(©lb ^outl) Heafletsf. 
 
 Description of 
 
 the New 
 Netherlands. 
 
 ^a 69. 
 
 By Adrian Van der Donck. 
 
 A Description of the New Netherlands (as the same are at the 
 Present Time) ; comprehending the Fruitfulness and Nat- 
 ural Advantages of the Country, and the Desirable Oppor« 
 tunities which it presents, within itself, and from abroad, 
 FOR the Subsistence of Man ; which are not Surpassed Else- 
 where. 1655. 
 
 This country is situated in the New American World, be» 
 ginning north of the Equinoctial Line, 38 deg. and 53 min., ex- 
 tending north-easterly along the sea-coast to the 42 d deg., and 
 is named New-Netherlands, by the Nether landers, for reasons 
 to be related hereafter ; lying in the latitude of Sardinia and 
 Corsica, in the Mediterranean Sea, and of Spain and France 
 along the Ocean; the South River* corresponding exactly with 
 the Flemish Islands, with the rivers of Lisbon, with the south 
 point of the Island of Sardinia, and of the FnnctH?n Meridionale'\ 
 of the Orientals, reckoning an easterly course from the Canary 
 Islands by west, upon the 316th degree, or counting due west 
 44 degrees from the Punctum Meridionale, whereon we hold 
 the Canary Islands, being 660 miles, corresponding with Cape 
 Mesuratta on the Barbary coast in Africa, in the kingdom of 
 Tripoli, and with Cape Spartivento, being the uttermost corner 
 of Italy against the Mediterranean Sea. New-Netherlands is 
 
 •The river Delaware. 
 
 t The Punctum MeridianaU of the Orientals is probably the meridian assumed by Ptol- 
 
 S, which passed through the farthest of the Canary Islands. The Dutch geographetS 
 mariners pitched upon the Peak of Teneriffe for their meridian. 
 
 Where New- Netherlands is situated. 
 
2 
 
 a fine, acceptable, healthy, extensive, and agreeable country, 
 wherein all people can more easily gain a competent support 
 than in the Netherlands, or in any other quarter of the globe 
 which is known to me or which I have visited. 
 
 Whe?ij and by ivhom^ Neto-Netherlands was first discovered. 
 
 This country was first found and discovered in the year of 
 our Lord 1609 ; when, at the cost of the incorporated East 
 India Company, a ship named the Half-Moon was fitted out to 
 discover a westerly passage to the kingdom of China. This 
 ship was commanded by Hendrick Hudson, as captain and 
 supercargo, who was an Englishman by birth, and had resided 
 many years in Holland, during which he had been in the em- 
 ployment of the East India Company. This ship sailed from 
 the Canary Islands, steering a course north by west ; and, after 
 sailing twenty days with good speed, land was discovered, 
 which, by their calculation, lay 320 degrees by west. On ap- 
 proaching the land, and observing the coast and shore conven- 
 ient, they landed, and examined the country as well as they 
 could at the time, and as opportunity offered ; from which they 
 were well satisfied that no Christian people had ever been 
 there before, and that they were the first who by Providence 
 had been guided to the discovery of the country. 
 
 Why this Coimtry is called New-Netherlands. 
 
 We have before related that the Netherlanders, in the year 
 1609, had first discovered this country, of which they took pos- 
 session as their own in right of their discovery, and finding the 
 country fruitful and advantageously situated, possessing good 
 and safe havens, rivers, fisheries, and many other worthy ap- 
 purtenances corresponding with the Netherlands, or in truth 
 excelling the same ; for this good reason it was named New- 
 Netherlands, being as much as to say, another or a new-found 
 Netherlands. Still the name depended most upon the first dis- 
 covery, and upon the corresponding temperatures of the cli- 
 mates of the two countries, which to strangers is not so observ- 
 able. We notice also that the French in the same quarter of 
 the new world have named their territory Canada or Nova 
 Francia, only because they were the first Europeans who pos- 
 sessed the lands in those parts, for the temperature of the cli- 
 
3 
 
 mate is so cold and wintry that the snow commonly lies on the 
 earth four or five m.onths in succession and from four to five 
 feet deep, which renders it costly to keep domestic animals 
 there ; and, although this country lies no farther than fifty de- 
 grees north, still the air in winter is so fine, clear, and sharp 
 there that when the snow once falls, which it commonly does 
 about the first of December, it does not thaw away except by 
 the power of the sun in April. If a shower of rain happens to 
 fall in winter (which is seldom), then it forms a hard crust on 
 the surface of the snow, that renders the traveUing difficult for 
 man and beast. The air there is clear and dry, and the snow 
 seldom melts or thaws away suddenly. 
 
 The Swedes also have a possession on the south (Delaware) 
 river, which they name New- Sweden. The climate of this 
 place by no means corresponds with that of Sweden, as it lies 
 in latitude 39 degrees north. But, although they have formed 
 a settlement there, still their title is disputed, for they can 
 show no legal right or claim to their possessions. 
 
 The country having been first found or discovered by the 
 Netherlanders, and keeping in view the discovery of the same, 
 it is named the New-Nerherlands. That this country was first 
 found or discovered by the Netherlanders is evident and clear 
 from the fact that the Indians or natives of the land, many of 
 whom are still living, and with whom I have conversed, declare 
 freely that before the arrival of the Lowland ship, the Half- 
 Moon, in the year 1609, they (the natives) did not know that 
 there were any other people in the world than those who were 
 like themselves, much less any people who dift'ered so much in 
 appearance from them as we did. Their men on the breasts 
 and about the mouth were bare, and their women, like ours, 
 hairy ; going unclad and almost naked, particularly in summer, 
 while we are always clothed and covered. When some of them 
 first saw our ship approaching at a distance, they did not know 
 what to think about her, but stood in deep and solemn amaze- 
 ment, wondering whether it were a ghost or apparition, coming 
 down from heaven, or from hell. Others of them supposed her 
 to be a strange fish or sea monster. When they discovered 
 men on board, they supposed them to be more like devils than 
 human beings. Thus they differed about the ship and men. 
 A strange report was also spread about the country concerning 
 our ship and visit, which created great astonishment and sur- 
 prise amongst the Indians. These things we have frequently 
 
4 
 
 heard them declare, which we hold as certain proof that the 
 Netherlanders were the first finders or discoverers and pos- 
 sessors of the New-Netherlands. There are Indians in the 
 country, who remember a hundred years, and, if there had been 
 any other people here before us, they would have known some- 
 thing of them, and, if they had not seen them themselves, they 
 would have heard an account of them from others. There are 
 persons who believe that the Spaniards have been here many 
 years ago, when they found the climate too cold to their liking, 
 and again left the country ; and that the maize or Turkish 
 corn and beans found among the Indians were left with them 
 by the Spaniards. This opinion or belief is improbable, as we 
 can discover nothing of the kind from the Indians. They say 
 that their corn and beans were received from the southern Ind- 
 ians, who received their seed from a people who resided still 
 farther south, which may well be true, as the Castilians have 
 long since resided in Florida. The maize may have been 
 among the Indians in the warm climate long ago. However, 
 our Indians say that they did eat roots and the bark of trees 
 instead of bread, before the introduction of Indian corn or 
 maize. 
 
