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Trading with the Indians

On the return of Hendrick Hudson from his voyage of discovery in 1609, his reports were so favorable, especially, as to the abundance of valuable furs which were to be had at very little cost, that several merchants of Amsterdam, without delay, fitted out trading vessels and sent them to trade with the Indians in the territory he had visited. The returns were satisfactory, and they formed themselves into a company under the name of the United Netherland Company and established a trading post on the southern part of Manhattan Island. The exclusive privilege of trade, which had been granted them by Holland, expired in the year 1618, and they endeavored to have the grant renewed or extended, but succeeded only in obtaining a special license, expiring yearly, which they held for two or three years longer.

In the meantime a more extensive association had been formed by some merchants and capitalists of Holland, who in the year 1621 received a charter under the title of the West India Company, which gave to them the exclusive privilege of trade on the whole Atlantic coast, so far as the jurisdiction of Holland extended. Powers of government were conferred upon the company and the right to make treaties with the Indians.

In 1623, they sent out a vessel which carried thirty families to begin the colony. The vessel landed her passengers and freight near the present site of Albany and a settlement was there established. The return cargo of skins and other freight was valued at about twelve thousand dollars.

First Settlement

It having been determined to fix the headquarters of the company in New Netherland on Manhattan Island, two ships cleared from Holland in 1625 with a large number of settlers for this place. With these was sent out Peter Minuit, as Director-General, to superintend the interests of the company. On board the vessels were carried more than a hundred head of cattle, besides other domestic animals, such as would be needed by the people in a permanent settlement. This was the first real settlement on Manhattan Island. The few huts and storehouses, surrounded by a stockade for protection against the Indians, although it appears they were very friendly, which had been located here for many years, was not a settlement; it was only a trading post; no attempt had been made to cultivate the land.

Unlike the New England settlers and the Swedes upon the Delaware the Dutch did not make use of the log house, so well adapted by economy, ease of construction and comfort, as a temporary home. It is said that Dutch traders built huts very much like those of the Indian tribes of the neighborhood.

The Indian house or hut was made by placing in the ground two parallel rows of upright saplings adjoining each other and bringing their tops together, lapping them over each other in a curve. On this were fastened boughs and reeds, as a protection against wind and rain, the inside being lined with bark nicely joined together. If such skill were used in joining the bark on the inside as is displayed by some of the North American Indians in building their canoes, it must have presented a very neat and smooth appearance. There was no floor, the fire, in winter, being built upon the ground, the smoke escaping through an opening in the roof. The width of the house was invariably twenty feet, the length being regulated by the number of families occupying it.

If the Dutch traders used such huts they undoubtedly modified them somewhat as to fireplace and chimney and probably made many other improvements to suit their needs.

Manhattan Island Purchased

Peter Minuit, the Director-General, to obtain title to the island, purchased it from the Indian proprietors, and the settlers commenced their town by staking out a fort, under the direction of Kryn Frederick, an engineer sent out for that purpose, and set about the erection of their temporary homes, which were little better than those of their predecessors, the traders. The next year, 1626, the machinery for a saw mill arrived from Holland and a mill worked by wind power was erected on what is now Governor’s Island, which was then covered with a fine growth of forest trees, which after being cut up, could be easily floated to the little town. The settlers were thus supplied with lumber which enabled them to erect buildings more conformable to their needs. They built, as a rule, houses of only one story in height, with two rooms on the ground floor and a garret above. The roof was reed or straw thatch, and this material continued to be so used for about thirty years after the first settlement of New Amsterdam. The fireplace was built of stone to the height of about six feet, having an oven of the same material by the side of it, extending beyond the rear of the house. The chimney above the stone work was made of boards plastered inside with mortar. The average value of these houses was about one hundred and fifty dollars.

The Dutchman did not come to America for the sake of religious or political freedom or to escape persecution. He was lured by the profits of trade and the prospect of finding a better and more extensive home for himself and for his children. In the little village or town that had been formed by the first settlers on the southern point of Manhattan Island no Puritanical laws or regulations prevented him from dealing in beer or strong drink, or in drinking as much as he had a mind to. Beer was the Dutchman’s drink, and the West India Company very early erected the Company’s Brewery on the north side of Bridge Street, between the present Whitehall and Broad Streets, to supply the little town with its usual beverage.

