THE DUTCH IN NEW YORK; THE QUAKERS IN PENNSYLVANIA.
=81. The Search for a Shorter Route to India.=--We must not forget that
during all these years the European nations in their desire for riches
were often searching for a shorter route to China and the East Indies.
They hoped to succeed in this either by sailing to the north of Europe
or America, or by finding some opening across the newly discovered
continent. For more than a hundred years after the time of Columbus many
a daring navigator came forward to undertake this business.
=82. Sir Henry Hudson, the Bold and Skillful Mariner.=--Several years
before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, a bold and skillful mariner
named Henry Hudson, a friend of Captain John Smith, was hired by some
London merchants to search for the imaginary northern passage. For this
purpose he made two perilous voyages. Once he sailed along the eastern
coast of Greenland until the ice stopped him. After three months he
returned to England. The next year he tried it again, and sailed
farther north, but as before was turned back by the ice.
Hudson tells us that on one of these voyages two of his sailors saw a
mermaid swimming close to the ship's side. The upper parts of her body
were those of a woman, but below she was a fish, and as big as a
halibut! Probably the creature was a seal, an animal with which English
sailors were not at that time familiar.
=83. Hudson enters the Dutch Service.=--At last, in 1609, Hudson, who had
now become famous, entered the service of the Dutch East India Company
and sailed from Amsterdam to find the long-sought route. Living near the
ocean, the Dutch at this time were great sailors and traders. They owned
more ships than all Europe besides. Their sails whitened every ocean.
They were glad to hire "the bold Englishman, the expert pilot, and the
famous navigator," as they called Hudson, to brave the perils of the
Arctic seas.
Again this intrepid sailor, "the Nansen of the year 1608," went too far
north, and again he found himself caught in the ice of the desolate
Arctic regions. He now made up his mind to go farther west. He coasted
along Greenland, passed southward to Newfoundland, sighted Cape Cod, and
then sailed as far south as Virginia. Finding the English settlers
there ahead of him, he turned about and steered north again, keeping
close to the wild and unknown coast.
=84. Hudson sails up the Hudson River in the Little "Half Moon."=--In
September, 1609, Sir Henry found himself not far from the mouth of a
broad river, and dropped anchor near what is now Sandy Hook. The Indians
here were kind to their strange visitors, and came on board the vessel
to trade. They brought grapes, furs, and pumpkins, and traded them for
beads, knives, and hatchets.
[Illustration: THE "HALF MOON" ON THE HUDSON.]
After a few days the anchor of the little "Half Moon" was raised, the
sails were spread, and Hudson was slowly wafted past the Palisades and
far up the noble river which still bears his name. Because for many
miles the water at high tide was salt, he thought that he had surely
found the long-wished-for passage to India.
No white man had ever before sailed up this, perhaps the most beautiful
of American streams. With what wonder and hope must the captain and his
men have gazed on the lovely scenery, rich in the gorgeous hues of
autumnal foliage! In fact Hudson, in the story of his voyage, says that
the lands on both sides were "pleasant with grass and flowers and goodly
trees,--as beautiful a land as one can tread upon."
=85. Kindly received by the Indians.=--The Indians, filled with curiosity,
flocked from far and near to the banks of the river to see the "great
white bird," a name they gave the "Half Moon" on account of its white
spreading canvas wings. As they peeped out from the rocks and woods
along the shore, they had the same feelings of curiosity and awe as did
the natives that gazed in wonder upon the vessels of Columbus more than
a hundred years before.
Hudson sailed north until he reached a point near where Albany now
stands. As the river now became narrower and its water fresh, he was
convinced at last that he could never find his way to India by this
route.
=86. Hudson returns Home; his Sad Fate.=--After a time, disappointed at
his failure to reach India, Hudson sailed out of the river and across
the ocean to England, and afterwards to Holland. The stout-hearted
mariner never saw his "great river" again. On his next and last voyage
he sailed farther north and entered the immense land-locked bay that now
bears his name. He thought that he had this time surely discovered the
long-sought opening to the Pacific. Imagine his dismay when, after
coasting around its sides for nearly three months, he was forced at last
to believe that this inland sea had no western outlet!
The long Arctic winter came. Hudson's men were nearly starved. They had
endured so many hardships that in a frenzy of despair and wrath they at
last bound their captain hand and foot, thrust him on board a small boat
with his son and some sick sailors, and set them adrift. This was the
last ever seen or heard of Hudson.
