18^, (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"), whichever applies. IVIaps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included In one exposure are filmed beginning In the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams Illustrate the method: 1 2 3 L'exemplaire filmA fut reprodult grice ii la g^ndrosit* de: BIbllothAque natlonale du Canada Las images suivantes ont 4tA reprodultes avec ie plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettetA de I'exempialre f llmA, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de fiimage. Les exemplaires origlnaux dont la couverture en papier est ImprimAe sont fllmte en commenpant par Ie premier plat et en terminent soit par la dernlAre page qui comporte une emprelnte d'Impresslon ou d'lllustratlon, soit par Ie second plat, salon Ie cas. Tous les autres exemplaires origlnaux sont filmte en commenpant par la premlAre page qui comporte une emprelnte d'Impresslon ou d'lllustratlon et en terminant par la dernlAre page qui comporte une telle emprelnte. Un des symboies sulvants apparattra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon Ie cas: Ie symbole — ► signlfie "A SUIVRE", Ie symbols ▼ signlfie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmte A des taux de rMuctlon diff Arents. Lorsque Ie document est trop grand pour Atre reprodult en un seul clichA, II est film6 A partir de i'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A drolte, et de haut en has, en prenant Ie nombre d'images nAcessalre. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ! \ \^ f V 3rt)e {Dtttcl) at the Ilortl) Pole AKD €\}t |ut4 ill Bainc. PAPER READ BEFORE THE ^eto f 0rk Iii5t0rital ^0ddg, ar MARCH, 1857. BY 3. tDatts }tt )Peg0ter, A MEMBER OF THE SOOIETY. St. NEW YORK: PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY M DOOC LVII. Entered aecordinc to Act of Uongren, Id the yetr 1857, by J. Watts nc Pbtbtir, In tha Clerk't Otteti of the District Court of tbe United SUlas for the Booibern Dlrtrict of New York n-A-TT & SCHRAM, PRINTKRa, POUOHKEKPSIX. v\ /■ Itfto |orli iistorital %m^% FOUNBKI) 1804. New Yoe«, Febrdart 4, 1857. Frbdbkiok ni Pryhtrr, Esq. MyDearHir: Iq behalf of the Bpeoial Oominittee on papei^ to be read, I am instructed to express to your their desire that you will read the paper on the «9utcli In ^«(ne,'* prepared by Gen. xa. Petbter, which was an- nounced for, but not read, last evening— at the next regular meeting of the Society, on Tuesday evening, March 8d. Will you allow me to add, my own hope that you will be able to comply with the request of the Committee, as I regard the subject as one of unusual novelty and interest to tlie Society. I remain, my dear Sir, With great respect, Yours very truly, GEO. H. MOOKE. TS^m Dork Qtstoncal docteti), Founded 1804. At a stated meeting of the Society, held in the Oliapel of the University of the City of New York, on Tuesday evening, March 8d, 1867, The paper of the evening, entitled "tj^e Sntcjft at t|e Nort$ Dole," and "tjbt Sntcji fit iKafne,** prepared by General J. Watts de Pbtstek, was read by Frederick de Peystek, Esq. On its conclusion, Mr. James W. Beekman,- after some remarks, submit- ted the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted : Resolved, That the sincere thanks of this Society be presented to Gen- eral DE Peybter for his able and interesting paper read this evening, and that a copy be requested for the Archives of the Society, and for such further disposition as may be advised by the Executive Committee. Extract from the tninutea. ANDREW WARNER, . Recording Secretary. *< ^t intcl at % fortt |ole, AND ®|t itttf| ill Itaiiit. It is only recently that the people of the United States have been awakened to a just appreciation of the marvelous deeds, stirring enterprize, and indomitable spirit, which actuated that glorious little nation, the Netherlanders or Hollanders — generally, but inappropri- ately, styled Dutchmen — in establishing their inde^ ;> dence. We have yet to learn how much of the worlds progress is due to their example ; and the practice of every manly virtue, T(j courage, fortitude and patri- otism, they added economy, industry, integrity and intelligence; and had their territorial position and phys- ical power corresponded with the union of such mre qualities, this combined influence would have raised them, as a people, to a height of glory hitherto ap- proached by no other nation in the old world. 6 As merchants, ploughers of the sea, they rarely erred in the location of their maritime settlements ; and, a8 colonists, — ploughers of the soil, — they never made a mistake in the selection of the lands they wer^ to culti- vate ; so much so that it has passed into a proverb in some parts of this very State — where the Germans, and families from the Easteni States, came afi^r the Dutch — "that there never was a good piece of land that the Devil did not open his bag and shake out some Dutch- man upon it." Thus, early as 1575 they learned the value of the spice-bearing groves and fruitful valleys of the richest island of the globe — Java ; and established their facto- ries and trading houses wherever bounteous Nature in- vited Commerce with her richest stores. When Colum- bus made his great discovery, it is well known that he supposed it was the eastern coast of Asia, of which he was in search. The term India was adopted by the Greeks, who, it is said, derived it from the Persians, — for it was unknown to the natives, — and was used to signify the indefinite regions beyond the Indus, which were but partially known to them, from the vague de- scriptions of the Persians. Successive expeditions, in ancient times, revealed the boundaries of the countries watered by the Indus and the Ganges, and their great tributaries, and gradually developed their valuable and inexhaustible productions. Until the close of the 15th century, Europeans ob- tained the precious merchandise of India, partly through Egypt, whither it came by the way of the Arabian Sea, and partly from the long journeys of the Caravans, through the interior of Asia. The doubling of the Cape of Good Hope, in 1497, opened to the Portuguese great the teeming riches of that vnst mine of wealth which has enriched the various nations who successively have obtained access to it. The Portuguese dominion in Asia was fast crumbling into ruin, when the union of Portugal with Spain, in 1580, gave the finishing blow to their commercial pow- er in India. The Dutch had sought in the mart of I4S- l)on for Indian merchandize, when Philip the Second closed its harbor to this adventurous and industrious people. Thus, it became an object of paramount im- portance to find a passage, if practicable, to India by the Northern seas; and many fruitless attempts were made to accomplish this great object. Nevertheless, they availed themselves of favorable opportunities to enter the lists with the Portuguese ; gradually succeeded in stripping them of their possessions by their stronger and better manned Navy, which pursued the latter on their own beaten track; and finally wrested from them their most important acquisitions in the famed In- dies. It was in the course of the former unsuccessful attempts in the Polar seas that the Dutch, as we shall hereafter see, found their way to our Atlantic border, and thereby became aware of the advantages presented by the rich lumber districts of Maine ; and although few are apprised of it, made several attempts by peace- ful colonization and by force of arms, to place them- selves in a position to share the prolific fisheries ; the unsurpassed masting and lumbering facilities; and, at that time, the rich fur trade afforded along the coasts and upon the shores of the rivers and estuaries of Maine, then the Province of Acadie. There, at the periods referred to, the bounties of the land actually clasped hands with the favors of the • 8 sea ; although at the present date, in many instances, the bare rocks, denuded of their stately evergreen for- ests, and oftentimes of the very soil itself, by the intense action of rapidly succeeding conflagrations, present, in lamentable contrast, the very image of desolation ! It is well known that the Hollanders first settled the three states of New York, New Jersey and Connecti- cut ; planting their colonies on the shores of two of our noblest northern rivers ; and that a few years subse- quently they conquered a territory now constituting n fourth state — Delaware ; when their sway extended over the districts bordering on either side of the third great stream of that name. Pew, however, comparatively, of those best acquaint- ed with our History, have heard that the Hollanders were likewise amongst the earliest Colonists of Maine, and at one time displayed their ensigns, victorious in all the four quarters of the globe, at more than one point of that then remote province. The first Dutch commander, on record, who made a landing on the shores of Maine, was fienbruk (Jtibson ; he who discovered the noble estuary or river, which now bears his name. On the 17th — (18th) — of July, 1609, (on the third of September, in which year he Michored inside the bay formed by Sandy Hook,) that distinguished Navigator landed on the shores of the Penobscot, and remained in that bay for the space of a week, cutting and stepping a new foremast, and repair- ing his rigging, damaged by his previous tempestuous passage. He likewise had frequent and friendly inter- course with the natives ; some of whom it was even re- ported could speak a few words of French ; from whom he understood that traders of that nation came thither iPU every year to barter with the aborigines. At this peri- od, the glory of the Dutch Military and Commercial marine had reached its zenith. KaHt, Houtli, luid west, the ships of Holland were boldly cleaving liie farthest waters of unknown seas, to crown their owners' enter- prise with opulence and fame. Even to the frozen north, Dutch courage and indomitable resolution had penetra- ted nearer to the Artie Pole than any otiier people had before, or have since ; accomplishing such wonders at this early stage of Artie exploration, as stand unrivalled even to the present day, unless perhaps by the recent exploits of Captain McClure. Barents, wliom fate de- nied the enthusiastic homage of his native land, was that bold seaman who from thirteen to fifteen years be- fore Hudson landed un the shores of North America, defied the terroi*s of a polar winter ; and planted the blue, white and orange stripes of the United Provin- ces on the most northern group of European Islands, known as Spitzbergen ; and on Cape Desii-e, now Zelania ; at the almost inaccessible extremity of Novaia Zemlia. If, then, to the English appeitains the glory of a contest, kept up for centuries against cold and amid privation*, crowned within the last five years by the discovery of the North- West passage, by Captain McClure; to the Hollander is due the credit of equally persevering, but less successful, attempts to explore a North-East passage to the riches of the Eastern world — less successful only because unquestionably beyond the stretch of possibility for any one expedition, unless capable of keeping the sea at least from eight to ten, and in all probability for double, that period of, years. In proof that a passage — not navigable however — actually does exist, whales are known to have passed to a / 10 and fro. Thus a whale, struck by William Bastiaan/, Admiral of the Dutch Greenland Fleet, in the Spitzber- gen sea, was killed in the sea of Tartary, with the Ad- miral's harpoon, bearing its initials, and other marks of recognition, still sticking in his back. Muller relates a similar circumstance, as having occurred in 1 7 1 6. Hamel writes in 1653, that every year in the sea to the North- East of Korea, whales in great numbers are captured, in whose flesh and blubber are found harpoons, and other striking irons of the French and Dutch whalers, in the seas washing the Northern extremities of Europe ; whence, and for similar reasons, navigators throughout the last five centuries were led to believe that there was, and is a continuous passage through Behring's sea and straight, nround the north of Asia, communicating with the straight of Vaigatch, which separates Novdia Zemlia from Russia in Europe ; nor does this testimony stand alone ; it has other ample and satisfactory cor- roboration. To the HoUandish mariner, the prudent, skillful, brave and experienced IBarent^ — the most distinguished mar- tyr to Arctic investigation, until the mystery of Sir John Franklin's loss transferred the sympathy and ad- miration of the scientific world to a more recent, but not more deserving object — to Baratt^ is conceded the crown of having been the first to winter amid the hor- rors of the Polar cold ; deprived of every comfort which could have ameliorated the sojourn ; dependent even for vital warmth on the fires which are kindled in an indomitatable Jieari ; and uncheered from the begin- ning to the end by the sight of, or intercourse with, any human visitors, such as enlivened and varied the winter-life of our most distinguished, able, and accom- 11 plished explorer, Dr. Kane. Few readers, comparative- ly, have turned their attention to Arctic geography and discovery ; but to those who have fully examined the subject, the name of Barents is a household word ; and wc find Dr. Kane, imprisoned in the frozen North, com- paring his position, and its probable result, with that of tlie Chief- Pilot of Amsterdam. It is wonderful, — and I shall return to the subject again, — how the journal of the Hollander seems to em- body almost every incident which lends peculiar charms — charms which invest it with an awful interest — to that of every subsequent Commander. Closely observant, Barents must have handled his pen with the same prac- tical ability with which he guided the helm and adjust- ed his nautical instruments ; for all those phenomena — those astounding, terrible attractions — which enlist the sympathies of tlie brave in favor of a Polar journey, and rise in more than gigantic proportions to deter the timid from enlisting in such an undertaking, iind place in that old Log which survived it composer; whose leaves of paper, by a metamorphosis not uncommon with authors, became changed into those of laurel, to crown the brow of him who lay interred beneath the ice of Nova Zembla. His journal resembles in many re- spects the collection of antiquities, disentombed from Pompeii and its vicinage, in which we discover beau- tics unexceeded l)y more recent efforts, and many things which are looked upon as modern discovei'ies, although well known and in conmion use among the ancients. ''Two hundred and tifty-nine years ago," writes Dr. Kane, /' tUUUam Barents Chief-Pilot of the States-Gen- eral of Holland, — the United States of that day, — ^had wintered on the coast of Kovaia-Zemlia ; exploring the northern-most region of the Old Continent, as we had that of the New. , His men, seventeen in number, broke down during the trials of the winter, and three died, just as of our eighteen three had gone. He abandoned his vessel as we had abandoned ours, took to his boats, and escaped along the Lapland coast to lands of Norwegian civiliza- tion. We had embarked with sledge and boat to at- tempt the same thing. We had the longer journey and the more difficult before us. He lost, as we had done, a cherished comrade by the way-side ; and, as I thought of this closing resemblance in our fortunes also, my mind left but one part of the parallel incomplete — Barentz himself perislieci'^ K little further on we shall see that this parallel holds good with regard to other circumstances. Whoever has enjoyed in his cozy library chair, (be- side a blazing fire, by the brilliant light of an argand lamp,) a trip to the Arctic regions in the graphic rela- tions aftbrded us by Dr. Kane, and contrasted their and his comforts and luxui'ies, must have noticed, (if they read with any attention,) the compliment which ho pays so cheerfully and gracefully