The Dutch trader bartered with the Indians for furs, and as the little cluster of houses near the fort grew in population some of the traders also sold, when they could, a little beer and other strong drink which their furs enabled them to obtain from the ships coming into port. For many years, except with the Indians, there does not appear to have been any restraint on this trade in liquor, but, although there were many houses where it was kept on tap for sale, no provision seems to have been made for the lodging of strangers.

The City Tavern

The Dutch from up the river or from the nearby settlements, which were very scanty until the time of Stuyvesant, were, no doubt, always able to find relatives or friends with whom they could lodge; but the English skippers who stopped over on their trips between Virginia and the New England colonies were not only strangers but spoke a strange language, unknown to most of the inhabitants, and it is not difficult to understand the reluctance of having them as guests in the small houses where the accommodations were very limited. Governor Kieft says that he was put to great inconvenience in taking care of them, and so, in 1641 built a large stone house to accommodate and care for them and other strangers, which was known as the Stadt Herbergh or City Tavern. There must have been urgent need for such a house, for it was the most costly building that had been erected up to this time. The expenditure was much greater than for the building of a new and substantial church in the fort, a short time after. It was, no doubt, intended to impress and increase the respect of strangers and was an object of the admiration and pride of the citizens of New Amsterdam. It was located in a very conspicuous place, with one of its sides facing the East River, apart from the other houses of the town. It was two stories high with a basement underneath and spacious lofts above. In the rear was an extension or addition, a long, narrow structure which was apparently used for kitchen purposes and probably for other uses.

Early in the year 1643 the Stadt Herbergh, or City Tavern, was leased to Philip Gerritsen, its first landlord, at a rental of three hundred guilders, or about one hundred and twenty dollars, per annum and opened for the entertainment of the public; afterwards to Adriaen Gerritsen, down to the beginning of the year 1652, when the tavern was being conducted by Abraham Delanoy. According to agreement, Gerritsen was to sell the Company’s wine, brandy and beer, and no other, the Company agreeing not to allow any wine to be sold out of their cellar to the injury of the lessee. The Director-General also promised that a well should be dug near the house and that a brew-house should be erected in the rear or that Gerritsen should be permitted the use of the Company’s brew-house.

Shortly after the opening of the tavern it was put to good use in sheltering the fugitives who came to it for protection. Among these were the settlers from Achter Col, across the Kills from Staten Island, on the mainland, who, driven from their homes, which were destroyed by the Indians, were lodged for a time at the City Tavern, at the expense of the West India Company.

The tavern seems to have been in frequent use as a place of detention of persons obnoxious to the Director and his Council and of persons suspected of offenses against the orders of the Director-General, and it is probable that some part of the building was set apart for that purpose. Sometimes the prisoners were quite numerous, as when, in 1651, the crew of the ship “Nieuw Nederlandsche Fortuyn” were quartered here, and also when in 1656, after it had become the City Hall, were brought here the twenty-three Englishmen who had attempted to make a settlement in the present Westchester, hostile to the Dutch claim. Notwithstanding this, the tavern came to be patronized by many of the best people of the place and by the officers of the West India Company. It became a place where a great deal of business was transacted, both public and private, and was one of the places where all public notices were posted, the others being the fort and the barn of the West India Company. It was, too, before it became the City Hall, the place where the court frequently sat for the trial of minor cases. Here was held in the fall and winter of 1653 the Landtdag, or Diet, consisting of representatives from each of the Dutch towns, for the purpose of providing means of defence against the Indians. This was the most important popular convention that had ever been held in New Amsterdam.

The City Tavern Becomes the City Hall

Captain Underhill Makes Trouble

In 1652 New Amsterdam was incorporated as a city under the government of a schout, two burgomasters and five schepens, and was allowed a separate magistracy, although not independent of Governor and Council. This made it necessary to have a city hall or town house, and soon after the City Tavern was ceded to the city and henceforth was known as the “stadt huys” or city hall.

