After the outside boundaries of New Jersey had been pretty thoroughly
discovered, it was quite natural that some nations who laid claim to the
State should desire to find out something in regard to its interior, and
make settlements upon its soil.
This was not done by the English, who had made the first claim to the
land, but by the Dutch. In the early part of the seventeenth century,
the West India Company of Holland sent out a ship containing the
foundation for a little colony,--men, provisions, and all things
necessary. They sailed into Delaware Bay; and the commander, Cornelius
Jacobsen Mey, gave his name to Cape May. The expedition went up the
Delaware River till they reached Timber Creek, probably not much more
than ten miles from the spot where Philadelphia now stands. There they
settled, and built a fort, which they called Fort Nassau. But this was
not looked upon with favor by the Indians, and it was not long before
the whole colony was destroyed.
This unfortunate beginning of the white settlement of New Jersey did not
deter the Dutch, who are a persevering and dogged people. About twelve
years later, another Dutch commander, De Vries, sailed up the Delaware
River, or, as the Dutch called it, the South River; his main object
being to catch whales, very different from the Delaware fisheries of the
present day. He set up a little colony on shore; but it appears that the
Indians were very much opposed to this sort of thing, and this
settlement was destroyed before long.
But De Vries still kept up the whaling business; and in the course of
time, getting out of provisions, he left his vessel, and sailed up the
river in a small craft which was called the "Squirrel." He went up as
far as the deserted Fort Nassau, and there anchored to trade with the
Indians.
It is quite plain that the Indians of New Jersey were now greatly
concerned about the visits of white people to their shore; for they
perceived that these newcomers were inclined to settle and occupy such
places as pleased their fancy, without asking permission, or proposing
to buy or to pay rent. All this was very disagreeable to the red men,
who had never shown any disposition to open up their country to foreign
immigration.
When De Vries anchored, he was very well received; and about forty
Indians came on board his yacht, and made a call upon him. They were
dressed in their best, and, in order to make the visit more agreeable,
they brought some of their musical instruments with them, and gave the
Dutchmen a taste of Indian music.
The dress of some of these visitors was a surprise to De Vries and his
men, of whom there were only seven on the yacht. It was winter time, and
most of the Indians were arrayed in furs, but several of them wore
jackets made in the English fashion. The visitors were very friendly,
and urged De Vries to sail his vessel up a stream, now known as Big
Timber Creek, which, they declared, was a much better place for trading.
Now, according to some of the old histories, a woman appeared in the
double character of peacemaker and guardian angel.
Among the Lenni-Lenape, as well as the other tribes of North America,
women often had a peculiar part to play in national and social affairs.
If ever the services of a peacemaker were desired, that position was
always given to a woman. It was considered derogatory to the dignity of
a male Indian that he should at any time, of his own accord, desire
peace. He and his enemy might both be thoroughly tired of fighting; but
neither of them would lower himself in his own estimation, and in the
estimation of his countrymen, by allowing any man to know the state of
his mind.
But he did not in the least object to tell his wife that he wanted to
stop fighting; and she, very gladly in most cases, would confer with the
wife of the other brave; and when they had concluded peace, the two men
would immediately sit down together, smoke the calumet, and be good
friends; and all this without the slightest loss of dignity.
This method of making peace was pursued not only by individuals, but by
nations. Very often women had this important political duty thrust upon
them,--a duty for which they were probably very well qualified, for it
is seldom that the women of a nation desire war.
This national disposition in regard to peacemaking was once the occasion
of a serious misfortune to the tribe of Lenni-Lenape. The tribes to the
north, who had formed themselves into a powerful body called the Five
Nations, had long been jealous of their neighbors the Lenni-Lenape, and
contrived a plan to humiliate them, and render them less important in
the eyes of the Indian world. Being at war with some other tribes, these
Five Nations came to the Lenni-Lenape and pretended to desire peace, but
stated that this was too important a case to be managed by women. They
declared that this was a great work, which should be given only into the
hands of a quiet, dignified, and honorable tribe, such as their great
neighbors, and urged the Lenape to undertake negotiations for the
cessation of hostilities.
As all this seemed reasonable enough, the Lenape were at last persuaded
to become peacemakers, and, as might be supposed, they were entirely
successful; but they suffered for their kindness and good feeling. Ever
afterwards they were looked upon by other Indian tribes as no better
than women. In Cooper's novels there are references to the fact that the
noble Lenape were sneered at as peacemakers and squaws.
But we will now return to our guardian angel. It was after a visit of
the Indians to the vessel of De Vries, that the peacemaking instinct
took possession of the wife of one of the Indian chiefs; and quietly and
stealthily, unperceived by her people, she managed to get on board the
"Squirrel," when she informed the commander of the real object of his
visitors, who had invited him to sail up Timber Creek. It was the desire
of the Indians to destroy this company of white men; and the narrow
stream where they wished to make the attempt was much better adapted for
their purpose than the broad waters of the river.
Wishing to prevent an encounter in which the sturdy Dutchmen would
probably kill some of her countrymen before they themselves were
destroyed, she had come to implore the whites not to run into the trap
which had been set for them. She told them that the crew of an English
shallop, which not long before had come to visit the place, probably
from a ship afraid to venture higher up the river, had all been
slaughtered, and that it was the jackets of these men that some of her
countrymen were wearing.
Like a sensible man, De Vries paid attention to this story, and did not
venture into Timber Creek. Whether or not he rewarded the good woman who
came to warn him of his danger, is not known; but his account of the
affair places her in the position of one worthy of a monument by the
women of the State.
When the Indians came again to De Vries, he declared to them that his
Great Spirit, or "Maneto," had revealed their wicked purposes, and that
he would not sail up the Timber Creek, nor would he allow one of them
upon his vessel; and, having ordered them all on shore, he dropped some
distance down the river.
This conduct doubtless inspired the Indians with great respect for the
brave Dutchmen, and shortly afterwards the chiefs from nine different
tribes came on board the "Squirrel" for the purpose of making a treaty
of peace and commerce with the Dutch. All of these were now dressed in
furs, which were their ordinary garments; but some of them were
recognized as the same men who had formerly worn the jackets of the
murdered English sailors. These, however, were just as cordial and
friendly as any of the others, and there is no reason to suppose that
they now intended treachery. The visitors sat down on the deck of the
yacht, and held a regular council, and, with appropriate ceremonies,
made presents of beaver skins to the whites, and solemnly concluded a
treaty of friendship.