 The Netherlanders the First Possessors of New- 
 Netherland. 
 
 Although the possession and title which the Netherlanders 
 have to New-Netherlands are amply treated of in their length 
 and breadth, in the Representation of the Commofialty^ and little 
 more can be said in relation to them unless access be had to 
 the Registers of the Honorable West India Company, we will 
 nevertheless, touch upon them briefly, en passant. When this 
 country was first discovered by the Netherlanders in the year 
 1609, and it was told them by the natives that they were the 
 first Christian explorers in that region, they took possession of 
 it in the name and on behalf of their High Mightinesses, the 
 Lords of the States-General of the United Netherlands, first in 
 the South Bay at Cape Hinloopen, which they so called at that 
 time, and which still retains that name ; and so all along the 
 coast and up the rivers, giving names to the different places as 
 far as the great North River, a great distance up which they 
 sailed, and which some of the English will still call Hudson's 
 River, but which was then named Mauritius River after Prince 
 
5 
 
 Maurice, who at that time was governor in Netherland ; from 
 whence they sailed further along till they went beyond Cape 
 Cod, of which they also took possession, and which they 
 named New Holland. And our Netherlanders have sailed 
 there and traded at the same places thus taken into possession 
 from time to time since then, until the charter was granted to 
 the West Indian Company, when they passed under its juris- 
 diction. And although before we had there in our favor the 
 circumstances of fifty families and cattle, yet since the year 
 1622 several forts have been built, farms and plantations 
 taken up, much of the land bought of the natives, and then 
 tokens of possession shown as is to be seen at length in the 
 Represejitation of the Commonalty of New-Netherland^ to which 
 we refer the curious reader. It is therefore unusual, unhand- 
 some, and unreasonable for any other nation to assert title or 
 jurisdiction over these places or over those situated between 
 such as were first discovered by the Netherlanders. 
 
 Of the Limits of the New-Netherlands^ afid how far the 
 Sa?ne extefid. 
 
 New-Netherlands is bounded by the ocean or great sea, 
 which separates Europe from America, by New-England and 
 the Fresh (Connecticut) river, in part by the river of Canada, 
 (the St. Lawrence), and by Virginia. Some persons who are 
 not well informed name all North-America Virgi?iia^ because 
 Virginia from her tobacco trade is well known. These circum- 
 stances, therefore, will be observed as we progress, as admoni- 
 tions to the readers. The coast of New-Netherlands extends 
 and stretches mostly north-east and south-west. The sea-shore 
 is mostly formed of pure sand, having a dry beach. On the 
 south side, the country is bounded by Virginia. Those boun- 
 daries are not yet well defined, but in the progress of the set- 
 tlement of the country the same will be determined without 
 difficulty. On the north-east the New-Netherlands abut upon 
 New- England, where there are differences on the subject of 
 boundaries which we wish were well settled. On the north, 
 the river of Canada stretches a considerable distance, but to 
 the north-west it is still undefined and unknown. Many of our 
 Netherlanders have been far into the country, more than 
 seventy or eighty miles from the river and sea-shore. We also 
 frequently trade with the Indians, who come more than ten 
 
6 
 
 and twenty days' journey from the interior, and who have been 
 farther off to catch beavers, and they know of no Hmits to the 
 country, and, when spoken to on the subject, they deem such 
 enquiries to be strange and singular. Therefore we may 
 safely say that we know not how deep or how far we extend 
 inland. There are, however, many signs, which indicate a great 
 extent of country, such as the land winds, which domineer 
 much, with severe cold, the multitudes of beavers and land 
 animals which are taken, and the great numbers of water-fowl, 
 Avhich fly to and fro across the country in the spring and fall 
 seasons. From these circumstances we judge that the land ex- 
 tends several hundred miles into the interior. Therefore, the 
 extent and greatness of this province are still unknown. 
 
 Of the Forelands and Sea-havens. 
 
 The coast of New-Netherlands extends south-west and north- 
 east, as before mentioned, and is mostly clean and sandy, dry- 
 ing naturally; and, although the bare, bleak, and open sea 
 breaks on the beach, still there is good anchorage in almost 
 every place, because of the clean, sandy bottom. There sel- 
 dom are severe gales from the sea, except from the south-east, 
 with the spring tides. When the winds blow from the north- 
 west, which domineer the strongest, then there is an upper or 
 windward shore, with smooth water and little danger. For 
 those reasons, the coast is as convenient to approach at all 
 seasons as could be desired. The highlands, which are natu- 
 rally dry, may be seen far at sea, and give timely warning. 
 
 The forelands are generally double, and in some places 
 broken into islands (affording convenient situations for the 
 keeping of stock), which would lead seamen to suppose, on 
 approaching the shore, that the same were the main land, 
 when the same are islands and forelands, within which lie 
 large meadows, bays, and creeks, affording convenient navi- 
 gable passages, and communications between places. 
 
 It has pleased God to protect against the raging sea those 
 parts of the coast which have no double foreland, with natural 
 barriers of firm, strong, and secure stone foundations, that 
 preserve the coast from the inundations of the mighty ocean 
 (which are ever to be feared), where the coast, if not thus pro- 
 tected, might be lessened and destroyed ; particularly the near- 
 est sea lands, against which the sea acts with most violence. 
 
/ 
 
 7 
 
 Nature has secured those positions with firm, high, and accom- 
 modated rocky heads and cliffs, which are as perfect forma- 
 tions as the arts and hands of man, with great expense, could 
 make the same. 
 