Probably, like De Soto, the bold navigator found his grave in the vast
waters that he was the first to discover.
=87. The Dutch claim the Territory; Manhattan Island bought of the
Indians.=--The Dutch now laid claim to all the territory along the Hudson
River, and in 1614 they took possession of it under the name of New
Netherland. In a few years they began to establish trading posts, where
they might buy of the Indians the skins of bears, beavers, and otters.
After a time the Indians sold the Dutch the island of Manhattan for the
sum of twenty-four dollars. This settlement, then called "New
Amsterdam," was the beginning of what is now one of the largest and
richest cities in the world--Greater New York.
=88. The Dutch Settlers prosper.=--For the first few years the settlers in
New Amsterdam were poor; but after a time richer and more influential
men made homes for themselves in this colony. They secured from the
Dutch East India Company the right to own by purchase from the Indians a
tract of land sixteen miles in length and extending an unlimited
distance into the interior, and to establish there a colony of fifty
people. The rich landholders were called "patroons," and their great
estates laid the foundation of the wealth of many of the leading
families of the Empire State.
[Illustration: DUTCH WINDMILL.]
=89. How the Dutch People lived.=--As the Dutch prospered, they built
better houses. These were of wood. Each house had on its roof one
weathercock, and often many of them. The gable ends were built of
various-colored bricks brought over from Holland.
[Illustration: A DUTCHMAN OF NEW AMSTERDAM.]
The Dutch women were excellent housekeepers. We owe to them the
doughnut, the cruller, cookies, and many other delicious articles of
skillful cookery. Many a pleasant custom had its origin with these
genial Dutch settlers, such as the Christmas visit of Santa Claus, the
display of colored eggs at Easter, and the friendly visiting on New
Year's day. The floors in these thrifty homes were covered with white
sand, on which quaint figures were sketched with a broom. There were
huge fireplaces with Dutch tiles of different colors, on which were
represented scenes from the Bible. The Dutch men were fond of good food
and of their pipes. They used to have in front of their houses a porch
or "stoop," sometimes called a "bowerie," on which they could sit and
smoke and tell stories and take their ease generally. The men wore
several pairs of knee breeches at once, one over another, with long
stockings, and with huge buckles at the knees and on the shoes. Their
coats, too, were adorned with great buckles of silver or brass.
The women were neatly dressed, usually wearing several short petticoats
of many colors. Their stockings were of their own knitting, and had as
many hues as the rainbow. Their shoes had very high heels.
=90. Peter Stuyvesant, the Last Dutch Governor; New York surrenders to
the English.=--The last Dutch governor was Peter Stuyvesant, brave and
honest, but a very stubborn man. He was so obstinate that he was
nicknamed "Headstrong Peter." He was also known as "Old Silverleg,"
because, having lost a leg in war, he used a wooden one adorned with
strips of silver. He was a tyrant in his way, and at length his people
would not endure his tyranny, especially as the English settlers in the
same region enjoyed more liberty and had increased more rapidly in
numbers and riches than they.
[Illustration: PETER STUYVESANT.]
And so it happened that when an English fleet sailed into the harbor in
1664, the people did not come to the help of "Headstrong Peter," but
gladly surrendered the town to the English in spite of "Old
Silverleg's" wrath! The name of the colony was changed to New York in
honor of the Duke of York, the brother of King Charles II.
=91. How the Quakers were persecuted.=--About forty years after the
Pilgrims had built their homes in Plymouth, the members of a peculiar
religious sect, the Society of Friends, were bitterly persecuted in
England. In spite of their ill-treatment, which lasted for many years,
they greatly increased in numbers. A few men and women of wealth and of
high social position joined them.
These Friends, or Quakers as they were commonly called, were singularly
blunt in speech and plain in dress. But they were an honest, sober,
God-fearing people. They wished to treat all men as friends, brothers,
and equals. They did not approve of war and would not serve as soldiers.
As they believed all men equal, they recognized no superiors: they would
not doff their hats to any one, not even to the king, for they thought
"the Lord forbade it." They said they would acknowledge no master, king,
or lord, save only Him who was their "Master in heaven," the "King of
Kings and Lord of Lords."
Naturally enough, in those days of bigotry and intolerance the doctrines
and behavior of the Quakers made the king and his great men very angry.
