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diff --git a/old/13842-8.txt b/old/13842-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7493187 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13842-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4851 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Story of Manhattan, by Charles Hemstreet + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Story of Manhattan + +Author: Charles Hemstreet + +Release Date: October 24, 2004 [eBook #13842] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF MANHATTAN*** + + +E-text prepared by Gregory Smith, David Garcia, and the Project Gutenberg +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 13842-h.htm or 13842-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/8/4/13842/13842-h/13842-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/8/4/13842/13842-h.zip) + + + + + +THE STORY OF MANHATTAN + +by + +CHARLES HEMSTREET + +New York + +1901 + + + + + + + +[Illustration] + + + +PREFACE + + +Here the history of New York City is told as a story, in few words. The +effort has been to make it accurate and interesting. The illustrations +are largely from old prints and wood engravings. Few dates are used. +Instead, a Table of Events has been added which can readily be referred +to. The Index to Chapters also gives the years in which the story of +each chapter occurs. + + + + + +INDEX to CHAPTERS + + +CHAPTER I. The Adventures of Henry Hudson. + From 1609 to 1612 + +CHAPTER II. The First Traders on the Island. + From 1612 to 1625 + +CHAPTER III. Peter Minuit, First of the Dutch Governors. + From 1626 to 1633 + +CHAPTER IV. Walter Van Twiller, Second of the Dutch Governors. + From 1633 to 1637 + +CHAPTER V. William Kieft and the War with the Indians. + From 1637 to 1647 + +CHAPTER VI. Peter Stuyvesant, the Last of the Dutch Governors. + From 1647 to 1664 + +CHAPTER VII. New York Under the English and the Dutch. + From 1664 to 1674 + +CHAPTER VIII. Something About the Bolting Act. + From 1674 to 1688 + +CHAPTER IX. The Stirring Times of Jacob Leisler. + From 1688 to 1691 + +CHAPTER X. The Sad End of Jacob Leisler. + The Year 1691 + +CHAPTER XI. Governor Fletcher and the Privateers. + From 1692 to 1696 + +CHAPTER XII. Containing the True Life of Captain Kidd. + From 1696 to 1702 + +CHAPTER XIII. Lord Cornbury makes Himself very Unpopular. + From 1702 to 1708 + +CHAPTER XIV. Lord Lovelace and Robert Hunter. + From 1708 to 1720 + +CHAPTER XV. Governor Burnet and the French Traders. + From 1720 to 1732 + +CHAPTER XVI. The Trial of Zenger, the Printer. + From 1732 to 1736 + +CHAPTER XVII. Concerning the Negro Plot. + From 1736 to 1743 + +CHAPTER XVIII. The Tragic Death of Sir Danvers Osborne. + From 1743 to 1753 + +CHAPTER XIX. The Beginning of Discontent. + From 1753 to 1763 + +CHAPTER XX. The Story of the Stamp Act. + From 1763 to 1765 + +CHAPTER XXI. The Beginning of Revolution. + From 1765 to 1770 + +CHAPTER XXII. Fighting the Tax on Tea. + From 1770 to 1774 + +CHAPTER XXIII. The Sons of Liberty at Turtle Bay. + From 1774 to 1775 + +CHAPTER XXIV. The War of the Revolution. + In the Year 1775 + +CHAPTER XXV. A Battle on Long Island. + The Year 1776 + +CHAPTER XXVI. The British Occupy New York. + The Year 1776 (Continued) + +CHAPTER XXVII. The Battle of Harlem Heights. + The Year 1776 (Continued) + +CHAPTER XXVIII. The British Fail to Sweep Everything Before Them. + From 1776 to 1777 + +CHAPTER XXIX. New York a Prison House. + From 1777 to 1783 + +CHAPTER XXX. After the War. + From 1783 to 1788 + +CHAPTER XXXI. The First President of the United States. + The Year 1788 + +CHAPTER XXXII. The Welcome to George Washington. + The Year 1789 + +CHAPTER XXXIII. Concerning the Tammany Society and Burr's Bank. + From 1789 to 1800 + +CHAPTER XXXIV. More about Hamilton and Burr. + From 1801 to 1804 + +CHAPTER XXXV. Robert Fulton Builds a Steam-Boat. + From 1805 to 1807 + +CHAPTER XXXVI. The City Plan. + From 1807 to 1814 + +CHAPTER XXXVII. The Story of the Erie Canal. + From 1814 to 1825 + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. The Building of the Croton Aqueduct. + From 1825 to 1845 + +CHAPTER XXXIX. Professor Morse and the Telegraph. + From 1845 to 1878 + +CHAPTER XL. The Greater New York. + To the Present Time + +TABLE OF EVENTS + +INDEX + + + + +LIST of ILLUSTRATIONS + +New Amsterdam, 1650--New York, East Side, 1746 +The Half Moon in the Highlands of the Hudson +Earliest Picture of Manhattan +Indians Trading for Furs +Hall of the States-General of Holland +Seal of New Netherland +The Building of the Palisades +Old House in New York, Built 1668 +Van Twillier's Defiance +Landing of Dutch Colony on Staten Island +Governor's Island and the Battery in 1850 +Dutch Costumes +The Bowling Green in 1840 +Selling Arms to the Indians +Smoking the Pipe of Peace +The Old Stadt Huys of New Amsterdam +Stuyvesant leaving Fort Amsterdam +Petrus Stuyvesant's Tombstone +Departure of Nicolls +The Dutch Ultimatum +Seal of New York +New York in 1700 +Sloughter Signing Leisler's Death-warrant +Bradford's Tombstone +The Reading of Fletcher's Commission +Arrest of Captain Kidd +New City Hall in Wall Street +Fort George in 1740 +View in Broad Street about 1740 +The Slave-Market +Fraunces's Tavern +Dinner at Rip Van Dam's +The Negroes Sentenced +Trinity Church, 1760 +Coffee-House opposite Bowling Green, Head-Quarters of the Sons of Liberty +Ferry-House on East River, 1746 +East River Shore, 1750 +Mrs. Murray's Dinner to British Officers +Howe's Head-Quarters, Beekman House +Map of Manhattan Island in 1776 +View from the Bowling Green in the Revolution +Old Sugar-House in Liberty Street, the Prison-House of the Revolution +North Side of Wall Street East of William Street +Celebration of the Adoption of the Constitution +View of Federal Hall and Part of Broad Street, 1796 +The John Street Theatre, 1781 +Reservoir of Manhattan Water-Works in Chambers Street +The Collect Pond +The Grange, Kingsbridge Road, the Residence of Alexander Hamilton +The Clermont, Fulton's First Steam-Boat +Castle Garden +Landing of Lafayette at Castle Garden +View of Park Row, 1825 +High Bridge, Croton Aqueduct +Crystal Palace + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE ADVENTURES of HENRY HUDSON + + +The long and narrow Island of Manhattan was a wild and beautiful spot in +the year 1609. In this year a little ship sailed up the bay below the +island, took the river to the west, and went on. In these days there +were no tall houses with white walls glistening in the sunlight, no +church-spires, no noisy hum of running trains, no smoke to blot out the +blue sky. None of these things. But in their place were beautiful trees +with spreading branches, stretches of sand-hills, and green patches of +grass. In the branches of the trees there were birds of varied colors, +and wandering through the tangled undergrowth were many wild animals. +The people of the island were men and women whose skins were quite red; +strong and healthy people who clothed themselves in the furs of animals +and made their houses of the trees and vines. + +In this year of 1609, these people gathered on the shore of their island +and looked with wonder at the boat, so different from any they had ever +seen, as it was swept before the wind up the river. + +The ship was called the Half Moon, and it had come all the way from +Amsterdam, in the Dutch Netherlands. The Netherlands was quite a small +country in the northern part of Europe, not nearly as large as the State +of New York, and was usually called Holland, as Holland was the most +important of its several states. But the Dutch owned other lands than +these. They had islands in the Indian Ocean that were rich in spices of +every sort, and the other European countries needed these spices. These +islands, being quite close to India, were called the East Indies, and +the company of Dutch merchants who did most of the business with them +was called the East India Company. They had many ships, and the Half +Moon was one of them. + +It was a long way to the East India Islands from Holland, for in these +days there was no Suez Canal to separate Asia and Africa, and the ships +had to go around Africa by way of the Cape of Good Hope. Besides being a +long distance, it was a dangerous passage; for although from its name +one might take the Cape of Good Hope to be a very pleasant place, the +winds blew there with great force, and the waves rolled so high that +they often dashed the fragile ships to pieces. + +So the merchants of Holland, and of other countries for that matter, +were always thinking of a shorter course to the East Indies. They knew +very little of North or South America, and believed that these countries +were simply islands and that it was quite possible that a passage lay +through them which would make a much nearer and a much safer way to the +East Indies than around the dread Cape of Good Hope. So the East India +Company built the ship Half Moon and got an Englishman named Henry +Hudson to take charge of it, and started him off to find the short way. +Hudson was chosen because he had already made two voyages for an +English company, trying to find that same short passage, and was +supposed to know ever so much more about it than anyone else. + +When the Half Moon sailed up the river, Hudson was sure that he had +found the passage to the Indies, and he paid very little attention to +the red-skinned Indians on the island shore. But when the ship got as +far as where Albany is now, the water had become shallow, and the +river-banks were so near together that Hudson gave up in despair, and +said that, after all, he had not found the eagerly sought-for passage +to India, but only a river! + +Then he turned the ship, sailed back past the island, and returned to +Holland to tell of his discovery. He told of the fur-bearing animals, +and of what a vast fortune could be made if their skins could only be +got to Holland, where furs were needed. He told of the Indians; and the +river which flowed past the island he spoke of as "The River of the +Mountains." + +[Illustration: The Half Moon in the Highlands of the Hudson.] + +The directors of the Dutch East India Company were not particularly +pleased with Hudson's report. They were angry because the short cut to +India had not been found, and they thought very little of the vast +storehouse of furs which he had discovered. Neither did the Company care +a great deal about Hudson, for they soon fell out with him, and he went +back to the English company and made another voyage for them, still in +search of the short passage to India. But in this last voyage, he only +succeeded in finding a great stretch of water far to the north, that can +be seen on any map as Hudson's Bay. His crew after a time grew angry +when he wanted to continue his search. There was a mutiny on the ship, +and Hudson and his son and seven of the sailors who were his friends +were put into a small boat, set adrift in the bay to which he had given +his name, and no trace of them was ever seen again. Long, long years +after that time, another explorer found the passage that Hudson had lost +his life searching for. It is The Northwest Passage, far up toward the +North Pole, in the region of perpetual cold and night. So Hudson never +knew that the passage he had looked for was of no value, and we may be +sure he had never imagined that there would ever be a great city on the +island he had discovered. + +The Dutch came to think a great deal of Hudson after he was dead. +The stream which he had called "The River of the Mountains" they +named Hudson's River. They even made believe that Hudson was a +Dutchman--although you will remember he was an Englishman--and were +in the habit of speaking of him as "Hendrick" Hudson. + +The Indians were scattered over America in great numbers. The tribe on +the island were called Manhattans, and from that tribe came the name of +the Island of Manhattan. All the Indians, no matter which tribe they +belonged to, looked very much alike and acted very much the same. Their +eyes were dark, and their hair long, straight, and black. When they were +fighting, they daubed their skins with colored muds--war paint the white +men called it--and started out on the "war-path". They loved to hunt and +fish, as well as to fight, and they fought and murdered as cruelly and +with as little thought as they hunted the wild animals or hooked the +fish. They held talks which were called "councils," and one Indian would +speak for hours, while the others listened in silence. And when they +determined upon any action, they carried it out, without a thought of +how many people were to be killed, or whether they were to be killed +themselves. + +[Illustration: Earliest Picture of Manhattan.] + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE FIRST TRADERS on the ISLAND + + +For several years after the return of Hudson, Dutch merchants sent their +ships to the Island of Manhattan, and each ship returned to Holland +laden with costly furs which the Indians had traded for glass beads and +strips of gay cloth. The Indians cared a great deal more for glittering +glass and highly colored rags than they did for furs. + +One trader above all others whose name should be remembered, was Adrian +Block. He came in a ship called the Tiger. This ship was anchored in the +bay close by what is now called the Battery, and directly in the course +that the ferry-boats take when they go to Staten Island. + +[Illustration: Indians Trading for Furs.] + +On a cold night in November it took fire and was burned to the water's +edge. Block and those who were with him would all have been burned to +death had they not been strong and hardy men who were able to swim +ashore in the ice-cold water. Even when they reached the shore they were +not safe, for there were no houses or places of shelter; the winter was +coming on, and the woods were filled with wild beasts. But Block and his +men very soon built houses for themselves; rude and clumsy buildings to +look at, but warm and comfortable within. They were the first houses of +white men on the Island of Manhattan. If you wish to see where they +stood, take a walk down Broadway, and just before you reach the Bowling +Green, on a house which is numbered 41, you will find a tablet of brass +which tells that Block's houses stood on that self-same spot. + +As soon as the hard winter was over, Block and his men began to build a +new ship, and before another winter had come they had one larger than +the Tiger. It was the first vessel to be built in the new world, and was +called the Restless. + +That same year the Dutch merchants decided that they were giving too +many glass beads for the furs, and that if all the merchants combined +into one company they might not have to give so many. So they did +combine, and called themselves the United New Netherland Company. It +was in this way that the name New Netherland first appeared. + +When the first ships of the new company reached the island, a house was +built for the use of the fur-traders, just south of where the Bowling +Green Park is. This structure was called Fort Manhattan. It was of +wood, and did not take long to build because the traders did not intend +to live in it a great while. They felt quite sure that all the furs +would be collected in a few years, and that then the island would be +abandoned. No one thought at that time that the little wooden stockade +was the commencement of a great city. + +But after a few years it was found that the new country was a much +richer place than had been supposed. Shipload after shipload of otter +and beaver skins were sent across the ocean and still there were otters +and beavers without number. The fur-traders were growing rich, and after +a few years there came a decided change, when a new company was formed +in Holland; a great body of men this time, who had a vast amount of +money to build ships and fit them out. This organization was the West +India Company, and was to battle with Spain by land and by sea (for the +Netherlands was at war with Spain) and was to carry on trade with the +West Indies, just as the East India Company carried on trade with the +East Indies. As the West Indies included every country that could be +reached by sailing west from Holland, you will see that all the Dutch +land in America, which land was called New Netherland, came under the +control of this new company. + +The territory called New Netherland was the country along the Atlantic +Ocean which now makes up the States of New Jersey, New York, and +Connecticut. But its limits at this time were uncertain as it extended +inland as far as the Company might care to send their colonists. + +Within a few years, the seventy ships sailing under the flag of the West +India Company, fought great battles with the Spaniards, and won almost +every one of them. There were branches of the Company in seven cities of +Holland, and the branch in Amsterdam had charge of New Netherland. So it +will be only of the doings of this branch that we shall read. Colonists +were to be carried to New Netherland from Holland; farms were to be laid +out and cultivated; cities were to be built, and the West India Company +was to have absolute control over all, and was to rule all the people. +To do these things they had authority from the States-General of +Holland, which was the name given to the men who made the laws for that +country. The Company was to make regular reports to the States-General, +and tell of the growth of the colony and the progress of the people in +it. But as the years went on the Company was not as particular as it +should have been about what it told the States-General. + +[Illustration: Hall of the States-General of Holland.] + +It was not until the West India Company took charge of New Netherland +that it was decided to make the settlement on the Island of Manhattan a +city. Up to this time it had been merely a trading station. In order to +build up a city, the Company knew that it would be necessary to send +people in sufficient numbers so that no matter how many were killed by +the Indians the settlement would not be wiped out. Many inducements were +offered, and men with their families soon began to flock to New +Netherland. With the ship that brought the first families was Cornelius +Jacobsen May, who was to live on the Island of Manhattan and look after +affairs for the Company. Rude houses were set up about the fort, and the +first street came into existence. This is now called Pearl Street. + +Cornelius Jacobsen May cared for the colony for less than a year, when +his place was taken by William Verhulst. Before the year was out, +Verhulst decided that the new country never would suit him, and he +sailed away to Holland. Then came in his place, in the year 1626, Peter +Minuit, under appointment as the first Dutch Governor of New Netherland. + +[Illustration: Seal of New Netherland.] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +PETER MINUIT, FIRST of the DUTCH GOVERNORS + + +Peter Minuit was a large man, of middle age, whose hair was turning +gray, whose eyes were black and dull, and whose manners were quite +coarse. + +The West India Company gave to this Governor absolute power over all the +Dutch lands in America. His power was equal to that of a king; much more +than some kings have had. To be sure, in matters of extreme importance +he was supposed to refer to the Company in Holland. But Holland was far +away, farther away than it is in these days of fast steamers and the +telegraph, and the Company had too many other matters to look after to +give much thought to New Netherland. + +One of the first acts of Governor Minuit was to buy the Island of +Manhattan from the Indians, giving them in exchange some beads, some +brass ornaments, some bits of glass and some strips of colored cloth; +all of which seemed a rich treasure to the Indians, but were in reality +worth just twenty-four dollars. + +As soon as Minuit had bought the island, he organized a government. In +authority next to the Governor was the koopman, who was secretary of the +province, and bookkeeper at the Company's warehouse, and who worked very +hard. Then came the schout-fiscal, who worked still harder, being half +sheriff, half attorney-general, and all customs officer. There was also +a council of five men who looked wise but had very little to say and did +not dare to disagree with the Governor. + +Although in buying their land Governor Minuit had made the Indians his +friends, he took care to be prepared in case they should change their +minds and become warlike. He had Kryn Frederick, the Company's engineer, +build a solid fort on the spot where the fur-traders' stockade had +stood. This he called Fort Amsterdam. It was surrounded by cedar +palisades, and was large enough to shelter all the people of the little +colony in case of danger. Inside this fort there was a house for the +Governor, and outside the walls was a warehouse for furs, and a mill +which was run by horse-power, with a large room on the second floor to +be used as a church. + +[Illustration: The Building of the Palisades.] + +When Minuit had become fairly settled in his new colony, he divided the +lower part of the island into farms, which in those days were called +"bouweries." A road which led through these farms was named Bouwerie +Lane, and the same road is to-day known as The Bowery. + +Minuit had been Governor four years, and there were 200 persons on the +island, when the Dutch West India Company, deciding that the colony was +not increasing fast enough, made a plan for giving large tracts of land +to any man who would go from Holland and take with him fifty persons to +make their homes in New Netherland. The grants of land, which were +really large farms, stretched away in all directions over the territory +of New Netherland. But no grant was made on the Island of Manhattan, as +the Company reserved that for itself. Each of these farms was called a +manor. The man who brought colonists from Holland was called a patroon. +He was the Lord of the Manor. + +He had supreme authority over his colonists, who cleared the land of +the trees, planted seeds, gathered the ripened grain, and raised cattle +which they gave to the Lord of the Manor as rent. + +The little town of New Amsterdam was to continue as the seat of +government, and the Lords of the Manors were to act under the direction +of the Governor. The farms established by these patroons were to belong +to them and to their families after them. + +The one thing that the patroons were not permitted to do was to collect +the furs of animals, for these were very valuable and the Company +claimed them all. + +Before many years had passed there was much trouble with these patroons, +who did a great deal to make themselves rich, and very little for New +Netherland. They traded in furs, notwithstanding they were forbidden to +do so, and did all manner of things they should not have done. + +Governor Minuit was himself accused of aiding the patroons to make money +at the expense of the West India Company, and of taking his share of +the profit; and finally, the Company ordered him to return to Holland. +The ship in which he sailed was wrecked on the coast of England, and +Minuit was detained and accused of unlawfully trading in the territory +of the King of England. This was not the first time that the English had +laid claim to the Dutch lands in America. Charles I. was king then, and +he said that England owned New Netherland because an English king, more +than a hundred years before Hudson's time, had sent John Cabot and his +son Sebastian in search of new lands, and they had touched the American +shore. + +But the Dutch called attention to the fact that it had been held, time +out of mind, that to own a country one must not only discover it, but +must visit it continually, and even buy it from any persons who should +be settled there. Even if the Cabots had discovered the land in America, +the Dutch had occupied it ever since Hudson's time and had paid the +Indians for it. + +Matters were patched up for the time, and Minuit was permitted to +return to Holland. But he was no longer Governor of New Netherland, +for his place had been given to another man whose name was Walter +Van Twiller. + +[Illustration: Old House in New York, Built 1668.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +WALTER VAN TWILLER, SECOND of the DUTCH GOVERNORS + + +Now this Walter Van Twiller was a relative of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, +one of the patroons. You will see why the West India Company's choice of +him for a Governor was not by any means a wise choice. For he was soon +doing exactly what Minuit had done. The only difference was that +Governor Van Twiller favored Van Rensselaer more than he did the other +patroons. + +Van Twiller was a stout, round-bodied man, with a face much the shape of +a full moon. He was a sharp trader, having made two voyages to the +Hudson River in the interest of Van Rensselaer, but he knew nothing of +governing a colony. + +The ship that brought the new Governor to the Island of Manhattan, had +also on board a hundred soldiers, and these were the first soldiers +ever sent to the island. There was also on the ship Everardus Bogardus, +the first minister of the colony, as well as Adam Rolandsen, the first +school-master. This school-master had a hard time of it in the new +country, for not being able to make a living by his teaching, he was +forced to do all kinds of other work. He even took in washing for a +time! + +By this time negro slaves were being brought to the colony from Africa. +They did the household work, while the colonists cultivated the fields +These slaves did most of the work on a new wooden church which was set +up just outside the fort, for the new minister. + +Governor Van Twiller began improving the colony by having three +windmills built, to take the place of the horse-mill. But he had them +placed in such a position that the building in the fort cut off the wind +from their sails, and the mills were almost useless. + +The Governor did not neglect his own comfort, for within Fort Amsterdam +he built for himself a fine house of brick--finer than any in the little +settlement--and on one of the bouweries nearest the fort, he erected a +summer-house. On another bouwerie he laid out a tobacco plantation, and +had slaves paid by the Company to look after it. + +[Illustration: Van Twiller's Defiance.] + +When Van Twiller had been Governor three years, he gave to one of the +colonists a farm on the western side of the city along the Hudson River. +The colonist died the year after the farm was given him, leaving his +widow, Annetje Jans, to care for the property. + +Years after, when Queen Anne ruled in England, and the English had come +into possession of New Netherland, she gave the Annetje Jans farm to +Trinity Church. That was almost two centuries ago. What was once a farm +is now a great business section, crossed and recrossed by streets. +Trinity Church has held it through all the years, and holds it still. + +Close upon the time when the Jans farm was given away by Governor Van +Twiller, a sailor of note, who had visited almost every country in the +world, founded a colony on Staten Island. This sailor was Captain David +Pietersen De Vries. Staten Island attracted him because of its beauty. +After the colony was well started, De Vries travelled between New +Netherland and Holland, and he will be met with again in this story. + +[Illustration: Landing of Dutch Colony on Staten Island.] + +Although Governor Van Twiller did not do much for the colonists, he was +very careful to look after his own affairs. He bought from the +Indians, for some goods of small value, the little spot now called +Governor's Island; which was then known as Nut Island, because of the +many nut-trees that grew there. There is little doubt but that +Governor's Island was once a part of Long Island. It is separated from +it now by a deep arm of water called Buttermilk Channel. The channel was +so narrow and so shallow in Van Twiller's time that the cattle could +wade across it. It was given its name more than a hundred years ago, +from boats which drew very little water, and were the only craft able to +get through the channel, and which took buttermilk from Long Island to +the markets of New York. + +[Illustration: Governor's Island and the Battery in 1850.] + +Van Twiller bought the islands now known as Randall's and Ward's +Islands, and these, with some others, made him the richest landholder in +the colony. On his islands he raised cattle, and on his farm tobacco. + +Many of the colonists did not take kindly to Governor Van Twiller's +methods, and among them was Van Dincklagen, the schout-fiscal. He told +the Governor that it was very evident that he was putting forth every +effort to enrich himself at the expense of everybody else, just as +Minuit had done. The Governor became very angry. He told the +schout-fiscal not to expect any more salary, that it would be stopped +from that minute. This did not worry the schout-fiscal much, as he had +not been paid his salary in three years! But Van Twiller did not stop +there. He sent the schout-fiscal as a prisoner to Holland, which was a +foolish thing for him to do. For the prisoner pleaded his own cause to +such good effect that before the end of the year 1637, Van Twiller was +recalled to Holland, after he had governed New Netherland for four +years, very much to his own interest, and very much against the interest +of the West India Company and everybody else. + +[Illustration: Dutch Costumes.] + + + + +CHAPTER V + +WILLIAM KIEFT and the WAR with the INDIANS + + +A dreary winter came and went, and just as the first signs of spring +showed in the fields that closed about the fort, a ship sailed up the +bay, bringing a stranger to the province. + +This was William Kieft, the new Governor of New Netherland. + +He was a blustering man, who became very angry when anyone disagreed +with him, and who very soon was known as "William the Testy." He made no +effort to make the Indians his friends, and the result was that much of +his rule of ten years was a term of bloody warfare. + +The affairs of the Company had been sadly neglected by Governor Van +Twiller, and Governor Kieft, in a nervous, testy, energetic fashion set +about remedying them. The fort was almost in ruins from neglect. The +church was in little better condition. The mills were so out of repair +that even if the wind could have reached them they could not have been +made to do their work properly. There were smugglers who carried away +furs without even a thought of the koopman, who was waiting to record +the duties which should have been paid on them. There were those who +defied all law and order, and sold guns and powder and liquor to the +Indians, regardless of the fact that the penalty for doing so was death. +For guns and liquor had been found to be dangerous things to put in +savage hands. + +Governor Kieft rebuilt the houses, put down all smugglers, and set +matters in New Amsterdam in good working order generally. The patroon +system of peopling the colony had proven a total failure. So, soon after +Kieft came, the West India Company decided on another plan. They +furnished free passage to anyone who promised to cultivate land in the +new country. In this way there would be no patroons to act as masters. +Each man would own his land, and could come and go as he saw fit. This +brought many colonists. + +[Illustration: The Bowling Green in 1840.] + +At this time there were really only two well-defined roads on the Island +of Manhattan. One stretched up through the island and led to the +outlying farms and afterward became The Bowery; the second led along the +water-side, and is to-day Pearl Street. Bowling Green, although it was +not called Bowling Green then, was the open space in front of the fort +where the people gathered on holidays. In the fourth year of Governor +Kieft's rule, he conceived the idea of holding fairs in this open space, +where fine cows and fat pigs could be exhibited. These fairs attracted +so many visitors from distant parts of the colony, that the Governor had +a large stone house built, with a roof running up steep to a peak, in +regular, step-like form. This was called a tavern, and could accommodate +all the visitors. In after years it became the first City Hall. + +If you wish to stand where this building was, you must go to the head of +Coenties Slip, in Pearl Street. On the building which is there now you +will see a bronze tablet which tells all about the old Stadt Huys. + +The church that Walter Van Twiller had built was little better than a +barn. The minister wanted a new one. So did his congregation. Governor +Kieft decided that there should be one of stone, and that it should be +built inside the fort. There was a question as how to secure the money +to build it. Kieft gave a small amount, as did other colonists, but +there was not enough. Fortunately, just at this time, a daughter of +Bogardus, the minister, was married. At the wedding, when the guests +were in good humor, a subscription-list was handed out. The guests tried +to outdo one another in subscribing money for the new church. Next day +some of the subscribers were sorry they had agreed to give so much, but +the Governor accepted no excuses and insisted on the money. It was +collected, and the church was built. Close upon this time Kieft decided +that he needed money for other work, and he told the Indians of the +province that he expected something from them. Of course the Indians had +no such money as we have in these days. They used instead beads, very +handsome and made from clam-shells. These beads were arranged on +strings. There were black ones and white ones, and the black were worth +twice as much as the white. The Indians did not see why they should give +money to the Governor. Kieft explained that it was to pay for the +protection given to them by the Dutch. Then the Indians understood less +than ever, for the Dutch had never done anything for them except to +give them as little as they could for their valuable furs. The Indians +hated Kieft, and this act of his made their hatred more bitter. A +war-cloud was gathering. The Indians were well prepared for war, for +they had been supplied with guns, with bullets, and with powder by those +greedy Dutchmen, the smugglers, who thought more of their personal +gains than of the safety of the colonists. + +[Illustration: Selling Arms to the Indians.] + +Over on Staten Island about this time, an Indian stole several hogs +from a colonist. Kieft's soldiers found the tribe to which the Indian +belonged, and in revenge killed ten Indian warriors. After this the +war-cloud grew darker. + +Kieft was anxious that there should be war. But there were many of the +colonists who did all in their power to prevent it. The men who wanted +peace were headed by that able sailor, Captain David Pietersen De Vries, +who had founded a colony on Staten Island. A council of twelve men was +formed to decide whether there should be peace or war. This council +declared that there should be no war. They then began to look into +public affairs, for they thought it all wrong that Kieft should have +the only voice in the management. The Governor regretted having called +together the twelve men. But he soon got rid of them, and to show that +he was still absolute ruler, he decided to make war upon the Indians. +Then the war-cloud broke. + +Those Indians who lived nearest New Amsterdam were fighting with another +tribe called the Mohawks. The nearby Indians thought that since Kieft +had been paid to protect them, he should do so now. So they gathered, +some on the Island of Manhattan, and some on the nearby shore of New +Jersey. But instead of protecting them, Kieft sent his soldiers against +these friendly Indians, and in the night killed them as they slept. The +soldiers came so suddenly upon the Indians, sleeping peacefully on the +Jersey shore, and slew them so quickly in the darkness, that the Indians +believed they had been attacked by the unfriendly tribe. One Indian, +with his squaw, made his way to the fort. He was met at the gate by De +Vries. "Save us," he cried, "the Mohawks have fallen upon us, and have +killed all our people." But De Vries answered, sadly, "No Indian has +done this. It is the Dutch who have killed your people." And he pointed +toward the deep woods close by. "Go there for safety, but do not come +here." + +This was not war. It was murder. A cruel, treacherous act, which the +greater number of colonists condemned and the record of which is a dark +stain on the memory of William Kieft. + +After this, all the Indians within the border of New Netherland +combined. Colonists were shot as they worked in the fields. Cattle were +driven away. Houses were robbed and burned. Women and children were +dragged into captivity. The war raged fiercely for three years. By this +time Indians and colonists were worn out. Then the war ended. But +scarcely a hundred men were left on the Island of Manhattan. The country +was a waste. + +A strong fence had been built across the island, to keep what cattle +remained within bounds. This fence marked the extreme limit of the +settlement of New Amsterdam. The fence in time gave place to a wall, and +when in still later years the wall was demolished and a street laid out +where it had been, the thoroughfare was called Wall Street, and remains +so to this day. + +While the entire province was in a very bad way, and the people +suffering on every side, Governor Kieft sent to the West India Company +in Holland _his_ version of the war. He showed himself to be all in the +right, and proved, to his own satisfaction, that the province was in a +fairly good condition; though during all the years he had been Governor +he had not once left the settlement on the Island of Manhattan to look +after other parts. + +Certain of the colonists also sent a report to Holland. Theirs being +much nearer the truth, carried such weight with it, that the West India +Company decided on the immediate recall of Governor Kieft, who had done +so much injury to the colony, and had shown himself to be utterly +incapable of governing. + +Kieft returned to Holland in a ship that was packed from stem to stern +with the finest of furs. The ship was wrecked at sea. Kieft was drowned, +and the furs were lost. + +In the same ship was Everardus Bogardus (the minister who had married +Annetje Jans), who was on his way to Holland on a mission relating to +his church. The people of New Amsterdam mourned for their minister, but +there was little sorrow felt for the Governor who had plunged the colony +in war by his obstinate and cruel temper. + +[Illustration: Smoking the Pipe of Peace.] + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +PETER STUYVESANT, the LAST of the DUTCH GOVERNORS + + +It was a gay day for the little colony of New Amsterdam, that May +morning in the year 1647, when a one-legged man landed at the lower part +of the island, and stumped his way up the path that led to the fort. Not +only everyone that lived in the town gathered there, but everyone on the +island, and many from more distant parts. There were Indians, too, who +walked sedately, their quiet serenity in strange contrast to the +colonists, who yelled and shouted for joy, and clapped their hands at +every salute from the guns. And when the fort was reached (it was only +a few steps from the river-bank) the man with the wooden leg turned to +those who followed him. The guns were silent, and the people stood +still. + +"I shall govern you," said he, "as a father does his children." + +Then there were more shouts, and more booming of cannon, and the name of +Peter Stuyvesant was on every tongue. For the man with a wooden leg was +Peter Stuyvesant, the new Governor appointed by the West India Company, +and not one of those who shouted that day had an idea that he was to be +the last of the Dutch governors. + +Stuyvesant had long been in the employ of the West India Company, and +his leg had been shot off in a battle while he was in their service. + +He was a stern man, with a bad temper, and seemed to have made it a +point in life never to yield to anyone in anything. He ruled in the way +he thought best, and he let it always be understood that he did not care +much for the advice of others. He did what he could for the people to +make their life as happy as possible. Of course he had orders from the +West India Company that he was bound to obey, and these orders did not +always please the people. But his rule was just, and he was the most +satisfactory of all the Dutch governors. + +Stuyvesant's first work was to put the city in better condition. He did +this by having the vacant lots about the fort either built upon or +cleared. The hog-pens which had been in front of the houses were taken +away. All the fences were put in repair, and where weeds had grown rank, +they were replaced by pretty gardens. These, and a great many other +things he did, until the town took on quite a new air. + +Up to this time the people had been ruled by governors who did all +things just as they saw fit. They became tired of this, and complained +so much that the Company in Holland decided to make a change. So after +Stuyvesant had been Governor for a while, some other officers were +appointed to help him. There was one officer called a schout, very +much the same as a mayor is in these days. Two others were called +burgomasters, and five others were called schepens. The burgomasters +and the schepens presided over the trials, in the stone tavern which +Governor Kieft had built at Coenties Slip, and which had now become +the Stadt Huys or City Hall. + +[Illustration: The Old Stadt Huys of New Amsterdam.] + +With the appointment of these officers, New Amsterdam became a city. +But as Governor Stuyvesant named the officers and as he plainly told +them that they must not interfere with his orders, and as he still had +his own way, regardless of what the officers said and did, the colony +was little different as a city from what it had been before. + +In the fall of this year, 1652, war was declared between England and +Holland. Stuyvesant, fearing that the English in New England, which +was on the borders of New Netherland, would attack the city, set about +fortifying it. The fence that Governor Kieft had built so that the +cattle could not wander away was changed into a wall that extended from +river to river. The fort was repaired, and a strong body of citizens +mounted guard by day and by night. Everything was prepared for an +attack. But the enemy did not come after all. + +Matters went along quietly enough for three years, until some Swedes +on the Delaware River began to build houses on Dutch lands. Then +Stuyvesant, with 160 men, in seven ships, sailed around to the Delaware +River, and conquered the Swedes. + +It was quite ten years since the Indian war, and Stuyvesant, by his +kindness, had made friends of the savages, and had come to be called +their "great friend," But soon after he left to make war on the Swedes, +one of the colonists killed an Indian. In a few days there was an +uprising of Indian tribes. In New Jersey and on Staten Island they +murdered colonists, burned houses, and laid farms waste. Stuyvesant +hurriedly returned. He made peace with the Indians, treating them +kindly, as though there had never been any trouble. He gave them +presents, and used such gentle measures that the war which had +threatened to be so serious ended abruptly. + +In the calmer days that followed, attention was given to improvements +in the city. By this time there were a thousand persons on the island. +Streets were nicely laid out, and the city of New Amsterdam grew, day +by day. It was a tiny place still, however, for it all lay below the +present Wall Street. Some distance beyond the city wall was a fenced-in +pasture for cattle, which was later to become The Common, and still +later City Hall Park. Farther on there was a wide lake, so deep that +it was thought to be bottomless. On its banks were a vast heap of +oyster-shells, where an Indian village had been. This place was called +Kalch-hook, or Shell-point. Afterward it was shortened to The Kalch, and +in time was called The Collect. The lake was called Collect Lake. There +is no trace of it to-day, for it was filled in, and the Tombs Prison now +stands upon the spot. + +The entire province was in a flourishing condition, but danger was near. +The English had long looked with covetous eye upon the possessions of +the Dutch in America. The English, it must be remembered, claimed not +only New Netherland, but a great part of the American continent, on the +plea that the Cabots had discovered it. + +After all this long time, when the Cabots had been forgotten by most +persons, in the year 1664, Charles II. decided that the English claim +was just, and gave New Netherland to his brother James, Duke of York. +The Duke of York at once sent four ships filled with soldiers to take +possession of his property. + +[Illustration: Stuyvesant Leaving Fort Amsterdam.] + +When the English war-ships sailed up the bay, the town was +ill-protected, and the people had no desire to resist, for Stuyvesant +and the West India Company had been most strict, and they hoped to be +more free under English rule. Stuyvesant, with scarcely a supporter, +stood firm and unyielding. He had no thought of submitting to superior +force. "I would rather be carried out dead," he exclaimed. But when at +length he realized that he was absolutely alone, and that there were no +means of defence for the city, he surrendered. + +On this same morning of September 8, 1664, Stuyvesant, with his head +bowed sadly, marched at the head of his soldiers out of Fort Amsterdam, +with flags flying and drums beating. And the English soldiers, who had +landed, and were waiting a little way off, entered the fort with _their_ +flags flying and _their_ drums beating. + +So the city of New Amsterdam became the city of New York, and the +province of New Netherland became the province of New York, and Fort +Amsterdam became Fort James--all this in honor of James, Duke of York, +who now came into possession. + +Stuyvesant went to Holland to explain why he had surrendered New +Netherland. But he came back again, and years after he died in the +little Bouwerie Village which he had built. In St. Mark's Church to this +day may be seen a tablet which tells that the body of the last Dutch +Governor lies buried there. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +NEW YORK under the ENGLISH and the DUTCH + + +So now the conquered province had come into the possession of the Duke +of York, and Colonel Richard Nicolls, who was in command of the English +soldiers, took charge. This first English Governor appeared anxious to +make all the people his friends. He made Thomas Willett Mayor, and +Willett being very popular, all the citizens rejoiced, and said the new +Governor was a fine man. During three years Colonel Nicolls humored the +people so much that they were well satisfied. At the end of that time he +had grown tired of the new country, and asked to be relieved. The people +were really sorry when he returned to England and Francis Lovelace took +his place. + +Governor Lovelace did not get along so well. He was a man of harsh +manner, who did not have the patience or the inclination to flatter with +fine promises. Lovelace wanted everyone to understand that he was +master. Very soon, when the people said they thought they should have +the right to control their own affairs, the Governor told them that he +did not think it was best for them to have too much to do with the +governing of the city. But he did some things that pleased the people. +For one thing, he brought about the custom of having merchants meet +once a week at a bridge which crossed Broad Street at the present +Exchange Place. There is no bridge there now, but in those days it was +necessary, for Broad Street was a ditch which extended from the river +almost to Wall Street. But though the ditch has been filled up, and the +bridge is gone, the locality has ever since been one where merchants +have gathered. + +[Illustration: Departure of Nicolls.] + +The Governor also had a messenger make regular trips to Boston with +letters, which was the first mail route from the city. Matters were +going along nicely when trouble arose between England and Holland again. +Then the Dutch decided that it would be a good time to get back their +lost province of New Netherland. The English in New York heard of this, +and made all sorts of warlike preparations. But the Dutch were so long +in coming that the preparations for war were given up. Finally the Dutch +ships did arrive unexpectedly, sailing up the bay one morning in the +month of July, in the year 1673. Governor Lovelace was in a distant +part of the colony, and the city had been left under the care of Captain +John Manning. + +Manning was in despair. He knew full well that there was no hope of +defending the city successfully. He sent a messenger dashing off to the +Governor, and he sent another to the Dutch ships to ask what they were +doing in the bay, just as though he did not know. The Dutch sent word +back that the city must be surrendered to them that same day. And to +show they meant what was said, the Dutch admiral despatched one of his +captains, Anthony Colve by name, who landed with 600 men. The Dutch +captain agreed that if the English left the fort without a show of +resistance, they could do so with the honors of war and without +interference. Then he and his soldiers tramped down the road that is now +Broadway. The English marched out of the fort, and the Dutch marched in; +just as nine years before the Dutch had marched out and the English had +marched in. + +When the King in England heard that New York had been so easily +captured, all the blame was placed on Captain Manning, and after a time +you will see what became of him. + +[Illustration: The Dutch Ultimatum.] + +Captain Colve took charge of the reconquered province. He began +industriously to undo all that the English had done. The province was +again named New Netherland. The city was called New Orange, in honor of +the Prince of Orange--a prince of Holland, who in a few years was to +marry a daughter of the Duke of York, and who in a few more years was +to be King of England under the title of William III. + +Captain Colve put the fort in good condition, repaired the city wall, +made a soldier of every man and drilled them every day. He had the city +gates locked at night, and put a guard at them to see that no one came +in or passed out. + +In less than a year, when the city was in shape to be defended, the +English and the Dutch made up their quarrel. The province of New +Netherland was returned to the English, and became again the province of +New York, and the Dutch soldiers left the Island of Manhattan, never +again to return to it in warlike array. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +SOMETHING about the BOLTING ACT + + +Edmund Andros was sent to govern New York for the Duke of York. +The people complained a good deal because he acted as though he were a +king with absolute power. They asked that they have some voice in the +direction of their affairs. They got up a petition and sent it to the +Duke in England. + +"What do the people want?" said the Duke. "If they are not satisfied, +they can always appeal to me." He did not see that they had just +appealed to him, and in vain. + +Captain Manning, who had been in charge of the province when the Dutch +recaptured it, came again to New York with Andros. Many who had lost +their property by the coming of the Dutch, complained bitterly to +Andros. So the Governor, and his council, and the officers of the +city held many conferences, with the result that Captain Manning was +arrested. He was found guilty of cowardice, and his sword was broken +in front of the Stadt Huys in the presence of the citizens, and he was +declared, on the good authority of King Charles II., unfit ever again +to hold public office. + +Although disgraced, Captain Manning did not seem to care much. He owned +a beautiful wooded island in the East River, to which he now retired. +He was wealthy, and there he lived and entertained royally during the +remainder of his life. + +Andros did many things for the general good. When he had been Governor +four years, and when the most important product of trade was flour, a +law was made by which no one was permitted to make flour outside of the +city. This was called the Bolting Act. Flour cannot be made unless it +is "bolted"--or has the bran taken from it--and so the act came by its +name. The right to grind all the grain into flour may not now seem very +important, but it really was, for it brought all the trade to the city. +So you see the Bolting Act was a very good thing for the city, and very +bad for the people who did not live in the city. The city folks became +very prosperous indeed, but the others, because they could not make or +sell flour, became poorer day by day. + +This went on for sixteen years, and then the law came to an end. But by +that time all the business of the entire province had centred in the +city so firmly that it could not be drawn away. + +[Illustration] + +So, after this, when you look at a picture of the Seal of New York, +and see a windmill and two barrels of flour, you will remember that the +windmill sails worked the mill, and the barrels were filled with flour +which laid the foundation of the city's fortunes; and were put on the +seal so that this fact would always be remembered. The beavers on the +seal suggest the early days when the trade in beaver skins made a city +possible. At one time there was a crown on the seal--a king's crown--but +that gave way to an eagle when the English King no longer had a claim on +New York. + +Now that the province was prosperous, one would think that the people +would have been quite happy. But they were not. They did not like +Governor Andros because they thought that he taxed them too heavily, and +they sent so many petitions to the Duke of York that, in 1681, Andros +was recalled, and Colonel Thomas Dongan was appointed the new Governor. +A few years later, when the Duke of York became King James II., he +remembered how carefully Andros had carried out his orders, and +appointed him Governor of New England; where he conducted matters so +much to the satisfaction of his King that he earned the title of "The +Tyrant of New England." + +When Governor Dongan reached the city and announced that the Duke had +instructed him to let the people have something to say as to how they +should be governed, he was joyfully received. It really seemed now that +everything was going to be satisfactory. But there came a sudden check. +Two years after Dongan became Governor, the Duke of York was made King +of England. He thereupon ordered Dongan to make all the laws himself, +without regard to what the people did or did not want. The power to make +the laws was a great power, but Governor Dongan was a fair and just man +and did not abuse it. The year after this he granted a charter to the +city, known ever since as the Dongan Charter, which was so just that it +is still the base on which the rights of citizens rest. + +But while Dongan was popular with the King's subjects, he became +unpopular with the King. This was because he stood in the way of the +plans of his royal master whenever those plans interfered with the good +of the people. He must have known what the result would be. Whether he +knew it or not, it came in the year 1688. The King joined the colony of +New England and the colony of New York, and called this united territory +New England. Dongan then ceased to be Governor, having ruled the +province well. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE STIRRING TIMES of JACOB LEISLER + + +Sir Edmund Andros, who, you will remember, had been appointed Governor +of New England, had been knighted for obeying the King's commands. He +now became Governor of the united provinces. He made his home in Boston, +and left the care of New York to his deputy, Francis Nicholson. In this +year a son was born to the English King, and the people rejoiced. But +these were stormy times in England, for King James II. was a tyrant who +ordered a great many of his subjects killed when they refused to believe +in what he believed. And the people, grown weary and heartsick, +overthrew King James and put William III. on the throne. So the sights +and sounds of rejoicing over the birth of a prince were scarcely over, +when the news came that James was no longer King, and New York was soon +in a state of confusion. + +In what had been New England before the provinces were united, the +people hated Andros. They arrested him. And as they had never been in +favor of uniting New England and New York, they restored their old +officers and disunited the two provinces, Andros was sent a prisoner to +England to give an account of his doings to King William, and New York +was left without a Governor. The men who had served under King James +insisted that they remain in charge of the province until King William +sent new officers to replace them. But most of them wanted to have all +who had had anything to do with King James put out of office at once. So +those who wanted this change took charge of the city, and chose as their +leader a citizen named Jacob Leisler. More than twenty years before, +this Jacob Leisler had come from Holland as a soldier of the West India +Company. He had left the service and had become a wealthy merchant. He +had a rude manner, and but little education. He looked upon as an enemy, +and as an enemy of King William, every man who did not think as he did. + +The mass of the people now gathered around Leisler and became known as +the Leislerian party. They selected a number of citizens, calling them +the Committee of Safety, and the committee gave Leisler power to see +that peace was preserved. Those who were opposed to Leisler, but who, +just as strongly as he, favored King William, were called the +anti-Leislerian party. These last were headed by Francis Nicholson, who +had watched over the colony for Governor Andros. Nicholson finding that +he had few followers, sailed for England. + +Leisler had the fortifications repaired, and a battery of guns set up +outside the fort. This is the battery which gave to the present locality +its name, though all signs of guns have disappeared. + +Leisler had an adviser in Jacob Milborne, his son-in-law, who wrote his +letters, and counselled him in every way. + +In December came a messenger from King William, with a commission for +whoever was in charge of the city, to act until further orders. Leisler +obtained possession of the commission. He became bolder after this, and +showed such a disposition to do just as he pleased, that he made enemies +of a great many of his friends. Advised by Milborne, he made laws, and +imprisoned all those who refused to obey them or to recognize his +authority. Day by day those who were opposed to Leisler and Milborne +grew in numbers. Street riots occurred, and several persons were +injured. Leisler's life was threatened, and he went about attended by a +guard of soldiers. Finally Nicholas Bayard, who had been Mayor, and who +was looked upon as leader of the anti-Leislerian party, was put in +prison with some others. Bayard would doubtless have been executed had +he not written an humble letter to Leisler saying that he had been in +the wrong and Leisler in the right. But he wrote to save his life, not +that he really believed himself to be in the wrong. He did save his +life, but he was kept in jail. + +Leisler's enemies continued active. They had a powerful friend in +Francis Nicholson, who had reached England and had been received with +favor there. He hated Leisler, and denounced him as a traitor before +King William. + +Leisler, after he had taken charge of the province, wrote to the King, +but his letter was written in imperfect English and was not understood. +Matters were in a bad state, and were daily becoming worse, when the +King appointed Henry Sloughter Governor of New York. + +[Illustration: New York in 1700.] + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE SAD END of JACOB LEISLER + + +This Henry Sloughter was not a good choice. He was a worthless man, who +had travelled a great deal, and had spent other people's money whenever +he could get it. Now, when he could find no one in England to supply him +with money, he took the post of Governor of New York, and his only +thought was how much money he could wring from the people. The enemies +of Leisler rejoiced at his coming, for they knew that it meant the +downfall of Leisler. + +Sloughter sailed for New York with a body of soldiers, but his ship was +tossed about by the sea, and carried far out of its course, so that the +ship of his assistant, Major Richard Ingoldsby, arrived first. But +Leisler refused to give up command until Sloughter came. This was three +months later, and during that time Ingoldsby and his soldiers did all +they could to harass Leisler, who held possession of the little fort, +and refused to give it up until he saw the King's order. + +When Sloughter arrived, members of the party opposed to Leisler hurried +on board the vessel, and escorted him to the City Hall, where at +midnight he took the oath of office. + +Within a few days Governor Sloughter and his friends met in the City +Hall, where the council of the new Governor was sworn in--a council +every member of which was an enemy of Leisler. Then Leisler was +arrested, with his son-in-law, Milborne, and both were condemned to +death as rebels. But the Governor was afraid of displeasing the King by +putting Leisler to death, for, after all, Leisler was the man who had +been the first to recognize the authority of King William in New York. +He refused to sign the death-warrant. But the enemies of Leisler were +not content. Nicholas Bayard, who had become more than ever bitter +because he had been kept for thirteen months in prison, was anxious for +revenge. The council urged the Governor to carry out the sentence, and +he finally signed the death-warrant. Two days later Leisler and Milborne +were led to execution. The scaffold had been erected in Leisler's own +garden, close by where the post-office is now. The people thronged about +it, standing in the cold, drizzling rain. They wept, for many of them +had been on the side of Leisler. + +[Illustration: Sloughter Signing Leisler's Death-warrant.] + +Leisler ascended the scaffold with firm step, and looked at the people +he had tried to serve. + +"What I have done has been for the good of my country," he said, sadly. +"I forgive my enemies, as I hope to be forgiven." + +And so he died; believing that he had done his duty. + +Milborne was full of hate for those who caused his death. Close by the +scaffold stood Robert Livingston, a citizen who had always been strongly +opposed to Leisler. To this man Milborne pointed, and fiercely cried: + +"You have caused my death. For this I will impeach you before the Bar of +God." And so he died. + +The bodies of both men were interred close by the scaffold. + +Four years later the English Parliament declared that Leisler had acted +under the King's command, and had therefore been in the right, after +all. So tardy justice was done to Leisler's memory. + +After the death of Leisler, there was an end of open revolt, and affairs +were reasonably quiet, although it was many a long year before the +rancor of the late struggle and the bitter hatred of the friends and +enemies of Leisler died out. + +Order was restored, and attention was turned to public improvement. +New streets were laid out, and markets were built. In front of the +City Hall, by the water-side of Coenties Slip, there were set up a +whipping-post, a cage, a pillory, and a ducking-block; which were to +serve as warnings to evil-doers, and to be used in case the warning +was not effective. + +But Sloughter did not live to see these improvements completed. A few +months after his arrival he died suddenly, so suddenly that there was a +suggestion that he had been poisoned by some friend of Leisler. But it +was proven that his death was a natural one, and his body was placed in +a vault next to that of Peter Stuyvesant, in the Bouwerie Village +church-yard. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +GOVERNOR FLETCHER and the PRIVATEERS + + +When Benjamin Fletcher became the next Governor of New York, in the +month of August, 1692, the people gave a great public dinner in his +honor, and there were expressions of deep joy that so wise and good +and pious a man had been sent to rule over them. + +But Governor Fletcher soon came to be disliked. He tried by every means +to enrich himself at the public expense. More than that, he wished to +make the Church of England the only church of the province, and to have +the English language the only language spoken. All of which the people +did not like, for the majority of them still spoke the Dutch language +and attended the Dutch church. + +Governor Fletcher had great trouble in getting the Assembly (the body +of men who helped him to govern the province) to agree with him, but he +finally won them over in the matter of the Church of England. One of the +churches built at this time was Trinity Church. It was a quaint, square +building, with a tall spire--not the Trinity Church of this day, +although it stood on the same spot. + +[Illustration: Bradford's Tombstone.] + +In the year after Fletcher came, the first printing-press was set up +in the city by William Bradford, who came from Philadelphia for that +purpose. He became the public printer, and afterward issued the first +newspaper. He did a great deal for the general good, and when he died he +was buried in Trinity Church-yard. Even now you can see the stone that +marks his grave, close by the side-entrance of the present church. + +During much of the time that Fletcher governed, the French in Canada +were continually threatening to fight with the English in New York. +There were fierce and bloody conflicts on the border, but no enemy +reached the city. There was also another danger that grew stronger day +by day. It came about as the result of privateering. + +A privateer was a vessel which under commission from one country, +carried on war with the ships of other countries. The captains were +called privateers, as were the ships. These privateers were so +successful that they grew bold, and instead of attacking only the ships +of enemies of their country, they threw away their commissions and +attacked ships of all countries for their private gain. Then they were +called pirates. They became robbers and murderers, for they murdered as +well as robbed. These pirates bore down upon the ships of all nations, +carried off their cargoes, then sunk the vessels without knowing or +caring how many were on board, that none might escape to tell the tale. + +Nowhere were the pirates more daring than near the American coast. The +vessels of New York merchants were burned within sight of shore, and the +pirates were even bold enough to enter the harbor and seize the ships as +they lay at anchor. + +The officials of the province made no apparent effort to suppress these +pirates. It was thought then, and has since been believed, that they +assisted them, and were well paid for such help. Governor Fletcher +himself was suspected of sharing in the pirate booty. Merchants who +feared to carry on regular trade, as their ships were almost sure to be +seized, came, after a time, to lend their aid also to the pirates, by +buying their cargoes. + +[Illustration: The Reading of Fletcher's Commission.] + +Finally, very few ships dared to cross the ocean. Then the English +Government became alarmed. A new Governor was searched for--a man strong +enough to resist the bribery of pirate crews, and able to drive them off +the seas. And just such a man was found. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +CONTAINING the TRUE LIFE of CAPTAIN KIDD + + +In England there lived a man who had been a great friend of King +William; who had been his friend even before he had become King. This +man was Lord Bellomont. It was he who was chosen Governor in the year +1696. But it was two years after this that he reached New York. During +these two years he worked hard in the interests of the province. He knew +all about the pirates, and knew that it would take a strong force to +subdue them. He called upon the English Government to fit out men for +this purpose. But the Government had neither men, nor ships, nor guns +to spare. + +So Lord Bellomont decided to raise a private armed force. He got +together a company, of which the King was a member, and they fitted out +a strong and fast-sailing vessel called the Adventure Galley. Lord +Bellomont looked about for a good captain. At last he thought he had +found just the man in Captain William Kidd. Captain Kidd just at this +time happened to be in London, where he was well known, and well liked. +His home was in New York, where his wife and daughter lived in a fine +house in Crown Street, and where he was a respected citizen. But best of +all for the Company, Captain Kidd had been in command of a privateer, +and knew a good deal about pirates and their ways. + +And so it came about that Captain Kidd sailed away, commander of the +Adventure Galley, with its crew of sixty sailors, and its thirty guns, +to destroy the pirates. + +Then followed a space of time during which news of the bold Captain was +eagerly awaited. It came soon enough--news that was startling. Captain +Kidd had been tempted by the adventurous life and great gains, and had +himself turned pirate! During the next two years he was heard of as the +most daring and fierce of pirates, plundering and sinking ships, until +his name became a terror on the sea. He collected great treasure, and +then decided to give up piracy. He returned to New York, and touched +first at Gardiner's Island, a bit of land at the eastern end of Long +Island. There he buried a portion of his treasure. The remainder he +divided with his crew. Then he went to Boston, took a new name, and +intended to live in quiet and luxury during the remainder of his life. +But, unfortunately, one day Lord Bellomont was in Boston, met him, and +caused his arrest. In a few months he was sent to England in chains. +There he was executed. + +When it was known that Captain Kidd had made a stop at Gardiner's +Island, search was made there and the hidden treasure was dug up. There +were rumors from time to time that Kidd and his pirate crew had stopped +at points on the East River shore of the Island of Manhattan, and many +men hunted that shore and sought in many places for hidden treasure, but +none was ever found there. + +During the time that Captain Kidd was roaming the sea, Lord Bellomont +was governing New York. + +[Illustration: Arrest of Captain Kidd.] + +The new Governor was at first much admired. He was a fine man, with +faultless manners, and a commander in every inch of his tall figure. +He had hands as soft as a woman's, a kindly eye, and a gentle voice. +But he could be stern, and was stern and unyielding, too, when occasion +required. He dressed in better taste than anyone who had ever lived in +the province, and his horses and carriage were finer than had ever +before been seen in the city. + +Friends of the dead Jacob Leisler had told Lord Bellomont tales of what +a good man Leisler had been, and how he had been unjustly executed. So +Lord Bellomont, to the end of his life, favored the friends of Leisler. + +He was firmly convinced that many of the city merchants had become rich +through dealings with the pirates. This belief made many enemies for +him. Then, too, there were laws which would not permit merchants to +trade with any country except England; hard laws, that were constantly +broken, for the merchants could not see why they should not trade with +anyone they saw fit. Bellomont was so strict in enforcing these laws and +in collecting duties that he made more enemies, who sought his recall. + +Nevertheless many improvements were carried out while Bellomont was +Governor. A first effort was made to light the streets, which had, up +to this time, only had the light of the moon at night. This was done by +a lantern with a candle in it hung on a pole from the window of every +seventh house. A night-watch was also established, consisting of four +men. + +After Bellomont had been Governor for a few years, what remained of the +city wall was removed, and Wall Street had its beginning on the line of +the old wall. The same year the old Stadt Huys was found to be in a +state of decay. Then a new city hall was erected on the new Wall Street, +close by where Nassau Street now touches it. There were dungeons in the +new building for criminals, cells in the attic for debtors, and a +court-room on the main floor. + +[Illustration: New City Hall in Wall Street.] + +The first library, under the name of the Corporation Library, was +opened in the City Hall. This is the library that afterward became the +Society Library. It is still in existence, and now has its home in +University Place. + +All in all, Lord Bellomont was a good Governor, who did much for the +people, and much to make the city an agreeable place to live in; and +there was deep regret when he died suddenly in the year 1701. He was +buried in the chapel in the fort, and as an especial honor to his +memory his coat-of-arms was fixed on the wall of the new City Hall in +Wall Street. This was a great honor, even though the fickle people, a +few years later, when a new Governor came, did tear down the arms and +burn them in the street. + +John Nanfan, the Lieutenant-Governor, took command of the province until +news reached the city that Lord Cornbury had been appointed Governor. +Nicholas Bayard, who had made such a bitter fight against Leisler, and +who had been imprisoned so long, hated Governor Nanfan, because Nanfan +was a friend of the people who called themselves the Leislerian party. +So Bayard sent an address to Lord Cornbury saying that Nanfan was an +enemy. But Nanfan arrested Bayard, and had him tried under the self-same +act under which Leisler had been tried. This act pronounced traitors +anyone who should make an effort to disturb the peace of the province. +Bayard was sentenced to death, but a reprieve was granted pending the +pleasure of the King. Before word could be got to England, Lord +Cornbury arrived. Bayard was promoted to a place of honor, and there was +a scattering of the Leislerians, who were now looked upon as enemies of +the Government. + +[Illustration: Fort George in 1740.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +LORD CORNBURY makes HIMSELF very UNPOPULAR + + +It was in the year that Princess Anne became Queen of England (1702) +that Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, eldest son of the Earl of Clarendon, +was sent to govern New York. He was a cousin of the Queen, and left +England to escape the demands of those to whom he owed money. + +When Lord Cornbury arrived in New York, the Mayor, with much ceremony, +presented him with a box of gold, containing the freedom of the city, +which gave to him every privilege. It was a great deal of trouble and +expense to go to, for the Governor would have taken all the privileges, +even if the Mayor had not gone through the form of giving them. + +Governor Cornbury very soon let his new subjects see that he was eager +to acquire wealth, and that he intended to get it without the slightest +regard for their interests or desires. + +The Queen had told him that he should do all in his power to make the +Church of England the established church of the land; that he should +build new churches, punish drunkenness, swearing, and all such vices, +and that he should keep the colony supplied with negro slaves. + +There was much sickness in the town--so much that it became epidemic. +So the Governor and his council went to the little village of Jamaica, +on Long Island, and carried on the business of the city in a +Presbyterian church building. When the epidemic had passed, he gave the +church to the Episcopalians, because he remembered that Queen Anne had +told him to make the Church of England the established church. There +were riotous times in Jamaica after that, but the Episcopal clergyman +occupied the house, and the Episcopalians worshipped in the church +regardless of all protests. + +Not many improvements were made during Lord Cornbury's administration. +He cared little for the good of the city or for anything else except +his own pleasures. The constant fear of war gave the people little time +to think of improvements. They did, however, pave Broadway from Trinity +Church to the Bowling Green. But do not imagine that this pavement was +anything like those of to-day. It was of cobble-stones, and the gutters +ran through the middle of the street. + +The Governor came to be detested more and more by the people, for as the +years went by he spent their money recklessly. He had a habit of walking +about the fort in the dress of a woman, and another habit of giving +dinners to his friends that lasted well on toward morning, when the +guests sang and shouted so boisterously that the quiet citizens of the +little town could not sleep. + +So when the people grew very, very tired of it, they sent word to Queen +Anne that her kinsman was a very bad Governor. And she, after much +hesitation, when he had been Governor six years, removed him from +office. She no sooner did this, than those to whom he owed money, and +there were a great many of them, had him put in the debtors' prison, in +the upper story of the City Hall in Wall Street. And in jail he remained +for several months, until his father, the Earl of Clarendon, died, and +money was sent for the release of the debtor prisoner, who was now a +peer of Great Britain. + +[Illustration: View in Broad Street about 1740.