Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-04-28

ssFerkens or Varlins kip Gin English
Hogs Creek is. now Salem creek and
the ''Narraticens' Kill'' is our own Rae
coon creek; and you will the better under
stand the instructions given to the COVER
nor as to his dealings with the Jersey side
of the Delaware river. / quote from sec
tion six. Recently, and in the year last
past t-yiz. 1641-seyeral English families
probably amounting to sixty persons in
all, have settled and begun to build and
cultivate the land elsewhere, namely upon
the East side of the said river on a little
stream called "Ferkens' Kil;;v then the
claim is made that the Swedes have bought
all this territory from the wild inhabitants
OF the land, and he is told further This
purchase the Governor, shall always. with
all his power, keep intact, and thus bring
their families under the jurisdiction and
governments of her royal majesty and the
Swedish Crown.n 1t is intimated that
there is reason to suppose that they may be
willing, but however that may be the
Governor is to seek to bring those English
under the government of the Swedish
crown, and they might also
with good reason be driven out and away
from said place" :" So much for the poor
English settlers about Salem creek who
were to submit themselves or be driven out
there is good deal more, but this is
sufficient for our purpose. Like all their
breed they were pretty good stickers and
they are about Salem creek to this day.
But this was small thing. | do not find
that there was ever any real trouble be-
tween the Swedes and English. 1t was the
Dutch or H0llanders that Governor Printz
had to deal with. They claimed every
thing from New York to Cape Henlopen,
and the poor governor was urged to be very
strenuous in dealing with them. Her
Royal Majesty places it in the Governors
discretion to meet such vexations in the
first instance with kind admonitions, but il
these are not effective then with severity. =
It would be almost laughable if it were not
pathetic Governor Printz had no military
force, and the colonists were almost alto
gether agriculturalists, so thar it was
utterly impossible for him to stand out
long against the Dutch, much less treat
them with severity. 1t must not be
4l,r,e~4 J,ox1,-y 4I,ot I;c x,y,s
altogether or even mainly occupied with
these warlike matters. There is great
deal that is very wise about economic ques-
tiens; the culture and export of tobacco
better arrangements for improving the
breeds of cattle and sheep; the possibility
Of salt works, and the making OF wine.
He was also to make careful search for
metals and minerals, and look into the
kinds of timber, and see whether oil might
not be preftably pressed out Of the wal
nuts. The establishment Of fisheries and
possibly the breeding of silkworms and con-
sequent manufacture of silk, ETC., is also
commended to his attention. OF course
some of these things were impracticable,
and others had to be postponed until more
propitious times; but it all shows what
manner Of people these were. They were
not bent upon destruction, either Of their
fellow creatures or Of their works, but
rather upon increasing the means of COM
fort and happiness; and ipst therein have
they been valuable element in the steady
upbuilding Of the land they settled. 1t
was inevitable that the colony, as an ap
panage Of Sweden, should come to an early
end Who was right and who was wrong,
Swede or Hollander, we shall not pretend
to determine. Both claimed original
right to the territory, and the historian Of
each claims, as is natural, that his people
only were honest and the others set Of
robbers. After Governor Prints arrival
he and the Dutch Governor of New Am
sterdam both went to work building forts
here and there to overawe and circumyent
each other. Among other places selected
by the Dutch for defence and defiance was
sSandhuk,n now Newcastle, Delaware,
where they built Fort Casimer. This was
very serious matter for the Swedes and 50
Governor Printz built a fort lower down
and on this side Of the river. Acrelius says
ITO remedy the injury which the Holland
er inflicted by Fort Casimer, Governor
Printz erected upon the place called
WoOtsessung Sing Hog creek, now Salem
creek, as we noted before) another Swedish
Fort, which be called Elfsborg 7
: from this was fred Swedish sa-
lutte upon the arrival Of Swedish, ships.
But its principal object was to search the
Holland ships which came before il, and
(which stuck very hard in their navy to
make them lower their flag. Well we
should think it would stick in their nav,
for remember Holland had been the great
aoe ,,1,sx,or r,.J z,ax-+ &,. Ts...~I... = - =.