to the early Dutch Arctic navigators. When we remember the immense improve- ments, not only in the art of navigation, but the con- struction of vessels ; the vast advances in medicine, remedial pi-eparations and surgery ; the perfection of armament, provisioning, and every other branch of the naval service, which relates to the safety and cortifort of sailors, and the preservation of their lives, under the most disadvantageous circumstances ; as well tt« the attainment o ' the results sought, which have been made t"A f3 within the last c >e ^ilf more increased, Vi^en we examine upon the map the' extreme northern point attained hy the Dutch Arctic explorer Barents, two hundred and sixty-one years a^b, with his small and frail vessels. ^ ' He pressed boldly towards the North, and from his' log-books it has been conclusively demonstrated that he passed the most northern point of Spitzbergeh^ How much farther he jjenetrated to the north at this time, we cannot learn with any certainty ; but Dr. Kane says: ''An open sea near the Pole, or even an open Polar basin, has been a topic of theory for a long titrie,' and has been shadowed forth to some extent bv actual' or supposed discoveries. As far back as the days of Bannt^, in 159G, without refering to the earlier and more uncertain chronicles, water was seen to the east- ward of the northern-most Cape of Novaia-Zemlia ; and until its limited extent was defined by direct observa- tion, it was assumed to be the sea itself. The DiitcK fishermen, above and around Spitzbergcn, pushed their adventurous cruises through the ice into open spaces- varying in size and form witli the season and the winds ; and Dr. Scoresby, a veneratetl authority, alludes to such vacancies in the floe, as pointing in argument to a freedom of movement from the north, indicating open water in the neighborhood. of the Pole." vScoresby, the elder, infers that it Avas Uarcnt^'s in- tention, in 1596, to make a iram-^o\wY voyage in pur- suance of the scheme suggested, in 1527, by Robert Thorne, of Bristol ; which was inmiediately attempted by two ships, fitted out undiM- the sanction, and, per- haps, under the pationage, of Henry Vlll. Wonderful, Ave nuiy say, as were the results attained / 14 with such inadequate means ; they are still more won- derful when we compare them with the very little, if any, more important, compassed during the present cen- tury, with all the superior advantages already enumer- ated, without considering the immense facilities afford- ed by the auxiliary aid of steam. "It is remarkable that two centuries of extreme activity should have added so very little to our knowledge of the Arctic regions ;" and it is still more mortifying to consider how little progress has been made in geographical discovery, since the earliest adventurers intrepidly explored the Polar Archipelago with their humble barks, which sel- dom exceeded the burden of fifty tons. "The relations of the earlier navigators to these parts, "-i« the testimony of the scientific authors of the volumes entitled "Dis- covery and Adventures in the Polar Seas and Region^,'' "possess an interest which has not yet been eclipsed.' - "The voyage of Martens, from Hamburg to Spitzbergen, may be cited as still the most instructive. But the best and completest work on the subject of the Northern Fisheries, \A a treatise in three volumes, (octavo,) translated from the Dutch language into French, by Bernard de Reste, and published at Paris in 1801, un- der the title, " Histoire des Peches, des Decouvertes, ^t des Etablivsseniens des Hollandais dcins les Mers du Nord." On the 17th of June, 1590, Uavcnt^ discovered land in the latitude of 80 deg. 10 min. with his little ships or vlieboats, — last sailing vessels with two masts, and usually of about 100 tons burthen, — so called, sdy vari- ous authors, because built expressly for the difficult nav- igation of the Vlie and Texel. In 1827, with all the appliances and and resources of the Bi'itisli Government 15 at his command, and stimulated by the prize of national rewai'd, Parry made his way by the aid of boats and rude sledges, over the ice, less than three degrees far- ther north — 82 deg. 40 min. In the same years (1596-7,) the bold Amsterdammer passed a Polar winter on the shores of Nova Zembla, and experienced all the privations, dangers, and inten- sity of suffering, without any resources except those arising from his own indomitable resolution ; much less than which, amid a comparative abundance of luxuries, prepared without regard to expense, and at the utmost exertion of science, have confen*ed a world-wide repu- tation on more than one officer connected with subse- quent Artie expeditions. When we read in the ac- counts of those determined men, the perils to which their fragile vessels — scarcely, if ever, exceeding the burthen of 100 tons, and generally from 10 to 35 and 50 tons measurement — ^were exposed ; the dangers from climate and disease ; from the savage beasts of the Po- lar circle, against which they had to wage war with fire arms the most imperfect, and weapons still more primi- tive and ineffective, their escape would almost seem miraculous, and their success a special Providence vouch- safed in consideration of their deep religious trust in the Almighty ; and their child-iike faith in His power to guard them against all perils, even when cut off from the rest of the world by impassible barriers of ice- mountains and ice-bound seas. What modern sailors credit to "luck," "chance," and "fortune," the "old salts" of former days attributed to Providence, that superin- tending Providence which watched over and delivered them. Dr. Kane seems to dwell upon JJare nt^ as the Patriarch / 16 of Artie explorers ; and as he was the fii'st of the Hol- landers, of whose voyages of discovery within the Artie cirele we have authentic accounts ; with him commences the narrative of the expeditions of the Dutch to those regions, and in fact all others in search of the north east passage. But the audience may already have remarked, What have the Dutch Expeditions to the Arctic regions, or the JDntclj at tl)e ^ortt) {)oU, to do with the jDntd) in iHaine ? Much. The connection is complete, and the transition easy and natural. In 1609, ijeiibridf $tib0Oti, on his third voyage — his first under the Dutch flag — in the famous "Half Moon," in search of the North East Pass- age into the Pacific, finding his farther progress arrest- ed by the ice, and other impediments resulting from jts presence ; suddenly put his helm up, and bore away for the shores of North America ; where he made his first landing on the coast of Maine, having come to an anchor in Penobscot Bay. With this explanatory clause, we leave the shores of Acadie, to revisit those of the frozen North. As was remarked before, the parallel drawn by Dr. Kane between the details of his own winter sojourn and that of jBarent^, in the extreme Arctic regions, holds good with regai'd to other circumstances- "a parallel," the Doctor adds, "which might ver* ?y that sad truth of his- tory, that human adventure repeats itself;" and another noted work on the Polar Seas and Regions observes, that "all the changes of the Polar ice are periodical, and are again repeated at no very distant interval of time ;" nature, as it were, thus lending her aid to complete the cheerful or harrowing resemblance. „;The Hon'ble Daines Barrington, in the two first pa- /■ 17 pers of "Instances of navigators who have reached high northern latitudes," "produces four examples of vessels having sailed to latitude 81 1-2 deg. ; seven to 82 deg. or upward ; three to 83 deg. or more ; six vessels in company to 86 deg. ; three examples to 88 deg. ; two ships in company to 89 deg. and one to 89 1-2 deg. be- sides several others brought forward in his latter papers." He gives due credit to the reports of Dutch whalers, and it seems very evident to any but envious or incred- ulous rivals, that those who have penetrated nearest to the northern pole have been Dutch or Hollandish ves- sels, whose masters claim no credit to themselves — that is to their individual exertions, physical or mental — for their remarkable approximation to that extreme point, except that they were up North at the nick of time, and taking advantage of favorable winds and currents, made their way through openings in the icy barrier as far north as 88 deg., and even 89 deg. 40 min. latitude, only twenty miles from the Arctic pole itself Mr. or Captain Scoresby in his "Artie Regions," and other Eng- lish writers in their publications, attempt to discredit these wondrous achievements of Hollandish shipmasters, while he admits that no people on the meridian of the Nova Zembla — or more properly speaking, perhaps, on the meridian of Europe — have penetrated as far to the North as the Dutch ; on the meridian of Asia as the Russians ; and of America as the English ; if they have not lost their chaplet by the late expedition under Dr. Kane. The same author fully endorses the adventurous spirit which actuated the Dutch whale-fishermen, and eulogizes the ability, frugality and endurance, which characterized all their operations. "The Dutch" — ^says the younger Scoresby, no mean 8 ■ u ■ aiithority, for he had been a prosperous whaling-master Himself — "have been eminently distinguished for the vigor and success with which, for the space of niore than a century, they prosecuted the whale-fishery at ^pitzbergen." When, after the competition between the Dutch and English had gone to such lengths, and the former had been compelled to resort to arms, against the unjustifiable aggressions of the latter, both nations sent armed fleets to the fishing grounds, whose broad- sides, reverberating from the ice-mountains and snow- clad rocks, ought to have delighted the whales, wal- russes, and other denizens of the deep, could they have comprehended that the roar of human conflict, emulating fhe din of their own elements and zone, betokened the inutual slaughter of their most inveterate enemies ! i This naval warfare, in which the Dutch Whaling Na- vy were ultimately successful — defeating, in 1618, the English in a general encounter, and capturing one of their ships, which was carried as a trophy into the port of Amsterdam, resulted in the districting of Spitzbergen, the head-quarters of tlie European whale fishery, in which the Dutch played such a conspicuous part, whose enterprise, says Forster, "was in the fulness of its splendor from 1614 to 1641 ;" and according to De Reste, "in its most flourishing state about the year 1630." To the Dutch was assigned the northern portion of the island, where, on Amsterdam-Island, upon the shore of Hol- landers'-Bay, they built their Arctic metropolis, appro- priately entitled "Smeerenberg," — Grease- or Fat- [i. e. Blubber-] Town ; or, according to the best authority, the Dutch " Description of the Whale Fishery," "Smeeren- berg" — a compound word, derived from "Smeer," Fat, and "Bergen," to preserve, i. e. put, or barrel, up. 19 Such, indeed, was the bustle produced by the ye Let us now turn back again, and examining the chro- nological list of Arctic voyagers, confine ourselves to those of the Dutch in that portion of the Arctic Ocean to which they seem to have directed their whole atten- tion ; as well Jis those of the Engli.sh, for th(! discovery of a North East Passage ; or, jis some say, of a trans- polar passage. The first on record is that of the Eng- lish, which dates from 1527, when two ships (one bear- ing the cheering name of "Dominus Vobiscum,") were dispatched in the reign of Henry VIII. for discoveries in the direction of the North Pole. This expedition was void of results, and one of the ships did not return. The second, in 1553, was that of Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor — of which, more anon ; of their three ships and crews, but one returned : that immedi- fttely commanded by Chancellor, whose furthest north- em and eastern limit was the discovery of the White Sea. The third, in 1556, was that of Stephen Bar- roughs, in a small vessel, the ^^Searchthrift," who visjted Novaia-Zemlia, most probably the southern coast, and discovered the island of Yaigatch, at the entrance of the strait of the same name. The fourth, that in 1580, when Arthur Pet and CharleH.lackson, in the "George" and the "William," sailed from England in search of the North East Passage ; one of the ships made its way through the Strait of Vaigatch, but of the other no ti- dings were ever received, except that it had wintered in a Norwegian port. The fifth, in 1594, was the first voyage of JBarent^, Cornells Conielison, and others. The sixth, in 1595, was the Dutch National Expedition, in which Bareni^ acted as Chief-Pilot. The seventh, in 1596, was that in which Barents discovered Bear-Island and Spitzbergen, and lost his life. The eighth, was in 1608, when an English vesael under (Qenbriik ^nbson-our Hudson — uiade its way as i'ar as the coast of Nova-Zem- bla, but prematurely returned. The ninth, was in 1609, when Hud8on,having transferred his services to the Dutch, started a second time, ostensibly to explore a North East Passage, while his heart was fixed on that to the North West. He .sailed to the eastward as far as the Port of VardoehuuH, in Norwegian Lapland, when, pre- tending to have been arrested by fog and ice, he re- passed the North Cape and steered across the x\tlantic for America. Scoresby, in his narrative, sryy: '"T^h^ desijTu of this curious navigation is not known" ; Hud- son rriay not have communicated his design, but his reason •. are evident without explanation : he Avas, no doubt, ;<4lisfied that Barents had done all that man could towards solving the question of a North East Pjuodge, and had failed. To the Morlh West and West, many maintained that n transit was no less certain than that to the North East was nncertaiti. This he deter- mined to assay, and supposed that he had succeeded when he entered the bay of New York. The tenth wa»s in 1611, or 1614, when a Hollandm ship is said to have accomplished one hundred leagues to the Eixstward of Novaia Zemliu. This was an extraordinary achievement, and must have brought the Dutchman, (taking into consideration the enormous difference between a degree of longitude at the equator and in this high latitude,) within sight of, if not up to. Cape Severo Vostochnoi. At all events, this triumph for the tri-color of Holland is not without authority ; for Scoresby enumerates the voyage in his Chronological List. The eleventh, was that of Jan Mayen in 1611-12 or '13, when that enterprising Dutch navigator discovered that lone island, which now bears his name, although once known as Mauritius, or St. Maurice Island, in honor of the Stadtholder, Prince Maurice. The twelfth and last, was the abortive attempt, in 1676, of Captains John Wood and William Flawes, who were sent out with two ships by the English Admiralty. As Wood, and his ship "The Speedwell," alone are mentioned, Flawes may have been recalled, or detained on the way. At all events, the Speedwell was wrecked on the west coast of Nova Zembla ; and Wood brought home such n gloomy impression of the dangers that were to be eneountered in that quarter, that the idea of sailing a-ound the North of Asia into the Pacific 24 Ocean was abandoned, upon his return, and report, at once and for ever. And now once more let us return to I3a^nt^ . There would seem to be some races of men who will not bow to or acknowledge any superior but the Lord ; and in the consciousness of His assistance display a fear- less energy in combating not only the oppressions of stronger and more numerous peoples, but even the ut- most terrors of nature. Such are the Dutch or Holland- ers, concerning whom no testimony can be deemed more reliable than that of the Germans, at once a cognate and a rival race. And what say they ? "Rectitude, candor, honesty, constancy, patience, equanimity, temperance, cleanliness, carried almost to excess, plainness in their manner of living, fidelity to their word, are particularly prominent