In the first settlement of New England the laws and regulations as to the sale of strong drink and as to restraint in indulgence were very rigid, but afterwards much relaxed. In New Amsterdam there was little restraint; so that when the notorious Puritan Captain John Underhill came down to New Amsterdam, however exemplary may have been his behavior while at home among his New England friends (although there had been some complaint), he let himself loose and became, as some would say, “gloriously drunk.” On the night of the 15th of March, 1644, in the parlor of Philip Gerritsen of the City Tavern, Doctor Hans Kiersted, Dominie Bogardus, Gysbert Opdyck and several others, with their wives, were having a supper and spending an agreeable evening. Some time after the supper, while they were enjoying themselves, Captain Underhill, with Lieutenant Baxter and a drummer, who had evidently made the rounds of the town and were in an advanced state of intoxication, appeared at the door. Gerritsen could not forbid entrance to the worthy captain, but told him that he was entertaining a party of friends with their wives and requested him to take a separate room where he would serve them. They were finally induced to do this after much talk. They invited some of the company to drink with them and they complied. Baxter invited Opdyck to join them but he refused. Thereupon Underhill and his companions drew their swords and cut in pieces the cans on the shelves in the tavern, hacked the door-posts and endeavored by force to get into the room where the supper party was. This was for some time resisted by the landlady with a leaden bolt and by the landlord trying to keep the door closed; but, in spite of all opposition, they succeeded in forcing their way in. Underhill was in such a state that it was quite uncertain at what moment he might take a notion to flesh his sword in any Dutchman who stood in his way. With his sword half drawn he cried: “Clear out of here, for I shall strike at random.” The fiscal and a guard from the fort were sent for, but they did not succeed in quieting the drunken Englishmen. In reply to some remarks of the Dominie, who suggested that the Director-General himself be sent for, Underhill said, as deposed by witnesses: “If the Director come here, ’tis well. I had rather speak to a wise man than a fool.” To prevent further and more serious mischief, fearing that at any moment Underhill might pink the Dominie, the supper party withdrew, leaving Underhill in possession of the field. Thus the gallant Captain scored another victory.

When Wouter Van Twiller came out, in 1633, as Director-General, the pressing claims of England to the control of the whole territory on the Atlantic Coast, induced the West India Company to send out with him a military force of one hundred and four soldiers to garrison the fort. These were the first that had been sent over.

Sergeant Peter Cock’s Tavern

Among the soldiers, some years later, was a man by the name of Peter Cock, who held the rank of sergeant. He built, or had constructed for him, a little house, such as were being put up at that time, northwest from the fort, on ground now occupied by No. 1 Broadway. It was very likely the first house built on that side of the fort and was used as a tavern. It was no doubt more patronized by the soldiers than any other.

Sergeant Cock was in command of several regular soldiers under La Montagne in the expedition against the Indians on Staten Island in 1643. On their return to New Amsterdam, they were all immediately sent out to Greenwich and Stamford, where they scoured the country in search of the Indians. In November of the same year Governor Kieft dispatched one hundred and twenty men, under the command of Dr. La Montagne, Cock and Underhill, to exterminate the Canarsee Indians. They brought back from this expedition some prisoners, who were afterwards barbarously treated, inhumanly tortured and finally killed in the public streets of New Amsterdam.

At Sergeant Cock’s tavern the details of these expeditions and the part taken in them by each individual were, doubtless, thoroughly discussed by the soldiers as they drank their beer or other beverages served out to them. They talked over the quarrels of the Dominie and the Director-General and the last sermon in which the Dominie fulminated his biting diatribes against the Director; how the drummer beat up the drum and the gunner touched off one of the big guns when the Dominie was in the midst of one of his harangues, which distracted the congregation and almost threw them into a panic.

Next to the lot on which Sergeant Cock had built his house Martin Crigier obtained the grant of a lot in 1643, on which a house appears to have already been built, probably by himself. Crigier is said to have come out in the service of the West India Company when a young man, after his separation or release from which he had engaged in the business of trader and sloop captain on the North River and became an active and conspicuous citizen. He was certainly a doughty Dutchman, his name occupying a prominent place in the military annals of New Amsterdam.

The military expeditions in which he was engaged were numerous. In 1657 he went out in command of forty men to settle difficulties on the Delaware. In 1659 he commanded a force of sixty men, sent out to the same region to repel a threatened invasion of the English. In 1663 he was in command of the force sent to Esopus to punish the savages for their massacre of the Dutch, and in this expedition he seems to have had the complete confidence of Governor Stuyvesant, himself a valiant soldier. With Cornelis Van Tienhoven he was sent to New Haven to treat with the English and he was Burgomaster of New Amsterdam in 1653, 1654, 1659, 1660 and 1663.