 There are many and different sea-havens in the New-Nether- 
 lands, a particular description of which would form a work 
 larger than we design this to be. We will therefore briefly 
 notice this subject, and leave the same for the consideration of 
 mariners and seamen. Beginning at the south and terminating 
 at Long Island, first comes Godyn's bay, or the South (Dela- 
 ware) bay, which was the first discovered. This bay lies in 
 39 degrees north latitude, being six (Dutch) miles wide and 
 nine miles long, and having several banks or shoals, but still 
 possessing many advantages ; convenient and safe anchorages 
 for ships, with roomy and safe harbours. Here also is a good 
 whale fishery. Whales are numerous in the winter on the 
 coast and in the bay, where they frequently ground on the 
 shoals and bars ; but they are not as fat as the Greenland 
 whales. If, however, the fishery was well managed, it would 
 be profitable. After ascending the bay nine miles, it is termi 
 nated in a river, which we name the South river, to which we 
 will again refer hereafter, and pass on to the bay, wherein the 
 East and North rivers terminate, and wherein Staten Island 
 lies ; because the same is most frequented, and the country is 
 most populous, and because the greatest negotiations in trade 
 are carried on ..there; and also because it is situated in the 
 centre of the New-Netherlands. Hence it is named, quasi per 
 excellentiarn^ ''The Bay." But before we speak more at large 
 of this place, we will attend to the places, and their advantages, 
 which lie between this bay and the South bay. 
 
 Between those two bays, the coast, almost the whole dis- 
 tance, has double forelands, with many islands, which in some 
 places He two or three deep. Those forelands as well as the 
 islands are well situated for seaboard towns, and all kind of 
 fisheries, and also for the cultivation of grain, vineyards, and 
 gardening, and the keeping of stock, for which purposes the 
 land is tolerably good. Those lands are now mostly over- 
 grown with different kinds of trees and grape-vines ; having 
 many plums, hazel-nuts and strawberries, and much grass. 
 The waters abound with oysters, having many convenient 
 banks and beds where they may be taken. 
 
 Besides the many islands which lie between the aforesaid 
 
8 
 
 bays, many of which are highland, there are also several fine 
 bays and inland waters, which form good sea harbours for 
 those who are acquainted with the inlets and entrances to the 
 same, which at present are not much used ; particularly the 
 Bear-gat, Great and Little Egg Harbours, Barnegat, &c., 
 wherein the anchorages are safe and secure. But as New- 
 Netherlands is not yet well peopled, and as there are but few 
 Christians settled at those places, these harbours are seldom 
 used, unless the winds and weather render it necessary for 
 safety. 
 
 The before-mentioned bay, wherein Staten Island lies, is the 
 most famous, because the East and North rivers empty therein, 
 which are two fine rivers, and will be further noticed hereafter. 
 Besides those, there are several kills, inlets, and creeks, some 
 of which resemble small rivers, as the Raritan, Kill van Col, 
 Neuversinck, &c. Moreover, the said bay affords a safe and 
 convenient haven from all winds, wherein a thousand ships 
 may ride in safety inland. The entrance into the bay is rea- 
 sonably wide or roomy, without much danger, and easily found 
 by those who have entered the same, or are well instructed. 
 We can also easily, if the wind and tide suit, in one tide sail 
 and proceed from the sea to New-Amsterdam (which lies five 
 miles from the open sea), with the largest ships fully iaden ; 
 and in like manner proceed from New- Amsterdam to sea. But 
 the outward bound vessels usually stop at the watering-place 
 under Staten Island, to lay in a sufficient supply of wood and 
 water, which are easily obtained at that place. We also fre- 
 quently stop far in the bay behind Sand Point (Sandy Hook) 
 in waiting for the last passengers and letters, and to avail our- 
 selves of the wind and tide. 
 
 Along the sea-coast of Long Island there are also several 
 safe, commodious inlets for small vessels, which are not much 
 frequented by us. There also are many spacious inland bays, 
 from which, by the inlets (at full tide), the sea is easy of ac- 
 cess ; otherwise those are too shallow. The same also are not 
 much frequented by us. With population several of the places 
 would become important, which now, for brevity's sake, we 
 pass over. 
 
 Between Long Island and the main land there are through- 
 out many safe and convenient places for large and small ves- 
 sels, which may be occupied, if necessary. For in connection 
 with the whole river which is held by many to be a bay, there 
 
9 
 
 are in the main land and in the island opposite to the same 
 many safe bays, harbours, and creeks, which are but little 
 known to us, and which the English, by their deWces, have ap- 
 propriated. Although this subject is spoken of in the remon- 
 strances of the New-Netherlands, we will pass over it without 
 waking the sleepers^ and attend briefly to the most important 
 rivers, waters, and creeks. 
 
 Of the North River. 
 
 We have before noticed the name of this river, with the 
 population and advantages of the country ; and, inasmuch as a 
 particular and ample account of the same is preparing for pub- 
 lication, we will at once say that this river is the most famous, 
 and the country the most populous of any in the New-Nether- 
 lands. There are also several colonies settled, besides the city 
 of New- Amsterdam, on the island of Manhattan, where the 
 most of the trade of this river centres. The river carries flood 
 tides forty miles up the same.* Several fine creeks empty 
 into this river, such as the Great and Small Esopus kills, Kats 
 kill, Sleepy Haven kill, Colondonck's kill or Saw kill, Wap- 
 pincke's kill, &c. We can also pass from the North river be- 
 hind Manhattan island by the East river, without approaching 
 New- Amsterdam. This river still remains altogether in the 
 possession and jurisdiction of the Netherlanders, without being 
 invaded ; but, if the population did not increase and advance, 
 there would Oe great danger of its long continuation. This 
 river is rich in fishes : sturgeon, dunns, bass, sheep-heads, <S:c. 
 I cannot refrain, although somewhat out of place, to relate a 
 very singular occurrence, which happened in the month of 
 March, 1647, at the time of a great freshet caused by the fresh 
 Avater flowing down from above, by which the water of the river 
 became nearly fresh to the bay, Avhen at ordinary seasons the 
 salt water flows up from twenty to twenty-four miles from the 
 sea. At this season, two whales, of common size, swam up 
 the river fortv miles, from which place one of them returned 
 and stranded about twelve miles from the sea, near which 
 place four others also stranded the same year. The other run 
 farther up the river, and grounded near the great Chahoos falls, 
 about forty-three miles from the sea. This fish was tolerably 
 fat, for although the citizens of Rensselaerwyck broiled out a 
 
 •A Dutch mile is about three English miles. 
 
10 
 
 great quantity of train oil, still the whole river (the current 
 being still rapid) was oily for three weeks, and covered with 
 grease. As the fish lay rotting, the air was infected with its 
 stench to such a degree that the smell was offensive and per- 
 ceptible for two miles to leeward. For what purpose those 
 whales ascended the river so far, it being at the time full forty 
 miles from all salt or brackish water, it is difficult to say, 
 unless their great desire for fish, which were plenty at this 
 season, led them onward. 
 
