The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-02-25
An Early Thanksgiving Day, Its Oc'
cnSIOn, and q Present Comment.

In weekly religious journal which
[ regularly receive there appeared last
autumn O contributed article, of a
semi-historical character, on the "First
Thanksgiving on Manhattan Island" !"
This thanksgiving celebration was
proclaimed in the early spring of 1864
by the then Dutch director or govern
or of the colony, William Kieft, as q
manifestation of devout rejoicing over
the favorable outcome of a late
war-a very murderous war-in
which the settlers had been engaged
with the neighboring Indians. The
account in the journal in question
states that "the previous summer had
been one of Indian terror and depre-
dation," harvests partly gathered, and
famine threatening the colonists yet
the writer altogether refrains from tell
ing how this unsatisfactory and dis
tressing state of affairs arose. He,
however, goes on to describe how, on a
certain clear and cold night, the moon
shining brightly, and the "saYages" in
their villages of wigwams engaged in
celebrating one of their annual festi-
vals, the Dutch settlers, with the as
sistance of Captain John Underhill
from Plymouth, who was at the time
in New Amsterdam, undertook to ef-
fectually dispose of the troublesome
Indian problem of that day.
"When all was STILL" he proceeds,
"the Dutch advanced, discharged q
volley of bullets upon the doomed viii
Iage, and charged, sword in hand.
The savages made desperate resis-
tance, but the whites succeeded at last
in firing all the combustible wigwams
The red warriors were shot down in
the light of their blazing lodges. Six
hundred Indians perished.* Of those
who crowded the little village at night
fall but eight escaped. None of the
whites were killed, and only a few
wounded. The victors bivouacked in
the snow until daylight, when they
set out upon their return, arriving in
New Amsterdam. like Roman con-
querers, the day afterwards. For this
brilliant victory it was felt that ordi-
nary methods Of celebration would not
suffice. Governor Kieft accordingly
proclaimed day of public thanksgiv-
ing" And the account ends, after a
description of the supposed appearance
of the doughty fathers and their fami-
lies vending their way through 1.-THE
twisted, narrow streets to the queer
little church, ,"-It was a devout
THANKSGIVING Day. indeed in New
Now the awful occurrence which is
here narrated without word of con-
demnation, if not Of implied approval,
has long seemed to me to furnish an
incident in colonial history, taken in
connection with the massacre of the
Hackensacks of the preceding year,
which strikingly contrasts with the
method of Indian treatment habitual-
ly employed by the early settlers in
William Penn's colony on the Della
ware. In the larger History of the
United States compiled by the under
signed, it is shown that several war
riOrs of the Raritan tribe were brutal
ly shot, because Of the belief (proba-
bly, correct) that some of their number
had tried to rob q Dutch vessel, and
also because of the suspicion (uncon-
firned) that they had stolen some
swine from Staten Island. The Hack
ensack massacre is then briefly told in
the history, with necessary gleam OF
light cast upon it's origin, as follows:
'Two years later, in 1913, another diff
ficulty, much more sanguinary in It's
results, arose with the Hackensacks,
who also dwelt OH the west side of the
river. One of this tribe having been
made drunk, and then robbed by some
colonists, in revenge killed two of the
Dutch. The chiefs demonstrated
against the sale of brandy to their peo-
ple, but nevertheless offered to make
Kieft, however, who
would listen to no apology, was only
to be satisfied with blood. In the
meantime the Hackensacks were Join
ed by another tribe about Tappan
who had also incurred the enmity OF
the Dutch by retaliating the murder
of q warrior. Against these offenders
two companies were sent out, one OF
them being commanded by colonist
named Adriansen, who had been a
freebooter in the West Indies. The
Indians, surprised in the night, offer
ed but little resistance 20 their assaii-
ants; and warriors, women, and chill
dren were slain without mercy.
Their shrieks, borne by the wintry
wind across the frozen waters, were
distinctly heard on the Manhattan
shore. The wounded who remained
next morning were either slain OF
thrown into the icy river"
The reader may now be prepared to
Judge whether this massacre OF the
under the leadership OF
Il freebooter (who was afterwards sent
a prisoner to Holland for making at
tack, with pistol and cutlass, upon the
person of Director Kieft), or the cam
paign of year later under Captain
who, in accomplishing the
slaughter of the five hundred, had but
followed out the way he favored as
hero of the Pequod war, was, in either
case, a brilliant victory" calling for
"devout thanksgiving" as already
Docs not this forbidding episode Of
two centuries and half ago offer us
food for present reflection? The tcoun-
try has been thrilled with the shock
ing details of the killing, the murder
Gus aftray, or the massacre, e,-whichev,
er it may be styled,-at wounded
Knee, and has been told that the SOL
diers engaged were (as assertedD of the
regiment which in the Custer massacre
had been so rcmorselessly cut down by
the warriors of Sitting Bull. They
have had their revenge. Admittedly,
the course of the hostiles was not q
good one. The daily press kilograms
and dispatches have put them outside
the pale of humanity, for they are on
Iy ducks" and "red devils" And
this has come to pass after the govern
ment has wronged the Indians out of
their rations, and otherwise failed lin
'.,,,,r,I ,os,,ootc) to fulfill its Solenlnly