Burgomaster Martin Crigier, Tavern-Keeper

He was an innkeeper and we can easily imagine that his house must have been the resort of all the Dutch politicians of his day, where were discussed not only plans of attack and defence, but also the policies of the little town in all its various aspects, both internally and in relation to the Indians and the English. The English, no doubt, were thoroughly discussed, for there was constant trouble with them at this time.

The house was near the fort, on ground now occupied by No. 3 Broadway, and looked out on the open ground of the present Bowling Green, which was then the parade of the soldiers, being in front of the gate of the fort, the eastern side of it being used as a market field on appointed days, where were displayed all kinds of country produce brought in from the surrounding country. Here, also, in this open space, in 1656 and subsequent years, was held, in the latter part of October and all through November, the cattle market for store and fat cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, bucks, and such like. It was promised that stalls and other conveniences would be erected for those who brought such animals to market. This cattle-market, notice of which, by letter, had been sent out to the Dutch and English of Connecticut and Long Island, no doubt brought to New Amsterdam a great many from the surrounding country, even as far away as New Haven. The taverns were full and the life and activity of the city was much increased. The young men drank in the conversations of the city burghers at the taverns, discussed with them the price of beaver skins and other articles of trade with the Indians, and in turn told of the arts of the trapper and hunter, as well as adventures with the Indians and with the wild animals of the forest. These visitors, for a time, made the taverns gay and lively, and sometimes there were, no doubt, heated talks and even quarrels and personal encounters.

In front of the taverns of Captain Crigier and Sergeant Cock groups of men could be seen at such times bargaining and discussing prices and the news of the day. Beer was to be had and there was plenty of talk, for the outlying settlers brought in the news of their own sections and were very anxious to learn all the news of the city and still more anxious to get news from the fatherland.

Those who visited the city to bring in cattle and attend this market made of it a pleasure trip long to be remembered. Although New Amsterdam could not furnish any amusement that would intoxicate a modern New Yorker yet, to those who were passing their days in isolated homes, the gaiety of the little city was a source of great enjoyment; and in returning to their quiet homes they carried back with them all the little luxuries which they could afford and which the city could supply. They had also a great deal to tell their relatives and friends.

There is no doubt that when Peter Cock and Martin Crigier built their taverns to catch the patronage of the soldiers at the fort, the ground in the neighborhood to the west of the fort and along the river was in a perfect state of nature, untouched by the hand of man. The authorities kept the space in front of the fort clear of building; which, without any preconceived plan or intention on their part, resulted in leaving a triangular open space, which became the parade for the soldiers, the market place for cattle, and, afterwards, in the time of the English, the Bowling Green.

In September, 1659, transfer was made of a lot on the west side of the Heere Straat (Broadway), which was described as bounded on the south by the newly-built house and lot of Burgomaster Martin Crigier. It was about this time that improvements and a great advance were being made in the style of building, and as Crigier was at this time and had been some years previous a burgomaster, and was besides a conspicuous man in the community, it is natural to suppose that he would put up a good and substantial house.

On the other side of the fort, close under the shelter of its eastern wall, at the corner of the present Whitehall and Stone Streets, where the Produce Exchange now stands, was a little tavern which had been built in the most economical manner in 1641, and was kept by a Frenchman, Philip Gerard, called by the Dutch Geraerdy, who had left the gay city of Paris for life among the Dutch of New Amsterdam. Geraerdy probably had good reasons for the change; perhaps it was to escape conscription in the wars then raging in Europe. Riding the wooden horse in the fort was a common punishment of the soldiers, and Philip Geraerdy, we presume from a sense of humor, or for some other good reason, called his house the Wooden Horse, or at least it is so called in the Dutch records. The soldiers no doubt much preferred the wooden horse (or bench) in Philip’s tavern to that in the fort. Philip was himself at one time a soldier, and had ridden the wooden horse, for May 27, 1642, “Philip Geraerdy, a soldier, for having been absent from the guard without leave,” was sentenced to ride the wooden horse during parade, with a pitcher in one hand and a drawn sword in the other.

