Peter of New Amsterdam: A Story of Old New York. Otis James

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СКАЧАТЬ 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. If that day ever did arrive, woe unto us whose skins were white!

      Little did I believe, even as I dreamed, that such would come to be the truth; that the day was not far distant when these savages who made even of their hair a seeming weapon, would come to thirst for the blood of us who hoped to find fame or fortune, or both, in this New World of America.

      At a mile or more from the point where we had anchored, we were told there was a strip of marshy ground, stretching across from river to river, and lying so low that when the tide was at its height, the streams were united, making of this settlement an island, which the Indians called Manhattan.

      There were trees in the forest before me enough to make all the masts that could be used by the people of the world, and in such a wilderness how abundant must be the game! In these huge rivers how great in number the fish!

      I panted to leave the narrow space of ship; to go on shore where I could wander among the trees and amid the flowers; where I could see these strange, brown people, whose huts were to me much like hills thrown up by ants; to come in contact with all these things which God had made, and in so doing rejoice that I lived.

      SUMMONED TO THE CABIN

      Now it was as if Master Minuit, who had given no heed during all the voyage as to whether I might be alive or dead, suddenly remembered that somewhere on board the Sea Mew, he had a servant by the name of Peter Hulbert, and straightway sent one of the serving men from the great cabin to hunt me out.

      From the time of leaving Amsterdam until this moment, no one had shown any desire to have speech with me, while all had acted as if believing I was of no more use in this world than to cumber their path; thus it came near to startling me when my name was called, so that I hung back, hardly knowing if I was expected to go forward or aft, until one of the seamen, hearing the serving man vainly shouting, asked me if that was not my name which was being spoken so loudly.

      Whereupon I awoke to my senses, and went toward the stern to meet this fellow, who was bawling at the full strength of his lungs, as if he would make his tongue do the work of a trumpet, and by him was led into the great cabin where stood my master, as if he had been awaiting my coming.

      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.

      Now did I learn what it meant to act the part of body servant to such as Master Minuit, and was not a little surprised at finding that he had two others, one a man grown, and a second who was three or four years my elder, both of whom took advantage of every opportunity to lord it over me when the master was not within hearing.

      TOYS FOR THE SAVAGES

      During the long voyage I had tried time and again to picture to myself what would be expected of me when I began to serve Master Minuit, and fancied the duties would be to look after his belongings, perhaps his weapons, or his clothing, or to serve him while he sat at meals.

      Therefore it was that my surprise was exceeding great when the first task which he set me, was that of taking from certain huge boxes, which had been brought into the great cabin, what appeared like toys for children, rather than things such as grown men would set a value upon.

      A stout chest, fitted with handles, so that it might the more readily be carried, had been placed nearby these big boxes, and, under Master Minuit's direction, I took out these fanciful things, laying some upon the floor, and stowing others in the chest.

      There were strings of beads such as young Dutch girls wear around their necks; short lengths of bright red, or blue, or yellow cloth of wool; ornaments for the ears, made of Dutch brass, and fashioned so rudely that none save the poorest in the land would covet them; belts of gaudily colored leather, and small axes and knives formed of iron so badly worked that but little rough usage would serve to turn the edges.

      I cannot well name all the useless trinkets which I handled that day, working as deftly as I might, to the end that my new master should lay no blame upon me for clumsiness; but all the goods were of so little value that, poor though I was, there came into my heart no desire to possess them.

      As I worked, and while the other two servants were busily engaged making into packages the belongings of my master, that they might the more readily be carried on shore, I could not fail of hearing, even though making no effort to play the part of eavesdropper, the conversation which was going on between Master Minuit and those Dutch gentlemen who had come out with him to build up this new land.

      CLAIM OF THE WEST INDIA COMPANY

      And what I thus heard, without being minded to play the listener, was that among the orders given by the West India Company, was one to the effect that before Master Minuit should do anything toward taking upon himself the governing of the country, the land of Manhattan Island was to be bought of the brown men, and these useless trinkets were to serve in the stead of purchase money.

      To the better understanding of this order, let me go back in the tale to where I have said that the West India Company claimed to own the land which was called New Netherland. Their reasons for making such claim were that the Dutch government had, many years before, sent out the ship _Half Moon_, commanded by an Englishman named Henry Hudson, who believed himself to be the first white man that ever saw these rivers; and afterward that famous Dutch seaman, Adrian Block, had followed Master Hudson, stopping at this same island of Manhattan. Therefore it was, because of their vessels being supposed to have come to this place first, that the people of Holland claimed the land as their own.

      As I came to know later, however, a certain sailor from Florence had been sent to America by the French king, near ninety years before Master Hudson's coming, and, on landing nearabout where we then were, claimed all the country in the name of France.

      Perhaps the West India Company knew somewhat of this, and, fearing the French king might set up ownership to the island of Manhattan, had decided to buy it of theirs, first because of having been discovered by them, and again because of being bought in fair trade.

      All this which I have just told you came to me afterward, when I knew more of the great world and of the manner in which the nations of the earth struggled one against another to increase their possessions.

      MAKING READY FOR TRADE

      At the time, however, there was no thought in my mind save that if Master Minuit should buy this island of Manhattan with all the trumpery goods he had in the great cabin, then would he be paying a price far too small for even the least portion of it.

      You can well fancy that I did not neglect my work while thus looking with contempt upon the goods before me. My duty was to make quick despatch of the task set me, and at the same time take good heed that it was done in such a manner as to win the approval, if not the praise, of Master Minuit.

      Many a long hour did I spend putting the childish things into the chest, and in taking them out and exchanging for others, when those in company with my master believed we were gathering too much of value, if indeed there could be value to such СКАЧАТЬ