attributes of the Dutch. They are reproached, hoAvever, with avarice, greediness of gain, and inquisitiveness. Their confi- dence in their own powers, which has often the appear- ance of cold indiiference, their imperturbability, and their circumspectness in answering and in judging, have brought upon them the reputation of sluggishness ; al- though no one can deny that they possess industry, cour- age, and contempt of every danger, particularly in un- dertakings considered likely to result in profit to them- selves." Having in a great measure freed themselves from the ferocious tyranny of Spain, the people of the United Provinces no sooner found themselves relieved from im- mediate danger, than they turned their eyes towards the true source of their power and wealth, the Ocean ; that element which surrounded and penetrated their country on all sides, which towered as it were above 25 them, and which, when roused to fury, menaced their very existence. Still there was a kindliness mingled with its enmity ; and the Hollander might say — as the Dane — that the salt sea was his friend, whose jealousy brooked no other proud invader ; and held itself in readiness to drive forth the foreign foe, who dared to contest with it the prized possession. To the merchant of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the eastern realms of Asia were the Alembic, which was to transmute his enterprise into gold ; to him the countries and islands, gold and gem-encrusted, spice- scented, and silk and tissue draperied, known under the general name of the East — ^were the Philosopher's stone which should change to power and prosperity the toil and sweat of his laborious days, and vigils of his wakeful nights. Unable as yet to defy the mighty Armadas of Spain, those "castles on the deep," which guarded the approaches to the sources of those golden streams, which alone and so long had enabled the Spanish Monarch to continue the contest for the subversion of their rights and liberty, they determined to attempt, as we have seen, a north-eastern passage, and bearding winter in his pene- tralia, arrive at the wished for goal, by a new and un- explored channel. With no other countenance than the bare permission of the States General and their high Admiral, the Prince Maurice of Nassau, a "private so- ciety" of merchants equipped at Amsterdam, Enchuy- sen, and Zealand, a squadron of three vessels and an attendant yacht. Whether he enjoyed the supreme nominal command or not, the actual guidance of the whole was entrusted to iUilliam Sarentj, commander or Pilot of the Amsterdam ship — or, as Dr. Kane styles him, Chief Pilot of the States General of Holland, — ^who 4 M 26 approved himself one of the most expert nautical men of the age, prolific in able and adventurous Navigators. Thus an Arctic voyage of discovery, the offspring of private enterprise, was the first grand undertaking of the greatest Free-state of the Old World, scarcely yet emancipated from the shackles of Spain. 'There were noble-hearted Grinnells in those days, and the History of Holland teems with instances of in- dividuals actuated by like generous sentiments. This expedition sailed from the Texel on the 5th of June, 1594 ; and on the 23d of the same month reached the island of Kalguez, at the mouth of the broad chan- nel which contracts into the Strait of Vaigatch, through which one division of two ships, under Comelis Cor- nelison, made their way into the Karskoe Sea, or sea of Kara, in which they proceeded forty leagues, or oiie hundred and sixty miles, to the eastward ; when, find- ing a wide, blue, open expanse of water before them, with the coast trending rapidly to the southward, instead of pursuing the discovery, they determined to hasten back and communicate to their countrymen the joyful news of their imaginary discovery of the North East Passage. In fact, however, they had only opened the Gulf of Obi, and a few days' farther progress would have brought them in contact with the shores of the Samojedes country; thereby proving that the land which they deemed the eastern shores of Asia was nothing in reality but those of the Tobolsk Peninsula. Barfnt^, however, steered a bolder course, and examin- ed the whole western coast of Nova-Zembla ; desig- nating all the remarkable points with appropriate names, from Latitude 77 deg. 45 min. down as far as 71 degrees. By the first of August, the intrepid navi- i< 27 gator had actually reached the northern extremity of Novaia-Zemlia, in Longitude 77 deg. east ; but beyond that distant point he encountered so much tempest- driven ice, that he abandoned all hope of more sun cessful progress further at that time; and, sorely against his will, retraced his homeward course. On the coast of Russian Lapland, he met the returning Comelison ; and, thus strangely reunited, the two divis- ions arrived in the Texel, on the sixteenth of Septem- ber. One incident of this voyage is so amusing, that it is well worthy repetition here. Although beaten in a pitched battle against the sea-horses or sea-cows, at the Orange isles, the Hollanders appear to have had but little conception of the ferocity and power of the polar-bear; one of which, having been wounded, they succeeded in noosing, in the idea of leading him about like a dog ; and eventually carrying him back as a trophy to Hol- land. They found, however, they had caught a tartar ; for the furious animal not only routed the party, but boarded and made himself master of their boat. Luck- ily for them, his noose became entangled in the iron work about the rudder ; and the crew, who had been actually driven over the bows, preferring to trust them- selves rather to the mercy of the icy-sea, than to the jaws and claws of the monster, finding him caught, mustered courage, fell upon him in a body, and dis- patched him. The reports of this expedition, although their con- clusions were erroneous, could scarcely have been more glorious, as far as regards the reputation they have won for Barentj. Unfortunately, the mistaken views of Cor- nelison excited the most exaggerated hopes in the Gov- r- 28 emment and people of Holland. Led astray by this false confidence, Prince Maurice, the States-General, and the whole country^ contributed ample funds, with which a fleet of six large vessels, and an attendant yacht, were fitted out ; not as for adventure and discov- ery, but for the prosecution of a certain lucrative trade with the golden regions of the East. Of this magnificent Commercial Armada, iDUUatn Barents was constituted the Chief Pilot and Conductor ; but all his abilities could not avert a speedy and unhap- py failure. Nothing could have been more unsuitable to narrow, winding, ice-encumbered seas, than the lofty, deeply-laden, and unwieldy ships which now adventur- ed in them. Beset by more than usually abundant ice, and driven from their course by a continual succession of contrary winds, — of all the Arctic undertakings, none proved so abortive as this ; which, prepared without regard to expense, resulted not only in immense pecuniary loss, but in deterring the HoUandish government from af- fording further assistance to efforts in the same direc- tion. This National Expedition — for so it may be justly styled — which sailed from the Texel, on the sec- ond of June, 1595, having thus proved so unfortunate in every respect, it would have been almost reasonable to suppose, that it would have put an end, for a time at least, to such efforts. Not so, however. Although the States-General refused to subsidize those who wished to renew the experiment, they nevertheless offered a high reward, to stimulate their countrymen, in attempting the discovery of the earnestly-desired North-East Pass- age. The Town Council of Amsterdam prepared two /■ 29 small vessels, and equipped them for the purpose of discovery alone. Of these, one was placed under the command of the experienced Barents ; the other, of one Jan (ttomelia I^bP- Some historians, however, assert that one vessel was commanded by lacob l)an ijetmskerb, and the other by Ian Cornells H^ ; both able, resolute and enterprising Captains, — Barents acting as Chief Pilot and Ice-Master. Be this as it may, Barents exer- cised the supreme direction ; he only is known to fame, and justly so. He was the master spirit, and immortal- ized himself: of both the others, we hear little. At all events, no account was ever given of what Ryp actually accomplished; and no important discovery has ever been attributed to his exertions, in the second vessel. As experience has subsequently demonstrated, this ex- pedition, which left the Port of Amsterdam, on the tenth of May, 1596, sailed too late for successful Arctic exploration; yet, notwithstanding, accomplished suffi- cient to demand the utmost efforts of near three hun^ dred years to rival the extent of its results. ' The English have endeavored to rob the Dutch of the honor of their discoveries, during this voyage — (even as in the New World, native historians have striven to deprive the Hollanders of much similar credit due to them on the Western Continent) — ^in this case, how- ever, unsuccessfully. On the ninth of June, Barents discovered a long, high and rocky island — shaped somewhat like a saddle, i. e. high at either extremity and low in the middle — erroneously supposed to have been first seen by the English Bennet, in 1603 — whose horrible repulsive- ness invested it with every attribute appropriate to the home of desolation and despair. Above its lofty 30 black-^wherever free from ice and snow — and almost inaccessible cliffs, broken into a thousand preci- pices, towered that sheer peak which still is known by the befitting title of Mount Misery. This lone and dreary spot the stalwort Dutchman, Barents, named "Bear Island," from the circumstance of having slain upon it a large bear, whose skin measurr i twelve feet in length — a title, which the English afterwards tried to supplant by that of "Alderman Cherie." Bartntj next made Spitzbergen, or, as it was long called, East Greenland ; and coasted its western shore, even to its utmost northern extremity. Many writers have asserted that this vast tract of Polar land, or Ar- chipelago, was first discovered, or, rather, dimly seen — only seen — through mist and tempest, by Sii* Hugh WiLLOUGHBY, in 1553, in the reign of Edward the Vlth of England ; but, as neither the Commander, nor any of his mariners, ever returned, it is scarcely possible to verify what land he actually caught a glimpse of; and what countries he did not set eyes on. Thus, the first prow which sought to cleave its icy barrier, remains to this day the trophy of the Arctic Circle ; and poor Sir Hugh Willoughby was the Sir John Franklin of the XVIth Century. It is very questiona- ble if the first English expedition to theNorth-East ever saw, much less discovered, in the real sense of the word, or landed on the most southern shores of, Spitzbergen; whose very name attests its Dutch sponsors, being de- rived from two words in their language — "Spitj," sig- nifying Sharp, or Pointed, and "Berg," Mountain. Barents, however, made his way to its extreme north- cm point, through waters studded, in mid-summer, with fieldrice, which his look-out reported from the mast- head as multitudes of snowy swans ; an error not un* likely to have been made, since our own coast affords, in summer, opportunities of witnessing acres upon acres of white gulls ; whose thousands, swimming, can be likened to nothing but an ice-field; and rising to a vast and dazzling fleecy cloud. This, the writer himself has seen at the entrance of the Bay of Fundy. noctu^ How much further to the northward Bar At this juncture, Barmtj, who had hitherto deferred to the wishes of Cornells Hgp, determined to allow his own experience and resolution to be no longer em- barrassed by the views of his associate : and, bidding him adieu, bore away alone, to the E. S. E., and made Nova Zembla at midday on the seventeenth of July, observed in latitude 76 degrees 16 minutes ; and is reported to have reached, at least, 77 deg. north, 32 in doubling Orange Isle, which forms its northern ex- tremity. Here, however, Barents, it is said by some, realized the evils of his late departure from the Texel ; while others endorse the practice of the Dutch and Baltic mariners, who began, and still begin, their northern voyages somewhat later in the season than was subse- quently customary among the English fleets destined for Arctic expeditions, for whaling, sealing, and dis- covery. After doubling what was then known as Cape Desire, but now as Cape Zelania, the icebergs presented them- selves in such numbers, and in such close array, that Bartnt^ became satisfied that if he wished to escape and seek a more hospitable climate for his winter sojourn, he must mtke all sail to the southward, and strive to escape through the Vaigatch Strait. No sooner, how- ever, had he turned his prow, than it seemed as if the icebergs had been transformed by some "Wizard of the North,' into pursuing demons — ^which, as is the case with other fell spirits — ^having been hitherto held in check by that lofty courage, with which the Dutch mariner defied them ; now, on the first sign of irresolu- tion on his part — ^mustered courage, and united in the pursuit of his flying bark. How often has it been remarked that "truth is stran- ger than fiction," and so it proved on this occasion; for, fast as j^artnt^ flew before the favoring gal'3s, still faster flew the icy giants, which actually drove his vessel into a small haven, since known as Icy Port, in northern latitude 72 degrees and eastern longitude 70 degrees, and there blockaded him. His dreadful suflerings would occupy too large a space for this occasion, were an, were 33 we to attempt to give them in detail ; suflBcient be it to quote the remarks of an old author in regard thereto : "To attempt any description of their proceedings, their observations, or their afflictions, during this severe trial, would, within the limit of a few lines, — to which it is my wish to confine my remarks in this place, — but spoil a most interesting and affecting narrative." "The journal of the proceedings of these poor people," as Mr. Barrow beautifully observes, "during their cold, comfort- less, dark, and dreadful winter, is intensely and painful- ly interesting. No murmuring escapes them in their mo3t hopeless and afflicted situation ; but such a spirit of true piety, and a tone of such mild and subdued re- signation to Divine Providence, breathe through the whole narrative, that it is impossible to peruse the sim- ple tale of their sojournings, and contemplate their for- lorn situation, without the deepest emotion." Thus, "cabined, cribbed, and confined," we discover other parallels, as interesting and remarkable, between the incidents of Bavtntfs log, in 1596, and McClure's, in 1850-'l. Let us examine two incidents, which seem to be, in the language of the latter, a mere echo of the records of the former. No sooner was the Hollandish bark within the jaws of that harbor, which they deemed a place of security, than the pursuing ice closed up the entrance, and even followed them within it, and lifting up the one end of the beleagured vessel, threw it into an almost perpendicular position, with the other extremity nearly touching the bottom, so that it was partially submerged. From this critical and extraordinary attitude, they were proA'^den- tially rescued, the very next day after it occurred, by changes in the ice-fields, brought about by the influx of 6 / 34 fresh masses, driven in by the pressure of the outer bergs, which soon formed a complete encompassing bulwark ; and precluded all hope of ever being able to rescue the vessel, even if the crew should survive to the ensuing spring. Gradually, by jamming in of suc- cessive cakes of ice, over or under the original field, first one side and then the other of the vessel was raised by the insertion of these ice wedges beneath the bilge ; until, first canting to port, and then to starboard, the groaning and quivering ship