The White Horse Tavern

After a few years the name of Philip’s house underwent a change. This may have been the result of a sort of evolutionary process, induced by Philip, who erected in front of his house a sign on which was painted a white horse on a dark background, very conspicuous. The house became known as the Sign of the White Horse or the White Horse Tavern.

Some lively scenes were connected with the little tavern. One dark night in the spring of 1643, farmer Jan Damen, whose house was just beyond the present Wall Street near Broadway, drank deep in Philip’s house, and was in such a condition that Geraerdy thought it prudent to guide him home, which act of benevolence cost him dearly. Damen must have been in a mood that threatened trouble, for Geraerdy had taken the precaution to draw his sword from its scabbard and carry it himself. At the house Damen’s serving man, armed with a long knife, resisted his master’s entrance. Damen used the scabbard as a weapon and also secured a knife, and in the fight which ensued Geraerdy was, as the surgeon declared, dangerously wounded, Damen having struck him in the dark under the shoulder blade.

It was a dramatic and semi-tragic scene when “Black John,” who hailed from the seaport town of Monnikendam, near Amsterdam, one morning, as they were at the house of Philip Geraerdy, addressed Ensign Hendrick Van Dyck, saying: “Brother, my service to you,” to which the ensign answered: “Brother, I thank you.” “Black John” did not hand over the can, but instead struck the ensign with it on his forehead so that blood flowed, saying that that was his Monnikendam fashion, and threw him over on his back. This, it is related, was done without having words or dispute of any kind.

Geraerdy became a sergeant in the burgher troops, and while keeping a tavern was also a trader and a man of business. Besides his own language he could speak both Dutch and English, acting occasionally as an interpreter. He succeeded so well that in a few years he built for himself a substantial house on that part of his lot fifty or sixty feet down from the corner on Stone Street.

Taverns Regulated

When Governor Peter Stuyvesant arrived, in May, 1647, he found New Amsterdam, to use an expression of the present day, “a wide open town.” Before the close of the month he issued an order requiring that all places where liquor was sold should remain closed on Sunday before two o’clock in the afternoon, and, in case of preaching in the fort, until four o’clock, – this, under penalty of the owners being deprived of their occupation, and besides being fined six Carolus guilders for each person who should be found drinking wine or beer within the stated time, excepting only travellers and those who were daily customers, fetching the drinks to their own homes; and that all such places should be closed every night at the ringing of the bell about nine o’clock. In issuing this order he says: “Whereas we have experienced the violence of our inhabitants, when drunk, their quarrelling, fighting and hitting each other, even on the Lord’s day of rest, of which we have ourselves witnessed the painful example last Sunday, in contravention of law, to the contempt and disgrace of our person and office, to the annoyance of our neighbors, and to the disregard and contempt of God’s holy laws and ordinances,” etc.

In March, 1648, he found that further action was necessary. He declared that one-fourth of the houses had been turned into taverns for the sale of brandy, tobacco and beer, and that they were detrimental to the welfare of the community; he therefore issued a set of rules for their regulation. No new tap-houses should be opened without the unanimous vote of the Director and Council. Those who had been tapsters could continue as such for four years at least, but in the meantime, should seek some other means of livelihood, so as not to be dependent on it. Orders as to closing at nine o’clock every night and on Sundays were repeated. Tapsters were to report all fights or disorderly conduct in their places, and physicians were to report all cases where they were called on to dress wounds received in such disturbances. This does not necessarily indicate that New Amsterdam was at this time a disorderly place, for like New York of the present day, it was a cosmopolitan city. The population at that time was not over five hundred souls, and it has been declared that eighteen different languages were spoken by the inhabitants.

Litschoe’s Tavern

Some time previous to the year 1648 Daniel Litschoe established an inn on what is now Pearl Street in the outskirts of the town, which became the resort of the country people coming in from Long Island. Litschoe came out to New Amsterdam with the earliest settlers as ensign in the military service of the Dutch. He was with Stuyvesant at Beverwyck and on his order hauled down the lord’s colors. He also went out with Stuyvesant in the expedition against the Swedes on the Delaware as lieutenant.