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +LORD LOVELACE and ROBERT HUNTER + + +The new Governor arrived in the last months of the year 1708. He was +John, Lord Lovelace. As there had been so much trouble caused by the +governors appropriating money belonging to the citizens, he decided to +take a very different course. He had the public accounts looked into, +and said, "I wish it known to all the world that the public debt has not +been contracted in my time." And having said this (which made a fine +impression) the Governor asked the Assembly to set aside enough money +for him to run the affairs of the province for a number of years. This +was to be called a permanent revenue. But the Assembly would do no such +thing. In the midst of the discussion, Governor Lovelace died, five +months after his arrival. + +It was quite a year after the death of Lovelace before his successor +came. This was Robert Hunter, a most exceptional man. His parents were +poor, and when a boy he had run away from home and had joined the +British army. By working very hard at his books when the army was not +fighting, by studying in the soldiers' quarters and on the battle-field, +by making friends with officers of high rank, Hunter had grown to +manhood brave, well educated, and of graceful manner. On coming to New +York he at once made friends with many influential persons. His most +important friendship was with Lewis Morris, whom he afterward appointed +chief-justice. This Morris was a son of Richard Morris, an officer in +Cromwell's army, who had come to the province, purchased a manor ten +miles square near Harlem, and called it Morrisania--by which name it is +still known. + +The year after Hunter arrived, New York joined with New England in a +plan to conquer Canada (which belonged to the French) and join it to the +English colonies. Money was raised, troops were gotten together, and +ships and soldiers were sent from England. But when the attack was to +be made, the English ships struck on the rocks in a fog off the coast of +Canada, and eight of them sank with more than 800 men. This great loss +put an end to the intended invasion. The soldiers returned home, where +there was great sorrow at the dismal failure of a project that had cost +so much money and so many lives. + +Governor Hunter had only been in the province a short time when he began +to urge the Assembly to grant him that permanent revenue that Lovelace +had asked for. Queen Anne had said that he was to have it. But the +Assembly would only grant him money from year to year. + +About this time the first public market for the sale of negro slaves +was established at the foot of Wall Street. More and more slaves were +brought into the city, and the laws were made more and more strict to +keep them in the most abject bondage. It had come to be the law that +no more than four slaves could meet together at one time. They were +not permitted to pass the city gates, nor to carry weapons of any sort. +Should one appear on the street after nightfall without a lighted +lantern, he was put in jail and his master was fined. Sometimes a slave +murdered his owner. Then he was burned at the stake, after scarcely the +pretence of a trial; or was suspended from the branches of a tall tree +and left there to die. + +[Illustration: The Slave-Market. From an Old Print.] + +But although the slaves were restrained and beaten and killed, their +numbers increased so fast that the citizens were always in fear that +they might one day rise up and kill all their masters. A riot did occur +the year after the slave-market was set up. Several white men were +killed and a house was burned. Many negroes were then arrested and +nineteen of them were executed under a charge of having engaged in a +plot against the whites. + +Affairs moved along quietly for a time after the riot. The next most +interesting happening was the putting up of the first public clock, on +the City Hall in Wall Street. It was the gift of Stephen De Lancey. + +De Lancey was a Huguenot nobleman, who had fled from France when the +Huguenots were persecuted for their faith, and had found a home in the +new world. He lived in a mansion at the corner of what are now Pearl and +Broad Streets. The house is there yet, still called Fraunces's Tavern +from the owner who turned it into a tavern after De Lancey removed from +it. + +Governor Hunter was becoming very popular with the people, when +unfortunately his health failed. So he surrendered the government into +the hands of Peter Schuyler, who was the oldest member in the City +Council, and went to Europe, having served for nine years. For thirteen +months Schuyler took charge, until William Burnet, the new Governor, +replaced him. + +[Illustration: Fraunces's Tavern.] + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +GOVERNOR BURNET and the FRENCH TRADERS + + +Governor William Burnet was the son of a celebrated bishop of England. + +His early days were passed at the Court of William III., where he met +people of refinement and culture. Of an observing nature, and studying +a great deal, he came to be a man of deep learning, a good talker, with +manners that attracted attention wherever he went--so fine were they. + +The city was gayly decorated in honor of his coming. Women looked from +their windows and waved their handkerchiefs. Men crowded the streets and +loudly shouted their welcome. + +Soon after, he married the daughter of a leading merchant, and so +identified himself at once with the city's interests. He became the fast +friend of Chief-Justice Lewis Morris. Another friendship was that he +formed with Dr. Cadwallader Colden. We shall hear more of this man +later. Besides being a physician of note, he had a world-wide reputation +as a writer on many scientific subjects. + +Along about this time the French were trying hard to get all the trade +with the Indians, not only in the province of New York, but in all the +lands as far west as the Mississippi country that was then wild and +unexplored. By this they could make a great deal of money, but, better +still, would make friends of the powerful Indian tribes. Then the French +hoped that the Indians would join with them against the English and that +they could conquer all the English lands in America. + +The New York merchants were quite content to let the French do the +trading with the Indians, for the French traders bought all their goods +in New York, and the merchants in selling to them did not run the great +risk of being murdered, as they would in trading with the Indians in the +forests. But although the merchants were satisfied, Governor Burnet was +not. He realized the danger to the English provinces should the Indians +become enemies. So he decided to establish a line of English trading +stations that would enable the colonists to trade directly with the +Indians in safety. He also made it unlawful to sell goods in New York +to the French traders. + +The merchants bitterly disapproved of these acts of Governor Burnet. +They believed that he had dealt a death-blow to their French trade, and +they became his bitter enemies. He tried hard to establish the line of +trading stations, but the English Government refused to help him with +money, and the project had to be abandoned, and the law against the +French trade, which had caused the trouble, was repealed. The trade was +once more carried on. + +By this time George II. had become King of England, which was in the +year 1728. Influence was brought to bear, and Governor Burnet was +removed, and left the province a poorer man than he had entered it. + +Toward the end of this same year Colonel John Montgomery was made +Governor. + +He had been groom of the bedchamber of George II. when the latter was +Prince of Wales. He was a weak and lazy man, although he had been bred a +soldier. You may believe that he never did much in the soldiering line, +for a soldier's life is a hard one, and not likely to encourage a man +to be lazy. Montgomery was given a cordial welcome, however. + +The year after he came, the first Jewish cemetery was established, the +remains of which may still be seen in the neighborhood of Chatham Square +in New Bowery Street. It has not been used as a graveyard in many a +year, and much of the ground is now occupied by buildings. But there +is still a portion, behind a stone wall, and crumbling tombstones have +stood there ever so many years longer than the dingy tenements which +hem them in on three sides. + +In the days of Montgomery, New York was still a small village, for most +of the houses were below the present Fulton Street, and they were not at +all thickly built, so there was room enough for pleasant gardens around +them. + +At this time the vacant space in front of the fort, which had been used +as a parade-ground and a market-place, was leased to three citizens +whose houses were nearby to be used as a Bowling Green. Its name came +from this and it still keeps it. + +A fire department was organized and two engines were imported and room +made for them in the City Hall. Before this the department had consisted +of a few leather buckets and a few fire-hooks. + +In 1731 Governor Montgomery died, and for thirteen months after, Rip Van +Dam, oldest member of the council, and a wealthy merchant, looked after +the province until the coming of William Cosby. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE TRIAL of ZENGER, the PRINTER + + +Cosby arrived; a testy, disagreeable man who loved money above +everything else. The colonists received him with favor, because they did +not know these things about him. The Assembly granted him a revenue for +six years, and gave him a present of £750 besides. The Governor thought +this a very small sum and said so. He presented an order from the King +which said that he was to have half the salary that Rip Van Dam had +received for acting as Governor. + +[Illustration: Dinner at Rip Van Dam's.] + +But Van Dam would not part with his money, and the people sided with +him, for they had long been weary of governors who looked upon the +colony simply as a means to repair their fortunes. Cosby was determined +to get the money, so he sued Van Dam. This suit was conducted in a court +where there were three judges, and two of them were friends of Cosby. +One of them was James De Lancey, a son of that Stephen De Lancey who had +given the clock to the city. The Chief-Justice was still Lewis Morris, +who had been appointed by Governor Hunter. So with two judges, friends +of the Governor, he won his suit, and Van Dam was ordered to pay him +half his salary. + +More than this, Chief-Justice Morris, who had disagreed with the other +two judges, was removed from office, and James De Lancey became +Chief-Justice. + +The mass of the people disapproved of these doings, and there were +murmurs of discontent. But the Governor had his money, and had made his +friend Chief-Justice, and was running matters pretty much his own way, +so he was satisfied. + +There was still only one paper, the _New York Gazette_, published by +William Bradford. As Bradford was the Government printer, it was quite +natural that he should side with Cosby. But just at this time another +paper came into existence, a rival to the _Gazette_, which took up the +people's cause. This was the _New York Weekly Journal_, published by +Peter Zenger, who had been one of Bradford's workmen. Each week it was +filled with articles assailing Cosby, and all who were in sympathy with +him. Very soon Zenger was arrested, charged with publishing libels +against the city officials and the King. He was locked up in one of the +cells in the City Hall. + +The friends of Zenger secretly secured the services of Andrew Hamilton, +a distinguished lawyer of Philadelphia, who pleaded his cause to good +effect, and showed that Zenger had only spoken as any man had a right +to speak, and had pointed out wrongs where wrongs existed. Justice +De Lancey, remembering that his friend the Governor had made him +Chief-Justice, told the jury that they must find Zenger guilty. But +the jury pronounced him not guilty. Thus the freedom of the press was +established, and the jury, by their verdict, had opposed the Governor, +his council, the Assembly, and the judge before whom the accused had +been tried. + +About this time Lord Augustus Fitzroy, youngest son of the Duke of +Grafton, came from England to visit Governor Cosby. The Governor thanked +him for having honored New York with his presence, and told him that the +city was open and invited him to go where he pleased. Lord Augustus did +not go far. He fell in love with the Governor's daughter. He did more +than fall in love, for one day he induced a minister to climb over the +fort wall and marry him to her, without leave or license. The friends +of the young nobleman were shocked, for the Governor's daughter was +considered beneath him in rank. Governor Cosby was accused of having +brought about this unequal match, although Lord Augustus said that it +was the lady's winning ways and pretty face. + +Cosby, after the Zenger trial, did what he could to check the liberty +of the citizens, but was soon stricken with a fatal illness. On his +death-bed he called together the members of his council, and suspended +his old enemy, Rip Van Dam, who would have been his successor until +another Governor was appointed. And having done this he died, on March +10, 1736, leaving a quarrelsome state of affairs behind him. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +CONCERNING the NEGRO PLOT + + +The citizens were so far from being pleased when they learned that Rip +Van Dam was not to act in the Governor's place, that, for a time, it +looked very much as though there would be a riot. There was a member of +the Assembly named George Clarke, and when his fellow-members chose him +for the place that Rip Van Dam should have had, there was more +grumbling. But as no Governor came from England for seven years, Clarke +looked after the province all that time. He was an easy-going man, who +tried by every possible means to make friends. There was one happening +in particular by which he is remembered. It was called the Negro Plot. + +Slaves had been brought to the city, until now there were 2,000 of them. +The 8,000 citizens were in constant dread lest the negroes should some +day rise up in revolt. Early in the spring of the year 1741 several +fires occurred in different parts of the city, and the citizens felt +quite sure that the slaves had started them. As the hours passed, the +idea of a plot grew until it seemed a fact. Then a reward was offered to +anyone who would tell of a conspiracy or of anyone concerned in one. + +Just at this time a woman was arrested for a small theft, and when she +heard of the reward, she all at once remembered that there had been +meetings of negroes at a small tavern where she had worked. She told of +a plan to kill every white person; to set all the negroes free, and to +make one of them King of the city. The woman who told this story was +Mary Burton. The tavern-keeper, his wife, and several other negroes were +hanged in short order. Still the fires kept on. There were dozens within +ten days, and among others the Governor's house in the fort was burned +to the ground. + +[Illustration: The Negroes Sentenced.] + +Mary Burton now began a remarkable series of confessions which grew +wilder with each passing day. Negro slaves accused by her were arrested +in numbers. Liberty was promised all who would speak the truth, and +speaking the truth was understood to mean giving information of a +conspiracy. Very soon several negroes were burned at the stake in a +little valley beyond the Collect Pond. This awful death frightened many, +who hastened to cry out that they knew all about the plot. There were +some who saved their lives by confessing things that were not true; many +more did not. + +During the whole long, hot summer the hanging and burning of negro +slaves went on. Late in the year, when Mary Burton had seen every person +she had accused arrested, she grew more bold. She sought some new story +to tell, and found one in remembering for the first time that white +people had been connected with the plot. Twenty-four white citizens had +been arrested, when Mary Burton began to attack prominent townsmen; even +those who had been foremost in the prosecution of the negroes. It was +only then realized that the woman's words could not be relied upon. She +was paid the hundred pounds that had been promised her, and she +disappeared, leaving no trace. + +Gradually the fury of feeling against the slaves died away. Whether +there had ever been any real plot will always remain unanswered. + +Certain it is, however, that the witnesses on whose words arrests were +made were all of uncertain and unreliable character; that the evidence +was contradictory, and that most of it was extorted under pain of death. + +The excitement passed away after a time, and George Clarke went on +talking finely and managing his own affairs so well that he was growing +very rich indeed when his official life came to a sudden end. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE TRAGIC DEATH of SIR DANVERS OSBORNE + + +In this year, 1743, Admiral George Clinton was sent by King George II. +of England to take the place of George Clarke as Governor. Then Clarke +packed up his riches and went to England and enjoyed the rest of his +life far from the little colony that he had governed so much to his own +profit. + +Admiral Clinton was the son of an English earl. + +When he had been Governor not yet a year, there came a man whose +influence was soon felt. He was Commodore Peter Warren, of the British +Navy, who in later years became an admiral. Before he had been in New +York long, he married Susannah De Lancey, a sister of the Chief-Justice. +They went to live in a new house in the country, in the district which +was then and is now known as Greenwich. + +England was again at war with France at this time. There were tribes of +Indians who sided with the French, and there were other tribes who sided +with the English, and the result was a series of bloody border wars. Two +years after the coming of Governor Clinton, New York, with the other +English colonies, gathered troops to attack the French, and a great +force was sent against a city called Louisburg. This city was on Cape +Breton Island, which is close by the coast of Nova Scotia and was a +fortress of such great strength, that it was called the Gibraltar of +America. Commodore Warren led the English fleet, and the combined forces +by sea and land captured the fortress. + +You will remember James De Lancey, who was still Chief-Justice. +He was very rich, and as he showed at all times that he considered the +interests of the citizens above all things, they naturally thought a +great deal of him. For a time he acted as adviser to Governor Clinton, +but the two had a falling out. + +For the ten years that Clinton remained Governor he had great trouble +with the people, who sided with De Lancey. At the end of that time +Governor Clinton, finding that his power grew less and less, and that De +Lancey became more and more popular, resigned his office. A few months +went by, and then came Sir Danvers Osborne to be Governor. On the third +day after reaching the city he walked out of the fort at the head of the +other officials, with Clinton by his side, to go to the City Hall, where +he was to take the oath of office. The people, all gathered in the +streets, shouted when they saw the new Governor. But at the sight of +Clinton, whom they hated, they hissed and shook their fists and yelled, +until Clinton became alarmed and hurried back to the fort, leaving the +new Governor to go on without him. And Sir Danvers Osborne was much +surprised and a little frightened. + +"I expect," said he to Clinton that same day, "I expect the same +treatment before I leave the province," + +For all the shaking fists and for all the angry shouts, the new Governor +was well entertained that day. The church-bells rang, cannon boomed, and +at night the town was illuminated. But the citizens did not do this so +much for the new Governor as they did for De Lancey, who had now been +made Lieutenant-Governor. + +Two days after Sir Danvers took the oath of office he called his council +before him and told them that the King had said he was to have the +permanent revenue about which there had been so much trouble with the +other governors. And the council members told him, as they had told +others, that this command would never be obeyed. On hearing this Sir +Danvers became sad and gloomy. He covered his face with his hands. + +"Then what am I come here for?" he cried. + +The very next morning there was an uproar in the city. The Governor +had been found dead, hanging from the garden-wall of his house. Then +the people learned that his mind had been unsettled for a long time, +and that he had accepted the governorship hoping to be cured by a change +of scene. But the knowledge that his rule would be one of constant +struggling to gain his ends had doubtless proven too much for his +wrecked brain. So he killed himself, and the government of New York was +left in the hands of James De Lancey, and you will see how he still +further won the hearts of those around him. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE BEGINNING of DISCONTENT + + +Two years James De Lancey acted as Governor, and the citizens were +really sorry when Admiral Sir Charles Hardy was sent to take his place. + +Sir Charles was not slow to see and to admit that while he was a good +sailor, he did not make a good Governor, so after a year he resigned, +and the province was once more left to the care of De Lancey. + +At this time there was much being said about the need for schools, and +for many years plans had been under way for building a college in the +city. + +Money had been raised by means of lotteries--which were popular and +lawful then--and finally the college was established. It was called +King's College. It is still in existence, but is now Columbia +University. A tablet at West Broadway and Murray Street tells that the +college once stood close by. + +It was near this time that William Walton, a very rich merchant, built +the finest house that the city had yet known. This was in Queen Street, +not a great way from the Stadt Huys, and the furniture and fittings were +in keeping with the elegance of the exterior. It was so fine that the +fame of it spread to England, where it was spoken of as a proof that the +colonists were very, very rich indeed. This house stood for 129 years. +When it was torn down it had become a tenement that showed scarcely a +trace of its early grandeur. Queen Street is now Pearl Street and the +building numbered 326 is on the site of the famous old house. + +There was another war with the French now, and four expeditions were +sent out against them. On one of these a young officer with the troops +from Virginia distinguished himself. He was cool and daring in the midst +of battle. The soldiers, who were themselves fearless fighters, strove +to be as brave as he. This officer was only twenty-three years old, and +his name was George Washington. He had a glorious career before him. + +There came from England in the year following this a burly, blustering +man, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in +America. This Lord Loudoun very soon proved to everybody's satisfaction +except his own that he was not fit to be a commander. The people of New +York detested him heartily, and were glad when after three years he was +recalled because he was not successful in the war against the French. +The new commander-in-chief did better. He was General Jeffrey Amherst, +and under him the English were gradually successful. Town after town +held by the French fell, until the capture of Montreal, in 1760, secured +to the English the conquest of Canada, and so ended a conflict which had +for many years drained the energies of the colonists. + +Soon after this Lieutenant-Governor James De Lancey was found dead in +his library-chair at his country home (now a closely built-up part of +the city at Delancey Street, near the Bowery). In a few days his body +was taken from there, followed by a great concourse of people, and +buried under the centre aisle of Trinity Church. Up to the last day of +his life De Lancey remained much beloved. + +[Illustration: Trinity Church, 1760.] + +The death of De Lancey left the care of the colony to Cadwallader +Colden, whom you will remember as the friend of Governor Hunter. He had +been so long concerned in public affairs that he knew how to please. +Before the year was ended England's King, George II., died. When the +news reached New York, the city was draped with mourning. But in another +week all signs of sadness had disappeared in honor of the new King, +George III. + +Then General Robert Monckton, who had been in command of the English +forces on Staten Island, was made Governor. He was a young man, somewhat +careless, but, as was the case with all the new governors, he was +welcomed with glad shouts of approval. + +England at this time needed men in her navy, and the captains of +war-ships were in the habit of boarding any vessel that sailed from the +colonies in America and taking sailors by force to serve on the English +ships. This increased a bitter feeling that the colonists were beginning +to have against England. The city had now 14,000 inhabitants and was in +quite a flourishing condition. + +After two years Monckton tired of the cares of government, and sailed +away to England, with never a thought of the wild scenes that were to +take place in the land he left behind. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE STORY of the STAMP ACT + + +The colonists were becoming more and more dissatisfied, not only in New +York, but in all of the thirteen English colonies in America. For they +strongly objected to the way in which money was being taken from them in +the form of taxes. The English had spent much money in the wars which +led up to the conquest of Canada, and thought that it should be returned +to them. So they taxed the colonists in every possible way. Protest was +made against these taxes, but in vain. Matters became worse and worse. +After two years, when it had come to be the year 1765, the British +Parliament passed what was called the Stamp Act. This compelled the +people to buy stamps and put them on every sort of legal paper. No one +could be married, no newspaper could be printed, nothing could be +bought, nothing could be sold, no business of any sort could be carried +on without these stamps. No one could evade the use of them, and in this +way all would have to contribute directly to the King. + +More than any other form of tax, more than anything the British +Government had done, the people opposed this Stamp Act. The colonists +had no one to represent them in the British Parliament, no one to +present their side, no one to plead for them and tell what a drain this +tax was, so they declared that they would not use a single stamp, unless +they were allowed to have someone to represent them; and they set up the +cry, "No Taxation Without Representation." + +Very soon a company of men called the Sons of Liberty began to be heard +of throughout all the thirteen colonies. They were foremost in opposing +the Stamp Act. In many towns they held meetings, and it was not long +before the people were aroused from one end of the country to the other. + +Not many months had passed before men were sent from each of the +colonies and met in the City Hall at New York. This meeting was called +a Colonial Congress. For three weeks these men conferred, and during +that time decided that in good truth the Stamp Act was unjust, and that +everything in their power should be done to prevent it. + +[Illustration: Coffee-House opposite Bowling Green, Head-Quarters of +the Sons of Liberty.] + +In this same year the house which Stephen De Lancey had built close by +Trinity Church, and which James De Lancey had lived in until his death, +had become a hotel. It was called Burns's Coffee-House. It was a solid +structure, with high beams, great fireplaces, and wide halls. If you +go now to look for the spot where it stood, you will find a crowded +business section; but in those days there were open spaces all about, +and a handsome lawn swept away to the river. One October night the +merchants of the city gathered in this coffee-house, and here, late at +night, they signed a paper which bound them one and all to buy no goods +from England so long as the English King should compel them to use the +stamps. By this agreement people could, of course, only wear clothing +that was made in the colonies, and even the wealthy refused to buy silk +and broadcloth that were sent from England. Tea and coffee, being +imports, were not drunk, and in their place were used preparations made +from fragrant wild herbs of the American soil. + +The merchants who had assembled in the coffee-house were called the +Non-Importation Association, branches of which spread throughout all the +colonies. The paper they signed was the non-importation agreement. Next +day, which was the first on which the stamps were to be distributed, the +city seemed to sleep. The shops were closed and the citizens remained +indoors. The flags were hung at half-mast and the bells tolled dismally. + +But at night the silence changed to noise. The citizens gathered in +numbers. They broke into the stable of Lieutenant-Governor Cadwallader +Golden and dragged out his coach of state. In it they put a figure made +of sticks and rags to represent the owner. They marched the streets, +shouting as they went, and finally surrounded the fort. The soldiers +were drawn up on the ramparts with cannon and gun directed toward the +Bowling Green. But no shots were fired. The rioters being denied +admission to the fort, into which they were anxious to get because the +stamps were stored there, tore down the wooden railing around the +Bowling Green, and, kindling a huge fire, burned the coach and the +figure in it. + +As the flames blazed high, the fury of the mob increased. They rushed +away toward Vauxhall on the outskirts of the town (where Greenwich and +Warren Streets now cross). Vauxhall at this time was occupied by a major +of the British army named James. He had said that the stamps ought to be +crammed down the throats of the people with the point of a sword. In +revenge for this his house was broken into, his handsome furniture, his +pictures and treasures of every sort dragged out, and kindled into a +bonfire around which the mob danced and howled. + +The people were quite determined to take the law into their own hands +and destroy every trace of the hated stamps. You shall know presently +what prevented them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE BEGINNING of REVOLUTION + + +On the morning after the night of rioting--dark and dreary day that was +quite in keeping with the gloomy feelings of the people--Cadwallader +Colden, the Lieutenant-Governor, decided that he would do away with the +stamps that had caused so much trouble. So he had them delivered to the +Mayor, who was in accord with the citizens, and the Mayor put them in +the City Hall amid many cheers. A few days after this Sir Henry Moore +(who had been appointed Governor of the province) arrived from England, +and immediately won the hearts of the citizens by saying that he would +have nothing to do with the stamps. During the next few months +excitement in New York and in the other colonies increased, and efforts +to keep the stamps in use caused riots everywhere. + +When the King saw that he could not enforce the Stamp Act, and that +serious trouble was likely to occur from every attempt to do so, he +repealed the act, the year after it had become a law. + +The people were overjoyed at this. + +The King's birthday coming soon after, there was in his honor a great +celebration, and a liberty pole was planted on the Common, which in +after years played an important part in the history of New York; and +a marble statue of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, was erected. This +William Pitt had done more than any other man in England to secure the +repeal of the Stamp Act, and had time and time again spoken strongly +against it. His statue was set up in Wall Street, and at the same time +a statue of King George III., seated upon a horse, was erected on the +Bowling Green. It fared ill with these statues later, as you will see. + +There was no longer a stamp act, but there was another act quite as +disagreeable. It was called the Mutiny Bill, and it required that food +and drink and sleeping-quarters be given to all the British soldiers. +Now the Mutiny Bill fell hardest upon New York, for New York was the +head-quarters of the British army in America. The people refused to +comply with this law, because they feared that it was the first step +toward compelling them to support a great army in America. + +So the soldiers and citizens were again continually at odds. + +Four years after the Stamp Act was repealed, during which time affairs +were in a most unsettled state and the bitter feeling between the +colonists and England was growing stronger with each passing day, the +English Parliament declared that no tax was to be put on anything except +tea. Tea was to be taxed, not so much for the money that would thus go +to the King, but to show that he had the right to tax the colonists. +This did not settle matters in the least. The colonists had sworn to +resist all taxes, and to have a tax on one article was as bad, to their +minds, as having taxes on all. But the merchants were not prospering, +for, not importing goods from England, they had none to sell. So a +committee of 100 men was appointed to see what could be done. This +committee decided that it would be right for the merchants to import +everything they needed except tea. And the merchants welcomed this +decision and agreed to it. + +But the fiery Sons of Liberty refused to listen to any such compromise. +They insisted on keeping the non-importation agreement until the duty +on tea, as well as all other duties, should be done away with once and +for all. So they determined to maintain it until the end, and they did +maintain it well. Day by day the soldiers of King George III. and the +citizens became greater enemies. Although the soldiers tried many times +to drag down the liberty pole, it was well defended, and it stood until +one night in January, 1770, when they tore it down and chopped it into +pieces. This act led to the battle of Golden Hill, which was the first +real battle of the American Revolution. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +FIGHTING the TAX on TEA + + +A bit of rising ground, not a great way from the Common, was called +Golden Hill. Here there was an inn. To this day the elevation of ground +can be seen (where John Street crosses William), and the inn still +stands. While the thought of the wrecked liberty pole was still fresh +in mind, some of the Sons of Liberty came suddenly upon a number of +soldiers close by this inn. There was a running fight, the soldiers +using their guns and cutlasses and the others beating them back with +staves and sticks. More soldiers came and the fight grew in fury. +Already one man had received his death-blow and a dozen had been +injured, when several officers came galloping up the road and the +soldiers were ordered back to their barracks. This was the battle of +Golden Hill. + +Very often after this the soldiers and the citizens clashed and +sometimes came to blows, and progress was at a standstill because of the +turbulence of the times. Public improvements were neglected and very +little business was carried on. + +In the third year after the battle of Golden Hill, the British +Government decided to make the colonists buy tea whether they wanted to +or not. So the price was put down until tea could be bought in New York +cheaper than it could be bought in England. This did no good, for though +the tea was cheap the tax was on it and it was the tax and not the price +of which the people complained. The Sons of Liberty, when they heard +that ships loaded with cheap tea were on the way from England, said they +would not even permit it to be landed. The first ship in port was under +the command of a captain named Lockyer, who, when he learned of the +strong efforts made to prevent the landing of the tea, determined to +return to England with his cargo. He anchored his ship in the bay and +came in a small boat to the city. The people, joyful over his decision, +decided to give him a public leave-taking. + +Within a few days another ship sailed into the bay, commanded by Captain +Chambers, who insisted that he had no tea on board. When told that his +vessel would be searched, he admitted that he had a few chests. That +same night the citizens who had all day thronged the wharf, suddenly +swarmed aboard the vessel. The hatches were ripped up, and the eighteen +chests of tea hauled on deck. There they were torn into pieces and the +contents scattered into the river. Having done this the crowds dispersed +and all was quiet again. + +Next day came the public leave-taking of Captain Lockyer. He had spent +the night at the coffee-house in Wall Street, and here, early in the +morning, there was a great assembly. The bells of the city chimed +merrily; flags floated from the houses, and the ships in the bay were +decorated with gay colors. + +From the balcony of the coffee-house the Captain bowed while the crowds +cheered him. Finally a committee escorted him to the foot of Wall +Street, where he embarked in a pilot-boat which took him to his ship. +Another committee, with far less ceremony, escorted Captain Chambers to +the same boat, and the two captains sailed away. + +[Illustration: Ferry-House on East River, 1746, from an Old Print.] + +Even before this had happened in New York, the citizens of Boston had +dumped a cargo of tea into their harbor, and the British Parliament had +closed the port of Boston; which meant that no ships were permitted to +sail in or out of it. By this it was hoped to stop all business in +Boston, and really it did put an end to a great part of it. And General +Thomas Gage, who now had charge of the British troops in America, +undertook to see that the orders of the King were properly enforced. + +This closing of the port of Boston aroused the thirteen British colonies +in America. After a great deal of letter-writing it was decided to have +men from each of these colonies meet and talk matters over. In September +of this year (1774) they met in Philadelphia. At this meeting, which was +called the First Continental Congress, it was decided that laws were +made in England that were unjust to America, that the colonists objected +to taxes that were fixed by Parliament and would buy no more goods from +England while a tax was upon them; and that they objected to the support +of a large British army in the colonies. + +And this First Continental Congress sent a petition to King George III., +saying that the unjust laws should be done away with. + +How the King received this petition is soon told. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE SONS of LIBERTY at TURTLE BAY + + +Now in New York almost everybody was anxious to carry out the decision +of this First Continental Congress. + +But the Assembly said that the Congress had not been a lawful gathering +and must not be obeyed. The colonists replied that they would do as they +thought best, no matter what the King's Assembly ordered. + +You must know that some of the people supported the royal cause and were +called Royalists or Tories. The others were called Patriots or Whigs. +The English called the patriots rebels. + +It had now come to be the year 1775, and matters in Boston where the +port had been closed were growing worse and worse. In the month of April +some British soldiers passing through Lexington shot down a number of +patriots. Messengers on horseback sped through the colonies carrying +news of this massacre. It was the first serious encounter of the +Revolution and the colonists realized that they were now at war with the +British. Men rushed to arms. Farmers left their homes. Professional men +hurried from the towns. Within a few days an army surrounded Boston and +penned in the British troops there. + +When the messenger reached New York with the news of the Lexington +massacre, a Provisional Assembly was formed which was to look after the +city without regard to the Assembly which already existed. And this is +the way it came about that there was a king's government and a people's +government. Shops were closed and armed citizens paraded the streets. +Matters went on in this fashion for a month, when a Second Continental +Congress met at Philadelphia. + +As it was now seen that there was to be a serious conflict with Great +Britain, the army gathered about Boston was adopted as the beginning of +the forces to be assembled and was termed the Continental Army, and +George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief. + +[Illustration: East River Shore, 1750, from an Old Print.] + +Knowing that they would soon need guns and powder, the Sons of Liberty +seized those held by the royal troops in New York. There was quite a +quantity in a storehouse at Turtle Bay, a quiet little cove three miles +above the town, that curved into a wild and rocky part of the East River +shore. Nowadays the city extends for miles and miles above it. If you go +to Forty-ninth Street and the East River you will see all that remains +of it. Although the houses are built thick about it, there is still an +air of seclusion. Everywhere else along the shore are piers and +bath-houses and wharves and ships and shipping. + +So at this Turtle Bay, far from the town, the royal troops had a +storehouse for their arms. A small band of the Sons of Liberty, one dark +night, floated down the river, guided their vessel into the bay, +overpowered the guards before they were fairly aroused, and loaded their +boat with the enemy's powder and guns. Then they made off, and before +the morning dawned had placed the stores safe in the hands of the +patriots. + +Then the War of the Revolution broke in full fury. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE WAR of the REVOLUTION + + +In this month of June, in the year 1775, there were quite a number of +British soldiers in the city, and many of the patriots believed that +they should be made prisoners. But the Provisional Assembly decreed that +the orders of the Second Continental Congress must be obeyed. And these +orders were not to molest the soldiers as long as they did not try to +build fortifications or remove powder and guns from the city. + +But early in this month of June it was learned that the soldiers were +about to go to Boston. More than that, it was known that there was a +secret order under which they were to take guns and powder with them. + +The Sons of Liberty were hastily called to a meeting. One of them, +Marinus Willett, was hurrying through Broad Street toward the +Coffee-House where the meeting was to be held, when he came upon the +soldiers moving silently along with five carts loaded with chests of +arms. Alone, and without an instant's hesitation, Willett clutched at +the bridle of the first horse. The company stopped. There was an angry +parley, the officers claiming the right to leave the city with the arms, +and making an effort to do so without raising a general alarm. But +friends of Willett came to his assistance. The five carts were driven +away by the patriots and the soldiers went on but without the arms. Long +years afterward a bronze tablet was placed on a house in Broad Street +close by Beaver (and is there now), to mark the spot where the brave +Willett stopped the ammunition wagons. + +In this same month a battle was fought between the British army in +Boston and the Continental army which was encamped outside of Boston. +It was fought on a bit of high ground near the city, and was called +the Battle of Bunker Hill. + +Just at this time word came that General George Washington, the newly +appointed commander-in-chief, was on his way from Philadelphia to the +Continental army, and would pass through New York City. Washington with +his aides and a company of soldiers were hurrying across New Jersey on +horseback, and when they reached the city they were met by a committee +from the Provisional Assembly, with a number of patriot soldiers. + +The next morning Washington set out for Boston. He had not yet left the +town when a ship appeared in the bay having on board Governor William +Tryon, who had been visiting in England for nearly a year. Governor +Tryon did not remain long in the city though, as it was not a +comfortable place for a royal Governor just then. He hurriedly left one +night and went aboard one of the British ships in the bay. + +At the close of this year Washington was still before Boston with the +Continental army. Another section of the army was in the North, fighting +against the British in Canada. This last branch was encamped about the +walls of Quebec in the last month of the year. It was under the command +of General Richard Montgomery, of New York, a brilliant soldier who had +fought in the French and Indian wars. Quebec was stormed, but was too +strong to be taken. Montgomery fell crying, "Men of New York, you will +not fear to follow where your general leads." He was buried with +military honors in Quebec, for the British honored him as a brave man. +Forty-three years later his remains were removed to New York, and placed +beneath the portico of St. Paul's Chapel, where his tomb may now be +seen. + +Fighting by the side of Montgomery when he fell was a youth who was +singled out for his bravery. His name was Aaron Burr. You are to hear +more of him, for many and many a time in after years the eyes of the +entire country were turned upon him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +A BATTLE on LONG ISLAND + + +And now, early in the next spring, George Washington came again to +New York, having at last forced the British troops from Boston. The +city, which was under the control of the patriots, was in a state of +excitement, as it seemed probable that this was to be the next point +of attack. Every person who favored the cause of the King, or who was +suspected of favoring it, was looked upon with distrust. One-third of +the citizens had fled. The soldiers of the Continental army were +arriving daily. Women and children were rarely seen upon the streets. +Many of the royalists' houses, which had been closed when their owners +fled, were broken open to give sleeping quarters to the soldiers. + +At the outbreak of the war the people's grievance had been simply +taxation without representation, but by this time the desire for +complete independence had taken fast hold of them. This feeling swept +through the colonies, and when the Continental Congress met in June of +this year, it voted that the united colonies should be free and +independent States and have no further political connection with Great +Britain. A declaration of independence was adopted on July 4th, and the +British colonies became the United States of America. + +A horseman brought the news to New York, and there was great rejoicing. +The soldiers of the new Union then in the city were ordered to the +Common, and there, early in the evening, standing in a hollow +square--close by where the City Hall is now--and surrounded by a great +concourse of people, Washington read the address that proclaimed the +birth of a free and independent nation. + +Following the reading the great throng applauded and then, filled with +enthusiasm, rushed away. At the City Hall in Wall Street they tore down +the painting of King George III. and trampled it under foot. On again +they went to the Bowling Green, and there they dragged down the statue +of the same royal person which had been erected only a few years before. +The scattered fragments of the leaden statue were afterward gathered up +and moulded into bullets. + +This same month General William Howe, commander of the British army, had +landed on Staten Island, with his brother, Admiral Howe of the British +navy, and with the soldiers and sailors of their commands, made up a +fine, well-drilled army of 35,000 men, who had come to fight a force of +20,000 recruits; men not at all well-versed in war, and nearly half of +whom were ill and not able to be on duty. + +But Washington calmly watched the British on Staten Island, and the +British ships, more than 400 of them, in the bay, and was not at all +dismayed. Once General Howe wrote to Washington suggesting measures that +would lead to peace, but nothing came of it. + +Late in the month of August the fighting commenced. General Howe led his +forces to Long Island--led 21,000 men, for he thought that the best way +to capture New York was to first vanquish the army on Long Island by an +overwhelming force. Then the subduing of the city across the river would +be easy. + +Washington hurried what men he could across to Long Island to assist +those already there. But even then the Americans were outnumbered as two +to one. The patriots fought long and well, but they were defeated. Two +hundred or more were killed, and three times as many, including three +generals, were made prisoners. But more than 300 of the British were +also killed. + +The day after the battle, the American army was in Brooklyn, penned in +on the land side by the British troops and on the other by the wide, +swift-running river. It was raining in torrents. Washington was there. +He planned a retreat that was to save his army. All the boats to be +found along the shores of the Island of Manhattan were taken to Brooklyn +in the dead of night. Silently the soldiers were put aboard, so silently +that, although the British were almost within speaking distance, no +sound of the departing army reached them. The point where they embarked +was close by where the East River Bridge now touches the Brooklyn shore. +It was daylight before the last of the troops got aboard, but a heavy +fog shielded them as well as had the darkness. + +When the sun swept the fog away, General Howe gazed in wonder at the +spot where the American forces had been the night before. But they +were gone, with the swiftness and silence of magic! The magician was +Washington, who had not slept from the hour of defeat until his men were +safe again in New York. But they were not to remain there long, as more +exciting work was before them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + + +THE BRITISH OCCUPY NEW YORK + +Miles and miles above the little city of New York, on a road which led +up through the Island of Manhattan, there was a stately house in a +stretch of country and forest land overlooking the Hudson River. This +was the house of Charles Ward Apthorpe and was known as the Apthorpe +mansion. Here General Washington went after the retreat from Long +Island, to devise a plan for the battles that were to come. + +The city was well fortified, but Washington understood full well that +it could not be held long against a British attack. For the British +soldiers were already on the islands of the East River, and the British +ships held possession of the harbor and of both rivers. So Washington +sent the main body of his army to Harlem Heights at the northern end of +the Island of Manhattan, and left only a force of 4,000 men, under +General Putnam, in New York. + +Washington desiring to learn the plans of the enemy, called for someone +who would be willing to go into the British lines. This was a dangerous +undertaking, for capture meant certain death. But there was a young +officer who was anxious to undertake the mission, and the arrangements +were made. This was Nathan Hale. In disguise he made his way, learned +the number of the enemy, and learned, too, all about the plan of attack. +With this information he was hurrying back to General Washington, when +he was recognized as belonging to the American army, and was arrested. +In a few days, when he was tried, he freely admitted that he had acted +as Washington's spy. He died as he had lived--bravely. A moment before +he was hanged he was asked if he wished to say any word. "Yes," he +answered; and looking firmly into the faces of those who stood about +him, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country," +No wonder that the memory of the Martyr Spy has lived through the +passing years! + +Sixteen days after Washington and his men retreated from Long Island, +the British sailed up the East River and anchored opposite a little +inlet called Kip's Bay (at the foot of what is now Thirty-sixth Street). +They fired upon those who defended the bay, and under cover of this fire +landed; and the American soldiers scurried away up the island toward the +north. + +General Howe led his men on for half a mile, until they reached a large +country house. This was the home, and all about it was the farm, of a +family named Murray (who gave their name to Murray Hill). These Murrays +were friendly to the patriots, but they were also well acquainted with +Governor Tryon, who was with the British army. So the army rested close +by the house, and Howe, Tryon, and the other officers were given a fine +dinner by Mrs. Murray. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Murray's Dinner to British Officers.] + +Now although the Americans had retreated north up the island from Kip's +Bay, and were safely on their way to the main army on Harlem Heights, +you must remember there were 4,000 soldiers still in the city. So the +British were in the centre of the island with a very large force; the +main body of the Americans was to the north; while to the south was this +little band of 4,000, far away from their army and in a position to be +trapped by the British. Had the British officers at once decided to +stretch their men across the island, the 4,000 would have been penned +up on the lower part and would have been made prisoners. It therefore +seemed to Putnam's men that there was but one way for them to escape +capture, and that was by slipping past the British who rested at Murray +house and joining the main army on Harlem Heights. + +The Murrays understood the condition of affairs, so they were +particularly cordial to their British guests and detained them as long +as they could at dinner. They were still feasting when General Putnam +started his 4,000 men marching toward the north. + +[Illustration: Howe's Head-Quarters, Beekman House.] + +He galloped far in advance, for the country was rough and his soldiers +could walk but slowly. He galloped north, and Washington, hanging to the +rear of the retreating troops from Kip's Bay, the generals met where two +roads crossed, close by where Broadway now crosses Forty-third Street. +Washington instructed Putnam to hurry his 4,000 on before they were +irretrievably cut off from the main army. They did hurry on. They drew +near the Murray house; they formed a line two miles long that moved +silently over the road that led them to within half a mile of where the +British soldiers were feasting. The line passed this point. Scarcely had +the last man gone by when the British were on the move, half an hour too +late for the capture of 4,000 prisoners. + +Now the American forces were all together in a solid mass, moving toward +the upper end of the island; plodding through pouring rain, almost +dropping from the exhaustion of their long march--but safe. + +This same night a division of the British soldiers occupied New York. +The others, close on the heels of the American army, waited for the +morning. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +THE BATTLE of HARLEM HEIGHTS + + +When the sun rose next morning (it was September 16th), the American +army and the British army lay encamped each on a highland close beside +one another separated by a valley. + +The ground occupied by the British soldiers was then Vandewater Heights. +Much of this high ground still remains and is now called Columbia +Heights, and Columbia University and Grant's Tomb are upon it. The +American forces were scattered over what was then Harlem Heights, as far +as Washington's head-quarters in the country mansion overlooking the +Harlem River above Harlem Plains. It was the house of Roger Morris, a +royalist who had fled at the approach of the American soldiers, and it +still stands at 160th Street close by St. Nicholas Avenue. On the +heights and in the valley a battle was fought, beginning with a light +engagement quite early in the day, with more and more men of both armies +gradually joining in until there were 5,000 Americans against 6,000 +British, with several thousand of each side held in reserve. + +[Illustration: Map of Manhattan Island in 1776, Showing the American +Defences &c.] + +The battle ended in the afternoon with the defeat of the British, who +lost 200 of their number. + +This was a great victory for the Americans, who fought against superior +numbers--great because the men had lost heart after the defeat on Long +Island, and the forced retreat from the city. There was sorrow for the +dead, for even victories have a sad side. Every one of the 100 American +soldiers who were killed that day were brave men, and though all their +names are not written in history, the manner of their death urged on +their companions in the days that followed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +THE BRITISH FAIL to SWEEP EVERYTHING BEFORE THEM + + +On the fourth day after the battle of Harlem Heights the soldiers of +England were making themselves comfortable in New York when a great +fire broke out. It swept over the city and 500 houses crumbled and fell +in ashes before it was controlled. Almost the entire western part of +the city was consumed, St. Paul's Chapel being the only building of +importance that was saved. Almost all who favored the American cause had +fled. But a few remained, and there was a hint that these had started +the fire. The British soldiers were angered when they saw the city they +had just entered burning, and while the flames roared and the houses +fell they rushed about and in their rage dashed out the brains of the +citizens who sought to beat back the flames from their homes. But it +was afterward learned that the fire had started in quite an accidental +manner. + +A little while after this General Howe moved with the greater part of +the British army up the East River, and sailing on past the Island of +Manhattan, landed on the mainland beyond in Westchester. In this way the +British were in the rear of the Americans, and within a few days the two +armies coming together a battle was fought, in which the Americans were +defeated. Washington and his men then retreated into New Jersey. + +General Howe next attacked Fort Washington, a high and rocky point on +the banks of the Hudson River (on a line with the present 178th Street). +There were 3,000 men here, all the American soldiers who were now on the +island, and they held such a high and well-fortified position that they +thought themselves quite safe. They doubtless would have been had not +one of their number, William Demont, turned traitor. He told the British +just how many men there were, and just how the fortress should be +attacked. And the British stormed the fort as the traitor directed, and +took it, and every one of the soldiers who had not been killed was made +prisoner. This ended the actual fight for liberty in New York. + +[Illustration: View from the Bowling Green in the Revolution, from an +Old Print] + +But outside of New York the war went bravely on. Washington in New +Jersey kept up the fight, but the winter came on and his army suffered +exceedingly. It had come to be a very small army by this time, for they +were poorly fed and ill clothed and seldom had any sort of shelter. +Nevertheless, Washington gained many victories in New Jersey and +manoeuvred his little army so well that the whole world, hearing of his +achievements, was forced to recognize him as a great general. + +New York was the head-quarters of the British army in America, and the +residence of its chief officers. The city was as thoroughly British as +it had before been American, and it was as much as life was worth even +to hint of an interest in the American cause. + +Early in the next year, 1777, those who had the making of the laws for +the new State of New York, met in secret, and chose George Clinton as +their first Governor. The other colonies had formed themselves into +States, and the new nation grew stronger day by day. + +Commissioners were sent to the European courts to ask aid for the United +States. Many young French noblemen, thrilled at the idea of fighting for +liberty, came to America as volunteers, and by their knowledge of war +gave valuable assistance to the American officers. The name of the +Marquis de Lafayette stands out prominently as the chief of these +volunteers. He was not yet twenty years old, but fitted out a vessel at +his own expense and crossed the ocean to offer his services. He asked to +be enlisted as a volunteer and to serve without pay, but he was soon +appointed a major-general. + +When it had come to be July of this year, there was some fighting in +the North, for the British General Burgoyne came down from Canada. He +intended to meet the army under Howe which was marching northward, and +the two armies were to sweep everything before them. Burgoyne defeated +the Americans led by General Philip Schuyler, in several battles. Just +at this time General Schuyler's command was given to General Gates. Now +Gates followed the plans that had been made by Schuyler, with the result +that Burgoyne and his entire force of 6,000 men surrendered at Saratoga. +This settled one branch of the British army. The other branch, under +General Howe, took possession of Philadelphia, but the defeat of +Burgoyne at Saratoga put an end to their hopes of sweeping everything +before them. + +In the last month of the year, Washington and his army took up winter +quarters at Valley Forge so as to keep a close watch upon the British +in Philadelphia. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +NEW YORK a PRISON-HOUSE + + +The winter passed, and when the spring came the British army moved +from Philadelphia to New York City, but not without great trouble, for +Washington's army fought them every step of the way across New Jersey. + +The city was now quite different from the flourishing town it had been +before the war. Held possession of by the British, it was a military +camp. No improvements were made. Many of the citizens who were loyal to +the American cause had fled. Those who were too poor to leave pretended +to favor the British, but as little business could be done, they could +find no work, and their condition became worse daily. Thousands of +American prisoners were brought here, making it a British prison-house, +and every building of any size was a guard-house, every cellar a +dungeon. + +[Illustration: Old Sugar-House in Liberty Street, the Prison-House of +the Revolution.] + +One of the gloomiest of these prisons was an old sugar-house close by +the Middle Dutch Church. It was built in the days of Jacob Leisler, +with thick stone walls five stories high, pierced with small windows. +The ceilings were so low and the windows so small that the air could +scarcely find entrance. Underneath was a black and dismal cellar. The +pale and shrunken faces of prisoners filled the openings at the windows +by day and by night, seeking a breath of air. They were so jammed +together that there was by no means room at the windows for all. So +these wretched men divided themselves into groups, each group crowding +close to the windows for ten minutes, then giving place to another +group. They slept on straw that was never changed, and the food given +them was scarcely enough to keep them alive. Those who suffered this +living death might have been free at any time had they been willing to +go over to the British, but few of the patriots, even in this dread +hour, deserted their cause. To while away the hours of their captivity, +they carved their names upon the walls with rusty nails. Fevers raged +constantly and they died by scores, leaving their half-finished initials +on the walls as their only relics. Their bodies were thrown out of +doors, and every morning gathered up in carts and carried to the +outskirts of the city to be buried in a trench without ceremony. + +This was only one of a dozen such prison-houses. There was one other +that, if anything, was worse. It was the New Jail, and it still +stands in City Hall Park and is now the Hall of Records. During the +war it was known as The Provost, because it was the head quarters of a +provost-marshal named Cunningham. It was his custom at the conclusion +of his drunken revels to parade his weak, ill, half-fed prisoners +before his guests, as fine specimens of the rebel army. It is said +of him, too, that he poisoned those who died too slowly of cold and +starvation, and then went right on drawing money to feed them. This gave +rise to the saying that he starved the living and fed the dead. He took +a great delight in being as cruel and merciless as he could, and very +often boasted that he had caused the death of more rebels than had been +killed by all of the King's forces. + +Many American sailors were also captured (for the Revolution was +fought on the sea as well as on land) and all these were placed aboard +prison-ships--useless hulks, worn-out freight-boats, and abandoned +men-of-war. For a time these hulks were anchored close by the Battery, +but afterward they were taken to the Brooklyn shore. There was misery +and suffering on all of them, but the worst was called the "Jersey," +where captives were crowded into the hold, the sick and the well, poorly +fed and scarcely clothed, so many of them as hardly to permit space to +lie down, watched over by a guard of merciless soldiers. Disease in a +dozen forms was always present, and every morning the living were forced +to carry out those who had died over night. + +During this year 1778, and for several years after, the war was carried +on for the most part in the South, in Georgia and South Carolina, while +the British soldiers in the city made trips into the surrounding country +and laid it waste. Washington and his army in New Jersey could do little +more than watch. + +In the year 1780 the American cause came very near receiving a serious +check, when an officer high in rank turned traitor. This man was +Benedict Arnold, and had been a vigorous fighter. But now he bargained +with the British to turn over to them West Point, where he was chief in +command. Major John André, a brilliant young officer under the British +General Clinton, was sent to make the final arrangements. André was +returning to New York when he was captured with the plans of West Point +concealed in his boots. He was hanged as a spy, and Arnold, escaping to +the British in New York, fought with them, despised by the Americans and +mistrusted by the English; for a traitor can never be truly liked or +respected even by those who benefit by his treachery. + +The War of the Revolution went on until the fall of the year 1781, when +General Washington made a sudden move that drew his men away from the +vicinity of New York before the British army could foresee it. Then he +hurried to the South. There, at Yorktown, in Virginia, the combined +American army hemmed in, and after a battle forced to surrender, Lord +Cornwallis, the British commander in the South, and all his men. + +This victory was so great that it really ended the war. Great Britain +gave up the struggle, and a treaty of peace was signed. + +And now you will see how the British army left the city of New York. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +AFTER the WAR + + +On a crisp, cold day, late in the fall, a tall, mild-faced man on a +spirited horse passed down the Bowery Road, followed by a long train +of soldiers whose shabby clothes and worn faces told of days of trial +and hardship. This was General George Washington with a portion of the +Continental army. They were entering New York on this same day when the +British troops were leaving it. + +But although the British were leaving under the terms of the treaty of +peace, and had gone on board ships that were to take them to England, +there were many who were filled with rage at this enforced departure. +At the fort by the river-side they had knocked the cleats _off_ the +flag-pole, and had greased the pole so that no one could climb it +to put up the United States flag and thus flaunt it in the face of the +departing troops. But the soldiers of Washington who reached the fort +just as the last British company was leaving, set to work with hammer +and saw. They made new cleats for the pole. Then a young sailor--his +name was John Van Arsdale--filling his pockets with the cleats and +nailing them above him as he climbed the pole step by step, was able to +put the flag in position. And as it floated to the breeze a salute of +thirteen guns sounded while the British troops were still within +hearing. + +So now the city of New York, which for seven years the British had +occupied, was again in possession of the citizens. + +General Washington only remained here a few days. He made his +head-quarters in Fraunces's Tavern, in Broad Street, and there at noon +on December 4th, his officers assembled to hear his words of farewell. +It was an affectionate parting of men who had suffered danger and +privations together. There were tears in Washington's eyes. + +[Illustration: North Side of Wall Street East of William Street, Taken +a Few Years after the Revolutionary War.] + +"With a heart full of love and gratitude," said he, "I now take my leave +of you, and most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as +prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and +honorable." + +It was not a time for much talking, and Washington was soon gone, +leaving real sorrow behind him. Within a few weeks he had resigned his +commission as commander-in-chief, and had retired as a private citizen +to his home at Mount Vernon. + +The city of New York was in quite a deplorable state. The wide tract +swept by the fire of 1776 still lay in blackened ruins. No effort had +been made to rebuild except where temporary wooden huts had been set +up by the soldiers. The churches, all of which had been used for one +purpose or another, were dismantled, blackened, and marred. There was +scarcely a house in all the little town that had not been ill-used +by the soldiers. Fences were down, and the streets were filled with +rubbish. It was a city stricken with premature decay. Business life +was dead, and would have to be begun all over again. The citizens were +divided against themselves. Feuds existed everywhere. Patriots who had +fled and had now come back felt a deep bitterness against those who had +adopted the royal cause for the purpose of keeping possession of their +property. These, however, complained just as bitterly because now their +homes were taken from them in the adjustment. + +King's College, of which you have been told, had been closed all during +the war, and had been used as a hospital. It was opened now, but was +called Columbia College, as the King no longer had any claims on the +city or its institutions. + +During the next few years business slowly revived, and day by day the +city was rebuilt, growing into something like its old self. + +Some little distance above the Common was the City Hospital. There came +rumors at this time that the bodies of the dead were being stolen from +the graveyards and used by the students for dissecting purposes. There +was no truth in these stories, yet many persons became alarmed. They +gathered, broke into the hospital and destroyed everything of value. +The doctors fled to the jail on the Common for protection. The mob +determined to seize them, and tore down the fences about the jail. Then +the Mayor gathered a body of citizens to oppose the mob. As night came +on, the rioters, becoming more and more destructive, were fired upon and +five were killed. After this they scampered away, the trouble was over, +and that was the last of the Doctors' Mob. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +THE FIRST PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES + + +Rebuilding a city and forming a new nation is such a great task that you +can readily believe it was not accomplished without some difficulty. The +colonies were free from the rule of the English King, but it was +necessary for them to learn to govern themselves. + +Each of the new States now had its own government. It was thought by +many that there should be some powerful central government to control +all the States. So after a great deal of deliberation a convention was +held in Philadelphia over which George Washington presided. After four +months of hard work the present Constitution of the United States was +given to each State to be approved. + +There was strong need for this step to be taken, but there were a +great many who did not want it, because they thought it would give the +President as much power as a king, and as they had gone to some cost to +rid themselves of a king, they did not wish another. Those who wanted a +central government were called Federalists. Those who did not want it +were called Anti-Federalists. + +In New York there was one man who did everything that man could do +to convince others that the central government was the best thing for +the good of the new nation. His name was Alexander Hamilton. He was +a young man who had been, ever since he was a boy, a friend of George +Washington; who had lived in Washington's family and had fought as an +officer side by side with Washington, and was a man of much power and +deep learning. + +This Constitution of the United States had been approved by nine of the +States, when, in June, 1788, a convention was held to determine whether +New York was to approve it or not. At this convention Alexander Hamilton +spoke eloquently, in an effort to have the Constitution approved. + +The convention was still meeting in July, having come to no decision, +when the followers of Hamilton, the Federalists, had a great parade +through the streets of New York. It was the first big parade in the +city, and the grandest spectacle that had ever been seen in America +up to this time. + +[Illustration: Celebration of the Adoption of the Constitution.] + +The most imposing part of it was a great wooden ship on wheels, made to +represent the Ship of State, and called the "Federal Ship Hamilton." +The parade was a mile and a half long and there were five thousand men +in it. It passed along the streets of the city, past the fort, and on +up Broadway over the tree-covered hill above the Common, and on to the +Bayard Farm beyond the Collect Pond. There a halt was made and the +thousands of people sat down on the grass to a dinner. + +Three days after this the convention approved of the Constitution for +the State of New York. And so the majority of the States having agreed +to it, in the next year George Washington was chosen as the first +President of the United States, and the city of New York was selected +as the temporary seat of the general government. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +THE WELCOME to GEORGE WASHINGTON + + +Now that New York was the seat of the national government, the old City +Hall in Wall Street was made larger and fitted up in grand style and was +called Federal Hall. + +In April George Washington came to this city from his home at Mount +Vernon. Every step of his way, by carriage and on horseback, was a march +of triumph. The people in towns and villages and countryside greeted him +with shouts and signs of affection. But it was in New York that the +greatest welcome was given him. + +The city had taken on a most picturesque appearance. Every house was +decorated with colors, and when Washington landed from a barge at the +foot of Wall Street, he walked up a stairway strewn with flowers. The +streets were so thronged that way could scarcely be made. Not only were +the streets filled, but every window and every house-top. The people +waited for hours, and when Washington arrived a wild hubbub commenced +that kept up all the day long. + +[Illustration: View of Federal Hall and Part of Broad Street, 1796.] + +Washington was escorted to the house that had been prepared for him, a +little way out of town at the top of a hill. + +If in the days that you read this you walk along Pearl Street until you +come to the East River bridge at Franklin Square, a part of the city +crowded with tenements and factories, you will stand close by where the +house was. On the abutment of the bridge you will find a tablet that has +been riveted to the stone, so that all who pass may know that Washington +once lived there. The house was built by Walter Franklin, a rich +merchant, and was therefore called the Franklin House. The square, +however, does not take its name from this man, but from the renowned +Benjamin Franklin. + +Very soon, on a bright, sunshiny day, Washington stood on the balcony of +Federal Hall, surrounded by the members of the Senate and the House of +Representatives, with the citizens thronging every inch of the nearby +streets. And there he took the oath of office, and having taken it the +cry was raised, "Long Live George Washington, First President of the +United States," a cry that was echoed from street to street, and went on +echoing out into the country beyond. + +[Illustration: The John Street Theatre, 1781.] + +The life of the First President was a simple and a busy one. He rose at +four o'clock each morning and went to bed at nine in the evening. Many +hours a day he worked at matters of state, receiving all who called, so +that there was quite a stream of people going to and from the Franklin +House at all times. Sometimes during the day he took a long drive with +Mrs. Washington, which he called the "Fourteen Miles 'round," going up +one side of the island above the city and coming down the other. +Sometimes of an evening he attended a performance at the little John +Street Theatre. Always on Sunday he and all his family went to St. +Paul's Chapel. And the pew in which they sat you can sit in if you go +to that old chapel, for it has been preserved all these years. + +By this time the fort by the Bowling Green, which had stood since the +days of the Dutch, was torn down to make room for a mansion that was +to be called the Government House and be occupied by the President. + +The mansion was built, but you shall see presently why no President ever +occupied it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +CONCERNING the TAMMANY SOCIETY and BURR'S BANK + + +There was formed just about this time, in fact the very month after +Washington's inauguration, an organization which was called the Tammany +Society. And out of this society grew the great political body--Tammany +Hall. The Tammany Society took its name from a celebrated Indian chief, +and at first had as its central purpose the effort to keep a love of +country strong in every heart. The best men in the city belonged to the +Tammany Society, which held meetings and transacted business under all +sorts of odd and peculiar forms. It divided the seasons of the year into +the Season of Blossoms, the Season of Fruits, the Season of Moons, and +the Season of Snows, instead of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. And +the head of the order was called the Grand Sachem or Chief. + +New York now became a very active and a very brilliant city indeed, +and all manner of improvements were made. The first sidewalks were laid +along Broadway, just above St. Paul's Chapel. They were pavements of +brick, so narrow that two persons could scarcely walk along side by +side. Then the high hill crossed by Broadway just above the Common was +cut away so that the street stretched away as broad and as straight as +you see it to-day. Numbers were put on the houses and streets were cut +through the waste lands about the Collect Pond, and the barracks which +were built for the British soldiers were torn away as unsightly +structures. These barracks were log huts a story high, enclosed by a +high wall. The gate at one end, called Tryon's Gate, gave the name to +Tryon's Row as it now exists. Trinity Church, which had been in ruins +since the fire, was rebuilt, as well as many, many other houses. + +Now the fact that the city was the seat of the national government and +was the home of Washington had much to do with its improvement. But New +York had only been fixed upon as the capital temporarily, and a dozen +States were anxious for that honor. Finally, in the second year that +Washington was President, it was decided to build a city which should +be the seat of the general government, on land given by the States +of Maryland and Virginia for that purpose and called the District of +Columbia. While the city (which was given the name of Washington) was +being built, the seat of government was to be in Philadelphia, and +Washington went there to live. A great many of the gay and brilliant +company that had been attracted to the capital followed him there, and +for a time New York languished in neglect. + +It now began to look as though the United States would be drawn into +another war with Great Britain. For the French Revolution was in +progress and the French people were at war with the English, and thought +that the Americans should help them as they had helped the Americans in +Revolutionary times. But President Washington and some of the very wise +and good people about him thought it best to have nothing to do with it. +So a treaty was made between England and the United States, and the +French did not get the help they asked. + +Some of the citizens of New York, quite a large number of them, were +very angry when they heard of this treaty and burned a copy of it on the +Bowling Green, with all sorts of threats. But after a time those who had +shouted against it changed their minds. They had something more serious +to think of nearer home before many years, for the small-pox broke out +in the city and thousands upon thousands hurried away to escape the +dread disease. All business was at a standstill, and even the churches +were closed. When the scourge had spent its force, it was found that +more than 2,000 had died of it. + +There was one man who took advantage of the small-pox scare to his own +profit. This was Aaron Burr. You will remember him as a boy fighting +by the side of Montgomery in Canada. He was now a lawyer known for his +great skill the country over; a man of education and deep learning. +He was the leader of a political party, a party which contended with, +fought with, disagreed with at every turn the party of which Alexander +Hamilton was one of the chief leaders. + +Now there were two banks in the city, both of which were under the +control of the party to which Alexander Hamilton belonged. Aaron Burr +determined that his party should have a bank, too. The citizens were +prejudiced against banks, and did not want a new one. But Burr +determined to establish one, and set about it in a most peculiar way. +All at once the report got about that the small-pox had been caused by +the well-water. This was about all there was to drink in the city, +except that which came from a few springs and was said to be very impure +indeed. So Aaron Burr and his friends secured a charter for a company +that was to supply clear, pure water. This pleased the citizens very +much. But there was a clause in the charter to the effect that as all +the money might not be needed for the bringing of water into the city, +that which remained could be used for _any_ purpose the company saw fit. +Only those in the secret understood that the money was to be used to +start a bank. So the company dug deep wells not far from the Collect +Pond, and pumped water from them into a reservoir which was built close +by the Common on Chambers Street, and then sent it through the city by +means of curious wooden pipes. This water was really just as impure as +that which had before been taken from the wells, and it was not long +before the new water-works were known to be a failure. Then the company +gave all their attention to the bank, which had in the meanwhile been +started. + +[Illustration: Reservoir of Manhattan Water-Works in Chambers Street.] + +This company of Aaron Burr's was called the Manhattan Company, and their +Manhattan Bank has been kept going ever since and is still in existence +in a fine large building in Wall Street. + +So you see Aaron Burr this time got the better of Alexander Hamilton and +his friends. + +If you turn the page you will read more of Hamilton and Burr. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +MORE about HAMILTON and BURR + + +The dawn of the nineteenth century saw 60,000 people in the city of New +York and the town extending a mile up the island. Above the city were +farms and orchards and the country homes of the wealthy. Where Broadway +ended there was a patch of country called Lispenard's Meadow, and about +this time a canal was cut through it from the Collect Pond to the +Hudson River. This was the canal which long years afterward was filled +in and gave its name to Canal Street. + +[Illustration: The Collect Pond.] + +From time to time there were projects for setting out a handsome park +about the shores of the Collect Pond, but the townspeople thought it was +too far away from the city. But in a few years the city grew up to the +Collect Pond, which was then filled in, and to-day a gloomy prison (The +Tombs) is built upon the spot. + +One of the new undertakings was the building of a new City Hall, as the +old one in Wall Street was no longer large enough. So the present City +Hall was begun on what was then the Common, but it was not finished for +a good ten years. The front and sides were of white marble, and the rear +of cheaper red sandstone, as it was thought that it would be many years +before anyone would live far enough uptown to notice the difference. +How odd this seems in these days, when the City Hall is quite at the +beginning of the city. + +Aaron Burr had by this time been elected Vice-President of the United +States. But he soon lost the confidence of the people, and when, in the +year 1803, he hoped to be made Governor of the State of New York, he was +defeated. + +[Illustration: The Grange, Kingsbridge Road, the Residence of Alexander +Hamilton.] + +Now at this time Alexander Hamilton was still a leader in the party +opposed to Aaron Burr, and did everything possible to defeat him. And +Burr, angered because of this, and believing that Hamilton had sought to +bring dishonor upon him, challenged Hamilton to a duel--the popular way +of settling such serious grievances. So Hamilton accepted the challenge +and on a morning in the middle of the summer of 1804, just after +sunrise, the duel took place on the heights of the shore of New Jersey, +just above Weehawken. Hamilton fell at the first fire mortally wounded. +The next day he died. + +There was great sorrow throughout the entire country, for he was a brave +and good man, and had been a leader since the War of the Revolution. All +the citizens followed him to his rest in Trinity Churchyard, and in the +churchyard to-day you can see his tomb carefully taken care of and +decorated, year by year. + +After the death of Hamilton the feeling against Burr in the city was +bitter indeed, and he soon went away. + +A few years later, when a project was formed for establishing a great +empire in the southwest and overthrowing the United States, this same +Aaron Burr was thought to be concerned in the plot. When, after a trial, +he was acquitted, he went to live in Europe. But he returned after a +time, and the last years of his life were passed in New York. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +ROBERT FULTON BUILDS a STEAM-BOAT + + +There had come to be a great need for schools. There were private +schools and there were school-rooms attached to some of the churches, +but it was in this year, 1805, that the first steps were taken to have +free schools for all. + +A kindly man named De Witt Clinton was Mayor of the city, and he, with +some other citizens, organized the Free School Society that was to +provide an education for every child. The following year the first free +school was opened. The society continued in force for forty-eight years, +each year the number of its schools increasing, until finally all its +property was turned over to the city. + +In the days when De Witt Clinton was Mayor the first steam-boat was +built to be used on the Hudson River. For many a year there had been +men who felt sure that steam could be applied to boats and made to +propel them against the wind and the tide. They had tried very hard to +build such a boat but none had succeeded. Sometimes the boilers burst. +Sometimes the paddle-wheels refused to revolve. For one reason or +another the boats were failures. + +A man named John Fitch had built a little steam-boat and had tried it +on the Collect Pond, where it had steamed around much to the surprise +of the good people of the city who went to look at it. But it was +considered more as a toy than anything else. Nothing came of the +experiment, and the boat itself was neglected after a time and dragged +up on the bank beside the lake, where it lay until it rotted away. + +Then Robert Livingston, who was chancellor of the city, felt sure he +could build a steam-boat that would be of use. As he was a wealthy man +he spent a great deal of money trying to make such a boat; and as he was +a very learned man he gave much thought to it. + +Chancellor Livingston was in France when he met another American, named +Robert Fulton, who was an artist and a civil engineer, and who also +hoped to build a boat that could be moved by steam. Livingston and +Fulton decided that they would together build such a boat. + +[Illustration: The Clermont, Fulton's First Steam-Boat.] + +So Fulton came back to New York and with the money given him by +Livingston began to build a steam-boat which he called the Clermont--the +name of Chancellor Livingston's country home. The citizens laughed a +good deal at the idea and called the boat "Fulton's Folly." In August, +1807, the Clermont was finished, and a crowd gathered to see it launched +and to laugh at its failure. But the boat moved out into the stream and +up the Hudson River, while the people gazed in wonder at the marvellous +thing gliding through the water, moved apparently by some more than +human force. It went all the way to Albany, and from that day on +continued to make trips up and down the river. This was the first +successful steam-boat in the world. Soon steam ferry-boats took the +place of those which had been driven by horse-power. Quickly, too, after +the success of the Clermont, steam navigation went rapidly forward on +both sides of the ocean. Fulton made other and much better boats. Other +men followed in his footsteps, and the great ocean liners of to-day are +one of the results. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +THE CITY PLAN + + +It is interesting at this time to read how the streets came to be just +where they are. The city was growing more rapidly than ever and the +streets and byways met one another at every sort of angle, forming a +tangled maze. To remedy this, a commission was formed of several of the +prominent citizens to determine just what course the streets should +take. Now this commission decided not to interfere with those that +existed, but to map out the island above the city and plan for those +that were to be. They worked for four years and then submitted, in the +year 1811, what they called the City Plan. If you will look at a map, +you will see at the lower part of the Island of Manhattan that the +streets cross and recross each other in the most bewildering manner. And +you will also see that above this jumble the streets and avenues extend +through the island in a regular and uniform way. This change was the +result of the City Plan. + +While the commission was making its plan, there came threatenings of +war. Again England was at war with France, and those two countries in +fighting one another very often injured the American ships. Besides, the +British war-ships had a disagreeable way of searching American ships and +taking charge of any Englishmen they found on them, even those who had +become American citizens. These same British war-ships often fired upon +those American vessels whose captains objected to their being searched. + +So it came about that American ships carrying merchandise to other +countries and bringing merchandise to American ports were interfered +with more and more, and American commerce was thus ruined, for no +American ship was safe. The end came early in the year 1812, when the +United States declared war against Great Britain. + +[Illustration: Castle Garden.] + +As soon as war was declared, the citizens of New York united for +defence, and when news came that the city was to be attacked, a great +meeting was held in City Hall Park, and everybody decided, then and +there, to support their country with their fortunes, their honor, and +their lives. Then they went to work, stopping all other employment, and +night and day they built forts and defences. They built forts on the +islands in the bay to defend the approach to the city from the ocean, +and they built forts in the Hell Gate to defend the approach by way of +Long Island Sound, and they built batteries on the Island of Manhattan +itself. One fort built at this time was on a little island close by the +Battery, and was called Fort Clinton. This afterward became Castle +Garden. + +But though the British had sent soldiers and ships to fight the forces +in America, they made no effort to capture the city of New York. + +The war went on for two years; there were battles, many of them, on the +land and on the sea. Very often the British had the best of it, and then +again the Americans would have the best of it. But in the end, although +the British fought hard, the Americans fought harder, and in the first +month of the year 1815 the war ended with a great battle in New Orleans, +which the Americans won. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +THE STORY of the ERIE CANAL + +Everything was going along smoothly when all at once the yellow fever +broke out on the west side, far downtown. It raged with even more +violence than had the small-pox. Citizens fled, and the stricken +district was fenced off so that no one might enter it. It was like a +place of the dead, silent and deserted. Many people went far out of town +to Greenwich Village, and many business houses opened offices in this +little settlement; with the result that Greenwich Village started on a +new life, and it was not long before it grew to be an important part +of New York instead of a suburb. For many who had transferred their +business also went to live there, not returning to the city even after +the fever had passed away. + +[Illustration: Landing of Lafayette at Castle Garden.] + +In the year after the fever (it was by this time 1824) General Lafayette +came again to America and was warmly received. Landing first at +Staten Island, he was, on the following day, escorted by a naval +procession and conducted to Castle Garden. A multitude came to voice +their welcome and follow him to the City Hall, where he was greeted by +the Mayor and all of the officials. During his stay he held daily +receptions in the City Hall, and afterward visited the public +institutions and buildings. On leaving for a tour of the country he was +accompanied all the way to Kingsbridge by a detachment of troops. For +thirteen months he travelled through the country, and when he returned +to New York in the autumn of the next year, the citizens gave a banquet +in his honor, at Castle Garden, which surpassed anything of the kind +that had ever been seen. + +Then General Lafayette sailed away to France again. In the month after +he had gone, with all the city cheering him and making such a din that +you would have thought that there never could be a greater, in the very +next month the city was again all decorated, and more shouts rent the +air, for a grand undertaking had just been completed, which you shall +now hear of. + +Ever since the days of the Revolution there had been talk of digging a +canal from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean; for you must know that +in these days there being no railroads, most of the traffic and travel +were done by water. This canal had been long talked of, but no step had +been taken toward building it. + +Now you will remember that De Witt Clinton, while he was Mayor, took a +great deal of interest in everything that was for the good of the city. +Well, after he had been Mayor for some years, he became Governor of the +State, and it was he who came to think that although the building of the +canal would be a great undertaking, for it would have to be more than +300 miles long, it might after all be accomplished. For years he worked, +with some others, while many said that it was a foolish idea, and too +much of a task even to think of. But still Clinton worked at his plans, +and finally, the money having been given by the State, the digging of +the canal was begun. The work went on for eight years, and in the month +of October, 1825, was finished. + +The canal was a water-way that stretched across the State of New York +from Buffalo to Albany and there joined the Hudson River, which leads +straight to the city of New York, and so on to the ocean. + +The people in the city and in the State were delighted at the +completion of the work, and on the day of the opening of the canal they +expressed their joy as loudly as they could. Governor De Witt Clinton +was at the Buffalo end, and he, with the State officers, started in a +boat decorated with flags and bunting and was towed through the canal. +As the boat set out from Buffalo, a cannon was fired, and many more +cannon having been placed each within hearing distance of the other by +the side of the canal, in turn took up the sound and carried it along, +mile after mile, until the last one, stationed in the city of New York, +was fired, one hour and twenty-five minutes after the first had been +fired at Buffalo. By this the people all across the State knew that the +canal had been opened. + +For ten days the boats crept along the canal, and at each town bands +played, and speeches were made, until on the tenth day the Governor and +his party reached New York--the first to make the journey across the +State by water. They were taken to Sandy Hook, the Mayor of New York, +with many others, attending, and surrounded by all the ships in the bay, +with their colors flying and their whistles blowing. And there at Sandy +Hook, Governor Clinton poured a keg of water which he had brought from +Lake Erie into the waters of the ocean. + +Thus were the waters of the Great Lakes and the waters of the Atlantic +Ocean united, and the city was illuminated as it had never been before, +and great bonfires burned all night, in honor of the wedding. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +THE BUILDING of the CROTON AQUEDUCT + + +It really seemed now as though some fairy wand had been turned toward +New York. Blocks of houses of brick and stone sprang up, and buildings +of every sort crept up the Island of Manhattan and were occupied by more +than 200,000 people. The city was the centre of art and literature and +science in America. The streets were lighted by gas; there were fine +theatres; and the first street railroad in the world was in +operation--the first step toward crowding out the lumbering stages. +Newspapers were multiplying, and there were now fifty various sorts, +daily, weekly, and monthly. The dailies cost six cents, and were +delivered to regular subscribers. In the year 1833 the _Sun_, the first +penny paper to be published in the city, was issued. It was a success. +Boys sold it on the streets in all parts of the town. This was the +beginning of the work of the news-boys, and after this they were to be +found all over the country. + +But now there came another great fire. On a December night, a night so +cold that it was said there had not been such another in fifty years, +flames broke out in the lower part of town near the river. The citizens +battled with it as best they could, but it burned for three days, +destroying almost all of the business end of the city. For years +afterward it was called the "Great Fire," and was remembered with dread. +To-day there is a marble tablet on a house in Pearl Street near Coenties +Slip, which was the centre of the burned district, where you can read of +how fearful the fire was and how thankful the people were that the +entire city was not destroyed. But the houses were quickly rebuilt, and +New York prospered more than ever before. + +[Illustration: View of Park Row, 1825.] + +Destructive as the fire was, however, it called attention to the fact +that there was a woful lack of water in the city. Most of the water was +still supplied by the wells and springs which had been sufficient for +a small town, but were by no means so for a city of the present size. It +was now that the idea of bringing a large supply of water from without +the city was conceived. The plan was to build an artificial course, or +aqueduct, for water, from the Croton River, forty miles and more above +the city. Many thought that this was not possible, but then other +seemingly impossible things had been accomplished, so they pushed ahead +and commenced the building of this work. A dam was thrown across the +Croton River, forming a lake five miles long. The aqueduct extended from +this dam to the city. Sometimes it had to be cut through the solid rock; +sometimes it was continued underground by tunnel; sometimes over valleys +by embankments, until at last it reached the Harlem River where a stone +bridge, called the High Bridge, was built to support it. Through this +channel of solid masonry the water was brought into the city, and when +it reached the Island of Manhattan was distributed in pipes over the +entire city. This wonderful work cost $9,000,000, and took seven years +to build. When the water was first released from Croton River and flowed +into the new channel, rushing along for forty miles to the city, the +citizens rejoiced greatly. There was a celebration with parades and +illuminations. + +[Illustration: High Bridge, Croton Aqueduct.] + +It now looked as though there would be enough water to last no matter +how large the city should become, for there were now 95,000,000 gallons +a day available. But before another fifty years had passed there was a +cry for more water, But this time the people knew just what to do, and +another aqueduct was built from the Croton River. This one was carried +under the Harlem River instead of over it, supplying so much water that +it will doubtless be many a long year indeed before another will be +needed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +PROFESSOR MORSE and the TELEGRAPH + + +There lived in New York at this time a man whose name was Samuel F.B. +Morse. He was an artist and was interested in many branches of science. +He had founded the National Academy of Design and was Professor of the +Literature of the Arts of Design at the University of the City of New +York. This man believed that an electric current could be transmitted +through a wire and so make it possible to convey a message from one +point to another. One night, after having worked on his idea for years, +he invited a few friends to the University building, which overlooked +Washington Square, and showed them the result of his labors. It was the +first telegraph in the world. This was a crude affair, but Professor +Morse proved that he could send a message over a wire. In the year 1845 +he had advanced so far that a telegraph line was built between New York +City and Philadelphia. Then all the world recognized the genius of +Morse. The people of New York especially honored him, and even in his +lifetime they erected a statue of him which you can see to-day in +Central Park. + +By this time the city had crept up to both Greenwich Village and Bowery +Village, and had engulfed them. On every side were houses, some of them +five and six stories high, where before they had been but two stories. + +An open space nearby Bowery Village was called Astor Place. This was the +scene in 1849 of a famous riot, which came about in this wise: Edwin +Forrest, an American actor, and William Charles Macready, an English +actor, had quarrelled about some fancied slight. So when Macready came +to the city to play at the Astor Place Opera House, some friends of +Forrest's gathered and sought to prevent his acting by shouting their +disapproval. This was the excuse for an unruly mob to gather outside the +theatre and storm the house with stones. Macready escaped by leaving +the theatre by a rear door. Then a regiment of soldiers came and after +using all peaceful measures to quell the disturbance, fired upon the mob +and killed many of them before the space was cleared and quiet restored. + +[Illustration: Crystal Palace.] + +Castle Garden, which had once been Fort Clinton, had become a place of +amusement. Here Jenny Lind, "the Swedish Nightingale," sang, and many +another artist of rare ability was seen and heard. + +Now, too, a World's Fair was opened on Murray Hill. Held in a +fairy-like building of glass, made in the form of a Greek cross, with +graceful dome and arches, it was a Crystal Palace in fact as in name, +where all the products of the world were shown. But, unfortunately, a +few years later it was burned to the ground. + +There are always some wise and thoughtful people who think of the +comfort of others, and some of these realized that it would not be long +before the Island of Manhattan would be so covered with houses that +there would be no open places where one might enjoy fresh air and +recreation. They said it would be well to have a garden laid out for +this purpose, with walks and drives as needed. This was done and an +immense tract of woodland and forest, almost as large as the city itself +at the time, was set apart. As this was in the centre of the island it +was called the Central Park. Millions of people have been thankful for +it, although they have not put their gratitude into words. + +We have now come to the days of the Great Civil War, when many men +left the city to join the army. Now there were those who did not see +the necessity for war and had no desire to be soldiers, so when more +men were called for there was a riot; a terrible and destructive one. +A mob swept over the city, a murderous, plundering mob that left a trail +of horror wherever it touched; and before it was put down a thousand +persons had been killed or injured, and $2,000,000 damage had been done. +This was the Draft Riot. The Civil War ended, the city prospered, +growing greater and greater, until in the year 1878 the stages and +horse-cars could no longer carry all the people. Then railroads elevated +above the streets were built that could carry great numbers swiftly to +all parts of the city. + +New York, already become one of the great cities of the world, advanced +with giant strides. + + + + +CHAPTER XL + +THE GREATER NEW YORK + + +The time came when the city of New York grew beyond the limits of the +Island of Manhattan, though the island had seemed such a boundless tract +of land, that it had been thought laughable for the City Plan to provide +for streets over its entire length. The city grew larger and larger. It +stretched up to the Harlem River, leaped over it and went branching out +into the country beyond. Great libraries were built; hospitals for the +sick; prisons for the wrong-doer, markets, churches, public institutions +of every kind. Buildings grew taller and taller until they came to be +twenty and twenty-five stories high. Even then there were so many people +that there were not houses enough to hold them all. So they swarmed over +into the already large city of Brooklyn, on Long Island. And the +ferry-boats being no longer able to carry the vast crowds in comfort, a +great suspension bridge was built over the East River from New York to +Brooklyn. At last the city of New York and the city of Brooklyn had so +much in common, that they, with some of their suburbs, were united into +one great city in the year 1898. + +Then the Island of Manhattan became simply the Borough of Manhattan, one +of the five boroughs of Greater New York. + +So the story of the Island of Manhattan is ended. + + + + +TABLE of EVENTS + +Year + +1609. Hudson discovers the island of Manhattan + +1613. Ship Tiger burned + +1614. United New Netherland Company organized + +1614. Fort Manhattan built + +1621. West India Company organized + +1626. Peter Minuit Governor + Fort Amsterdam built + +1629. Charter adopted under which the Manors were established + +1633. Van Twillier Governor + +1636. Annetje Jans' Farm laid out + +1638. William Kieft appointed Governor + +1641. First Cattle Fair held on Bowling Green + +1642. Stadt Huys built + Church built in the Fort + +1643. Beginning of the Indian wars + +1644. Fence erected, which was later replaced by a wall, and still + later by Wall Street + +1646. Peter Stuyvesant appointed Governor + +1647. Kieft and Dominie Bogardus drowned in the wreck of the Princess + while returning to Holland + +1652. City of New Amsterdam incorporated + +1653. New Amsterdam made a walled city by the building of a wall + across the island + +1655. Stuyvesant subdues the Swedes on the Delaware + Indian war breaks out again + +1664. English capture New Amsterdam and it becomes New York + Richard Nicolls Governor + +1667. Francis Lovelace appointed Governor + +1670. Lovelace establishes the first Exchange + +1673. First mail route established + The Dutch retake New York + +1674. English again in possession of New York + Sir Edmund Andros Governor + Captain Manning disgraced for surrendering New York to the Dutch + +1678. Bolting Act created + +1681. Andros recalled + +1682. Thomas Dongan Governor + +1686. Dongan Charter granted to the city + +1688. New York and New England united, and Sir Edmund Andros Governor + +1689. William III. becomes King of England + Jacob Leisler assumes title of Lieutenant-Governor + and takes charge of New York + +1691. Henry Sloughter Governor + Leisler and Milborne executed + Governor Sloughter dies + +1692. Benjamin Fletcher Governor + +1693. Bradford establishes first printing press in the colony + +1696. Trinity Church built + Bolting Act repealed + Lord Bellomont appointed Governor + Captain Kidd sails to search for pirates + +1697. Streets first lighted at night + +1699. City wall demolished and Wall Street laid out + City Hall built in Wall Street + +1700. First library opened + +1701. Captain Kidd executed in England + Lord Bellomont dies + +1702. Lord Cornbury Governor + +1705. Queen's Farm granted to Trinity Church by Queen Anne + +1708. Lord Lovelace Governor + +1710. Robert Hunter Governor + +1711. Public slave market established + +1714. First public clock set on City Hall in Wall Street + +1715. Lewis Morris appointed Chief-Justice + +1720. William Burnet Governor + +1725. Bradford prints first newspaper in city + +1728. John Montgomery Governor + +1729. First Jewish cemetery established + +1731. First Fire Department organized + Montgomery dies + +1732. William Cosby Governor + +1733. James De Lancey made Chief-Justice + +1735. Peter Zenger tried for libel + +1736. Governor Cosby dies + +1741. Negro Plot + +1743. George Clinton Governor + +1745. Louisburg captured + +1752. Walton House built + +1753. Sir Danvers Osborne Governor + +1755. Sir Charles Hardy Governor + +1756. Corner-stone of King's College laid + Lord Loudoun appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British forces + in America + +1759. General Jeffrey Amherst appointed Commander-in-Chief in place + of Lord Loudoun + +1760. Montreal captured + Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey dies + George II. of England dies + George III. becomes King + +1761. Robert Monckton Governor + +1763. Monckton resigns as Governor + +1765. Stamp Act passed + First Colonial Congress held in New York + Sir Henry Moore Governor + +1766. Stamp Act repealed + Liberty Pole set up on the Common + +1770. Statues of William Pitt and George III. erected + Tax removed on all articles except tea + Battle of Golden Hill + +1771. Sir William Tryon Governor + +1773. Tax on tea reduced + +1774. Taxed Tea dumped into the river + First Continental Congress held + +1775. Lexington massacre + Second Continental Congress + Turtle Bay stores seized + Marinus Willett seizes the British ammunition wagons + Battle of Bunker Hill + Governor Tryon returns from England + General Montgomery killed at Quebec + +1776. April.--General Washington comes to New York after the success + of the Continental army at Boston + July.--Independence declared + August.--Battle of Long Island + +1776. September.--British occupy New York + Battle of Harlem Heights + A Great Fire + Nathan Hale executed + November.--Fort Washington captured + +1777. George Clinton, Governor of New York State + Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga + Washington at Valley Forge + +1780. Benedict Arnold's treason + +1781. Surrender of Lord Cornwallis + +1783. September.--Treaty of Peace, between Great Britain and the + United States, signed + November.--British troops depart from New York + December.--Washington bids farewell to his officers at + Fraunces's Tavern + +1788. The Doctors' Mob + +1789. New York the seat of the National Government + Washington becomes First President of the United States and + comes to live in New York + The Government House built + Tammany Society organized + +1790. Trinity Church rebuilt + +1798. Small-pox epidemic + Manhattan Company established + +1803. New City Hall begun + +1804. Alexander Hamilton killed by Aaron Burr + +1805. Free School Society organized + +1807. The Clermont launched + +1811. City Plan completed + +1812. United States at war with Great Britain + +1814. Fort Clinton (afterward called Castle Garden) built + War with Great Britain ended + +1823. Yellow fever epidemic + +1824. General Lafayette comes again to America + +1825. Erie Canal celebration + Gas introduced into city + +1833. First penny newspaper started + +1835. The "Great Fire" destroys six hundred houses + Work commenced on the Croton Aqueduct + +1842. Water admitted through the Croton Aqueduct + +1845. First telegraph recording apparatus publicly tested by + Samuel F.B. Morse + +1849. Forrest-Macready riots + +1853. World's Fair in the Crystal Palace + +1856. Ground bought by the city for the Central Park + +1863. The Draft Riot + +1870. Brooklyn Bridge started + +1878. Elevated roads built + +1883. Brooklyn Bridge completed + +1898. The island of Manhattan becomes the Borough of Manhattan + of Greater New York + + + + +INDEX + +Adventure Galley, 82, 83 +Amherst, General Jeffrey, 123 +Amsterdam, 2, 14 +Andre, Major John, 177, 178 +Andros, Edmund, 61, 62, 64, 66, 68 +Anne, Queen, 28, 91-93 +Annetje Jans's farm, 27, 28 +Anti-Federalists, 187 +Anti-Leislerian Party, 68 +Apthorpe, Charles Ward, 156 +Apthorpe mansion, 156 +Aqueduct, Croton, 227-229 +Army, Continental, 144, 148, 151, 179 +Arnold, Benedict, 177, 178 +Astor Place riot, 231, 232 +Astor Place, 231 + + +Bank, Manhattan, 203 +Banks, 201-203 +Battery, 10, 68, 176 +Battle of Bunker Hill, 148 +Battle of Golden Hill, 136-138 +Battle of Harlem Heights, 164, 165, 166 +Battle of Long Island, 154, 155 +Bayard Farm, 189 +Bayard, Nicholas, 69, 72, 89 +Bellomont, Lord, 82, 83, 86-88 +Block, Adrian, 10-12 +Bogardus, Everardus, 26, 37, 42 +Bolting Act, 62, 63 +Boston, 66, 84, 140, 141, 143 +Boston Port closed, 141 +Bouweries laid out, 21 +Bouwerie Lane, 21 +Bouwerie Village, 54, 76, 231 +Bowery Road, 179 +Bowery, the, 21, 35 +Bowling Green, 12, 35, 93, 105, 131, 134, 152, 200 +Bradford, William, 79, 108 +Bridge, East River, 236 +Bridge, High, 227 +British occupy New York City, 163 +Broad Street, 57, 148 +Broadway, 12, 58, 93, 162, 198, 204 +Bunker Hill, Battle of, 148 +Burgomasters, 46 +Burgoyne, General, 171, 172 +Burnet, William, 101-103 +Burns's Coffee-House, 129, 130 +Burr, Aaron, 150, 201, 203-207 +Burton, Mary, 112-114 +Buttermilk Channel, 30 + + +Cabot, John, 23, 50 +Cabot, Sebastian, 23, 50 +Canal, Erie, 220-222 +Canal Street, 205 +Cape of Good Hope, 3 +Castle Garden, 215, 232 +Cemetery, first Jewish, 104 +Central Park, 233 +Chambers, Captain, 139, 140 +Charles I., 23 +Charles II., 62 +Church in the Fort, 36, 37 +Church, St. Mark's, 54 +Church, St. Paul's, 150, 167, 195, 198 +Church, Trinity, 28, 79, 129, 198 +City Hall (first), 36, 47, 75, 87, 122 +City Hall (in Wall Street), 87-89, 94, 99, 128, 133, 152, 190 +City Hall (present), 152, 205 +City Hall Park, 50, 175, 176, 214 +City Hospital, 184 +City Plan, 212, 213 +City Wall, 48, 87 +Clarke, George, 111, 115, 116 +Clermont, the, 210, 211 +Clinton, Admiral George, 116-118 +Clinton, De Witt, 208, 220-222 +Clinton, Governor George, 171 +Clock, first public, 99 +Colden, Cadwallader, 102, 131, 133 +Collect Pond, 50, 114, 189, 198, 202, 204, 205, 209 +College, Columbia, 184 +College, King's, 121, 184 +Colonial Congress, the, 129 +Columbia College, 184 +Columbia Heights, 164 +Columbia University, 121, 164 +Colve, Captain Anthony, 58, 59 +Committee of Safety, 68 +Common, the, 50, 137, 152, 184, 198, 205 +Congress, Colonial, 129 +Congress, First Continental, 141-143 +Congress, Second Continental, 144, 147 +Constitution of the United States, 186-188 +Continental Army, 148-149, 151, 179 +Continental Congress, First, 141-143 +Continental Congress, Second, 144, 147 +Cornbury, Lord, 89-94 +Cornwallis, Lord, 178 +Corporation Library, 87 +Cosby, William, 105-110 +Council of Twelve, 39 +Croton Aqueduct, 223, 227-229 +Crystal Palace, 233 +Cunningham, Provost-Marshal, 176 + + +Declaration of Independence, 152 +De Lancey, James, 107-109, 117-121, 123-125 +De Lancey, Stephen, 99 +De Lancey, Susannah, 116 +Demont, William, 168 +De Vries, Captain David Pietersen, 28, 39, 40 +District of Columbia, 199 +Doctors' Mob, 185 +Dongan Charter, 65 +Dongan, Thomas, 64, 65 +Draft Riot, 234 +Duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, 206, 207 +Duke of York, 50-54, 55, 60, 61, 64, 65 +Dutch Netherlands, 2 + + +East India Company, 2-5, 13 +East Indies, 2-5, 13 +East River Bridge, 236 +Elevated railways, 234 +English claim New Netherland, 23, 53 +Erie Canal, 220-222 +Exchange Place, 57 + + +Fairs on Bowling Green, 35, 36 +Federal Hall, 190-194 +Federalists, 187, 188 +"Federal Ship Hamilton," 188 +Ferry-boats, 211 +Fire Department, first, 105 +Fire of 1776, 167 +Fire, "the Great," 224 +First City Hall, 36, 47, 75, 87, 122 +First Continental Congress, 141-143 +First Fire Department, 105 +First houses of white men, 12 +First Jewish cemetery, 104 +First mail route, 57 +First minister, 26, 36, 42, 43 +First newspaper, 79 +First night-watch, 87 +First pavements, 93 +First printing press, 79 +First public clock, 99 +First roads, 35 +First schoolmaster, 26 +First sidewalks, 198 +First soldiers in New Netherland, 26 +First steamboat, 208-211 +First street lamps, 87 +First street numbers, 198 +First telegraph, 230, 231 +First vessel built, 12 +Fitch, John, 209 +Fitzroy, Lord Augustus, 109, 110 +Fletcher, Benjamin, 77-81 +Forrest, Edwin, 231 +Fort Amsterdam, 19, 27, 53 +Fort Clinton, 215, 232 +Fort James, 54 +Fort Manhattan, 13 +Fort Washington, 168 +"Fourteen Miles 'round," 195 +Franklin House, 193 +Franklin Square, 193 +Franklin, Walter, 193 +Fraunces's Tavern, 99, 100, 180 +Frederick, Kryn, 19 +Free School Society, 208 +French Revolution, 199 +"Fulton's Folly," 211 +Fulton, Robert, 210, 211 + + +Gage, General Thomas, 141 +Gardiner's Island, 84 +Gates, General, 172 +_Gazette, New York_, 108 +George II., 104, 116, 125 +George III., 125, 134, 136, 142, 152 +Golden Hill, Battle of, 136, 137, 138 +Golden Hill Inn, 137 +Government House, 196 +Governor's Island, 30 +Grant's Tomb, 164 +"Great Fire," the, 224 +Greenwich Village, 216, 231 + + +Hale, Nathan, 157, 158 +Half Moon, 2, 3, 4 +Hall of Records, 176 +Hamilton, Alexander, 187, 188, 201-203, 206, 207 +Hamilton, Andrew, 109 +Hardy, Sir Charles, 121 +Harlem Heights, 161 +Harlem Heights, Battle of, 164-166 +Harlem River, 229 +Heights, Columbia, 164 +Heights, Harlem, 161 +Heights, Vandewater, 164 +High Bridge, 227 +Holland, 2 +Holland, States-General of, 15, 16 +Houses, first, of white men, 12 +Howe, Admiral, 153 +Howe, General William, 153, 155, 158, 168, 171 +Hudson's Bay, 7 +Hudson, Henry, 3-8, 10 +Hudson's River, 8 +Hunter, Robert, 96, 97, 99, 100 +Hyde, Edward (Lord Cornbury), 91. + + +India, 4 +Indians, 1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 16, 33, 34, 37-41 +Indian War, 38-43, 49 +Ingoldsby, Richard, 71 +Island, Gardiner's, 84 +Island, Governor's, 30 +Island, Long, 30, 31, 84 +Island of Manhattan bought from Indians, 18 +Island, Nut, 30 +Island, Randall's, 31 +Island, Staten, 10, 28, 39 +Island, Ward's, 31 + + +Jail, New, 175, 176 +Jamaica, Long Island, 92 +James, Duke of York, 50-54, 60, 61, 64, 65 +James II., 64, 66, 67 +Jans, Annetje, 28, 42 +Jans's farm, 27, 28 +Jersey, the, 176, 177 +Jewish cemetery, the first, 104 +John Street Theatre, 195 +_Journal, New York Weekly_, 108 + + +Kidd, Captain William, 83-85 +Kieft, William, 33-43 +King's College, 121, 184 +Kip's Bay, 158, 161, 162 +Koopman, the, 19, 34 + + +Lafayette, Marquis de, 171, 217-219 +Leisler, Jacob, 67-76, 86, 89 +Leislerian Party, 68, 89 +Lexington massacre, 143 +Liberty Pole, 134, 136 +Lind, Jenny, 232 +Lispenard's Meadow, 204 +Livingston, Robert, 209, 210 +Lockyer, Captain, 138, 139 +Long Island, 30, 31, 84 +Long Island, Battle of, 154-155 +Lords of the Manors, 21, 22 +Loudoun, Lord, 123 +Louisburg, 117 +Lovelace, Francis, 55-58 +Lovelace, Lord John, 95, 96 + + +Macready, William Charles, 231, 232 +Mail route, the first, 57 +Manhattan Bank, 203 +Manhattan Company, 203 +Manhattan Island, 8, 10 +Manhattans, 8 +Manning, Captain John, 58, 59, 61, 62 +Manors, 21, 22 +May, Cornelius Jacobsen, 16 +Milborne, Jacob, 68, 69, 72-74 +Minister, first, 26, 36, 42, 43 +Minuit, Peter, 17-24 +Mohawks, 40 +Monckton, Robert, 125, 126 +Money used by Indians, 37 +Montgomery, General Richard, 150 +Montgomery, John, 103-105 +Montreal, capture of, 123 +Moore, Sir Henry, 133 +Morris, Lewis, 96, 101, 107 +Morris Mansion, 164 +Morris, Richard, 96 +Morris, Roger, 164 +Morrisania, 96 +Morse, Samuel F.B., 230, 231 +Murray Family, 158-161 +Murray Hill, 158 +Mutiny Bill, 134, 135 + + +Nanfan, John, 89 +National Academy of Design, 230 +Negro Plot, 111-115 +Negro slaves, 27, 98, 99, 111-115 +Netherlands, 2 +Netherlands, Dutch, 2 +New England, 48, 64-67 +New Jail, 175, 176 +New Jersey, 40 +New Netherland, 12-14, 16-18, 24, 50, 60 +New Orange, 59 +Newspaper, first, 79 +Newspapers, 223, 224 +_New York Gazette_, 108 +_New York Weekly Journal_, 108 +Nicholson, Francis, 66, 68-70 +Nicolls, Colonel Richard, 55 +Night watch, first, 87 +Non-Importation Agreement, 130, 136 +Non-Importation Association, 130 +North Pole, 7 +Northwest Passage, 7 +Nut Island, 30 + + +Orange, Prince of, 60 +Osborne, Sir Danvers, 116-120 + + +Park, City Hall, 50, 175, 176, 214 +Patriots, 143 +Patroons, 21, 22, 34 +Pavements, first, 93 +Pearl Street, 16, 36, 193 +Permanent revenue, the, 95, 97, 119 +Pirates, 80-84 +Pitt, William, 134 +Plot, Negro, 111-115 +Prince of Orange, 60 +Printing press, the first, 79 +Prisons, 173-177 +Prison ships, 176, 177 +Prison, Tombs, 205 +Privateers, 80, 83 +Provisional Assembly, the, 144, 147, 149 +Provost, the, 176 +Putnam, General, 157, 161 + + +Quebec, 149, 150 +Queen Street, 122 + + +Railroad, elevated, 234 +Randall's Island, 31 +Rebels, 143 +Restless, the, 12 +Revolution, French, 199 +Revolutionary War, 143, 144, 146, 152, 177, 178 +Riot, Astor Place, 231, 232 +Riot, Doctors', 185 +Riot, Draft, 234 +River of the Mountains, 4, 8 +Roads, the first, 35 +Rolandsen, Adam, 26 +Royalists, 143 + + +St. Mark's Church, 54 +St. Paul's Chapel, 150, 167, 195, 198 +Schepens, the, 46 +Schoolmaster, the first, 26 +Schools, 208 +School Society, Free, 208 +Schout, the, 46 +Schout-fiscal, the, 19 +Schuyler, General Philip, 172 +Schuyler, Peter, 99 +Seal of New York, 63 +Second Continental Congress, 144, 147 +Ship Adventure Galley, 82, 83 +Ship Clermont, 210, 211 +Ship, the first built, 12 +Ship Half Moon, 2-4 +Ship Restless, 12 +Ship Tiger, 10, 12 +Ships, prison, 176, 177 +Ships, tea, 138, 139, 140 +Sidewalks, the first, 198 +Slave Market, 98 +Slaves, 26, 27, 98, 99, 111-115 +Sloughter, Henry, 70-73, 75, 76 +Small-pox, 200 +Smugglers, 34, 39 +Soldiers, first, 25, 26 +Sons of Liberty, 128, 136, 137, 145-147 +Spain, 13 +Stadt Huys, 36, 47, 75, 87, 122 +Stamp Act, 127-136 +Staten Island, 10, 28, 39 +States-General of Holland, 15, 16 +Steamboat, first, 208-211 +Steam ferry-boats, 211 +Street lamps, first, 87 +Street numbers, first, 198 +Street railways, elevated, 234 +Streets, how laid out, 212 +Stuyvesant, Peter, 44-49, 53, 54, 76 +Sugar-house, 174, 175 + + +Tammany Hall, 197 +Tammany Society, 197 +Taxed tea, 135, 139-141 +Tea ships, 138, 139, 140 +Tea taxed, 135, 139-141 +Telegraph, first, 230, 231 +Theatre, John Street, 195 +Third City Hall, 152, 205 +Tiger, 10, 12 +Tombs Prison, 152, 205 +Tories, 143 +Trading Stations, 103 +Trinity Church, 28, 79, 129, 198 +Trinity Churchyard, 207 +Tryon's Gate, 198 +Tryon's Row, 198 +Tryon, William, 149, 158 +Turtle Bay, 145, 146 +"Tyrant of New England," 64 + + +United New Netherland Company, 12 +University of the City of New York, 230 + + +Valley Forge, 172 +Van Arsdale, John, 180 +Van Dam, Rip, 105-108, 110, 111 +Vandewater Heights, 164 +Van Dincklagen, the schout-fiscal, 31 +Van Rensselaer, Kiliaen, 25 +Van Twiller buys Governor's Island, 30 +Van Twiller's tobacco plantation, 27 +Van Twiller, Walter, 25-32 +Vauxhall, 132 +Verhulst, William, 17 + + +Wall Street, 41, 87, 190 +Wall Street, City Hall in, 87-89, 94, 99, 128, 133, 152, 190 +Wall, the city's, 48, 87 +Walton House, 122 +Walton, William, 122 +Ward's Island, 31 +War, Indian, 38-43, 49 +War of the Revolution, 143, 144, 146, 152, 177, 178 +War of 1812, 213-215 +Warren, Admiral Peter, 116, 117 +Washington, City of, 199 +Washington, George, 123, 145, 148, 149, 151-158, 162, 164, 168, 170, + 172, 173,178-183, 186, 189, 190, 193-195, 199, 200 +Weehawken, 207 +Westchester, 168 +West India Company, 13-16, 18, 21-23, 25, 32, 42, 46, 53, 67 +West Indies, 14 +West Point, 177 +Whigs, 143 +Willett, Marinus, 147, 148 +Willett, Thomas, 55 +William III., 60, 67, 68, 70, 82 +"William the Testy," 33 +Windmills, 27, 34 +World's Fair, 233 + + +Yellow fever, 216 +York, James, Duke of, 50-54. 55, 60, 61, 64, 65 + + +Zenger, Peter, 108-110 + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Story of Manhattan</p> +<p>Author: Charles Hemstreet</p> +<p>Release Date: October 24, 2004 [eBook #13842]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF MANHATTAN***</p> +<br><br><h3>E-text prepared by Gregory Smith, David Garcia,<br> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</h3><br><br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<a name='The Story of Manhattan'></a><h1><i>The Story of Manhattan</i></h1> +<h2><i>By Charles Hemstreet</i></h2> +<a name='image-01'></a><br /> +<center><img src='images/image-01.jpg' width='300' height='365' alt='' title=''></center><br /> +<h3><i>Charles Scribner's Sons</i></h3> +<h3>1901</h3> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='PREFACE'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2><i>PREFACE</i></h2> +<br /> +<p>Here the history of New York City is told as a story, in few words. The +effort has been to make it accurate and interesting. The illustrations +are largely from old prints and wood engravings. Few dates are used. +Instead, a Table of Events has been added which can readily be referred +to. The Index to Chapters also gives the years in which the story of +each chapter occurs.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='INDEX_to_CHAPTERS'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2><i>INDEX</i> to <i>CHAPTERS</i></h2> +<a href='#LIST_of_ILLUSTRATIONS'><b><i>LIST</i> of <i>ILLUSTRATIONS</i></b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_I'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> I. The Adventures of Henry Hudson.<br /> From 1609 to 1612</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_II'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> II. The First Traders on the Island.<br /> From 1612 to 1625</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_III'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> III. Peter Minuit, First of the Dutch Governors.<br /> From 1626 to 1633</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_IV'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> IV. Walter Van Twiller, Second of the Dutch Governors.<br /> From 1633 to 1637</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_V'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> V. William Kieft and the War with the Indians.<br /> From 1637 to 1647</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_VI'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> VI. Peter Stuyvesant, the Last of the Dutch Governors.<br /> From 1647 to 1664</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_VII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> VII. New York Under the English and the Dutch.<br /> From 1664 to 1674</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_VIII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> VIII. Something About the Bolting Act.<br /> From 1674 to 1688</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_IX'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> IX. The Stirring Times of Jacob Leisler.<br /> From 1688 to 1691</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_X'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> X. The Sad End of Jacob Leisler.<br /> The Year 1691</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XI'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XI. Governor Fletcher and the Privateers.<br /> From 1692 to 1696</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XII. Containing the True Life of Captain Kidd.<br /> From 1696 to 1702</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XIII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XIII. Lord Cornbury makes Himself very Unpopular.<br /> From 1702 to 1708</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XIV'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XIV. Lord Lovelace and Robert Hunter.<br /> From 1708 to 1720</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XV'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XV. Governor Burnet and the French Traders.<br /> From 1720 to 1732</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XVI'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XVI. The Trial of Zenger, the Printer.<br /> From 1732 to 1736</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XVII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XVII. Concerning the Negro Plot.<br /> From 1736 to 1743</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XVIII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XVIII. The Tragic Death of Sir Danvers Osborne.<br /> From 1743 to 1753</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XIX'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XIX. The Beginning of Discontent.<br /> From 1753 to 1763</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XX'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XX. The Story of the Stamp Act.<br /> From 1763 to 1765</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXI'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXI. The Beginning of Revolution.<br /> From 1765 to 1770</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXII. Fighting the Tax on Tea.<br /> From 1770 to 1774</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXIII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXIII. The Sons of Liberty at Turtle Bay.<br /> From 1774 to 1775</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXIV'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXIV. The War of the Revolution.<br /> In the Year 1775</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXV'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXV. A Battle on Long Island.<br /> The Year 1776</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXVI'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXVI. The British Occupy New York.<br /> The Year 1776 (<i>Continued</i>)</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXVII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXVII. The Battle of Harlem Heights.<br /> The Year 1776 (<i>Continued</i>)</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXVIII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXVIII. The British Fail to Sweep Everything Before Them.<br /> From 1776 to 1777</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXIX'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXIX. New York a Prison House.<br /> From 1777 to 1783</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXX'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXX. After the War.<br /> From 1783 to 1788</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXXI'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXXI. The First President of the United States.<br /> The Year 1788</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXXII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXXII. The Welcome to George Washington.<br /> The Year 1789</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXXIII. Concerning the Tammany Society and Burr's Bank.<br /> From 1789 to 1800</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIV'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXXIV. More about Hamilton and Burr.<br /> From 1801 to 1804</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXXV'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXXV. Robert Fulton Builds a Steam-Boat.<br /> From 1805 to 1807</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVI'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXXVI. The City Plan.<br /> From 1807 to 1814</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXXVII. The Story of the Erie Canal.<br /> From 1814 to 1825</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVIII'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXXVIII. The Building of the Croton Aqueduct.<br /> From 1825 to 1845</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIX'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XXXIX. Professor Morse and the Telegraph.<br /> From 1845 to 1878</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XL'><b><i>CHAPTER</i> XL. The Greater New York.<br /> To the Present Time</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#TABLE_of_EVENTS'><b>TABLE <i>of</i> EVENTS</b></a><br /> +<br /> +<a href='#INDEX'><b><i>INDEX</i></b></a><br /> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='LIST_of_ILLUSTRATIONS'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2><i>LIST</i> of <i>ILLUSTRATIONS</i></h2> +<br /> +<a href="#image-01"><b>New Amsterdam, 1650—New York, East Side, 1746</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-02"><b>The Half Moon in the Highlands of the Hudson</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-03"><b>Earliest Picture of Manhattan</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-04"><b>Indians Trading for Furs</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-05"><b>Hall of the States-General of Holland</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-06"><b>Seal of New Netherland</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-07"><b>The Building of the Palisades</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-08"><b>Old House in New York, Built 1668</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-09"><b>Van Twillier's Defiance</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-10"><b>Landing of Dutch Colony on Staten Island</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-11"><b>Governor's Island and the Battery in 1850</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-12"><b>Dutch Costumes</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-13"><b>The Bowling Green in 1840</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-14"><b>Selling Arms to the Indians</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-15"><b>Smoking the Pipe of Peace</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-16"><b>The Old Stadt Huys of New Amsterdam</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-17"><b>Stuyvesant leaving Fort Amsterdam</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-18"><b>Petrus Stuyvesant's Tombstone</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-19"><b>Departure of Nicolls</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-20"><b>The Dutch Ultimatum</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-21"><b>Seal of New York</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-22"><b>New York in 1700</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-23"><b>Sloughter Signing Leisler's Death-warrant</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-24"><b>Bradford's Tombstone</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-25"><b>The Reading of Fletcher's Commission</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-26"><b>Arrest of Captain Kidd</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-27"><b>New City Hall in Wall Street</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-28"><b>Fort George in 1740</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-29"><b>View in Broad Street about 1740</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-30"><b>The Slave-Market</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-31"><b>Fraunces's Tavern</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-32"><b>Dinner at Rip Van Dam's</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-33"><b>The Negroes Sentenced</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-34"><b>Trinity Church, 1760</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-35"><b>Coffee-House opposite Bowling Green, Head-Quarters of the Sons of Liberty</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-36"><b>Ferry-House on East River, 1746</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-37"><b>East River Shore, 1750</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-38"><b>Mrs. Murray's Dinner to British Officers</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-39"><b>Howe's Head-Quarters, Beekman House</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-40"><b>Map of Manhattan Island in 1776</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-41"><b>View from the Bowling Green in the Revolution</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-42"><b>Old Sugar-House in Liberty Street, the Prison-House of the Revolution</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-43"><b>North Side of Wall Street East of William Street</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-44"><b>Celebration of the Adoption of the Constitution</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-45"><b>View of Federal Hall and Part of Broad Street, 1796</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-46"><b>The John Street Theatre, 1781</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-47"><b>Reservoir of Manhattan Water-Works in Chambers Street</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-48"><b>The Collect Pond</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-49"><b>The Grange, Kingsbridge Road, the Residence of Alexander Hamilton</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-50"><b>The Clermont, Fulton's First Steam-Boat</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-51"><b>Castle Garden</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-52"><b>Landing of Lafayette at Castle Garden</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-53"><b>View of Park Row, 1825</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-54"><b>High Bridge, Croton Aqueduct</b></a><br> +<br /> +<a href="#image-55"><b>Crystal Palace</b></a><br> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_I'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> +<h3>THE ADVENTURES <i>of</i> HENRY HUDSON</h3> +<br /> +<img src='images/image-T.jpg' width='100' height='101' align='left' alt='' title=''> +<p>HE long and narrow Island of Manhattan was a wild and beautiful spot in +the year 1609. In this year a little ship sailed up the bay below the +island, took the river to the west, and went on. In these days there +were no tall houses with white walls glistening in the sunlight, no +church-spires, no noisy hum of running trains, no smoke to blot out the +blue sky. None of these things. But in their place were beautiful trees +with spreading branches, stretches of sand-hills, and green patches of +grass. In the branches of the trees there were birds of varied colors, +and wandering through the tangled undergrowth were many wild animals. +The people of the island were men and women whose skins were quite red; +strong and healthy people who clothed themselves in the furs of animals +and made their houses of the trees and vines.</p> +<p>In this year of 1609, these people gathered on the shore of their island +and looked with wonder at the boat, so different from any they had ever +seen, as it was swept before the wind up the river.</p> +<p>The ship was called the Half Moon, and it had come all the way from +Amsterdam, in the Dutch Netherlands. The Netherlands was quite a small +country in the northern part of Europe, not nearly as large as the State +of New York, and was usually called Holland, as Holland was the most +important of its several states. But the Dutch owned other lands than +these. They had islands in the Indian Ocean that were rich in spices of +every sort, and the other European countries needed these spices. These +islands, being quite close to India, were called the East Indies, and +the company of Dutch merchants who did most of the business with them +was called the East India Company. They had many ships, and the Half +Moon was one of them.</p> +<p>It was a long way to the East India Islands from Holland, for in these +days there was no Suez Canal to separate Asia and Africa, and the ships +had to go around Africa by way of the Cape of Good Hope. Besides being a +long distance, it was a dangerous passage; for although from its name +one might take the Cape of Good Hope to be a very pleasant place, the +winds blew there with great force, and the waves rolled so high that +they often dashed the fragile ships to pieces.</p> +<p>So the merchants of Holland, and of other countries for that matter, +were always thinking of a shorter course to the East Indies. They knew +very little of North or South America, and believed that these countries +were simply islands and that it was quite possible that a passage lay +through them which would make a much nearer and a much safer way to the +East Indies than around the dread Cape of Good Hope. So the East India +Company built the ship Half Moon and got an Englishman named Henry +Hudson to take charge of it, and started him off to find the short way. +Hudson was chosen because he had already made two voyages for an +English company, trying to find that same short passage, and was +supposed to know ever so much more about it than anyone else.</p> +<p>When the Half Moon sailed up the river, Hudson was sure that he had +found the passage to the Indies, and he paid very little attention to +the red-skinned Indians on the island shore. But when the ship got as +far as where Albany is now, the water had become shallow, and the +river-banks were so near together that Hudson gave up in despair, and +said that, after all, he had not found the eagerly sought-for passage to +India, but only a river!</p> +<p>Then he turned the ship, sailed back past the island, and returned to +Holland to tell of his discovery. He told of the fur-bearing animals, +and of what a vast fortune could be made if their skins could only be +got to Holland, where furs were needed. He told of the Indians; and the +river which flowed past the island he spoke of as "The River of the +Mountains."</p> +<a name='image-02'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-02.jpg' width='432' height='300' alt='' title='The Half Moon in the Highlands of the Hudson'> +</center><h5>The Half Moon in the Highlands of the Hudson</h5> +<p>The directors of the Dutch East India Company were not particularly +pleased with Hudson's report. They were angry because the short cut to +India had not been found, and they thought very little of the vast +storehouse of furs which he had discovered. Neither did the Company care +a great deal about Hudson, for they soon fell out with him, and he went +back to the English company and made another voyage for them, still in +search of the short passage to India. But in this last voyage, he only +succeeded in finding a great stretch of water far to the north, that can +be seen on any map as Hudson's Bay. His crew after a time grew angry +when he wanted to continue his search. There was a mutiny on the ship, +and Hudson and his son and seven of the sailors who were his friends +were put into a small boat, set adrift in the bay to which he had given +his name, and no trace of them was ever seen again. Long, long years +after that time, another explorer found the passage that Hudson had lost +his life searching for. It is The Northwest Passage, far up toward the +North Pole, in the region of perpetual cold and night. So Hudson never +knew that the passage he had looked for was of no value, and we may be +sure he had never imagined that there would ever be a great city on the +island he had discovered.</p> +<p>The Dutch came to think a great deal of Hudson after he was dead. The +stream which he had called "The River of the Mountains" they named +Hudson's River. They even made believe that Hudson was a +Dutchman—although you will remember he was an Englishman—and were in +the habit of speaking of him as "Hendrick" Hudson.</p> +<p>The Indians were scattered over America in great numbers. The tribe on +the island were called Manhattans, and from that tribe came the name of +the Island of Manhattan. All the Indians, no matter which tribe they +belonged to, looked very much alike and acted very much the same. Their +eyes were dark, and their hair long, straight, and black. When they were +fighting, they daubed their skins with colored muds—war paint the white +men called it—and started out on the "war-path". They loved to hunt and +fish, as well as to fight, and they fought and murdered as cruelly and +with as little thought as they hunted the wild animals or hooked the +fish. They held talks which were called "councils," and one Indian would +speak for hours, while the others listened in silence. And when they +determined upon any action, they carried it out, without a thought of +how many people were to be killed, or whether they were to be killed +themselves.</p> +<a name='image-03'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-03.jpg' width='513' height='300' alt='Earliest Picture of Manhattan' title='Earliest Picture of Manhattan'> +</center><h5>Earliest Picture of Manhattan</h5> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_II'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> +<h3>THE FIRST TRADERS <i>on the</i> ISLAND</h3> +<br /> +<p>For several years after the return of Hudson, Dutch merchants sent their +ships to the Island of Manhattan, and each ship returned to Holland +laden with costly furs which the Indians had traded for glass beads and +strips of gay cloth. The Indians cared a great deal more for glittering +glass and highly colored rags than they did for furs.</p> +<p>One trader above all others whose name should be remembered, was Adrian +Block. He came in a ship called the Tiger. This ship was anchored in the +bay close by what is now called the Battery, and directly in the course +that the ferry-boats take when they go to Staten Island.</p> +<a name='image-04'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-04.jpg' width='352' height='300' alt='Indians Trading for Furs' title=''> +</center><h5>Indians Trading for Furs</h5> +<p>On a cold night in November it took fire and was burned to the water's +edge. Block and those who were with him would all have been burned to +death had they not been strong and hardy men who were able to swim +ashore in the ice-cold water. Even when they reached the shore they were +not safe, for there were no houses or places of shelter; the winter was +coming on, and the woods were filled with wild beasts. But Block and his +men very soon built houses for themselves; rude and clumsy buildings to +look at, but warm and comfortable within. They were the first houses of +white men on the Island of Manhattan. If you wish to see where they +stood, take a walk down Broadway, and just before you reach the Bowling +Green, on a house which is numbered 41, you will find a tablet of brass +which tells that Block's houses stood on that self-same spot.</p> +<p>As soon as the hard winter was over, Block and his men began to build a +new ship, and before another winter had come they had one larger than +the Tiger. It was the first vessel to be built in the new world, and was +called the Restless.</p> +<p>That same year the Dutch merchants decided that they were giving too +many glass beads for the furs, and that if all the merchants combined +into one company they might not have to give so many. So they did +combine, and called themselves the United New Netherland Company. It was +in this way that the name New Netherland first appeared.</p> +<p>When the first ships of the new company reached the island, a house was +built for the use of the fur-traders, just south of where the Bowling +Green Park is. This structure was called Fort Manhattan. It was of +wood, and did not take long to build because the traders did not intend +to live in it a great while. They felt quite sure that all the furs +would be collected in a few years, and that then the island would be +abandoned. No one thought at that time that the little wooden stockade +was the commencement of a great city.</p> +<p>But after a few years it was found that the new country was a much +richer place than had been supposed. Shipload after shipload of otter +and beaver skins were sent across the ocean and still there were otters +and beavers without number. The fur-traders were growing rich, and after +a few years there came a decided change, when a new company was formed +in Holland; a great body of men this time, who had a vast amount of +money to build ships and fit them out. This organization was the West +India Company, and was to battle with Spain by land and by sea (for the +Netherlands was at war with Spain) and was to carry on trade with the +West Indies, just as the East India Company carried on trade with the +East Indies. As the West Indies included every country that could be +reached by sailing west from Holland, you will see that all the Dutch +land in America, which land was called New Netherland, came under the +control of this new company.</p> +<p>The territory called New Netherland was the country along the Atlantic +Ocean which now makes up the States of New Jersey, New York, and +Connecticut. But its limits at this time were uncertain as it extended +inland as far as the Company might care to send their colonists.</p> +<p>Within a few years, the seventy ships sailing under the flag of the West +India Company, fought great battles with the Spaniards, and won almost +every one of them. There were branches of the Company in seven cities of +Holland, and the branch in Amsterdam had charge of New Netherland. So it +will be only of the doings of this branch that we shall read. Colonists +were to be carried to New Netherland from Holland; farms were to be laid +out and cultivated; cities were to be built, and the West India Company +was to have absolute control over all, and was to rule all the people. +To do these things they had authority from the States-General of +Holland, which was the name given to the men who made the laws for that +country. The Company was to make regular reports to the States-General, +and tell of the growth of the colony and the progress of the people in +it. But as the years went on the Company was not as particular as it +should have been about what it told the States-General.</p> +<a name='image-05'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-05.jpg' width='300' height='359' alt='Hall of the States-General of Holland' title=''> +</center><h5>Hall of the States-General of Holland</h5> +<p>It was not until the West India Company took charge of New Netherland +that it was decided to make the settlement on the Island of Manhattan a +city. Up to this time it had been merely a trading station. In order to +build up a city, the Company knew that it would be necessary to send +people in sufficient numbers so that no matter how many were killed by +the Indians the settlement would not be wiped out. Many inducements were +offered, and men with their families soon began to flock to New +Netherland. With the ship that brought the first families was Cornelius +Jacobsen May, who was to live on the Island of Manhattan and look after +affairs for the Company. Rude houses were set up about the fort, and the +first street came into existence. This is now called Pearl Street.</p> +<p>Cornelius Jacobsen May cared for the colony for less than a year, when +his place was taken by William Verhulst. Before the year was out, +Verhulst decided that the new country never would suit him, and he +sailed away to Holland. Then came in his place, in the year 1626, Peter +Minuit, under appointment as the first Dutch Governor of New Netherland.</p> +<a name='image-06'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-06.jpg' width='300' height='305' alt='Seal of New Netherland' title=''> +</center><h5>Seal of New Netherland</h5> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_III'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> +<h3>PETER MINUIT, FIRST <i>of the</i> DUTCH GOVERNORS</h3> +<br /> +<p>Peter Minuit was a large man, of middle age, whose hair was turning +gray, whose eyes were black and dull, and whose manners were quite +coarse.</p> +<p>The West India Company gave to this Governor absolute power over all the +Dutch lands in America. His power was equal to that of a king; much more +than some kings have had. To be sure, in matters of extreme importance +he was supposed to refer to the Company in Holland. But Holland was far +away, farther away than it is in these days of fast steamers and the +telegraph, and the Company had too many other matters to look after to +give much thought to New Netherland.</p> +<p>One of the first acts of Governor Minuit was to buy the Island of +Manhattan from the Indians, giving them in exchange some beads, some +brass ornaments, some bits of glass and some strips of colored cloth; +all of which seemed a rich treasure to the Indians, but were in reality +worth just twenty-four dollars.</p> +<p>As soon as Minuit had bought the island, he organized a government. In +authority next to the Governor was the koopman, who was secretary of the +province, and bookkeeper at the Company's warehouse, and who worked very +hard. Then came the schout-fiscal, who worked still harder, being half +sheriff, half attorney-general, and all customs officer. There was also +a council of five men who looked wise but had very little to say and did +not dare to disagree with the Governor.</p> +<p>Although in buying their land Governor Minuit had made the Indians his +friends, he took care to be prepared in case they should change their +minds and become warlike. He had Kryn Frederick, the Company's engineer, +build a solid fort on the spot where the fur-traders' stockade had +stood. This he called Fort Amsterdam. It was surrounded by cedar +palisades, and was large enough to shelter all the people of the little +colony in case of danger. Inside this fort there was a house for the +Governor, and outside the walls was a warehouse for furs, and a mill +which was run by horse-power, with a large room on the second floor to +be used as a church.</p> +<a name='image-07'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-07.jpg' width='300' height='347' alt='The Building of the Palisades' title=''> +</center><h5>The Building of the Palisades</h5> +<p>When Minuit had become fairly settled in his new colony, he divided the +lower part of the island into farms, which in those days were called +"bouweries." A road which led through these farms was named Bouwerie +Lane, and the same road is to-day known as The Bowery.</p> +<p>Minuit had been Governor four years, and there were 200 persons on the +island, when the Dutch West India Company, deciding that the colony was +not increasing fast enough, made a plan for giving large tracts of land +to any man who would go from Holland and take with him fifty persons to +make their homes in New Netherland. The grants of land, which were +really large farms, stretched away in all directions over the territory +of New Netherland. But no grant was made on the Island of Manhattan, as +the Company reserved that for itself. Each of these farms was called a +manor. The man who brought colonists from Holland was called a patroon. +He was the Lord of the Manor.</p> +<p>He had supreme authority over his colonists, who cleared the land of +the trees, planted seeds, gathered the ripened grain, and raised cattle +which they gave to the Lord of the Manor as rent.</p> +<p>The little town of New Amsterdam was to continue as the seat of +government, and the Lords of the Manors were to act under the direction +of the Governor. The farms established by these patroons were to belong +to them and to their families after them.</p> +<p>The one thing that the patroons were not permitted to do was to collect +the furs of animals, for these were very valuable and the Company +claimed them all.</p> +<p>Before many years had passed there was much trouble with these patroons, +who did a great deal to make themselves rich, and very little for New +Netherland. They traded in furs, notwithstanding they were forbidden to +do so, and did all manner of things they should not have done.</p> +<p>Governor Minuit was himself accused of aiding the patroons to make money +at the expense of the West India Company, and of taking his share of +the profit; and finally, the Company ordered him to return to Holland. +The ship in which he sailed was wrecked on the coast of England, and +Minuit was detained and accused of unlawfully trading in the territory +of the King of England. This was not the first time that the English had +laid claim to the Dutch lands in America. Charles I. was king then, and +he said that England owned New Netherland because an English king, more +than a hundred years before Hudson's time, had sent John Cabot and his +son Sebastian in search of new lands, and they had touched the American +shore.</p> +<p>But the Dutch called attention to the fact that it had been held, time +out of mind, that to own a country one must not only discover it, but +must visit it continually, and even buy it from any persons who should +be settled there. Even if the Cabots had discovered the land in America, +the Dutch had occupied it ever since Hudson's time and had paid the +Indians for it.</p> +<p>Matters were patched up for the time, and Minuit was permitted to +return to Holland. But he was no longer Governor of New Netherland, for +his place had been given to another man whose name was Walter Van +Twiller.