 Forty-four miles from the sea this North river is divided. 
 One part by four sprouts ascends to the great falls of the 
 Maquas kill, which is named the Chahoos, of which we will 
 treat presently. The other part, which retains the name of the 
 North river, is navigable for boats several miles farther, and, 
 according to the information of the Indians, rises in a great 
 lake, from which the river of Canada also proceeds. This 
 should be the lake of the Jracoysen (lake Ontario), which is as 
 great as the Mediterranean Sea, being about forty miles wide, 
 when in the middle of the sea, no eye can see land or see over 
 it. The lake also has extensive reed and brook lands of great 
 breadth, wherein great multitudes of water-fowl breed in sum- 
 mer. When the Indians intend to cross this lake, they know 
 certain islands which lie therein, and proceed from one to an- 
 other by daylight, to the number of three or four, without 
 which they could not find their way over the same. This, 
 however, we relate on the information of the Indians. They 
 also assert that we can proceed in boats to the river of Can- 
 ada, which we deem, incredible. 
 
 The other arm of the North river runs by four sprouts (as 
 we have related) to the great falls of the Maquas kill (Mohawk 
 river), which the Indians name the Chahoos, and our nation 
 the Great Falls ; above which the river is again several hun- 
 dred yards wide, and the falls we estimate to be one hundred 
 and fifty or two hundred feet high.* The water glides over the 
 tails as smooth as if it ran over an even wall and fell over the 
 same. The precipice is formed of firm blue rock; near by and 
 below the falls there stand several rocks, which appear splendid 
 in the water, rising above it like high turf-heaps, apparently 
 from eight, sixteen, to thirty feet high ; very delightful to the 
 eye. This place is well calculated to exalt the fancy of the 
 poets. The ancient fabulous writers would, if they had been 
 
 *niis is careless guessing, tiie falls being seventy feet hiu;h. 
 
II 
 
 here, have exalted those works of nature, by the force of imag- 
 ination, into the most artful and elegant descriptive illusions. 
 The waters descend rapidly downwards from the falls, over a 
 stony bottom, skipping, foaming and whirling boisterously 
 about the distance of a gunshot or more, when it resumes an 
 even course, and flows downwards. We name this the Maquas 
 Kill, but still it is wider in most places than the Yssell of the 
 Netherlands. It, however, always runs one way ; is navigable 
 for boats, being tolerably deep and not rapid ; but it extends 
 above sixty miles, and runs through the Maquas and Senecas 
 countries to a lake, remaining boatable all the way. The river 
 passes through fine land, and abounds with fish. The Indians, 
 when they travel by water, and come to trade, usually come in 
 canoes made of the bark of trees, which they know how to 
 construct. When they come near the falls, they land, and 
 carry their boats and their lading, some distance below the 
 falls, and proceed on their voyage ; otherwise they would be 
 driven over the falls and destroyed. An occurrence of this 
 kind took place here in our time. An Indian, whom I have 
 known, accompanied by his wife and child, with sixty beaver 
 skins, descended the river in his canoe, in the spring, when 
 the water runs rapid and the current is strongest, for the pur- 
 pose of selling his beaver to the Netherlanders. This Indian 
 carelessly approached too near to the falls, before he discov- 
 ered his danger, and, notwithstanding his utmost exertion to 
 gain the land, his frail bark with all on board was swept over 
 by the rapid current and down the falls ; his wife and child 
 were killed, his bark shattered to pieces, his cargo of furs 
 damaged. But his life was preserved. I have frequently seen 
 the Indian, and hav^i heard him relate the perilous occurrence 
 or adventure. 
 
 Of the Fresh River {Connecticut River). 
 
 This river is called the Fresh river, because it aft'ords more 
 fresh water than many other rivers. It has advantageous navi- 
 gable situations. It also has finely situated land, and the 
 country affords a tolerably good fur trade. But as this river 
 with its advantages is mostly in the occupancy of the English 
 nation, to the injury and disadvantage of the Hon. the U'est 
 India Company, which they continue to occupy, whereby th^ 
 company is injured every year, it will be painful to us to re- 
 capitulate the subject, as the same is stated in the remon- 
 
12 
 
 strance of the New-Netherlanders, where we leave the matter 
 and pass to the East river. 
 
 Of the East River, 
 
 This river is thus named because it extends eastward from 
 the city of New-Amsterdam. By some this river is held to be 
 an arm of the sea, or a bay, because it is very wide in some 
 places, and because both ends of the same are connected with 
 and empty into the ocean. This subtility notwithstanding, we 
 adopt the common opinion, and hold it to be a river. Be it 
 then a river or a bay, as men may please to name it, still it is 
 one of the best, most fit, and most convenient places and most 
 advantageous accommodations which a country can possess or 
 desire, for the following reasons : Long Island, which is 
 about forty miles in length, makes this river. The river, and 
 most of the creeks, bays, and inlets joining the same, are navi- 
 gable in winter and in summer without much danger. This 
 river also affords a safe and convenient passage at all seasons 
 to those who desire to sail east or west ; and the same is most 
 used, because the outside passage is more dangerous. Most 
 of the English (of New- England) who wish to go south to Vir- 
 ginia, to South river, or to other southern places, pass through 
 this river, which brings no small traffic and advantage to the 
 city of New-Am.sterdam. This also causes the English to fre- 
 quent our harbours, to which they are invited for safety. 
 Lastly, this river is famous on account of its convenient bays, 
 inlets, havens, rivers, and creeks, on both sides, to wit, on the 
 side of Long Island and on the side of the fast or main land. 
 In the Netherlands, no such place is known. Of this and the 
 other rivers of New-Netherlands, enough has been said, in our 
 opinion, for this time and for our purpose. 
 
 Of the Formaiio?i, SoiV, and Appeara?ice of the Land. 
 
 We will now treat of the land, with its natural, superficial 
 appearance, beginning with the formations of the earth. Near 
 and along the ^ea-shores, the soil is light and sandy, with a 
 mixture of clay, which enriches the land. The productions 
 are different kinds of wood, various fruits and vegetables. 
 Barrens and sterile heath land are not here. The whole coun- 
 try has a waving surface, and in some places high hills and 
 
13 
 
 protruding mountains, particularly those named the Highlands, 
 which is a place of high, connected mountain land, about three 
 miles broad, extending in curved forms throughout the coun- 
 try ; separated in some places, and then again connected. 
 There also is much fine level land, intersected with brooks, 
 affording pasturage of great length and breadth, but mostly 
 along the rivers, and near the salt water side. Inland most of 
 the country is waving, with hills which generally are not steep, 
 but ascend gradually. We sometimes in travelling impercep- 
 tibly find ourselves on high, elevated situations, from which we 
 overlook large portions of the country. The neighbouring emi- 
 nence, the surrounding valleys, and the highest trees are over- 
 looked, and again lost in the distant space. Here our atten- 
 tion is arrested in the beautiful landscape around us, here the 
 painter can find rare and beautiful subjects for the employ- 
 ment of his pencil, and here also the huntsman is animated 
 when he views the enchanting prospects presented to the eyes ; 
 on the hills, at the brooks and in the valleys, where the game 
 abounds and where the deer are feeding, or gambolling or rest- 
 ing in the shades in full view. 
 