The tavern seems to have been a good-sized building, for it is spoken of as “the great house,” but this is to be taken as in comparison with its neighbors. It had at least a quarter of an acre of ground attached to it, and stood back some little distance from the street. A part of the lot is now covered by No. 125 Pearl Street. In the spring of 1651, Litschoe leased this house to Andries Jochemsen, who kept it as a tavern or ale house for many years and had lots of trouble with the authorities. He would tap on Sundays and after nine o’clock, and his house was the resort of disorderly persons. After keeping tavern for some years in a house which he had built just outside the city wall, Litschoe purchased a lot inside the wall between it and the house he had resided in some years before, and here he, and after his death in 1662, his wife, Annetje, kept a tavern for many years.

When Sir Henry Moody came from Virginia in 1660 to exchange ratifications of the treaty to regulate commerce between that colony and New Netherland he was received with all the usual diplomatic honors. Two members of the council, under escort of halberdiers, were sent “to compliment him in his lodgings,” and Moody, appearing in the fort, presented his credentials. He resided a considerable time at the house of Daniel Litschoe and when he left the city he failed to settle his score, for which his library left at the house was sold. More people came into the city over the river road from the Long Island ferry than from any other direction, and Litschoe’s tavern near the city gate was an inviting resting place. It was one of the stations where fire-buckets were kept for use in cases of emergency.

The city wall, above mentioned, was a line of palisades straight across the island along the northerly side of the present Wall Street, passing through the present Trinity Churchyard. On the inside of the palisades was an embankment and a ditch. It was built in the year 1653, when England and Holland were at war and New Amsterdam was threatened by the New England colonists. Through this line of defence there were two gates, the land-gate at the present junction of Broadway and Wall Street and the water-gate at the river road or present Pearl Street.

Peter Cock’s Troubles to Obtain a Wife

Peter Cock added much to the piquancy of the gossip of the taverns and the town when, in 1653, probably no longer a soldier, he brought suit against Annetje Cornelissen Van Vorst, claiming the fulfillment of a promise of marriage. The case occupied the time and attention of the Court of Burgomasters and Schepens at a great many sessions, statements and counter-statements being presented to the Court, who, considering the case too large for them, sent it, with the papers, to the Director and Council for their decision. It was sent back to the Court of Burgomasters and Schepens, with a recommendation to appoint a committee to examine the papers and report. The final decision, pronounced May 18, 1654, was that the promise was a binding contract. From this decision Annetje appealed, but it was confirmed. In some way Annetje obtained a release, at any rate, she married November 11, 1656, Claes Jansen Van Purmerendt, a tobacco planter of Paulus Hook. Peter consoled himself with another Annetje, for on June 13, 1657, he married Annetje Dirks, of Amsterdam.

In 1661 Annetje Cock was a widow and in control of the tavern which Peter Cock had left. She asked permission to build a new house on the southeast corner of the lot, which request was refused, as it would be too near the fort. Her husband had contracted for the building of a house on the lot, which she claimed was voided by his death, and wished to make a new contract with others, but the court decided that the old contract was binding. A new house was built which was kept by her as a tavern for many years.

A Dutch Tavern

The taverns of New Amsterdam were probably modeled somewhat after those of Holland, for the Dutch were a people who stuck to the customs of the fatherland. The description of a Dutch tavern, from the journal of one of our citizens who visited a part of the Netherlands where customs have not changed for centuries is here given.

“It was the business of the good vrow or her maid to show up the traveller, and open the doors in the smooth partition of the box which was to receive his weary limbs for the night, and which otherwise he might not be able to discover, and after he crept into it, to come back again and blow out the candle, and in the morning to draw the curtains of the windows at the hour he fixed to rise. There was generally one room in which all the guests were received, and where there was a pleasant reunion in the evening, and all the visitors ate, drank and smoked. It had, in one corner, a closet, which, when opened (and, honestly, it was not unfrequently opened), disclosed sundry decanters, glasses and black bottles; and, on one side of the room, a rack in which were suspended by their bowls a score or two of very long pipes, each one inscribed with the name of a neighbor or owner. This was the room of Mynheer the landlord. He had no care beyond this; mevrow was the head of the house; she attended to all the wants of the guests, and gave them the information which they might desire. She was always on the spot as when, with a ‘wet te rusten,’ like a good mother, she bade you good night, and when, with a ‘hoo-y-reis,’ like an old friend, she bade you good-by.”