was raised to the top of the constantly -increasing ice-elevation, as if by the scientific application of machinery. While, thus, their minds were agitated by the ever-present dread of the instant and complete destruction of their frail bark, the noises of the ice without, not only that immedi- ately around them, but throughout the harbor and upon the adjacent shores, together with the thundering crashes of the icebergs — hurled against each other by wind and tide, mutually crushing their mighty masses, or toppling them over with a din, as if whole mounUins of marble had been blown up by some internal explosive force — almost deprived them of hearing — likewise the crack- ing and groaning within of the ship itself, was so dread- ful — although merely arising from the freezing of the juices of the timber and liquids in the hold — ^that the crew were terrified, lest their ship should fall in pieces, with every throe, which seemed to rack it from deck to kelson. Thus far Barcntj. What now of McClure ? "These preparations" for wintering — where the winter (1850-'l) overtook them, only thirty miles from Barrow Strait, where four days more — four days, denied their prayers and hopes — ^would have solved the problem of a Nortli- 35 West Passage — "were made under circumstances that might shake the nerves of a strong man." — "As the ice surged, the ship was thrown violently from side to side, now lifted out of the water, now plunged into a hole." — "The crashing, creaking and straining," says Captain McClure, in his log, "is beyond description ; the oflBcer of the watch, when speaking to me, is obliged to put his mouth close to my ear, on account of the deafening noise." Both of these statements, however startling, are cor- roberated by the recent narrative of Dr. Kane. After that tremendous gale, "a perfect hurricane," which burst upon him on the 20th of August, 1852, battling whose fury he parted his three most reliable cables,lost his best bower anchor, and finally was wildly dragged along by "a low water- washed berg," which he figuratively styles "our noble tow-horse, whiter than the pale horse that seemed to be pursuing us," his brigantine experienced the same fearful "nippings," and the same gradual but rough uplifting, which have been already described in connection with the "vlie boat" of Bartnt^, and propel- ler of McClure. The language of Kane's Journal is so beautiful and appropriate that to do the scene full jus- tice it must be quoted entire ; and whoever will pause to contemplate the position of the mariner of Amster- dam and that of our own country's Arctic hero, will be struck, if not astonished at the close resemblance of their situations, although at epochs centuries apart, — a resemblance heightened by the similarity of their vessels and crews, both as to burthen and number, — a parallel more perfect than that presented by any other recent polar expedition. Under the lee of a lofty cape and an anchored ice-berg, the staunch little "Advance" brought up at last in comparative safety. 36 "Now," says the Dr., "began the nippings. The first shock took us on our port-quarter ; the brig bearing it well, and, after a moment of the old-fashioned suspense, rising by jerks handsomely. The next was from a veteran floe, tongued and honey-combed, but floating in a single table over twenty feet in thickness. Of course no wood or iron could stand this ; but the shore- ward face of our iceberg happened to present an in- clined plane, descending deep into the water ; and up this the brig was driven, as if some great steam screw power was forcing her into a dry-dock." * * * "As our brig, borne on by the ice, commenced her ascent of the berg, the suspense was oppressive. The immense blocks piled against her, range upon range, pressing themselves under her keel and throwing her over upon her side, till, urged by the successive accu- mulations, she rose slowly and as if with convulsive efforts along the sloping wall. Still there was no relax- ation of the impelling force. Shock after shock, jarring her to her very centre, she continued to mount steadily on her precarious cradle. But for the groaning of her timbers and the heavy sough of the floes, we might have heard a pin drop. And then, as she settled down into her old position, quietly taking her place among the broken rubbish, there was a deep breathing silence, as though all were waiting for some signal before the clamor of congratulation and comment could burst forth." In a note (17) at the end of Volume 1, Dr. Kane instances another case of similar peril reported by Cap- tain Cator, ofH. B. M. steamer "Intrepid." "His ves- sel was carried bodily up the inclined face of an iceberg, and, after being high and dry out of water, launched again without injury." 11 Barmt^ was now completely enclosed within — to him — impermeable walls of ice ; and there, in a hastily constructed hut, short of provisions, fuel, every thing which could make their existence hopeful, an Arctic winter and a Polar night closed in with all their horrors upon that feeble company. In the last days of August, 1696, their dungeon shut upon them. On the 4th of November, no sun uprose again to cheer them ; and three long, dreary months elapsed before his returning rays, on the 27th of January, 1597, glad- dened the hearts of the survivors. .> "In all the relations of this voyage, we meet with an mstance of the extraordinary elasticity of spirit, and of the predilection for their national customs, peculiar to the Dutch people" ; which it would be an injustice to them to omit. The fifth of January, the eve of the Festival of the Three Kings, is one of those periodical seasons conse- crated by the Hollanders to amusement and exemption from labor. In the very midst of their suflferings, from the extraordinary degree of cold — for the cold of the winter of 1596-7, was one of the most terrible on re- cord — they earnestly besought their Commander to permit them to celebrate that great Dutch Festival ; "philosophically observing that because they expected so many sad days, was no valid reason why they should not enjoy one merry one." Permission being granted, they chose the Chief Boatswain, or Gunner — for books disagree as to the individual — as their King ; a poten- tate with like authority and functions with the Lord of Misrule in the old English Christmas revels. The little wine which they had saved was now exhausted in pygmy bumpers, to the health of the new Sovereign of Nova- 38 Zembla ; and with their only remaining two pounds of flour, they fried in oil and tossed the pancake — "de rigueur," on such occasions — with the prescribed cer- emonies ; and startled the multitude of bears, prowling day and night about their hut, and made the dreary realms of the dread ice-king re-echo for the first time with the sound of human jollity and happiness. One chronicle even ventures to assert that the evening pass- ed as merrily as if they had been at home, around their own native tile-cased kagct)el or huge stoves, in that dear Fatherland, so fondly cherished, which th jy brave- ly hoped they would yet revisit — ^hoping against what seemed almost desperate hope ! Blockaded by the ice, beset by bears, whose growls and hungry cries, both at the door and chimney-top, seemed fiend-like, amid the howling of the Arctic gale, the calm, religious faith, and innate resolution of that glorious Hollander, the fearless iDUUam Barcntj, seemed to bum brighter and more cheering with every fresh accession of calamity. On the eleventh of the ensuing June, engaged in constant combats with the bears, the survivors, fourteen in number, who had buried three comrades in the ice, dug out their boats from beneath the superincumbent snow, cut a way through the vast piles of ice which resembled the houses of a great city, interspersed, as it were, with towers, chimneys, lofty gables, and aspiring steeples ; and, on the fourteenth, launched their two frail boats,and set sail,running before a westerly breeze. By the seventeenth, they had pass- ed the Cape of Isles, Cape Desire, the Orange Islands ; and, working their way through the besetting ice, found themselves once more off the Icy Cape, in the latitude of about 68 degrees north, and about two degrees west liu of Cape Desire. On the following day the boats were again involved in ice, and so beset and crushed that every one took what he deemed a last adieu of his un- fortunate comrades. Barents — ^broken down by long and severe illness, and the extraordinary exertions he had been called upon to make — feeling the fatal hour at hand, while off the Icy Cape, desired to be lifted up, to look once more upon that terrible boundaiy, which, to him, indeed, had been the Ultima Thule, both of his labors and of his life. Gazing upon it, long and wistfully, he seemed to be taking his last look of earth. Rallying, however, he, together with the rest of the sick, was landed, on the ensuing day, upon that shore he was destined never to leave again alive. There, the severe illness of Claes Andriz or Adrianson was reported to the dying Ice-Master, who simply remarked in reply, that he himself was likewise not fai* from his end ; intimating that they who had en- countered such dangers together were about to enter the Port of Eternity in company. Still, conversing and looking on a chart drawn by Gerard De Veer, none dreamed that he, so cheerful and undaunted, could lie, as it were, upon the very threshold of his fate ; when he suddenly and gently moved aside the map, desired a drink of water, and instantly expired. After the death of Barents — an inexpressible blow to the survivors, who had relied upon his fearlessness, experience and attainments in navigation, to extricate them from the manifold and terrific perils which beset their further progress — the two boats, with their crews, now reduced to thirteen men, broken in health and spirits, made good their escape from this dismal 40 country ; and, after a perilous and painful voyage of eleven hundred and forty-three miles, arrived in safety at Kola, in Russian Lapland : others say, Vardoehuus — from an hundred to an hundred and fifty miles further west — the most northern fort and port in Europe, in the Norwegian Island of Vardoe, off Finmark — ^where they met with their consort, commanded by Jan Cor- nelis Ryp, which they supposed had long since perished, — and, with gratitude unfeigned, in the "Merchants' House" of that seaport, deposited their shattered boats as "a sign and token of their deliverance," therein to be preserved as a simple but touching memorial of their own sufferings and the extreme goodness of God, as evinced in their preservation. Cornelis, or Ryp, having joyfully received them on board his vessel, set sail for Amsterdam ; "where," says Davies, "they were received as men risen from the dead, the failure in the object of their expedition being wholly forgotten in admiration at the surpassing cour- age and patience with which they had endured their sufferings." Words cannot do justice to the perseverance, courage, energy, and capacity of tUilUaiii Darent^, or Bttrcutjeon ; and, be it remembered, that a greater portion of the southern coast of Nova Zembla, which the Dutch left unexplored, at this era, remains so ; and is so laid down upon the maps even of the present day. His memory is one of the Fatherland's most glorious possessions ; and two centuries and a half of unremit- ting enterprise and rivalry have not eclipsed the maritime triumphs he achieved for Amsterdam, and the States-General. It is somewhat remarkable that hitherto no gi'eat 41 national enterprise has accomplished more astonishing results in maritime discovery, than those "vvhich have rewarded the perseverance and courage of individuals. Bavcnt^, with his single vessel, surpassed every thing which has since been attempted in that quarter ; in the same manner that Captain Weddell, a private trader, in a "frail bark of 160 tons," fitted out for the seal fishery, made more wonderful discoveries, juid [)eiietra- ted nearer to the colder and less accessible Antarctic Pole, in latitude 74 degrees 15 minutes, in 1823, than jiuy previous navigator, clearing the Lrack, ;ind paving the way, as it wei'c, for subsequent and more elaborate attemi)ts. Oui* own galhmt Dr. Kani:, whom tlie comi- try may well honor, both living and dead, with his little hermaphrodite brig of 144 tons, is another re- markable instance. Great is their glory, immortal their renown ! But, even yet, the palm remains with JBorcnt^ ; for, to the first in any dangerous expedition, belongs, or should belong, the maximum of credit. He who leads the way deserves the unlading coronal ; pro- vided he is not too far outstripped by those who avail themselves of his experience, and follow in hia wake. To lUilltain Uarcntj, it would seem to me, the words of Horace will apply, more justly than to any otlier sea- man whose keel has ever ploughed the Arctic Seas, or whose prow has ever "bored' the Polar Ice : "lUi robur et jes triplex Circa pectus erat, qui fragilcm iruci Oouimisit pelago rrtteui Primus," "In Oiik or triple Brass liis Heart was cas'd, who first to bellowing Seas entrusted tlie frail Bark." How apposite the whole, particularly "the fmil bark," and the term "bellowing," as applied to the Polar Seas and their denizens ! 42 However brave and successful subsequent explorers have proved themselves, his be the laurel who the peril first assayed ; and even as the Latin poet celebrates in undying verse the resolution of the first mortal who dared the tempestuous waves, the Knickerbocker's heart should cling to Barcntj, the Patriarch of Arctic navigators, with scarcely less affectionate remembrance than that which Avarms his bosom toward Kane. A three- fold cord should bind the New-Nethcrlander's sympathies to JBarent^, whose corpse, bedewed with manhood's burn- ing tears, sleeps, tombed within the Arctic Circle — his trophy, obelisk and sepulchre, the undissolving glacier and the eternal iceberg ; his dirge, the howling of the polar bear and rearing of the fearless walrus, the thun- der-tones of the ice conflict, and the wile music of the Arctic gale, amid the monumental ice — the first, a common origin ; the second, his success ; the third, his fate : a victor, to whose very bones Fortune deni- ed a fitting obsequy. And here, a short digression seems admissible, whose sombre interest must excuse a farther tax upon the reader's time and patience. Bttvctitj and his fellow Dutchmen were not the only Hollanders who dared aflfront the Winter King by trespassing upon his frigid realm, and wintering amid the polar ice, two centuries jind a quarter since. Dutch sailors were the first hu- man beings who ever volimtarily passed a winter on the ii hospitable, ice-bound shores of Spitzbergen. The forlorn hope consisted of seven volunteers from the Dutch fleet, in 1633, all of whom were restored to their country in safety. This was a regular attempt to establish a settlement. The following year — 1G34 — a second party of seven voluntarily assumed the place 43 of their fortunate predecessors, all of whom perished. Thus terminated all hopes of colonizing this northern region with success. The bodies of • the last seven were found twenty years afterwards, in a perfect state of preservation — three enclosed in rude coffins, two in their beds, and two on the floor, "not having suffered the slightest degree of putrefaction." Again : In addition to the honor of its discovery, the Dutch likewise attempted to colonize Jan-Mayen Island, latitude 70 deg. 29 minutes north, longitude 7 deg. 31 minutes west, whose lofty peak, Beerenberg, 6,870 feet above the level of the sea, was seen, ninety- live to one hundred miles, from the deck of the ship "Fame" ; while a volcano, the Esk — named after the Esk whaler, of Whitby, whose master, William Scoresby, Junior, was the first to explore its desolation, — is occa- sionally active, and enjoys the reputation of being the most northern burning mountain ever witnessed in eruption. Seven Dutch seamen are, without doubt, the