 The surface of the land generally is composed of a black 
 soil intermixed with clay, about a foot or a foot and a half 
 deep, in some places more, and in some less ; below the 
 stratum is white, reddish and yellow clay, which in some places 
 is mixed with sand, and in others with gravel and stones. 
 Here and there, large rocks and stones appear on the surface. 
 There are also hills of pure clay, but sand hills I have not 
 seen, except near the sea-shore, which have been cast up or 
 formed by the ocean. There also are very rocky places w^hich 
 our naturalists suppose abound in minerals. The mountains 
 and highlands are in some places tillable and fertile, the soil 
 being composed of clay intermixed with stone. Other parts 
 are composed of rocks, of various colours, but all overgrown 
 with wood, growing in the seams, rents, clefts, and ravines. 
 Such are the aspects of the mountains, the hills and inland 
 country. Near the rivers and water sides there are large ex- 
 tensive plains containing several hundred morgens ;* in one 
 place more and in another less, which are very convenient for 
 plantations, villages, and towns. There also are brookiands 
 and fresh and salt meadows ; some so extensive that the eye 
 cannot oversee the same. Those are good for pasturage and 
 
 * A morgeii is somewhat less than two acres. 
 
14 
 
 hay, although the same are overflowed by the spring tides, par- 
 ticularly near the seaboard. These meadows resemble the low 
 and out lands of the Netherlands. Most of them could be 
 dyked and cultivated. We also find meadow grounds far in- 
 land, which are all fresh and make good hayland. \\'here the 
 meadows are boggy and wet, such failings are easily remedied 
 by cutting and breaking the bogs in winter and letting off the 
 water in the spring. There also would be much more meadow 
 ground, but as the soil is natural for wood, and as the birds 
 and the winds carry the seeds in every direction, hence those 
 moist, low grounds are covered with timber and underwoods 
 which we call cripple bushes. The situations are curious to 
 behold where those lands are cleared and cultivated. They 
 are wonderfully fertile, which, in short, is the general quality of 
 such land, and of most of the places we have noticed. Thus 
 we tender to the kind reader the fruitfulness of this land, sub- 
 ject to his own judgment. I admit that I am incompetent to 
 describe the beauties, the grand and sublime works, wherewith 
 Providence has diversified this land. Our opinions are formed 
 by the eye alone, therefore we cannot do justice and give as- 
 surance to the heart. 
 
 Of the Fruit Trees brought over from the N'etherhmas. 
 
 The Netherland settlers, who are lovers of fruit, on observing 
 that the climate was suitable to the production of fruit trees, 
 have brought over and planted various kinds of apple and pear 
 trees, which thrive well. Those also grow from the seeds, of 
 which I have seen many, which, without grafting, bore delicious 
 fruit in the sixth year. The stocks may also be grafted when 
 the same are as large as thorns, which, being cut oft" near the 
 root and grafted, are then set into the ground, when the graft 
 also strikes root : otherwise the fruit is somewhat hard. But, 
 in general, grafting is not as necessary here as in the Nether- 
 lands, for most of the fruit is good without it, which there 
 would be harsh and sour or would not bear. The English have 
 brought over the first quinces, and we have also brought ov^er 
 stocks and seeds which thrive well. Orchard cherries thrive 
 well and produce large fruit. Spanish cherries, forerunners, 
 morella^s, of every kind we have, as in the Netherlands ; and 
 the trees bear better, because the blossoms are not injured by 
 the frosts. The peaches, which are sought after in the Nether- 
 
15 
 
 lands, grow wonderfully well here. If a stone is put into the 
 earth, it will spring in the same season, and grow so rapidly 
 as to bear fruit in the fourth year, and the limbs are frequently 
 broken by the weight of the peaches, which usually are very 
 fine. We have also introduced morecotoons (a kind of peach), 
 apricots, several sorts of the best plums, almonds, persimmons, 
 cornelian cherries, figs, several sorts of currants, gooseberries, 
 calissiens, and thorn apples ; and we do not doubt but that the 
 olive would thrive and be profiiable, but we have them not. 
 Although the land is full of many kinds of grapes, we still 
 want settings of the best kinds from Germany, for the purpose 
 of enabling our wine planters here to select the best kinds, and 
 to propagate the same. In short, every kind of fruit which 
 grows in the Netherlands is plenty already in the New-Nether- 
 lands, which have been introduced by the lovers of agriculture, 
 and the fruits thrive better here, particularly such kinds as re- 
 quire a warmer climate. 
 
 Of the Flowers. 
 
 The flowers in general which the Netherlanders have intro- 
 duced there are the white and red roses of different kinds, the 
 cornelian roses, and stock roses ; and those of which there 
 were none before in the country, such as eglantine, several 
 kinds of gillyflowers, jenoffelins, different varieties of fine 
 tulips, crown imperials, white lilies, the lily frutularia, anem- 
 ones, baredameSfv violets, marigolds, summer sots, &c. The 
 clove tree has also been introduced ; and there are several in- 
 digenous trees that bear handsome flowers, which are unknown 
 in the Netherlands. We also find there some flowers of native 
 growth, as, for instance, sunflowers, red and yellow lilies, moun- 
 tain lilies, morning stars, red, white, and yellow maritofties (a 
 very sweet flower), several species of bell flowers, &c. ; to 
 which I have not given particular attention, but amateurs 
 would hold them in high estimation, and make them widely 
 known. 
 
 Of the Agricultural Productions, 
 
 The pursuit of agriculture is not heavy and expensive there, 
 as it is in the Netherlands. First, because the fencing and en- 
 closing of the land does not cost much ; for, instead of the 
 Netherlands dykes and ditches, they set up post and rail, or 
 palisado fences, and when new clearings are made, they com- 
 
i6 
 
 monly have fencing timber enough on the land to remove, 
 which costs nothing but the labour, which is reasonably cheap 
 to those who have their own hands, and without domestic 
 labour very little can be effected. The land whereon there are 
 few standing trees, and which has been grubbed and ploughed 
 twice, we hold to be prepared for a crop of winter grain. For 
 summer grain one ploughing is sufficient. If it is intended to 
 sow the same field again with winter grain, then the stubble is 
 ploughed in, and the land is sowed with wheat or rye, which 
 in ordinary seasons will yield a fine crop. 
 
