Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-01-14

ordered to Manhattan to strengthen
the settlement there, and Nassau and
it's newly opened fields were left to
be again the home of the Indians, and
thenceforth the name of Nassau's
builder and first commandment does not
again appear in the history of Dutch
colonization. In 1929 the West India
Company was granted charter OF
freedom and exemption to all such as
should plant any colonies in New
Netherland. " Those who were dis
posed to avail themselves of this privi-
Iege were under certain restrictions,
Obliged to plant colony of fifty
souls, and might occupy a territory OF
sixteen miles along a navigab1e river
and as far into the country as their
situation would permit, and receive
among other feuda1 rights the power
of administering justice. Samuel
Godyn, having, through MS agents pro-
cured OF the Indians in barter, tract
of land on the western shore, stretch
ing from Cape Henlopen, thirty-two
English miles northward, by about
two miles in breadth, claimed the
grant of patroonship' under the
charter already mentioned, which was
conceded, and Godyn Joined with hin-
self as PATRONS the celebrated David
Peterson De Vries, navigator and his
torian, and many others. They de-
spatched the ship .Walrus December
18th, 1880, under command of Captain
Peter Heyser Their destination was
the shores of Delaware Bay, which
they designed to clear and plant with
maize, wheat and tobacco. They car
ried with them a large stock of cat
tie, farming implements and all variet-
les of seeds, both for field and garden
They arrived at the place Of their des-
tination in the Spring following. They
landed on the western shore of the
Bay at a point now known as LeWes
within the present limits of the State
of Delaware. They called it 'sZWaaneu-
dael' or the Valley of Swans" Here
Heysen erected the fortified post of
"Oplandt," had lands cleared for cul
tiyation, and in June, full of hope for
the success of the new enterprise
sailed back to Holland to report to the
company, leaving in charge of the col
ony, ellis Hosset, a subordinate, a
person of more rashness than prud-
ence and discretion Hosset it aD-
pears, misinterpreted into a grave Of
fence, the act Of a chief, who had in
nocently removed the arms of the
United Provinces of the Netherlands
which had been painted and attached
to a pillar as an emblem of possession.
Dissatisfaction having been seriously
expressed, the natives fancied that
the alleged wrong, was to be expiated
only by their taking the life of the Of
fender, which deed was revenged by
the friends of the murdered chief in
the treacherous destruction of the en-
tire colony brought out by Heyser;
and thus ended the first attempt to
colonize the western shore of the Della
ware.
Captain De Vries himself, came over
to the settlement two years after, to
find only a scene of desolation. The
post and the dwellings of the settlers
were IL ashes and their bones lying
unburied over the fields, wherever
they had been suddenly struck down
by the savage foeman. Attracted by
the firing of cannon, the sayages ap,
preached the vessel with guilty hest
tation, but at length, with more as
surance, they ventured on board, and
related the story of the massacre. The
object which De Vries had in view led
him to seek reconciliation; and he was
compelled to pardon where he could
not safely punish He made a new
treaty with the Indians, and on the
5th Of January 1888 weighed anchor OF
the yacht Squirrel, and proceeded
up the river to obtain supplies OF
maize and beans. He dropped anchor
at the mouth of the Timber Kill.
where, as he says in his diary form
erly lived some families of the West
India Company He found the fort
Nassau, in possession of the natives
who wanted to barter furs. Having
suspicious of treachery from seeing
some of them wearing English Jackets
De Vries thought it safest to not
comply with their opportunities to &C
ashore, but allowed them to bring furs
on board his vessel, under the vigil
ant watch of his armed crew. Find
ing, however, that they were becoming
insolent and aggressive, be ordered
them ashore, under threat of beng
fired upon. Sullenly and tardily, they
obeyed his orders, but afterward they
sought to induce him to enter and
proceed some distance up the creek.
By some means not stated in the
narrative of De Vries, an Indian wo
man warned him against the designs
of her people, and through her kindly
Offices, he narrowly escaped their per
ffdy. She told him under the promise
of a suit of cloth, that vessels crew
had been murdered there but year OF
two before.
This act of interposition was but an
other instance of the spontaneous sym.
pathy and kindly impulses of the
young girl Pocohontas, shielding her
patron and benefactor, Captain John
Smith from threatened death in the
Virginia wilds of the Chicahominy
The circumstance furnished the
groundwork Of the well told story OF
Yaconsta9 which appeared many years
ago in Leslie's Magazine. The design
of the plotters was to lecoy De Vries
and his crew some distance into the
creek above the fort, where the stream
was narrow, under pretence of furnish
from the high banks.
Coan altar fhic nnicndp Csonfo;v M,