</p> +<a name='image-08'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-08.jpg' width='370' height='300' alt='Old House in New York, Built 1668' title=''> +</center><h5>Old House in New York, Built 1668</h5> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_IV'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> +<h3>WALTER VAN TWILLER, SECOND <i>of the</i> DUTCH GOVERNORS</h3> +<br /> +<p>Now this Walter Van Twiller was a relative of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, +one of the patroons. You will see why the West India Company's choice of +him for a Governor was not by any means a wise choice. For he was soon +doing exactly what Minuit had done. The only difference was that +Governor Van Twiller favored Van Rensselaer more than he did the other +patroons.</p> +<p>Van Twiller was a stout, round-bodied man, with a face much the shape of +a full moon. He was a sharp trader, having made two voyages to the +Hudson River in the interest of Van Rensselaer, but he knew nothing of +governing a colony.</p> +<p>The ship that brought the new Governor to the Island of Manhattan, had +also on board a hundred soldiers, and these were the first soldiers +ever sent to the island. There was also on the ship Everardus Bogardus, +the first minister of the colony, as well as Adam Rolandsen, the first +school-master. This school-master had a hard time of it in the new +country, for not being able to make a living by his teaching, he was +forced to do all kinds of other work. He even took in washing for a +time!</p> +<p>By this time negro slaves were being brought to the colony from Africa. +They did the household work, while the colonists cultivated the fields +These slaves did most of the work on a new wooden church which was set +up just outside the fort, for the new minister.</p> +<p>Governor Van Twiller began improving the colony by having three +windmills built, to take the place of the horse-mill. But he had them +placed in such a position that the building in the fort cut off the wind +from their sails, and the mills were almost useless.</p> +<p>The Governor did not neglect his own comfort, for within Fort Amsterdam +he built for himself a fine house of brick—finer than any in the little +settlement—and on one of the bouweries nearest the fort, he erected a +summer-house. On another bouwerie he laid out a tobacco plantation, and +had slaves paid by the Company to look after it.</p> +<a name='image-09'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-09.jpg' width='377' height='300' alt="Van Twiller's Defiance" title=''> +</center><h5>Van Twiller's Defiance</h5> +<p>When Van Twiller had been Governor three years, he gave to one of the +colonists a farm on the western side of the city along the Hudson River. +The colonist died the year after the farm was given him, leaving his +widow, Annetje Jans, to care for the property.</p> +<p>Years after, when Queen Anne ruled in England, and the English had come +into possession of New Netherland, she gave the Annetje Jans farm to +Trinity Church. That was almost two centuries ago. What was once a farm +is now a great business section, crossed and recrossed by streets. +Trinity Church has held it through all the years, and holds it still.</p> +<p>Close upon the time when the Jans farm was given away by Governor Van +Twiller, a sailor of note, who had visited almost every country in the +world, founded a colony on Staten Island. This sailor was Captain David +Pietersen De Vries. Staten Island attracted him because of its beauty. +After the colony was well started, De Vries travelled between New +Netherland and Holland, and he will be met with again in this story.</p> +<a name='image-10'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-10.jpg' width='414' height='300' alt='Landing of Dutch Colony on Staten Island' title=''> +</center><h5>Landing of Dutch Colony on Staten Island</h5> +<p>Although Governor Van Twiller did not do much for the colonists, he was +very careful to look after his own affairs. He bought from the +Indians, for some goods of small value, the little spot now called +Governor's Island; which was then known as Nut Island, because of the +many nut-trees that grew there. There is little doubt but that +Governor's Island was once a part of Long Island. It is separated from +it now by a deep arm of water called Buttermilk Channel. The channel was +so narrow and so shallow in Van Twiller's time that the cattle could +wade across it. It was given its name more than a hundred years ago, +from boats which drew very little water, and were the only craft able to +get through the channel, and which took buttermilk from Long Island to +the markets of New York.</p> +<a name='image-11'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-11.jpg' width='426' height='300' alt="Governor's Island and the Battery in 1850" title=''> +</center><h5>Governor's Island and the Battery in 1850</h5> +<p>Van Twiller bought the islands now known as Randall's and Ward's +Islands, and these, with some others, made him the richest landholder in +the colony. On his islands he raised cattle, and on his farm tobacco.</p> +<p>Many of the colonists did not take kindly to Governor Van Twiller's +methods, and among them was Van Dincklagen, the schout-fiscal. He told +the Governor that it was very evident that he was putting forth every +effort to enrich himself at the expense of everybody else, just as +Minuit had done. The Governor became very angry. He told the +schout-fiscal not to expect any more salary, that it would be stopped +from that minute. This did not worry the schout-fiscal much, as he had +not been paid his salary in three years! But Van Twiller did not stop +there. He sent the schout-fiscal as a prisoner to Holland, which was a +foolish thing for him to do. For the prisoner pleaded his own cause to +such good effect that before the end of the year 1637, Van Twiller was +recalled to Holland, after he had governed New Netherland for four +years, very much to his own interest, and very much against the interest +of the West India Company and everybody else.</p> +<a name='image-12'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-12.jpg' width='387' height='300' alt='Dutch Costumes' title=''> +</center><h5>Dutch Costumes</h5> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_V'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> +<h3>WILLIAM KIEFT <i>and the</i> WAR <i>with the</i> INDIANS</h3> +<br /> +<p>A dreary winter came and went, and just as the first signs of spring +showed in the fields that closed about the fort, a ship sailed up the +bay, bringing a stranger to the province.</p> +<p>This was William Kieft, the new Governor of New Netherland.</p> +<p>He was a blustering man, who became very angry when anyone disagreed +with him, and who very soon was known as "William the Testy." He made no +effort to make the Indians his friends, and the result was that much of +his rule of ten years was a term of bloody warfare.</p> +<p>The affairs of the Company had been sadly neglected by Governor Van +Twiller, and Governor Kieft, in a nervous, testy, energetic fashion set +about remedying them. The fort was almost in ruins from neglect. The +church was in little better condition. The mills were so out of repair +that even if the wind could have reached them they could not have been +made to do their work properly. There were smugglers who carried away +furs without even a thought of the koopman, who was waiting to record +the duties which should have been paid on them. There were those who +defied all law and order, and sold guns and powder and liquor to the +Indians, regardless of the fact that the penalty for doing so was death. +For guns and liquor had been found to be dangerous things to put in +savage hands.</p> +<p>Governor Kieft rebuilt the houses, put down all smugglers, and set +matters in New Amsterdam in good working order generally. The patroon +system of peopling the colony had proven a total failure. So, soon after +Kieft came, the West India Company decided on another plan. They +furnished free passage to anyone who promised to cultivate land in the +new country. In this way there would be no patroons to act as masters. +Each man would own his land, and could come and go as he saw fit. This +brought many colonists.</p> +<a name='image-13'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-13.jpg' width='354' height='300' alt='The Bowling Green in 1840' title=''> +</center><h5>The Bowling Green in 1840</h5> +<p>At this time there were really only two well-defined roads on the Island +of Manhattan. One stretched up through the island and led to the +outlying farms and afterward became The Bowery; the second led along the +water-side, and is to-day Pearl Street. Bowling Green, although it was +not called Bowling Green then, was the open space in front of the fort +where the people gathered on holidays. In the fourth year of Governor +Kieft's rule, he conceived the idea of holding fairs in this open space, +where fine cows and fat pigs could be exhibited. These fairs attracted +so many visitors from distant parts of the colony, that the Governor had +a large stone house built, with a roof running up steep to a peak, in +regular, step-like form. This was called a tavern, and could accommodate +all the visitors. In after years it became the first City Hall.</p> +<p>If you wish to stand where this building was, you must go to the head of +Coenties Slip, in Pearl Street. On the building which is there now you +will see a bronze tablet which tells all about the old Stadt Huys.</p> +<p>The church that Walter Van Twiller had built was little better than a +barn. The minister wanted a new one. So did his congregation. Governor +Kieft decided that there should be one of stone, and that it should be +built inside the fort. There was a question as how to secure the money +to build it. Kieft gave a small amount, as did other colonists, but +there was not enough. Fortunately, just at this time, a daughter of +Bogardus, the minister, was married. At the wedding, when the guests +were in good humor, a subscription-list was handed out. The guests tried +to outdo one another in subscribing money for the new church. Next day +some of the subscribers were sorry they had agreed to give so much, but +the Governor accepted no excuses and insisted on the money. It was +collected, and the church was built. Close upon this time Kieft decided +that he needed money for other work, and he told the Indians of the +province that he expected something from them. Of course the Indians had +no such money as we have in these days. They used instead beads, very +handsome and made from clam-shells. These beads were arranged on +strings. There were black ones and white ones, and the black were worth +twice as much as the white. The Indians did not see why they should give +money to the Governor. Kieft explained that it was to pay for the +protection given to them by the Dutch. Then the Indians understood less +than ever, for the Dutch had never done anything for them except to +give them as little as they could for their valuable furs. The Indians +hated Kieft, and this act of his made their hatred more bitter. A +war-cloud was gathering. The Indians were well prepared for war, for +they had been supplied with guns, with bullets, and with powder by those +greedy Dutchmen, the smugglers, who thought more of their personal +gains than of the safety of the colonists.</p> +<a name='image-14'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-14.jpg' width='380' height='300' alt='Selling Arms to the Indians' title=''> +</center><h5>Selling Arms to the Indians</h5> +<p>Over on Staten Island about this time, an Indian stole several hogs from +a colonist. Kieft's soldiers found the tribe to which the Indian +belonged, and in revenge killed ten Indian warriors. After this the +war-cloud grew darker.</p> +<p>Kieft was anxious that there should be war. But there were many of the +colonists who did all in their power to prevent it. The men who wanted +peace were headed by that able sailor, Captain David Pietersen De Vries, +who had founded a colony on Staten Island. A council of twelve men was +formed to decide whether there should be peace or war. This council +declared that there should be no war. They then began to look into +public affairs, for they thought it all wrong that Kieft should have the +only voice in the management. The Governor regretted having called +together the twelve men. But he soon got rid of them, and to show that +he was still absolute ruler, he decided to make war upon the Indians. +Then the war-cloud broke.</p> +<p>Those Indians who lived nearest New Amsterdam were fighting with another +tribe called the Mohawks. The nearby Indians thought that since Kieft +had been paid to protect them, he should do so now. So they gathered, +some on the Island of Manhattan, and some on the nearby shore of New +Jersey. But instead of protecting them, Kieft sent his soldiers against +these friendly Indians, and in the night killed them as they slept. The +soldiers came so suddenly upon the Indians, sleeping peacefully on the +Jersey shore, and slew them so quickly in the darkness, that the Indians +believed they had been attacked by the unfriendly tribe. One Indian, +with his squaw, made his way to the fort. He was met at the gate by De +Vries. "Save us," he cried, "the Mohawks have fallen upon us, and have +killed all our people." But De Vries answered, sadly, "No Indian has +done this. It is the Dutch who have killed your people." And he pointed +toward the deep woods close by. "Go there for safety, but do not come +here."</p> +<p>This was not war. It was murder. A cruel, treacherous act, which the +greater number of colonists condemned and the record of which is a dark +stain on the memory of William Kieft.</p> +<p>After this, all the Indians within the border of New Netherland +combined. Colonists were shot as they worked in the fields. Cattle were +driven away. Houses were robbed and burned. Women and children were +dragged into captivity. The war raged fiercely for three years. By this +time Indians and colonists were worn out. Then the war ended. But +scarcely a hundred men were left on the Island of Manhattan. The country +was a waste.</p> +<p>A strong fence had been built across the island, to keep what cattle +remained within bounds. This fence marked the extreme limit of the +settlement of New Amsterdam. The fence in time gave place to a wall, and +when in still later years the wall was demolished and a street laid out +where it had been, the thoroughfare was called Wall Street, and remains +so to this day.</p> +<p>While the entire province was in a very bad way, and the people +suffering on every side, Governor Kieft sent to the West India Company +in Holland <i>his</i> version of the war. He showed himself to be all in the +right, and proved, to his own satisfaction, that the province was in a +fairly good condition; though during all the years he had been Governor +he had not once left the settlement on the Island of Manhattan to look +after other parts.</p> +<p>Certain of the colonists also sent a report to Holland. Theirs being +much nearer the truth, carried such weight with it, that the West India +Company decided on the immediate recall of Governor Kieft, who had done +so much injury to the colony, and had shown himself to be utterly +incapable of governing.</p> +<p>Kieft returned to Holland in a ship that was packed from stem to stern +with the finest of furs. The ship was wrecked at sea. Kieft was drowned, +and the furs were lost.</p> +<p>In the same ship was Everardus Bogardus (the minister who had married +Annetje Jans), who was on his way to Holland on a mission relating to +his church. The people of New Amsterdam mourned for their minister, but +there was little sorrow felt for the Governor who had plunged the colony +in war by his obstinate and cruel temper.</p> +<a name='image-15'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-15.jpg' width='352' height='300' alt='Smoking the Pipe of Peace' title=''> +</center><h5>Smoking the Pipe of Peace</h5> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_VI'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> +<h3>PETER STUYVESANT, <i>the</i> LAST <i>of the</i> DUTCH GOVERNORS</h3> +<br /> +<p>It was a gay day for the little colony of New Amsterdam, that May +morning in the year 1647, when a one-legged man landed at the lower part +of the island, and stumped his way up the path that led to the fort. Not +only everyone that lived in the town gathered there, but everyone on the +island, and many from more distant parts. There were Indians, too, who +walked sedately, their quiet serenity in strange contrast to the +colonists, who yelled and shouted for joy, and clapped their hands at +every salute from the guns. And when the fort was reached (it was only a +few steps from the river-bank) the man with the wooden leg turned to +those who followed him. The guns were silent, and the people stood +still.</p> +<p>"I shall govern you," said he, "as a father does his children."</p> +<p>Then there were more shouts, and more booming of cannon, and the name of +Peter Stuyvesant was on every tongue. For the man with a wooden leg was +Peter Stuyvesant, the new Governor appointed by the West India Company, +and not one of those who shouted that day had an idea that he was to be +the last of the Dutch governors.</p> +<p>Stuyvesant had long been in the employ of the West India Company, and +his leg had been shot off in a battle while he was in their service.</p> +<p>He was a stern man, with a bad temper, and seemed to have made it a +point in life never to yield to anyone in anything. He ruled in the way +he thought best, and he let it always be understood that he did not care +much for the advice of others. He did what he could for the people to +make their life as happy as possible. Of course he had orders from the +West India Company that he was bound to obey, and these orders did not +always please the people. But his rule was just, and he was the most +satisfactory of all the Dutch governors.</p> +<p>Stuyvesant's first work was to put the city in better condition. He did +this by having the vacant lots about the fort either built upon or +cleared. The hog-pens which had been in front of the houses were taken +away. All the fences were put in repair, and where weeds had grown rank, +they were replaced by pretty gardens. These, and a great many other +things he did, until the town took on quite a new air.</p> +<p>Up to this time the people had been ruled by governors who did all +things just as they saw fit. They became tired of this, and complained +so much that the Company in Holland decided to make a change. So after +Stuyvesant had been Governor for a while, some other officers were +appointed to help him. There was one officer called a schout, very much +the same as a mayor is in these days. Two others were called +burgomasters, and five others were called schepens. The burgomasters and +the schepens presided over the trials, in the stone tavern which +Governor Kieft had built at Coenties Slip, and which had now become the +Stadt Huys or City Hall.</p> +<a name='image-16'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-16.jpg' width='300' height='382' alt='The Old Stadt Huys of New Amsterdam' title=''> +</center><h5>The Old Stadt Huys of New Amsterdam</h5> +<p>With the appointment of these officers, New Amsterdam became a city. +But as Governor Stuyvesant named the officers and as he plainly told +them that they must not interfere with his orders, and as he still had +his own way, regardless of what the officers said and did, the colony +was little different as a city from what it had been before.</p> +<p>In the fall of this year, 1652, war was declared between England and +Holland. Stuyvesant, fearing that the English in New England, which was +on the borders of New Netherland, would attack the city, set about +fortifying it. The fence that Governor Kieft had built so that the +cattle could not wander away was changed into a wall that extended from +river to river. The fort was repaired, and a strong body of citizens +mounted guard by day and by night. Everything was prepared for an +attack. But the enemy did not come after all.</p> +<p>Matters went along quietly enough for three years, until some Swedes on +the Delaware River began to build houses on Dutch lands. Then +Stuyvesant, with 160 men, in seven ships, sailed around to the Delaware +River, and conquered the Swedes.</p> +<p>It was quite ten years since the Indian war, and Stuyvesant, by his +kindness, had made friends of the savages, and had come to be called +their "great friend," But soon after he left to make war on the Swedes, +one of the colonists killed an Indian. In a few days there was an +uprising of Indian tribes. In New Jersey and on Staten Island they +murdered colonists, burned houses, and laid farms waste. Stuyvesant +hurriedly returned. He made peace with the Indians, treating them +kindly, as though there had never been any trouble. He gave them +presents, and used such gentle measures that the war which had +threatened to be so serious ended abruptly.</p> +<p>In the calmer days that followed, attention was given to improvements in +the city. By this time there were a thousand persons on the island. +Streets were nicely laid out, and the city of New Amsterdam grew, day by +day. It was a tiny place still, however, for it all lay below the +present Wall Street. Some distance beyond the city wall was a fenced-in +pasture for cattle, which was later to become The Common, and still +later City Hall Park. Farther on there was a wide lake, so deep that it +was thought to be bottomless. On its banks were a vast heap of +oyster-shells, where an Indian village had been. This place was called +Kalch-hook, or Shell-point. Afterward it was shortened to The Kalch, and +in time was called The Collect. The lake was called Collect Lake. There +is no trace of it to-day, for it was filled in, and the Tombs Prison now +stands upon the spot.</p> +<p>The entire province was in a flourishing condition, but danger was near. +The English had long looked with covetous eye upon the possessions of +the Dutch in America. The English, it must be remembered, claimed not +only New Netherland, but a great part of the American continent, on the +plea that the Cabots had discovered it.</p> +<p>After all this long time, when the Cabots had been forgotten by most +persons, in the year 1664, Charles II. decided that the English claim +was just, and gave New Netherland to his brother James, Duke of York. +The Duke of York at once sent four ships filled with soldiers to take +possession of his property.</p> +<a name='image-17'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-17.jpg' width='486' height='300' alt='Stuyvesant Leaving Fort Amsterdam' title=''> +</center><h5>Stuyvesant Leaving Fort Amsterdam</h5> +<p>When the English war-ships sailed up the bay, the town was +ill-protected, and the people had no desire to resist, for Stuyvesant +and the West India Company had been most strict, and they hoped to be +more free under English rule. Stuyvesant, with scarcely a supporter, +stood firm and unyielding. He had no thought of submitting to superior +force. "I would rather be carried out dead," he exclaimed. But when at +length he realized that he was absolutely alone, and that there were no +means of defence for the city, he surrendered.</p> +<p>On this same morning of September 8, 1664, Stuyvesant, with his head +bowed sadly, marched at the head of his soldiers out of Fort Amsterdam, +with flags flying and drums beating. And the English soldiers, who had +landed, and were waiting a little way off, entered the fort with <i>their</i> +flags flying and <i>their</i> drums beating.</p> +<p>So the city of New Amsterdam became the city of New York, and the +province of New Netherland became the province of New York, and Fort +Amsterdam became Fort James—all this in honor of James, Duke of York, +who now came into possession.</p> +<p>Stuyvesant went to Holland to explain why he had surrendered New +Netherland. But he came back again, and years after he died in the +little Bouwerie Village which he had built. In St. Mark's Church to this +day may be seen a tablet which tells that the body of the last Dutch +Governor lies buried there.</p> +<a name='image-18'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-18.jpg' width='406' height='300' alt='' title=''> +</center> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_VII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> +<h3>NEW YORK <i>under the</i> ENGLISH <i>and the</i> DUTCH</h3> +<br /> +<p>So now the conquered province had come into the possession of the Duke +of York, and Colonel Richard Nicolls, who was in command of the English +soldiers, took charge. This first English Governor appeared anxious to +make all the people his friends. He made Thomas Willett Mayor, and +Willett being very popular, all the citizens rejoiced, and said the new +Governor was a fine man. During three years Colonel Nicolls humored the +people so much that they were well satisfied. At the end of that time he +had grown tired of the new country, and asked to be relieved. The people +were really sorry when he returned to England and Francis Lovelace took +his place.</p> +<p>Governor Lovelace did not get along so well. He was a man of harsh +manner, who did not have the patience or the inclination to flatter with +fine promises. Lovelace wanted everyone to understand that he was +master. Very soon, when the people said they thought they should have +the right to control their own affairs, the Governor told them that he +did not think it was best for them to have too much to do with the +governing of the city. But he did some things that pleased the people. +For one thing, he brought about the custom of having merchants meet +once a week at a bridge which crossed Broad Street at the present +Exchange Place. There is no bridge there now, but in those days it was +necessary, for Broad Street was a ditch which extended from the river +almost to Wall Street. But though the ditch has been filled up, and the +bridge is gone, the locality has ever since been one where merchants +have gathered.</p> +<a name='image-19'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-19.jpg' width='407' height='300' alt='Departure of Nicolls' title=''> +</center><h5>Departure of Nicolls</h5> +<p>The Governor also had a messenger make regular trips to Boston with +letters, which was the first mail route from the city. Matters were +going along nicely when trouble arose between England and Holland again. +Then the Dutch decided that it would be a good time to get back their +lost province of New Netherland. The English in New York heard of this, +and made all sorts of warlike preparations. But the Dutch were so long +in coming that the preparations for war were given up. Finally the Dutch +ships did arrive unexpectedly, sailing up the bay one morning in the +month of July, in the year 1673. Governor Lovelace was in a distant +part of the colony, and the city had been left under the care of Captain +John Manning.</p> +<p>Manning was in despair. He knew full well that there was no hope of +defending the city successfully. He sent a messenger dashing off to the +Governor, and he sent another to the Dutch ships to ask what they were +doing in the bay, just as though he did not know. The Dutch sent word +back that the city must be surrendered to them that same day. And to +show they meant what was said, the Dutch admiral despatched one of his +captains, Anthony Colve by name, who landed with 600 men. The Dutch +captain agreed that if the English left the fort without a show of +resistance, they could do so with the honors of war and without +interference. Then he and his soldiers tramped down the road that is now +Broadway. The English marched out of the fort, and the Dutch marched in; +just as nine years before the Dutch had marched out and the English had +marched in.</p> +<p>When the King in England heard that New York had been so easily +captured, all the blame was placed on Captain Manning, and after a time +you will see what became of him.</p> +<a name='image-20'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-20.jpg' width='355' height='300' alt='The Dutch Ultimatum' title=''> +</center><h5>The Dutch Ultimatum</h5> +<p>Captain Colve took charge of the reconquered province. He began +industriously to undo all that the English had done. The province was +again named New Netherland. The city was called New Orange, in honor of +the Prince of Orange—a prince of Holland, who in a few years was to +marry a daughter of the Duke of York, and who in a few more years was to +be King of England under the title of William III.</p> +<p>Captain Colve put the fort in good condition, repaired the city wall, +made a soldier of every man and drilled them every day. He had the city +gates locked at night, and put a guard at them to see that no one came +in or passed out.</p> +<p>In less than a year, when the city was in shape to be defended, the +English and the Dutch made up their quarrel. The province of New +Netherland was returned to the English, and became again the province of +New York, and the Dutch soldiers left the Island of Manhattan, never +again to return to it in warlike array.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_VIII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> +<h3>SOMETHING <i>about the</i> BOLTING ACT</h3> +<br /> +<p>Edmund Andros was sent to govern New York for the Duke of York. The +people complained a good deal because he acted as though he were a king +with absolute power. They asked that they have some voice in the +direction of their affairs. They got up a petition and sent it to the +Duke in England.</p> +<p>"What do the people want?" said the Duke. "If they are not satisfied, +they can always appeal to me." He did not see that they had just +appealed to him, and in vain.</p> +<p>Captain Manning, who had been in charge of the province when the Dutch +recaptured it, came again to New York with Andros. Many who had lost +their property by the coming of the Dutch, complained bitterly to +Andros. So the Governor, and his council, and the officers of the city +held many conferences, with the result that Captain Manning was +arrested. He was found guilty of cowardice, and his sword was broken in +front of the Stadt Huys in the presence of the citizens, and he was +declared, on the good authority of King Charles II., unfit ever again to +hold public office.</p> +<p>Although disgraced, Captain Manning did not seem to care much. He owned +a beautiful wooded island in the East River, to which he now retired. He +was wealthy, and there he lived and entertained royally during the +remainder of his life.</p> +<p>Andros did many things for the general good. When he had been Governor +four years, and when the most important product of trade was flour, a +law was made by which no one was permitted to make flour outside of the +city. This was called the Bolting Act. Flour cannot be made unless it is +"bolted"—or has the bran taken from it—and so the act came by its +name. The right to grind all the grain into flour may not now seem very +important, but it really was, for it brought all the trade to the city. +So you see the Bolting Act was a very good thing for the city, and very +bad for the people who did not live in the city. The city folks became +very prosperous indeed, but the others, because they could not make or +sell flour, became poorer day by day.</p> +<p>This went on for sixteen years, and then the law came to an end. But by +that time all the business of the entire province had centred in the +city so firmly that it could not be drawn away.</p> +<a name='image-21'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-21.jpg' width='300' height='300' alt='' title=''> +</center> +<p>So, after this, when you look at a picture of the Seal of New York, and +see a windmill and two barrels of flour, you will remember that the +windmill sails worked the mill, and the barrels were filled with flour +which laid the foundation of the city's fortunes; and were put on the +seal so that this fact would always be remembered. The beavers on the +seal suggest the early days when the trade in beaver skins made a city +possible. At one time there was a crown on the seal—a king's +crown—but that gave way to an eagle when the English King no longer +had a claim on New York.</p> +<p>Now that the province was prosperous, one would think that the people +would have been quite happy. But they were not. They did not like +Governor Andros because they thought that he taxed them too heavily, and +they sent so many petitions to the Duke of York that, in 1681, Andros +was recalled, and Colonel Thomas Dongan was appointed the new Governor. +A few years later, when the Duke of York became King James II., he +remembered how carefully Andros had carried out his orders, and +appointed him Governor of New England; where he conducted matters so +much to the satisfaction of his King that he earned the title of "The +Tyrant of New England."</p> +<p>When Governor Dongan reached the city and announced that the Duke had +instructed him to let the people have something to say as to how they +should be governed, he was joyfully received. It really seemed now that +everything was going to be satisfactory. But there came a sudden check. +Two years after Dongan became Governor, the Duke of York was made King +of England. He thereupon ordered Dongan to make all the laws himself, +without regard to what the people did or did not want. The power to make +the laws was a great power, but Governor Dongan was a fair and just man +and did not abuse it. The year after this he granted a charter to the +city, known ever since as the Dongan Charter, which was so just that it +is still the base on which the rights of citizens rest.</p> +<p>But while Dongan was popular with the King's subjects, he became +unpopular with the King. This was because he stood in the way of the +plans of his royal master whenever those plans interfered with the good +of the people. He must have known what the result would be. Whether he +knew it or not, it came in the year 1688. The King joined the colony of +New England and the colony of New York, and called this united territory +New England. Dongan then ceased to be Governor, having ruled the +province well.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_IX'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> +<h3>THE STIRRING TIMES <i>of</i> JACOB LEISLER</h3> +<br /> +<p>Sir Edmund Andros, who, you will remember, had been appointed Governor +of New England, had been knighted for obeying the King's commands. He +now became Governor of the united provinces. He made his home in Boston, +and left the care of New York to his deputy, Francis Nicholson. In this +year a son was born to the English King, and the people rejoiced. But +these were stormy times in England, for King James II. was a tyrant who +ordered a great many of his subjects killed when they refused to believe +in what he believed. And the people, grown weary and heartsick, +overthrew King James and put William III. on the throne. So the sights +and sounds of rejoicing over the birth of a prince were scarcely over, +when the news came that James was no longer King, and New York was soon +in a state of confusion.</p> +<p>In what had been New England before the provinces were united, the +people hated Andros. They arrested him. And as they had never been in +favor of uniting New England and New York, they restored their old +officers and disunited the two provinces, Andros was sent a prisoner to +England to give an account of his doings to King William, and New York +was left without a Governor. The men who had served under King James +insisted that they remain in charge of the province until King William +sent new officers to replace them. But most of them wanted to have all +who had had anything to do with King James put out of office at once. So +those who wanted this change took charge of the city, and chose as their +leader a citizen named Jacob Leisler. More than twenty years before, +this Jacob Leisler had come from Holland as a soldier of the West India +Company. He had left the service and had become a wealthy merchant. He +had a rude manner, and but little education. He looked upon as an enemy, +and as an enemy of King William, every man who did not think as he did.</p> +<p>The mass of the people now gathered around Leisler and became known as +the Leislerian party. They selected a number of citizens, calling them +the Committee of Safety, and the committee gave Leisler power to see +that peace was preserved. Those who were opposed to Leisler, but who, +just as strongly as he, favored King William, were called the +anti-Leislerian party. These last were headed by Francis Nicholson, who +had watched over the colony for Governor Andros. Nicholson finding that +he had few followers, sailed for England.</p> +<p>Leisler had the fortifications repaired, and a battery of guns set up +outside the fort. This is the battery which gave to the present locality +its name, though all signs of guns have disappeared.</p> +<p>Leisler had an adviser in Jacob Milborne, his son-in-law, who wrote his +letters, and counselled him in every way.</p> +<p>In December came a messenger from King William, with a commission for +whoever was in charge of the city, to act until further orders. Leisler +obtained possession of the commission. He became bolder after this, and +showed such a disposition to do just as he pleased, that he made enemies +of a great many of his friends. Advised by Milborne, he made laws, and +imprisoned all those who refused to obey them or to recognize his +authority. Day by day those who were opposed to Leisler and Milborne +grew in numbers. Street riots occurred, and several persons were +injured. Leisler's life was threatened, and he went about attended by a +guard of soldiers. Finally Nicholas Bayard, who had been Mayor, and who +was looked upon as leader of the anti-Leislerian party, was put in +prison with some others. Bayard would doubtless have been executed had +he not written an humble letter to Leisler saying that he had been in +the wrong and Leisler in the right. But he wrote to save his life, not +that he really believed himself to be in the wrong. He did save his +life, but he was kept in jail.</p> +<p>Leisler's enemies continued active. They had a powerful friend in +Francis Nicholson, who had reached England and had been received with +favor there. He hated Leisler, and denounced him as a traitor before +King William.</p> +<p>Leisler, after he had taken charge of the province, wrote to the King, +but his letter was written in imperfect English and was not understood. +Matters were in a bad state, and were daily becoming worse, when the +King appointed Henry Sloughter Governor of New York.</p> +<a name='image-22'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-22.jpg' width='648' height='300' alt='New York in 1700' title=''> +</center><h5>New York in 1700</h5> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_X'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER X</h2> +<h3>THE SAD END <i>of</i> JACOB LEISLER</h3> +<br /> +<p>This Henry Sloughter was not a good choice. He was a worthless man, who +had travelled a great deal, and had spent other people's money whenever +he could get it. Now, when he could find no one in England to supply him +with money, he took the post of Governor of New York, and his only +thought was how much money he could wring from the people. The enemies +of Leisler rejoiced at his coming, for they knew that it meant the +downfall of Leisler.</p> +<p>Sloughter sailed for New York with a body of soldiers, but his ship was +tossed about by the sea, and carried far out of its course, so that the +ship of his assistant, Major Richard Ingoldsby, arrived first. But +Leisler refused to give up command until Sloughter came. This was three +months later, and during that time Ingoldsby and his soldiers did all +they could to harass Leisler, who held possession of the little fort, +and refused to give it up until he saw the King's order.</p> +<p>When Sloughter arrived, members of the party opposed to Leisler hurried +on board the vessel, and escorted him to the City Hall, where at +midnight he took the oath of office.</p> +<p>Within a few days Governor Sloughter and his friends met in the City +Hall, where the council of the new Governor was sworn in—a council +every member of which was an enemy of Leisler. Then Leisler was +arrested, with his son-in-law, Milborne, and both were condemned to +death as rebels. But the Governor was afraid of displeasing the King by +putting Leisler to death, for, after all, Leisler was the man who had +been the first to recognize the authority of King William in New York. +He refused to sign the death-warrant. But the enemies of Leisler were +not content. Nicholas Bayard, who had become more than ever bitter +because he had been kept for thirteen months in prison, was anxious for +revenge. The council urged the Governor to carry out the sentence, and +he finally signed the death-warrant. Two days later Leisler and Milborne +were led to execution. The scaffold had been erected in Leisler's own +garden, close by where the post-office is now. The people thronged about +it, standing in the cold, drizzling rain. They wept, for many of them +had been on the side of Leisler.</p> +<a name='image-23'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-23.jpg' width='300' height='413' alt="Sloughter Signing Leisler's Death-warrant" title=''> +</center><h5>Sloughter Signing Leisler's Death-warrant</h5> +<p>Leisler ascended the scaffold with firm step, and looked at the people +he had tried to serve.</p> +<p>"What I have done has been for the good of my country," he said, sadly. +"I forgive my enemies, as I hope to be forgiven."</p> +<p>And so he died; believing that he had done his duty.</p> +<p>Milborne was full of hate for those who caused his death. Close by the +scaffold stood Robert Livingston, a citizen who had always been strongly +opposed to Leisler. To this man Milborne pointed, and fiercely cried:</p> +<p>"You have caused my death. For this I will impeach you before the Bar of +God." And so he died.</p> +<p>The bodies of both men were interred close by the scaffold.</p> +<p>Four years later the English Parliament declared that Leisler had acted +under the King's command, and had therefore been in the right, after +all. So tardy justice was done to Leisler's memory.</p> +<p>After the death of Leisler, there was an end of open revolt, and affairs +were reasonably quiet, although it was many a long year before the +rancor of the late struggle and the bitter hatred of the friends and +enemies of Leisler died out.</p> +<p>Order was restored, and attention was turned to public improvement. New +streets were laid out, and markets were built. In front of the City +Hall, by the water-side of Coenties Slip, there were set up a +whipping-post, a cage, a pillory, and a ducking-block; which were to +serve as warnings to evil-doers, and to be used in case the warning was +not effective.</p> +<p>But Sloughter did not live to see these improvements completed. A few +months after his arrival he died suddenly, so suddenly that there was a +suggestion that he had been poisoned by some friend of Leisler. But it +was proven that his death was a natural one, and his body was placed in +a vault next to that of Peter Stuyvesant, in the Bouwerie Village +church-yard.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XI'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> +<h3>GOVERNOR FLETCHER <i>and the</i> PRIVATEERS</h3> +<br /> +<p>When Benjamin Fletcher became the next Governor of New York, in the +month of August, 1692, the people gave a great public dinner in his +honor, and there were expressions of deep joy that so wise and good and +pious a man had been sent to rule over them.</p> +<p>But Governor Fletcher soon came to be disliked. He tried by every means +to enrich himself at the public expense. More than that, he wished to +make the Church of England the only church of the province, and to have +the English language the only language spoken. All of which the people +did not like, for the majority of them still spoke the Dutch language +and attended the Dutch church.</p> +<p>Governor Fletcher had great trouble in getting the Assembly (the body +of men who helped him to govern the province) to agree with him, but he +finally won them over in the matter of the Church of England. One of the +churches built at this time was Trinity Church. It was a quaint, square +building, with a tall spire—not the Trinity Church of this day, +although it stood on the same spot.</p> +<a name='image-24'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-24.jpg' width='300' height='358' alt="Bradford's Tombstone" title=''> +</center><h5>Bradford's Tombstone</h5> +<p>In the year after Fletcher came, the first printing-press was set up in +the city by William Bradford, who came from Philadelphia for that +purpose. He became the public printer, and afterward issued the first +newspaper. He did a great deal for the general good, and when he died he +was buried in Trinity Church-yard. Even now you can see the stone that +marks his grave, close by the side-entrance of the present church.</p> +<p>During much of the time that Fletcher governed, the French in Canada +were continually threatening to fight with the English in New York. +There were fierce and bloody conflicts on the border, but no enemy +reached the city. There was also another danger that grew stronger day +by day. It came about as the result of privateering.</p> +<p>A privateer was a vessel which under commission from one country, +carried on war with the ships of other countries. The captains were +called privateers, as were the ships. These privateers were so +successful that they grew bold, and instead of attacking only the ships +of enemies of their country, they threw away their commissions and +attacked ships of all countries for their private gain. Then they were +called pirates. They became robbers and murderers, for they murdered as +well as robbed. These pirates bore down upon the ships of all nations, +carried off their cargoes, then sunk the vessels without knowing or +caring how many were on board, that none might escape to tell the tale.</p> +<p>Nowhere were the pirates more daring than near the American coast. The +vessels of New York merchants were burned within sight of shore, and the +pirates were even bold enough to enter the harbor and seize the ships as +they lay at anchor.</p> +<p>The officials of the province made no apparent effort to suppress these +pirates. It was thought then, and has since been believed, that they +assisted them, and were well paid for such help. Governor Fletcher +himself was suspected of sharing in the pirate booty. Merchants who +feared to carry on regular trade, as their ships were almost sure to be +seized, came, after a time, to lend their aid also to the pirates, by +buying their cargoes.</p> +<a name='image-25'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-25.jpg' width='314' height='300' alt="The Reading of Fletcher's Commission" title=''> +</center><h5>The Reading of Fletcher's Commission</h5> +<p>Finally, very few ships dared to cross the ocean. Then the English +Government became alarmed. A new Governor was searched for—a man strong +enough to resist the bribery of pirate crews, and able to drive them off +the seas. And just such a man was found.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> +<h3>CONTAINING <i>the</i> TRUE LIFE <i>of</i> CAPTAIN KIDD</h3> +<br /> +<p>In England there lived a man who had been a great friend of King +William; who had been his friend even before he had become King. This +man was Lord Bellomont. It was he who was chosen Governor in the year +1696. But it was two years after this that he reached New York. During +these two years he worked hard in the interests of the province. He knew +all about the pirates, and knew that it would take a strong force to +subdue them. He called upon the English Government to fit out men for +this purpose. But the Government had neither men, nor ships, nor guns to +spare.</p> +<p>So Lord Bellomont decided to raise a private armed force. He got +together a company, of which the King was a member, and they fitted out +a strong and fast-sailing vessel called the Adventure Galley. Lord +Bellomont looked about for a good captain. At last he thought he had +found just the man in Captain William Kidd. Captain Kidd just at this +time happened to be in London, where he was well known, and well liked. +His home was in New York, where his wife and daughter lived in a fine +house in Crown Street, and where he was a respected citizen. But best of +all for the Company, Captain Kidd had been in command of a privateer, +and knew a good deal about pirates and their ways.</p> +<p>And so it came about that Captain Kidd sailed away, commander of the +Adventure Galley, with its crew of sixty sailors, and its thirty guns, +to destroy the pirates.</p> +<p>Then followed a space of time during which news of the bold Captain was +eagerly awaited. It came soon enough—news that was startling. Captain +Kidd had been tempted by the adventurous life and great gains, and had +himself turned pirate! During the next two years he was heard of as the +most daring and fierce of pirates, plundering and sinking ships, until +his name became a terror on the sea. He collected great treasure, and +then decided to give up piracy. He returned to New York, and touched +first at Gardiner's Island, a bit of land at the eastern end of Long +Island. There he buried a portion of his treasure. The remainder he +divided with his crew. Then he went to Boston, took a new name, and +intended to live in quiet and luxury during the remainder of his life. +But, unfortunately, one day Lord Bellomont was in Boston, met him, and +caused his arrest. In a few months he was sent to England in chains. +There he was executed.</p> +<p>When it was known that Captain Kidd had made a stop at Gardiner's +Island, search was made there and the hidden treasure was dug up. There +were rumors from time to time that Kidd and his pirate crew had stopped +at points on the East River shore of the Island of Manhattan, and many +men hunted that shore and sought in many places for hidden treasure, but +none was ever found there.</p> +<p>During the time that Captain Kidd was roaming the sea, Lord Bellomont +was governing New York.</p> +<a name='image-26'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-26.jpg' width='431' height='300' alt='Arrest of Captain Kidd' title=''> +</center><h5>Arrest of Captain Kidd</h5> +<p>The new Governor was at first much admired. He was a fine man, with +faultless manners, and a commander in every inch of his tall figure. He +had hands as soft as a woman's, a kindly eye, and a gentle voice. But he +could be stern, and was stern and unyielding, too, when occasion +required. He dressed in better taste than anyone who had ever lived in +the province, and his horses and carriage were finer than had ever +before been seen in the city.</p> +<p>Friends of the dead Jacob Leisler had told Lord Bellomont tales of what +a good man Leisler had been, and how he had been unjustly executed. So +Lord Bellomont, to the end of his life, favored the friends of Leisler.</p> +<p>He was firmly convinced that many of the city merchants had become rich +through dealings with the pirates. This belief made many enemies for +him. Then, too, there were laws which would not permit merchants to +trade with any country except England; hard laws, that were constantly +broken, for the merchants could not see why they should not trade with +anyone they saw fit. Bellomont was so strict in enforcing these laws and +in collecting duties that he made more enemies, who sought his recall.</p> +<p>Nevertheless many improvements were carried out while Bellomont was +Governor. A first effort was made to light the streets, which had, up to +this time, only had the light of the moon at night. This was done by a +lantern with a candle in it hung on a pole from the window of every +seventh house. A night-watch was also established, consisting of four +men.</p> +<p>After Bellomont had been Governor for a few years, what remained of the +city wall was removed, and Wall Street had its beginning on the line of +the old wall. The same year the old Stadt Huys was found to be in a +state of decay. Then a new city hall was erected on the new Wall Street, +close by where Nassau Street now touches it. There were dungeons in the +new building for criminals, cells in the attic for debtors, and a +court-room on the main floor.</p> +<a name='image-27'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-27.jpg' width='388' height='300' alt='New City Hall in Wall Street' title=''> +</center><h5>New City Hall in Wall Street</h5> +<p>The first library, under the name of the Corporation Library, was +opened in the City Hall. This is the library that afterward became the +Society Library. It is still in existence, and now has its home in +University Place.</p> +<p>All in all, Lord Bellomont was a good Governor, who did much for the +people, and much to make the city an agreeable place to live in; and +there was deep regret when he died suddenly in the year 1701. He was +buried in the chapel in the fort, and as an especial honor to his +memory his coat-of-arms was fixed on the wall of the new City Hall in +Wall Street. This was a great honor, even though the fickle people, a +few years later, when a new Governor came, did tear down the arms and +burn them in the street.</p> +<p>John Nanfan, the Lieutenant-Governor, took command of the province until +news reached the city that Lord Cornbury had been appointed Governor. +Nicholas Bayard, who had made such a bitter fight against Leisler, and +who had been imprisoned so long, hated Governor Nanfan, because Nanfan +was a friend of the people who called themselves the Leislerian party. +So Bayard sent an address to Lord Cornbury saying that Nanfan was an +enemy. But Nanfan arrested Bayard, and had him tried under the self-same +act under which Leisler had been tried. This act pronounced traitors +anyone who should make an effort to disturb the peace of the province. +Bayard was sentenced to death, but a reprieve was granted pending the +pleasure of the King. Before word could be got to England, Lord +Cornbury arrived. Bayard was promoted to a place of honor, and there was +a scattering of the Leislerians, who were now looked upon as enemies of +the Government.</p> +<a name='image-28'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-28.jpg' width='365' height='300' alt='Fort George in 1740' title=''> +</center><h5>Fort George in 1740</h5> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> +<h3>LORD CORNBURY <i>makes</i> HIMSELF <i>very</i> UNPOPULAR</h3> +<br /> +<p>It was in the year that Princess Anne became Queen of England (1702) +that Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, eldest son of the Earl of Clarendon, +was sent to govern New York. He was a cousin of the Queen, and left +England to escape the demands of those to whom he owed money.</p> +<p>When Lord Cornbury arrived in New York, the Mayor, with much ceremony, +presented him with a box of gold, containing the freedom of the city, +which gave to him every privilege. It was a great deal of trouble and +expense to go to, for the Governor would have taken all the privileges, +even if the Mayor had not gone through the form of giving them.</p> +<p>Governor Cornbury very soon let his new subjects see that he was eager +to acquire wealth, and that he intended to get it without the slightest +regard for their interests or desires.</p> +<p>The Queen had told him that he should do all in his power to make the +Church of England the established church of the land; that he should +build new churches, punish drunkenness, swearing, and all such vices, +and that he should keep the colony supplied with negro slaves.</p> +<p>There was much sickness in the town—so much that it became epidemic. So +the Governor and his council went to the little village of Jamaica, on +Long Island, and carried on the business of the city in a Presbyterian +church building. When the epidemic had passed, he gave the church to the +Episcopalians, because he remembered that Queen Anne had told him to +make the Church of England the established church. There were riotous +times in Jamaica after that, but the Episcopal clergyman occupied the +house, and the Episcopalians worshipped in the church regardless of all +protests.</p> +<p>Not many improvements were made during Lord Cornbury's administration. +He cared little for the good of the city or for anything else except +his own pleasures. The constant fear of war gave the people little time +to think of improvements. They did, however, pave Broadway from Trinity +Church to the Bowling Green. But do not imagine that this pavement was +anything like those of to-day. It was of cobble-stones, and the gutters +ran through the middle of the street.</p> +<p>The Governor came to be detested more and more by the people, for as the +years went by he spent their money recklessly. He had a habit of walking +about the fort in the dress of a woman, and another habit of giving +dinners to his friends that lasted well on toward morning, when the +guests sang and shouted so boisterously that the quiet citizens of the +little town could not sleep.</p> +<p>So when the people grew very, very tired of it, they sent word to Queen +Anne that her kinsman was a very bad Governor. And she, after much +hesitation, when he had been Governor six years, removed him from +office. She no sooner did this, than those to whom he owed money, and +there were a great many of them, had him put in the debtors' prison, in +the upper story of the City Hall in Wall Street. And in jail he remained +for several months, until his father, the Earl of Clarendon, died, and +money was sent for the release of the debtor prisoner, who was now a +peer of Great Britain.</p> +<a name='image-29'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-29.jpg' width='430' height='300' alt='View in Broad Street about 1740' title=''> +</center><h5>View in Broad Street about 1740</h5> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIV'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2> +<h3>LORD LOVELACE <i>and</i> ROBERT HUNTER</h3> +<br /> +<p>The new Governor arrived in the last months of the year 1708. He was +John, Lord Lovelace. As there had been so much trouble caused by the +governors appropriating money belonging to the citizens, he decided to +take a very different course. He had the public accounts looked into, +and said, "I wish it known to all the world that the public debt has not +been contracted in my time." And having said this (which made a fine +impression) the Governor asked the Assembly to set aside enough money +for him to run the affairs of the province for a number of years. This +was to be called a permanent revenue. But the Assembly would do no such +thing. In the midst of the discussion, Governor Lovelace died, five +months after his arrival.</p> +<p>It was quite a year after the death of Lovelace before his successor +came. This was Robert Hunter, a most exceptional man. His parents were +poor, and when a boy he had run away from home and had joined the +British army. By working very hard at his books when the army was not +fighting, by studying in the soldiers' quarters and on the battle-field, +by making friends with officers of high rank, Hunter had grown to +manhood brave, well educated, and of graceful manner. On coming to New +York he at once made friends with many influential persons. His most +important friendship was with Lewis Morris, whom he afterward appointed +chief-justice. This Morris was a son of Richard Morris, an officer in +Cromwell's army, who had come to the province, purchased a manor ten +miles square near Harlem, and called it Morrisania—by which name it is +still known.</p> +<p>The year after Hunter arrived, New York joined with New England in a +plan to conquer Canada (which belonged to the French) and join it to the +English colonies. Money was raised, troops were gotten together, and +ships and soldiers were sent from England. But when the attack was to +be made, the English ships struck on the rocks in a fog off the coast of +Canada, and eight of them sank with more than 800 men. This great loss +put an end to the intended invasion. The soldiers returned home, where +there was great sorrow at the dismal failure of a project that had cost +so much money and so many lives.</p> +<p>Governor Hunter had only been in the province a short time when he began +to urge the Assembly to grant him that permanent revenue that Lovelace +had asked for. Queen Anne had said that he was to have it. But the +Assembly would only grant him money from year to year.</p> +<p>About this time the first public market for the sale of negro slaves was +established at the foot of Wall Street. More and more slaves were +brought into the city, and the laws were made more and more strict to +keep them in the most abject bondage. It had come to be the law that no +more than four slaves could meet together at one time. They were not +permitted to pass the city gates, nor to carry weapons of any sort. +Should one appear on the street after nightfall without a lighted +lantern, he was put in jail and his master was fined. Sometimes a slave +murdered his owner. Then he was burned at the stake, after scarcely the +pretence of a trial; or was suspended from the branches of a tall tree +and left there to die.</p> +<a name='image-30'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-30.jpg' width='664' height='300' alt='The Slave-Market. From an Old Print' title=''> +</center><h5>The Slave-Market. From an Old Print</h5> +<p>But although the slaves were restrained and beaten and killed, their +numbers increased so fast that the citizens were always in fear that +they might one day rise up and kill all their masters. A riot did occur +the year after the slave-market was set up. Several white men were +killed and a house was burned. Many negroes were then arrested and +nineteen of them were executed under a charge of having engaged in a +plot against the whites.</p> +<p>Affairs moved along quietly for a time after the riot. The next most +interesting happening was the putting up of the first public clock, on +the City Hall in Wall Street. It was the gift of Stephen De Lancey.</p> +<p>De Lancey was a Huguenot nobleman, who had fled from France when the +Huguenots were persecuted for their faith, and had found a home in the +new world. He lived in a mansion at the corner of what are now Pearl and +Broad Streets. The house is there yet, still called Fraunces's Tavern +from the owner who turned it into a tavern after De Lancey removed from +it.</p> +<p>Governor Hunter was becoming very popular with the people, when +unfortunately his health failed. So he surrendered the government into +the hands of Peter Schuyler, who was the oldest member in the City +Council, and went to Europe, having served for nine years. For thirteen +months Schuyler took charge, until William Burnet, the new Governor, +replaced him.</p> +<a name='image-31'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-31.jpg' width='318' height='300' alt="Fraunces's Tavern" title=''> +</center><h5>Fraunces's Tavern</h5> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XV'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> +<h3>GOVERNOR BURNET <i>and the</i> FRENCH TRADERS</h3> +<br /> +<p>Governor William Burnet was the son of a celebrated bishop of England.</p> +<p>His early days were passed at the Court of William III., where he met +people of refinement and culture. Of an observing nature, and studying a +great deal, he came to be a man of deep learning, a good talker, with +manners that attracted attention wherever he went—so fine were they.</p> +<p>The city was gayly decorated in honor of his coming. Women looked from +their windows and waved their handkerchiefs. Men crowded the streets and +loudly shouted their welcome.</p> +<p>Soon after, he married the daughter of a leading merchant, and so +identified himself at once with the city's interests. He became the fast +friend of Chief-Justice Lewis Morris. Another friendship was that he +formed with Dr. Cadwallader Colden. We shall hear more of this man +later. Besides being a physician of note, he had a world-wide reputation +as a writer on many scientific subjects.</p> +<p>Along about this time the French were trying hard to get all the trade +with the Indians, not only in the province of New York, but in all the +lands as far west as the Mississippi country that was then wild and +unexplored. By this they could make a great deal of money, but, better +still, would make friends of the powerful Indian tribes. Then the French +hoped that the Indians would join with them against the English and that +they could conquer all the English lands in America.</p> +<p>The New York merchants were quite content to let the French do the +trading with the Indians, for the French traders bought all their goods +in New York, and the merchants in selling to them did not run the great +risk of being murdered, as they would in trading with the Indians in the +forests. But although the merchants were satisfied, Governor Burnet was +not. He realized the danger to the English provinces should the Indians +become enemies. So he decided to establish a line of English trading +stations that would enable the colonists to trade directly with the +Indians in safety. He also made it unlawful to sell goods in New York to +the French traders.</p> +<p>The merchants bitterly disapproved of these acts of Governor Burnet. +They believed that he had dealt a death-blow to their French trade, and +they became his bitter enemies. He tried hard to establish the line of +trading stations, but the English Government refused to help him with +money, and the project had to be abandoned, and the law against the +French trade, which had caused the trouble, was repealed. The trade was +once more carried on.</p> +<p>By this time George II. had become King of England, which was in the +year 1728. Influence was brought to bear, and Governor Burnet was +removed, and left the province a poorer man than he had entered it.</p> +<p>Toward the end of this same year Colonel John Montgomery was made +Governor.</p> +<p>He had been groom of the bedchamber of George II. when the latter was +Prince of Wales. He was a weak and lazy man, although he had been bred a +soldier. You may believe that he never did much in the soldiering line, +for a soldier's life is a hard one, and not likely to encourage a man to +be lazy. Montgomery was given a cordial welcome, however.</p> +<p>The year after he came, the first Jewish cemetery was established, the +remains of which may still be seen in the neighborhood of Chatham Square +in New Bowery Street. It has not been used as a graveyard in many a +year, and much of the ground is now occupied by buildings. But there is +still a portion, behind a stone wall, and crumbling tombstones have +stood there ever so many years longer than the dingy tenements which hem +them in on three sides.</p> +<p>In the days of Montgomery, New York was still a small village, for most +of the houses were below the present Fulton Street, and they were not at +all thickly built, so there was room enough for pleasant gardens around +them.</p> +<p>At this time the vacant space in front of the fort, which had been used +as a parade-ground and a market-place, was leased to three citizens +whose houses were nearby to be used as a Bowling Green. Its name came +from this and it still keeps it.</p> +<p>A fire department was organized and two engines were imported and room +made for them in the City Hall. Before this the department had consisted +of a few leather buckets and a few fire-hooks.</p> +<p>In 1731 Governor Montgomery died, and for thirteen months after, Rip Van +Dam, oldest member of the council, and a wealthy merchant, looked after +the province until the coming of William Cosby.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVI'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2> +<h3>THE TRIAL <i>of</i> ZENGER, <i>the</i> PRINTER</h3> +<br /> +<p>Cosby arrived; a testy, disagreeable man who loved money above +everything else. The colonists received him with favor, because they did +not know these things about him. The Assembly granted him a revenue for +six years, and gave him a present of £750 besides. The Governor thought +this a very small sum and said so. He presented an order from the King +which said that he was to have half the salary that Rip Van Dam had +received for acting as Governor.</p> +<a name='image-32'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-32.jpg' width='344' height='300' alt="Dinner at Rip Van Dam's" title=''> +</center><h5>Dinner at Rip Van Dam's</h5> +<p>But Van Dam would not part with his money, and the people sided with +him, for they had long been weary of governors who looked upon the +colony simply as a means to repair their fortunes. Cosby was determined +to get the money, so he sued Van Dam. This suit was conducted in a court +where there were three judges, and two of them were friends of Cosby. +One of them was James De Lancey, a son of that Stephen De Lancey who had +given the clock to the city. The Chief-Justice was still Lewis Morris, +who had been appointed by Governor Hunter. So with two judges, friends +of the Governor, he won his suit, and Van Dam was ordered to pay him +half his salary.</p> +<p>More than this, Chief-Justice Morris, who had disagreed with the other +two judges, was removed from office, and James De Lancey became +Chief-Justice.</p> +<p>The mass of the people disapproved of these doings, and there were +murmurs of discontent. But the Governor had his money, and had made his +friend Chief-Justice, and was running matters pretty much his own way, +so he was satisfied.</p> +<p>There was still only one paper, the <i>New York Gazette</i>, published by +William Bradford. As Bradford was the Government printer, it was quite +natural that he should side with Cosby. But just at this time another +paper came into existence, a rival to the <i>Gazette</i>, which took up the +people's cause. This was the <i>New York Weekly Journal</i>, published by +Peter Zenger, who had been one of Bradford's workmen. Each week it was +filled with articles assailing Cosby, and all who were in sympathy with +him. Very soon Zenger was arrested, charged with publishing libels +against the city officials and the King. He was locked up in one of the +cells in the City Hall.</p> +<p>The friends of Zenger secretly secured the services of Andrew Hamilton, +a distinguished lawyer of Philadelphia, who pleaded his cause to good +effect, and showed that Zenger had only spoken as any man had a right to +speak, and had pointed out wrongs where wrongs existed. Justice De +Lancey, remembering that his friend the Governor had made him +Chief-Justice, told the jury that they must find Zenger guilty. But the +jury pronounced him not guilty. Thus the freedom of the press was +established, and the jury, by their verdict, had opposed the Governor, +his council, the Assembly, and the judge before whom the accused had +been tried.</p> +<p>About this time Lord Augustus Fitzroy, youngest son of the Duke of +Grafton, came from England to visit Governor Cosby. The Governor thanked +him for having honored New York with his presence, and told him that the +city was open and invited him to go where he pleased. Lord Augustus did +not go far. He fell in love with the Governor's daughter. He did more +than fall in love, for one day he induced a minister to climb over the +fort wall and marry him to her, without leave or license. The friends of +the young nobleman were shocked, for the Governor's daughter was +considered beneath him in rank. Governor Cosby was accused of having +brought about this unequal match, although Lord Augustus said that it +was the lady's winning ways and pretty face.</p> +<p>Cosby, after the Zenger trial, did what he could to check the liberty of +the citizens, but was soon stricken with a fatal illness. On his +death-bed he called together the members of his council, and suspended +his old enemy, Rip Van Dam, who would have been his successor until +another Governor was appointed. And having done this he died, on March +10, 1736, leaving a quarrelsome state of affairs behind him.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2> +<h3>CONCERNING <i>the</i> NEGRO PLOT</h3> +<br /> +<p>The citizens were so far from being pleased when they learned that Rip +Van Dam was not to act in the Governor's place, that, for a time, it +looked very much as though there would be a riot. There was a member of +the Assembly named George Clarke, and when his fellow-members chose him +for the place that Rip Van Dam should have had, there was more +grumbling. But as no Governor came from England for seven years, Clarke +looked after the province all that time. He was an easy-going man, who +tried by every possible means to make friends. There was one happening +in particular by which he is remembered. It was called the Negro Plot.</p> +<p>Slaves had been brought to the city, until now there were 2,000 of them. +The 8,000 citizens were in constant dread lest the negroes should some +day rise up in revolt. Early in the spring of the year 1741 several +fires occurred in different parts of the city, and the citizens felt +quite sure that the slaves had started them. As the hours passed, the +idea of a plot grew until it seemed a fact. Then a reward was offered to +anyone who would tell of a conspiracy or of anyone concerned in one.</p> +<p>Just at this time a woman was arrested for a small theft, and when she +heard of the reward, she all at once remembered that there had been +meetings of negroes at a small tavern where she had worked. She told of +a plan to kill every white person; to set all the negroes free, and to +make one of them King of the city. The woman who told this story was +Mary Burton. The tavern-keeper, his wife, and several other negroes were +hanged in short order. Still the fires kept on. There were dozens within +ten days, and among others the Governor's house in the fort was burned +to the ground.</p> +<a name='image-33'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-33.jpg' width='300' height='330' alt='The Negroes Sentenced' title=''> +</center><h5>The Negroes Sentenced</h5> +<p>Mary Burton now began a remarkable series of confessions which grew +wilder with each passing day. Negro slaves accused by her were arrested +in numbers. Liberty was promised all who would speak the truth, and +speaking the truth was understood to mean giving information of a +conspiracy. Very soon several negroes were burned at the stake in a +little valley beyond the Collect Pond. This awful death frightened many, +who hastened to cry out that they knew all about the plot. There were +some who saved their lives by confessing things that were not true; many +more did not.</p> +<p>During the whole long, hot summer the hanging and burning of negro +slaves went on. Late in the year, when Mary Burton had seen every person +she had accused arrested, she grew more bold. She sought some new story +to tell, and found one in remembering for the first time that white +people had been connected with the plot. Twenty-four white citizens had +been arrested, when Mary Burton began to attack prominent townsmen; even +those who had been foremost in the prosecution of the negroes. It was +only then realized that the woman's words could not be relied upon. She +was paid the hundred pounds that had been promised her, and she +disappeared, leaving no trace.</p> +<p>Gradually the fury of feeling against the slaves died away. Whether +there had ever been any real plot will always remain unanswered.</p> +<p>Certain it is, however, that the witnesses on whose words arrests were +made were all of uncertain and unreliable character; that the evidence +was contradictory, and that most of it was extorted under pain of death.</p> +<p>The excitement passed away after a time, and George Clarke went on +talking finely and managing his own affairs so well that he was growing +very rich indeed when his official life came to a sudden end.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVIII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> +<h3>THE TRAGIC DEATH <i>of</i> SIR DANVERS OSBORNE</h3> +<br /> +<p>In this year, 1743, Admiral George Clinton was sent by King George II. +of England to take the place of George Clarke as Governor. Then Clarke +packed up his riches and went to England and enjoyed the rest of his +life far from the little colony that he had governed so much to his own +profit.</p> +<p>Admiral Clinton was the son of an English earl.</p> +<p>When he had been Governor not yet a year, there came a man whose +influence was soon felt. He was Commodore Peter Warren, of the British +Navy, who in later years became an admiral. Before he had been in New +York long, he married Susannah De Lancey, a sister of the Chief-Justice. +They went to live in a new house in the country, in the district which +was then and is now known as Greenwich.</p> +<p>England was again at war with France at this time. There were tribes of +Indians who sided with the French, and there were other tribes who sided +with the English, and the result was a series of bloody border wars. Two +years after the coming of Governor Clinton, New York, with the other +English colonies, gathered troops to attack the French, and a great +force was sent against a city called Louisburg. This city was on Cape +Breton Island, which is close by the coast of Nova Scotia and was a +fortress of such great strength, that it was called the Gibraltar of +America. Commodore Warren led the English fleet, and the combined forces +by sea and land captured the fortress.</p> +<p>You will remember James De Lancey, who was still Chief-Justice. He was +very rich, and as he showed at all times that he considered the +interests of the citizens above all things, they naturally thought a +great deal of him. For a time he acted as adviser to Governor Clinton, +but the two had a falling out.</p> +<p>For the ten years that Clinton remained Governor he had great trouble +with the people, who sided with De Lancey. At the end of that time +Governor Clinton, finding that his power grew less and less, and that De +Lancey became more and more popular, resigned his office. A few months +went by, and then came Sir Danvers Osborne to be Governor. On the third +day after reaching the city he walked out of the fort at the head of the +other officials, with Clinton by his side, to go to the City Hall, where +he was to take the oath of office. The people, all gathered in the +streets, shouted when they saw the new Governor. But at the sight of +Clinton, whom they hated, they hissed and shook their fists and yelled, +until Clinton became alarmed and hurried back to the fort, leaving the +new Governor to go on without him. And Sir Danvers Osborne was much +surprised and a little frightened.