 I can affirm that during my residence of nine years in the 
 country I have never seen land manured, and it is seldom 
 done. The land is kept in order by tillage, which is often 
 done to keep down weeds and brush, but for which it would 
 have rest. Some persons (which I also hold to be good 
 management), when their land becomes foul and weedy, break 
 it up and sow the same with peas, because a crop of peas 
 softens the land and makes it clean ; but most of the land is 
 too rich for peas, which when sown on the same grow so rank 
 that the crop falls and rots on the land. Some of the land 
 must be reduced by cropping it with wheat and barley, before 
 it is proper to sow the same with peas. We have frequently 
 seen the straw of wheat and barley grow so luxuriant that the 
 crops yielded very little grain. 
 
 I deem it worthy of notice that with proper attention, in or- 
 dinary seasons, two ripe crops of peas can be raised on the 
 same land in one season, in the New-Netherlands. It has fre- 
 quently been done in the following manner, viz. The first 
 crop was sown in the last of March or first of April, which will 
 ripen about the first of July ; the crop is then removed, and the 
 land ploughed, and sowed again with peas of the first crop. 
 The second crop will ripen ift September, or about the first of 
 October, when the weather is still fine and warm. The same 
 can also be done with buckwheat, which has frequently been 
 proved ; but the first crop is usually much injured by finches 
 and other birds, and, as wheat and rye are plenty, therefore 
 there is very little buckwheat sown. The maize (Indian corn) 
 is carefully attended to, and is sufficient to the wants of the 
 country. 
 
 The Turkey wheat, or maize, as the grain is named, many 
 persons suppose to be the same kind of grain which Jesse sent 
 parched by his son David to his other sons of the army of 
 
17 
 
 Israel. This is a hardy grain, and is fit for the sustenance ot 
 man and animals. It is easily cultivated and will grow in al- 
 most every kind of land. . . . After a corn crop is gathered, 
 the land may be sowed with winter grain in the fall without 
 previous ploughing. When this is intended, the corn is gath- 
 ered, the stalks are pulled . up and burnt, the hills levelled, 
 and the land sown and harrowed smooth and level. Good 
 crops are raised in this manner. I have seen rye sown as 
 before described, which grew so tall that a man of common 
 size would bind the ears together above his head, which yielded 
 seven and eight schepels^^ Amsterdam measure, per vm of io8 
 sheaves, of which two vins made a wagon load. 
 
 The Rev. Johannis Megapolensis, Junior, minister of the 
 colony of Rensselaerwyck, in certain letters which he has writ- 
 ten to his friends, which were printed (as he has told me) with- 
 out his consent, but may be fully credited, — he being a man of 
 truth and of great learning, who writes in a vigorous style, — 
 states, with other matters, that a certain farmer had cropped 
 one field with wheat eleven years in succession, which to many 
 persons will seem extraordinary, and may not be credited. 
 Still it is true, and the residents of the place testify to the 
 same, and they add that this same land was ploughed but 
 twelve times in the eleven seasons, — twice in the first year, 
 and once in every succeeding year, when the stubble was 
 ploughed in, the wheat sown and harrowed under. I owned 
 land adjoining the land referred to, and have seen the eleventh 
 crop, which was tolerably good. The man who did this is 
 named Brandt Pelen : he was born in the district of Utrecht, 
 and at the time was a magistrate (schepen) of the colony of 
 Rensselaerwyck. We acknowledge that this relation appears 
 to be marvellous, but in the country it is not so, for there are 
 many thousand morge?is of as good land there as the land of 
 which we have spoken. 
 
 During the period when I resided in the New-Netherlands, 
 a certain honorable gentleman, named John Everts Bout (who 
 was recommended to the colonists by their High Mightinesses, 
 &c.), laid a wager that he could raise a crop of barley on a field 
 containing seven morgens of land, which would grow so tall in 
 every part of the field that the ears could easily be tied to- 
 gether above his head. I went to see the field of barley, and 
 found that the straw, land by land, was from six to seven feet 
 
 ♦A schej>€l b three pecks English. 
 
i8 
 
 high, and very little of it any shorter. It has also been stated 
 to me as a fact that barley has frequently been raised, al- 
 though not common, which yielded eleven scJiepel^ Amsterdam 
 measure, per vin of io8 sheaves. Therefore, all persons who 
 are acquainted with the New-Netherlands judge the country 
 to be as well adapted for the cultivation of grain as any part 
 of the world which is known to the Netherlanders, or is in their 
 possession. 
 
 With the other productions of the land we must include to- 
 bacco, which is also cultivated in the country, and is, as well 
 as the maize, well adapted to prepare the land for other agri- 
 cultural purposes, which also, with proper attention, grows fine, 
 and yields more profit. Not only myself, but hundreds of 
 others, have raised tobacco the leaves of which were three- 
 fourths of a yard long. The tobacco raised here is of different 
 kind, but principally of the Virginia kind, from which it differs 
 little in flavour, although the Virginia is the best. Still it does 
 not differ so much in quality as in price. Next to the Virginia 
 it will be the best ; many persons esteem it better, and give it 
 a preference. It is even probable that when the people ex- 
 tend the cultivation of the article, and more tobacco is planted, 
 that it will gain more reputation and esteem. Many persons 
 are of opinion that the defect in flavour arises from the new- 
 ness of the land, and hasty cultivation, which will gradually be 
 removed. 
 
 Barley grows well in the country, but it is not much needed. 
 Cummin seed, canary seed, and the like, have been tried, and 
 Commander Minuit testifies that those articles succeed w^ell, 
 but are not sought after. Flax and hemp will grow fine, but 
 as the women do not spin much, and the Indians have hemp 
 in abundance in the woods from which they make strong ropes 
 and nets, for these reasons very little flax is raised ; but the 
 persons who do sow the seed find that the land is of the 
 proper quality for such articles. 
 
 Of the Seasons. 
 
 The changes of the year, and the calculations of time, are 
 observed as in the Netherlands ; and although these countries 
 differ much in their situations in south latitude, still they do not 
 differ much in the temperature of cold and heat. But, to dis- 
 criminate more accurately, it should be remarked that the win 
 
19 
 
 ters usually terminate with the month of February, at New-Am- 
 sterdam, which is the chief place and centre of the New- 
 Netherlands. Then the spring or Lent-like weather begins. 
 Some persons calculate from the 21st of March, new style, after 
 which it seldom freezes, nor before this does it seldom summer ; 
 but at this season a change evidently begins. The fishes then 
 leave the bottom ground, the buds begin to swell ; the grass 
 sprouts, and in some places the cattle are put to grass in 
 March ; in other situations they wait later, as the situations 
 and soils vary. The horses and working cattle are not turned 
 out to grass until May, when the grass is plenty everywhere. 
 April is the proper month for gardening. Later the farmers 
 should not sow summer grain, unless they are not ready; it 
 may be done later, and still ripen. 
 