only human beings who ever wintered on this island. They were volunteers from the Dutch Whale Fishing Fleet, whose fearlessness the "Greenland Com- pany" availed themselves of, to make a most dangerous but interesting experiment in colonization. It is con- ceded that the journal of these mariners furnishes a better account, both of the wind and weather, from the 26th August, 1633, to the 1st May, 1634, than almost any published record of observation made in so high a latitude. Every one of them survived the perils and severiti*;: of the winter months, but perished miserably from the attacks of scurvy, induced by their inability to provide themselves with fresh provisions. The first death occurred on the 16t]i of April, and on 44 the first of May their journal terminated. When the Dutch fleet returned, on the fourth of June, they found the corpses of the seven, mummified by the frost, lying within their huts, at once their dwellings and their tombs. From Uartnt^, and this succinct but loving tri- bute to the Dutch, within the Northern frigid zone, let us resume, once more, a topic nearer home — that of ^\}t DitJiij in iHarae. Wo, Americans, neglecting both tlie surpassing mag- nificence—nay, often sublimity — and the rare loveliness of various districts of our own Continent, wander forth across the seas, to seek, at great expense, and amid physical and moral dangers, scenery in foreign laftds, which falls short of the attractions of much we possess at home. Thus, how few arc alive to the glorious and varied beauty of that zone of islands, which, commen- cing with the perfection of Casco Bay, terminates with the precipitous, seal-frequented shores of Grand-Menan, at the entrance of the Bay of Fundy. Of all the Ar- chipelagoes sung by the poet, described by the historian, and depicted by the painter, there is none which can exceed, in its union of charms, those two hundred miles of intermingling land and ocean, where, lost in each other's embrace, the sea seems in love with the land, and the shore with the foam- frosted waves ! At two points of this interesting and beautiful coast the Dutch planted the honored flag of the United Pro- vinces ; and, at several other points, they themselves were located by their English conquerors ; who, desi- rous of availing themselves of their thrift and industry, transplanted them thither from the shores of the Hud- 46 son — (whore they had aheady .achieved a partial con- quest over Nature, by their energetic industry, and had entirely ['?] conquered the barbarous instincts and enmity of their savage neighbors, by their stubborn integrity and sober diligence) — to renew the encounter with a more inhospitable climate, and more savage tribes, for the benefit of a bigoted and unscrupulous despot ! In compiling the present article, much time and Inbor has been expended in the investigation of old records, which, to their want of interest and grace, added a barrenness unusual and repulsive. So that, after all, the greater portion of the facts embodied have been derived from Sullivan's History of the District of Maine, published in B*^ ton, in 1795; and Williamson's History of the State of Maine, published at Hallowell, in 1839. Every work, however, which promised farther or cor- roborating testimony, and was available, was eagerly sought and carefully examined, as far as time and op- portunities permitted. In all these investigations, nothing appears in any of the works consulted, with regard to the Commission issued to (ilonulis Stecniu^ick, as Governor of Nova Scotia and Acadie, given by the Directors of the Privileged General West India Compa- ny of the United Netherlands, at Amsterdam, on the 27th of October, 167G ; or, of their Ordinance, dated the eleventh of September, of that year, — presented at the November meeting of the New York Historical So- ciety. Still, there is scarcely any question, but that the frigate 'Tlying Horse," commanded by Capt. Jijrriaen AEiiNOUTS,fromCuracoa,Avas the one whose crew captured the Fort Pentagoet, or PemtegCvv-ett — the name origin- ally given by the French to the Penobscot — in the very year mentioned in the Ordinance. 46 Although the Commission to SitctnuJijlk, granted by the General West India Company, is too long to insert in this conneetion, its examination will repay the read- er, inasmuch as it wiU remove all doubts as to the reality of the conquest effected by the Dutch, which could not be considered a mere temporary occupation, since it was still looked upon as an unquestioned possession after the lapse of two years. In fact, it must have been a conquest as entire as their recapture of New Amster- dam, or New York, about the same time (1673-4), when, even yet, the tricolor of Holland floated glori- ously over every sea, and only seven years before (1667) had displayed its folds almost within sight of the startled population of London, while the hoarse re- sonance of the Dutchmen's cannonade sounded a grim accompaniment to the glare of England's burning fleet and naval preparation. It is by no means surprising that the English were able to render nugatory all the efforts of the Dutch in this quarter, for the vicinity of their settlements and the advances which they had made in population, ex- erted the same influence with regard to a conflict Avith the Dutch, as that which rendered the subjugation of the Thirteen Colonics impossible to the whole power of Great Britain. The chief difficulty which the Hol- landers had to overcome, was the distance v/hich they had to transport their '•'■personnel and materiel,^'' to con- test and retain possession of a country to which both French and English laid claim, and had partially occu- pied ; to the East and North of which the former had already established themselves firmly, and to the West and South- West the latter ; while another formidable obstacle existed in its very midst, in the presence of 47 the Indian tribes, strongly attached to their Roman Catholic allies, both by the notent bonds of religion and interest. Almost midway between the mouth of the lovely Kennebcek, and of that main artery of ihc lumber- trade, the Penobscot, on the line of Lincoln and Han- cock counties, the ocean forms a deep and spacious — appropriately styled — Broad Bay ; which is so laid down on ancient maps, and is now known as Muscongus Bay ; embraced between Pleasant Point on the east, a;d Peminaquid Point on the west. At the head wa- ters of this Bay, once known as Broad Cove, as early as 1632 (V) the Dutch landed and made a settlement; of which many interesting vestiges are still in exist- ence ; and, it is said, that to this day, the Dutch lan- guage is perpetuated in the township of Bremen, lying on the west side of Broad or Muscongus Bay ; main- tained by the constant accession of German settlers, invited thither by the sympathetic kindi'ed ties of speech and lineage. At this time, or subsequently — although it is generally supposed that it w.as much later, towards the end of the XVI Ith century, 1665 or 1680—' utch families settled on several of the adjacent streams. At all events, at Woodbridge-Neck, on the eastern bank of th'3 Sheepseot River, a mile above Wiscasset Point, or Village, there are appearances of a very ancient (DutchV) settlement, where the cavities of many cellars are ik)w manifest ; though there are trees in some of them of a large size. At the moment this is prepared, it is but honest to state that the authority is forgotten on which the date of 1632 is based for the tirst Dutch settlement in Maine ; but whether it was earlier or later, Sullivan, who is often quoted, and apparently regarded as excel. 48 lent authority by Hubsoqiieiit writers, julinits that in the year 1042, the (Colonies of Massachusetts, New Plym- outli, Uluule Island, and Coiniecticut, formed a (-on ^ress of Commissioners, "for the ostensible purpose of f»uarding- themselves jigainst the Dutch, who had taken possession of the Territory on the south of them." Jt is reasonable to su[)i)ose that these Colonies were aroused to more decided measures, by the api)earancc of such sturdy enenn'es on the ncu'th likewise; and the actujd establishment of a settlement in that ({uarter. Their fears could not have been excited anew by any movements towards the south and east; inasmuch as the Dutch had been already located along" the Hudson for upwards of thirty years ; and on the Connecticut for the last eleven. This o[)inion seems aLso justified by the subse([uent language of the same historian : "When tile Dutch and French had he/ore been in possession of Acadie, the people of the English Colonies were very uneasy at being destitute of the protection of the parent state ; but their being Puritans, effectually pre- vented their having any assistance from the other side of the water. In the year 1635, the Plantations in New England appointed Edward Winslow as an agent to represent to his Majesty, that his territories were en- croached upon by the French and Dutch, and to pray that his Majesty would cither procure peace with those nations, or give authority to the English Colonies to act in their own defence." What the force of the military quotas, to be furnished by the different colonies, amounted to in 1635, d^-s not appear in this connection ; but in May, 1672, ohe union of the three Colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth and Connecticut, was renewed by Commissioners, and 49 ratified by the general Court at Boston. By that en- gagement, the proportion of men for any general ser- vice was settled for the fifteen years next ensuing, whereby Massachusetts was to furnish one hundred, Plymouth thirty, and Connecticut sixty men. There seems to be little or no doubt but that Broad Bay was the first point conquered or occupied by the Dutch ; the second, and certain scene of their gallantry and enterprise, Castine. This is one of the most remark- able points all along our Coasts ; which, under any other government than our own, would have long since been transformed into a naval and military fortress of the first class. The Peninsula of Castine, originally known to the Europeans as Bagaduce-point, or neck, but by the Indians styled Ma-je-big-wa-do-sook — twenty miles from the outermost island in Penobscot-Bay, — lies on the eastern side of the mouth of the river of that name, "which river was the ancient seat of Acadie," directly opposite to the flourishing Port of Belfast. It consti- tutes one of the most prominent objects in that panorama of Penobscot-Bay, whose beauty, when flooded with sun- light, will rank with many of the most celebrated coast- views of the Old World. To one unacquainted with its history, almost every vestige of its military occupation has disappeared, although a soldier's eye would readily detect their existence. Near the water, at the extreme point, are the remains of an old American Fort ; blown up by the English when they relinquished it. This appears to have been simply a half-moon battery, with a brick revetment, resting upon a stone foundation without a ditch. Piles of brick in the rear of this work, indicate, perhaps, the location of furnaces for heating shot ; while at this time 7 a single rusty iron-p^nn, lyinj? on the top of the parapet, is nil that remains ol' its annamont. Upon the summit of the hill, in the rear of this, the English who occupied this point throughout the Revolutionary and the last wai-s, and who had no idea of relinquishing a position MO important, in every point of view, constnicted a large bastioned fort, or field-work, now grass-grown, and un- dergoing gradual demolition by the action of the ele- ments. They likewise cut a deep ditch or canal through the narrow neck beyond ; and thus rendered the penin- snlaan island, more susceptible of defence ; whose natu- ral capabilities are such that it might easily be rendered a place of immense strength. The village itself is neat, pretty and attractive ; seated upon a spacious and ex- cellent harbor ; accessible at all seasons of the year, and possessing suflficient depth for ships of the very largest class. In 1626, or 1627, the Colony of New Plymouth, set- tled on this Peninsula, then, as was stated above, called Bagaduce-point, or neck, and built a fort, whose ruins, or rather some faint appearances of such a defensilje work, are known hy the name of Casteen's (Castine's) fort. In 1635, Rosillan, a Frenchman, from Nova Scotia, captured the trading house and fortified position, having three years' previous, in 1632, by a stratagem robbed the garrison. From 1635 to 1654, the country between the Penob- scot and St. Croix was in the possession of the French ; although in 1653, Major Sedgwick, commanding an expedition sent out by Oliver Cromwell, ostensibly against the Dutch, who had settled on the Hudson, suddenly turned his course to Acadie, and removed the M French from the Pcnol)8cot. In 1670, Charles II. hav in^ by the treaty of Breda ceded all Acadie t<> the French, they, thus and then, obtained a re-posscHsion of the ten'itory ; although it is not certain that they did not maintain their military occupation of the fort of Mount Mantsell, or St. Sauveur, now Mount Desert, (MonUt- Deserts) throughout that period, and even aa late jw 169G, when they had lost all their other posses- sions in this region. The Dutch, however, within three years after, i. e. 1673 or 1674, expelled the French, and made them- selves masters of the country ; and the people of Now England soon after, in turn, expelled the Dutch. "It was a very imprudent attempt," says the Puritan historian, "in the Dutch to take possession of a country so remote from the Hudson, where they had fixed their Colony." He forgot, when he made this remark, that they had prosecuted more distant and dangerous expediti(ms, with glorious and lastingly beneficial results. Notwithstanding this nominal re-conquest by the New Englanders, the distresses of the Indian wars, from 1675 to 1692, rendered the country of very little consequence, whether to Great Britain or to Boston ; and scarcely any settlements, for agricultural purposes, were attempted in the earlier yeai'S of this Colony. This settlement was nearly broken up in 1676, and entirely broken up in the year 1690. "In fact the French were, with the Indians, in possession of that part of the Continent, until they wete removed, aft^r the year 1692, by Sir William Phips, the first Governor of the Province of Massachusetts, under the charter of of William and Mary." In relation to the expedition of Major Sedgwick, in 62 1653, and the Dutch occupation of the shores of the Penobscot, Sullivan would lead any reader to suppose that the Dutch held them at this early date — 1653 — and thus must have twice^ if not thrice — 1653, 1674, and 1676 — wrested their trading posts in that quarter from the French ; for, while at page 283, he states that the Cromwellian Commander removed the French, with whom the English were at peace, from the dis- trict watered by the great river of Maine ; at page 293, he uses the following distinct and unmistakable language: "In Acadie, there was another territory, east of the then county of New Castle, which was not comprehended within the Duke's (York's) Province of New York. This was perhaps the ancient Norumbegua. It extended from Pemaquid to St. Croix, compre- hending Mount Mansell, or Mount Desert, and the territory of Penobscott." ***** "It was there, that the people of New Plymouth erected their trading-house, in 1627, which was taken by the French ; was afterwards taken by the Dutch ; and re-taken by Sedgwick under Cromwell." Now, in 1653, England, at peace with France, was engaged in a sharply-contested war with the United Provinces ; and, it can be readily supposed that an ex- pedition of the former would be more likely to fall upon the positions of an enemy than those of a peace- able neighbor. However, such are the facts we pos- sess ; and we caii only draw the most reasonable infer- ence they admit of. There — on the Penobscot — where the Dutch have left mementoes of their visits — the struggle between the French