They threw hundreds of them into prison. Consequently, many of the
Quakers left their homes, came to this country, and settled in
Massachusetts. But the stern sons of the Old Pilgrim Fathers would not
endure them. They drove them away or put them in prison. The Boston
Puritans even hanged four Quakers who had repeatedly come back after
having been several times punished and driven into exile.
[Illustration: WILLIAM PENN.]
=92. William Penn becomes a Quaker.=--About the time King Charles II was
restored to the throne of England (1660) there lived in that country a
handsome young man of noble birth and talents of the highest order.
William Penn was his name. There is a portrait of him in the dress of an
English cavalier, with flowing curls over his shoulders, and a face of
manly tenderness and beauty. This man, the founder of Pennsylvania, was
the only son of a brave English admiral who had won signal victories for
his country during the Dutch war, and was held in high favor by the king
and the royal family. While Penn was a boy and in college, his heart was
stirred within him by listening to the Quaker preachers. He believed
they were right. He was convinced that he ought to join them, and did so
in spite of the ridicule of his rich and titled friends.
=93. Young Penn falls into Disgrace with his Family and is sent from
Home.=--Young Penn was expelled from college and sent home. The old
admiral, in his anger because his only son would disgrace his family by
uniting with the despised Quakers, drove him from his door. The mother,
however, interceded, and the stubborn youth was allowed to travel for a
time on the Continent to divert his mind from what they called his
foolishness.
Alas for the old admiral's ambitious plans for his gifted son! William
was out-and-out a Quaker; and no title, honors, or favor could induce
him to give up his faith. He pleaded with the king to allow the English
people freedom of conscience, so that they might worship God as they
deemed best. He tried in vain to procure the release of the Quakers from
the prisons where hundreds of them were then confined. For a time Penn
was himself shut up in the Tower of London, the prison of offenders of
high rank. While there he wrote his best known work, _No Cross, no
Crown_. The king's brother, the Duke of York, however, soon brought
about his release.
=94. Penn inherits Wealth; secures a Grant of Land from the King.=--Penn's
father was after all a generous man and regretted his treatment of his
son. On his death, in 1670, he left him all his estate. Penn made a good
use of his wealth. He devoted his time, money, and talents to secure
legal protection in England for the persecuted Quakers. The task was
almost hopeless.
In his despair Penn longed to build a quiet home for his people in the
wilderness of America. He had heard of the happiness and prosperity of
the Pilgrim settlements, and he now planned to lead his brethren across
the Atlantic. The gallant admiral at his death had a claim against the
government of about eighty thousand dollars. Now King Charles was a
spendthrift and always in debt. Penn told the king that he would accept
lands in America instead of money in payment of this claim. The
easy-going monarch was only too glad to take up with this offer, for he
had plenty of land in America but very little silver and gold.
On condition that he should be paid two beaver-skins every year, the
king granted Penn a large tract of land on the western bank of the
Delaware river, and named it Pennsylvania, or "Penn's Woodland."
=95. A Colony of Quakers established in Pennsylvania.=--Penn now planned
to send his Quaker colony to the new home in America. He came over in
person in the fall of 1682, and landed at New Castle, Delaware. Penn
sailed in an open boat up the broad and beautiful Delaware River until
he came to the place on which his chief city or capital was soon to be
laid out. The "Quaker King," for thus he was called, was received with
great joy by the people. They knew that he would keep his promise to
secure full freedom of conscience and speech for all. He called it a
"free colony for all mankind."
[Illustration: A PROSPEROUS QUAKER.]
No person was compelled, as were the Pilgrims of New England, to attend
any church or practise any form of religious worship. Only murder and
treason were punished with death. Before this Penn had written to the
colonists, saying, "You shall be governed by laws of your own making; I
shall not usurp the right of any, or oppress his person."
=96. Penn selects a Location for his Capital; Philadelphia, "the City of
Brotherly Love."=--On a neck of land between the Schuylkill and the
Delaware, Penn selected a site for his "faire and greene country
towne"--a city of refuge and a home of free speech and conscience. And
he generously bought the land from some Swedes, who had bought it from
the Indians.
Penn now laid out his city and gave it the Bible name of Philadelphia,
which means "brotherly love." As he stood with his friends on the high
ground and beheld the country in its autumn foliage, the good man said:
"I have seen the finest cities of Europe, but I never saw so beautiful a
place for a city as this."
