History of Westchester County, New York, Volume 1. Frederic Shonnard

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      A man of independent and fearless convictions he unquestionably was, as also of conscientious principles. He was not, however, a typical Puritan hero; and it is not from the gentle and reverent muse of Whittier, which loves to celebrate the grave and stately (but otherwise mostly disagreeable) forefathers of New England, that a faithful idea of the Captain John Underhill of history is to be obtained. His associations during his very brief residence in Massachusetts were certainly not with the representative men of that rigorous and somber order, but with the imaginative, ardent, and sprightly natures, whose presence was felt as a grievous burden upon the theocratic state. He was grimly hated and scornfully expelled from Boston by the Puritans, whom he reciprocally despised. In his book he gives decidedly unflattering characterizations of Winthrop and others, showing this animus. Captain Underhill was really a man of high and impetuous spirits, fond of adventure, always seeking military employment, leading a changeful and roving life almost to his last days; yet possessing earnest motives and substantial traits of character, which made him a good and respected citizen, and enabled him to accumulate considerable property. But although not a Puritan, his final adoption of New Netherland as a place of residence was not from any special liking for the Dutch; in fact, he never was satisfied to live in any of the distinctive Dutch settlements, and, though much inclined to the honors and dignities of public position, never held civic office under the Dutch. During his life on Long Island he made his home among the English colonists, and preserved a firm devotion for English interests, which he manifested on several occasions long before the end of Dutch rule, by holding correspondence with the English authorities concerning the position of affairs on Long Island.

      Soon after Captain Underhill's expedition to Bedford the Indian tribes again sued for peace. " Mamaranack, chief of the Indians residing on the Kicktawanc or Croton River; Mongockonone, Pappenoharrow, from the Weckquaesgecks and Nochpeems, and the Wappings from Stamford, presented themselves, in a few days, at Fort Amsterdam; and having pledged themselves that they would not henceforth commit any injury whatever on the inhabitants of New Netherland, their cattle and houses, nor show themselves, except in a canoe, before Fort Amsterdam, should the Dutch be at war with any of the Manhattan tribes, and having further promised to deliver up Pacham, the chief of the Tankitekes (who resided in the rear of Sing Sing), peace was concluded between them and the Dutch, who promised, on their part, not to molest them in any way." It appears that this peace was effected through the intervention of Underhill, was unsatisfactory to the Dutch, and proved but a makeshift; for in the fall of 1644 the " Eight Men " wrote as follows to the home office of the West India Company: " A semblance of peace was attempted to be patched up last spring with two or three tribes of savages toward the north by a stranger, whom we, for cause, shall not now name, without one of the company's servants having been present, while our principal enemies have been unmolested. This peace hath borne little fruit for the common advantage and reputation of our lords, etc., for as soon as the savages had stowed away their maize into holes, they began again to murder our people in various directions. They rove in parties continually around day and night on the island of Manhattans, slaying our folks, not a thousand paces from the fort; and 'tis now arrived at such a pass that no one dare move a foot to fetch a stick of firewood without a strong escort."

      It was not until the summer of 1645 that a lasting treaty was arranged. On the 30th of August, says O'Callaghan, a number of chiefs representing the warring tribes " seated themselves, silent and grave, in front of Fort Amsterdam, before the director-general and his council and the whole commonalty; and there, having religiously smoked the great Calumet, concluded in the presence of the sun and ocean a solemn and durable peace with the Dutch, which both the contracting parties reciprocally bound themselves honorably and firmly to maintain and observe." It was stipulated that all cases of injury on either side were to be laid before the respective authorities. No armed Indian was to come within the line of settlement, and no colonist was to visit the Indian villages without a native to escort him. Hand some presents were made by Kieft to the chiefs, for the purchase of which, it is said, he was obliged to borrow money from Adrian Van der Donck, at that time sheriff of Rensselaerswyck.

      The settlement of the lands beyond the Harlem was not, however, resumed at once. For some time the restoration of the burned farm houses and ruined fields of Manhattan Island claimed all the energies of the Dutch; and the memories of the dreadful experience of the colonies of Anne Hutchinson and John Throckmorton effectually deterred other New Englanders from seeking the Vredeland. In 1646, however, two enterprises of great historic interest were undertaken within the limits of our county. One of these was the settlement by Thomas Cornell on Cornell's Neck, whose details we have already narrated. The other was the creation of " Colen Donck," or Donck's colony, embracing the country from Spuyten Duyvil Creek northward along the Hudson as far as a little stream called the Amackassin, and reaching inland to the Bronx River, under a patent granted by the Dutch authorities to Adrian Van der Donck.

      The exact date of Van der Donck's grant is unknown, and the record of his purchase of the territory from the Indians has not been preserved. The tract constituted a portion of the so-called Keskeskeck region, bought from the natives for the West India Company by Secretary Van Tienhoven, "in consideration of a certain lot of merchandise," СКАЧАТЬ