JOURNAL OF NEW NETHER LAND.

9

Terror increasing all over the land the eight men assembled, drew* up a proposal in writingwherein they demanded that delegates should be sent to the North, to our English neighbours, torequest an auxiliary force of One hundred and fifty men, for whose pay a bill of Exchange shouldbe given for twenty five thousand guilders, and that N. Netherland should be so long mortgagedto the English as security for the payment thereof (one of the most influential among the eight menhad by letterJ enforced by precedents previously endeavored to persuade the Director to thiscourse, as they had also a few days before resolvedf that the Provisions destined for Curacao should be unloaded from the vessels and the major portion of the men belonging to them detained,and to send the Ships away thus empty. This was not agreed to nor considered Expedient bythe Director.

[Here four pages are wanting .]

[An expedition was despatched consisting of- soldiers] under the command of the Sergeant,

XL Burghers under their Captain Jochem Pietersen, XXXY Englishmen under Lieutenant Baxter,but to prevent all confusion, Councillor La Montagne was appointed general. Coming to StatenIsland , they marched the whole night; the houses were empty and abandoned by the Indians ; theygot 5 or 6 hundred skepels of corn, burning the remainder without accomplishing any thing else.

Mayane, a Sachem, residing 8 miles N. E. of us, between Greenwich (that lies within ourjurisdiction) and Stantfort, which is English, —a fierce Indian who alone dared to attack with bowand arrows, three Christians armed with guns one of whom he shot dead; whilst engaged with theother, he was killed by the third Christian and his head brought hither. It was then known andunderstood for the first time, that he and his Indians had done us much injury, though we neverhad any difference with him. Understanding further that they lay in their houses very quiet and■without suspicion in the neighborhood of the English it was determined to hunt them up, and attackthem and one hundred and twenty men were sent thither under the preceding command. Thepeople landed at Greenwich in the evening from three Yachts, marched the entire night but couldnot find the Indians, either because the Guide had given warning or had himself gone astray. RetreatWas made to the Yachts in order to depart as secretly as possible, passing through Stantfort someEnglishmen were encountered who offered to lead ours to the place where some Indians were,thereupon four scouts were Sent in divers directions, to discover them, who at their return,reported that the Indians had some notice of our people by the salute which the Englishmen gaveUs , but without any certainty, whereupon five and twenty of the bravest men were at once com-manded to proceed thither to the nearest village, with great diligence they made the journeykilling 18 or 20 Indians, capturing an old man, two women and some children, to exchange for ours.The other troops on coming hither immediately in the yachts, found the huts empty.

The old Indian, captured above, having promised to lead us to Wetquescheck which consisted ofthree Castles, sixty five men were despatched under Baxter and Pieter Cock, who found them emptythough thirty Indians could have stood against Two Hundred Soldiers inasmuch as they wereinstructed of plank five inches thick nine feet high and braced around with thick balk full ofP°rt holes. Our people burnt two, reserving the third for a retreat. Marching 8 or 9 milesfurther, they discovered nothing but some huts, which they could not surprize as they were discovered—they

came back having killed only one or two Indians, taken some women and Children prisonersa nd burnt some corn. Meanwhile, we were advised that Pennewitz , 1 one of the oldest and most

* Note O. Dated 0th Octob. 1643.t Note P. Dated 9th March, 1643.t Note Q. In their resolution 80th September, 1643.

1 Chief ol’ the Canarsee tribe, Kings Co., L. I. EdVoL. IV.

2