In the contract for building the ferry house on the Long Island side of the East River for Egbert Van Borsum in 1655, provision was made for bedsteads to be built in the walls as described above. Thus an apartment could be made to accommodate several travellers at night and yet, in day time, present a neat appearance and be used as a public room. Provision was also made for the closet or pantry, for it was a source of profit.

A few years later the Ferry Tavern of Van Borsum had acquired such a reputation, to which the culinary art of Annetje, his wife, greatly contributed, that it became the resort of the best citizens when they wished for something extra good, and of the officials of government, as we find that a bill rendered by Van Borsum in February, 1658, for wine and liquor furnished the Director and other officers was ordered to be paid.

A Grand Dinner

When, in 1658, Captain Beaulieu wished to give a fine dinner to his friends, he did not go to the tavern of the Worshipful Burgomaster Martin Crigier nor to that of Lieutenant Litschoe, who entertained the English Ambassador a few years later, nor yet to the popular tavern of Metje Wessels; but was influenced, for some good reason, to go to the house of Egbert Van Borsum, the Ferry Tavern on the Long Island side of the river. Here the Captain and his thirteen friends sat down to a dinner for which Van Borsum, if the record is correct, charged him three hundred and ten florins, or at the rate of nine dollars per plate; and it appears that it was worth the price, for although Beaulieu was sued by Van Borsum for the bill, his defence was that he was to pay only one-half of the expense, the other half to be paid by a few of the other guests. No complaint was made that the amount charged was excessive. Annetje Van Borsum testified before the Court that she made the arrangement and bargain with Beaulieu alone and looked to him for payment. The Court took this view and gave a verdict against Beaulieu for the full amount. Annetje Van Borsum must certainly have been a fine cook, and the dinner must have been served with some expensive accessories, of the nature of which we can hardly surmise. It serves to show that New Amsterdam, even at this early period, was not entirely devoid of expensive luxuries (for such must have been the case). After the death of Egbert Van Borsum, his widow, Annetje, continued the business for several years, she herself managing the tavern, and her son, Hermanus, attending to the ferry. In her declining years she retired to the city of New Amsterdam where she died at a green old age.

In 1655 Solomon Peterson La Chair, a gentleman of the legal profession, made his appearance in New Amsterdam, and, as there was not a promising prospect in that line of business, he rented the house of Teunis Kray, on the Graft, and petitioned the Burgomasters and Schepens for permission to keep it as a tavern, which could be managed by his wife in his absence on legal business, and would be of great assistance to him in gaining a livelihood. Permission was granted. He afterwards bought the house of Kray, agreeing to pay for it in instalments; but as Kray had formerly sued him for the rent he had now to sue him for the very first instalment; and he never succeeded in paying for it, the money, even when he had it ready, as he says, slipping through his fingers. He did not pay anyone he owed until forced to. He used every means which his learning in the law and his own ingenuity could devise to avoid paying his just debts. He was impecunious and improvident and constantly in trouble; yet he was a man of considerable learning and ability, as evinced by his register of business as a notary, a volume of some three hundred pages, which was discovered in the county clerk’s office some years ago. He obtained a license to practice as a notary in 1661. La Chair, defaulting in payment, Kray came again in possession of the house he had sold, and La Chair moved to a house in Hough Street, where he continued to keep a tavern until his death, a few years later. There was much discussion in the little town on political matters, and La Chair, as a man versed in the law, could probably attract many to his house, where, no doubt, such subjects were thoroughly discussed.

November 26, 1656, a petition was presented to the Burgomasters and Schepens from Metje Wessels, requesting permission “to follow the trade of an eating house and to bring in and tap out wine and beer,” which was granted.