 Easterly winds and stormy weather are common in the 
 spring, which then cause high tides ; but they cannot produce 
 high floods. The persons who desire to explore and view the 
 country have the best opportunity in April and May. The 
 grass and herbage at this season causes no inconvenience in 
 the woods, and still there is grass enough for horses. The 
 cold has not overcome the heat produced by the wood burn- 
 ings, and the ground which has been burnt over is yet bare 
 enough for inspection. The flowers are then in bloom, and the 
 woods are fragrant with their perfume. In the middle of May, 
 strawberries are always plenty in the fields, where they grow 
 naturally ; they are seldom planted in the gardens, but there, 
 in warm situations, they are earlier. When the warm weather 
 sets in, then vegetation springs rapidly. It is so rapid as to 
 change the fields from nakedness to green in eight or ten days. 
 There are no frosts, in May, or they are very uncommon, as 
 then it is summer. The winter grain is in full blossom. The 
 summer may be said to begin in May, but it really is calcu- 
 lated from the first of June, and then the weather is frequently 
 very warm, and there is seldom much rain. Still there are no 
 extremes of wet and dry weather, and we may freely say that 
 the summers are always better in the New-Netherlands than 
 in Holland. ... 
 
 Now when the summer progresses finely, the land rewards 
 the labor of the husbandman ; the flowers smile on his counte- 
 nance ; the fishes sport in their element, and the herds play in 
 the fields, as if no reverses were to return. But the tobacco, 
 and the fruit of the vines, come in in September. There is 
 plenty here for man and the animal creation. 
 
20 
 
 The days are not so long in summer, nor so short in winter^ 
 as they are in Holland. Their length in summer, and their 
 shortness in winter, differ about an hour and a half. It is 
 found that this difference in the length of the days causes no 
 inconvenience ; the days in summer are long and warm enough 
 for those who are inclined to labour, and do it from necessity ; 
 and for those who eek diversion. The winters pass by with- 
 out becoming tedious. The reasons for this, and the objections 
 tliereto, we leave to the learned, as we deem the subject not 
 worthy of our inquiry. The received opinion on this subject 
 is that the difference in the length of the days and nights 
 arises from the difference of latitude of the New-Netherlands 
 and Holland. The former lies nearer the equinoctial line, and 
 nearer the centre of the globe. As they differ in length, so 
 also they differ in twilight. When it is mid-day in Holland, it 
 is morning in the New-Netherlands. On this subject there are 
 also different opinions. Most men say that the New-Netherlands 
 lay so much farther to the west that its situation causes this 
 variation; others go further, and dispute the roundness of the 
 globe. As the creation of the world is connected with this 
 subject, which none will deny, and as the difference in the ap- 
 pearance of the eclipses supports the truth of the first position 
 of the roundness of the globe, therefore the other position ap- 
 pears to be unsupported. 
 
 The autumns in the New-Netherlands are very fine, lovely, 
 and agreeable ; more delightful cannot be found on the earth ; 
 not only because the summer productions are gathered, and the 
 earth is then yielding its surplusage, but also because the sea- 
 son is so well tempered with heat and cold as to appear like 
 the month of May, except that on some mornings there will be 
 frost, which by ten o'clock will be removed by the ascending 
 sun. ... In short the autumns in the New-Netherlands are as 
 fine as the summers of Holland, and continue very long ; for 
 below the highlands, towards the sea-coast, the winter does not 
 set in or freeze much before Christmas, the waters remaining 
 open, the v/eather fine, and in many places the cattle grazing 
 in the fields. Above the highlands, advancing northerly, the 
 weather is colaer, the fresh waters freeze, the stock is shel- 
 tered, the kitchens are provided, and all things are put in order 
 for the winter. The fat oxen and swine are slaughtered. The 
 wild geese, turkeys, and deer are at their best in this season, 
 and easiest obtained, because of the cold, and because the 
 
21 
 
 woods are now burnt over, and the brushwood and herbage out 
 of the way. This is also the Indian hunting season, wherein 
 such great numbers of deer are killed that a person who is un- 
 informed of the vast extent of the country would imagine that 
 all these animals would be destroyed in a short time. But 
 the country is so extensive, and their subsistence so abundant, 
 and the hunting being confined mostly to certain districts, 
 therefore no diminution of the deer is observable. The Ind- 
 ians also affirm that before the arrival of the Christians, and 
 before the small-pox broke out amongst them, they were ten 
 times as numerous as they now are, and that their population 
 had been melted down by this disease, whereof nine-tenths of 
 them have died. That then, before the arrival of the Chris- 
 tians, many more deer were killed than there now are, without 
 any perceptible decrease of their numbers. 
 
 We will now notice the winters of the New-Netherlands, 
 which are different at different places. Above the highlands, 
 towards Rensselaerwyck, and in the interior places extending 
 towards New-England (which we still claim), there the winters 
 are colder and last longer than at New-Amsterdam, and other 
 places along the sea-coast, or on Long Island, and on the 
 South river (Delaware). At the latter places, there seldom is 
 any hard freezing weather before Christmas, and although 
 there may be some cold nights, and trifling snows, still it does 
 not amount to much, for during the day it is usually clear 
 weather. But at Rensselaerwyck the winters begin earlier, as 
 in 1645, when the North river closed on the 25th day of No- 
 vember, and remained frozen very late. Below the highlands 
 and near the sea-coast, as has been observed, it never begins 
 to freeze so early, but the cold weather usually keeps off until 
 about Christmas, and frequently later, before the rivers are 
 closed ; and then they frequently are so full of drifting ice dur- 
 ing the north-west winds as to obstruct the navigation ; and, 
 whenever the wind shifts to the south or south-east, the ice 
 decays, and the rivers are open and clear. . . , 
 
 It is strange and worthy of observation, and surpasses all 
 reasoning, that in the New-Netherlands, without or with but 
 iittle wind (for when the weather is coldest, there seldom is 
 much wind), although it lies in the latitude of Spain and Italv, 
 and the summer heat is similar, that the winters should be so 
 much colder as to render useless all the plants and herbs which 
 grow in those countries, which will not endure the cold weather. 
 