Huguenot De la Tour, and his rival, the Roman Catholic D'Aulnry, attract- /■ ranee, was 53 ed the attention of the American Colonies ; there, that extraordinary character, by some supposed to have been a Jesuit, the Baron Castine, taught the natives the European art of war ; and by his own influence, and that of Le Masse, a Roman Catholic Priest, as well as of the missionaries of that Church, in general, ren- dered the Penobscot Indians, savage enough by nature, still more pitiless and cruel. Thus far, Sullivan. In this connection, some few details present themselves in Williamson's History : "The Dutch," says he, "had manifested early and greajt desires to share the North American coast with the English and French." "The country was open and in- viting to various adventurers. The Indian trade, mast- ing and fishing, offered encouragement to enterprise." "Commercial in their pursuits, they — (the Dutch)— knew how to set an adequate value upon water-priv- ileges; and, after their treaty with England, A. D. 1674, being still at war with France, they dispatched an arm- ed ship to seize upon the Fort at Penobscot. In th,e capture, there was a loss of men on both &ides. The success was not pursued — the enterprise offered no considerable gains ; and the possession acquired was not long retained." Even without further information, can there be any doubt whatever, that the armed vessel referred to above was the "Flying Horse," Avhich, in the commis- sion of the West India Company, mentioned in the pre- ceding portion of this paper, is stated to have "con- quered and subdued the coasts, and countries of Nova Scotia and Acadie ?" In this expedition "was also present, and assisted with his advice and force, John Rhoade," who was em- 54 powered, by the Ordinance, dated 11th September, 1676, to take possession of and colonize, cultivate and trade along the whole of the adjacent coast ; and which invested him, in fact, with full powers, to protect and maintain himself thereupon. Williamson subsequently goes on to say : "Such was the peculiar intipathy generally entertained towards the principles and manners of the French, that any seizure of their dominions, it might be well supposed, would excite gratitude, as well as pleasure, among the English Colonists. Possibly influenced by this motive, certainly by a pei*petual desire of possessing a fine un- occupied region, the Dutch again, in the spring of 1676, sent a man of war to Penobscot, and captured the French fortification there ; determining now ' to keep possession of the country. But, as this was a part of New England, and within the Duke's (of York's) Province, and as anticipations were entertained of its returning, amid some future events, to the English, or their Colonists, either by purchase, recession, or re- conquest, two or three vessels were dispatched thither from Boston, which drove the Dutch from the penin- sula." ^'To the French, this must have afforded the great- er satisfaction, because the English captors did not tarry, but immediately abandoned the place." In connection with the first of these expeditions, Hutchinson furnishes, as a note to his History of Mas- sachusetts Bay, a manuscript account of a message from Hartford to New York, which gives the following interesting incidents : "May 28th, 1672, war was proclaimed against the Dutch in Boston, in consequence of the King's declara- tion of wai", published in England. This was the first I? &5 instance of any public declaration of war in the Colony. In the Dutch wars, in the time of the Parliament and Cr umwell, and in the former war, after the restoration, until forces came to reduce the Mahadoes (Manhattan), correspondence and commerce continued between the Colonies, notwithstanding the war in Europe." ■ ' Hn August, the same year, 1672, advice came to Boston, that the Dutch, after taking several ships, at Virginia, had possessed themselves of New York; whilst Colonel Lovelac(^, the Governor, was at New Haven ; and that the Dutch force was bound further northward. This intelligence caused a great alarm in the Colony. The Castle having been destroyed not long before, Boston was less capable of defence. The best preparations were made. The Dutch fleet retuni- ed to I e." ''Th».3 acquisition was accidental, according to the account given by the Dutch at New York." "Four Hol- landers" — sent to sea, by the Admiralty of Amsterdam, under the command of Commodore Jacob Binkes, — "and three Zealanders" — under Capt.Corncliiis O^ocrtocm, son of the Vice- Admiral of the same name, dispatched by the States and Admiralty of Zealand — "met off Mar- tinico ; one side with French, the other with English, colors ; and prepared to fight — until, by hoisting their proper colors, they better understood one another. They then joined together, and agreed upon an expe- dition to Virginia and New York. The Dutch Guinea Fleet was intended for the same service ; but these other ships saved them the trouble." Besides their first settlement at Broad Bay, and their conquests on the Penobscott, Dutcli Colonies were planted on several points between the Kennebeck iffli 1 1 1 i 56 and Penocscot ; along the important estuaries, which, penetrating deeply into the land, aflforded such facilities for intercourse, when land-travel was almost interdicted. "Settlements," says Sullivan, "from the year 1665, were increased in Pemaquid — settled before Boston — about thirty miles west of Penobscot Bay. There were a number of people who came down from the Dutch settlements at the Manhatoes, or New York. The Duke of York had the New Netherlands, or what is now New York, granted him in the year 1664." "The settlements increased until the year 1680." "His Gov- ernor, named Dungan (Dongan), was over this eastern grant, as well as that on the Hudson. The Govern- ment under the Duke erected a Fort at Pemaquid, near th^ remains of which is the ruin of a town ; there is yet, under the rubbish, a paved street, and the cellars of nearly thirty, or perhaps forty, houses. The lands there were granted under the Duke of York's title ; and many Deeds, made by his Governor, have been ex- hibited in the contests in that country, within thirty years past." During his administration and agency of five years — which terminated with the month of March, 1688 — particularly about the year 1687, Dongan, who was both Governor of the Province and private agent of the Duke, removed many Dutch families from the banks of the Hudson to his [James's] new Province, on Sheepscot River. They remained there, and at Pemraaquid, until the settlements were broken up by +1)** war«, which were soon afterwards commenced with the savages., But these devasuitions vi the French, and their barbarous allies, were not the first wrongs which the unfortunate Dutch Colonists had experienced. 57 All Governor Dongan's "measures in this region were rendered extremely unpopular, by the cupidity and arbitrary procedure of his agents, Palmer, West, and Graham ; for they placed, and displaced, at "pleasure" ; and some of the first settlers were denied grants of their own homesteads ; while these men were wickedly dividing some of the best improved lands among themselves." Thus terminated in misfortune the last settlement effected by the Dutch upon the coast of Maine : and I should remark that yet slight mementoes of the race and language in that region are among the best proofs of the fearless and stubborn perseverance of the self-reliant Hollander. Here ends the result of these historical investiga- tions, as to the jDDntcl) in iHatnr, with the exception of a few remarks relative to the opinions entertained by the English towards the Dutch. The former appear to have set the highest value upon the natural advan- tages of the regions now embraced within the limits of the state of Maine. According to Hutchinson, r're- sident Danforth held, "that it were better to expend three thousand pds. [sterling] to gain Canada itself" — which included Acadie — "than that either the French or the Dutch should have it ; such is the value of the fishery, masting, and fur trade." This Governor Dan- forth, a man of integrity and wisdom, was elected De- puty-Governor in 1679, and in the same year first President of the Province of Maine. He held both these offices until the arrival of Governor Andros, at the end of the year 1686. Of this Governor (An- dros), it is said that he "feared the Dutch," the more particularly as he supposed that " if they again 58 seized upon the open countr^-, between the Penobscot and St. Croix, which wer )oth in his Commission, and in the Duke of York'i. dtent, they might, with the present temper of the (English) nation in their fa- vor, be permitted to retain possession of it." We must remember, that at this date the British nation were looking to tUiUiam, |)nnce of ©ranflf, and his Protestant subjects, the Hollanders, as their only means of deliverance from spiritual and political tyranny. The Dutch, however, appear to have been the only enemies whom the New Englanders really feared in this quarter. This is readily explained. As seamen, the Dutch stood unrivaled ; and this coast afforded not only materials for a navy, but various sources of wealth to a commercial people ; moreover, the French never appear to have succeeded as Colonists, while the Dutch seem to have scarcely ever met with failure. On the sea, the British encountered an equal foe in the Hollander. With the Frenchman, on that element, not his own, every engagement insured an almost cer- tain and glorious triumph. Hence, the commercial enterprise of the former, and their skill and bravery in action, aroused the latent spirit which has marked the rivalry which time and circumstances are lessening ; because, whilst the valor of the Dutch has suffered no diminution, their physical power has decreased. Like causes produce like effects. The power which of old directed its efforts, and those of the English Colonists, to expel the Dutch from North America, has seen an- other nation there arise to contend with it for the mas- tery of the seas — having the expanding stature of a giant, the numerous sinewy arms of Briareus, and the keen eyes of Argus; of which, if the assertion of Ovid 69 . be true, only two of the one hundred are asleep at a time! * * * * And so, for the present, with an anecdote of a Dutch- man's gallantry in New*England, we bid adieu to the **IDut£l) in illainc": In the reign of Qneen Elizabeth, a British naval Com- mander was sent to cruise upon the coast of Spain, with instructions, however, to confine himself within certain limits, under penalty of death in case of any trans- gression of his orders. Having received intelligence that some Spanish vessels lay at Vigo, beyond the bounds of his cruising ground, he resolved to proceed at once to attack them, although he periled his life by so doing. Fortunately, a complete success rewarded his gallant- ry, and no doubt saved his life. On rejoining the Ad- miral, to whose fleet his vessels belonged, he was imme- diately placed under arrest, and asked if he was aware that by the articles of war he was liable to be shot for his utter disregard of the orders issued for his guidance ? His repl) is so honorable and patriotic, that it is much to be regretted that the author's name is not recorded : "I was perfectly aware of the penalty incurred," said he, "but I felt that the man who is afraid to risk his life in any way^ when the good of his country re- quires it, is unworthy of a command in her Majesty's service." This officer had several of the strongest incentives to influence his course of action : not only the hope of personal distinction and glory, but national pride and intense hatred of the enemy. Still, none of these de- tract from his credit. — But Hutchinson, in his History, 60 records a much more remarkable parallel case, where gallantry, and a mere sense of duty, induced a Dutch sailor to run an equal risk, with a much greater cer- tainty of suffering the penalty. And if the ships of the United Provinces were manned with men cast in such a mould, and animated with such a spirit, it is not to be wondered that, with this and no doubt other similar examples before them, the jealous fear which the English felt towards the Dutch, as to a naval and commercial people, should have extended to New England, and rendered the Pilgrim Fathers exceeding- ly uneasy at every appearance of a Dutch frigate or squadron upon their own or the neighboring coast. It is in this connection, that the following anecdote does not seem inappropriate to the subject : , It appears from a letter dispatched from Massachu- setts Bay to London, in J 6 75, that one (Eornelis — a Dutchman — ^who had been captured and sentenced to death for some offence against the real or imaginary maritime riglits of that Colony, was pardoned on con- dition of enlisting in the forces destined to act against the celebrated Indian King, Philip, who had, in the very year above mentioned, commenced that terrible war which desolated the settlements in New England. On one occasion, Cornells pursued the celebrated Sa- chem, and pressed him so hard, that he obtained pos- session of his cap or head-dress, and afterwards wore the trophy himself The Commandant of the Provin- cial troops, finding him so brave a man, promoted and sent him on a certain occasion at the head of twelve men, "to scout," with orders, for some particular rea- son not stated, to return within three hours, on pain of death in case of disobedience. While scouring the 61 country, he came suddenly upon sixty Indians, who had just landed, and were hauling up their canoes upon the shore. Of these he killed thirteen, captured eight, and followed the rest as far as he could, until debarred far- ther pursuit by swamps and other natural obstacles. On his return march he burned all the canoes belong- ing to the routed party. This exploit occupied eight hours. On rejoining the main body, a council of war was summoned, and Cotnelts, although it is scarcely credible, instead of promotion and high reward, was sentenced to death for breach of orders. Had he been an Englishman instead of a Dutchman, his gallantry would, doubtless, have been amply recompensed ; but as it was, the Puritans held that they acted justly in pardoning him a second time. The dauntless Hol- lander seems to have been a true son of the Father- land (l)attrlanb), feeling that "The path of Duty l8 the way to Glory" 1 and a short time afterwards, having been detached on another scout, brought in twelve Indians alive and two scalps. * * * # Although the theme selected for this evening might here be drawn to a close, it is difficult to lay aside the pen, with the enterprise and resolution of the Holland- ers so vividly impressed upon the mind, by the exam- ination of the records of their voyages, of their dis- coveries, and of their triumphs. The influence of the Dutch upon the progress of the Middle States, has never been sufficiently considered in any history of that region, which embraces the "Empire" and ''Key-Stone" States, whose possession by the British and emancipa- • 62 tion by the Patriot armies of the Revolution, decided the fate of that contest which made us what we are. Without solidity of character, no bulwark, however wisely planned, and theoretically constructed, can re- sist the assaults of corruption, or the gradual aggix'ss- ions of time. A bulwark deficient in the main princi- ple — solidity — resembles the painted screens set up by the Chinese and Japanese, in the hope of imposing upon an enemy, by such fictitious representations of fortresses and entrenchments. The solidity of charac- ter which distinguishes the population of the "Empire State," is due, in a great degree, to the Dutch element- ary ingredient, which met and repulsed the encroach- ments of French ambition. No province furnished troops throughout the long wars with France and the Mother Country, so susceptible of discipline, so patient of fatigue, and so determined in combat, as that of New York. The fiercest battle which characterizes our