</p> +<p>"I expect," said he to Clinton that same day, "I expect the same +treatment before I leave the province,"</p> +<p>For all the shaking fists and for all the angry shouts, the new Governor +was well entertained that day. The church-bells rang, cannon boomed, and +at night the town was illuminated. But the citizens did not do this so +much for the new Governor as they did for De Lancey, who had now been +made Lieutenant-Governor.</p> +<p>Two days after Sir Danvers took the oath of office he called his council +before him and told them that the King had said he was to have the +permanent revenue about which there had been so much trouble with the +other governors. And the council members told him, as they had told +others, that this command would never be obeyed. On hearing this Sir +Danvers became sad and gloomy. He covered his face with his hands.</p> +<p>"Then what am I come here for?" he cried.</p> +<p>The very next morning there was an uproar in the city. The Governor had +been found dead, hanging from the garden-wall of his house. Then the +people learned that his mind had been unsettled for a long time, and +that he had accepted the governorship hoping to be cured by a change of +scene. But the knowledge that his rule would be one of constant +struggling to gain his ends had doubtless proven too much for his +wrecked brain. So he killed himself, and the government of New York was +left in the hands of James De Lancey, and you will see how he still +further won the hearts of those around him.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIX'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> +<h3>THE BEGINNING <i>of</i> DISCONTENT</h3> +<br /> +<p>Two years James De Lancey acted as Governor, and the citizens were +really sorry when Admiral Sir Charles Hardy was sent to take his place.</p> +<p>Sir Charles was not slow to see and to admit that while he was a good +sailor, he did not make a good Governor, so after a year he resigned, +and the province was once more left to the care of De Lancey.</p> +<p>At this time there was much being said about the need for schools, and +for many years plans had been under way for building a college in the +city.</p> +<p>Money had been raised by means of lotteries—which were popular and +lawful then—and finally the college was established. It was called +King's College. It is still in existence, but is now Columbia +University. A tablet at West Broadway and Murray Street tells that the +college once stood close by.</p> +<p>It was near this time that William Walton, a very rich merchant, built +the finest house that the city had yet known. This was in Queen Street, +not a great way from the Stadt Huys, and the furniture and fittings were +in keeping with the elegance of the exterior. It was so fine that the +fame of it spread to England, where it was spoken of as a proof that the +colonists were very, very rich indeed. This house stood for 129 years. +When it was torn down it had become a tenement that showed scarcely a +trace of its early grandeur. Queen Street is now Pearl Street and the +building numbered 326 is on the site of the famous old house.</p> +<p>There was another war with the French now, and four expeditions were +sent out against them. On one of these a young officer with the troops +from Virginia distinguished himself. He was cool and daring in the midst +of battle. The soldiers, who were themselves fearless fighters, strove +to be as brave as he. This officer was only twenty-three years old, and +his name was George Washington. He had a glorious career before him.</p> +<p>There came from England in the year following this a burly, blustering +man, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in +America. This Lord Loudoun very soon proved to everybody's satisfaction +except his own that he was not fit to be a commander. The people of New +York detested him heartily, and were glad when after three years he was +recalled because he was not successful in the war against the French. +The new commander-in-chief did better. He was General Jeffrey Amherst, +and under him the English were gradually successful. Town after town +held by the French fell, until the capture of Montreal, in 1760, secured +to the English the conquest of Canada, and so ended a conflict which had +for many years drained the energies of the colonists.</p> +<p>Soon after this Lieutenant-Governor James De Lancey was found dead in +his library-chair at his country home (now a closely built-up part of +the city at Delancey Street, near the Bowery). In a few days his body +was taken from there, followed by a great concourse of people, and +buried under the centre aisle of Trinity Church. Up to the last day of +his life De Lancey remained much beloved.</p> +<a name='image-34'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-34.jpg' width='300' height='344' alt='Trinity Church, 1760' title=''> +</center><h5>Trinity Church, 1760</h5> +<p>The death of De Lancey left the care of the colony to Cadwallader +Colden, whom you will remember as the friend of Governor Hunter. He had +been so long concerned in public affairs that he knew how to please. +Before the year was ended England's King, George II., died. When the +news reached New York, the city was draped with mourning. But in another +week all signs of sadness had disappeared in honor of the new King, +George III.</p> +<p>Then General Robert Monckton, who had been in command of the English +forces on Staten Island, was made Governor. He was a young man, somewhat +careless, but, as was the case with all the new governors, he was +welcomed with glad shouts of approval.</p> +<p>England at this time needed men in her navy, and the captains of +war-ships were in the habit of boarding any vessel that sailed from the +colonies in America and taking sailors by force to serve on the English +ships. This increased a bitter feeling that the colonists were beginning +to have against England. The city had now 14,000 inhabitants and was in +quite a flourishing condition.</p> +<p>After two years Monckton tired of the cares of government, and sailed +away to England, with never a thought of the wild scenes that were to +take place in the land he left behind.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XX'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XX</h2> +<h3>THE STORY <i>of the</i> STAMP ACT</h3> +<br /> +<p>The colonists were becoming more and more dissatisfied, not only in New +York, but in all of the thirteen English colonies in America. For they +strongly objected to the way in which money was being taken from them in +the form of taxes. The English had spent much money in the wars which +led up to the conquest of Canada, and thought that it should be returned +to them. So they taxed the colonists in every possible way. Protest was +made against these taxes, but in vain. Matters became worse and worse. +After two years, when it had come to be the year 1765, the British +Parliament passed what was called the Stamp Act. This compelled the +people to buy stamps and put them on every sort of legal paper. No one +could be married, no newspaper could be printed, nothing could be +bought, nothing could be sold, no business of any sort could be carried +on without these stamps. No one could evade the use of them, and in this +way all would have to contribute directly to the King.</p> +<p>More than any other form of tax, more than anything the British +Government had done, the people opposed this Stamp Act. The colonists +had no one to represent them in the British Parliament, no one to +present their side, no one to plead for them and tell what a drain this +tax was, so they declared that they would not use a single stamp, unless +they were allowed to have someone to represent them; and they set up the +cry, "No Taxation Without Representation."</p> +<p>Very soon a company of men called the Sons of Liberty began to be heard +of throughout all the thirteen colonies. They were foremost in opposing +the Stamp Act. In many towns they held meetings, and it was not long +before the people were aroused from one end of the country to the other.</p> +<p>Not many months had passed before men were sent from each of the +colonies and met in the City Hall at New York. This meeting was called +a Colonial Congress. For three weeks these men conferred, and during +that time decided that in good truth the Stamp Act was unjust, and that +everything in their power should be done to prevent it.</p> +<a name='image-35'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-35.jpg' width='390' height='300' alt='Coffee-House opposite Bowling Green, Head-Quarters of the Sons of Liberty' title=''> +</center><h5>Coffee-House opposite Bowling Green, Head-Quarters of the Sons of Liberty</h5> +<p>In this same year the house which Stephen De Lancey had built close by +Trinity Church, and which James De Lancey had lived in until his death, +had become a hotel. It was called Burns's Coffee-House. It was a solid +structure, with high beams, great fireplaces, and wide halls. If you go +now to look for the spot where it stood, you will find a crowded +business section; but in those days there were open spaces all about, +and a handsome lawn swept away to the river. One October night the +merchants of the city gathered in this coffee-house, and here, late at +night, they signed a paper which bound them one and all to buy no goods +from England so long as the English King should compel them to use the +stamps. By this agreement people could, of course, only wear clothing +that was made in the colonies, and even the wealthy refused to buy silk +and broadcloth that were sent from England. Tea and coffee, being +imports, were not drunk, and in their place were used preparations made +from fragrant wild herbs of the American soil.</p> +<p>The merchants who had assembled in the coffee-house were called the +Non-Importation Association, branches of which spread throughout all the +colonies. The paper they signed was the non-importation agreement. Next +day, which was the first on which the stamps were to be distributed, the +city seemed to sleep. The shops were closed and the citizens remained +indoors. The flags were hung at half-mast and the bells tolled dismally.</p> +<p>But at night the silence changed to noise. The citizens gathered in +numbers. They broke into the stable of Lieutenant-Governor Cadwallader +Golden and dragged out his coach of state. In it they put a figure made +of sticks and rags to represent the owner. They marched the streets, +shouting as they went, and finally surrounded the fort. The soldiers +were drawn up on the ramparts with cannon and gun directed toward the +Bowling Green. But no shots were fired. The rioters being denied +admission to the fort, into which they were anxious to get because the +stamps were stored there, tore down the wooden railing around the +Bowling Green, and, kindling a huge fire, burned the coach and the +figure in it.</p> +<p>As the flames blazed high, the fury of the mob increased. They rushed +away toward Vauxhall on the outskirts of the town (where Greenwich and +Warren Streets now cross). Vauxhall at this time was occupied by a major +of the British army named James. He had said that the stamps ought to be +crammed down the throats of the people with the point of a sword. In +revenge for this his house was broken into, his handsome furniture, his +pictures and treasures of every sort dragged out, and kindled into a +bonfire around which the mob danced and howled.</p> +<p>The people were quite determined to take the law into their own hands +and destroy every trace of the hated stamps. You shall know presently +what prevented them.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXI'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2> +<h3>THE BEGINNING <i>of</i> REVOLUTION</h3> +<br /> +<p>On the morning after the night of rioting—dark and dreary day that was +quite in keeping with the gloomy feelings of the people—Cadwallader +Colden, the Lieutenant-Governor, decided that he would do away with the +stamps that had caused so much trouble. So he had them delivered to the +Mayor, who was in accord with the citizens, and the Mayor put them in +the City Hall amid many cheers. A few days after this Sir Henry Moore +(who had been appointed Governor of the province) arrived from England, +and immediately won the hearts of the citizens by saying that he would +have nothing to do with the stamps. During the next few months +excitement in New York and in the other colonies increased, and efforts +to keep the stamps in use caused riots everywhere.</p> +<p>When the King saw that he could not enforce the Stamp Act, and that +serious trouble was likely to occur from every attempt to do so, he +repealed the act, the year after it had become a law.</p> +<p>The people were overjoyed at this.</p> +<p>The King's birthday coming soon after, there was in his honor a great +celebration, and a liberty pole was planted on the Common, which in +after years played an important part in the history of New York; and a +marble statue of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, was erected. This +William Pitt had done more than any other man in England to secure the +repeal of the Stamp Act, and had time and time again spoken strongly +against it. His statue was set up in Wall Street, and at the same time a +statue of King George III., seated upon a horse, was erected on the +Bowling Green. It fared ill with these statues later, as you will see.</p> +<p>There was no longer a stamp act, but there was another act quite as +disagreeable. It was called the Mutiny Bill, and it required that food +and drink and sleeping-quarters be given to all the British soldiers. +Now the Mutiny Bill fell hardest upon New York, for New York was the +head-quarters of the British army in America. The people refused to +comply with this law, because they feared that it was the first step +toward compelling them to support a great army in America.</p> +<p>So the soldiers and citizens were again continually at odds.</p> +<p>Four years after the Stamp Act was repealed, during which time affairs +were in a most unsettled state and the bitter feeling between the +colonists and England was growing stronger with each passing day, the +English Parliament declared that no tax was to be put on anything except +tea. Tea was to be taxed, not so much for the money that would thus go +to the King, but to show that he had the right to tax the colonists. +This did not settle matters in the least. The colonists had sworn to +resist all taxes, and to have a tax on one article was as bad, to their +minds, as having taxes on all. But the merchants were not prospering, +for, not importing goods from England, they had none to sell. So a +committee of 100 men was appointed to see what could be done. This +committee decided that it would be right for the merchants to import +everything they needed except tea. And the merchants welcomed this +decision and agreed to it.</p> +<p>But the fiery Sons of Liberty refused to listen to any such compromise. +They insisted on keeping the non-importation agreement until the duty on +tea, as well as all other duties, should be done away with once and for +all. So they determined to maintain it until the end, and they did +maintain it well. Day by day the soldiers of King George III. and the +citizens became greater enemies. Although the soldiers tried many times +to drag down the liberty pole, it was well defended, and it stood until +one night in January, 1770, when they tore it down and chopped it into +pieces. This act led to the battle of Golden Hill, which was the first +real battle of the American Revolution.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2> +<h3>FIGHTING <i>the</i> TAX <i>on</i> TEA</h3> +<br /> +<p>A bit of rising ground, not a great way from the Common, was called +Golden Hill. Here there was an inn. To this day the elevation of ground +can be seen (where John Street crosses William), and the inn still +stands. While the thought of the wrecked liberty pole was still fresh in +mind, some of the Sons of Liberty came suddenly upon a number of +soldiers close by this inn. There was a running fight, the soldiers +using their guns and cutlasses and the others beating them back with +staves and sticks. More soldiers came and the fight grew in fury. +Already one man had received his death-blow and a dozen had been +injured, when several officers came galloping up the road and the +soldiers were ordered back to their barracks. This was the battle of +Golden Hill.</p> +<p>Very often after this the soldiers and the citizens clashed and +sometimes came to blows, and progress was at a standstill because of the +turbulence of the times. Public improvements were neglected and very +little business was carried on.</p> +<p>In the third year after the battle of Golden Hill, the British +Government decided to make the colonists buy tea whether they wanted to +or not. So the price was put down until tea could be bought in New York +cheaper than it could be bought in England. This did no good, for though +the tea was cheap the tax was on it and it was the tax and not the price +of which the people complained. The Sons of Liberty, when they heard +that ships loaded with cheap tea were on the way from England, said they +would not even permit it to be landed. The first ship in port was under +the command of a captain named Lockyer, who, when he learned of the +strong efforts made to prevent the landing of the tea, determined to +return to England with his cargo. He anchored his ship in the bay and +came in a small boat to the city. The people, joyful over his decision, +decided to give him a public leave-taking.</p> +<p>Within a few days another ship sailed into the bay, commanded by Captain +Chambers, who insisted that he had no tea on board. When told that his +vessel would be searched, he admitted that he had a few chests. That +same night the citizens who had all day thronged the wharf, suddenly +swarmed aboard the vessel. The hatches were ripped up, and the eighteen +chests of tea hauled on deck. There they were torn into pieces and the +contents scattered into the river. Having done this the crowds dispersed +and all was quiet again.</p> +<p>Next day came the public leave-taking of Captain Lockyer. He had spent +the night at the coffee-house in Wall Street, and here, early in the +morning, there was a great assembly. The bells of the city chimed +merrily; flags floated from the houses, and the ships in the bay were +decorated with gay colors.</p> +<p>From the balcony of the coffee-house the Captain bowed while the crowds +cheered him. Finally a committee escorted him to the foot of Wall +Street, where he embarked in a pilot-boat which took him to his ship. +Another committee, with far less ceremony, escorted Captain Chambers to +the same boat, and the two captains sailed away.</p> +<a name='image-36'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-36.jpg' width='399' height='300' alt='Ferry-House on East River, 1746, from an Old Print' title=''> +</center><h5>Ferry-House on East River, 1746, from an Old Print</h5> +<p>Even before this had happened in New York, the citizens of Boston had +dumped a cargo of tea into their harbor, and the British Parliament had +closed the port of Boston; which meant that no ships were permitted to +sail in or out of it. By this it was hoped to stop all business in +Boston, and really it did put an end to a great part of it. And General +Thomas Gage, who now had charge of the British troops in America, +undertook to see that the orders of the King were properly enforced.</p> +<p>This closing of the port of Boston aroused the thirteen British colonies +in America. After a great deal of letter-writing it was decided to have +men from each of these colonies meet and talk matters over. In September +of this year (1774) they met in Philadelphia. At this meeting, which was +called the First Continental Congress, it was decided that laws were +made in England that were unjust to America, that the colonists objected +to taxes that were fixed by Parliament and would buy no more goods from +England while a tax was upon them; and that they objected to the support +of a large British army in the colonies.</p> +<p>And this First Continental Congress sent a petition to King George III., +saying that the unjust laws should be done away with.</p> +<p>How the King received this petition is soon told.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2> +<h3>THE SONS <i>of</i> LIBERTY <i>at</i> TURTLE BAY</h3> +<br /> +<p>Now in New York almost everybody was anxious to carry out the decision +of this First Continental Congress.</p> +<p>But the Assembly said that the Congress had not been a lawful gathering +and must not be obeyed. The colonists replied that they would do as they +thought best, no matter what the King's Assembly ordered.</p> +<p>You must know that some of the people supported the royal cause and were +called Royalists or Tories. The others were called Patriots or Whigs. +The English called the patriots rebels.</p> +<p>It had now come to be the year 1775, and matters in Boston where the +port had been closed were growing worse and worse. In the month of April +some British soldiers passing through Lexington shot down a number of +patriots. Messengers on horseback sped through the colonies carrying +news of this massacre. It was the first serious encounter of the +Revolution and the colonists realized that they were now at war with the +British. Men rushed to arms. Farmers left their homes. Professional men +hurried from the towns. Within a few days an army surrounded Boston and +penned in the British troops there.</p> +<p>When the messenger reached New York with the news of the Lexington +massacre, a Provisional Assembly was formed which was to look after the +city without regard to the Assembly which already existed. And this is +the way it came about that there was a king's government and a people's +government. Shops were closed and armed citizens paraded the streets. +Matters went on in this fashion for a month, when a Second Continental +Congress met at Philadelphia.</p> +<p>As it was now seen that there was to be a serious conflict with Great +Britain, the army gathered about Boston was adopted as the beginning of +the forces to be assembled and was termed the Continental Army, and +George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief.</p> +<a name='image-37'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-37.jpg' width='464' height='300' alt='East River Shore, 1750, from an Old Print' title=''> +</center><h5>East River Shore, 1750, from an Old Print</h5> +<p>Knowing that they would soon need guns and powder, the Sons of Liberty +seized those held by the royal troops in New York. There was quite a +quantity in a storehouse at Turtle Bay, a quiet little cove three miles +above the town, that curved into a wild and rocky part of the East River +shore. Nowadays the city extends for miles and miles above it. If you go +to Forty-ninth Street and the East River you will see all that remains +of it. Although the houses are built thick about it, there is still an +air of seclusion. Everywhere else along the shore are piers and +bath-houses and wharves and ships and shipping.</p> +<p>So at this Turtle Bay, far from the town, the royal troops had a +storehouse for their arms. A small band of the Sons of Liberty, one dark +night, floated down the river, guided their vessel into the bay, +overpowered the guards before they were fairly aroused, and loaded their +boat with the enemy's powder and guns. Then they made off, and before +the morning dawned had placed the stores safe in the hands of the +patriots.</p> +<p>Then the War of the Revolution broke in full fury.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIV'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> +<h3>THE WAR <i>of the</i> REVOLUTION</h3> +<br /> +<p>In this month of June, in the year 1775, there were quite a number of +British soldiers in the city, and many of the patriots believed that +they should be made prisoners. But the Provisional Assembly decreed that +the orders of the Second Continental Congress must be obeyed. And these +orders were not to molest the soldiers as long as they did not try to +build fortifications or remove powder and guns from the city.</p> +<p>But early in this month of June it was learned that the soldiers were +about to go to Boston. More than that, it was known that there was a +secret order under which they were to take guns and powder with them.</p> +<p>The Sons of Liberty were hastily called to a meeting. One of them, +Marinus Willett, was hurrying through Broad Street toward the +Coffee-House where the meeting was to be held, when he came upon the +soldiers moving silently along with five carts loaded with chests of +arms. Alone, and without an instant's hesitation, Willett clutched at +the bridle of the first horse. The company stopped. There was an angry +parley, the officers claiming the right to leave the city with the arms, +and making an effort to do so without raising a general alarm. But +friends of Willett came to his assistance. The five carts were driven +away by the patriots and the soldiers went on but without the arms. Long +years afterward a bronze tablet was placed on a house in Broad Street +close by Beaver (and is there now), to mark the spot where the brave +Willett stopped the ammunition wagons.</p> +<p>In this same month a battle was fought between the British army in +Boston and the Continental army which was encamped outside of Boston. It +was fought on a bit of high ground near the city, and was called the +Battle of Bunker Hill.</p> +<p>Just at this time word came that General George Washington, the newly +appointed commander-in-chief, was on his way from Philadelphia to the +Continental army, and would pass through New York City. Washington with +his aides and a company of soldiers were hurrying across New Jersey on +horseback, and when they reached the city they were met by a committee +from the Provisional Assembly, with a number of patriot soldiers.</p> +<p>The next morning Washington set out for Boston. He had not yet left the +town when a ship appeared in the bay having on board Governor William +Tryon, who had been visiting in England for nearly a year. Governor +Tryon did not remain long in the city though, as it was not a +comfortable place for a royal Governor just then. He hurriedly left one +night and went aboard one of the British ships in the bay.</p> +<p>At the close of this year Washington was still before Boston with the +Continental army. Another section of the army was in the North, fighting +against the British in Canada. This last branch was encamped about the +walls of Quebec in the last month of the year. It was under the command +of General Richard Montgomery, of New York, a brilliant soldier who had +fought in the French and Indian wars. Quebec was stormed, but was too +strong to be taken. Montgomery fell crying, "Men of New York, you will +not fear to follow where your general leads." He was buried with +military honors in Quebec, for the British honored him as a brave man. +Forty-three years later his remains were removed to New York, and placed +beneath the portico of St. Paul's Chapel, where his tomb may now be +seen.</p> +<p>Fighting by the side of Montgomery when he fell was a youth who was +singled out for his bravery. His name was Aaron Burr. You are to hear +more of him, for many and many a time in after years the eyes of the +entire country were turned upon him.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXV'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2> +<h3>A BATTLE <i>on</i> LONG ISLAND</h3> +<br /> +<p>And now, early in the next spring, George Washington came again to New +York, having at last forced the British troops from Boston. The city, +which was under the control of the patriots, was in a state of +excitement, as it seemed probable that this was to be the next point of +attack. Every person who favored the cause of the King, or who was +suspected of favoring it, was looked upon with distrust. One-third of +the citizens had fled. The soldiers of the Continental army were +arriving daily. Women and children were rarely seen upon the streets. +Many of the royalists' houses, which had been closed when their owners +fled, were broken open to give sleeping quarters to the soldiers.</p> +<p>At the outbreak of the war the people's grievance had been simply +taxation without representation, but by this time the desire for +complete independence had taken fast hold of them. This feeling swept +through the colonies, and when the Continental Congress met in June of +this year, it voted that the united colonies should be free and +independent States and have no further political connection with Great +Britain. A declaration of independence was adopted on July 4th, and the +British colonies became the United States of America.</p> +<p>A horseman brought the news to New York, and there was great rejoicing. +The soldiers of the new Union then in the city were ordered to the +Common, and there, early in the evening, standing in a hollow +square—close by where the City Hall is now—and surrounded by a great +concourse of people, Washington read the address that proclaimed the +birth of a free and independent nation.</p> +<p>Following the reading the great throng applauded and then, filled with +enthusiasm, rushed away. At the City Hall in Wall Street they tore down +the painting of King George III. and trampled it under foot. On again +they went to the Bowling Green, and there they dragged down the statue +of the same royal person which had been erected only a few years before. +The scattered fragments of the leaden statue were afterward gathered up +and moulded into bullets.</p> +<p>This same month General William Howe, commander of the British army, had +landed on Staten Island, with his brother, Admiral Howe of the British +navy, and with the soldiers and sailors of their commands, made up a +fine, well-drilled army of 35,000 men, who had come to fight a force of +20,000 recruits; men not at all well-versed in war, and nearly half of +whom were ill and not able to be on duty.</p> +<p>But Washington calmly watched the British on Staten Island, and the +British ships, more than 400 of them, in the bay, and was not at all +dismayed. Once General Howe wrote to Washington suggesting measures that +would lead to peace, but nothing came of it.</p> +<p>Late in the month of August the fighting commenced. General Howe led his +forces to Long Island—led 21,000 men, for he thought that the best way +to capture New York was to first vanquish the army on Long Island by an +overwhelming force. Then the subduing of the city across the river would +be easy.</p> +<p>Washington hurried what men he could across to Long Island to assist +those already there. But even then the Americans were outnumbered as two +to one. The patriots fought long and well, but they were defeated. Two +hundred or more were killed, and three times as many, including three +generals, were made prisoners. But more than 300 of the British were +also killed.</p> +<p>The day after the battle, the American army was in Brooklyn, penned in +on the land side by the British troops and on the other by the wide, +swift-running river. It was raining in torrents. Washington was there. +He planned a retreat that was to save his army. All the boats to be +found along the shores of the Island of Manhattan were taken to Brooklyn +in the dead of night. Silently the soldiers were put aboard, so silently +that, although the British were almost within speaking distance, no +sound of the departing army reached them. The point where they embarked +was close by where the East River Bridge now touches the Brooklyn shore. +It was daylight before the last of the troops got aboard, but a heavy +fog shielded them as well as had the darkness.</p> +<p>When the sun swept the fog away, General Howe gazed in wonder at the +spot where the American forces had been the night before. But they were +gone, with the swiftness and silence of magic! The magician was +Washington, who had not slept from the hour of defeat until his men were +safe again in New York. But they were not to remain there long, as more +exciting work was before them.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVI'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2> +<br /> +<h3>THE BRITISH OCCUPY NEW YORK</h3> +<p>Miles and miles above the little city of New York, on a road which led +up through the Island of Manhattan, there was a stately house in a +stretch of country and forest land overlooking the Hudson River. This +was the house of Charles Ward Apthorpe and was known as the Apthorpe +mansion. Here General Washington went after the retreat from Long +Island, to devise a plan for the battles that were to come.</p> +<p>The city was well fortified, but Washington understood full well that it +could not be held long against a British attack. For the British +soldiers were already on the islands of the East River, and the British +ships held possession of the harbor and of both rivers. So Washington +sent the main body of his army to Harlem Heights at the northern end of +the Island of Manhattan, and left only a force of 4,000 men, under +General Putnam, in New York.</p> +<p>Washington desiring to learn the plans of the enemy, called for someone +who would be willing to go into the British lines. This was a dangerous +undertaking, for capture meant certain death. But there was a young +officer who was anxious to undertake the mission, and the arrangements +were made. This was Nathan Hale. In disguise he made his way, learned +the number of the enemy, and learned, too, all about the plan of attack. +With this information he was hurrying back to General Washington, when +he was recognized as belonging to the American army, and was arrested. +In a few days, when he was tried, he freely admitted that he had acted +as Washington's spy. He died as he had lived—bravely. A moment before +he was hanged he was asked if he wished to say any word. "Yes," he +answered; and looking firmly into the faces of those who stood about +him, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country," +No wonder that the memory of the Martyr Spy has lived through the +passing years!</p> +<p>Sixteen days after Washington and his men retreated from Long Island, +the British sailed up the East River and anchored opposite a little +inlet called Kip's Bay (at the foot of what is now Thirty-sixth Street). +They fired upon those who defended the bay, and under cover of this fire +landed; and the American soldiers scurried away up the island toward the +north.</p> +<p>General Howe led his men on for half a mile, until they reached a large +country house. This was the home, and all about it was the farm, of a +family named Murray (who gave their name to Murray Hill). These Murrays +were friendly to the patriots, but they were also well acquainted with +Governor Tryon, who was with the British army. So the army rested close +by the house, and Howe, Tryon, and the other officers were given a fine +dinner by Mrs. Murray.</p> +<a name='image-38'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-38.jpg' width='300' height='364' alt="Mrs. Murray's Dinner to British Officers" title=''> +</center><h5>Mrs. Murray's Dinner to British Officers</h5> +<p>Now although the Americans had retreated north up the island from Kip's +Bay, and were safely on their way to the main army on Harlem Heights, +you must remember there were 4,000 soldiers still in the city. So the +British were in the centre of the island with a very large force; the +main body of the Americans was to the north; while to the south was this +little band of 4,000, far away from their army and in a position to be +trapped by the British. Had the British officers at once decided to +stretch their men across the island, the 4,000 would have been penned up +on the lower part and would have been made prisoners. It therefore +seemed to Putnam's men that there was but one way for them to escape +capture, and that was by slipping past the British who rested at Murray +house and joining the main army on Harlem Heights.</p> +<p>The Murrays understood the condition of affairs, so they were +particularly cordial to their British guests and detained them as long +as they could at dinner. They were still feasting when General Putnam +started his 4,000 men marching toward the north.</p> +<a name='image-39'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-39.jpg' width='356' height='300' alt="Howe's Head-Quarters, Beekman House" title=''> +</center><h5>Howe's Head-Quarters, Beekman House</h5> +<p>He galloped far in advance, for the country was rough and his soldiers +could walk but slowly. He galloped north, and Washington, hanging to the +rear of the retreating troops from Kip's Bay, the generals met where two +roads crossed, close by where Broadway now crosses Forty-third Street. +Washington instructed Putnam to hurry his 4,000 on before they were +irretrievably cut off from the main army. They did hurry on. They drew +near the Murray house; they formed a line two miles long that moved +silently over the road that led them to within half a mile of where the +British soldiers were feasting. The line passed this point. Scarcely had +the last man gone by when the British were on the move, half an hour too +late for the capture of 4,000 prisoners.</p> +<p>Now the American forces were all together in a solid mass, moving toward +the upper end of the island; plodding through pouring rain, almost +dropping from the exhaustion of their long march—but safe.</p> +<p>This same night a division of the British soldiers occupied New York. +The others, close on the heels of the American army, waited for the +morning.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVII</h2> +<h3>THE BATTLE <i>of</i> HARLEM HEIGHTS</h3> +<br /> +<p>When the sun rose next morning (it was September 16th), the American +army and the British army lay encamped each on a highland close beside +one another separated by a valley.</p> +<p>The ground occupied by the British soldiers was then Vandewater Heights. +Much of this high ground still remains and is now called Columbia +Heights, and Columbia University and Grant's Tomb are upon it. The +American forces were scattered over what was then Harlem Heights, as far +as Washington's head-quarters in the country mansion overlooking the +Harlem River above Harlem Plains. It was the house of Roger Morris, a +royalist who had fled at the approach of the American soldiers, and it +still stands at 160th Street close by St. Nicholas Avenue. On the +heights and in the valley a battle was fought, beginning with a light +engagement quite early in the day, with more and more men of both armies +gradually joining in until there were 5,000 Americans against 6,000 +British, with several thousand of each side held in reserve.</p> +<a name='image-40'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-40.jpg' width='637' height='300' alt='Map of Manhattan Island in 1776, Showing the American Defences' title=''> +</center><h5>Map of Manhattan Island in 1776, Showing the American Defences</h5> +<p>The battle ended in the afternoon with the defeat of the British, who +lost 200 of their number.</p> +<p>This was a great victory for the Americans, who fought against superior +numbers—great because the men had lost heart after the defeat on Long +Island, and the forced retreat from the city. There was sorrow for the +dead, for even victories have a sad side. Every one of the 100 American +soldiers who were killed that day were brave men, and though all their +names are not written in history, the manner of their death urged on +their companions in the days that followed.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVIII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2> +<h3>THE BRITISH FAIL <i>to</i> SWEEP EVERYTHING BEFORE THEM</h3> +<br /> +<p>On the fourth day after the battle of Harlem Heights the soldiers of +England were making themselves comfortable in New York when a great fire +broke out. It swept over the city and 500 houses crumbled and fell in +ashes before it was controlled. Almost the entire western part of the +city was consumed, St. Paul's Chapel being the only building of +importance that was saved. Almost all who favored the American cause had +fled. But a few remained, and there was a hint that these had started +the fire. The British soldiers were angered when they saw the city they +had just entered burning, and while the flames roared and the houses +fell they rushed about and in their rage dashed out the brains of the +citizens who sought to beat back the flames from their homes. But it +was afterward learned that the fire had started in quite an accidental +manner.</p> +<p>A little while after this General Howe moved with the greater part of +the British army up the East River, and sailing on past the Island of +Manhattan, landed on the mainland beyond in Westchester. In this way the +British were in the rear of the Americans, and within a few days the two +armies coming together a battle was fought, in which the Americans were +defeated. Washington and his men then retreated into New Jersey.</p> +<p>General Howe next attacked Fort Washington, a high and rocky point on +the banks of the Hudson River (on a line with the present 178th Street). +There were 3,000 men here, all the American soldiers who were now on the +island, and they held such a high and well-fortified position that they +thought themselves quite safe. They doubtless would have been had not +one of their number, William Demont, turned traitor. He told the British +just how many men there were, and just how the fortress should be +attacked. And the British stormed the fort as the traitor directed, and +took it, and every one of the soldiers who had not been killed was made +prisoner. This ended the actual fight for liberty in New York.</p> +<a name='image-41'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-41.jpg' width='500' height='300' alt='View from the Bowling Green in the Revolution, from an Old Print' title=''> +</center><h5>View from the Bowling Green in the Revolution, from an Old Print</h5> +<p>But outside of New York the war went bravely on. Washington in New +Jersey kept up the fight, but the winter came on and his army suffered +exceedingly. It had come to be a very small army by this time, for they +were poorly fed and ill clothed and seldom had any sort of shelter. +Nevertheless, Washington gained many victories in New Jersey and +manoeuvred his little army so well that the whole world, hearing of his +achievements, was forced to recognize him as a great general.</p> +<p>New York was the head-quarters of the British army in America, and the +residence of its chief officers. The city was as thoroughly British as +it had before been American, and it was as much as life was worth even +to hint of an interest in the American cause.</p> +<p>Early in the next year, 1777, those who had the making of the laws for +the new State of New York, met in secret, and chose George Clinton as +their first Governor. The other colonies had formed themselves into +States, and the new nation grew stronger day by day.</p> +<p>Commissioners were sent to the European courts to ask aid for the United +States. Many young French noblemen, thrilled at the idea of fighting for +liberty, came to America as volunteers, and by their knowledge of war +gave valuable assistance to the American officers. The name of the +Marquis de Lafayette stands out prominently as the chief of these +volunteers. He was not yet twenty years old, but fitted out a vessel at +his own expense and crossed the ocean to offer his services. He asked to +be enlisted as a volunteer and to serve without pay, but he was soon +appointed a major-general.</p> +<p>When it had come to be July of this year, there was some fighting in the +North, for the British General Burgoyne came down from Canada. He +intended to meet the army under Howe which was marching northward, and +the two armies were to sweep everything before them. Burgoyne defeated +the Americans led by General Philip Schuyler, in several battles. Just +at this time General Schuyler's command was given to General Gates. Now +Gates followed the plans that had been made by Schuyler, with the result +that Burgoyne and his entire force of 6,000 men surrendered at Saratoga. +This settled one branch of the British army. The other branch, under +General Howe, took possession of Philadelphia, but the defeat of +Burgoyne at Saratoga put an end to their hopes of sweeping everything +before them.</p> +<p>In the last month of the year, Washington and his army took up winter +quarters at Valley Forge so as to keep a close watch upon the British in +Philadelphia.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIX'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIX</h2> +<h3>NEW YORK <i>a</i> PRISON-HOUSE</h3> +<br /> +<p>The winter passed, and when the spring came the British army moved from +Philadelphia to New York City, but not without great trouble, for +Washington's army fought them every step of the way across New Jersey.</p> +<p>The city was now quite different from the flourishing town it had been +before the war. Held possession of by the British, it was a military +camp. No improvements were made. Many of the citizens who were loyal to +the American cause had fled. Those who were too poor to leave pretended +to favor the British, but as little business could be done, they could +find no work, and their condition became worse daily. Thousands of +American prisoners were brought here, making it a British prison-house, +and every building of any size was a guard-house, every cellar a +dungeon.</p> +<a name='image-42'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-42.jpg' width='336' height='300' alt='Old Sugar-House in Liberty Street, the Prison-House of the Revolution' title=''> +</center><h5>Old Sugar-House in Liberty Street, the Prison-House of the Revolution</h5> +<p>One of the gloomiest of these prisons was an old sugar-house close by +the Middle Dutch Church. It was built in the days of Jacob Leisler, with +thick stone walls five stories high, pierced with small windows. The +ceilings were so low and the windows so small that the air could +scarcely find entrance. Underneath was a black and dismal cellar. The +pale and shrunken faces of prisoners filled the openings at the windows +by day and by night, seeking a breath of air. They were so jammed +together that there was by no means room at the windows for all. So +these wretched men divided themselves into groups, each group crowding +close to the windows for ten minutes, then giving place to another +group. They slept on straw that was never changed, and the food given +them was scarcely enough to keep them alive. Those who suffered this +living death might have been free at any time had they been willing to +go over to the British, but few of the patriots, even in this dread +hour, deserted their cause. To while away the hours of their captivity, +they carved their names upon the walls with rusty nails. Fevers raged +constantly and they died by scores, leaving their half-finished initials +on the walls as their only relics. Their bodies were thrown out of +doors, and every morning gathered up in carts and carried to the +outskirts of the city to be buried in a trench without ceremony.</p> +<p>This was only one of a dozen such prison-houses. There was one other +that, if anything, was worse. It was the New Jail, and it still stands +in City Hall Park and is now the Hall of Records. During the war it was +known as The Provost, because it was the head quarters of a +provost-marshal named Cunningham. It was his custom at the conclusion +of his drunken revels to parade his weak, ill, half-fed prisoners +before his guests, as fine specimens of the rebel army. It is said of +him, too, that he poisoned those who died too slowly of cold and +starvation, and then went right on drawing money to feed them. This gave +rise to the saying that he starved the living and fed the dead. He took +a great delight in being as cruel and merciless as he could, and very +often boasted that he had caused the death of more rebels than had been +killed by all of the King's forces.</p> +<p>Many American sailors were also captured (for the Revolution was fought +on the sea as well as on land) and all these were placed aboard +prison-ships—useless hulks, worn-out freight-boats, and abandoned +men-of-war. For a time these hulks were anchored close by the Battery, +but afterward they were taken to the Brooklyn shore. There was misery +and suffering on all of them, but the worst was called the "Jersey," +where captives were crowded into the hold, the sick and the well, poorly +fed and scarcely clothed, so many of them as hardly to permit space to +lie down, watched over by a guard of merciless soldiers. Disease in a +dozen forms was always present, and every morning the living were forced +to carry out those who had died over night.</p> +<p>During this year 1778, and for several years after, the war was carried +on for the most part in the South, in Georgia and South Carolina, while +the British soldiers in the city made trips into the surrounding country +and laid it waste. Washington and his army in New Jersey could do little +more than watch.</p> +<p>In the year 1780 the American cause came very near receiving a serious +check, when an officer high in rank turned traitor. This man was +Benedict Arnold, and had been a vigorous fighter. But now he bargained +with the British to turn over to them West Point, where he was chief in +command. Major John André, a brilliant young officer under the British +General Clinton, was sent to make the final arrangements. André was +returning to New York when he was captured with the plans of West Point +concealed in his boots. He was hanged as a spy, and Arnold, escaping to +the British in New York, fought with them, despised by the Americans and +mistrusted by the English; for a traitor can never be truly liked or +respected even by those who benefit by his treachery.</p> +<p>The War of the Revolution went on until the fall of the year 1781, when +General Washington made a sudden move that drew his men away from the +vicinity of New York before the British army could foresee it. Then he +hurried to the South. There, at Yorktown, in Virginia, the combined +American army hemmed in, and after a battle forced to surrender, Lord +Cornwallis, the British commander in the South, and all his men.</p> +<p>This victory was so great that it really ended the war. Great Britain +gave up the struggle, and a treaty of peace was signed.</p> +<p>And now you will see how the British army left the city of New York.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXX'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXX</h2> +<h3>AFTER <i>the</i> WAR</h3> +<br /> +<p>On a crisp, cold day, late in the fall, a tall, mild-faced man on a +spirited horse passed down the Bowery Road, followed by a long train of +soldiers whose shabby clothes and worn faces told of days of trial and +hardship. This was General George Washington with a portion of the +Continental army. They were entering New York on this same day when the +British troops were leaving it.</p> +<p>But although the British were leaving under the terms of the treaty of +peace, and had gone on board ships that were to take them to England, +there were many who were filled with rage at this enforced departure. At +the fort by the river-side they had knocked the cleats <i>off</i> the +flag-pole, and had greased the pole so that no one could climb it to put +up the United States flag and thus flaunt it in the face of the +departing troops. But the soldiers of Washington who reached the fort +just as the last British company was leaving, set to work with hammer +and saw. They made new cleats for the pole. Then a young sailor—his +name was John Van Arsdale—filling his pockets with the cleats and +nailing them above him as he climbed the pole step by step, was able to +put the flag in position. And as it floated to the breeze a salute of +thirteen guns sounded while the British troops were still within +hearing.</p> +<p>So now the city of New York, which for seven years the British had +occupied, was again in possession of the citizens.</p> +<p>General Washington only remained here a few days. He made his +head-quarters in Fraunces's Tavern, in Broad Street, and there at noon +on December 4th, his officers assembled to hear his words of farewell. +It was an affectionate parting of men who had suffered danger and +privations together. There were tears in Washington's eyes.</p> +<a name='image-43'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-43.jpg' width='506' height='300' alt='North Side of Wall Street East of William Street, Taken a Few Years after the Revolutionary War' title=''> +</center><h5>North Side of Wall Street East of William Street, Taken a Few Years after the Revolutionary War</h5> +<p>"With a heart full of love and gratitude," said he, "I now take my leave +of you, and most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as +prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and +honorable."</p> +<p>It was not a time for much talking, and Washington was soon gone, +leaving real sorrow behind him. Within a few weeks he had resigned his +commission as commander-in-chief, and had retired as a private citizen +to his home at Mount Vernon.</p> +<p>The city of New York was in quite a deplorable state. The wide tract +swept by the fire of 1776 still lay in blackened ruins. No effort had +been made to rebuild except where temporary wooden huts had been set up +by the soldiers. The churches, all of which had been used for one +purpose or another, were dismantled, blackened, and marred. There was +scarcely a house in all the little town that had not been ill-used by +the soldiers. Fences were down, and the streets were filled with +rubbish. It was a city stricken with premature decay. Business life was +dead, and would have to be begun all over again. The citizens were +divided against themselves. Feuds existed everywhere. Patriots who had +fled and had now come back felt a deep bitterness against those who had +adopted the royal cause for the purpose of keeping possession of their +property. These, however, complained just as bitterly because now their +homes were taken from them in the adjustment.</p> +<p>King's College, of which you have been told, had been closed all during +the war, and had been used as a hospital. It was opened now, but was +called Columbia College, as the King no longer had any claims on the +city or its institutions.</p> +<p>During the next few years business slowly revived, and day by day the +city was rebuilt, growing into something like its old self.</p> +<p>Some little distance above the Common was the City Hospital. There came +rumors at this time that the bodies of the dead were being stolen from +the graveyards and used by the students for dissecting purposes. There +was no truth in these stories, yet many persons became alarmed. They +gathered, broke into the hospital and destroyed everything of value. +The doctors fled to the jail on the Common for protection. The mob +determined to seize them, and tore down the fences about the jail. Then +the Mayor gathered a body of citizens to oppose the mob. As night came +on, the rioters, becoming more and more destructive, were fired upon and +five were killed. After this they scampered away, the trouble was over, +and that was the last of the Doctors' Mob.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXI'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXI</h2> +<h3>THE FIRST PRESIDENT <i>of the</i> UNITED STATES</h3> +<br /> +<p>Rebuilding a city and forming a new nation is such a great task that you +can readily believe it was not accomplished without some difficulty. The +colonies were free from the rule of the English King, but it was +necessary for them to learn to govern themselves.</p> +<p>Each of the new States now had its own government. It was thought by +many that there should be some powerful central government to control +all the States. So after a great deal of deliberation a convention was +held in Philadelphia over which George Washington presided. After four +months of hard work the present Constitution of the United States was +given to each State to be approved.</p> +<p>There was strong need for this step to be taken, but there were a great +many who did not want it, because they thought it would give the +President as much power as a king, and as they had gone to some cost to +rid themselves of a king, they did not wish another. Those who wanted a +central government were called Federalists. Those who did not want it +were called Anti-Federalists.</p> +<p>In New York there was one man who did everything that man could do to +convince others that the central government was the best thing for the +good of the new nation. His name was Alexander Hamilton. He was a young +man who had been, ever since he was a boy, a friend of George +Washington; who had lived in Washington's family and had fought as an +officer side by side with Washington, and was a man of much power and +deep learning.</p> +<p>This Constitution of the United States had been approved by nine of the +States, when, in June, 1788, a convention was held to determine whether +New York was to approve it or not. At this convention Alexander Hamilton +spoke eloquently, in an effort to have the Constitution approved.</p> +<p>The convention was still meeting in July, having come to no decision, +when the followers of Hamilton, the Federalists, had a great parade +through the streets of New York. It was the first big parade in the +city, and the grandest spectacle that had ever been seen in America up +to this time.</p> +<a name='image-44'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-44.jpg' width='405' height='300' alt='Celebration of the Adoption of the Constitution' title=''> +</center><h5>Celebration of the Adoption of the Constitution</h5> +<p>The most imposing part of it was a great wooden ship on wheels, made to +represent the Ship of State, and called the "Federal Ship Hamilton." The +parade was a mile and a half long and there were five thousand men in +it. It passed along the streets of the city, past the fort, and on up +Broadway over the tree-covered hill above the Common, and on to the +Bayard Farm beyond the Collect Pond. There a halt was made and the +thousands of people sat down on the grass to a dinner.</p> +<p>Three days after this the convention approved of the Constitution for +the State of New York. And so the majority of the States having agreed +to it, in the next year George Washington was chosen as the first +President of the United States, and the city of New York was selected as +the temporary seat of the general government.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXII</h2> +<h3>THE WELCOME <i>to</i> GEORGE WASHINGTON</h3> +<br /> +<p>Now that New York was the seat of the national government, the old City +Hall in Wall Street was made larger and fitted up in grand style and was +called Federal Hall.</p> +<p>In April George Washington came to this city from his home at Mount +Vernon. Every step of his way, by carriage and on horseback, was a march +of triumph. The people in towns and villages and countryside greeted him +with shouts and signs of affection. But it was in New York that the +greatest welcome was given him.</p> +<p>The city had taken on a most picturesque appearance. Every house was +decorated with colors, and when Washington landed from a barge at the +foot of Wall Street, he walked up a stairway strewn with flowers. The +streets were so thronged that way could scarcely be made. Not only were +the streets filled, but every window and every house-top. The people +waited for hours, and when Washington arrived a wild hubbub commenced +that kept up all the day long.</p> +<a name='image-45'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-45.jpg' width='507' height='300' alt='View of Federal Hall and Part of Broad Street, 1796' title=''> +</center><h5>View of Federal Hall and Part of Broad Street, 1796</h5> +<p>Washington was escorted to the house that had been prepared for him, a +little way out of town at the top of a hill.</p> +<p>If in the days that you read this you walk along Pearl Street until you +come to the East River bridge at Franklin Square, a part of the city +crowded with tenements and factories, you will stand close by where the +house was. On the abutment of the bridge you will find a tablet that has +been riveted to the stone, so that all who pass may know that Washington +once lived there. The house was built by Walter Franklin, a rich +merchant, and was therefore called the Franklin House. The square, +however, does not take its name from this man, but from the renowned +Benjamin Franklin.</p> +<p>Very soon, on a bright, sunshiny day, Washington stood on the balcony of +Federal Hall, surrounded by the members of the Senate and the House of +Representatives, with the citizens thronging every inch of the nearby +streets. And there he took the oath of office, and having taken it the +cry was raised, "Long Live George Washington, First President of the +United States," a cry that was echoed from street to street, and went on +echoing out into the country beyond.</p> +<a name='image-46'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-46.jpg' width='347' height='300' alt='The John Street Theatre, 1781' title=''> +</center><h5>The John Street Theatre, 1781</h5> +<p>The life of the First President was a simple and a busy one. He rose at +four o'clock each morning and went to bed at nine in the evening. Many +hours a day he worked at matters of state, receiving all who called, so +that there was quite a stream of people going to and from the Franklin +House at all times. Sometimes during the day he took a long drive with +Mrs. Washington, which he called the "Fourteen Miles 'round," going up +one side of the island above the city and coming down the other. +Sometimes of an evening he attended a performance at the little John +Street Theatre. Always on Sunday he and all his family went to St. +Paul's Chapel. And the pew in which they sat you can sit in if you go to +that old chapel, for it has been preserved all these years.</p> +<p>By this time the fort by the Bowling Green, which had stood since the +days of the Dutch, was torn down to make room for a mansion that was to +be called the Government House and be occupied by the President.</p> +<p>The mansion was built, but you shall see presently why no President ever +occupied it.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXIII</h2> +<h3>CONCERNING <i>the</i> TAMMANY SOCIETY <i>and</i> BURR'S BANK</h3> +<br /> +<p>There was formed just about this time, in fact the very month after +Washington's inauguration, an organization which was called the Tammany +Society. And out of this society grew the great political body—Tammany +Hall. The Tammany Society took its name from a celebrated Indian chief, +and at first had as its central purpose the effort to keep a love of +country strong in every heart. The best men in the city belonged to the +Tammany Society, which held meetings and transacted business under all +sorts of odd and peculiar forms. It divided the seasons of the year into +the Season of Blossoms, the Season of Fruits, the Season of Moons, and +the Season of Snows, instead of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. And +the head of the order was called the Grand Sachem or Chief.</p> +<p>New York now became a very active and a very brilliant city indeed, and +all manner of improvements were made. The first sidewalks were laid +along Broadway, just above St. Paul's Chapel. They were pavements of +brick, so narrow that two persons could scarcely walk along side by +side. Then the high hill crossed by Broadway just above the Common was +cut away so that the street stretched away as broad and as straight as +you see it to-day. Numbers were put on the houses and streets were cut +through the waste lands about the Collect Pond, and the barracks which +were built for the British soldiers were torn away as unsightly +structures. These barracks were log huts a story high, enclosed by a +high wall. The gate at one end, called Tryon's Gate, gave the name to +Tryon's Row as it now exists. Trinity Church, which had been in ruins +since the fire, was rebuilt, as well as many, many other houses.</p> +<p>Now the fact that the city was the seat of the national government and +was the home of Washington had much to do with its improvement. But New +York had only been fixed upon as the capital temporarily, and a dozen +States were anxious for that honor. Finally, in the second year that +Washington was President, it was decided to build a city which should be +the seat of the general government, on land given by the States of +Maryland and Virginia for that purpose and called the District of +Columbia. While the city (which was given the name of Washington) was +being built, the seat of government was to be in Philadelphia, and +Washington went there to live. A great many of the gay and brilliant +company that had been attracted to the capital followed him there, and +for a time New York languished in neglect.</p> +<p>It now began to look as though the United States would be drawn into +another war with Great Britain. For the French Revolution was in +progress and the French people were at war with the English, and thought +that the Americans should help them as they had helped the Americans in +Revolutionary times. But President Washington and some of the very wise +and good people about him thought it best to have nothing to do with it. +So a treaty was made between England and the United States, and the +French did not get the help they asked.</p> +<p>Some of the citizens of New York, quite a large number of them, were +very angry when they heard of this treaty and burned a copy of it on the +Bowling Green, with all sorts of threats. But after a time those who had +shouted against it changed their minds. They had something more serious +to think of nearer home before many years, for the small-pox broke out +in the city and thousands upon thousands hurried away to escape the +dread disease. All business was at a standstill, and even the churches +were closed. When the scourge had spent its force, it was found that +more than 2,000 had died of it.</p> +<p>There was one man who took advantage of the small-pox scare to his own +profit. This was Aaron Burr. You will remember him as a boy fighting by +the side of Montgomery in Canada. He was now a lawyer known for his +great skill the country over; a man of education and deep learning. He +was the leader of a political party, a party which contended with, +fought with, disagreed with at every turn the party of which Alexander +Hamilton was one of the chief leaders.</p> +<p>Now there were two banks in the city, both of which were under the +control of the party to which Alexander Hamilton belonged. Aaron Burr +determined that his party should have a bank, too. The citizens were +prejudiced against banks, and did not want a new one. But Burr +determined to establish one, and set about it in a most peculiar way. +All at once the report got about that the small-pox had been caused by +the well-water. This was about all there was to drink in the city, +except that which came from a few springs and was said to be very impure +indeed. So Aaron Burr and his friends secured a charter for a company +that was to supply clear, pure water. This pleased the citizens very +much. But there was a clause in the charter to the effect that as all +the money might not be needed for the bringing of water into the city, +that which remained could be used for <i>any</i> purpose the company saw fit. +Only those in the secret understood that the money was to be used to +start a bank. So the company dug deep wells not far from the Collect +Pond, and pumped water from them into a reservoir which was built close +by the Common on Chambers Street, and then sent it through the city by +means of curious wooden pipes. This water was really just as impure as +that which had before been taken from the wells, and it was not long +before the new water-works were known to be a failure. Then the company +gave all their attention to the bank, which had in the meanwhile been +started.</p> +<a name='image-47'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-47.jpg' width='488' height='300' alt='Reservoir of Manhattan Water-Works in Chambers Street' title=''> +</center><h5>Reservoir of Manhattan Water-Works in Chambers Street</h5> +<p>This company of Aaron Burr's was called the Manhattan Company, and their +Manhattan Bank has been kept going ever since and is still in existence +in a fine large building in Wall Street.</p> +<p>So you see Aaron Burr this time got the better of Alexander Hamilton and +his friends.</p> +<p>If you turn the page you will read more of Hamilton and Burr.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIV'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXIV</h2> +<h3>MORE <i>about</i> HAMILTON <i>and</i> BURR</h3> +<br /> +<p>The dawn of the nineteenth century saw 60,000 people in the city of New +York and the town extending a mile up the island. Above the city were +farms and orchards and the country homes of the wealthy. Where Broadway +ended there was a patch of country called Lispenard's Meadow, and about +this time a canal was cut through it from the Collect Pond to the +Hudson River. This was the canal which long years afterward was filled +in and gave its name to Canal Street.</p> +<a name='image-48'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-48.jpg' width='624' height='300' alt='The Collect Pond' title=''> +</center><h5>The Collect Pond</h5> +<p>From time to time there were projects for setting out a handsome park +about the shores of the Collect Pond, but the townspeople thought it was +too far away from the city. But in a few years the city grew up to the +Collect Pond, which was then filled in, and to-day a gloomy prison (The +Tombs) is built upon the spot.</p> +<p>One of the new undertakings was the building of a new City Hall, as the +old one in Wall Street was no longer large enough. So the present City +Hall was begun on what was then the Common, but it was not finished for +a good ten years. The front and sides were of white marble, and the rear +of cheaper red sandstone, as it was thought that it would be many years +before anyone would live far enough uptown to notice the difference. How +odd this seems in these days, when the City Hall is quite at the +beginning of the city.</p> +<p>Aaron Burr had by this time been elected Vice-President of the United +States. But he soon lost the confidence of the people, and when, in the +year 1803, he hoped to be made Governor of the State of New York, he was +defeated.</p> +<a name='image-49'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-49.jpg' width='490' height='300' alt='The Grange, Kingsbridge Road, the Residence of Alexander Hamilton' title=''> +</center><h5>The Grange, Kingsbridge Road, the Residence of Alexander Hamilton</h5> +<p>Now at this time Alexander Hamilton was still a leader in the party +opposed to Aaron Burr, and did everything possible to defeat him. And +Burr, angered because of this, and believing that Hamilton had sought to +bring dishonor upon him, challenged Hamilton to a duel—the popular way +of settling such serious grievances. So Hamilton accepted the challenge +and on a morning in the middle of the summer of 1804, just after +sunrise, the duel took place on the heights of the shore of New Jersey, +just above Weehawken. Hamilton fell at the first fire mortally wounded. +The next day he died.</p> +<p>There was great sorrow throughout the entire country, for he was a brave +and good man, and had been a leader since the War of the Revolution. All +the citizens followed him to his rest in Trinity Churchyard, and in the +churchyard to-day you can see his tomb carefully taken care of and +decorated, year by year.</p> +<p>After the death of Hamilton the feeling against Burr in the city was +bitter indeed, and he soon went away.</p> +<p>A few years later, when a project was formed for establishing a great +empire in the southwest and overthrowing the United States, this same +Aaron Burr was thought to be concerned in the plot. When, after a trial, +he was acquitted, he went to live in Europe. But he returned after a +time, and the last years of his life were passed in New York.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXV'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXV</h2> +<h3>ROBERT FULTON BUILDS <i>a</i> STEAM-BOAT</h3> +<br /> +<p>There had come to be a great need for schools. There were private +schools and there were school-rooms attached to some of the churches, +but it was in this year, 1805, that the first steps were taken to have +free schools for all.</p> +<p>A kindly man named De Witt Clinton was Mayor of the city, and he, with +some other citizens, organized the Free School Society that was to +provide an education for every child. The following year the first free +school was opened. The society continued in force for forty-eight years, +each year the number of its schools increasing, until finally all its +property was turned over to the city.</p> +<p>In the days when De Witt Clinton was Mayor the first steam-boat was +built to be used on the Hudson River. For many a year there had been +men who felt sure that steam could be applied to boats and made to +propel them against the wind and the tide. They had tried very hard to +build such a boat but none had succeeded. Sometimes the boilers burst. +Sometimes the paddle-wheels refused to revolve. For one reason or +another the boats were failures.</p> +<p>A man named John Fitch had built a little steam-boat and had tried it on +the Collect Pond, where it had steamed around much to the surprise of +the good people of the city who went to look at it. But it was +considered more as a toy than anything else. Nothing came of the +experiment, and the boat itself was neglected after a time and dragged +up on the bank beside the lake, where it lay until it rotted away.</p> +<p>Then Robert Livingston, who was chancellor of the city, felt sure he +could build a steam-boat that would be of use. As he was a wealthy man +he spent a great deal of money trying to make such a boat; and as he was +a very learned man he gave much thought to it.</p> +<p>Chancellor Livingston was in France when he met another American, named +Robert Fulton, who was an artist and a civil engineer, and who also +hoped to build a boat that could be moved by steam. Livingston and +Fulton decided that they would together build such a boat.</p> +<a name='image-50'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-50.jpg' width='472' height='300' alt="The Clermont, Fulton's First Steam-Boat" title=''> +</center><h5>The Clermont, Fulton's First Steam-Boat</h5> +<p>So Fulton came back to New York and with the money given him by +Livingston began to build a steam-boat which he called the Clermont—the +name of Chancellor Livingston's country home. The citizens laughed a +good deal at the idea and called the boat "Fulton's Folly." In August, +1807, the Clermont was finished, and a crowd gathered to see it launched +and to laugh at its failure. But the boat moved out into the stream and +up the Hudson River, while the people gazed in wonder at the marvellous +thing gliding through the water, moved apparently by some more than +human force. It went all the way to Albany, and from that day on +continued to make trips up and down the river. This was the first +successful steam-boat in the world. Soon steam ferry-boats took the +place of those which had been driven by horse-power. Quickly, too, after +the success of the Clermont, steam navigation went rapidly forward on +both sides of the ocean. Fulton made other and much better boats. Other +men followed in his footsteps, and the great ocean liners of to-day are +one of the results.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXVI'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXVI</h2> +<h3>THE CITY PLAN</h3> +<br /> +<p>It is interesting at this time to read how the streets came to be just +where they are. The city was growing more rapidly than ever and the +streets and byways met one another at every sort of angle, forming a +tangled maze. To remedy this, a commission was formed of several of the +prominent citizens to determine just what course the streets should +take. Now this commission decided not to interfere with those that +existed, but to map out the island above the city and plan for those +that were to be. They worked for four years and then submitted, in the +year 1811, what they called the City Plan. If you will look at a map, +you will see at the lower part of the Island of Manhattan that the +streets cross and recross each other in the most bewildering manner. And +you will also see that above this jumble the streets and avenues extend +through the island in a regular and uniform way. This change was the +result of the City Plan.</p> +<p>While the commission was making its plan, there came threatenings of +war. Again England was at war with France, and those two countries in +fighting one another very often injured the American ships. Besides, the +British war-ships had a disagreeable way of searching American ships and +taking charge of any Englishmen they found on them, even those who had +become American citizens. These same British war-ships often fired upon +those American vessels whose captains objected to their being searched.</p> +<p>So it came about that American ships carrying merchandise to other +countries and bringing merchandise to American ports were interfered +with more and more, and American commerce was thus ruined, for no +American ship was safe. The end came early in the year 1812, when the +United States declared war against Great Britain.</p> +<a name='image-51'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-51.jpg' width='300' height='300' alt='Castle Garden' title=''> +</center><h5>Castle Garden</h5> +<p>As soon as war was declared, the citizens of New York united for +defence, and when news came that the city was to be attacked, a great +meeting was held in City Hall Park, and everybody decided, then and +there, to support their country with their fortunes, their honor, and +their lives. Then they went to work, stopping all other employment, and +night and day they built forts and defences. They built forts on the +islands in the bay to defend the approach to the city from the ocean, +and they built forts in the Hell Gate to defend the approach by way of +Long Island Sound, and they built batteries on the Island of Manhattan +itself. One fort built at this time was on a little island close by the +Battery, and was called Fort Clinton. This afterward became Castle +Garden.</p> +<p>But though the British had sent soldiers and ships to fight the forces +in America, they made no effort to capture the city of New York.</p> +<p>The war went on for two years; there were battles, many of them, on the +land and on the sea. Very often the British had the best of it, and then +again the Americans would have the best of it. But in the end, although +the British fought hard, the Americans fought harder, and in the first +month of the year 1815 the war ended with a great battle in New Orleans, +which the Americans won.