22 
 
 The winter weathei iS dry and cold, and we find that the pel- 
 tries and feltings are prior and better than the furs of Mus- 
 covy. For this difference several reasons are assigned, which 
 we will relate, without controverting any, except in remarking 
 that in most cases wherein many different reasons are assigned 
 to establish a subject, all are frequently discredited. Some say 
 that the New-Netherlands lie so much further west on the 
 globe, and that this causes the difference ; others who compare 
 the summer heat with Spain and Italy deny this position ; 
 others declare that the globe is not round, and that the country 
 lies in a declining position from the sun. Others assert that 
 the last discovered quarter of the world is larger than the other 
 parts, and ask, if the world formerly was considered round, how 
 that theory can be supported now, when about one-half is added 
 to it ? Some also say that the higher a country is situated, the 
 colder it is. Now, say they, the New-Netherlands lie in a 
 high westerly position ; ergo^ it must be cold there in winter, 
 and as warm in summer. Many remark, and with much plausi- 
 bility also, that the country extends northerly many hundred 
 miles to the frozen ocean, and is accessible by Davis Straits 
 (which by some is doubted), and that the land is intersected 
 and studded by high mountains, and that the snow remains 
 lying on them and in the valleys, and seldom thaws away en- 
 tirely ; and that when the wind blows from and over those cold 
 regions, it brings cold with it. Receiving the cold from above 
 and from beneath (both being cold), it must of course follow 
 that the cold comes with the north-westerly winds. On the 
 contrary, they say that, whenever the wind blows from the 
 sea, if it be in the heat of the winter, then the weather be- 
 comes sultry and warm as in Lent. . . . 
 
 There is everywhere fuel in abundance, and to be obtained 
 for the expense of cutting and procuring the same. The super- 
 abundance of this country is not equalled by any other in the 
 world. The Indians do not clothe as we do, but. frequently go 
 half-naked and withstand the cold, in fashion, and fear it little. 
 They are never overcome with the cold, or injured by it. In 
 bitter cold weather, they will not pursue their customary pleas- 
 ures, particularly the women and the children ; for the men do 
 not care so much for the cold days in winter as they do for the 
 hot days in summer. 
 
23 
 
 Washington Irving's services for American history and for the study of 
 history among our people were scarcely less than his services for our gen- 
 eral literature, in which field his is the first great name. The lives of 
 Washington, Columbus, Mahomet, and Goldsmith, " The Conquest of 
 Granada," the " Spanish Papers," and so much besides witness to the wide 
 range of his historical activities; and everywhere — in Spain, in England, 
 and at home — it is with the historian's eye that he looks upon the world. 
 But above all other places New York was dear to him and is his debtor. 
 Her early history most stirred his imagination from first to last, and it was 
 fitting that his final home and his grave should be upon the banks of the 
 Hudson whose legends he did most to vivify. His early work, " Diedrich 
 Knickerbocker's History of New York," was a burlesque; but it had a 
 great effect in awakening interest in the early period of New York history. 
 Professor Jameson well surmises that the great amount of work which 
 the State government in the next generation did for the historical illustra- 
 tion of the Dutch period, through the researches of Mr. Brodhead in for- 
 eign archives, had this unhistorical little book for one of its principal 
 causes." Irving himself says that at the time he wrote his humorous book 
 few of his fellow-citizens were aware " that New York had ever been called 
 New Amsterdam or had heard of the names of its early Dutch governors 
 or cared a straw about their ancient Dutch progenitors." 
 
 " The main object of my work," says Irving, "had a bearing wide from 
 the sober aim of history. It was to embody the traditions of our city in 
 an amusing form ; to illustrate its local humors, customs, and peculiari- 
 ties; to clothe home scenes and places and familiar names with those 
 imaginative and whimsical associations so seldom met with in our new 
 country, but which live like charms and spells about the cities of the Old 
 World, binding the heart of the native inhabitant to his home." 
 
 " When I find, after a lapse of nearly forty years," he wrote at Sunnyside 
 in 1848, "this haphazard production of my youth still cherished among the 
 descendants of the Dutch worthies, when I find its very name become a 
 household word and used to give the home stamp to everything recom- 
 mended for popular acceptation, — such as Knickerbocker societies, Knick- 
 erbocker insurance companies, Knickerbocker steamboats, Knickerbocker 
 omnibuses, KnickerbockL,r bread, and Knickerbocker ice, — and when I 
 find New Yorkers of Dutch descent priding themselves upon being * genuine 
 Knickerbockers,' I please myself with the persuasion that I have struck the 
 right chord." 
 
 It will be remembered that when Diedrich Knickerbocker found his end 
 approaching he disposed of his worldly affairs, leaving to the city library his 
 Heidelberg Catechism and Adrian Van der Donck's famous account of the 
 New Netherland, " by the use of which he had profited greatly in his sec- 
 ond edition." Van der Donck's " Description of New Netherland " is the 
 most important work which has come down to us describing New York 
 in the early period ; and the selection from it published in the present leaf- 
 let is given in connection with the Old South lecture on Irving as one of 
 the best illustrations of the original documents among which Irving loved 
 to delve. 
 
 ** Jonker Adrian van der Donck, Doctor of Laws and advocate of the 
 Supreme Court of Holland, has done more to give to his contemporaries a 
 full knowledge of the country of his adoption than any other man. Sent 
 
34 
 
 over in 1642 as Schout (sheriff) of the Patroons* Colony of Rensselaerwyck, 
 he in 1647 left this service in consequence of a quarrel with the vice- 
 director, and purchased from the Indians the colony of Colen Donck, now 
 Yonkers (getting its name from his title), for which he received a patent in 
 1648," A controversy between Van der Donck and several other colonists 
 and the government led to a Remonstrance " published in Holland in 
 1650, doubtless the work of Van der Donck, which gives incidentally an 
 account of New Netherland and matters relating to its history, of high 
 value. A translation of this by Henry C. Murphy may be seen in the " New 
 York Historical Collections," second series, ii. 251. The " Description of 
 New Netherland " appeared in Amsterdam in 1655. A translation of the 
 entire work by General Jeremiah Johnson was published in the " New York 
 Historical Society Collections," 1841. The description of the country, a 
 large portion of which is given in the present leaflet, is followed by a long 
 and important section on the Indians, and by a discourse between a patriot 
 and a New Netherlander on the character of the new colony. 
 
 The best account of the original sources of information concerning New 
 Netherland is that by Berthold Fernow in the critical notes appended to his 
 chapter on New Netherland in the " Narrative and Critical History of the 
 United States," vol. iv. The great series of volumes of *' Documents re- 
 lating to the Colonial History of the State of New York " contains many 
 papers illustrating this early period. Mrs. Martha J. Lamb's " History of 
 the City of New York," and the " Memorial History of the City of New 
 York," edited by James Grant Wilson, are very complete upon the Dutch 
 period. There are m?ny histories of the State of New York. A good ac- 
 count of them may be found in the appendix to Elbridge S. Brooks's 
 " Story of New York," which is the best book for the young people. The 
 excellent volume in the " American Commonwealths " series is b) Ellis H. 
 Roberts.