Revolutionary history, the bloody struggle at Oriskany, where the opposing troops lay locked in the death gripe with their weapons sheathed in each other's bosoms — was decided, in its very centre, by the Dutchmen of Mo- hawk, as yet almost without admixture of any other leaven. That victory, which was among the first — and in many respects the very first — that opened the eyes of the European governments to the reality of the power of the American Colonies, and the probability of their ultimate success ; that victory which delivered into the hands of the Americans, Burgoyne's carefully prepared, ably officered, and splendidly appointed army, was due, in common with the other gallant soldiers there collect- ed, chiefly to the Dutch troops, marshalled by the activ- 63 ity, energy, capacity and patriotism of an Americo-Dutch General, who had decided the question by masterly dis- positions and dogged resistance — taking advantage of natural obstacles, and combining the defences furnished by nature with the stubborn courage of the people — be- fore the forces from other States had concentrated their numbers, or an English General, through the influence of New England, had assumed the command. On the Oth of December, 1828, the late Chancellor Kent, then President of this Society, delivered the An- niversary discourse ; in which, in clear and forcible lan- guage, he pointed out the distinctive merits of the many eminent men who, in their several spheres, had nobly sustained the well-earned fame of this, their native State, by their talents, their zeal, and patriotic devotion ; the most conspicuous of whom were of Hollandish de- scent. In a well merited and animated eulogium, he bore testimony to the transcendant abilities and charac- teristic virtues of that General, Philip Schuyler, whom Gates superseded, and who fell a sacrifice, according to Chief Justice Marshall, to prejudices — the influence of which, as above stated, unhappily for himself and his country, on that occasion prevailed. No matter how strong the Dutch ingredient, a greater numerical preponderance of the English almost conceals its actual existence ; and this vast numerical aggregate of the descendants of Englishmen, is sufficient, in itself, to account for the comparatively small influence exhib- ited by those of the Hollanders in these United States. We say, comparatively small ; yet, it is wonderful, with all the efforts which have been made to conceal and decry the influence of the Hollandish blood, to find to what a degree it has nevertheless made itself felt, ti 64 and compelled unwilling acknowledgment. That very fact, — ^its existence — the growing investigation of its origin, and the development of its forces — ^is the proud- est monument which can be reared to Hollandish an- cestry. Year by year, justice has been, and will be, more and more accorded to it. New England enterprise and its results are justly the boast of New England historians, orators, politicians, and [divines. Both have been wonderful — greater, by far, than those of the New Netherlanders. But why V Every honest investigator of history, while willing to admit that the New Netherlanders have not grown to like stature, has likewise attributed it to the just cause — the monopolizing efforts of the Dutch West India Company, whose jealousy of individual profits contract- ed all the operations of the Dutch settlements on this Continent. But a New Netherlander has no need of defence, when he can carry the war into Africa, and win an historical and Christian Zama under the very walls of his opponents' Carthage. The New Nether- lander can go forth to the moral battle — ^leaving his household treasures secure within the safeguards, of which an honest purchase of the soil laid the founda- tion, and persevering thrift and stainless integrity built up the towers. New Amsterdam and its depend- ant towns and villages had laid the corner-stone of their institutions, upon the principles of universal brother- hood and religious toleration, and built up each suc- cessive course with that impermeable cement which alone can bind the human race together — peace and good will towards men ! Except during the adminis- istration of one bad Governor, Willem Kieft, the au- thorities of New Amsterdam cultivated the friendship 65 and co-operation of the Indian tribes, with such success that the fierce Indian became, under their influence, comparatively amicable ; admitting that the Hollanders' tongue was not yet "forked," like most of the other white men's tongues, with whom they had been brought in contact. Undoubted historical facts attest the influ- ence exercised over the neighboring tribes by the brave and honest Corlaer, whose name the Indians held so honorable that they conferred it to the most fitting title on all the New York Governors ; a^d of that stout-hearted, true, and generous "Quidder" — as tbj Iroquois pronounced the Christian name of |)et'T fiiit)nsUr — whose word was law to the celebrated Fi/e Nations. The latter's peaceful laurels no bigoted and prejudiced historian can displace, even as they were torn from the brow of his illustrious son, to crowi. tiie undeserving, vapid, and defeated opponent of tom- wollis at Camden. Again : How many authors, who have devoted their pens to the history of our country, have been seduced into the error of countenancing the statement, that the only colony on this Continent which proclaimed reli- gious toleration, with the first display of its ensigns, was that of Maryland ! This error is worse than a com- mon error ; since it is an injustice to a f >eople who, at home and abroad, have been ever tolerant — so tolerant, that in Holland alone, of all other nations on the face of the earth, prior to the middle of the preceding cen- tury, even the Jews became fixed and patriotic citi- zens. When the people of the eastern settlements were de- priving the Dutch of their choice lands along the Con- necticut, fugitives from thence, for opinion's sake, had 9 u ]^1sbrtb*d^i;o N^ Athsteibdara, where they were received with a hospitality only equalled by that offered »./ the plarent toantiy to the Protestant refugees from the tyr- anny of France. It was not until New Amsterdam had become de faotd N^w Yorlf^ and the English elements had preidominated over the Batavian and Knickerbocker, that anything like intolerance was admitted into the administration And councils of the Colony. Even the Jesuits fouhd in the Dutch not only a sympathetic and tolerant but a practical Christianity, which, more than once, at gi^eat ri^, interposed between them and their (Raptors, the Indians, in the interest of the Anglo-Saxon settleiwents. When the at^ed Charles IX., of Sweden— Avith diffi- culty maintaining, by the superiority of his sagacity, as well as the force of his arms, his rights and the integ- rity of the Swedish realm, against a union of potent and inimical neighbors — ^was gradually lapsing into a state of physical debility, he felt his powers, as it were, rejuvenated, and the future of his country assured, in COhtempMtiiig the goodly promise of his great son, ^tikM& 3lilnlttlnW 'i *^^d> t^^^s comforted and sustain- ed; the wai*riof-poHtician sunk into his grave with a prophetic"^7fe /ac«e<" on his lips and in his heart. Even so, men of HoUandish blood can afford to hope and wait. The Anglo-Puritan history of the New Neth- erianders has been written, and ably written ; but that of the Saxott-I^hickerbocker remains to be written. The historian is yet to arise, who, rich in the truits of faithful and laborious research, and endowed with graphic power, commensurate with his subject, will mingle ^ith his theme the fidelity ahd ardor of a ma- tured judgment. *^Ille faciei T — He will accomplish w it! Meanwhile, let us content cw^selyes witji the the aphorism of Montesquieu: '^Tot ou tardy tout se saiC' Sooner or later, everything is known. The good time must come, when truth will be made manifest] light is breaking in upon a people who now ji^dge for them- selves ; who not only read the books of other natiwsj but publish, read, and multiply their pwn. We h^,ve learned to see with our own eyes, and to fqrm our own conclusions. In this march of mind, the gifted authc^r of "The Rise of the Dutch Rbpubuc," has nobly placed himself in the van; and in glowing language has happily and truthfully described the; race which chained the tyrant Ocean, and his mighty streams, into subserviency— a race, which engaged for generations in stubborn conflict with the angry elements, was un^ consciously educating itself for its great struggle with a still more savage despotism, in its successful and immortal struggle for the rights of men I Even as with fabled brilliancy and flashing rays, those monster carbuncles, set on high in the front of the Church at Wisby, which bears the time-honored name of the "good St. Nicholas," once sei-ved as guiding stars to the wave-tossed mariner, inward and outward bound, in his perilous voyage across the angry deep ; so the radiance which emanates from the chronicles of the land of Uliliiam the Silent, the Father of Im Country ; of iHaurice the Warrior, renowned in every branch of warlike art and science ; of tDUl'tam, England's Liberator, great in all qualities which ennoble man ; of ©£ Uugtcr, one of the most perfect — if not the most perfect — characters which history record^; of JPugr Denooorbe; of Pe Eoete ; of KlaaB^oon ; of |)t(t Qesn ; of ©bbarn; of JDt lUitte ; of ^r^mp; of Jfpsrtstn; of 68 fytmsktxtk ; of ^foutman ; of Hoel)oorn ; of (&mkt[[ ; of ban Bot^elaar ; of Cijasae ; of t)an $|)sk ; of ban ircr 3la; of BamoDdbt ; of SDe toitt ; of ©rotins; of f agel ; of i$ein0tU0 ; of ban Witmtn ; of Bcntinik ; of Beoemtiuk; of ban Iftv CapelUn ; of t)an be 0pelgel ; of £i£[)tmmel|)enmnck ; of ^vasmne ; of 3att})aaot ; of (jttsgetts oan ;2ti2Ucf)em ; of Uusacl) ; of Brngmans ; of ^tmstvcljn^s ; of Katj ; of i)onbfl ; of Bilberbslt ; of Bronbt ; of tDogtnaar ; and of a host of other eminently gifted warriors, statesmen and scholars, will illuLiinate the pathway which leads to the estab- lishment of correct and liberal principles throughout all lands ; where the example of our own immortal WASHINGTON, and of the patriot sages of the Re- public, has not yet produced its vivifying effects. In the desperate conflict which marked the revolt of the United Provinces, Holland achieved her civil and religious liberty. This taught her English neighbors a lesson, which iUl£03i3l of Orange enabled them to improve with similar success. When England, forgetful of the past, would trample on the rights of her American Colonies, these followed the same example, adopted, like the Dutch, a Federal Union, and making themselves independent, built up the glorious fabric of the American Republic. Like another Pharos, may the light which beams from this lofty pinnacle, reflecting its rays upon the declared principles of that independence, irradiate every dark spot on the earth's surface ; and may po- litical aspirants, both here and every where, learn that Ais light is the safest guide, under Providence, to the oijly secure anchorage of virtuous success ! W ISJ^OTES. ■ •\^ [No. 1.— Lines 7,-*8, page 8] The Dutch (Hollanders) discovered the region now known as the State of New York in 1309; erected a fort in 1612''8; and established a pernia> nent settlement in 1614. They settled in New Jersey shortly after their arrival in New York, particularly at Bergen, between 1614 and 1624. They erected a trading hoase at Hartford on the Oonnecticut in 1681 ; and snbjogated Delaware in 1655. TNo. 2. — Line 4, page 15.] ,U'1 iiq Pabbt, on the 22d [?] Jnly, 1827, had certainly reached 82 degrees 40 minntes, and on the 28d probably had gained 6 minntes — i. e. 82 degree 45 minutes. As the author furnished Babektz's certainty, he likewise stated Parry's farthest attainment by observation. [No. 3.— Lines 13 to 26, page 24.] If any of onr readers admire the Dutch (Hollanders), let them exi^ne Topographical Descriptions, with Historioo-Political and Medico-Pbysioal Observations, made in Two Several Voyages, through most parts of Europe, by John Northi.kigh, LL., M. D., London 1702 ; and he will And 14 pages (108-122) almost entirely devoted to praises of the Dutch nation, which, considering that tlieir author is an Englishman, and their date a century and a halt since, is pretty conclusive evidence of their truth. The whole book is qnaint, but well worthy perusal. [No. 4. — Line 5, page 29.] In the Oiide Kerk, (Old Church) of Amsterdam, lies Interred 3^^9ii bau 3Q3SC^|VI.S1&IS11Q:1EI, who commanded one vessel of the Squadron of which Havtnt} was the Cliief-Pilot, Ice-Master and actual Conductor. He afterwards rose to the rank of Admiral, and distinguished himself by his bravery and enterprize. His monument bears "this old inscription and historical account of his life and actions," for he lived to wear the 70 palm and the laurel wbioh belonged to that daring navigator who sleep* hU jlast tombless sleep in the far North, which he was the first to explore : o:-. Honori »t Aetemitati lacobo ab jQectnskerck, Amatel-SedamMsiy Viro fyrti et optime de patria merito. Qui ij ; tasque orat naeigationes, in Novum Zemhlam i,. Indiam Orientalem tenut Antareticum totidem ; Pott variaa in nota», nib Polo Aretieo du*. Jndsqtts opimis Spoltis. An. OIO^OCIV., reeeraua tietor. TANDEM JS^tpeditioniit maritima adversm Hiapan. Pra/eetus, eorundetn validav} Clauem Hereuleo aum aggreatw in Freto HermUci* sub ipm aroe et urbe Qihraltar VII. Kal.Maii,An. ClO£)CVII. fudit et profiigant, IPSE IBIDEM Pro. patria utretiue ditnicans, glorune oeeubuit, Aninm Coilo guadet^ Corpus hoc loeo Jacet. Ave Lector, fa/tnamque viri mna et virtuteim Cujus EROO Jlluatridt. et Potentisg. Fcederat. Provin. lielgioe ORDINIBUS, P.P. H. M. P. Vizit Aimoa XL. Memem 7, Diea XII. y [No. 6. — Line 12, page 31.] Haoeltttt's Hbadland, takes its name from a distinguished naval his- torian of England, who was born about the year 1558, and died on tlie 23d September, 1616, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, London. It is the most northern and western point of Amsterdam Island, once the head (jnarters of the Dutch Avhale fishery, and likewise tiie most northwestern of the Spitzbergen Archipelago, in Latitude 79 deg. 47 min. north and Longitude C deg. 5 min. east. Its "eminent" and rocl to penetrate deeply into tlie country. The extreme length (^f these islands, measuring from Ou^» Zelania — Zhelania, Jelanin, Jolanii, or Desire — Latitude TOdegrcotj 08 irJcutes [77 degrees?] north. Longitude 74 degr(>ns 20 minutes east [7t> degibos 10 min- utes] — the moat northern point of Eurcjpe— to CapeTcher^yi, their south- western extremity, is a little over two Iiimdred longnes, say six hundred miles. Their mean breadtlt from the northwest to the southeast maybe oalonlatacli at about seventy leagues, say two hundred and ten miles. Between Capes Zalania and Severo Vostotchnoi, the most ntirtlnrn ex- tremity of Asiatic Russia — and consequently of Asiii— in tb? Govci'i.aent of Jc.'iiseisi:, Latitude 78 degrees 25 minutes north, Longitudo 102 degrees [98 degr<^es] ef;>t, extends an open sea, almost invariably, however, en- (^umhered wit?) icebergs and ice-fields, but said to huve been sailed over, in 1811 or li il-, by an adventurous Dutch Captain [See Scobesby'b Afetie Reghm, Vol. /., Apjtmdix III.