=97. His Kind Treatment of the Indians.=--Penn knew how cruelly some of
the other colonies had treated the Indians. This should not be done in
Pennsylvania. The Indians must be fairly dealt with. Their lands were
not to be taken away by force, but must be openly bought and honestly
paid for. If a settler wronged an Indian, he was to be punished. In
short, in this Quaker colony they were all to live together as brothers.
That everything might be done in a business-like way, Penn sent word to
various tribes of Indians that he would meet them on a certain day to
make a treaty. He wanted them to hear what he had to say. He sent word
to them that he was a man of peace, and no firearms would be brought to
the meeting. The Indians gladly accepted Penn's invitation.
[Illustration: PENN'S MEETING WITH THE INDIANS.]
=98. The Celebrated Treaty with the Indians.=--On the chosen day they came
from far and near. They met under the branches of a great elm tree a
little north of Philadelphia. This giant son of the forest, called ever
afterward "The Treaty Tree," became an object of deep interest. It was
protected with extreme care. During the Revolutionary war, even the
British officers posted guards around it to prevent its branches from
being used for firewood. The venerable tree blew down some ninety years
ago. Its rings proved it to be two hundred and eighty-three years of
age. A monument with a suitable inscription now marks the spot where
Penn and the Indians met to pledge in "unbroken faith."
First, there was a feast of good things to eat, and numerous presents
were given to the delighted red men. The chiefs then seated themselves
on the ground and the council began. Penn carried no arms, wore no
uniform, and had no soldiers. He was at this time thirty-eight years
old, graceful and fine-looking, was dressed in a suit of drab-colored
clothes, had a blue sash around his waist, and wore a broad-brim hat,
which he did not take off for the sake of fashion or ceremony.
The Indians, seated around their chiefs, listened attentively while the
"Quaker King" spoke. He told them that the English and the Indians were
to obey the same laws, and both were to be equally protected in their
rights. No advantage should be taken on either side, but all should be
openness and love; that the great God above was the Father of both white
and red men, and that all were brothers and should live together in
peace. His words, so full of kindness, good will, and justice, won the
hearts of the dusky natives.
"We will live in peace with William Penn and his children," said the
Indians, "as long as the sun and moon endure." This treaty was never
broken.
=99. The Indians take Penn at his Word, and live afterwards at Peace with
the Quakers.=--After this talk was over, the pipe of peace was lighted
and passed round, and each took a whiff.
The Indians took Penn at his word. They believed in him and they kept
their part of the compact. It is said that not a drop of Quaker blood
was ever shed by an Indian, so much did the red men love and honor the
name of William Penn.
The good Quaker often visited the Indians at their councils, or at their
"powwows," as their festive gatherings were called. He went in and out
among them, visited them in their wigwams, and ate roasted corn and
hominy with them. He had frolics with the Indian children, joined in the
outdoor games of the warriors, and talked to them about their faith in
God, whom they called the Great Spirit.
=100. The Quakers prosper; Trials of Penn in his Old Age.=--We are not
surprised that the Quaker settlers prospered. In two years there were
six hundred houses; also schools and a printing press. Philadelphia had
grown more in three years than New York City in half a century. After a
few years the founder of the colony went back to England. He continued
to watch over his far-away colony, sending out emigrants and in every
way promoting its interest.
After some time Penn returned to this country, but remained only two
years. In his old age he met with sore trials. His son disgraced him by
his riotous living, his trusted agent proved dishonest, and at length
the good Quaker was financially ruined and was flung into prison for
debt. Not long after his release he died at the age of seventy-eight.
=101. Subsequent Prosperity of the Quaker Colony.=--When it once became
known that in Penn's colony a man could worship God as he pleased, enjoy
personal rights; that poor men could own their farms, and that there was
no dread of the Indians, we are not surprised that colonists quickly
flocked to Pennsylvania. This settlement surpassed all others in America
in rapid growth, and was for many years more prosperous and comfortable
than any other. About one-third of the inhabitants were Quakers, and
these were always a thrifty and peaceful people.
At the close of the Revolutionary war Philadelphia was larger than
either Boston or New York. Among the thirteen colonies Pennsylvania
ranked third in influence and population, being surpassed by none but
Virginia and Massachusetts.