Metje Wessels’ Tavern

Metje Wessels’ house was situated on The Water, which was what is now the north side of Pearl Street, between Whitehall and Broad Streets, in the busiest part of the little city, and not far from the City Hall. It became a noted place for Burgomasters’ dinners, and was a popular place for festivities of all kinds, characteristic of the taverns of this period. The Burgomasters and Schepens of New Amsterdam had discovered the toothsome terrapin, for which their successors, the aldermen of New York City, were, years ago, known to be particularly partial, and their dinners at the widow’s tavern were no doubt supplied with this delicious viand. Van der Donck, writing in 1656, says: “Some persons prepare delicious dishes from the water terrapin which is luscious food.” Here men went on the arrival of a ship, to meet the skipper and hear the news from the fatherland or from other foreign ports. Here were discussed the tidings from up the river, where many young men were making adventurous excursions among the Indians, in the far-off northern wilderness, in the profitable business of gathering furs. The trade in furs, the Indian troubles, the military expeditions, the Dominie’s sermons and the Director-General’s proclamations, – these, and a great many more, both public and personal matters – were talked over. It was a sort of business and social exchange where were gathered and distributed news and gossip of all kinds.

Dutch Festivities

The Dutch of New Amsterdam had a large capacity for enjoyment and in their holiday season of Christmas and New Year, gave themselves up to every kind of festivity and sport that the place could afford. We find from records that some of these were firing of guns, beating of drums, dancing, playing of tick-tack, bowling, playing of ninepins, sleighing parties or wagon rides, etc. The taverns and taprooms were full of life and there were likewise many family festivities and amusements, where the tables were loaded with all the good things to eat and drink that were obtainable. Not only was it the season of the delight and enjoyment of the young and gay, but the older and graver citizens joined in the sports with enthusiasm and encouragement. Even the Burgomasters and Schepens, with the other officials, when the season of festivity approached, closed the public offices temporarily. “Whereas,” it is recorded, “the winter festivals are at hand, it is found good, that between this date and three weeks after Christmas the ordinary meetings of the Court shall be dispensed with.”

Gathered together to celebrate one of the anniversaries of the festive season, the flickering lights from oil lamps and tallow candles, reflected from the whitewashed walls of Madame Wessels’ assembly room, shone on as happy and gay hearted a gathering as is found in the magnificent and brilliantly lighted halls of our present grand city. They shone on “fair women and brave men.” Notwithstanding the humorous caricatures of Washington Irving, the women were comely and the men were a sturdy and adventurous lot. Here was the government official, with his sword at his side. Here was the prosperous trader or merchant in his silk or velvet breeches and coat flowered with silver lace, with gold or silver buttons, lace neck cloth and silk stockings. He also wore a sword. The common burgher in his homespun breeches and Kersey coat also took a part. Handsome dresses, displayed on female forms were not numerous but there were some that indicated the success and prosperity of the heads of the families represented by the wearers. Gowns of thick embroidered silk and petticoats of cloth and quilted silk graced the festive dance.

May-day was also celebrated with great spirit and on this occasion the people were accorded by the city magistrates the greatest license. It was announced that “any damage which may come from the general rejoicing within the city on May-day shall be made known to the Burgomasters at the City Hall immediately thereafter when means shall be taken to furnish reparation.”

But Governor Stuyvesant had no sympathy for such “unprofitable customs,” and such “unnecessary waste of powder.” He forbade on New Year and May-days, the firing of guns, the beating of drums or the planting of May-poles, and ordered that at these times there shall not be “any wines, brandy-wines or beer dealt out.” It is supposed that this ordinance was not strictly enforced and that its restrictions were little observed.

Stuyvesant also, in February, 1658, forbade the farmers and their servants to “ride the goose” at the feast of Bacchus and Shrovetide, which brought a protest from the Burgomasters and Schepens, who felt aggrieved that the Director General and Council should have done so without their knowledge and consent. “Riding the goose,” or “pulling the goose,” was a cruel sport, but it was not the fate of the goose that moved the tender heart of Stuyvesant. He says in response to the protest that “in their time it has never been practiced here, and yet, notwithstanding the same may in some place of the fatherland be tolerated and looked at through the fingers, it is altogether unprofitable, unnecessary and criminal for subjects and neighbors to celebrate such pagan and Popish feasts, and to practice such evil customs.” He then gives the Burgomasters and Schepens a sound scolding for their presumption, and informs them “that the institution of a little bench of Justice under the title of Schout, Burgomasters and Commissioners does in no wise interfere with or diminish aught of the power and authority of the Director General and Councellors in the enacting of any ordinance or making any particular interdict, especially such as tend to the glory of God and the best interests of the Inhabitants.”