^ 'page 60] to the eastward of Nova Zem- blo, for the space of one hundred and forty leagues. The coasts as yet explored are extremely broken aud precipitous ; the southern low and flat ; the western bristling with gray sandstone clifs, which, although not very high, are almost perpendicular. No an- chorage may be said to exist. . Even in the southern districts the country is hardly known beyond a distance of five leagues from the western shore. This part is watered by fifteen small rivers, which empty into the sea between the Straits of Yaigatsch and Matotshkin-Shar ; besides these, it possesses numerous lakes. The fl'-'oect of this jountry is perfectly horrible. Nothing but the gloomiest vegetation meets the eye, and the mountains present no other apparel except an eternal robe of snow and mail of ice. Excessive cold reigns throughout the greater part of the year. The interior abounds with reindeer, blue and arctic foxes, ermine and white bears, while the coasts swarm with various species of fish of the largest size, (whales, dolphins, porpoises, sharks, &o.,) seals, sea-cows, and "vast fiights" of marine-birds. *. This desolate country is without fixed inhabitants, and only frequent- ed by Russian hunters and fishermen. v-diuiiM Itertni J;>.;,ioVi <4 ii*i£b.iaii-i, f? ,^>iT!v.:>»»;;»inorf>'^"- u ua 'Vf 1 * d only frequent- t3 [No. 8. — Line 21, page 46.] r\Twi!)io<< APPOINTMENT OF THE INSTALLATION OF Qle (S^ooernor of HHom Scotia anb ^cabU. The DirecUyn of the Privileged General Weat India Company of the United Netherlandt. All those vrho shall see or hear tbo^«9 presents, Grsbtino : Know, that we, being convinced that the wealth of this Oompaivy would be greatly increased by the cultivation of those lands and places under the jurisdiction of our aforesaid grantees, and that it will be useful that these aforesaid lands and places should not remain uninhabited, but that some- body be'duly settled there, and populate the country ; and afterwards thinking on expedients by which the navigation, commerce, and traffic of the aforesaid Oompany, and of all others who belong to it, may after some time be increased and augmented ; so is it that we, wishing to put our use- ftil intention in execution, for the aforesaid and other reasons, by which we are persuaded ; following the second article of our aforesaid grant, and by the authority of the high and mighty States-General of the United Nether- lands, and upon mature deliberation of the Oouncil, have committed and authorized, and we do commit and authorize, Comelto Strenlosdt, in the name of, and for, the High and Mighty and the Privileged General West India Oompany, to take possession of the coastsand countries of Nova Scotia and Acadie, including the subordinate countries and islands, so far as their limits are extended, to the east and north from the River Pounte- gouycet ; and that he, dteenbifiClt, may establish himself there, and select such places for himself, in order to cultivate, to sow, or to plant, as he shall wish. Moreover, to trade with the natives of the country, and all others with whom the Republic of these United Netherlands and the atbresaid Oom- pany are in peace and alliance, to negotiate and to traffic in the goods and merchandizes belonging to them, send them hither and thither, and tit out ships and vessels for the large and small fisheries, to set the cargo rshore, to dry and afterwards to sell them, so as he shall think it best ; and, gen- erally, to sustain and to maintain himself and his family, by no other than honest means. MoBBovEK, that he, Steeniustlt, in the na^e of the High and Mighty, and of the General West India Oompany, will be admitted to make con- tracts find alliances and engagements with the natives of that country ; also to build some forts and castles, to defend and to protect himself against 10 74 every foreiga and doinestio force of enemies or pirates ; and also to ad- rait and to protect all etitor persons and families wtio wisji to come under obedience to tlie Company, if tiiey sweur due faitbl'ulness to the much es- teemed High and Mighty, as their highest Sovereign H igistrate, to his Highness, My Lord tlie Prince of Orange, as the Governor-Captain and Admiral-General, and to the Directors of the Privileged WeKt India Com- pany. That mokkovkr, the aforesaid JbteeniDSCk, with the title and power of Manager and Captain, will provide, deliver and execute every thing that belongs to the conservation of these countries, namely : — The maintenance of good order, police, and jubtice, as would be required according to the laws and manners of tLote countriets ; and, principally, that the true Christian reformed religion is practised within the limits of his district, after the ui»ual manner, that JbtCditBStfc, according to this, may place some one — if he is a free-born subject of our union— in his of- fice ; who, in name and authority, moreover, with the title and a power as aforesaid, may take possession of the aforesaid countries to establish himself there; and further, to do and execute all those things whereto Stecnfnsclt, liimself, in oforesaid manner, is uulliorized ; all those things, nevertheless, without expenses, charges, or any kind of bnrdens to the Company ; and with the invariable condition that the aforesaid dtetn» IttSCit, or the person whom he might place in his office, will bi obliged to execute the present Commission and authorization withii: the next eigh- teen months, or that by negligence or failure thereof it will be in our fac- ulty and power to give such a Commission and authorization to other per- sons than J&teenlnsdt, or his Lieutenant, without any reference to this present one. MoKKOTSR, we have the aforesaid SbtrentDSeft, or his Lieutenant, so soon as they establish themselves within the limits of that particular, privileged and conceded district ; and we do privilege and concede free- dom and immunity of all rights and recognizances for the time of six years successively. At last, and to conclude, that the aforesaid Stetntvsctt, or his Lieuten- ant, within the limits of the aforesaid district, will have the right to dis- tribute to others such countries and places for Colonies and farms as he shall think best; and that the managers and principals of those Colonies and farms, for the time of six years, shall bo entirely possessed of the aforesaid rights and recognizances. We command and charge also our Directors, Managers, Captains, Mas- ters of ships, and all our other officers who may belong to them, that they will have to acknowledge, to respect, and to obey, the aforesaid fltornelis &teenb)fck,or his Lieutenant, as Manager and Captain, within the limits of the aforesaid district; and, to procure, to give, and to afford him every 75 help, aid, and nssiatance in the execation thereof,— seeing that we And it nsefal for the service of the Oompany. Given in Amsterdam, October 27, 1676. (Signed) (2$aepar|)eUiconu. , For Ordinance of the aforesaid Directors. (Signed) (f . ($auine. Mott Jlonourahle, Valiant, and ffoneat Beloved, Faitl^ful : In answer to tlie remonstrnnoes of yoar brother-in-law, NCcolaai, the Governor, we linve thought convenient to send your Honor, the enclosed Commission and authorization, being the permission to take possession of tlie cua',uif. Wherewith finishing, we commend you to the protection of God. Amsterdam, Qotober 27, 1676. (Signed) ®ar^\iT ^^tiixtotue. For Ordinance of the aforesaid Directors. ■ *^'" "^*'' (Signed) €. Ratline. au; .iia,jyiula «iij i<> 76 The Directors of th« Privileged General West India Company of the United Netberlandn. To ALL Tuoei who shall ace or hear these presentu — Gusbting : Enow, THAT whkrbab, in the year 1674, Captain JuvvUen iilrrnoutf, Mflater of the frigate '^Tbe Flying Horse," from Curasao, and charged with a Oommission of his Highness the Prince of Orange, has conquered and sabdned the coasts and conntries of Nova Scotia and Acadie, in wliich ex- pedition "'«s also preeent and ns8iste(l,with advice and force, John Khoauk : Thbrbfoba, wk, after consulting the demand of aforesaid Rboadk, to establish himself m the aforesaid conntries, and to remain there, and to maintain himself, have consented and permitted, and do consent and per- mit hereby, that the aforesaid Rhoadb, in the name and by the consent of the General West India Company, shall take possession of the aforesaid coasts and countries of Nova Scotia and Acadie, in whatever place of that district it may please him, to bnild honses and to establish, to cultivate, and to keep in repair, plantations ; that he may trade and negotiate with the natives, nnd all others with whom the State of the United Nether- lands and the aforesaid Company is in peace and alliance ; in the firbt place, to send hither and thither his own goods and merchandize, after paying the duties to our Company; in the second place, to defend and maintain himself against every foreign and domestic power of enemies. Also, we charge and command our Managers, Captains, Ship-Masters, and all other officers in the service of onr Company, and we request all persons who do not belong to our Company, not to trouble, or to disturb the afore- said Rhoadk; but, after shewing this Commission, to assist him in the execution thereof, and to give him all help, aid and assistance. Given at Amsterdam, Sent'r 11, 1676. (Signed) (&aipat |)ellicorne, For ordinance of the aforesaid Directors. (Signed) (t. (S^anxnt. The foregoing, furnished through the politeness of George H. MooBB, Esq. Librarifin of the New York Historical Society, are copies of the translations accompanying the original documents, presented, with a portrait of Cocnelfs SteeniDScIt, to the Ncta)=<¥odt ^istoclcal Jbocietv, at the stated meeting in November, 1866, by Mrs. Eliza M* Clark, of the Lopu$t$, near Shreuuiburp, If. J., through George Db Haert GiLLBsriE, Esq. and John McMiTLLBN,Esq., Librorian of the New York Society Lii>rary. March, 1857. ,«i^^^it*.jJii;^. ::;>-. T7 Th« OOKNELIS 8T££NWY0K, invested with more than Gubernato- rial authority over this oonqueat, wan a rich and promimoi tnarohant of New Anosterdam, its third Mayor, and a long time auooiated with the anceetor of the writer, in the city administration, particularly at one of those crises which liave never occurred without aifording additional proof of the fearless and unselfish patriotism of the Dutoh. They belonged to that Oommission who rivalled the resolution of the Muscovite in the con- flagration of Moscow — so often cited as an illustrious example of patriotic Hacrifice — without evincing any of the ferocity which characterized the act of Rotopschin. To malce good New Amsterdam against a threatened attack from the English, in 1078, by the orders of that determined Oom- raisBion the suburbs, villas, smiling boweries and gardenn, were all laid waste in ashes, so that they could neither impede the fire of the Artillery of tlie Fort and Bastions of the place, nor alford cover and lodgment to the enemy. But in one respect their example has scarcely ever been im- itated : they not only destroyed for the good of the public, but they also paid for what the public good required to be laid woKte. The grandest passages of the history of the Hollanders upon this continent remain to be brought before the public eye--a grandeur unsurpassed by the records of any other Colony which has ever been established since the beginning of the world. [No. 9. — Lines 6 to 8, page 63.] Examine account of the Roman Catholic Missions in Maine, in the Collection* of the Maine Historical Society, pages 828 to 840. — "Biajit,'' "Masbb," "Dkkuillettkh," "Rallk." [No. 10.— Lines 20 a22, page67.J The monster carbuncles, alluded to in the preceding pages, are said to have been displayed in the upper part of the front of the Church of St. IfichokUf at WiSBT,* where tlie ornamental roseworks or circles in which they were set still remain. So lustrous were these gems, it was averred, that their resplendency could be discerned at such a distance to seaward, as to serve !n guiding mariners in the Baltic. "It is possible," says Laing, "that some glitter- ing »par may have been inserted in these circles, which are constructed *See Laino's Tour in Sweden; Mukbay's Hand- Booh for Northern Europe, Denmark, Sweden and Norway; Mubbay's Hand-Booh for Northern Germany ; the Sotlbcrsntfons Hericoil ; &o. &c. ■ i 78 of briok npoo the stone front, aa if intended m a frame to aome relin or ornament." When Waldimar, King of Denmark, made anonalaiight upon Tfif^, in Jaly, 1861, slew 1800 hundred of ita inhabitantH,and plundered its shrines and treaonrles, he loaded two ships with the booty and valuables delivered over as the ransom of the spoliated city. The vessel, however, freighted with these treasures, was not allowed to roauli its destination and graoe the triumph of the pirate-roonaroh of Denmarl<, liut was wreck- ed on the Oarl Isles, lying oil' the S. W. point of Gothland. The St. Nioiiolas Oiidroh, Iruin which they were torn, is a large edi- fice, built in 1007, altogether in tlie Norman style, with long windows, and all the arches, which are very beaatifnl, painted. Witby was the mother of the ffaiueatic citUs — tlie most extraordinary place in the north of Europe. A seaport of the middle agos, it exists unbroken and unchanged ' in a measure to the present day — having undergone iw» alteration fn)m time, devastation, or improvement, than any place of the same antiquity. Once the depot of all the merchandize of the Baltic, the period of its foun- dation is unknown, but in the tenth and eleventh centuries, two hundred years before the establishment of the Hanseatio league in 1241, it was one of the most important commercial cities of Europe. During the fonrteetith and fifteenth centuries, it was a principal factory of the Hanseatio league, and it is moreover famous for tlie Code of Marine laws transferred to France by St. Louis in the eleventh century. The foreigners were so nu- merous in this emporium, that each nation had its own ciiurch and house of assembly, which is very eyident from the remains of so many places of worship within a few yards of each other. There are no less than eigh- teen rains of ohurohes within its walls, among which that of St. Mcholai dates from the eleventh oentnry. According to some liistorians, the Han- seatic league embraced upwards of eighty cities or towns, (while others fix the number at 60, and others again at 85,). Depnties, however, from 85 towns assembled in their Representative Hall in Lubeok ; and there wai scarcely Any commercial city in Northern Europe but was admitted into tliis Oonfederatiun. From this fact it is reasonable to suppose that as many of the Dutch porta^Boldward in Friesland, Elsburg, Groeniogin, Handerwyck, Nimwegen, Rnremonde,Staboren, Venlo, Zutphen, Zwoll) — belonged to it, it is more than likely that merchants of Holland contributed to the c«mstruction of, and worshiped within the walls of, this very St. Nicholas Ohuroh. What "PortD Venere" is to the Western Mediterranean, Wisby is to the Paltic, both mediasval gems, perfectly preserved in their original strange but artistic settings; links, which, with Pompeii, nearly a thousand years apart, connect the present with the anti Ohristian eras. In conclusion : Witli regard to the fabled light-evolving properties of the Oarbnncle, Charles Edwards discnsseth thus agreeably and learnedly in his ^'Hiatory and Poetry of Finger Rings.''^ 79 "Tliere was Buppoted to be a gem, o«I]e Doth shine upon the dead man's earthy cheek, ' ! And show the ragged entrails of tliis pit : . m awfi^ «^titv> So pale did shine the moon on Pyramos - <<>iinii if.vcv When he by night lay bathed in maiden's blood.' LnooTiocs Vabi'omaknttb, a Roman, reporteth that the king of Pege (or Pegu), a city in India, had a carbuncle (ruby) of so great a magnitude and splendor, that by the clear light of it he might, in a dark phuse, be seen, even as if the room or place had been illustrated by the sunbeatna. St. or Bishop EpiPHANica saith of this gem, that if it be worn, whatever garments it be covered withal, it cannot be hid. It was from a property of resembling a burning coal when held against the sun, that this stone obtained tbe name earhineului ; which, being afterwards misunderstood, there grew up an opinion of its having the qualities of a burning coal and shining is tbe dark. And as no gem ever was or ever will be found endued with that quality, it was supposed that the true carbuncle of the ancients was lost ; but it was long generally believed that there had been such a stone. The species of carbuncle of the ancients, which possessed this quality in the greatest degree, was the Oaramantine or Oarthagenian ; and this is the true garnet of tbe mod- erns.' J. W. DB P. u>''i)<>ffl