concerns of such a town as New Amsterdam was becoming, yet withal he accomplished somewhat toward making this place beautiful. ”

“ 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 ”

“ When Master Minuit came, he [Pg 110] built a fort on the river above Trinity, and named it Christina, in honor of the Swedish Queen.
They were not bad neighbors, these Swedish people whom the Queen had advised to make a home in the New World. They minded their own business far better than did either the Dutch or the English, and were at peace with the savages, dealing honestly by them and treating them as if they were equals; therefore, why the West India Company should want them driven out of the New World was more than I could then, or can yet, explain to my own satisfaction. ”

“ As if blood did not flow in sufficient quantity, the people of the boy who had escaped when the negro slaves murdered his father, or, as some say, his uncle, declared war against us by killing poor old Claus Schmidt, the wheelwright, who lived nearest the swamp; and we of New Amsterdam had good reason to fear that all the savages roundabout might take part, either with the Raritans, or with these new enemies, and we should be murdered at the very time when our town was becoming of importance. ”

“ 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. ”

“ This company of gentlemen walked gravely in procession to where the chest was standing, giving no heed to the savages until they were gathered around the useless trinkets, and then they bowed as if each brown man before them were a king.
BUYING THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN
I had again been puzzling my brain to figure out how any trading of land could be carried on, since it was not reasonable to suppose the savages had knowledge of the Dutch tongue, or that Master Minuit understood such words as the brown men spoke. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It seemed that there were animals in the forest nearabout, the skins of which were valuable in many of the other countries of the world, and it was Master Minuit's business, if he would please those who had made him Director of New Netherland, to exchange toys and beads for furs.
Those white men who had been induced to come over from Holland by promises of being well paid for their labor, were to turn all their attention to getting lumber out of the forests, doing no more in the way of farming than would provide them, as nearly as might be, with food. ”

“ 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 [Pg 120] 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. ”

“ A thing which displeased me, though perhaps I was easily put out by anything Director Stuyvesant did, was that he should have set up the gallows in front of the stone tavern built by Master Kieft, after it had been turned into the town hall.
To me that instrument of justice was a blot on the fair building, even though it be something necessary in all towns; the whipping-post and the stocks seem to be there by right, and do not cast such a horror upon [Pg 103] him who passes them, but to have ever in sight that which had been built for the taking away of men's lives is, in a way, brutal. ”

“ NEW AMSTERDAM BECOMES A CITY
It was in the year 1652 that the town we had built was made a city, with a charter straight from Holland, and our people rejoiced because of its being possible at last, after so much of misrule, for them to have some voice in affairs.
According to this charter, the freemen of our new city were to select a schout, four burgomasters, nine schepens, which last were what in England would be called magistrates—and a council of thirty-six men whose duty it would be to advise with the Director on all affairs concerning the public welfare. ”

“ 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 [Pg 122] 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. ”

“ Then it was that instead of the people of New Amsterdam going out peacefully, earning money for the West India Company, as they were in duty bound to do, all were the same as shut up on Manhattan Island with enemies on every hand; for, as may be supposed, such of the Raritan Indians as remained alive sought every opportunity to gain revenge, beginning by killing four planters on a farm at Staten Island, and burning the buildings.
This caused Master Kieft to shut his eyes to his own crime, and at once every man was called upon to aid in killing the Raritans. ”

“ To this end every effort has been made to avoid anything savoring of romance, and to deal only with facts, so far as that is possible, while describing the daily life of those people who conquered the wilderness whether for conscience sake or for gain. ”

“ That I should be counted as among those to accompany the expedition, never once had lodgment in my mind, until Master Tienhoven came to me the day before the fleet was to sail, asking if all my preparations for the voyage had been made.
I was in a maze of perplexity because of the question. He who has charge of a company's goods is supposed to remain where he can keep them under [Pg 113] his hand, more particularly in time of war, and for me to be pinned to Master Stuyvesant's coat sleeves not only seemed useless, but positively foolish. ”

“ Such soldiers as had been left in the fort, together with the men of the city, [Pg 121] 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. ”