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXVII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXVII</h2> +<h3>THE STORY <i>of the</i> ERIE CANAL</h3> +<p>Everything was going along smoothly when all at once the yellow fever +broke out on the west side, far downtown. It raged with even more +violence than had the small-pox. Citizens fled, and the stricken +district was fenced off so that no one might enter it. It was like a +place of the dead, silent and deserted. Many people went far out of town +to Greenwich Village, and many business houses opened offices in this +little settlement; with the result that Greenwich Village started on a +new life, and it was not long before it grew to be an important part of +New York instead of a suburb. For many who had transferred their +business also went to live there, not returning to the city even after +the fever had passed away.</p> +<a name='image-52'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-52.jpg' width='508' height='300' alt='Landing of Lafayette at Castle Garden' title=''> +</center><h5>Landing of Lafayette at Castle Garden</h5> +<p>In the year after the fever (it was by this time 1824) General Lafayette +came again to America and was warmly received. Landing first at +Staten Island, he was, on the following day, escorted by a naval +procession and conducted to Castle Garden. A multitude came to voice +their welcome and follow him to the City Hall, where he was greeted by +the Mayor and all of the officials. During his stay he held daily +receptions in the City Hall, and afterward visited the public +institutions and buildings. On leaving for a tour of the country he was +accompanied all the way to Kingsbridge by a detachment of troops. For +thirteen months he travelled through the country, and when he returned +to New York in the autumn of the next year, the citizens gave a banquet +in his honor, at Castle Garden, which surpassed anything of the kind +that had ever been seen.</p> +<p>Then General Lafayette sailed away to France again. In the month after +he had gone, with all the city cheering him and making such a din that +you would have thought that there never could be a greater, in the very +next month the city was again all decorated, and more shouts rent the +air, for a grand undertaking had just been completed, which you shall +now hear of.</p> +<p>Ever since the days of the Revolution there had been talk of digging a +canal from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean; for you must know that +in these days there being no railroads, most of the traffic and travel +were done by water. This canal had been long talked of, but no step had +been taken toward building it.</p> +<p>Now you will remember that De Witt Clinton, while he was Mayor, took a +great deal of interest in everything that was for the good of the city. +Well, after he had been Mayor for some years, he became Governor of the +State, and it was he who came to think that although the building of the +canal would be a great undertaking, for it would have to be more than +300 miles long, it might after all be accomplished. For years he worked, +with some others, while many said that it was a foolish idea, and too +much of a task even to think of. But still Clinton worked at his plans, +and finally, the money having been given by the State, the digging of +the canal was begun. The work went on for eight years, and in the month +of October, 1825, was finished.</p> +<p>The canal was a water-way that stretched across the State of New York +from Buffalo to Albany and there joined the Hudson River, which leads +straight to the city of New York, and so on to the ocean.</p> +<p>The people in the city and in the State were delighted at the completion +of the work, and on the day of the opening of the canal they expressed +their joy as loudly as they could. Governor De Witt Clinton was at the +Buffalo end, and he, with the State officers, started in a boat +decorated with flags and bunting and was towed through the canal. As the +boat set out from Buffalo, a cannon was fired, and many more cannon +having been placed each within hearing distance of the other by the side +of the canal, in turn took up the sound and carried it along, mile after +mile, until the last one, stationed in the city of New York, was fired, +one hour and twenty-five minutes after the first had been fired at +Buffalo. By this the people all across the State knew that the canal had +been opened.</p> +<p>For ten days the boats crept along the canal, and at each town bands +played, and speeches were made, until on the tenth day the Governor and +his party reached New York—the first to make the journey across the +State by water. They were taken to Sandy Hook, the Mayor of New York, +with many others, attending, and surrounded by all the ships in the bay, +with their colors flying and their whistles blowing. And there at Sandy +Hook, Governor Clinton poured a keg of water which he had brought from +Lake Erie into the waters of the ocean.</p> +<p>Thus were the waters of the Great Lakes and the waters of the Atlantic +Ocean united, and the city was illuminated as it had never been before, +and great bonfires burned all night, in honor of the wedding.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXVIII'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXVIII</h2> +<h3>THE BUILDING <i>of the</i> CROTON AQUEDUCT</h3> +<br /> +<p>It really seemed now as though some fairy wand had been turned toward +New York. Blocks of houses of brick and stone sprang up, and buildings +of every sort crept up the Island of Manhattan and were occupied by more +than 200,000 people. The city was the centre of art and literature and +science in America. The streets were lighted by gas; there were fine +theatres; and the first street railroad in the world was in +operation—the first step toward crowding out the lumbering stages. +Newspapers were multiplying, and there were now fifty various sorts, +daily, weekly, and monthly. The dailies cost six cents, and were +delivered to regular subscribers. In the year 1833 the <i>Sun</i>, the first +penny paper to be published in the city, was issued. It was a success. +Boys sold it on the streets in all parts of the town. This was the +beginning of the work of the news-boys, and after this they were to be +found all over the country.</p> +<p>But now there came another great fire. On a December night, a night so +cold that it was said there had not been such another in fifty years, +flames broke out in the lower part of town near the river. The citizens +battled with it as best they could, but it burned for three days, +destroying almost all of the business end of the city. For years +afterward it was called the "Great Fire," and was remembered with dread. +To-day there is a marble tablet on a house in Pearl Street near Coenties +Slip, which was the centre of the burned district, where you can read of +how fearful the fire was and how thankful the people were that the +entire city was not destroyed. But the houses were quickly rebuilt, and +New York prospered more than ever before.</p> +<a name='image-53'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-53.jpg' width='495' height='300' alt='View of Park Row, 1825' title=''> +</center><h5>View of Park Row, 1825</h5> +<p>Destructive as the fire was, however, it called attention to the fact +that there was a woful lack of water in the city. Most of the water was +still supplied by the wells and springs which had been sufficient for +a small town, but were by no means so for a city of the present size. It +was now that the idea of bringing a large supply of water from without +the city was conceived. The plan was to build an artificial course, or +aqueduct, for water, from the Croton River, forty miles and more above +the city. Many thought that this was not possible, but then other +seemingly impossible things had been accomplished, so they pushed ahead +and commenced the building of this work. A dam was thrown across the +Croton River, forming a lake five miles long. The aqueduct extended from +this dam to the city. Sometimes it had to be cut through the solid rock; +sometimes it was continued underground by tunnel; sometimes over valleys +by embankments, until at last it reached the Harlem River where a stone +bridge, called the High Bridge, was built to support it. Through this +channel of solid masonry the water was brought into the city, and when +it reached the Island of Manhattan was distributed in pipes over the +entire city. This wonderful work cost $9,000,000, and took seven years +to build. When the water was first released from Croton River and flowed +into the new channel, rushing along for forty miles to the city, the +citizens rejoiced greatly. There was a celebration with parades and +illuminations.</p> +<a name='image-54'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-54.jpg' width='357' height='300' alt='High Bridge, Croton Aqueduct' title=''> +</center><h5>High Bridge, Croton Aqueduct</h5> +<p>It now looked as though there would be enough water to last no matter +how large the city should become, for there were now 95,000,000 gallons +a day available. But before another fifty years had passed there was a +cry for more water, But this time the people knew just what to do, and +another aqueduct was built from the Croton River. This one was carried +under the Harlem River instead of over it, supplying so much water that +it will doubtless be many a long year indeed before another will be +needed.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIX'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXIX</h2> +<h3>PROFESSOR MORSE <i>and the</i> TELEGRAPH</h3> +<br /> +<p>There lived in New York at this time a man whose name was Samuel F.B. +Morse. He was an artist and was interested in many branches of science. +He had founded the National Academy of Design and was Professor of the +Literature of the Arts of Design at the University of the City of New +York. This man believed that an electric current could be transmitted +through a wire and so make it possible to convey a message from one +point to another. One night, after having worked on his idea for years, +he invited a few friends to the University building, which overlooked +Washington Square, and showed them the result of his labors. It was the +first telegraph in the world. This was a crude affair, but Professor +Morse proved that he could send a message over a wire. In the year 1845 +he had advanced so far that a telegraph line was built between New York +City and Philadelphia. Then all the world recognized the genius of +Morse. The people of New York especially honored him, and even in his +lifetime they erected a statue of him which you can see to-day in +Central Park.</p> +<p>By this time the city had crept up to both Greenwich Village and Bowery +Village, and had engulfed them. On every side were houses, some of them +five and six stories high, where before they had been but two stories.</p> +<p>An open space nearby Bowery Village was called Astor Place. This was the +scene in 1849 of a famous riot, which came about in this wise: Edwin +Forrest, an American actor, and William Charles Macready, an English +actor, had quarrelled about some fancied slight. So when Macready came +to the city to play at the Astor Place Opera House, some friends of +Forrest's gathered and sought to prevent his acting by shouting their +disapproval. This was the excuse for an unruly mob to gather outside the +theatre and storm the house with stones. Macready escaped by leaving +the theatre by a rear door. Then a regiment of soldiers came and after +using all peaceful measures to quell the disturbance, fired upon the mob +and killed many of them before the space was cleared and quiet restored.</p> +<a name='image-55'></a><center> +<img src='images/image-55.jpg' width='480' height='300' alt='Crystal Palace' title=''> +</center><h5>Crystal Palace</h5> +<p>Castle Garden, which had once been Fort Clinton, had become a place of +amusement. Here Jenny Lind, "the Swedish Nightingale," sang, and many +another artist of rare ability was seen and heard.</p> +<p>Now, too, a World's Fair was opened on Murray Hill. Held in a +fairy-like building of glass, made in the form of a Greek cross, with +graceful dome and arches, it was a Crystal Palace in fact as in name, +where all the products of the world were shown. But, unfortunately, a +few years later it was burned to the ground.</p> +<p>There are always some wise and thoughtful people who think of the +comfort of others, and some of these realized that it would not be long +before the Island of Manhattan would be so covered with houses that +there would be no open places where one might enjoy fresh air and +recreation. They said it would be well to have a garden laid out for +this purpose, with walks and drives as needed. This was done and an +immense tract of woodland and forest, almost as large as the city itself +at the time, was set apart. As this was in the centre of the island it +was called the Central Park. Millions of people have been thankful for +it, although they have not put their gratitude into words.</p> +<p>We have now come to the days of the Great Civil War, when many men left +the city to join the army. Now there were those who did not see the +necessity for war and had no desire to be soldiers, so when more men +were called for there was a riot; a terrible and destructive one. A mob +swept over the city, a murderous, plundering mob that left a trail of +horror wherever it touched; and before it was put down a thousand +persons had been killed or injured, and $2,000,000 damage had been done. +This was the Draft Riot. The Civil War ended, the city prospered, +growing greater and greater, until in the year 1878 the stages and +horse-cars could no longer carry all the people. Then railroads elevated +above the streets were built that could carry great numbers swiftly to +all parts of the city.</p> +<p>New York, already become one of the great cities of the world, advanced +with giant strides.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XL'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>CHAPTER XL</h2> +<h3>THE GREATER NEW YORK</h3> +<br /> +<p>The time came when the city of New York grew beyond the limits of the +Island of Manhattan, though the island had seemed such a boundless tract +of land, that it had been thought laughable for the City Plan to provide +for streets over its entire length. The city grew larger and larger. It +stretched up to the Harlem River, leaped over it and went branching out +into the country beyond. Great libraries were built; hospitals for the +sick; prisons for the wrong-doer, markets, churches, public institutions +of every kind. Buildings grew taller and taller until they came to be +twenty and twenty-five stories high. Even then there were so many people +that there were not houses enough to hold them all. So they swarmed over +into the already large city of Brooklyn, on Long Island. And the +ferry-boats being no longer able to carry the vast crowds in comfort, a +great suspension bridge was built over the East River from New York to +Brooklyn. At last the city of New York and the city of Brooklyn had so +much in common, that they, with some of their suburbs, were united into +one great city in the year 1898.</p> +<p>Then the Island of Manhattan became simply the Borough of Manhattan, one +of the five boroughs of Greater New York.</p> +<p>So the story of the Island of Manhattan is ended.</p> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='TABLE_of_EVENTS'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2>TABLE <i>of</i> EVENTS</h2> +<p>Year</p> +<p>1609.</p> +<ul><li>Hudson discovers the island of Manhattan</li></ul> +<p>1613.</p> +<ul><li>Ship Tiger burned</li></ul> +<p>1614.</p> +<ul><li>United New Netherland Company organized</li></ul> +<p>1614.</p> +<ul><li>Fort Manhattan built</li></ul> +<p>1621.</p> +<ul><li>West India Company organized</li></ul> +<p>1626.</p> +<ul><li>Peter Minuit Governor</li> + <li>Fort Amsterdam built</li> +</ul> +<p>1629.</p> +<ul><li>Charter adopted under which the Manors were established</li></ul> +<p>1633.</p> +<ul><li>Van Twillier Governor</li></ul> +<p>1636.</p> +<ul><li>Annetje Jans' Farm laid out</li></ul> +<p>1638.</p> +<ul><li>William Kieft appointed Governor</li></ul> +<p>1641.</p> +<ul><li>First Cattle Fair held on Bowling Green</li></ul> +<p>1642.</p> +<ul><li>Stadt Huys built</li> + <li>Church built in the Fort</li></ul> +<p>1643.</p> +<ul><li>Beginning of the Indian wars</li></ul> +<p>1644.</p> +<ul><li>Fence erected, which was later replaced by a wall, and still + later by Wall Street</li></ul> +<p>1646.</p> +<ul><li>Peter Stuyvesant appointed Governor</li></ul> +<p>1647.</p> +<ul><li>Kieft and Dominie Bogardus drowned in the wreck of the Princess + while returning to Holland</li></ul> +<p>1652.</p> +<ul><li>City of New Amsterdam incorporated</li></ul> +<p>1653.</p> +<ul><li>New Amsterdam made a walled city by the building of a wall + across the island</li></ul> +<p>1655.</p> +<ul><li>Stuyvesant subdues the Swedes on the Delaware</li> + <li>Indian war breaks out again</li></ul> +<p>1664.</p> +<ul><li>English capture New Amsterdam and it becomes New York</li> + <li>Richard Nicolls Governor</li></ul> +<p>1667.</p> +<ul><li>Francis Lovelace appointed Governor</li></ul> +<p>1670.</p> +<ul><li>Lovelace establishes the first Exchange</li></ul> +<p>1673.</p> +<ul><li>First mail route established</li> + <li>The Dutch retake New York</li></ul> +<p>1674.</p> +<ul><li>English again in possession of New York</li> +<li> Sir Edmund Andros Governor</li> +<li> Captain Manning disgraced for surrendering New York to the Dutch</li></ul> +<p>1678.</p> +<ul><li>Bolting Act created</li></ul> +<p>1681.</p> +<ul><li>Andros recalled</li></ul> +<p>1682.</p> +<ul><li>Thomas Dongan Governor</li></ul> +<p>1686.</p> +<ul><li>Dongan Charter granted to the city</li></ul> +<p>1688.</p> +<ul><li>New York and New England united, and Sir Edmund Andros Governor</li></ul> +<p>1689.</p> +<ul><li>William III. becomes King of England</li> +<li> Jacob Leisler assumes title of Lieutenant-Governor + and takes charge of New York</li></ul> +<p>1691.</p> +<ul><li>Henry Sloughter Governor</li> +<li> Leisler and Milborne executed</li> +<li> Governor Sloughter dies</li></ul> +<p>1692.</p> +<ul><li>Benjamin Fletcher Governor</li></ul> +<p>1693.</p> +<ul><li>Bradford establishes first printing press in the colony</li></ul> +<p>1696.</p> +<ul><li>Trinity Church built</li> +<li> Bolting Act repealed</li> +<li> Lord Bellomont appointed Governor</li> +<li> Captain Kidd sails to search for pirates</li></ul> +<p>1697.</p> +<ul><li>Streets first lighted at night</li></ul> +<p>1699.</p> +<ul><li>City wall demolished and Wall Street laid out</li> +<li> City Hall built in Wall Street</li></ul> +<p>1700.</p> +<ul><li>First library opened</li></ul> +<p>1701.</p> +<ul><li>Captain Kidd executed in England</li> +<li> Lord Bellomont dies</li></ul> +<p>1702.</p> +<ul><li>Lord Cornbury Governor</li></ul> +<p>1705.</p> +<ul><li>Queen's Farm granted to Trinity Church by Queen Anne</li></ul> +<p>1708.</p> +<ul><li>Lord Lovelace Governor</li></ul> +<p>1710.</p> +<ul><li>Robert Hunter Governor</li></ul> +<p>1711.</p> +<ul><li>Public slave market established</li></ul> +<p>1714.</p> +<ul><li>First public clock set on City Hall in Wall Street</li></ul> +<p>1715.</p> +<ul><li>Lewis Morris appointed Chief-Justice</li></ul> +<p>1720.</p> +<ul><li>William Burnet Governor</li></ul> +<p>1725.</p> +<ul><li>Bradford prints first newspaper in city</li></ul> +<p>1728.</p> +<ul><li>John Montgomery Governor</li></ul> +<p>1729.</p> +<ul><li>First Jewish cemetery established</li></ul> +<p>1731.</p> +<ul><li>First Fire Department organized</li> +<li> Montgomery dies</li></ul> +<p>1732.</p> +<ul><li>William Cosby Governor</li></ul> +<p>1733.</p> +<ul><li>James De Lancey made Chief-Justice</li></ul> +<p>1735.</p> +<ul><li>Peter Zenger tried for libel</li></ul> +<p>1736.</p> +<ul><li>Governor Cosby dies</li></ul> +<p>1741.</p> +<ul><li>Negro Plot</li></ul> +<p>1743.</p> +<ul><li>George Clinton Governor</li></ul> +<p>1745.</p> +<ul><li>Louisburg captured</li></ul> +<p>1752.</p> +<ul><li>Walton House built</li></ul> +<p>1753.</p> +<ul><li>Sir Danvers Osborne Governor</li></ul> +<p>1755.</p> +<ul><li>Sir Charles Hardy Governor</li></ul> +<p>1756.</p> +<ul><li>Corner-stone of King's College laid</li> +<li> Lord Loudoun appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British forces + in America</li></ul> +<p>1759.</p> +<ul><li>General Jeffrey Amherst appointed Commander-in-Chief in place + of Lord Loudoun</li></ul> +<p>1760.</p> +<ul><li>Montreal captured</li> +<li> Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey dies</li> +<li> George II. of England dies</li> +<li> George III. becomes King</li></ul> +<p>1761.</p> +<ul><li>Robert Monckton Governor</li></ul> +<p>1763.</p> +<ul><li>Monckton resigns as Governor</li></ul> +<p>1765.</p> +<ul><li>Stamp Act passed</li> +<li> First Colonial Congress held in New York</li> +<li> Sir Henry Moore Governor</li></ul> +<p>1766.</p> +<ul><li>Stamp Act repealed</li> +<li> Liberty Pole set up on the Common</li></ul> +<p>1770.</p> +<ul><li>Statues of William Pitt and George III. erected</li> +<li> Tax removed on all articles except tea</li> +<li> Battle of Golden Hill</li></ul> +<p>1771.</p> +<ul><li>Sir William Tryon Governor</li></ul> +<p>1773.</p> +<ul><li>Tax on tea reduced</li></ul> +<p>1774.</p> +<ul><li>Taxed Tea dumped into the river</li> +<li> First Continental Congress held</li></ul> +<p>1775.</p> +<ul><li>Lexington massacre</li> +<li> Second Continental Congress</li> +<li> Turtle Bay stores seized</li> +<li> Marinus Willett seizes the British ammunition wagons</li> +<li> Battle of Bunker Hill</li> +<li> Governor Tryon returns from England</li> +<li> General Montgomery killed at Quebec</li></ul> +<p>1776.</p> +<ul><li>April.--General Washington comes to New York after the success + of the Continental army at Boston</li> +<li> July.--Independence declared</li> +<li> August.--Battle of Long Island</li></ul> +<p>1776.</p> +<ul><li>September.--British occupy New York<br /> + Battle of Harlem Heights<br /> + A Great Fire<br /> + Nathan Hale executed</li> +<li> November.--Fort Washington captured</li></ul> +<p>1777.</p> +<ul><li>George Clinton, Governor of New York State</li> +<li> Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga</li> +<li> Washington at Valley Forge</li></ul> +<p>1780.</p> +<ul><li>Benedict Arnold's treason</li></ul> +<p>1781.</p> +<ul><li>Surrender of Lord Cornwallis</li></ul> +<p>1783.</p> +<ul><li>September.--Treaty of Peace, between Great Britain and the + United States, signed</li> +<li> November.--British troops depart from New York</li> +<li> December.--Washington bids farewell to his officers at + Fraunces's Tavern</li></ul> +<p>1788.</p> +<ul><li>The Doctors' Mob</li></ul> +<p>1789.</p> +<ul><li>New York the seat of the National Government</li> +<li> Washington becomes First President of the United States and + comes to live in New York</li> +<li> The Government House built</li> +<li> Tammany Society organized</li></ul> +<p>1790.</p> +<ul><li>Trinity Church rebuilt</li></ul> +<p>1798.</p> +<ul><li>Small-pox epidemic</li> +<li> Manhattan Company established</li></ul> +<p>1803.</p> +<ul><li>New City Hall begun</li></ul> +<p>1804.</p> +<ul><li>Alexander Hamilton killed by Aaron Burr</li></ul> +<p>1805.</p> +<ul><li>Free School Society organized</li></ul> +<p>1807.</p> +<ul><li>The Clermont launched</li></ul> +<p>1811.</p> +<ul><li>City Plan completed</li></ul> +<p>1812.</p> +<ul><li>United States at war with Great Britain</li></ul> +<p>1814.</p> +<ul><li>Fort Clinton (afterward called Castle Garden) built</li> +<li> War with Great Britain ended</li></ul> +<p>1823.</p> +<ul><li>Yellow fever epidemic</li></ul> +<p>1824.</p> +<ul><li>General Lafayette comes again to America</li></ul> +<p>1825.</p> +<ul><li>Erie Canal celebration</li> +<li> Gas introduced into city</li></ul> +<p>1833.</p> +<ul><li>First penny newspaper started</li></ul> +<p>1835.</p> +<ul><li>The "Great Fire" destroys six hundred houses</li> +<li> Work commenced on the Croton Aqueduct</li></ul> +<p>1842.</p> +<ul><li>Water admitted through the Croton Aqueduct</li></ul> +<p>1845.</p> +<ul><li>First telegraph recording apparatus publicly tested by + Samuel F.B. Morse</li></ul> +<p>1849.</p> +<ul><li>Forrest-Macready riots</li></ul> +<p>1853.</p> +<ul><li>World's Fair in the Crystal Palace</li></ul> +<p>1856.</p> +<ul><li>Ground bought by the city for the Central Park</li></ul> +<p>1863.</p> +<ul><li>The Draft Riot</li></ul> +<p>1870.</p> +<ul><li>Brooklyn Bridge started</li></ul> +<p>1878.</p> +<ul><li>Elevated roads built</li></ul> +<p>1883.</p> +<ul><li>Brooklyn Bridge completed</li></ul> +<p>1898.</p> +<ul><li>The island of Manhattan becomes the Borough of Manhattan + of Greater New York</li></ul> +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='INDEX'></a> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2><i>INDEX</i></h2> +<dl> +<dt>Adventure Galley, 82, 83</dt> +<dt>Amherst, General Jeffrey, 123</dt> +<dt>Amsterdam, 2, 14</dt> +<dt>Andre, Major John, 177, 178</dt> +<dt>Andros, Edmund, 61, 62, 64, 66, 68</dt> +<dt>Anne, Queen, 28, 91-93</dt> +<dt>Annetje Jans's farm, 27, 28</dt> +<dt>Anti-Federalists, 187</dt> +<dt>Anti-Leislerian Party, 68</dt> +<dt>Apthorpe, Charles Ward, 156</dt> +<dt>Apthorpe mansion, 156</dt> +<dt>Aqueduct, Croton, 227-229</dt> +<dt>Army, Continental, 144, 148, 151, 179</dt> +<dt>Arnold, Benedict, 177, 178</dt> +<dt>Astor Place riot, 231, 232</dt> +<dt>Astor Place, 231</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Bank, Manhattan, 203</dt> +<dt>Banks, 201-203</dt> +<dt>Battery, 10, 68, 176</dt> +<dt>Battle of Bunker Hill, 148</dt> +<dt>Battle of Golden Hill, 136-138</dt> +<dt>Battle of Harlem Heights, 164, 165, 166</dt> +<dt>Battle of Long Island, 154, 155</dt> +<dt>Bayard Farm, 189</dt> +<dt>Bayard, Nicholas, 69, 72, 89</dt> +<dt>Bellomont, Lord, 82, 83, 86-88</dt> +<dt>Block, Adrian, 10-12</dt> +<dt>Bogardus, Everardus, 26, 37, 42</dt> +<dt>Bolting Act, 62, 63</dt> +<dt>Boston, 66, 84, 140, 141, 143</dt> +<dt>Boston Port closed, 141</dt> +<dt>Bouweries laid out, 21</dt> +<dt>Bouwerie Lane, 21</dt> +<dt>Bouwerie Village, 54, 76, 231</dt> +<dt>Bowery Road, 179</dt> +<dt>Bowery, the, 21, 35</dt> +<dt>Bowling Green, 12, 35, 93, 105, 131, 134, 152, 200</dt> +<dt>Bradford, William, 79, 108</dt> +<dt>Bridge, East River, 236</dt> +<dt>Bridge, High, 227</dt> +<dt>British occupy New York City, 163</dt> +<dt>Broad Street, 57, 148</dt> +<dt>Broadway, 12, 58, 93, 162, 198, 204</dt> +<dt>Bunker Hill, Battle of, 148</dt> +<dt>Burgomasters, 46</dt> +<dt>Burgoyne, General, 171, 172</dt> +<dt>Burnet, William, 101-103</dt> +<dt>Burns's Coffee-House, 129, 130</dt> +<dt>Burr, Aaron, 150, 201, 203-207</dt> +<dt>Burton, Mary, 112-114</dt> +<dt>Buttermilk Channel, 30</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Cabot, John, 23, 50</dt> +<dt>Cabot, Sebastian, 23, 50</dt> +<dt>Canal, Erie, 220-222</dt> +<dt>Canal Street, 205</dt> +<dt>Cape of Good Hope, 3</dt> +<dt>Castle Garden, 215, 232</dt> +<dt>Cemetery, first Jewish, 104</dt> +<dt>Central Park, 233</dt> +<dt>Chambers, Captain, 139, 140</dt> +<dt>Charles I., 23</dt> +<dt>Charles II., 62</dt> +<dt>Church in the Fort, 36, 37</dt> +<dt>Church, St. Mark's, 54</dt> +<dt>Church, St. Paul's, 150, 167, 195, 198</dt> +<dt>Church, Trinity, 28, 79, 129, 198</dt> +<dt>City Hall (first), 36, 47, 75, 87, 122</dt> +<dt>City Hall (in Wall Street), 87-89, 94, 99, 128, 133, 152, 190</dt> +<dt>City Hall (present), 152, 205</dt> +<dt>City Hall Park, 50, 175, 176, 214</dt> +<dt>City Hospital, 184</dt> +<dt>City Plan, 212, 213</dt> +<dt>City Wall, 48, 87</dt> +<dt>Clarke, George, 111, 115, 116</dt> +<dt>Clermont, the, 210, 211</dt> +<dt>Clinton, Admiral George, 116-118</dt> +<dt>Clinton, De Witt, 208, 220-222</dt> +<dt>Clinton, Governor George, 171</dt> +<dt>Clock, first public, 99</dt> +<dt>Colden, Cadwallader, 102, 131, 133</dt> +<dt>Collect Pond, 50, 114, 189, 198, 202, 204, 205, 209</dt> +<dt>College, Columbia, 184</dt> +<dt>College, King's, 121, 184</dt> +<dt>Colonial Congress, the, 129</dt> +<dt>Columbia College, 184</dt> +<dt>Columbia Heights, 164</dt> +<dt>Columbia University, 121, 164</dt> +<dt>Colve, Captain Anthony, 58, 59</dt> +<dt>Committee of Safety, 68</dt> +<dt>Common, the, 50, 137, 152, 184, 198, 205</dt> +<dt>Congress, Colonial, 129</dt> +<dt>Congress, First Continental, 141-143</dt> +<dt>Congress, Second Continental, 144, 147</dt> +<dt>Constitution of the United States, 186-188</dt> +<dt>Continental Army, 148-149, 151, 179</dt> +<dt>Continental Congress, First, 141-143</dt> +<dt>Continental Congress, Second, 144, 147</dt> +<dt>Cornbury, Lord, 89-94</dt> +<dt>Cornwallis, Lord, 178</dt> +<dt>Corporation Library, 87</dt> +<dt>Cosby, William, 105-110</dt> +<dt>Council of Twelve, 39</dt> +<dt>Croton Aqueduct, 223, 227-229</dt> +<dt>Crystal Palace, 233</dt> +<dt>Cunningham, Provost-Marshal, 176</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Declaration of Independence, 152</dt> +<dt>De Lancey, James, 107-109, 117-121, 123-125</dt> +<dt>De Lancey, Stephen, 99</dt> +<dt>De Lancey, Susannah, 116</dt> +<dt>Demont, William, 168</dt> +<dt>De Vries, Captain David Pietersen, 28, 39, 40</dt> +<dt>District of Columbia, 199</dt> +<dt>Doctors' Mob, 185</dt> +<dt>Dongan Charter, 65</dt> +<dt>Dongan, Thomas, 64, 65</dt> +<dt>Draft Riot, 234</dt> +<dt>Duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, 206, 207</dt> +<dt>Duke of York, 50-54, 55, 60, 61, 64, 65</dt> +<dt>Dutch Netherlands, 2</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>East India Company, 2-5, 13</dt> +<dt>East Indies, 2-5, 13</dt> +<dt>East River Bridge, 236</dt> +<dt>Elevated railways, 234</dt> +<dt>English claim New Netherland, 23, 53</dt> +<dt>Erie Canal, 220-222</dt> +<dt>Exchange Place, 57</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Fairs on Bowling Green, 35, 36</dt> +<dt>Federal Hall, 190-194</dt> +<dt>Federalists, 187, 188</dt> +<dt>"Federal Ship Hamilton," 188</dt> +<dt>Ferry-boats, 211</dt> +<dt>Fire Department, first, 105</dt> +<dt>Fire of 1776, 167</dt> +<dt>Fire, "the Great," 224</dt> +<dt>First City Hall, 36, 47, 75, 87, 122</dt> +<dt>First Continental Congress, 141-143</dt> +<dt>First Fire Department, 105</dt> +<dt>First houses of white men, 12</dt> +<dt>First Jewish cemetery, 104</dt> +<dt>First mail route, 57</dt> +<dt>First minister, 26, 36, 42, 43</dt> +<dt>First newspaper, 79</dt> +<dt>First night-watch, 87</dt> +<dt>First pavements, 93</dt> +<dt>First printing press, 79</dt> +<dt>First public clock, 99</dt> +<dt>First roads, 35</dt> +<dt>First schoolmaster, 26</dt> +<dt>First sidewalks, 198</dt> +<dt>First soldiers in New Netherland, 26</dt> +<dt>First steamboat, 208-211</dt> +<dt>First street lamps, 87</dt> +<dt>First street numbers, 198</dt> +<dt>First telegraph, 230, 231</dt> +<dt>First vessel built, 12</dt> +<dt>Fitch, John, 209</dt> +<dt>Fitzroy, Lord Augustus, 109, 110</dt> +<dt>Fletcher, Benjamin, 77-81</dt> +<dt>Forrest, Edwin, 231</dt> +<dt>Fort Amsterdam, 19, 27, 53</dt> +<dt>Fort Clinton, 215, 232</dt> +<dt>Fort James, 54</dt> +<dt>Fort Manhattan, 13</dt> +<dt>Fort Washington, 168</dt> +<dt>"Fourteen Miles 'round," 195</dt> +<dt>Franklin House, 193</dt> +<dt>Franklin Square, 193</dt> +<dt>Franklin, Walter, 193</dt> +<dt>Fraunces's Tavern, 99, 100, 180</dt> +<dt>Frederick, Kryn, 19</dt> +<dt>Free School Society, 208</dt> +<dt>French Revolution, 199</dt> +<dt>"Fulton's Folly," 211</dt> +<dt>Fulton, Robert, 210, 211</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Gage, General Thomas, 141</dt> +<dt>Gardiner's Island, 84</dt> +<dt>Gates, General, 172</dt> +<dt><i>Gazette, New York</i>, 108</dt> +<dt>George II., 104, 116, 125</dt> +<dt>George III., 125, 134, 136, 142, 152</dt> +<dt>Golden Hill, Battle of, 136, 137, 138</dt> +<dt>Golden Hill Inn, 137</dt> +<dt>Government House, 196</dt> +<dt>Governor's Island, 30</dt> +<dt>Grant's Tomb, 164</dt> +<dt>"Great Fire," the, 224</dt> +<dt>Greenwich Village, 216, 231</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Hale, Nathan, 157, 158</dt> +<dt>Half Moon, 2, 3, 4</dt> +<dt>Hall of Records, 176</dt> +<dt>Hamilton, Alexander, 187, 188, 201-203, 206, 207</dt> +<dt>Hamilton, Andrew, 109</dt> +<dt>Hardy, Sir Charles, 121</dt> +<dt>Harlem Heights, 161</dt> +<dt>Harlem Heights, Battle of, 164-166</dt> +<dt>Harlem River, 229</dt> +<dt>Heights, Columbia, 164</dt> +<dt>Heights, Harlem, 161</dt> +<dt>Heights, Vandewater, 164</dt> +<dt>High Bridge, 227</dt> +<dt>Holland, 2</dt> +<dt>Holland, States-General of, 15, 16</dt> +<dt>Houses, first, of white men, 12</dt> +<dt>Howe, Admiral, 153</dt> +<dt>Howe, General William, 153, 155, 158, 168, 171</dt> +<dt>Hudson's Bay, 7</dt> +<dt>Hudson, Henry, 3-8, 10</dt> +<dt>Hudson's River, 8</dt> +<dt>Hunter, Robert, 96, 97, 99, 100</dt> +<dt>Hyde, Edward (Lord Cornbury), 91.</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>India, 4</dt> +<dt>Indians, 1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 16, 33, 34, 37-41</dt> +<dt>Indian War, 38-43, 49</dt> +<dt>Ingoldsby, Richard, 71</dt> +<dt>Island, Gardiner's, 84</dt> +<dt>Island, Governor's, 30</dt> +<dt>Island, Long, 30, 31, 84</dt> +<dt>Island of Manhattan bought from Indians, 18</dt> +<dt>Island, Nut, 30</dt> +<dt>Island, Randall's, 31</dt> +<dt>Island, Staten, 10, 28, 39</dt> +<dt>Island, Ward's, 31</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Jail, New, 175, 176</dt> +<dt>Jamaica, Long Island, 92</dt> +<dt>James, Duke of York, 50-54, 60, 61, 64, 65</dt> +<dt>James II., 64, 66, 67</dt> +<dt>Jans, Annetje, 28, 42</dt> +<dt>Jans's farm, 27, 28</dt> +<dt>Jersey, the, 176, 177</dt> +<dt>Jewish cemetery, the first, 104</dt> +<dt>John Street Theatre, 195</dt> +<dt><i>Journal, New York Weekly</i>, 108</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Kidd, Captain William, 83-85</dt> +<dt>Kieft, William, 33-43</dt> +<dt>King's College, 121, 184</dt> +<dt>Kip's Bay, 158, 161, 162</dt> +<dt>Koopman, the, 19, 34</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Lafayette, Marquis de, 171, 217-219</dt> +<dt>Leisler, Jacob, 67-76, 86, 89</dt> +<dt>Leislerian Party, 68, 89</dt> +<dt>Lexington massacre, 143</dt> +<dt>Liberty Pole, 134, 136</dt> +<dt>Lind, Jenny, 232</dt> +<dt>Lispenard's Meadow, 204</dt> +<dt>Livingston, Robert, 209, 210</dt> +<dt>Lockyer, Captain, 138, 139</dt> +<dt>Long Island, 30, 31, 84</dt> +<dt>Long Island, Battle of, 154-155</dt> +<dt>Lords of the Manors, 21, 22</dt> +<dt>Loudoun, Lord, 123</dt> +<dt>Louisburg, 117</dt> +<dt>Lovelace, Francis, 55-58</dt> +<dt>Lovelace, Lord John, 95, 96</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Macready, William Charles, 231, 232</dt> +<dt>Mail route, the first, 57</dt> +<dt>Manhattan Bank, 203</dt> +<dt>Manhattan Company, 203</dt> +<dt>Manhattan Island, 8, 10</dt> +<dt>Manhattans, 8</dt> +<dt>Manning, Captain John, 58, 59, 61, 62</dt> +<dt>Manors, 21, 22</dt> +<dt>May, Cornelius Jacobsen, 16</dt> +<dt>Milborne, Jacob, 68, 69, 72-74</dt> +<dt>Minister, first, 26, 36, 42, 43</dt> +<dt>Minuit, Peter, 17-24</dt> +<dt>Mohawks, 40</dt> +<dt>Monckton, Robert, 125, 126</dt> +<dt>Money used by Indians, 37</dt> +<dt>Montgomery, General Richard, 150</dt> +<dt>Montgomery, John, 103-105</dt> +<dt>Montreal, capture of, 123</dt> +<dt>Moore, Sir Henry, 133</dt> +<dt>Morris, Lewis, 96, 101, 107</dt> +<dt>Morris Mansion, 164</dt> +<dt>Morris, Richard, 96</dt> +<dt>Morris, Roger, 164</dt> +<dt>Morrisania, 96</dt> +<dt>Morse, Samuel F.B., 230, 231</dt> +<dt>Murray Family, 158-161</dt> +<dt>Murray Hill, 158</dt> +<dt>Mutiny Bill, 134, 135</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Nanfan, John, 89</dt> +<dt>National Academy of Design, 230</dt> +<dt>Negro Plot, 111-115</dt> +<dt>Negro slaves, 27, 98, 99, 111-115</dt> +<dt>Netherlands, 2</dt> +<dt>Netherlands, Dutch, 2</dt> +<dt>New England, 48, 64-67</dt> +<dt>New Jail, 175, 176</dt> +<dt>New Jersey, 40</dt> +<dt>New Netherland, 12-14, 16-18, 24, 50, 60</dt> +<dt>New Orange, 59</dt> +<dt>Newspaper, first, 79</dt> +<dt>Newspapers, 223, 224</dt> +<dt><i>New York Gazette</i>, 108</dt> +<dt><i>New York Weekly Journal</i>, 108</dt> +<dt>Nicholson, Francis, 66, 68-70</dt> +<dt>Nicolls, Colonel Richard, 55</dt> +<dt>Night watch, first, 87</dt> +<dt>Non-Importation Agreement, 130, 136</dt> +<dt>Non-Importation Association, 130</dt> +<dt>North Pole, 7</dt> +<dt>Northwest Passage, 7</dt> +<dt>Nut Island, 30</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Orange, Prince of, 60</dt> +<dt>Osborne, Sir Danvers, 116-120</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Park, City Hall, 50, 175, 176, 214</dt> +<dt>Patriots, 143</dt> +<dt>Patroons, 21, 22, 34</dt> +<dt>Pavements, first, 93</dt> +<dt>Pearl Street, 16, 36, 193</dt> +<dt>Permanent revenue, the, 95, 97, 119</dt> +<dt>Pirates, 80-84</dt> +<dt>Pitt, William, 134</dt> +<dt>Plot, Negro, 111-115</dt> +<dt>Prince of Orange, 60</dt> +<dt>Printing press, the first, 79</dt> +<dt>Prisons, 173-177</dt> +<dt>Prison ships, 176, 177</dt> +<dt>Prison, Tombs, 205</dt> +<dt>Privateers, 80, 83</dt> +<dt>Provisional Assembly, the, 144, 147, 149</dt> +<dt>Provost, the, 176</dt> +<dt>Putnam, General, 157, 161</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Quebec, 149, 150</dt> +<dt>Queen Street, 122</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Railroad, elevated, 234</dt> +<dt>Randall's Island, 31</dt> +<dt>Rebels, 143</dt> +<dt>Restless, the, 12</dt> +<dt>Revolution, French, 199</dt> +<dt>Revolutionary War, 143, 144, 146, 152, 177, 178</dt> +<dt>Riot, Astor Place, 231, 232</dt> +<dt>Riot, Doctors', 185</dt> +<dt>Riot, Draft, 234</dt> +<dt>River of the Mountains, 4, 8</dt> +<dt>Roads, the first, 35</dt> +<dt>Rolandsen, Adam, 26</dt> +<dt>Royalists, 143</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>St. Mark's Church, 54</dt> +<dt>St. Paul's Chapel, 150, 167, 195, 198</dt> +<dt>Schepens, the, 46</dt> +<dt>Schoolmaster, the first, 26</dt> +<dt>Schools, 208</dt> +<dt>School Society, Free, 208</dt> +<dt>Schout, the, 46</dt> +<dt>Schout-fiscal, the, 19</dt> +<dt>Schuyler, General Philip, 172</dt> +<dt>Schuyler, Peter, 99</dt> +<dt>Seal of New York, 63</dt> +<dt>Second Continental Congress, 144, 147</dt> +<dt>Ship Adventure Galley, 82, 83</dt> +<dt>Ship Clermont, 210, 211</dt> +<dt>Ship, the first built, 12</dt> +<dt>Ship Half Moon, 2-4</dt> +<dt>Ship Restless, 12</dt> +<dt>Ship Tiger, 10, 12</dt> +<dt>Ships, prison, 176, 177</dt> +<dt>Ships, tea, 138, 139, 140</dt> +<dt>Sidewalks, the first, 198</dt> +<dt>Slave Market, 98</dt> +<dt>Slaves, 26, 27, 98, 99, 111-115</dt> +<dt>Sloughter, Henry, 70-73, 75, 76</dt> +<dt>Small-pox, 200</dt> +<dt>Smugglers, 34, 39</dt> +<dt>Soldiers, first, 25, 26</dt> +<dt>Sons of Liberty, 128, 136, 137, 145-147</dt> +<dt>Spain, 13</dt> +<dt>Stadt Huys, 36, 47, 75, 87, 122</dt> +<dt>Stamp Act, 127-136</dt> +<dt>Staten Island, 10, 28, 39</dt> +<dt>States-General of Holland, 15, 16</dt> +<dt>Steamboat, first, 208-211</dt> +<dt>Steam ferry-boats, 211</dt> +<dt>Street lamps, first, 87</dt> +<dt>Street numbers, first, 198</dt> +<dt>Street railways, elevated, 234</dt> +<dt>Streets, how laid out, 212</dt> +<dt>Stuyvesant, Peter, 44-49, 53, 54, 76</dt> +<dt>Sugar-house, 174, 175</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Tammany Hall, 197</dt> +<dt>Tammany Society, 197</dt> +<dt>Taxed tea, 135, 139-141</dt> +<dt>Tea ships, 138, 139, 140</dt> +<dt>Tea taxed, 135, 139-141</dt> +<dt>Telegraph, first, 230, 231</dt> +<dt>Theatre, John Street, 195</dt> +<dt>Third City Hall, 152, 205</dt> +<dt>Tiger, 10, 12</dt> +<dt>Tombs Prison, 152, 205</dt> +<dt>Tories, 143</dt> +<dt>Trading Stations, 103</dt> +<dt>Trinity Church, 28, 79, 129, 198</dt> +<dt>Trinity Churchyard, 207</dt> +<dt>Tryon's Gate, 198</dt> +<dt>Tryon's Row, 198</dt> +<dt>Tryon, William, 149, 158</dt> +<dt>Turtle Bay, 145, 146</dt> +<dt>"Tyrant of New England," 64</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>United New Netherland Company, 12</dt> +<dt>University of the City of New York, 230</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Valley Forge, 172</dt> +<dt>Van Arsdale, John, 180</dt> +<dt>Van Dam, Rip, 105-108, 110, 111</dt> +<dt>Vandewater Heights, 164</dt> +<dt>Van Dincklagen, the schout-fiscal, 31</dt> +<dt>Van Rensselaer, Kiliaen, 25</dt> +<dt>Van Twiller buys Governor's Island, 30</dt> +<dt>Van Twiller's tobacco plantation, 27</dt> +<dt>Van Twiller, Walter, 25-32</dt> +<dt>Vauxhall, 132</dt> +<dt>Verhulst, William, 17</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Wall Street, 41, 87, 190</dt> +<dt>Wall Street, City Hall in, 87-89, 94, 99, 128, 133, 152, 190</dt> +<dt>Wall, the city's, 48, 87</dt> +<dt>Walton House, 122</dt> +<dt>Walton, William, 122</dt> +<dt>Ward's Island, 31</dt> +<dt>War, Indian, 38-43, 49</dt> +<dt>War of the Revolution, 143, 144, 146, 152, 177, 178</dt> +<dt>War of 1812, 213-215</dt> +<dt>Warren, Admiral Peter, 116, 117</dt> +<dt>Washington, City of, 199</dt> +<dt>Washington, George, 123, 145, 148, 149, 151-158, 162, 164, 168, 170, +172, 173,178-183, 186, 189, 190, 193-195, 199, 200</dt> +<dt>Weehawken, 207</dt> +<dt>Westchester, 168</dt> +<dt>West India Company, 13-16, 18, 21-23, 25, 32, 42, 46, 53, 67</dt> +<dt>West Indies, 14</dt> +<dt>West Point, 177</dt> +<dt>Whigs, 143</dt> +<dt>Willett, Marinus, 147, 148</dt> +<dt>Willett, Thomas, 55</dt> +<dt>William III., 60, 67, 68, 70, 82</dt> +<dt>"William the Testy," 33</dt> +<dt>Windmills, 27, 34</dt> +<dt>World's Fair, 233</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Yellow fever, 216</dt> +<dt>York, James, Duke of, 50-54. 55, 60, 61, 64, 65</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +<dt>Zenger, Peter, 108-110</dt> +<dd><br /></dd> +</dl> +<br> +<br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF MANHATTAN***</p> +<p>******* This file should be 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Story of Manhattan + +Author: Charles Hemstreet + +Release Date: October 24, 2004 [eBook #13842] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF MANHATTAN*** + + +E-text prepared by Gregory Smith, David Garcia, and the Project Gutenberg +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 13842-h.htm or 13842-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/8/4/13842/13842-h/13842-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/8/4/13842/13842-h.zip) + + + + + +THE STORY OF MANHATTAN + +by + +CHARLES HEMSTREET + +New York + +1901 + + + + + + + +[Illustration] + + + +PREFACE + + +Here the history of New York City is told as a story, in few words. The +effort has been to make it accurate and interesting. The illustrations +are largely from old prints and wood engravings. Few dates are used. +Instead, a Table of Events has been added which can readily be referred +to. The Index to Chapters also gives the years in which the story of +each chapter occurs. + + + + + +INDEX to CHAPTERS + + +CHAPTER I. The Adventures of Henry Hudson. + From 1609 to 1612 + +CHAPTER II. The First Traders on the Island. + From 1612 to 1625 + +CHAPTER III. Peter Minuit, First of the Dutch Governors. + From 1626 to 1633 + +CHAPTER IV. Walter Van Twiller, Second of the Dutch Governors. + From 1633 to 1637 + +CHAPTER V. William Kieft and the War with the Indians. + From 1637 to 1647 + +CHAPTER VI. Peter Stuyvesant, the Last of the Dutch Governors. + From 1647 to 1664 + +CHAPTER VII. New York Under the English and the Dutch. + From 1664 to 1674 + +CHAPTER VIII. Something About the Bolting Act. + From 1674 to 1688 + +CHAPTER IX. The Stirring Times of Jacob Leisler. + From 1688 to 1691 + +CHAPTER X. The Sad End of Jacob Leisler. + The Year 1691 + +CHAPTER XI. Governor Fletcher and the Privateers. + From 1692 to 1696 + +CHAPTER XII. Containing the True Life of Captain Kidd. + From 1696 to 1702 + +CHAPTER XIII. Lord Cornbury makes Himself very Unpopular. + From 1702 to 1708 + +CHAPTER XIV. Lord Lovelace and Robert Hunter. + From 1708 to 1720 + +CHAPTER XV. Governor Burnet and the French Traders. + From 1720 to 1732 + +CHAPTER XVI. The Trial of Zenger, the Printer. + From 1732 to 1736 + +CHAPTER XVII. Concerning the Negro Plot. + From 1736 to 1743 + +CHAPTER XVIII. The Tragic Death of Sir Danvers Osborne. + From 1743 to 1753 + +CHAPTER XIX. The Beginning of Discontent. + From 1753 to 1763 + +CHAPTER XX. The Story of the Stamp Act. + From 1763 to 1765 + +CHAPTER XXI. The Beginning of Revolution. + From 1765 to 1770 + +CHAPTER XXII. Fighting the Tax on Tea. + From 1770 to 1774 + +CHAPTER XXIII. The Sons of Liberty at Turtle Bay. + From 1774 to 1775 + +CHAPTER XXIV. The War of the Revolution. + In the Year 1775 + +CHAPTER XXV. A Battle on Long Island. + The Year 1776 + +CHAPTER XXVI. The British Occupy New York. + The Year 1776 (Continued) + +CHAPTER XXVII. The Battle of Harlem Heights. + The Year 1776 (Continued) + +CHAPTER XXVIII. The British Fail to Sweep Everything Before Them. + From 1776 to 1777 + +CHAPTER XXIX. New York a Prison House. + From 1777 to 1783 + +CHAPTER XXX. After the War. + From 1783 to 1788 + +CHAPTER XXXI. The First President of the United States. + The Year 1788 + +CHAPTER XXXII. The Welcome to George Washington. + The Year 1789 + +CHAPTER XXXIII. Concerning the Tammany Society and Burr's Bank. + From 1789 to 1800 + +CHAPTER XXXIV. More about Hamilton and Burr. + From 1801 to 1804 + +CHAPTER XXXV. Robert Fulton Builds a Steam-Boat. + From 1805 to 1807 + +CHAPTER XXXVI. The City Plan. + From 1807 to 1814 + +CHAPTER XXXVII. The Story of the Erie Canal. + From 1814 to 1825 + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. The Building of the Croton Aqueduct. + From 1825 to 1845 + +CHAPTER XXXIX. Professor Morse and the Telegraph. + From 1845 to 1878 + +CHAPTER XL. The Greater New York. + To the Present Time + +TABLE OF EVENTS + +INDEX + + + + +LIST of ILLUSTRATIONS + +New Amsterdam, 1650--New York, East Side, 1746 +The Half Moon in the Highlands of the Hudson +Earliest Picture of Manhattan +Indians Trading for Furs +Hall of the States-General of Holland +Seal of New Netherland +The Building of the Palisades +Old House in New York, Built 1668 +Van Twillier's Defiance +Landing of Dutch Colony on Staten Island +Governor's Island and the Battery in 1850 +Dutch Costumes +The Bowling Green in 1840 +Selling Arms to the Indians +Smoking the Pipe of Peace +The Old Stadt Huys of New Amsterdam +Stuyvesant leaving Fort Amsterdam +Petrus Stuyvesant's Tombstone +Departure of Nicolls +The Dutch Ultimatum +Seal of New York +New York in 1700 +Sloughter Signing Leisler's Death-warrant +Bradford's Tombstone +The Reading of Fletcher's Commission +Arrest of Captain Kidd +New City Hall in Wall Street +Fort George in 1740 +View in Broad Street about 1740 +The Slave-Market +Fraunces's Tavern +Dinner at Rip Van Dam's +The Negroes Sentenced +Trinity Church, 1760 +Coffee-House opposite Bowling Green, Head-Quarters of the Sons of Liberty +Ferry-House on East River, 1746 +East River Shore, 1750 +Mrs. Murray's Dinner to British Officers +Howe's Head-Quarters, Beekman House +Map of Manhattan Island in 1776 +View from the Bowling Green in the Revolution +Old Sugar-House in Liberty Street, the Prison-House of the Revolution +North Side of Wall Street East of William Street +Celebration of the Adoption of the Constitution +View of Federal Hall and Part of Broad Street, 1796 +The John Street Theatre, 1781 +Reservoir of Manhattan Water-Works in Chambers Street +The Collect Pond +The Grange, Kingsbridge Road, the Residence of Alexander Hamilton +The Clermont, Fulton's First Steam-Boat +Castle Garden +Landing of Lafayette at Castle Garden +View of Park Row, 1825 +High Bridge, Croton Aqueduct +Crystal Palace + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE ADVENTURES of HENRY HUDSON + + +The long and narrow Island of Manhattan was a wild and beautiful spot in +the year 1609. In this year a little ship sailed up the bay below the +island, took the river to the west, and went on. In these days there +were no tall houses with white walls glistening in the sunlight, no +church-spires, no noisy hum of running trains, no smoke to blot out the +blue sky. None of these things. But in their place were beautiful trees +with spreading branches, stretches of sand-hills, and green patches of +grass. In the branches of the trees there were birds of varied colors, +and wandering through the tangled undergrowth were many wild animals. +The people of the island were men and women whose skins were quite red; +strong and healthy people who clothed themselves in the furs of animals +and made their houses of the trees and vines. + +In this year of 1609, these people gathered on the shore of their island +and looked with wonder at the boat, so different from any they had ever +seen, as it was swept before the wind up the river. + +The ship was called the Half Moon, and it had come all the way from +Amsterdam, in the Dutch Netherlands. The Netherlands was quite a small +country in the northern part of Europe, not nearly as large as the State +of New York, and was usually called Holland, as Holland was the most +important of its several states. But the Dutch owned other lands than +these. They had islands in the Indian Ocean that were rich in spices of +every sort, and the other European countries needed these spices. These +islands, being quite close to India, were called the East Indies, and +the company of Dutch merchants who did most of the business with them +was called the East India Company. They had many ships, and the Half +Moon was one of them. + +It was a long way to the East India Islands from Holland, for in these +days there was no Suez Canal to separate Asia and Africa, and the ships +had to go around Africa by way of the Cape of Good Hope. Besides being a +long distance, it was a dangerous passage; for although from its name +one might take the Cape of Good Hope to be a very pleasant place, the +winds blew there with great force, and the waves rolled so high that +they often dashed the fragile ships to pieces. + +So the merchants of Holland, and of other countries for that matter, +were always thinking of a shorter course to the East Indies. They knew +very little of North or South America, and believed that these countries +were simply islands and that it was quite possible that a passage lay +through them which would make a much nearer and a much safer way to the +East Indies than around the dread Cape of Good Hope. So the East India +Company built the ship Half Moon and got an Englishman named Henry +Hudson to take charge of it, and started him off to find the short way. +Hudson was chosen because he had already made two voyages for an +English company, trying to find that same short passage, and was +supposed to know ever so much more about it than anyone else. + +When the Half Moon sailed up the river, Hudson was sure that he had +found the passage to the Indies, and he paid very little attention to +the red-skinned Indians on the island shore. But when the ship got as +far as where Albany is now, the water had become shallow, and the +river-banks were so near together that Hudson gave up in despair, and +said that, after all, he had not found the eagerly sought-for passage +to India, but only a river! + +Then he turned the ship, sailed back past the island, and returned to +Holland to tell of his discovery. He told of the fur-bearing animals, +and of what a vast fortune could be made if their skins could only be +got to Holland, where furs were needed. He told of the Indians; and the +river which flowed past the island he spoke of as "The River of the +Mountains." + +[Illustration: The Half Moon in the Highlands of the Hudson.] + +The directors of the Dutch East India Company were not particularly +pleased with Hudson's report. They were angry because the short cut to +India had not been found, and they thought very little of the vast +storehouse of furs which he had discovered. Neither did the Company care +a great deal about Hudson, for they soon fell out with him, and he went +back to the English company and made another voyage for them, still in +search of the short passage to India. But in this last voyage, he only +succeeded in finding a great stretch of water far to the north, that can +be seen on any map as Hudson's Bay. His crew after a time grew angry +when he wanted to continue his search. There was a mutiny on the ship, +and Hudson and his son and seven of the sailors who were his friends +were put into a small boat, set adrift in the bay to which he had given +his name, and no trace of them was ever seen again. Long, long years +after that time, another explorer found the passage that Hudson had lost +his life searching for. It is The Northwest Passage, far up toward the +North Pole, in the region of perpetual cold and night. So Hudson never +knew that the passage he had looked for was of no value, and we may be +sure he had never imagined that there would ever be a great city on the +island he had discovered. + +The Dutch came to think a great deal of Hudson after he was dead. +The stream which he had called "The River of the Mountains" they +named Hudson's River. They even made believe that Hudson was a +Dutchman--although you will remember he was an Englishman--and were +in the habit of speaking of him as "Hendrick" Hudson. + +The Indians were scattered over America in great numbers. The tribe on +the island were called Manhattans, and from that tribe came the name of +the Island of Manhattan. All the Indians, no matter which tribe they +belonged to, looked very much alike and acted very much the same. Their +eyes were dark, and their hair long, straight, and black. When they were +fighting, they daubed their skins with colored muds--war paint the white +men called it--and started out on the "war-path". They loved to hunt and +fish, as well as to fight, and they fought and murdered as cruelly and +with as little thought as they hunted the wild animals or hooked the +fish. They held talks which were called "councils," and one Indian would +speak for hours, while the others listened in silence. And when they +determined upon any action, they carried it out, without a thought of +how many people were to be killed, or whether they were to be killed +themselves. + +[Illustration: Earliest Picture of Manhattan.] + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE FIRST TRADERS on the ISLAND + + +For several years after the return of Hudson, Dutch merchants sent their +ships to the Island of Manhattan, and each ship returned to Holland +laden with costly furs which the Indians had traded for glass beads and +strips of gay cloth. The Indians cared a great deal more for glittering +glass and highly colored rags than they did for furs. + +One trader above all others whose name should be remembered, was Adrian +Block. He came in a ship called the Tiger. This ship was anchored in the +bay close by what is now called the Battery, and directly in the course +that the ferry-boats take when they go to Staten Island. + +[Illustration: Indians Trading for Furs.] + +On a cold night in November it took fire and was burned to the water's +edge. Block and those who were with him would all have been burned to +death had they not been strong and hardy men who were able to swim +ashore in the ice-cold water. Even when they reached the shore they were +not safe, for there were no houses or places of shelter; the winter was +coming on, and the woods were filled with wild beasts. But Block and his +men very soon built houses for themselves; rude and clumsy buildings to +look at, but warm and comfortable within. They were the first houses of +white men on the Island of Manhattan. If you wish to see where they +stood, take a walk down Broadway, and just before you reach the Bowling +Green, on a house which is numbered 41, you will find a tablet of brass +which tells that Block's houses stood on that self-same spot. + +As soon as the hard winter was over, Block and his men began to build a +new ship, and before another winter had come they had one larger than +the Tiger. It was the first vessel to be built in the new world, and was +called the Restless. + +That same year the Dutch merchants decided that they were giving too +many glass beads for the furs, and that if all the merchants combined +into one company they might not have to give so many. So they did +combine, and called themselves the United New Netherland Company. It +was in this way that the name New Netherland first appeared. + +When the first ships of the new company reached the island, a house was +built for the use of the fur-traders, just south of where the Bowling +Green Park is. This structure was called Fort Manhattan. It was of +wood, and did not take long to build because the traders did not intend +to live in it a great while. They felt quite sure that all the furs +would be collected in a few years, and that then the island would be +abandoned. No one thought at that time that the little wooden stockade +was the commencement of a great city. + +But after a few years it was found that the new country was a much +richer place than had been supposed. Shipload after shipload of otter +and beaver skins were sent across the ocean and still there were otters +and beavers without number. The fur-traders were growing rich, and after +a few years there came a decided change, when a new company was formed +in Holland; a great body of men this time, who had a vast amount of +money to build ships and fit them out. This organization was the West +India Company, and was to battle with Spain by land and by sea (for the +Netherlands was at war with Spain) and was to carry on trade with the +West Indies, just as the East India Company carried on trade with the +East Indies. As the West Indies included every country that could be +reached by sailing west from Holland, you will see that all the Dutch +land in America, which land was called New Netherland, came under the +control of this new company. + +The territory called New Netherland was the country along the Atlantic +Ocean which now makes up the States of New Jersey, New York, and +Connecticut. But its limits at this time were uncertain as it extended +inland as far as the Company might care to send their colonists. + +Within a few years, the seventy ships sailing under the flag of the West +India Company, fought great battles with the Spaniards, and won almost +every one of them. There were branches of the Company in seven cities of +Holland, and the branch in Amsterdam had charge of New Netherland. So it +will be only of the doings of this branch that we shall read. Colonists +were to be carried to New Netherland from Holland; farms were to be laid +out and cultivated; cities were to be built, and the West India Company +was to have absolute control over all, and was to rule all the people. +To do these things they had authority from the States-General of +Holland, which was the name given to the men who made the laws for that +country. The Company was to make regular reports to the States-General, +and tell of the growth of the colony and the progress of the people in +it. But as the years went on the Company was not as particular as it +should have been about what it told the States-General. + +[Illustration: Hall of the States-General of Holland.] + +It was not until the West India Company took charge of New Netherland +that it was decided to make the settlement on the Island of Manhattan a +city. Up to this time it had been merely a trading station. In order to +build up a city, the Company knew that it would be necessary to send +people in sufficient numbers so that no matter how many were killed by +the Indians the settlement would not be wiped out. Many inducements were +offered, and men with their families soon began to flock to New +Netherland. With the ship that brought the first families was Cornelius +Jacobsen May, who was to live on the Island of Manhattan and look after +affairs for the Company. Rude houses were set up about the fort, and the +first street came into existence. This is now called Pearl Street. + +Cornelius Jacobsen May cared for the colony for less than a year, when +his place was taken by William Verhulst. Before the year was out, +Verhulst decided that the new country never would suit him, and he +sailed away to Holland. Then came in his place, in the year 1626, Peter +Minuit, under appointment as the first Dutch Governor of New Netherland. + +[Illustration: Seal of New Netherland.] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +PETER MINUIT, FIRST of the DUTCH GOVERNORS + + +Peter Minuit was a large man, of middle age, whose hair was turning +gray, whose eyes were black and dull, and whose manners were quite +coarse. + +The West India Company gave to this Governor absolute power over all the +Dutch lands in America. His power was equal to that of a king; much more +than some kings have had. To be sure, in matters of extreme importance +he was supposed to refer to the Company in Holland. But Holland was far +away, farther away than it is in these days of fast steamers and the +telegraph, and the Company had too many other matters to look after to +give much thought to New Netherland. + +One of the first acts of Governor Minuit was to buy the Island of +Manhattan from the Indians, giving them in exchange some beads, some +brass ornaments, some bits of glass and some strips of colored cloth; +all of which seemed a rich treasure to the Indians, but were in reality +worth just twenty-four dollars. + +As soon as Minuit had bought the island, he organized a government. In +authority next to the Governor was the koopman, who was secretary of the +province, and bookkeeper at the Company's warehouse, and who worked very +hard. Then came the schout-fiscal, who worked still harder, being half +sheriff, half attorney-general, and all customs officer. There was also +a council of five men who looked wise but had very little to say and did +not dare to disagree with the Governor. + +Although in buying their land Governor Minuit had made the Indians his +friends, he took care to be prepared in case they should change their +minds and become warlike. He had Kryn Frederick, the Company's engineer, +build a solid fort on the spot where the fur-traders' stockade had +stood. This he called Fort Amsterdam. It was surrounded by cedar +palisades, and was large enough to shelter all the people of the little +colony in case of danger. Inside this fort there was a house for the +Governor, and outside the walls was a warehouse for furs, and a mill +which was run by horse-power, with a large room on the second floor to +be used as a church. + +[Illustration: The Building of the Palisades.] + +When Minuit had become fairly settled in his new colony, he divided the +lower part of the island into farms, which in those days were called +"bouweries." A road which led through these farms was named Bouwerie +Lane, and the same road is to-day known as The Bowery. + +Minuit had been Governor four years, and there were 200 persons on the +island, when the Dutch West India Company, deciding that the colony was +not increasing fast enough, made a plan for giving large tracts of land +to any man who would go from Holland and take with him fifty persons to +make their homes in New Netherland. The grants of land, which were +really large farms, stretched away in all directions over the territory +of New Netherland. But no grant was made on the Island of Manhattan, as +the Company reserved that for itself. Each of these farms was called a +manor. The man who brought colonists from Holland was called a patroon. +He was the Lord of the Manor. + +He had supreme authority over his colonists, who cleared the land of +the trees, planted seeds, gathered the ripened grain, and raised cattle +which they gave to the Lord of the Manor as rent. + +The little town of New Amsterdam was to continue as the seat of +government, and the Lords of the Manors were to act under the direction +of the Governor. The farms established by these patroons were to belong +to them and to their families after them. + +The one thing that the patroons were not permitted to do was to collect +the furs of animals, for these were very valuable and the Company +claimed them all. + +Before many years had passed there was much trouble with these patroons, +who did a great deal to make themselves rich, and very little for New +Netherland. They traded in furs, notwithstanding they were forbidden to +do so, and did all manner of things they should not have done. + +Governor Minuit was himself accused of aiding the patroons to make money +at the expense of the West India Company, and of taking his share of +the profit; and finally, the Company ordered him to return to Holland. +The ship in which he sailed was wrecked on the coast of England, and +Minuit was detained and accused of unlawfully trading in the territory +of the King of England. This was not the first time that the English had +laid claim to the Dutch lands in America. Charles I. was king then, and +he said that England owned New Netherland because an English king, more +than a hundred years before Hudson's time, had sent John Cabot and his +son Sebastian in search of new lands, and they had touched the American +shore. + +But the Dutch called attention to the fact that it had been held, time +out of mind, that to own a country one must not only discover it, but +must visit it continually, and even buy it from any persons who should +be settled there. Even if the Cabots had discovered the land in America, +the Dutch had occupied it ever since Hudson's time and had paid the +Indians for it. + +Matters were patched up for the time, and Minuit was permitted to +return to Holland. But he was no longer Governor of New Netherland, +for his place had been given to another man whose name was Walter +Van Twiller. + +[Illustration: Old House in New York, Built 1668.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +WALTER VAN TWILLER, SECOND of the DUTCH GOVERNORS + + +Now this Walter Van Twiller was a relative of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, +one of the patroons. You will see why the West India Company's choice of +him for a Governor was not by any means a wise choice. For he was soon +doing exactly what Minuit had done. The only difference was that +Governor Van Twiller favored Van Rensselaer more than he did the other +patroons. + +Van Twiller was a stout, round-bodied man, with a face much the shape of +a full moon. He was a sharp trader, having made two voyages to the +Hudson River in the interest of Van Rensselaer, but he knew nothing of +governing a colony. + +The ship that brought the new Governor to the Island of Manhattan, had +also on board a hundred soldiers, and these were the first soldiers +ever sent to the island. There was also on the ship Everardus Bogardus, +the first minister of the colony, as well as Adam Rolandsen, the first +school-master. This school-master had a hard time of it in the new +country, for not being able to make a living by his teaching, he was +forced to do all kinds of other work. He even took in washing for a +time! + +By this time negro slaves were being brought to the colony from Africa. +They did the household work, while the colonists cultivated the fields +These slaves did most of the work on a new wooden church which was set +up just outside the fort, for the new minister. + +Governor Van Twiller began improving the colony by having three +windmills built, to take the place of the horse-mill. But he had them +placed in such a position that the building in the fort cut off the wind +from their sails, and the mills were almost useless. + +The Governor did not neglect his own comfort, for within Fort Amsterdam +he built for himself a fine house of brick--finer than any in the little +settlement--and on one of the bouweries nearest the fort, he erected a +summer-house. On another bouwerie he laid out a tobacco plantation, and +had slaves paid by the Company to look after it. + +[Illustration: Van Twiller's Defiance.] + +When Van Twiller had been Governor three years, he gave to one of the +colonists a farm on the western side of the city along the Hudson River. +The colonist died the year after the farm was given him, leaving his +widow, Annetje Jans, to care for the property. + +Years after, when Queen Anne ruled in England, and the English had come +into possession of New Netherland, she gave the Annetje Jans farm to +Trinity Church. That was almost two centuries ago. What was once a farm +is now a great business section, crossed and recrossed by streets. +Trinity Church has held it through all the years, and holds it still. + +Close upon the time when the Jans farm was given away by Governor Van +Twiller, a sailor of note, who had visited almost every country in the +world, founded a colony on Staten Island. This sailor was Captain David +Pietersen De Vries. Staten Island attracted him because of its beauty. +After the colony was well started, De Vries travelled between New +Netherland and Holland, and he will be met with again in this story. + +[Illustration: Landing of Dutch Colony on Staten Island.] + +Although Governor Van Twiller did not do much for the colonists, he was +very careful to look after his own affairs. He bought from the +Indians, for some goods of small value, the little spot now called +Governor's Island; which was then known as Nut Island, because of the +many nut-trees that grew there. There is little doubt but that +Governor's Island was once a part of Long Island. It is separated from +it now by a deep arm of water called Buttermilk Channel. The channel was +so narrow and so shallow in Van Twiller's time that the cattle could +wade across it. It was given its name more than a hundred years ago, +from boats which drew very little water, and were the only craft able to +get through the channel, and which took buttermilk from Long Island to +the markets of New York. + +[Illustration: Governor's Island and the Battery in 1850.] + +Van Twiller bought the islands now known as Randall's and Ward's +Islands, and these, with some others, made him the richest landholder in +the colony. On his islands he raised cattle, and on his farm tobacco. + +Many of the colonists did not take kindly to Governor Van Twiller's +methods, and among them was Van Dincklagen, the schout-fiscal. He told +the Governor that it was very evident that he was putting forth every +effort to enrich himself at the expense of everybody else, just as +Minuit had done. The Governor became very angry. He told the +schout-fiscal not to expect any more salary, that it would be stopped +from that minute. This did not worry the schout-fiscal much, as he had +not been paid his salary in three years! But Van Twiller did not stop +there. He sent the schout-fiscal as a prisoner to Holland, which was a +foolish thing for him to do. For the prisoner pleaded his own cause to +such good effect that before the end of the year 1637, Van Twiller was +recalled to Holland, after he had governed New Netherland for four +years, very much to his own interest, and very much against the interest +of the West India Company and everybody else. + +[Illustration: Dutch Costumes.] + + + + +CHAPTER V + +WILLIAM KIEFT and the WAR with the INDIANS + + +A dreary winter came and went, and just as the first signs of spring +showed in the fields that closed about the fort, a ship sailed up the +bay, bringing a stranger to the province. + +This was William Kieft, the new Governor of New Netherland. + +He was a blustering man, who became very angry when anyone disagreed +with him, and who very soon was known as "William the Testy." He made no +effort to make the Indians his friends, and the result was that much of +his rule of ten years was a term of bloody warfare. + +The affairs of the Company had been sadly neglected by Governor Van +Twiller, and Governor Kieft, in a nervous, testy, energetic fashion set +about remedying them. The fort was almost in ruins from neglect. The +church was in little better condition. The mills were so out of repair +that even if the wind could have reached them they could not have been +made to do their work properly. There were smugglers who carried away +furs without even a thought of the koopman, who was waiting to record +the duties which should have been paid on them. There were those who +defied all law and order, and sold guns and powder and liquor to the +Indians, regardless of the fact that the penalty for doing so was death. +For guns and liquor had been found to be dangerous things to put in +savage hands. + +Governor Kieft rebuilt the houses, put down all smugglers, and set +matters in New Amsterdam in good working order generally. The patroon +system of peopling the colony had proven a total failure. So, soon after +Kieft came, the West India Company decided on another plan. They +furnished free passage to anyone who promised to cultivate land in the +new country. In this way there would be no patroons to act as masters. +Each man would own his land, and could come and go as he saw fit. This +brought many colonists. + +[Illustration: The Bowling Green in 1840.] + +At this time there were really only two well-defined roads on the Island +of Manhattan. One stretched up through the island and led to the +outlying farms and afterward became The Bowery; the second led along the +water-side, and is to-day Pearl Street. Bowling Green, although it was +not called Bowling Green then, was the open space in front of the fort +where the people gathered on holidays. In the fourth year of Governor +Kieft's rule, he conceived the idea of holding fairs in this open space, +where fine cows and fat pigs could be exhibited. These fairs attracted +so many visitors from distant parts of the colony, that the Governor had +a large stone house built, with a roof running up steep to a peak, in +regular, step-like form. This was called a tavern, and could accommodate +all the visitors. In after years it became the first City Hall. + +If you wish to stand where this building was, you must go to the head of +Coenties Slip, in Pearl Street. On the building which is there now you +will see a bronze tablet which tells all about the old Stadt Huys. + +The church that Walter Van Twiller had built was little better than a +barn. The minister wanted a new one. So did his congregation. Governor +Kieft decided that there should be one of stone, and that it should be +built inside the fort. There was a question as how to secure the money +to build it. Kieft gave a small amount, as did other colonists, but +there was not enough. Fortunately, just at this time, a daughter of +Bogardus, the minister, was married. At the wedding, when the guests +were in good humor, a subscription-list was handed out. The guests tried +to outdo one another in subscribing money for the new church. Next day +some of the subscribers were sorry they had agreed to give so much, but +the Governor accepted no excuses and insisted on the money. It was +collected, and the church was built. Close upon this time Kieft decided +that he needed money for other work, and he told the Indians of the +province that he expected something from them. Of course the Indians had +no such money as we have in these days. They used instead beads, very +handsome and made from clam-shells. These beads were arranged on +strings. There were black ones and white ones, and the black were worth +twice as much as the white. The Indians did not see why they should give +money to the Governor. Kieft explained that it was to pay for the +protection given to them by the Dutch. Then the Indians understood less +than ever, for the Dutch had never done anything for them except to +give them as little as they could for their valuable furs. The Indians +hated Kieft, and this act of his made their hatred more bitter. A +war-cloud was gathering. The Indians were well prepared for war, for +they had been supplied with guns, with bullets, and with powder by those +greedy Dutchmen, the smugglers, who thought more of their personal +gains than of the safety of the colonists. + +[Illustration: Selling Arms to the Indians.] + +Over on Staten Island about this time, an Indian stole several hogs +from a colonist. Kieft's soldiers found the tribe to which the Indian +belonged, and in revenge killed ten Indian warriors. After this the +war-cloud grew darker. + +Kieft was anxious that there should be war. But there were many of the +colonists who did all in their power to prevent it. The men who wanted +peace were headed by that able sailor, Captain David Pietersen De Vries, +who had founded a colony on Staten Island. A council of twelve men was +formed to decide whether there should be peace or war. This council +declared that there should be no war. They then began to look into +public affairs, for they thought it all wrong that Kieft should have +the only voice in the management. The Governor regretted having called +together the twelve men. But he soon got rid of them, and to show that +he was still absolute ruler, he decided to make war upon the Indians. +Then the war-cloud broke. + +Those Indians who lived nearest New Amsterdam were fighting with another +tribe called the Mohawks. The nearby Indians thought that since Kieft +had been paid to protect them, he should do so now. So they gathered, +some on the Island of Manhattan, and some on the nearby shore of New +Jersey. But instead of protecting them, Kieft sent his soldiers against +these friendly Indians, and in the night killed them as they slept. The +soldiers came so suddenly upon the Indians, sleeping peacefully on the +Jersey shore, and slew them so quickly in the darkness, that the Indians +believed they had been attacked by the unfriendly tribe. One Indian, +with his squaw, made his way to the fort. He was met at the gate by De +Vries. "Save us," he cried, "the Mohawks have fallen upon us, and have +killed all our people." But De Vries answered, sadly, "No Indian has +done this. It is the Dutch who have killed your people." And he pointed +toward the deep woods close by. "Go there for safety, but do not come +here." + +This was not war. It was murder. A cruel, treacherous act, which the +greater number of colonists condemned and the record of which is a dark +stain on the memory of William Kieft. + +After this, all the Indians within the border of New Netherland +combined. Colonists were shot as they worked in the fields. Cattle were +driven away. Houses were robbed and burned. Women and children were +dragged into captivity. The war raged fiercely for three years. By this +time Indians and colonists were worn out. Then the war ended. But +scarcely a hundred men were left on the Island of Manhattan. The country +was a waste. + +A strong fence had been built across the island, to keep what cattle +remained within bounds. This fence marked the extreme limit of the +settlement of New Amsterdam. The fence in time gave place to a wall, and +when in still later years the wall was demolished and a street laid out +where it had been, the thoroughfare was called Wall Street, and remains +so to this day. + +While the entire province was in a very bad way, and the people +suffering on every side, Governor Kieft sent to the West India Company +in Holland _his_ version of the war. He showed himself to be all in the +right, and proved, to his own satisfaction, that the province was in a +fairly good condition; though during all the years he had been Governor +he had not once left the settlement on the Island of Manhattan to look +after other parts. + +Certain of the colonists also sent a report to Holland. Theirs being +much nearer the truth, carried such weight with it, that the West India +Company decided on the immediate recall of Governor Kieft, who had done +so much injury to the colony, and had shown himself to be utterly +incapable of governing. + +Kieft returned to Holland in a ship that was packed from stem to stern +with the finest of furs. The ship was wrecked at sea. Kieft was drowned, +and the furs were lost. + +In the same ship was Everardus Bogardus (the minister who had married +Annetje Jans), who was on his way to Holland on a mission relating to +his church. The people of New Amsterdam mourned for their minister, but +there was little sorrow felt for the Governor who had plunged the colony +in war by his obstinate and cruel temper. + +[Illustration: Smoking the Pipe of Peace.] + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +PETER STUYVESANT, the LAST of the DUTCH GOVERNORS + + +It was a gay day for the little colony of New Amsterdam, that May +morning in the year 1647, when a one-legged man landed at the lower part +of the island, and stumped his way up the path that led to the fort. Not +only everyone that lived in the town gathered there, but everyone on the +island, and many from more distant parts. There were Indians, too, who +walked sedately, their quiet serenity in strange contrast to the +colonists, who yelled and shouted for joy, and clapped their hands at +every salute from the guns. And when the fort was reached (it was only +a few steps from the river-bank) the man with the wooden leg turned to +those who followed him. The guns were silent, and the people stood +still. + +"I shall govern you," said he, "as a father does his children." + +Then there were more shouts, and more booming of cannon, and the name of +Peter Stuyvesant was on every tongue. For the man with a wooden leg was +Peter Stuyvesant, the new Governor appointed by the West India Company, +and not one of those who shouted that day had an idea that he was to be +the last of the Dutch governors. + +Stuyvesant had long been in the employ of the West India Company, and +his leg had been shot off in a battle while he was in their service. + +He was a stern man, with a bad temper, and seemed to have made it a +point in life never to yield to anyone in anything. He ruled in the way +he thought best, and he let it always be understood that he did not care +much for the advice of others. He did what he could for the people to +make their life as happy as possible. Of course he had orders from the +West India Company that he was bound to obey, and these orders did not +always please the people. But his rule was just, and he was the most +satisfactory of all the Dutch governors. + +Stuyvesant's first work was to put the city in better condition. He did +this by having the vacant lots about the fort either built upon or +cleared. The hog-pens which had been in front of the houses were taken +away. All the fences were put in repair, and where weeds had grown rank, +they were replaced by pretty gardens. These, and a great many other +things he did, until the town took on quite a new air. + +Up to this time the people had been ruled by governors who did all +things just as they saw fit. They became tired of this, and complained +so much that the Company in Holland decided to make a change. So after +Stuyvesant had been Governor for a while, some other officers were +appointed to help him. There was one officer called a schout, very +much the same as a mayor is in these days. Two others were called +burgomasters, and five others were called schepens. The burgomasters +and the schepens presided over the trials, in the stone tavern which +Governor Kieft had built at Coenties Slip, and which had now become +the Stadt Huys or City Hall. + +[Illustration: The Old Stadt Huys of New Amsterdam.] + +With the appointment of these officers, New Amsterdam became a city. +But as Governor Stuyvesant named the officers and as he plainly told +them that they must not interfere with his orders, and as he still had +his own way, regardless of what the officers said and did, the colony +was little different as a city from what it had been before. + +In the fall of this year, 1652, war was declared between England and +Holland. Stuyvesant, fearing that the English in New England, which +was on the borders of New Netherland, would attack the city, set about +fortifying it. The fence that Governor Kieft had built so that the +cattle could not wander away was changed into a wall that extended from +river to river. The fort was repaired, and a strong body of citizens +mounted guard by day and by night. Everything was prepared for an +attack. But the enemy did not come after all. + +Matters went along quietly enough for three years, until some Swedes +on the Delaware River began to build houses on Dutch lands. Then +Stuyvesant, with 160 men, in seven ships, sailed around to the Delaware +River, and conquered the Swedes. + +It was quite ten years since the Indian war, and Stuyvesant, by his +kindness, had made friends of the savages, and had come to be called +their "great friend," But soon after he left to make war on the Swedes, +one of the colonists killed an Indian. In a few days there was an +uprising of Indian tribes. In New Jersey and on Staten Island they +murdered colonists, burned houses, and laid farms waste. Stuyvesant +hurriedly returned. He made peace with the Indians, treating them +kindly, as though there had never been any trouble. He gave them +presents, and used such gentle measures that the war which had +threatened to be so serious ended abruptly. + +In the calmer days that followed, attention was given to improvements +in the city. By this time there were a thousand persons on the island. +Streets were nicely laid out, and the city of New Amsterdam grew, day +by day. It was a tiny place still, however, for it all lay below the +present Wall Street. Some distance beyond the city wall was a fenced-in +pasture for cattle, which was later to become The Common, and still +later City Hall Park. Farther on there was a wide lake, so deep that +it was thought to be bottomless. On its banks were a vast heap of +oyster-shells, where an Indian village had been. This place was called +Kalch-hook, or Shell-point. Afterward it was shortened to The Kalch, and +in time was called The Collect. The lake was called Collect Lake. There +is no trace of it to-day, for it was filled in, and the Tombs Prison now +stands upon the spot. + +The entire province was in a flourishing condition, but danger was near. +The English had long looked with covetous eye upon the possessions of +the Dutch in America. The English, it must be remembered, claimed not +only New Netherland, but a great part of the American continent, on the +plea that the Cabots had discovered it. + +After all this long time, when the Cabots had been forgotten by most +persons, in the year 1664, Charles II. decided that the English claim +was just, and gave New Netherland to his brother James, Duke of York. +The Duke of York at once sent four ships filled with soldiers to take +possession of his property. + +[Illustration: Stuyvesant Leaving Fort Amsterdam.] + +When the English war-ships sailed up the bay, the town was +ill-protected, and the people had no desire to resist, for Stuyvesant +and the West India Company had been most strict, and they hoped to be +more free under English rule. Stuyvesant, with scarcely a supporter, +stood firm and unyielding. He had no thought of submitting to superior +force. "I would rather be carried out dead," he exclaimed. But when at +length he realized that he was absolutely alone, and that there were no +means of defence for the city, he surrendered. + +On this same morning of September 8, 1664, Stuyvesant, with his head +bowed sadly, marched at the head of his soldiers out of Fort Amsterdam, +with flags flying and drums beating. And the English soldiers, who had +landed, and were waiting a little way off, entered the fort with _their_ +flags flying and _their_ drums beating. + +So the city of New Amsterdam became the city of New York, and the +province of New Netherland became the province of New York, and Fort +Amsterdam became Fort James--all this in honor of James, Duke of York, +who now came into possession. + +Stuyvesant went to Holland to explain why he had surrendered New +Netherland. But he came back again, and years after he died in the +little Bouwerie Village which he had built. In St. Mark's Church to this +day may be seen a tablet which tells that the body of the last Dutch +Governor lies buried there. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +NEW YORK under the ENGLISH and the DUTCH + + +So now the conquered province had come into the possession of the Duke +of York, and Colonel Richard Nicolls, who was in command of the English +soldiers, took charge. This first English Governor appeared anxious to +make all the people his friends. He made Thomas Willett Mayor, and +Willett being very popular, all the citizens rejoiced, and said the new +Governor was a fine man. During three years Colonel Nicolls humored the +people so much that they were well satisfied. At the end of that time he +had grown tired of the new country, and asked to be relieved. The people +were really sorry when he returned to England and Francis Lovelace took +his place. + +Governor Lovelace did not get along so well. He was a man of harsh +manner, who did not have the patience or the inclination to flatter with +fine promises. Lovelace wanted everyone to understand that he was +master. Very soon, when the people said they thought they should have +the right to control their own affairs, the Governor told them that he +did not think it was best for them to have too much to do with the +governing of the city. But he did some things that pleased the people. +For one thing, he brought about the custom of having merchants meet +once a week at a bridge which crossed Broad Street at the present +Exchange Place. There is no bridge there now, but in those days it was +necessary, for Broad Street was a ditch which extended from the river +almost to Wall Street. But though the ditch has been filled up, and the +bridge is gone, the locality has ever since been one where merchants +have gathered. + +[Illustration: Departure of Nicolls.] + +The Governor also had a messenger make regular trips to Boston with +letters, which was the first mail route from the city. Matters were +going along nicely when trouble arose between England and Holland again. +Then the Dutch decided that it would be a good time to get back their +lost province of New Netherland. The English in New York heard of this, +and made all sorts of warlike preparations. But the Dutch were so long +in coming that the preparations for war were given up. Finally the Dutch +ships did arrive unexpectedly, sailing up the bay one morning in the +month of July, in the year 1673. Governor Lovelace was in a distant +part of the colony, and the city had been left under the care of Captain +John Manning. + +Manning was in despair. He knew full well that there was no hope of +defending the city successfully. He sent a messenger dashing off to the +Governor, and he sent another to the Dutch ships to ask what they were +doing in the bay, just as though he did not know. The Dutch sent word +back that the city must be surrendered to them that same day. And to +show they meant what was said, the Dutch admiral despatched one of his +captains, Anthony Colve by name, who landed with 600 men. The Dutch +captain agreed that if the English left the fort without a show of +resistance, they could do so with the honors of war and without +interference. Then he and his soldiers tramped down the road that is now +Broadway. The English marched out of the fort, and the Dutch marched in; +just as nine years before the Dutch had marched out and the English had +marched in. + +When the King in England heard that New York had been so easily +captured, all the blame was placed on Captain Manning, and after a time +you will see what became of him. + +[Illustration: The Dutch Ultimatum.] + +Captain Colve took charge of the reconquered province. He began +industriously to undo all that the English had done. The province was +again named New Netherland. The city was called New Orange, in honor of +the Prince of Orange--a prince of Holland, who in a few years was to +marry a daughter of the Duke of York, and who in a few more years was +to be King of England under the title of William III. + +Captain Colve put the fort in good condition, repaired the city wall, +made a soldier of every man and drilled them every day. He had the city +gates locked at night, and put a guard at them to see that no one came +in or passed out. + +In less than a year, when the city was in shape to be defended, the +English and the Dutch made up their quarrel. The province of New +Netherland was returned to the English, and became again the province of +New York, and the Dutch soldiers left the Island of Manhattan, never +again to return to it in warlike array. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +SOMETHING about the BOLTING ACT + + +Edmund Andros was sent to govern New York for the Duke of York. +The people complained a good deal because he acted as though he were a +king with absolute power. They asked that they have some voice in the +direction of their affairs. They got up a petition and sent it to the +Duke in England. + +"What do the people want?" said the Duke. "If they are not satisfied, +they can always appeal to me." He did not see that they had just +appealed to him, and in vain. + +Captain Manning, who had been in charge of the province when the Dutch +recaptured it, came again to New York with Andros. Many who had lost +their property by the coming of the Dutch, complained bitterly to +Andros. So the Governor, and his council, and the officers of the +city held many conferences, with the result that Captain Manning was +arrested. He was found guilty of cowardice, and his sword was broken +in front of the Stadt Huys in the presence of the citizens, and he was +declared, on the good authority of King Charles II., unfit ever again +to hold public office. + +Although disgraced, Captain Manning did not seem to care much. He owned +a beautiful wooded island in the East River, to which he now retired. +He was wealthy, and there he lived and entertained royally during the +remainder of his life. + +Andros did many things for the general good. When he had been Governor +four years, and when the most important product of trade was flour, a +law was made by which no one was permitted to make flour outside of the +city. This was called the Bolting Act. Flour cannot be made unless it +is "bolted"--or has the bran taken from it--and so the act came by its +name. The right to grind all the grain into flour may not now seem very +important, but it really was, for it brought all the trade to the city. +So you see the Bolting Act was a very good thing for the city, and very +bad for the people who did not live in the city. The city folks became +very prosperous indeed, but the others, because they could not make or +sell flour, became poorer day by day. + +This went on for sixteen years, and then the law came to an end. But by +that time all the business of the entire province had centred in the +city so firmly that it could not be drawn away. + +[Illustration] + +So, after this, when you look at a picture of the Seal of New York, +and see a windmill and two barrels of flour, you will remember that the +windmill sails worked the mill, and the barrels were filled with flour +which laid the foundation of the city's fortunes; and were put on the +seal so that this fact would always be remembered. The beavers on the +seal suggest the early days when the trade in beaver skins made a city +possible. At one time there was a crown on the seal--a king's crown--but +that gave way to an eagle when the English King no longer had a claim on +New York. + +Now that the province was prosperous, one would think that the people +would have been quite happy. But they were not. They did not like +Governor Andros because they thought that he taxed them too heavily, and +they sent so many petitions to the Duke of York that, in 1681, Andros +was recalled, and Colonel Thomas Dongan was appointed the new Governor. +A few years later, when the Duke of York became King James II., he +remembered how carefully Andros had carried out his orders, and +appointed him Governor of New England; where he conducted matters so +much to the satisfaction of his King that he earned the title of "The +Tyrant of New England." + +When Governor Dongan reached the city and announced that the Duke had +instructed him to let the people have something to say as to how they +should be governed, he was joyfully received. It really seemed now that +everything was going to be satisfactory. But there came a sudden check. +Two years after Dongan became Governor, the Duke of York was made King +of England. He thereupon ordered Dongan to make all the laws himself, +without regard to what the people did or did not want. The power to make +the laws was a great power, but Governor Dongan was a fair and just man +and did not abuse it. The year after this he granted a charter to the +city, known ever since as the Dongan Charter, which was so just that it +is still the base on which the rights of citizens rest. + +But while Dongan was popular with the King's subjects, he became +unpopular with the King. This was because he stood in the way of the +plans of his royal master whenever those plans interfered with the good +of the people. He must have known what the result would be. Whether he +knew it or not, it came in the year 1688. The King joined the colony of +New England and the colony of New York, and called this united territory +New England. Dongan then ceased to be Governor, having ruled the +province well. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE STIRRING TIMES of JACOB LEISLER + + +Sir Edmund Andros, who, you will remember, had been appointed Governor +of New England, had been knighted for obeying the King's commands. He +now became Governor of the united provinces. He made his home in Boston, +and left the care of New York to his deputy, Francis Nicholson. In this +year a son was born to the English King, and the people rejoiced. But +these were stormy times in England, for King James II. was a tyrant who +ordered a great many of his subjects killed when they refused to believe +in what he believed. And the people, grown weary and heartsick, +overthrew King James and put William III. on the throne. So the sights +and sounds of rejoicing over the birth of a prince were scarcely over, +when the news came that James was no longer King, and New York was soon +in a state of confusion. + +In what had been New England before the provinces were united, the +people hated Andros. They arrested him. And as they had never been in +favor of uniting New England and New York, they restored their old +officers and disunited the two provinces, Andros was sent a prisoner to +England to give an account of his doings to King William, and New York +was left without a Governor. The men who had served under King James +insisted that they remain in charge of the province until King William +sent new officers to replace them. But most of them wanted to have all +who had had anything to do with King James put out of office at once. So +those who wanted this change took charge of the city, and chose as their +leader a citizen named Jacob Leisler. More than twenty years before, +this Jacob Leisler had come from Holland as a soldier of the West India +Company. He had left the service and had become a wealthy merchant. He +had a rude manner, and but little education. He looked upon as an enemy, +and as an enemy of King William, every man who did not think as he did. + +The mass of the people now gathered around Leisler and became known as +the Leislerian party. They selected a number of citizens, calling them +the Committee of Safety, and the committee gave Leisler power to see +that peace was preserved. Those who were opposed to Leisler, but who, +just as strongly as he, favored King William, were called the +anti-Leislerian party. These last were headed by Francis Nicholson, who +had watched over the colony for Governor Andros. Nicholson finding that +he had few followers, sailed for England. + +Leisler had the fortifications repaired, and a battery of guns set up +outside the fort. This is the battery which gave to the present locality +its name, though all signs of guns have disappeared. + +Leisler had an adviser in Jacob Milborne, his son-in-law, who wrote his +letters, and counselled him in every way. + +In December came a messenger from King William, with a commission for +whoever was in charge of the city, to act until further orders. Leisler +obtained possession of the commission. He became bolder after this, and +showed such a disposition to do just as he pleased, that he made enemies +of a great many of his friends. Advised by Milborne, he made laws, and +imprisoned all those who refused to obey them or to recognize his +authority. Day by day those who were opposed to Leisler and Milborne +grew in numbers. Street riots occurred, and several persons were +injured. Leisler's life was threatened, and he went about attended by a +guard of soldiers. Finally Nicholas Bayard, who had been Mayor, and who +was looked upon as leader of the anti-Leislerian party, was put in +prison with some others. Bayard would doubtless have been executed had +he not written an humble letter to Leisler saying that he had been in +the wrong and Leisler in the right. But he wrote to save his life, not +that he really believed himself to be in the wrong. He did save his +life, but he was kept in jail. + +Leisler's enemies continued active. They had a powerful friend in +Francis Nicholson, who had reached England and had been received with +favor there. He hated Leisler, and denounced him as a traitor before +King William. + +Leisler, after he had taken charge of the province, wrote to the King, +but his letter was written in imperfect English and was not understood. +Matters were in a bad state, and were daily becoming worse, when the +King appointed Henry Sloughter Governor of New York. + +[Illustration: New York in 1700.] + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE SAD END of JACOB LEISLER + + +This Henry Sloughter was not a good choice. He was a worthless man, who +had travelled a great deal, and had spent other people's money whenever +he could get it. Now, when he could find no one in England to supply him +with money, he took the post of Governor of New York, and his only +thought was how much money he could wring from the people. The enemies +of Leisler rejoiced at his coming, for they knew that it meant the +downfall of Leisler. + +Sloughter sailed for New York with a body of soldiers, but his ship was +tossed about by the sea, and carried far out of its course, so that the +ship of his assistant, Major Richard Ingoldsby, arrived first. But +Leisler refused to give up command until Sloughter came. This was three +months later, and during that time Ingoldsby and his soldiers did all +they could to harass Leisler, who held possession of the little fort, +and refused to give it up until he saw the King's order. + +When Sloughter arrived, members of the party opposed to Leisler hurried +on board the vessel, and escorted him to the City Hall, where at +midnight he took the oath of office. + +Within a few days Governor Sloughter and his friends met in the City +Hall, where the council of the new Governor was sworn in--a council +every member of which was an enemy of Leisler. Then Leisler was +arrested, with his son-in-law, Milborne, and both were condemned to +death as rebels. But the Governor was afraid of displeasing the King by +putting Leisler to death, for, after all, Leisler was the man who had +been the first to recognize the authority of King William in New York. +He refused to sign the death-warrant. But the enemies of Leisler were +not content. Nicholas Bayard, who had become more than ever bitter +because he had been kept for thirteen months in prison, was anxious for +revenge. The council urged the Governor to carry out the sentence, and +he finally signed the death-warrant. Two days later Leisler and Milborne +were led to execution. The scaffold had been erected in Leisler's own +garden, close by where the post-office is now. The people thronged about +it, standing in the cold, drizzling rain. They wept, for many of them +had been on the side of Leisler. + +[Illustration: Sloughter Signing Leisler's Death-warrant.] + +Leisler ascended the scaffold with firm step, and looked at the people +he had tried to serve. + +"What I have done has been for the good of my country," he said, sadly. +"I forgive my enemies, as I hope to be forgiven." + +And so he died; believing that he had done his duty. + +Milborne was full of hate for those who caused his death. Close by the +scaffold stood Robert Livingston, a citizen who had always been strongly +opposed to Leisler. To this man Milborne pointed, and fiercely cried: + +"You have caused my death. For this I will impeach you before the Bar of +God." And so he died. + +The bodies of both men were interred close by the scaffold. + +Four years later the English Parliament declared that Leisler had acted +under the King's command, and had therefore been in the right, after +all. So tardy justice was done to Leisler's memory. + +After the death of Leisler, there was an end of open revolt, and affairs +were reasonably quiet, although it was many a long year before the +rancor of the late struggle and the bitter hatred of the friends and +enemies of Leisler died out. + +Order was restored, and attention was turned to public improvement. +New streets were laid out, and markets were built. In front of the +City Hall, by the water-side of Coenties Slip, there were set up a +whipping-post, a cage, a pillory, and a ducking-block; which were to +serve as warnings to evil-doers, and to be used in case the warning +was not effective. + +But Sloughter did not live to see these improvements completed. A few +months after his arrival he died suddenly, so suddenly that there was a +suggestion that he had been poisoned by some friend of Leisler. But it +was proven that his death was a natural one, and his body was placed in +a vault next to that of Peter Stuyvesant, in the Bouwerie Village +church-yard. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +GOVERNOR FLETCHER and the PRIVATEERS + + +When Benjamin Fletcher became the next Governor of New York, in the +month of August, 1692, the people gave a great public dinner in his +honor, and there were expressions of deep joy that so wise and good +and pious a man had been sent to rule over them. + +But Governor Fletcher soon came to be disliked. He tried by every means +to enrich himself at the public expense. More than that, he wished to +make the Church of England the only church of the province, and to have +the English language the only language spoken. All of which the people +did not like, for the majority of them still spoke the Dutch language +and attended the Dutch church. + +Governor Fletcher had great trouble in getting the Assembly (the body +of men who helped him to govern the province) to agree with him, but he +finally won them over in the matter of the Church of England. One of the +churches built at this time was Trinity Church. It was a quaint, square +building, with a tall spire--not the Trinity Church of this day, +although it stood on the same spot. + +[Illustration: Bradford's Tombstone.] + +In the year after Fletcher came, the first printing-press was set up +in the city by William Bradford, who came from Philadelphia for that +purpose. He became the public printer, and afterward issued the first +newspaper. He did a great deal for the general good, and when he died he +was buried in Trinity Church-yard. Even now you can see the stone that +marks his grave, close by the side-entrance of the present church. + +During much of the time that Fletcher governed, the French in Canada +were continually threatening to fight with the English in New York. +There were fierce and bloody conflicts on the border, but no enemy +reached the city. There was also another danger that grew stronger day +by day. It came about as the result of privateering. + +A privateer was a vessel which under commission from one country, +carried on war with the ships of other countries. The captains were +called privateers, as were the ships. These privateers were so +successful that they grew bold, and instead of attacking only the ships +of enemies of their country, they threw away their commissions and +attacked ships of all countries for their private gain. Then they were +called pirates. They became robbers and murderers, for they murdered as +well as robbed. These pirates bore down upon the ships of all nations, +carried off their cargoes, then sunk the vessels without knowing or +caring how many were on board, that none might escape to tell the tale. + +Nowhere were the pirates more daring than near the American coast. The +vessels of New York merchants were burned within sight of shore, and the +pirates were even bold enough to enter the harbor and seize the ships as +they lay at anchor. + +The officials of the province made no apparent effort to suppress these +pirates. It was thought then, and has since been believed, that they +assisted them, and were well paid for such help. Governor Fletcher +himself was suspected of sharing in the pirate booty. Merchants who +feared to carry on regular trade, as their ships were almost sure to be +seized, came, after a time, to lend their aid also to the pirates, by +buying their cargoes. + +[Illustration: The Reading of Fletcher's Commission.] + +Finally, very few ships dared to cross the ocean. Then the English +Government became alarmed. A new Governor was searched for--a man strong +enough to resist the bribery of pirate crews, and able to drive them off +the seas. And just such a man was found. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +CONTAINING the TRUE LIFE of CAPTAIN KIDD + + +In England there lived a man who had been a great friend of King +William; who had been his friend even before he had become King. This +man was Lord Bellomont. It was he who was chosen Governor in the year +1696. But it was two years after this that he reached New York. During +these two years he worked hard in the interests of the province. He knew +all about the pirates, and knew that it would take a strong force to +subdue them. He called upon the English Government to fit out men for +this purpose. But the Government had neither men, nor ships, nor guns +to spare. + +So Lord Bellomont decided to raise a private armed force. He got +together a company, of which the King was a member, and they fitted out +a strong and fast-sailing vessel called the Adventure Galley. Lord +Bellomont looked about for a good captain. At last he thought he had +found just the man in Captain William Kidd. Captain Kidd just at this +time happened to be in London, where he was well known, and well liked. +His home was in New York, where his wife and daughter lived in a fine +house in Crown Street, and where he was a respected citizen. But best of +all for the Company, Captain Kidd had been in command of a privateer, +and knew a good deal about pirates and their ways. + +And so it came about that Captain Kidd sailed away, commander of the +Adventure Galley, with its crew of sixty sailors, and its thirty guns, +to destroy the pirates. + +Then followed a space of time during which news of the bold Captain was +eagerly awaited. It came soon enough--news that was startling. Captain +Kidd had been tempted by the adventurous life and great gains, and had +himself turned pirate! During the next two years he was heard of as the +most daring and fierce of pirates, plundering and sinking ships, until +his name became a terror on the sea. He collected great treasure, and +then decided to give up piracy. He returned to New York, and touched +first at Gardiner's Island, a bit of land at the eastern end of Long +Island. There he buried a portion of his treasure. The remainder he +divided with his crew. Then he went to Boston, took a new name, and +intended to live in quiet and luxury during the remainder of his life. +But, unfortunately, one day Lord Bellomont was in Boston, met him, and +caused his arrest. In a few months he was sent to England in chains. +There he was executed. + +When it was known that Captain Kidd had made a stop at Gardiner's +Island, search was made there and the hidden treasure was dug up. There +were rumors from time to time that Kidd and his pirate crew had stopped +at points on the East River shore of the Island of Manhattan, and many +men hunted that shore and sought in many places for hidden treasure, but +none was ever found there. + +During the time that Captain Kidd was roaming the sea, Lord Bellomont +was governing New York. + +[Illustration: Arrest of Captain Kidd.] + +The new Governor was at first much admired. He was a fine man, with +faultless manners, and a commander in every inch of his tall figure. +He had hands as soft as a woman's, a kindly eye, and a gentle voice. +But he could be stern, and was stern and unyielding, too, when occasion +required. He dressed in better taste than anyone who had ever lived in +the province, and his horses and carriage were finer than had ever +before been seen in the city. + +Friends of the dead Jacob Leisler had told Lord Bellomont tales of what +a good man Leisler had been, and how he had been unjustly executed. So +Lord Bellomont, to the end of his life, favored the friends of Leisler. + +He was firmly convinced that many of the city merchants had become rich +through dealings with the pirates. This belief made many enemies for +him. Then, too, there were laws which would not permit merchants to +trade with any country except England; hard laws, that were constantly +broken, for the merchants could not see why they should not trade with +anyone they saw fit. Bellomont was so strict in enforcing these laws and +in collecting duties that he made more enemies, who sought his recall. + +Nevertheless many improvements were carried out while Bellomont was +Governor. A first effort was made to light the streets, which had, up +to this time, only had the light of the moon at night. This was done by +a lantern with a candle in it hung on a pole from the window of every +seventh house. A night-watch was also established, consisting of four +men. + +After Bellomont had been Governor for a few years, what remained of the +city wall was removed, and Wall Street had its beginning on the line of +the old wall. The same year the old Stadt Huys was found to be in a +state of decay. Then a new city hall was erected on the new Wall Street, +close by where Nassau Street now touches it. There were dungeons in the +new building for criminals, cells in the attic for debtors, and a +court-room on the main floor. + +[Illustration: New City Hall in Wall Street.] + +The first library, under the name of the Corporation Library, was +opened in the City Hall. This is the library that afterward became the +Society Library. It is still in existence, and now has its home in +University Place. + +All in all, Lord Bellomont was a good Governor, who did much for the +people, and much to make the city an agreeable place to live in; and +there was deep regret when he died suddenly in the year 1701. He was +buried in the chapel in the fort, and as an especial honor to his +memory his coat-of-arms was fixed on the wall of the new City Hall in +Wall Street. This was a great honor, even though the fickle people, a +few years later, when a new Governor came, did tear down the arms and +burn them in the street. + +John Nanfan, the Lieutenant-Governor, took command of the province until +news reached the city that Lord Cornbury had been appointed Governor. +Nicholas Bayard, who had made such a bitter fight against Leisler, and +who had been imprisoned so long, hated Governor Nanfan, because Nanfan +was a friend of the people who called themselves the Leislerian party. +So Bayard sent an address to Lord Cornbury saying that Nanfan was an +enemy. But Nanfan arrested Bayard, and had him tried under the self-same +act under which Leisler had been tried. This act pronounced traitors +anyone who should make an effort to disturb the peace of the province. +Bayard was sentenced to death, but a reprieve was granted pending the +pleasure of the King. Before word could be got to England, Lord +Cornbury arrived. Bayard was promoted to a place of honor, and there was +a scattering of the Leislerians, who were now looked upon as enemies of +the Government. + +[Illustration: Fort George in 1740.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +LORD CORNBURY makes HIMSELF very UNPOPULAR + + +It was in the year that Princess Anne became Queen of England (1702) +that Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, eldest son of the Earl of Clarendon, +was sent to govern New York. He was a cousin of the Queen, and left +England to escape the demands of those to whom he owed money. + +When Lord Cornbury arrived in New York, the Mayor, with much ceremony, +presented him with a box of gold, containing the freedom of the city, +which gave to him every privilege. It was a great deal of trouble and +expense to go to, for the Governor would have taken all the privileges, +even if the Mayor had not gone through the form of giving them. + +Governor Cornbury very soon let his new subjects see that he was eager +to acquire wealth, and that he intended to get it without the slightest +regard for their interests or desires. + +The Queen had told him that he should do all in his power to make the +Church of England the established church of the land; that he should +build new churches, punish drunkenness, swearing, and all such vices, +and that he should keep the colony supplied with negro slaves. + +There was much sickness in the town--so much that it became epidemic. +So the Governor and his council went to the little village of Jamaica, +on Long Island, and carried on the business of the city in a +Presbyterian church building. When the epidemic had passed, he gave the +church to the Episcopalians, because he remembered that Queen Anne had +told him to make the Church of England the established church. There +were riotous times in Jamaica after that, but the Episcopal clergyman +occupied the house, and the Episcopalians worshipped in the church +regardless of all protests. + +Not many improvements were made during Lord Cornbury's administration. +He cared little for the good of the city or for anything else except +his own pleasures. The constant fear of war gave the people little time +to think of improvements. They did, however, pave Broadway from Trinity +Church to the Bowling Green. But do not imagine that this pavement was +anything like those of to-day. It was of cobble-stones, and the gutters +ran through the middle of the street. + +The Governor came to be detested more and more by the people, for as the +years went by he spent their money recklessly. He had a habit of walking +about the fort in the dress of a woman, and another habit of giving +dinners to his friends that lasted well on toward morning, when the +guests sang and shouted so boisterously that the quiet citizens of the +little town could not sleep. + +So when the people grew very, very tired of it, they sent word to Queen +Anne that her kinsman was a very bad Governor. And she, after much +hesitation, when he had been Governor six years, removed him from +office. She no sooner did this, than those to whom he owed money, and +there were a great many of them, had him put in the debtors' prison, in +the upper story of the City Hall in Wall Street. And in jail he remained +for several months, until his father, the Earl of Clarendon, died, and +money was sent for the release of the debtor prisoner, who was now a +peer of Great Britain. + +[Illustration: View in Broad Street about 1740.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +LORD LOVELACE and ROBERT HUNTER + + +The new Governor arrived in the last months of the year 1708. He was +John, Lord Lovelace. As there had been so much trouble caused by the +governors appropriating money belonging to the citizens, he decided to +take a very different course. He had the public accounts looked into, +and said, "I wish it known to all the world that the public debt has not +been contracted in my time." And having said this (which made a fine +impression) the Governor asked the Assembly to set aside enough money +for him to run the affairs of the province for a number of years. This +was to be called a permanent revenue. But the Assembly would do no such +thing. In the midst of the discussion, Governor Lovelace died, five +months after his arrival. + +It was quite a year after the death of Lovelace before his successor +came. This was Robert Hunter, a most exceptional man. His parents were +poor, and when a boy he had run away from home and had joined the +British army. By working very hard at his books when the army was not +fighting, by studying in the soldiers' quarters and on the battle-field, +by making friends with officers of high rank, Hunter had grown to +manhood brave, well educated, and of graceful manner. On coming to New +York he at once made friends with many influential persons. His most +important friendship was with Lewis Morris, whom he afterward appointed +chief-justice. This Morris was a son of Richard Morris, an officer in +Cromwell's army, who had come to the province, purchased a manor ten +miles square near Harlem, and called it Morrisania--by which name it is +still known. + +The year after Hunter arrived, New York joined with New England in a +plan to conquer Canada (which belonged to the French) and join it to the +English colonies. Money was raised, troops were gotten together, and +ships and soldiers were sent from England. But when the attack was to +be made, the English ships struck on the rocks in a fog off the coast of +Canada, and eight of them sank with more than 800 men. This great loss +put an end to the intended invasion. The soldiers returned home, where +there was great sorrow at the dismal failure of a project that had cost +so much money and so many lives. + +Governor Hunter had only been in the province a short time when he began +to urge the Assembly to grant him that permanent revenue that Lovelace +had asked for. Queen Anne had said that he was to have it. But the +Assembly would only grant him money from year to year. + +About this time the first public market for the sale of negro slaves +was established at the foot of Wall Street. More and more slaves were +brought into the city, and the laws were made more and more strict to +keep them in the most abject bondage. It had come to be the law that +no more than four slaves could meet together at one time. They were +not permitted to pass the city gates, nor to carry weapons of any sort. +Should one appear on the street after nightfall without a lighted +lantern, he was put in jail and his master was fined. Sometimes a slave +murdered his owner. Then he was burned at the stake, after scarcely the +pretence of a trial; or was suspended from the branches of a tall tree +and left there to die. + +[Illustration: The Slave-Market. From an Old Print.] + +But although the slaves were restrained and beaten and killed, their +numbers increased so fast that the citizens were always in fear that +they might one day rise up and kill all their masters. A riot did occur +the year after the slave-market was set up. Several white men were +killed and a house was burned. Many negroes were then arrested and +nineteen of them were executed under a charge of having engaged in a +plot against the whites. + +Affairs moved along quietly for a time after the riot. The next most +interesting happening was the putting up of the first public clock, on +the City Hall in Wall Street. It was the gift of Stephen De Lancey. + +De Lancey was a Huguenot nobleman, who had fled from France when the +Huguenots were persecuted for their faith, and had found a home in the +new world. He lived in a mansion at the corner of what are now Pearl and +Broad Streets. The house is there yet, still called Fraunces's Tavern +from the owner who turned it into a tavern after De Lancey removed from +it. + +Governor Hunter was becoming very popular with the people, when +unfortunately his health failed. So he surrendered the government into +the hands of Peter Schuyler, who was the oldest member in the City +Council, and went to Europe, having served for nine years. For thirteen +months Schuyler took charge, until William Burnet, the new Governor, +replaced him. + +[Illustration: Fraunces's Tavern.] + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +GOVERNOR BURNET and the FRENCH TRADERS + + +Governor William Burnet was the son of a celebrated bishop of England. + +His early days were passed at the Court of William III., where he met +people of refinement and culture. Of an observing nature, and studying +a great deal, he came to be a man of deep learning, a good talker, with +manners that attracted attention wherever he went--so fine were they. + +The city was gayly decorated in honor of his coming. Women looked from +their windows and waved their handkerchiefs. Men crowded the streets and +loudly shouted their welcome. + +Soon after, he married the daughter of a leading merchant, and so +identified himself at once with the city's interests. He became the fast +friend of Chief-Justice Lewis Morris. Another friendship was that he +formed with Dr. Cadwallader Colden. We shall hear more of this man +later. Besides being a physician of note, he had a world-wide reputation +as a writer on many scientific subjects. + +Along about this time the French were trying hard to get all the trade +with the Indians, not only in the province of New York, but in all the +lands as far west as the Mississippi country that was then wild and +unexplored. By this they could make a great deal of money, but, better +still, would make friends of the powerful Indian tribes. Then the French +hoped that the Indians would join with them against the English and that +they could conquer all the English lands in America. + +The New York merchants were quite content to let the French do the +trading with the Indians, for the French traders bought all their goods +in New York, and the merchants in selling to them did not run the great +risk of being murdered, as they would in trading with the Indians in the +forests. But although the merchants were satisfied, Governor Burnet was +not. He realized the danger to the English provinces should the Indians +become enemies. So he decided to establish a line of English trading +stations that would enable the colonists to trade directly with the +Indians in safety. He also made it unlawful to sell goods in New York +to the French traders. + +The merchants bitterly disapproved of these acts of Governor Burnet. +They believed that he had dealt a death-blow to their French trade, and +they became his bitter enemies. He tried hard to establish the line of +trading stations, but the English Government refused to help him with +money, and the project had to be abandoned, and the law against the +French trade, which had caused the trouble, was repealed. The trade was +once more carried on. + +By this time George II. had become King of England, which was in the +year 1728. Influence was brought to bear, and Governor Burnet was +removed, and left the province a poorer man than he had entered it. + +Toward the end of this same year Colonel John Montgomery was made +Governor. + +He had been groom of the bedchamber of George II. when the latter was +Prince of Wales. He was a weak and lazy man, although he had been bred a +soldier. You may believe that he never did much in the soldiering line, +for a soldier's life is a hard one, and not likely to encourage a man +to be lazy. Montgomery was given a cordial welcome, however. + +The year after he came, the first Jewish cemetery was established, the +remains of which may still be seen in the neighborhood of Chatham Square +in New Bowery Street. It has not been used as a graveyard in many a +year, and much of the ground is now occupied by buildings. But there +is still a portion, behind a stone wall, and crumbling tombstones have +stood there ever so many years longer than the dingy tenements which +hem them in on three sides. + +In the days of Montgomery, New York was still a small village, for most +of the houses were below the present Fulton Street, and they were not at +all thickly built, so there was room enough for pleasant gardens around +them. + +At this time the vacant space in front of the fort, which had been used +as a parade-ground and a market-place, was leased to three citizens +whose houses were nearby to be used as a Bowling Green. Its name came +from this and it still keeps it. + +A fire department was organized and two engines were imported and room +made for them in the City Hall. Before this the department had consisted +of a few leather buckets and a few fire-hooks. + +In 1731 Governor Montgomery died, and for thirteen months after, Rip Van +Dam, oldest member of the council, and a wealthy merchant, looked after +the province until the coming of William Cosby. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE TRIAL of ZENGER, the PRINTER + + +Cosby arrived; a testy, disagreeable man who loved money above +everything else. The colonists received him with favor, because they did +not know these things about him. The Assembly granted him a revenue for +six years, and gave him a present of L750 besides. The Governor thought +this a very small sum and said so. He presented an order from the King +which said that he was to have half the salary that Rip Van Dam had +received for acting as Governor. + +[Illustration: Dinner at Rip Van Dam's.] + +But Van Dam would not part with his money, and the people sided with +him, for they had long been weary of governors who looked upon the +colony simply as a means to repair their fortunes. Cosby was determined +to get the money, so he sued Van Dam. This suit was conducted in a court +where there were three judges, and two of them were friends of Cosby. +One of them was James De Lancey, a son of that Stephen De Lancey who had +given the clock to the city. The Chief-Justice was still Lewis Morris, +who had been appointed by Governor Hunter. So with two judges, friends +of the Governor, he won his suit, and Van Dam was ordered to pay him +half his salary. + +More than this, Chief-Justice Morris, who had disagreed with the other +two judges, was removed from office, and James De Lancey became +Chief-Justice. + +The mass of the people disapproved of these doings, and there were +murmurs of discontent. But the Governor had his money, and had made his +friend Chief-Justice, and was running matters pretty much his own way, +so he was satisfied. + +There was still only one paper, the _New York Gazette_, published by +William Bradford. As Bradford was the Government printer, it was quite +natural that he should side with Cosby. But just at this time another +paper came into existence, a rival to the _Gazette_, which took up the +people's cause. This was the _New York Weekly Journal_, published by +Peter Zenger, who had been one of Bradford's workmen. Each week it was +filled with articles assailing Cosby, and all who were in sympathy with +him. Very soon Zenger was arrested, charged with publishing libels +against the city officials and the King. He was locked up in one of the +cells in the City Hall. + +The friends of Zenger secretly secured the services of Andrew Hamilton, +a distinguished lawyer of Philadelphia, who pleaded his cause to good +effect, and showed that Zenger had only spoken as any man had a right +to speak, and had pointed out wrongs where wrongs existed. Justice +De Lancey, remembering that his friend the Governor had made him +Chief-Justice, told the jury that they must find Zenger guilty. But +the jury pronounced him not guilty. Thus the freedom of the press was +established, and the jury, by their verdict, had opposed the Governor, +his council, the Assembly, and the judge before whom the accused had +been tried. + +About this time Lord Augustus Fitzroy, youngest son of the Duke of +Grafton, came from England to visit Governor Cosby. The Governor thanked +him for having honored New York with his presence, and told him that the +city was open and invited him to go where he pleased. Lord Augustus did +not go far. He fell in love with the Governor's daughter. He did more +than fall in love, for one day he induced a minister to climb over the +fort wall and marry him to her, without leave or license. The friends +of the young nobleman were shocked, for the Governor's daughter was +considered beneath him in rank. Governor Cosby was accused of having +brought about this unequal match, although Lord Augustus said that it +was the lady's winning ways and pretty face. + +Cosby, after the Zenger trial, did what he could to check the liberty +of the citizens, but was soon stricken with a fatal illness. On his +death-bed he called together the members of his council, and suspended +his old enemy, Rip Van Dam, who would have been his successor until +another Governor was appointed. And having done this he died, on March +10, 1736, leaving a quarrelsome state of affairs behind him. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +CONCERNING the NEGRO PLOT + + +The citizens were so far from being pleased when they learned that Rip +Van Dam was not to act in the Governor's place, that, for a time, it +looked very much as though there would be a riot. There was a member of +the Assembly named George Clarke, and when his fellow-members chose him +for the place that Rip Van Dam should have had, there was more +grumbling. But as no Governor came from England for seven years, Clarke +looked after the province all that time. He was an easy-going man, who +tried by every possible means to make friends. There was one happening +in particular by which he is remembered. It was called the Negro Plot. + +Slaves had been brought to the city, until now there were 2,000 of them. +The 8,000 citizens were in constant dread lest the negroes should some +day rise up in revolt. Early in the spring of the year 1741 several +fires occurred in different parts of the city, and the citizens felt +quite sure that the slaves had started them. As the hours passed, the +idea of a plot grew until it seemed a fact. Then a reward was offered to +anyone who would tell of a conspiracy or of anyone concerned in one. + +Just at this time a woman was arrested for a small theft, and when she +heard of the reward, she all at once remembered that there had been +meetings of negroes at a small tavern where she had worked. She told of +a plan to kill every white person; to set all the negroes free, and to +make one of them King of the city. The woman who told this story was +Mary Burton. The tavern-keeper, his wife, and several other negroes were +hanged in short order. Still the fires kept on. There were dozens within +ten days, and among others the Governor's house in the fort was burned +to the ground. + +[Illustration: The Negroes Sentenced.] + +Mary Burton now began a remarkable series of confessions which grew +wilder with each passing day. Negro slaves accused by her were arrested +in numbers. Liberty was promised all who would speak the truth, and +speaking the truth was understood to mean giving information of a +conspiracy. Very soon several negroes were burned at the stake in a +little valley beyond the Collect Pond. This awful death frightened many, +who hastened to cry out that they knew all about the plot. There were +some who saved their lives by confessing things that were not true; many +more did not. + +During the whole long, hot summer the hanging and burning of negro +slaves went on. Late in the year, when Mary Burton had seen every person +she had accused arrested, she grew more bold. She sought some new story +to tell, and found one in remembering for the first time that white +people had been connected with the plot. Twenty-four white citizens had +been arrested, when Mary Burton began to attack prominent townsmen; even +those who had been foremost in the prosecution of the negroes. It was +only then realized that the woman's words could not be relied upon. She +was paid the hundred pounds that had been promised her, and she +disappeared, leaving no trace. + +Gradually the fury of feeling against the slaves died away. Whether +there had ever been any real plot will always remain unanswered. + +Certain it is, however, that the witnesses on whose words arrests were +made were all of uncertain and unreliable character; that the evidence +was contradictory, and that most of it was extorted under pain of death. + +The excitement passed away after a time, and George Clarke went on +talking finely and managing his own affairs so well that he was growing +very rich indeed when his official life came to a sudden end. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE TRAGIC DEATH of SIR DANVERS OSBORNE + + +In this year, 1743, Admiral George Clinton was sent by King George II. +of England to take the place of George Clarke as Governor. Then Clarke +packed up his riches and went to England and enjoyed the rest of his +life far from the little colony that he had governed so much to his own +profit. + +Admiral Clinton was the son of an English earl. + +When he had been Governor not yet a year, there came a man whose +influence was soon felt. He was Commodore Peter Warren, of the British +Navy, who in later years became an admiral. Before he had been in New +York long, he married Susannah De Lancey, a sister of the Chief-Justice. +They went to live in a new house in the country, in the district which +was then and is now known as Greenwich. + +England was again at war with France at this time. There were tribes of +Indians who sided with the French, and there were other tribes who sided +with the English, and the result was a series of bloody border wars. Two +years after the coming of Governor Clinton, New York, with the other +English colonies, gathered troops to attack the French, and a great +force was sent against a city called Louisburg. This city was on Cape +Breton Island, which is close by the coast of Nova Scotia and was a +fortress of such great strength, that it was called the Gibraltar of +America. Commodore Warren led the English fleet, and the combined forces +by sea and land captured the fortress. + +You will remember James De Lancey, who was still Chief-Justice. +He was very rich, and as he showed at all times that he considered the +interests of the citizens above all things, they naturally thought a +great deal of him. For a time he acted as adviser to Governor Clinton, +but the two had a falling out. + +For the ten years that Clinton remained Governor he had great trouble +with the people, who sided with De Lancey. At the end of that time +Governor Clinton, finding that his power grew less and less, and that De +Lancey became more and more popular, resigned his office. A few months +went by, and then came Sir Danvers Osborne to be Governor. On the third +day after reaching the city he walked out of the fort at the head of the +other officials, with Clinton by his side, to go to the City Hall, where +he was to take the oath of office. The people, all gathered in the +streets, shouted when they saw the new Governor. But at the sight of +Clinton, whom they hated, they hissed and shook their fists and yelled, +until Clinton became alarmed and hurried back to the fort, leaving the +new Governor to go on without him. And Sir Danvers Osborne was much +surprised and a little frightened. + +"I expect," said he to Clinton that same day, "I expect the same +treatment before I leave the province," + +For all the shaking fists and for all the angry shouts, the new Governor +was well entertained that day. The church-bells rang, cannon boomed, and +at night the town was illuminated. But the citizens did not do this so +much for the new Governor as they did for De Lancey, who had now been +made Lieutenant-Governor. + +Two days after Sir Danvers took the oath of office he called his council +before him and told them that the King had said he was to have the +permanent revenue about which there had been so much trouble with the +other governors. And the council members told him, as they had told +others, that this command would never be obeyed. On hearing this Sir +Danvers became sad and gloomy. He covered his face with his hands. + +"Then what am I come here for?" he cried. + +The very next morning there was an uproar in the city. The Governor +had been found dead, hanging from the garden-wall of his house. Then +the people learned that his mind had been unsettled for a long time, +and that he had accepted the governorship hoping to be cured by a change +of scene. But the knowledge that his rule would be one of constant +struggling to gain his ends had doubtless proven too much for his +wrecked brain. So he killed himself, and the government of New York was +left in the hands of James De Lancey, and you will see how he still +further won the hearts of those around him. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE BEGINNING of DISCONTENT + + +Two years James De Lancey acted as Governor, and the citizens were +really sorry when Admiral Sir Charles Hardy was sent to take his place. + +Sir Charles was not slow to see and to admit that while he was a good +sailor, he did not make a good Governor, so after a year he resigned, +and the province was once more left to the care of De Lancey. + +At this time there was much being said about the need for schools, and +for many years plans had been under way for building a college in the +city. + +Money had been raised by means of lotteries--which were popular and +lawful then--and finally the college was established. It was called +King's College. It is still in existence, but is now Columbia +University. A tablet at West Broadway and Murray Street tells that the +college once stood close by. + +It was near this time that William Walton, a very rich merchant, built +the finest house that the city had yet known. This was in Queen Street, +not a great way from the Stadt Huys, and the furniture and fittings were +in keeping with the elegance of the exterior. It was so fine that the +fame of it spread to England, where it was spoken of as a proof that the +colonists were very, very rich indeed. This house stood for 129 years. +When it was torn down it had become a tenement that showed scarcely a +trace of its early grandeur. Queen Street is now Pearl Street and the +building numbered 326 is on the site of the famous old house. + +There was another war with the French now, and four expeditions were +sent out against them. On one of these a young officer with the troops +from Virginia distinguished himself. He was cool and daring in the midst +of battle. The soldiers, who were themselves fearless fighters, strove +to be as brave as he. This officer was only twenty-three years old, and +his name was George Washington. He had a glorious career before him. + +There came from England in the year following this a burly, blustering +man, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in +America. This Lord Loudoun very soon proved to everybody's satisfaction +except his own that he was not fit to be a commander. The people of New +York detested him heartily, and were glad when after three years he was +recalled because he was not successful in the war against the French. +The new commander-in-chief did better. He was General Jeffrey Amherst, +and under him the English were gradually successful. Town after town +held by the French fell, until the capture of Montreal, in 1760, secured +to the English the conquest of Canada, and so ended a conflict which had +for many years drained the energies of the colonists. + +Soon after this Lieutenant-Governor James De Lancey was found dead in +his library-chair at his country home (now a closely built-up part of +the city at Delancey Street, near the Bowery). In a few days his body +was taken from there, followed by a great concourse of people, and +buried under the centre aisle of Trinity Church. Up to the last day of +his life De Lancey remained much beloved. + +[Illustration: Trinity Church, 1760.] + +The death of De Lancey left the care of the colony to Cadwallader +Colden, whom you will remember as the friend of Governor Hunter. He had +been so long concerned in public affairs that he knew how to please. +Before the year was ended England's King, George II., died. When the +news reached New York, the city was draped with mourning. But in another +week all signs of sadness had disappeared in honor of the new King, +George III. + +Then General Robert Monckton, who had been in command of the English +forces on Staten Island, was made Governor. He was a young man, somewhat +careless, but, as was the case with all the new governors, he was +welcomed with glad shouts of approval. + +England at this time needed men in her navy, and the captains of +war-ships were in the habit of boarding any vessel that sailed from the +colonies in America and taking sailors by force to serve on the English +ships. This increased a bitter feeling that the colonists were beginning +to have against England. The city had now 14,000 inhabitants and was in +quite a flourishing condition. + +After two years Monckton tired of the cares of government, and sailed +away to England, with never a thought of the wild scenes that were to +take place in the land he left behind. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE STORY of the STAMP ACT + + +The colonists were becoming more and more dissatisfied, not only in New +York, but in all of the thirteen English colonies in America. For they +strongly objected to the way in which money was being taken from them in +the form of taxes. The English had spent much money in the wars which +led up to the conquest of Canada, and thought that it should be returned +to them. So they taxed the colonists in every possible way. Protest was +made against these taxes, but in vain. Matters became worse and worse. +After two years, when it had come to be the year 1765, the British +Parliament passed what was called the Stamp Act. This compelled the +people to buy stamps and put them on every sort of legal paper. No one +could be married, no newspaper could be printed, nothing could be +bought, nothing could be sold, no business of any sort could be carried +on without these stamps. No one could evade the use of them, and in this +way all would have to contribute directly to the King. + +More than any other form of tax, more than anything the British +Government had done, the people opposed this Stamp Act. The colonists +had no one to represent them in the British Parliament, no one to +present their side, no one to plead for them and tell what a drain this +tax was, so they declared that they would not use a single stamp, unless +they were allowed to have someone to represent them; and they set up the +cry, "No Taxation Without Representation." + +Very soon a company of men called the Sons of Liberty began to be heard +of throughout all the thirteen colonies. They were foremost in opposing +the Stamp Act. In many towns they held meetings, and it was not long +before the people were aroused from one end of the country to the other. + +Not many months had passed before men were sent from each of the +colonies and met in the City Hall at New York. This meeting was called +a Colonial Congress. For three weeks these men conferred, and during +that time decided that in good truth the Stamp Act was unjust, and that +everything in their power should be done to prevent it. + +[Illustration: Coffee-House opposite Bowling Green, Head-Quarters of +the Sons of Liberty.] + +In this same year the house which Stephen De Lancey had built close by +Trinity Church, and which James De Lancey had lived in until his death, +had become a hotel. It was called Burns's Coffee-House. It was a solid +structure, with high beams, great fireplaces, and wide halls. If you +go now to look for the spot where it stood, you will find a crowded +business section; but in those days there were open spaces all about, +and a handsome lawn swept away to the river. One October night the +merchants of the city gathered in this coffee-house, and here, late at +night, they signed a paper which bound them one and all to buy no goods +from England so long as the English King should compel them to use the +stamps. By this agreement people could, of course, only wear clothing +that was made in the colonies, and even the wealthy refused to buy silk +and broadcloth that were sent from England. Tea and coffee, being +imports, were not drunk, and in their place were used preparations made +from fragrant wild herbs of the American soil. + +The merchants who had assembled in the coffee-house were called the +Non-Importation Association, branches of which spread throughout all the +colonies. The paper they signed was the non-importation agreement. Next +day, which was the first on which the stamps were to be distributed, the +city seemed to sleep. The shops were closed and the citizens remained +indoors. The flags were hung at half-mast and the bells tolled dismally. + +But at night the silence changed to noise. The citizens gathered in +numbers. They broke into the stable of Lieutenant-Governor Cadwallader +Golden and dragged out his coach of state. In it they put a figure made +of sticks and rags to represent the owner. They marched the streets, +shouting as they went, and finally surrounded the fort. The soldiers +were drawn up on the ramparts with cannon and gun directed toward the +Bowling Green. But no shots were fired. The rioters being denied +admission to the fort, into which they were anxious to get because the +stamps were stored there, tore down the wooden railing around the +Bowling Green, and, kindling a huge fire, burned the coach and the +figure in it. + +As the flames blazed high, the fury of the mob increased. They rushed +away toward Vauxhall on the outskirts of the town (where Greenwich and +Warren Streets now cross). Vauxhall at this time was occupied by a major +of the British army named James. He had said that the stamps ought to be +crammed down the throats of the people with the point of a sword. In +revenge for this his house was broken into, his handsome furniture, his +pictures and treasures of every sort dragged out, and kindled into a +bonfire around which the mob danced and howled. + +The people were quite determined to take the law into their own hands +and destroy every trace of the hated stamps. You shall know presently +what prevented them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE BEGINNING of REVOLUTION + + +On the morning after the night of rioting--dark and dreary day that was +quite in keeping with the gloomy feelings of the people--Cadwallader +Colden, the Lieutenant-Governor, decided that he would do away with the +stamps that had caused so much trouble. So he had them delivered to the +Mayor, who was in accord with the citizens, and the Mayor put them in +the City Hall amid many cheers. A few days after this Sir Henry Moore +(who had been appointed Governor of the province) arrived from England, +and immediately won the hearts of the citizens by saying that he would +have nothing to do with the stamps. During the next few months +excitement in New York and in the other colonies increased, and efforts +to keep the stamps in use caused riots everywhere. + +When the King saw that he could not enforce the Stamp Act, and that +serious trouble was likely to occur from every attempt to do so, he +repealed the act, the year after it had become a law. + +The people were overjoyed at this. + +The King's birthday coming soon after, there was in his honor a great +celebration, and a liberty pole was planted on the Common, which in +after years played an important part in the history of New York; and +a marble statue of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, was erected. This +William Pitt had done more than any other man in England to secure the +repeal of the Stamp Act, and had time and time again spoken strongly +against it. His statue was set up in Wall Street, and at the same time +a statue of King George III., seated upon a horse, was erected on the +Bowling Green. It fared ill with these statues later, as you will see. + +There was no longer a stamp act, but there was another act quite as +disagreeable. It was called the Mutiny Bill, and it required that food +and drink and sleeping-quarters be given to all the British soldiers. +Now the Mutiny Bill fell hardest upon New York, for New York was the +head-quarters of the British army in America. The people refused to +comply with this law, because they feared that it was the first step +toward compelling them to support a great army in America. + +So the soldiers and citizens were again continually at odds. + +Four years after the Stamp Act was repealed, during which time affairs +were in a most unsettled state and the bitter feeling between the +colonists and England was growing stronger with each passing day, the +English Parliament declared that no tax was to be put on anything except +tea. Tea was to be taxed, not so much for the money that would thus go +to the King, but to show that he had the right to tax the colonists. +This did not settle matters in the least. The colonists had sworn to +resist all taxes, and to have a tax on one article was as bad, to their +minds, as having taxes on all. But the merchants were not prospering, +for, not importing goods from England, they had none to sell. So a +committee of 100 men was appointed to see what could be done. This +committee decided that it would be right for the merchants to import +everything they needed except tea. And the merchants welcomed this +decision and agreed to it. + +But the fiery Sons of Liberty refused to listen to any such compromise. +They insisted on keeping the non-importation agreement until the duty +on tea, as well as all other duties, should be done away with once and +for all. So they determined to maintain it until the end, and they did +maintain it well. Day by day the soldiers of King George III. and the +citizens became greater enemies. Although the soldiers tried many times +to drag down the liberty pole, it was well defended, and it stood until +one night in January, 1770, when they tore it down and chopped it into +pieces. This act led to the battle of Golden Hill, which was the first +real battle of the American Revolution. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +FIGHTING the TAX on TEA + + +A bit of rising ground, not a great way from the Common, was called +Golden Hill. Here there was an inn. To this day the elevation of ground +can be seen (where John Street crosses William), and the inn still +stands. While the thought of the wrecked liberty pole was still fresh +in mind, some of the Sons of Liberty came suddenly upon a number of +soldiers close by this inn. There was a running fight, the soldiers +using their guns and cutlasses and the others beating them back with +staves and sticks. More soldiers came and the fight grew in fury. +Already one man had received his death-blow and a dozen had been +injured, when several officers came galloping up the road and the +soldiers were ordered back to their barracks. This was the battle of +Golden Hill. + +Very often after this the soldiers and the citizens clashed and +sometimes came to blows, and progress was at a standstill because of the +turbulence of the times. Public improvements were neglected and very +little business was carried on. + +In the third year after the battle of Golden Hill, the British +Government decided to make the colonists buy tea whether they wanted to +or not. So the price was put down until tea could be bought in New York +cheaper than it could be bought in England. This did no good, for though +the tea was cheap the tax was on it and it was the tax and not the price +of which the people complained. The Sons of Liberty, when they heard +that ships loaded with cheap tea were on the way from England, said they +would not even permit it to be landed. The first ship in port was under +the command of a captain named Lockyer, who, when he learned of the +strong efforts made to prevent the landing of the tea, determined to +return to England with his cargo. He anchored his ship in the bay and +came in a small boat to the city. The people, joyful over his decision, +decided to give him a public leave-taking. + +Within a few days another ship sailed into the bay, commanded by Captain +Chambers, who insisted that he had no tea on board. When told that his +vessel would be searched, he admitted that he had a few chests. That +same night the citizens who had all day thronged the wharf, suddenly +swarmed aboard the vessel. The hatches were ripped up, and the eighteen +chests of tea hauled on deck. There they were torn into pieces and the +contents scattered into the river. Having done this the crowds dispersed +and all was quiet again. + +Next day came the public leave-taking of Captain Lockyer. He had spent +the night at the coffee-house in Wall Street, and here, early in the +morning, there was a great assembly. The bells of the city chimed +merrily; flags floated from the houses, and the ships in the bay were +decorated with gay colors. + +From the balcony of the coffee-house the Captain bowed while the crowds +cheered him. Finally a committee escorted him to the foot of Wall +Street, where he embarked in a pilot-boat which took him to his ship. +Another committee, with far less ceremony, escorted Captain Chambers to +the same boat, and the two captains sailed away. + +[Illustration: Ferry-House on East River, 1746, from an Old Print.] + +Even before this had happened in New York, the citizens of Boston had +dumped a cargo of tea into their harbor, and the British Parliament had +closed the port of Boston; which meant that no ships were permitted to +sail in or out of it. By this it was hoped to stop all business in +Boston, and really it did put an end to a great part of it. And General +Thomas Gage, who now had charge of the British troops in America, +undertook to see that the orders of the King were properly enforced. + +This closing of the port of Boston aroused the thirteen British colonies +in America. After a great deal of letter-writing it was decided to have +men from each of these colonies meet and talk matters over. In September +of this year (1774) they met in Philadelphia. At this meeting, which was +called the First Continental Congress, it was decided that laws were +made in England that were unjust to America, that the colonists objected +to taxes that were fixed by Parliament and would buy no more goods from +England while a tax was upon them; and that they objected to the support +of a large British army in the colonies. + +And this First Continental Congress sent a petition to King George III., +saying that the unjust laws should be done away with. + +How the King received this petition is soon told. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE SONS of LIBERTY at TURTLE BAY + + +Now in New York almost everybody was anxious to carry out the decision +of this First Continental Congress. + +But the Assembly said that the Congress had not been a lawful gathering +and must not be obeyed. The colonists replied that they would do as they +thought best, no matter what the King's Assembly ordered. + +You must know that some of the people supported the royal cause and were +called Royalists or Tories. The others were called Patriots or Whigs. +The English called the patriots rebels. + +It had now come to be the year 1775, and matters in Boston where the +port had been closed were growing worse and worse. In the month of April +some British soldiers passing through Lexington shot down a number of +patriots. Messengers on horseback sped through the colonies carrying +news of this massacre. It was the first serious encounter of the +Revolution and the colonists realized that they were now at war with the +British. Men rushed to arms. Farmers left their homes. Professional men +hurried from the towns. Within a few days an army surrounded Boston and +penned in the British troops there. + +When the messenger reached New York with the news of the Lexington +massacre, a Provisional Assembly was formed which was to look after the +city without regard to the Assembly which already existed. And this is +the way it came about that there was a king's government and a people's +government. Shops were closed and armed citizens paraded the streets. +Matters went on in this fashion for a month, when a Second Continental +Congress met at Philadelphia. + +As it was now seen that there was to be a serious conflict with Great +Britain, the army gathered about Boston was adopted as the beginning of +the forces to be assembled and was termed the Continental Army, and +George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief. + +[Illustration: East River Shore, 1750, from an Old Print.] + +Knowing that they would soon need guns and powder, the Sons of Liberty +seized those held by the royal troops in New York. There was quite a +quantity in a storehouse at Turtle Bay, a quiet little cove three miles +above the town, that curved into a wild and rocky part of the East River +shore. Nowadays the city extends for miles and miles above it. If you go +to Forty-ninth Street and the East River you will see all that remains +of it. Although the houses are built thick about it, there is still an +air of seclusion. Everywhere else along the shore are piers and +bath-houses and wharves and ships and shipping. + +So at this Turtle Bay, far from the town, the royal troops had a +storehouse for their arms. A small band of the Sons of Liberty, one dark +night, floated down the river, guided their vessel into the bay, +overpowered the guards before they were fairly aroused, and loaded their +boat with the enemy's powder and guns. Then they made off, and before +the morning dawned had placed the stores safe in the hands of the +patriots. + +Then the War of the Revolution broke in full fury. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE WAR of the REVOLUTION + + +In this month of June, in the year 1775, there were quite a number of +British soldiers in the city, and many of the patriots believed that +they should be made prisoners. But the Provisional Assembly decreed that +the orders of the Second Continental Congress must be obeyed. And these +orders were not to molest the soldiers as long as they did not try to +build fortifications or remove powder and guns from the city. + +But early in this month of June it was learned that the soldiers were +about to go to Boston. More than that, it was known that there was a +secret order under which they were to take guns and powder with them. + +The Sons of Liberty were hastily called to a meeting. One of them, +Marinus Willett, was hurrying through Broad Street toward the +Coffee-House where the meeting was to be held, when he came upon the +soldiers moving silently along with five carts loaded with chests of +arms. Alone, and without an instant's hesitation, Willett clutched at +the bridle of the first horse. The company stopped. There was an angry +parley, the officers claiming the right to leave the city with the arms, +and making an effort to do so without raising a general alarm. But +friends of Willett came to his assistance. The five carts were driven +away by the patriots and the soldiers went on but without the arms. Long +years afterward a bronze tablet was placed on a house in Broad Street +close by Beaver (and is there now), to mark the spot where the brave +Willett stopped the ammunition wagons. + +In this same month a battle was fought between the British army in +Boston and the Continental army which was encamped outside of Boston. +It was fought on a bit of high ground near the city, and was called +the Battle of Bunker Hill. + +Just at this time word came that General George Washington, the newly +appointed commander-in-chief, was on his way from Philadelphia to the +Continental army, and would pass through New York City. Washington with +his aides and a company of soldiers were hurrying across New Jersey on +horseback, and when they reached the city they were met by a committee +from the Provisional Assembly, with a number of patriot soldiers. + +The next morning Washington set out for Boston. He had not yet left the +town when a ship appeared in the bay having on board Governor William +Tryon, who had been visiting in England for nearly a year. Governor +Tryon did not remain long in the city though, as it was not a +comfortable place for a royal Governor just then. He hurriedly left one +night and went aboard one of the British ships in the bay. + +At the close of this year Washington was still before Boston with the +Continental army. Another section of the army was in the North, fighting +against the British in Canada. This last branch was encamped about the +walls of Quebec in the last month of the year. It was under the command +of General Richard Montgomery, of New York, a brilliant soldier who had +fought in the French and Indian wars. Quebec was stormed, but was too +strong to be taken. Montgomery fell crying, "Men of New York, you will +not fear to follow where your general leads." He was buried with +military honors in Quebec, for the British honored him as a brave man. +Forty-three years later his remains were removed to New York, and placed +beneath the portico of St. Paul's Chapel, where his tomb may now be +seen. + +Fighting by the side of Montgomery when he fell was a youth who was +singled out for his bravery. His name was Aaron Burr. You are to hear +more of him, for many and many a time in after years the eyes of the +entire country were turned upon him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +A BATTLE on LONG ISLAND + + +And now, early in the next spring, George Washington came again to +New York, having at last forced the British troops from Boston. The +city, which was under the control of the patriots, was in a state of +excitement, as it seemed probable that this was to be the next point +of attack. Every person who favored the cause of the King, or who was +suspected of favoring it, was looked upon with distrust. One-third of +the citizens had fled. The soldiers of the Continental army were +arriving daily. Women and children were rarely seen upon the streets. +Many of the royalists' houses, which had been closed when their owners +fled, were broken open to give sleeping quarters to the soldiers. + +At the outbreak of the war the people's grievance had been simply +taxation without representation, but by this time the desire for +complete independence had taken fast hold of them. This feeling swept +through the colonies, and when the Continental Congress met in June of +this year, it voted that the united colonies should be free and +independent States and have no further political connection with Great +Britain. A declaration of independence was adopted on July 4th, and the +British colonies became the United States of America. + +A horseman brought the news to New York, and there was great rejoicing. +The soldiers of the new Union then in the city were ordered to the +Common, and there, early in the evening, standing in a hollow +square--close by where the City Hall is now--and surrounded by a great +concourse of people, Washington read the address that proclaimed the +birth of a free and independent nation. + +Following the reading the great throng applauded and then, filled with +enthusiasm, rushed away. At the City Hall in Wall Street they tore down +the painting of King George III. and trampled it under foot. On again +they went to the Bowling Green, and there they dragged down the statue +of the same royal person which had been erected only a few years before. +The scattered fragments of the leaden statue were afterward gathered up +and moulded into bullets. + +This same month General William Howe, commander of the British army, had +landed on Staten Island, with his brother, Admiral Howe of the British +navy, and with the soldiers and sailors of their commands, made up a +fine, well-drilled army of 35,000 men, who had come to fight a force of +20,000 recruits; men not at all well-versed in war, and nearly half of +whom were ill and not able to be on duty. + +But Washington calmly watched the British on Staten Island, and the +British ships, more than 400 of them, in the bay, and was not at all +dismayed. Once General Howe wrote to Washington suggesting measures that +would lead to peace, but nothing came of it. + +Late in the month of August the fighting commenced. General Howe led his +forces to Long Island--led 21,000 men, for he thought that the best way +to capture New York was to first vanquish the army on Long Island by an +overwhelming force. Then the subduing of the city across the river would +be easy. + +Washington hurried what men he could across to Long Island to assist +those already there. But even then the Americans were outnumbered as two +to one. The patriots fought long and well, but they were defeated. Two +hundred or more were killed, and three times as many, including three +generals, were made prisoners. But more than 300 of the British were +also killed. + +The day after the battle, the American army was in Brooklyn, penned in +on the land side by the British troops and on the other by the wide, +swift-running river. It was raining in torrents. Washington was there. +He planned a retreat that was to save his army. All the boats to be +found along the shores of the Island of Manhattan were taken to Brooklyn +in the dead of night. Silently the soldiers were put aboard, so silently +that, although the British were almost within speaking distance, no +sound of the departing army reached them. The point where they embarked +was close by where the East River Bridge now touches the Brooklyn shore. +It was daylight before the last of the troops got aboard, but a heavy +fog shielded them as well as had the darkness. + +When the sun swept the fog away, General Howe gazed in wonder at the +spot where the American forces had been the night before. But they +were gone, with the swiftness and silence of magic! The magician was +Washington, who had not slept from the hour of defeat until his men were +safe again in New York. But they were not to remain there long, as more +exciting work was before them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + + +THE BRITISH OCCUPY NEW YORK + +Miles and miles above the little city of New York, on a road which led +up through the Island of Manhattan, there was a stately house in a +stretch of country and forest land overlooking the Hudson River. This +was the house of Charles Ward Apthorpe and was known as the Apthorpe +mansion. Here General Washington went after the retreat from Long +Island, to devise a plan for the battles that were to come. + +The city was well fortified, but Washington understood full well that +it could not be held long against a British attack. For the British +soldiers were already on the islands of the East River, and the British +ships held possession of the harbor and of both rivers. So Washington +sent the main body of his army to Harlem Heights at the northern end of +the Island of Manhattan, and left only a force of 4,000 men, under +General Putnam, in New York. + +Washington desiring to learn the plans of the enemy, called for someone +who would be willing to go into the British lines. This was a dangerous +undertaking, for capture meant certain death. But there was a young +officer who was anxious to undertake the mission, and the arrangements +were made. This was Nathan Hale. In disguise he made his way, learned +the number of the enemy, and learned, too, all about the plan of attack. +With this information he was hurrying back to General Washington, when +he was recognized as belonging to the American army, and was arrested. +In a few days, when he was tried, he freely admitted that he had acted +as Washington's spy. He died as he had lived--bravely. A moment before +he was hanged he was asked if he wished to say any word. "Yes," he +answered; and looking firmly into the faces of those who stood about +him, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country," +No wonder that the memory of the Martyr Spy has lived through the +passing years! + +Sixteen days after Washington and his men retreated from Long Island, +the British sailed up the East River and anchored opposite a little +inlet called Kip's Bay (at the foot of what is now Thirty-sixth Street). +They fired upon those who defended the bay, and under cover of this fire +landed; and the American soldiers scurried away up the island toward the +north. + +General Howe led his men on for half a mile, until they reached a large +country house. This was the home, and all about it was the farm, of a +family named Murray (who gave their name to Murray Hill). These Murrays +were friendly to the patriots, but they were also well acquainted with +Governor Tryon, who was with the British army. So the army rested close +by the house, and Howe, Tryon, and the other officers were given a fine +dinner by Mrs. Murray. + +[Illustration: Mrs. Murray's Dinner to British Officers.] + +Now although the Americans had retreated north up the island from Kip's +Bay, and were safely on their way to the main army on Harlem Heights, +you must remember there were 4,000 soldiers still in the city. So the +British were in the centre of the island with a very large force; the +main body of the Americans was to the north; while to the south was this +little band of 4,000, far away from their army and in a position to be +trapped by the British. Had the British officers at once decided to +stretch their men across the island, the 4,000 would have been penned +up on the lower part and would have been made prisoners. It therefore +seemed to Putnam's men that there was but one way for them to escape +capture, and that was by slipping past the British who rested at Murray +house and joining the main army on Harlem Heights. + +The Murrays understood the condition of affairs, so they were +particularly cordial to their British guests and detained them as long +as they could at dinner. They were still feasting when General Putnam +started his 4,000 men marching toward the north. + +[Illustration: Howe's Head-Quarters, Beekman House.] + +He galloped far in advance, for the country was rough and his soldiers +could walk but slowly. He galloped north, and Washington, hanging to the +rear of the retreating troops from Kip's Bay, the generals met where two +roads crossed, close by where Broadway now crosses Forty-third Street. +Washington instructed Putnam to hurry his 4,000 on before they were +irretrievably cut off from the main army. They did hurry on. They drew +near the Murray house; they formed a line two miles long that moved +silently over the road that led them to within half a mile of where the +British soldiers were feasting. The line passed this point. Scarcely had +the last man gone by when the British were on the move, half an hour too +late for the capture of 4,000 prisoners. + +Now the American forces were all together in a solid mass, moving toward +the upper end of the island; plodding through pouring rain, almost +dropping from the exhaustion of their long march--but safe. + +This same night a division of the British soldiers occupied New York. +The others, close on the heels of the American army, waited for the +morning. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +THE BATTLE of HARLEM HEIGHTS + + +When the sun rose next morning (it was September 16th), the American +army and the British army lay encamped each on a highland close beside +one another separated by a valley. + +The ground occupied by the British soldiers was then Vandewater Heights. +Much of this high ground still remains and is now called Columbia +Heights, and Columbia University and Grant's Tomb are upon it. The +American forces were scattered over what was then Harlem Heights, as far +as Washington's head-quarters in the country mansion overlooking the +Harlem River above Harlem Plains. It was the house of Roger Morris, a +royalist who had fled at the approach of the American soldiers, and it +still stands at 160th Street close by St. Nicholas Avenue. On the +heights and in the valley a battle was fought, beginning with a light +engagement quite early in the day, with more and more men of both armies +gradually joining in until there were 5,000 Americans against 6,000 +British, with several thousand of each side held in reserve. + +[Illustration: Map of Manhattan Island in 1776, Showing the American +Defences &c.] + +The battle ended in the afternoon with the defeat of the British, who +lost 200 of their number. + +This was a great victory for the Americans, who fought against superior +numbers--great because the men had lost heart after the defeat on Long +Island, and the forced retreat from the city. There was sorrow for the +dead, for even victories have a sad side. Every one of the 100 American +soldiers who were killed that day were brave men, and though all their +names are not written in history, the manner of their death urged on +their companions in the days that followed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +THE BRITISH FAIL to SWEEP EVERYTHING BEFORE THEM + + +On the fourth day after the battle of Harlem Heights the soldiers of +England were making themselves comfortable in New York when a great +fire broke out. It swept over the city and 500 houses crumbled and fell +in ashes before it was controlled. Almost the entire western part of +the city was consumed, St. Paul's Chapel being the only building of +importance that was saved. Almost all who favored the American cause had +fled. But a few remained, and there was a hint that these had started +the fire. The British soldiers were angered when they saw the city they +had just entered burning, and while the flames roared and the houses +fell they rushed about and in their rage dashed out the brains of the +citizens who sought to beat back the flames from their homes. But it +was afterward learned that the fire had started in quite an accidental +manner. + +A little while after this General Howe moved with the greater part of +the British army up the East River, and sailing on past the Island of +Manhattan, landed on the mainland beyond in Westchester. In this way the +British were in the rear of the Americans, and within a few days the two +armies coming together a battle was fought, in which the Americans were +defeated. Washington and his men then retreated into New Jersey. + +General Howe next attacked Fort Washington, a high and rocky point on +the banks of the Hudson River (on a line with the present 178th Street). +There were 3,000 men here, all the American soldiers who were now on the +island, and they held such a high and well-fortified position that they +thought themselves quite safe. They doubtless would have been had not +one of their number, William Demont, turned traitor. He told the British +just how many men there were, and just how the fortress should be +attacked. And the British stormed the fort as the traitor directed, and +took it, and every one of the soldiers who had not been killed was made +prisoner. This ended the actual fight for liberty in New York. + +[Illustration: View from the Bowling Green in the Revolution, from an +Old Print] + +But outside of New York the war went bravely on. Washington in New +Jersey kept up the fight, but the winter came on and his army suffered +exceedingly. It had come to be a very small army by this time, for they +were poorly fed and ill clothed and seldom had any sort of shelter. +Nevertheless, Washington gained many victories in New Jersey and +manoeuvred his little army so well that the whole world, hearing of his +achievements, was forced to recognize him as a great general. + +New York was the head-quarters of the British army in America, and the +residence of its chief officers. The city was as thoroughly British as +it had before been American, and it was as much as life was worth even +to hint of an interest in the American cause. + +Early in the next year, 1777, those who had the making of the laws for +the new State of New York, met in secret, and chose George Clinton as +their first Governor. The other colonies had formed themselves into +States, and the new nation grew stronger day by day. + +Commissioners were sent to the European courts to ask aid for the United +States. Many young French noblemen, thrilled at the idea of fighting for +liberty, came to America as volunteers, and by their knowledge of war +gave valuable assistance to the American officers. The name of the +Marquis de Lafayette stands out prominently as the chief of these +volunteers. He was not yet twenty years old, but fitted out a vessel at +his own expense and crossed the ocean to offer his services. He asked to +be enlisted as a volunteer and to serve without pay, but he was soon +appointed a major-general. + +When it had come to be July of this year, there was some fighting in +the North, for the British General Burgoyne came down from Canada. He +intended to meet the army under Howe which was marching northward, and +the two armies were to sweep everything before them. Burgoyne defeated +the Americans led by General Philip Schuyler, in several battles. Just +at this time General Schuyler's command was given to General Gates. Now +Gates followed the plans that had been made by Schuyler, with the result +that Burgoyne and his entire force of 6,000 men surrendered at Saratoga. +This settled one branch of the British army. The other branch, under +General Howe, took possession of Philadelphia, but the defeat of +Burgoyne at Saratoga put an end to their hopes of sweeping everything +before them. + +In the last month of the year, Washington and his army took up winter +quarters at Valley Forge so as to keep a close watch upon the British +in Philadelphia. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +NEW YORK a PRISON-HOUSE + + +The winter passed, and when the spring came the British army moved +from Philadelphia to New York City, but not without great trouble, for +Washington's army fought them every step of the way across New Jersey. + +The city was now quite different from the flourishing town it had been +before the war. Held possession of by the British, it was a military +camp. No improvements were made. Many of the citizens who were loyal to +the American cause had fled. Those who were too poor to leave pretended +to favor the British, but as little business could be done, they could +find no work, and their condition became worse daily. Thousands of +American prisoners were brought here, making it a British prison-house, +and every building of any size was a guard-house, every cellar a +dungeon. + +[Illustration: Old Sugar-House in Liberty Street, the Prison-House of +the Revolution.] + +One of the gloomiest of these prisons was an old sugar-house close by +the Middle Dutch Church. It was built in the days of Jacob Leisler, +with thick stone walls five stories high, pierced with small windows. +The ceilings were so low and the windows so small that the air could +scarcely find entrance. Underneath was a black and dismal cellar. The +pale and shrunken faces of prisoners filled the openings at the windows +by day and by night, seeking a breath of air. They were so jammed +together that there was by no means room at the windows for all. So +these wretched men divided themselves into groups, each group crowding +close to the windows for ten minutes, then giving place to another +group. They slept on straw that was never changed, and the food given +them was scarcely enough to keep them alive. Those who suffered this +living death might have been free at any time had they been willing to +go over to the British, but few of the patriots, even in this dread +hour, deserted their cause. To while away the hours of their captivity, +they carved their names upon the walls with rusty nails. Fevers raged +constantly and they died by scores, leaving their half-finished initials +on the walls as their only relics. Their bodies were thrown out of +doors, and every morning gathered up in carts and carried to the +outskirts of the city to be buried in a trench without ceremony. + +This was only one of a dozen such prison-houses. There was one other +that, if anything, was worse. It was the New Jail, and it still +stands in City Hall Park and is now the Hall of Records. During the +war it was known as The Provost, because it was the head quarters of a +provost-marshal named Cunningham. It was his custom at the conclusion +of his drunken revels to parade his weak, ill, half-fed prisoners +before his guests, as fine specimens of the rebel army. It is said +of him, too, that he poisoned those who died too slowly of cold and +starvation, and then went right on drawing money to feed them. This gave +rise to the saying that he starved the living and fed the dead. He took +a great delight in being as cruel and merciless as he could, and very +often boasted that he had caused the death of more rebels than had been +killed by all of the King's forces. + +Many American sailors were also captured (for the Revolution was +fought on the sea as well as on land) and all these were placed aboard +prison-ships--useless hulks, worn-out freight-boats, and abandoned +men-of-war. For a time these hulks were anchored close by the Battery, +but afterward they were taken to the Brooklyn shore. There was misery +and suffering on all of them, but the worst was called the "Jersey," +where captives were crowded into the hold, the sick and the well, poorly +fed and scarcely clothed, so many of them as hardly to permit space to +lie down, watched over by a guard of merciless soldiers. Disease in a +dozen forms was always present, and every morning the living were forced +to carry out those who had died over night. + +During this year 1778, and for several years after, the war was carried +on for the most part in the South, in Georgia and South Carolina, while +the British soldiers in the city made trips into the surrounding country +and laid it waste. Washington and his army in New Jersey could do little +more than watch. + +In the year 1780 the American cause came very near receiving a serious +check, when an officer high in rank turned traitor. This man was +Benedict Arnold, and had been a vigorous fighter. But now he bargained +with the British to turn over to them West Point, where he was chief in +command. Major John Andre, a brilliant young officer under the British +General Clinton, was sent to make the final arrangements. Andre was +returning to New York when he was captured with the plans of West Point +concealed in his boots. He was hanged as a spy, and Arnold, escaping to +the British in New York, fought with them, despised by the Americans and +mistrusted by the English; for a traitor can never be truly liked or +respected even by those who benefit by his treachery. + +The War of the Revolution went on until the fall of the year 1781, when +General Washington made a sudden move that drew his men away from the +vicinity of New York before the British army could foresee it. Then he +hurried to the South. There, at Yorktown, in Virginia, the combined +American army hemmed in, and after a battle forced to surrender, Lord +Cornwallis, the British commander in the South, and all his men. + +This victory was so great that it really ended the war. Great Britain +gave up the struggle, and a treaty of peace was signed. + +And now you will see how the British army left the city of New York. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +AFTER the WAR + + +On a crisp, cold day, late in the fall, a tall, mild-faced man on a +spirited horse passed down the Bowery Road, followed by a long train +of soldiers whose shabby clothes and worn faces told of days of trial +and hardship. This was General George Washington with a portion of the +Continental army. They were entering New York on this same day when the +British troops were leaving it. + +But although the British were leaving under the terms of the treaty of +peace, and had gone on board ships that were to take them to England, +there were many who were filled with rage at this enforced departure. +At the fort by the river-side they had knocked the cleats _off_ the +flag-pole, and had greased the pole so that no one could climb it +to put up the United States flag and thus flaunt it in the face of the +departing troops. But the soldiers of Washington who reached the fort +just as the last British company was leaving, set to work with hammer +and saw. They made new cleats for the pole. Then a young sailor--his +name was John Van Arsdale--filling his pockets with the cleats and +nailing them above him as he climbed the pole step by step, was able to +put the flag in position. And as it floated to the breeze a salute of +thirteen guns sounded while the British troops were still within +hearing. + +So now the city of New York, which for seven years the British had +occupied, was again in possession of the citizens. + +General Washington only remained here a few days. He made his +head-quarters in Fraunces's Tavern, in Broad Street, and there at noon +on December 4th, his officers assembled to hear his words of farewell. +It was an affectionate parting of men who had suffered danger and +privations together. There were tears in Washington's eyes. + +[Illustration: North Side of Wall Street East of William Street, Taken +a Few Years after the Revolutionary War.] + +"With a heart full of love and gratitude," said he, "I now take my leave +of you, and most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as +prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and +honorable." + +It was not a time for much talking, and Washington was soon gone, +leaving real sorrow behind him. Within a few weeks he had resigned his +commission as commander-in-chief, and had retired as a private citizen +to his home at Mount Vernon. + +The city of New York was in quite a deplorable state. The wide tract +swept by the fire of 1776 still lay in blackened ruins. No effort had +been made to rebuild except where temporary wooden huts had been set +up by the soldiers. The churches, all of which had been used for one +purpose or another, were dismantled, blackened, and marred. There was +scarcely a house in all the little town that had not been ill-used +by the soldiers. Fences were down, and the streets were filled with +rubbish. It was a city stricken with premature decay. Business life +was dead, and would have to be begun all over again. The citizens were +divided against themselves. Feuds existed everywhere. Patriots who had +fled and had now come back felt a deep bitterness against those who had +adopted the royal cause for the purpose of keeping possession of their +property. These, however, complained just as bitterly because now their +homes were taken from them in the adjustment. + +King's College, of which you have been told, had been closed all during +the war, and had been used as a hospital. It was opened now, but was +called Columbia College, as the King no longer had any claims on the +city or its institutions. + +During the next few years business slowly revived, and day by day the +city was rebuilt, growing into something like its old self. + +Some little distance above the Common was the City Hospital. There came +rumors at this time that the bodies of the dead were being stolen from +the graveyards and used by the students for dissecting purposes. There +was no truth in these stories, yet many persons became alarmed. They +gathered, broke into the hospital and destroyed everything of value. +The doctors fled to the jail on the Common for protection. The mob +determined to seize them, and tore down the fences about the jail. Then +the Mayor gathered a body of citizens to oppose the mob. As night came +on, the rioters, becoming more and more destructive, were fired upon and +five were killed. After this they scampered away, the trouble was over, +and that was the last of the Doctors' Mob. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +THE FIRST PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES + + +Rebuilding a city and forming a new nation is such a great task that you +can readily believe it was not accomplished without some difficulty. The +colonies were free from the rule of the English King, but it was +necessary for them to learn to govern themselves. + +Each of the new States now had its own government. It was thought by +many that there should be some powerful central government to control +all the States. So after a great deal of deliberation a convention was +held in Philadelphia over which George Washington presided. After four +months of hard work the present Constitution of the United States was +given to each State to be approved. + +There was strong need for this step to be taken, but there were a +great many who did not want it, because they thought it would give the +President as much power as a king, and as they had gone to some cost to +rid themselves of a king, they did not wish another. Those who wanted a +central government were called Federalists. Those who did not want it +were called Anti-Federalists. + +In New York there was one man who did everything that man could do +to convince others that the central government was the best thing for +the good of the new nation. His name was Alexander Hamilton. He was +a young man who had been, ever since he was a boy, a friend of George +Washington; who had lived in Washington's family and had fought as an +officer side by side with Washington, and was a man of much power and +deep learning. + +This Constitution of the United States had been approved by nine of the +States, when, in June, 1788, a convention was held to determine whether +New York was to approve it or not. At this convention Alexander Hamilton +spoke eloquently, in an effort to have the Constitution approved. + +The convention was still meeting in July, having come to no decision, +when the followers of Hamilton, the Federalists, had a great parade +through the streets of New York. It was the first big parade in the +city, and the grandest spectacle that had ever been seen in America +up to this time. + +[Illustration: Celebration of the Adoption of the Constitution.] + +The most imposing part of it was a great wooden ship on wheels, made to +represent the Ship of State, and called the "Federal Ship Hamilton." +The parade was a mile and a half long and there were five thousand men +in it. It passed along the streets of the city, past the fort, and on +up Broadway over the tree-covered hill above the Common, and on to the +Bayard Farm beyond the Collect Pond. There a halt was made and the +thousands of people sat down on the grass to a dinner. + +Three days after this the convention approved of the Constitution for +the State of New York. And so the majority of the States having agreed +to it, in the next year George Washington was chosen as the first +President of the United States, and the city of New York was selected +as the temporary seat of the general government. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +THE WELCOME to GEORGE WASHINGTON + + +Now that New York was the seat of the national government, the old City +Hall in Wall Street was made larger and fitted up in grand style and was +called Federal Hall. + +In April George Washington came to this city from his home at Mount +Vernon. Every step of his way, by carriage and on horseback, was a march +of triumph. The people in towns and villages and countryside greeted him +with shouts and signs of affection. But it was in New York that the +greatest welcome was given him. + +The city had taken on a most picturesque appearance. Every house was +decorated with colors, and when Washington landed from a barge at the +foot of Wall Street, he walked up a stairway strewn with flowers. The +streets were so thronged that way could scarcely be made. Not only were +the streets filled, but every window and every house-top. The people +waited for hours, and when Washington arrived a wild hubbub commenced +that kept up all the day long. + +[Illustration: View of Federal Hall and Part of Broad Street, 1796.] + +Washington was escorted to the house that had been prepared for him, a +little way out of town at the top of a hill. + +If in the days that you read this you walk along Pearl Street until you +come to the East River bridge at Franklin Square, a part of the city +crowded with tenements and factories, you will stand close by where the +house was. On the abutment of the bridge you will find a tablet that has +been riveted to the stone, so that all who pass may know that Washington +once lived there. The house was built by Walter Franklin, a rich +merchant, and was therefore called the Franklin House. The square, +however, does not take its name from this man, but from the renowned +Benjamin Franklin. + +Very soon, on a bright, sunshiny day, Washington stood on the balcony of +Federal Hall, surrounded by the members of the Senate and the House of +Representatives, with the citizens thronging every inch of the nearby +streets. And there he took the oath of office, and having taken it the +cry was raised, "Long Live George Washington, First President of the +United States," a cry that was echoed from street to street, and went on +echoing out into the country beyond. + +[Illustration: The John Street Theatre, 1781.] + +The life of the First President was a simple and a busy one. He rose at +four o'clock each morning and went to bed at nine in the evening. Many +hours a day he worked at matters of state, receiving all who called, so +that there was quite a stream of people going to and from the Franklin +House at all times. Sometimes during the day he took a long drive with +Mrs. Washington, which he called the "Fourteen Miles 'round," going up +one side of the island above the city and coming down the other. +Sometimes of an evening he attended a performance at the little John +Street Theatre. Always on Sunday he and all his family went to St. +Paul's Chapel. And the pew in which they sat you can sit in if you go +to that old chapel, for it has been preserved all these years. + +By this time the fort by the Bowling Green, which had stood since the +days of the Dutch, was torn down to make room for a mansion that was +to be called the Government House and be occupied by the President. + +The mansion was built, but you shall see presently why no President ever +occupied it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +CONCERNING the TAMMANY SOCIETY and BURR'S BANK + + +There was formed just about this time, in fact the very month after +Washington's inauguration, an organization which was called the Tammany +Society. And out of this society grew the great political body--Tammany +Hall. The Tammany Society took its name from a celebrated Indian chief, +and at first had as its central purpose the effort to keep a love of +country strong in every heart. The best men in the city belonged to the +Tammany Society, which held meetings and transacted business under all +sorts of odd and peculiar forms. It divided the seasons of the year into +the Season of Blossoms, the Season of Fruits, the Season of Moons, and +the Season of Snows, instead of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. And +the head of the order was called the Grand Sachem or Chief. + +New York now became a very active and a very brilliant city indeed, +and all manner of improvements were made. The first sidewalks were laid +along Broadway, just above St. Paul's Chapel. They were pavements of +brick, so narrow that two persons could scarcely walk along side by +side. Then the high hill crossed by Broadway just above the Common was +cut away so that the street stretched away as broad and as straight as +you see it to-day. Numbers were put on the houses and streets were cut +through the waste lands about the Collect Pond, and the barracks which +were built for the British soldiers were torn away as unsightly +structures. These barracks were log huts a story high, enclosed by a +high wall. The gate at one end, called Tryon's Gate, gave the name to +Tryon's Row as it now exists. Trinity Church, which had been in ruins +since the fire, was rebuilt, as well as many, many other houses. + +Now the fact that the city was the seat of the national government and +was the home of Washington had much to do with its improvement. But New +York had only been fixed upon as the capital temporarily, and a dozen +States were anxious for that honor. Finally, in the second year that +Washington was President, it was decided to build a city which should +be the seat of the general government, on land given by the States +of Maryland and Virginia for that purpose and called the District of +Columbia. While the city (which was given the name of Washington) was +being built, the seat of government was to be in Philadelphia, and +Washington went there to live. A great many of the gay and brilliant +company that had been attracted to the capital followed him there, and +for a time New York languished in neglect. + +It now began to look as though the United States would be drawn into +another war with Great Britain. For the French Revolution was in +progress and the French people were at war with the English, and thought +that the Americans should help them as they had helped the Americans in +Revolutionary times. But President Washington and some of the very wise +and good people about him thought it best to have nothing to do with it. +So a treaty was made between England and the United States, and the +French did not get the help they asked. + +Some of the citizens of New York, quite a large number of them, were +very angry when they heard of this treaty and burned a copy of it on the +Bowling Green, with all sorts of threats. But after a time those who had +shouted against it changed their minds. They had something more serious +to think of nearer home before many years, for the small-pox broke out +in the city and thousands upon thousands hurried away to escape the +dread disease. All business was at a standstill, and even the churches +were closed. When the scourge had spent its force, it was found that +more than 2,000 had died of it. + +There was one man who took advantage of the small-pox scare to his own +profit. This was Aaron Burr. You will remember him as a boy fighting +by the side of Montgomery in Canada. He was now a lawyer known for his +great skill the country over; a man of education and deep learning. +He was the leader of a political party, a party which contended with, +fought with, disagreed with at every turn the party of which Alexander +Hamilton was one of the chief leaders. + +Now there were two banks in the city, both of which were under the +control of the party to which Alexander Hamilton belonged. Aaron Burr +determined that his party should have a bank, too. The citizens were +prejudiced against banks, and did not want a new one. But Burr +determined to establish one, and set about it in a most peculiar way. +All at once the report got about that the small-pox had been caused by +the well-water. This was about all there was to drink in the city, +except that which came from a few springs and was said to be very impure +indeed. So Aaron Burr and his friends secured a charter for a company +that was to supply clear, pure water. This pleased the citizens very +much. But there was a clause in the charter to the effect that as all +the money might not be needed for the bringing of water into the city, +that which remained could be used for _any_ purpose the company saw fit. +Only those in the secret understood that the money was to be used to +start a bank. So the company dug deep wells not far from the Collect +Pond, and pumped water from them into a reservoir which was built close +by the Common on Chambers Street, and then sent it through the city by +means of curious wooden pipes. This water was really just as impure as +that which had before been taken from the wells, and it was not long +before the new water-works were known to be a failure. Then the company +gave all their attention to the bank, which had in the meanwhile been +started. + +[Illustration: Reservoir of Manhattan Water-Works in Chambers Street.] + +This company of Aaron Burr's was called the Manhattan Company, and their +Manhattan Bank has been kept going ever since and is still in existence +in a fine large building in Wall Street. + +So you see Aaron Burr this time got the better of Alexander Hamilton and +his friends. + +If you turn the page you will read more of Hamilton and Burr. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +MORE about HAMILTON and BURR + + +The dawn of the nineteenth century saw 60,000 people in the city of New +York and the town extending a mile up the island. Above the city were +farms and orchards and the country homes of the wealthy. Where Broadway +ended there was a patch of country called Lispenard's Meadow, and about +this time a canal was cut through it from the Collect Pond to the +Hudson River. This was the canal which long years afterward was filled +in and gave its name to Canal Street. + +[Illustration: The Collect Pond.] + +From time to time there were projects for setting out a handsome park +about the shores of the Collect Pond, but the townspeople thought it was +too far away from the city. But in a few years the city grew up to the +Collect Pond, which was then filled in, and to-day a gloomy prison (The +Tombs) is built upon the spot. + +One of the new undertakings was the building of a new City Hall, as the +old one in Wall Street was no longer large enough. So the present City +Hall was begun on what was then the Common, but it was not finished for +a good ten years. The front and sides were of white marble, and the rear +of cheaper red sandstone, as it was thought that it would be many years +before anyone would live far enough uptown to notice the difference. +How odd this seems in these days, when the City Hall is quite at the +beginning of the city. + +Aaron Burr had by this time been elected Vice-President of the United +States. But he soon lost the confidence of the people, and when, in the +year 1803, he hoped to be made Governor of the State of New York, he was +defeated. + +[Illustration: The Grange, Kingsbridge Road, the Residence of Alexander +Hamilton.] + +Now at this time Alexander Hamilton was still a leader in the party +opposed to Aaron Burr, and did everything possible to defeat him. And +Burr, angered because of this, and believing that Hamilton had sought to +bring dishonor upon him, challenged Hamilton to a duel--the popular way +of settling such serious grievances. So Hamilton accepted the challenge +and on a morning in the middle of the summer of 1804, just after +sunrise, the duel took place on the heights of the shore of New Jersey, +just above Weehawken. Hamilton fell at the first fire mortally wounded. +The next day he died. + +There was great sorrow throughout the entire country, for he was a brave +and good man, and had been a leader since the War of the Revolution. All +the citizens followed him to his rest in Trinity Churchyard, and in the +churchyard to-day you can see his tomb carefully taken care of and +decorated, year by year. + +After the death of Hamilton the feeling against Burr in the city was +bitter indeed, and he soon went away. + +A few years later, when a project was formed for establishing a great +empire in the southwest and overthrowing the United States, this same +Aaron Burr was thought to be concerned in the plot. When, after a trial, +he was acquitted, he went to live in Europe. But he returned after a +time, and the last years of his life were passed in New York. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +ROBERT FULTON BUILDS a STEAM-BOAT + + +There had come to be a great need for schools. There were private +schools and there were school-rooms attached to some of the churches, +but it was in this year, 1805, that the first steps were taken to have +free schools for all. + +A kindly man named De Witt Clinton was Mayor of the city, and he, with +some other citizens, organized the Free School Society that was to +provide an education for every child. The following year the first free +school was opened. The society continued in force for forty-eight years, +each year the number of its schools increasing, until finally all its +property was turned over to the city. + +In the days when De Witt Clinton was Mayor the first steam-boat was +built to be used on the Hudson River. For many a year there had been +men who felt sure that steam could be applied to boats and made to +propel them against the wind and the tide. They had tried very hard to +build such a boat but none had succeeded. Sometimes the boilers burst. +Sometimes the paddle-wheels refused to revolve. For one reason or +another the boats were failures. + +A man named John Fitch had built a little steam-boat and had tried it +on the Collect Pond, where it had steamed around much to the surprise +of the good people of the city who went to look at it. But it was +considered more as a toy than anything else. Nothing came of the +experiment, and the boat itself was neglected after a time and dragged +up on the bank beside the lake, where it lay until it rotted away. + +Then Robert Livingston, who was chancellor of the city, felt sure he +could build a steam-boat that would be of use. As he was a wealthy man +he spent a great deal of money trying to make such a boat; and as he was +a very learned man he gave much thought to it. + +Chancellor Livingston was in France when he met another American, named +Robert Fulton, who was an artist and a civil engineer, and who also +hoped to build a boat that could be moved by steam. Livingston and +Fulton decided that they would together build such a boat. + +[Illustration: The Clermont, Fulton's First Steam-Boat.] + +So Fulton came back to New York and with the money given him by +Livingston began to build a steam-boat which he called the Clermont--the +name of Chancellor Livingston's country home. The citizens laughed a +good deal at the idea and called the boat "Fulton's Folly." In August, +1807, the Clermont was finished, and a crowd gathered to see it launched +and to laugh at its failure. But the boat moved out into the stream and +up the Hudson River, while the people gazed in wonder at the marvellous +thing gliding through the water, moved apparently by some more than +human force. It went all the way to Albany, and from that day on +continued to make trips up and down the river. This was the first +successful steam-boat in the world. Soon steam ferry-boats took the +place of those which had been driven by horse-power. Quickly, too, after +the success of the Clermont, steam navigation went rapidly forward on +both sides of the ocean. Fulton made other and much better boats. Other +men followed in his footsteps, and the great ocean liners of to-day are +one of the results. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +THE CITY PLAN + + +It is interesting at this time to read how the streets came to be just +where they are. The city was growing more rapidly than ever and the +streets and byways met one another at every sort of angle, forming a +tangled maze. To remedy this, a commission was formed of several of the +prominent citizens to determine just what course the streets should +take. Now this commission decided not to interfere with those that +existed, but to map out the island above the city and plan for those +that were to be. They worked for four years and then submitted, in the +year 1811, what they called the City Plan. If you will look at a map, +you will see at the lower part of the Island of Manhattan that the +streets cross and recross each other in the most bewildering manner. And +you will also see that above this jumble the streets and avenues extend +through the island in a regular and uniform way. This change was the +result of the City Plan. + +While the commission was making its plan, there came threatenings of +war. Again England was at war with France, and those two countries in +fighting one another very often injured the American ships. Besides, the +British war-ships had a disagreeable way of searching American ships and +taking charge of any Englishmen they found on them, even those who had +become American citizens. These same British war-ships often fired upon +those American vessels whose captains objected to their being searched. + +So it came about that American ships carrying merchandise to other +countries and bringing merchandise to American ports were interfered +with more and more, and American commerce was thus ruined, for no +American ship was safe. The end came early in the year 1812, when the +United States declared war against Great Britain. + +[Illustration: Castle Garden.] + +As soon as war was declared, the citizens of New York united for +defence, and when news came that the city was to be attacked, a great +meeting was held in City Hall Park, and everybody decided, then and +there, to support their country with their fortunes, their honor, and +their lives. Then they went to work, stopping all other employment, and +night and day they built forts and defences. They built forts on the +islands in the bay to defend the approach to the city from the ocean, +and they built forts in the Hell Gate to defend the approach by way of +Long Island Sound, and they built batteries on the Island of Manhattan +itself. One fort built at this time was on a little island close by the +Battery, and was called Fort Clinton. This afterward became Castle +Garden. + +But though the British had sent soldiers and ships to fight the forces +in America, they made no effort to capture the city of New York. + +The war went on for two years; there were battles, many of them, on the +land and on the sea. Very often the British had the best of it, and then +again the Americans would have the best of it. But in the end, although +the British fought hard, the Americans fought harder, and in the first +month of the year 1815 the war ended with a great battle in New Orleans, +which the Americans won. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +THE STORY of the ERIE CANAL + +Everything was going along smoothly when all at once the yellow fever +broke out on the west side, far downtown. It raged with even more +violence than had the small-pox. Citizens fled, and the stricken +district was fenced off so that no one might enter it. It was like a +place of the dead, silent and deserted. Many people went far out of town +to Greenwich Village, and many business houses opened offices in this +little settlement; with the result that Greenwich Village started on a +new life, and it was not long before it grew to be an important part +of New York instead of a suburb. For many who had transferred their +business also went to live there, not returning to the city even after +the fever had passed away. + +[Illustration: Landing of Lafayette at Castle Garden.] + +In the year after the fever (it was by this time 1824) General Lafayette +came again to America and was warmly received. Landing first at +Staten Island, he was, on the following day, escorted by a naval +procession and conducted to Castle Garden. A multitude came to voice +their welcome and follow him to the City Hall, where he was greeted by +the Mayor and all of the officials. During his stay he held daily +receptions in the City Hall, and afterward visited the public +institutions and buildings. On leaving for a tour of the country he was +accompanied all the way to Kingsbridge by a detachment of troops. For +thirteen months he travelled through the country, and when he returned +to New York in the autumn of the next year, the citizens gave a banquet +in his honor, at Castle Garden, which surpassed anything of the kind +that had ever been seen. + +Then General Lafayette sailed away to France again. In the month after +he had gone, with all the city cheering him and making such a din that +you would have thought that there never could be a greater, in the very +next month the city was again all decorated, and more shouts rent the +air, for a grand undertaking had just been completed, which you shall +now hear of. + +Ever since the days of the Revolution there had been talk of digging a +canal from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean; for you must know that +in these days there being no railroads, most of the traffic and travel +were done by water. This canal had been long talked of, but no step had +been taken toward building it. + +Now you will remember that De Witt Clinton, while he was Mayor, took a +great deal of interest in everything that was for the good of the city. +Well, after he had been Mayor for some years, he became Governor of the +State, and it was he who came to think that although the building of the +canal would be a great undertaking, for it would have to be more than +300 miles long, it might after all be accomplished. For years he worked, +with some others, while many said that it was a foolish idea, and too +much of a task even to think of. But still Clinton worked at his plans, +and finally, the money having been given by the State, the digging of +the canal was begun. The work went on for eight years, and in the month +of October, 1825, was finished. + +The canal was a water-way that stretched across the State of New York +from Buffalo to Albany and there joined the Hudson River, which leads +straight to the city of New York, and so on to the ocean. + +The people in the city and in the State were delighted at the +completion of the work, and on the day of the opening of the canal they +expressed their joy as loudly as they could. Governor De Witt Clinton +was at the Buffalo end, and he, with the State officers, started in a +boat decorated with flags and bunting and was towed through the canal. +As the boat set out from Buffalo, a cannon was fired, and many more +cannon having been placed each within hearing distance of the other by +the side of the canal, in turn took up the sound and carried it along, +mile after mile, until the last one, stationed in the city of New York, +was fired, one hour and twenty-five minutes after the first had been +fired at Buffalo. By this the people all across the State knew that the +canal had been opened. + +For ten days the boats crept along the canal, and at each town bands +played, and speeches were made, until on the tenth day the Governor and +his party reached New York--the first to make the journey across the +State by water. They were taken to Sandy Hook, the Mayor of New York, +with many others, attending, and surrounded by all the ships in the bay, +with their colors flying and their whistles blowing. And there at Sandy +Hook, Governor Clinton poured a keg of water which he had brought from +Lake Erie into the waters of the ocean. + +Thus were the waters of the Great Lakes and the waters of the Atlantic +Ocean united, and the city was illuminated as it had never been before, +and great bonfires burned all night, in honor of the wedding. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +THE BUILDING of the CROTON AQUEDUCT + + +It really seemed now as though some fairy wand had been turned toward +New York. Blocks of houses of brick and stone sprang up, and buildings +of every sort crept up the Island of Manhattan and were occupied by more +than 200,000 people. The city was the centre of art and literature and +science in America. The streets were lighted by gas; there were fine +theatres; and the first street railroad in the world was in +operation--the first step toward crowding out the lumbering stages. +Newspapers were multiplying, and there were now fifty various sorts, +daily, weekly, and monthly. The dailies cost six cents, and were +delivered to regular subscribers. In the year 1833 the _Sun_, the first +penny paper to be published in the city, was issued. It was a success. +Boys sold it on the streets in all parts of the town. This was the +beginning of the work of the news-boys, and after this they were to be +found all over the country. + +But now there came another great fire. On a December night, a night so +cold that it was said there had not been such another in fifty years, +flames broke out in the lower part of town near the river. The citizens +battled with it as best they could, but it burned for three days, +destroying almost all of the business end of the city. For years +afterward it was called the "Great Fire," and was remembered with dread. +To-day there is a marble tablet on a house in Pearl Street near Coenties +Slip, which was the centre of the burned district, where you can read of +how fearful the fire was and how thankful the people were that the +entire city was not destroyed. But the houses were quickly rebuilt, and +New York prospered more than ever before. + +[Illustration: View of Park Row, 1825.] + +Destructive as the fire was, however, it called attention to the fact +that there was a woful lack of water in the city. Most of the water was +still supplied by the wells and springs which had been sufficient for +a small town, but were by no means so for a city of the present size. It +was now that the idea of bringing a large supply of water from without +the city was conceived. The plan was to build an artificial course, or +aqueduct, for water, from the Croton River, forty miles and more above +the city. Many thought that this was not possible, but then other +seemingly impossible things had been accomplished, so they pushed ahead +and commenced the building of this work. A dam was thrown across the +Croton River, forming a lake five miles long. The aqueduct extended from +this dam to the city. Sometimes it had to be cut through the solid rock; +sometimes it was continued underground by tunnel; sometimes over valleys +by embankments, until at last it reached the Harlem River where a stone +bridge, called the High Bridge, was built to support it. Through this +channel of solid masonry the water was brought into the city, and when +it reached the Island of Manhattan was distributed in pipes over the +entire city. This wonderful work cost $9,000,000, and took seven years +to build. When the water was first released from Croton River and flowed +into the new channel, rushing along for forty miles to the city, the +citizens rejoiced greatly. There was a celebration with parades and +illuminations. + +[Illustration: High Bridge, Croton Aqueduct.] + +It now looked as though there would be enough water to last no matter +how large the city should become, for there were now 95,000,000 gallons +a day available. But before another fifty years had passed there was a +cry for more water, But this time the people knew just what to do, and +another aqueduct was built from the Croton River. This one was carried +under the Harlem River instead of over it, supplying so much water that +it will doubtless be many a long year indeed before another will be +needed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +PROFESSOR MORSE and the TELEGRAPH + + +There lived in New York at this time a man whose name was Samuel F.B. +Morse. He was an artist and was interested in many branches of science. +He had founded the National Academy of Design and was Professor of the +Literature of the Arts of Design at the University of the City of New +York. This man believed that an electric current could be transmitted +through a wire and so make it possible to convey a message from one +point to another. One night, after having worked on his idea for years, +he invited a few friends to the University building, which overlooked +Washington Square, and showed them the result of his labors. It was the +first telegraph in the world. This was a crude affair, but Professor +Morse proved that he could send a message over a wire. In the year 1845 +he had advanced so far that a telegraph line was built between New York +City and Philadelphia. Then all the world recognized the genius of +Morse. The people of New York especially honored him, and even in his +lifetime they erected a statue of him which you can see to-day in +Central Park. + +By this time the city had crept up to both Greenwich Village and Bowery +Village, and had engulfed them. On every side were houses, some of them +five and six stories high, where before they had been but two stories. + +An open space nearby Bowery Village was called Astor Place. This was the +scene in 1849 of a famous riot, which came about in this wise: Edwin +Forrest, an American actor, and William Charles Macready, an English +actor, had quarrelled about some fancied slight. So when Macready came +to the city to play at the Astor Place Opera House, some friends of +Forrest's gathered and sought to prevent his acting by shouting their +disapproval. This was the excuse for an unruly mob to gather outside the +theatre and storm the house with stones. Macready escaped by leaving +the theatre by a rear door. Then a regiment of soldiers came and after +using all peaceful measures to quell the disturbance, fired upon the mob +and killed many of them before the space was cleared and quiet restored. + +[Illustration: Crystal Palace.] + +Castle Garden, which had once been Fort Clinton, had become a place of +amusement. Here Jenny Lind, "the Swedish Nightingale," sang, and many +another artist of rare ability was seen and heard. + +Now, too, a World's Fair was opened on Murray Hill. Held in a +fairy-like building of glass, made in the form of a Greek cross, with +graceful dome and arches, it was a Crystal Palace in fact as in name, +where all the products of the world were shown. But, unfortunately, a +few years later it was burned to the ground. + +There are always some wise and thoughtful people who think of the +comfort of others, and some of these realized that it would not be long +before the Island of Manhattan would be so covered with houses that +there would be no open places where one might enjoy fresh air and +recreation. They said it would be well to have a garden laid out for +this purpose, with walks and drives as needed. This was done and an +immense tract of woodland and forest, almost as large as the city itself +at the time, was set apart. As this was in the centre of the island it +was called the Central Park. Millions of people have been thankful for +it, although they have not put their gratitude into words. + +We have now come to the days of the Great Civil War, when many men +left the city to join the army. Now there were those who did not see +the necessity for war and had no desire to be soldiers, so when more +men were called for there was a riot; a terrible and destructive one. +A mob swept over the city, a murderous, plundering mob that left a trail +of horror wherever it touched; and before it was put down a thousand +persons had been killed or injured, and $2,000,000 damage had been done. +This was the Draft Riot. The Civil War ended, the city prospered, +growing greater and greater, until in the year 1878 the stages and +horse-cars could no longer carry all the people. Then railroads elevated +above the streets were built that could carry great numbers swiftly to +all parts of the city. + +New York, already become one of the great cities of the world, advanced +with giant strides. + + + + +CHAPTER XL + +THE GREATER NEW YORK + + +The time came when the city of New York grew beyond the limits of the +Island of Manhattan, though the island had seemed such a boundless tract +of land, that it had been thought laughable for the City Plan to provide +for streets over its entire length. The city grew larger and larger. It +stretched up to the Harlem River, leaped over it and went branching out +into the country beyond. Great libraries were built; hospitals for the +sick; prisons for the wrong-doer, markets, churches, public institutions +of every kind. Buildings grew taller and taller until they came to be +twenty and twenty-five stories high. Even then there were so many people +that there were not houses enough to hold them all. So they swarmed over +into the already large city of Brooklyn, on Long Island. And the +ferry-boats being no longer able to carry the vast crowds in comfort, a +great suspension bridge was built over the East River from New York to +Brooklyn. At last the city of New York and the city of Brooklyn had so +much in common, that they, with some of their suburbs, were united into +one great city in the year 1898. + +Then the Island of Manhattan became simply the Borough of Manhattan, one +of the five boroughs of Greater New York. + +So the story of the Island of Manhattan is ended. + + + + +TABLE of EVENTS + +Year + +1609. Hudson discovers the island of Manhattan + +1613. Ship Tiger burned + +1614. United New Netherland Company organized + +1614. Fort Manhattan built + +1621. West India Company organized + +1626. Peter Minuit Governor + Fort Amsterdam built + +1629. Charter adopted under which the Manors were established + +1633. Van Twillier Governor + +1636. Annetje Jans' Farm laid out + +1638. William Kieft appointed Governor + +1641. First Cattle Fair held on Bowling Green + +1642. Stadt Huys built + Church built in the Fort + +1643. Beginning of the Indian wars + +1644. Fence erected, which was later replaced by a wall, and still + later by Wall Street + +1646. Peter Stuyvesant appointed Governor + +1647. Kieft and Dominie Bogardus drowned in the wreck of the Princess + while returning to Holland + +1652. City of New Amsterdam incorporated + +1653. New Amsterdam made a walled city by the building of a wall + across the island + +1655. Stuyvesant subdues the Swedes on the Delaware + Indian war breaks out again + +1664. English capture New Amsterdam and it becomes New York + Richard Nicolls Governor + +1667. Francis Lovelace appointed Governor + +1670. Lovelace establishes the first Exchange + +1673. First mail route established + The Dutch retake New York + +1674. English again in possession of New York + Sir Edmund Andros Governor + Captain Manning disgraced for surrendering New York to the Dutch + +1678. Bolting Act created + +1681. Andros recalled + +1682. Thomas Dongan Governor + +1686. Dongan Charter granted to the city + +1688. New York and New England united, and Sir Edmund Andros Governor + +1689. William III. becomes King of England + Jacob Leisler assumes title of Lieutenant-Governor + and takes charge of New York + +1691. Henry Sloughter Governor + Leisler and Milborne executed + Governor Sloughter dies + +1692. Benjamin Fletcher Governor + +1693. Bradford establishes first printing press in the colony + +1696. Trinity Church built + Bolting Act repealed + Lord Bellomont appointed Governor + Captain Kidd sails to search for pirates + +1697. Streets first lighted at night + +1699. City wall demolished and Wall Street laid out + City Hall built in Wall Street + +1700. First library opened + +1701. Captain Kidd executed in England + Lord Bellomont dies + +1702. Lord Cornbury Governor + +1705. Queen's Farm granted to Trinity Church by Queen Anne + +1708. Lord Lovelace Governor + +1710. Robert Hunter Governor + +1711. Public slave market established + +1714. First public clock set on City Hall in Wall Street + +1715. Lewis Morris appointed Chief-Justice + +1720. William Burnet Governor + +1725. Bradford prints first newspaper in city + +1728. John Montgomery Governor + +1729. First Jewish cemetery established + +1731. First Fire Department organized + Montgomery dies + +1732. William Cosby Governor + +1733. James De Lancey made Chief-Justice + +1735. Peter Zenger tried for libel + +1736. Governor Cosby dies + +1741. Negro Plot + +1743. George Clinton Governor + +1745. Louisburg captured + +1752. Walton House built + +1753. Sir Danvers Osborne Governor + +1755. Sir Charles Hardy Governor + +1756. Corner-stone of King's College laid + Lord Loudoun appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British forces + in America + +1759. General Jeffrey Amherst appointed Commander-in-Chief in place + of Lord Loudoun + +1760. Montreal captured + Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey dies + George II. of England dies + George III. becomes King + +1761. Robert Monckton Governor + +1763. Monckton resigns as Governor + +1765. Stamp Act passed + First Colonial Congress held in New York + Sir Henry Moore Governor + +1766. Stamp Act repealed + Liberty Pole set up on the Common + +1770. Statues of William Pitt and George III. erected + Tax removed on all articles except tea + Battle of Golden Hill + +1771. Sir William Tryon Governor + +1773. Tax on tea reduced + +1774. Taxed Tea dumped into the river + First Continental Congress held + +1775. Lexington massacre + Second Continental Congress + Turtle Bay stores seized + Marinus Willett seizes the British ammunition wagons + Battle of Bunker Hill + Governor Tryon returns from England + General Montgomery killed at Quebec + +1776. April.--General Washington comes to New York after the success + of the Continental army at Boston + July.--Independence declared + August.--Battle of Long Island + +1776. September.--British occupy New York + Battle of Harlem Heights + A Great Fire + Nathan Hale executed + November.--Fort Washington captured + +1777. George Clinton, Governor of New York State + Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga + Washington at Valley Forge + +1780. Benedict Arnold's treason + +1781. Surrender of Lord Cornwallis + +1783. September.--Treaty of Peace, between Great Britain and the + United States, signed + November.--British troops depart from New York + December.--Washington bids farewell to his officers at + Fraunces's Tavern + +1788. The Doctors' Mob + +1789. New York the seat of the National Government + Washington becomes First President of the United States and + comes to live in New York + The Government House built + Tammany Society organized + +1790. Trinity Church rebuilt + +1798. Small-pox epidemic + Manhattan Company established + +1803. New City Hall begun + +1804. Alexander Hamilton killed by Aaron Burr + +1805. Free School Society organized + +1807. The Clermont launched + +1811. City Plan completed + +1812. United States at war with Great Britain + +1814. Fort Clinton (afterward called Castle Garden) built + War with Great Britain ended + +1823. Yellow fever epidemic + +1824. General Lafayette comes again to America + +1825. Erie Canal celebration + Gas introduced into city + +1833. First penny newspaper started + +1835. The "Great Fire" destroys six hundred houses + Work commenced on the Croton Aqueduct + +1842. Water admitted through the Croton Aqueduct + +1845. First telegraph recording apparatus publicly tested by + Samuel F.B. Morse + +1849. Forrest-Macready riots + +1853. World's Fair in the Crystal Palace + +1856. Ground bought by the city for the Central Park + +1863. The Draft Riot + +1870. Brooklyn Bridge started + +1878. Elevated roads built + +1883. Brooklyn Bridge completed + +1898. The island of Manhattan becomes the Borough of Manhattan + of Greater New York + + + + +INDEX + +Adventure Galley, 82, 83 +Amherst, General Jeffrey, 123 +Amsterdam, 2, 14 +Andre, Major John, 177, 178 +Andros, Edmund, 61, 62, 64, 66, 68 +Anne, Queen, 28, 91-93 +Annetje Jans's farm, 27, 28 +Anti-Federalists, 187 +Anti-Leislerian Party, 68 +Apthorpe, Charles Ward, 156 +Apthorpe mansion, 156 +Aqueduct, Croton, 227-229 +Army, Continental, 144, 148, 151, 179 +Arnold, Benedict, 177, 178 +Astor Place riot, 231, 232 +Astor Place, 231 + + +Bank, Manhattan, 203 +Banks, 201-203 +Battery, 10, 68, 176 +Battle of Bunker Hill, 148 +Battle of Golden Hill, 136-138 +Battle of Harlem Heights, 164, 165, 166 +Battle of Long Island, 154, 155 +Bayard Farm, 189 +Bayard, Nicholas, 69, 72, 89 +Bellomont, Lord, 82, 83, 86-88 +Block, Adrian, 10-12 +Bogardus, Everardus, 26, 37, 42 +Bolting Act, 62, 63 +Boston, 66, 84, 140, 141, 143 +Boston Port closed, 141 +Bouweries laid out, 21 +Bouwerie Lane, 21 +Bouwerie Village, 54, 76, 231 +Bowery Road, 179 +Bowery, the, 21, 35 +Bowling Green, 12, 35, 93, 105, 131, 134, 152, 200 +Bradford, William, 79, 108 +Bridge, East River, 236 +Bridge, High, 227 +British occupy New York City, 163 +Broad Street, 57, 148 +Broadway, 12, 58, 93, 162, 198, 204 +Bunker Hill, Battle of, 148 +Burgomasters, 46 +Burgoyne, General, 171, 172 +Burnet, William, 101-103 +Burns's Coffee-House, 129, 130 +Burr, Aaron, 150, 201, 203-207 +Burton, Mary, 112-114 +Buttermilk Channel, 30 + + +Cabot, John, 23, 50 +Cabot, Sebastian, 23, 50 +Canal, Erie, 220-222 +Canal Street, 205 +Cape of Good Hope, 3 +Castle Garden, 215, 232 +Cemetery, first Jewish, 104 +Central Park, 233 +Chambers, Captain, 139, 140 +Charles I., 23 +Charles II., 62 +Church in the Fort, 36, 37 +Church, St. Mark's, 54 +Church, St. Paul's, 150, 167, 195, 198 +Church, Trinity, 28, 79, 129, 198 +City Hall (first), 36, 47, 75, 87, 122 +City Hall (in Wall Street), 87-89, 94, 99, 128, 133, 152, 190 +City Hall (present), 152, 205 +City Hall Park, 50, 175, 176, 214 +City Hospital, 184 +City Plan, 212, 213 +City Wall, 48, 87 +Clarke, George, 111, 115, 116 +Clermont, the, 210, 211 +Clinton, Admiral George, 116-118 +Clinton, De Witt, 208, 220-222 +Clinton, Governor George, 171 +Clock, first public, 99 +Colden, Cadwallader, 102, 131, 133 +Collect Pond, 50, 114, 189, 198, 202, 204, 205, 209 +College, Columbia, 184 +College, King's, 121, 184 +Colonial Congress, the, 129 +Columbia College, 184 +Columbia Heights, 164 +Columbia University, 121, 164 +Colve, Captain Anthony, 58, 59 +Committee of Safety, 68 +Common, the, 50, 137, 152, 184, 198, 205 +Congress, Colonial, 129 +Congress, First Continental, 141-143 +Congress, Second Continental, 144, 147 +Constitution of the United States, 186-188 +Continental Army, 148-149, 151, 179 +Continental Congress, First, 141-143 +Continental Congress, Second, 144, 147 +Cornbury, Lord, 89-94 +Cornwallis, Lord, 178 +Corporation Library, 87 +Cosby, William, 105-110 +Council of Twelve, 39 +Croton Aqueduct, 223, 227-229 +Crystal Palace, 233 +Cunningham, Provost-Marshal, 176 + + +Declaration of Independence, 152 +De Lancey, James, 107-109, 117-121, 123-125 +De Lancey, Stephen, 99 +De Lancey, Susannah, 116 +Demont, William, 168 +De Vries, Captain David Pietersen, 28, 39, 40 +District of Columbia, 199 +Doctors' Mob, 185 +Dongan Charter, 65 +Dongan, Thomas, 64, 65 +Draft Riot, 234 +Duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, 206, 207 +Duke of York, 50-54, 55, 60, 61, 64, 65 +Dutch Netherlands, 2 + + +East India Company, 2-5, 13 +East Indies, 2-5, 13 +East River Bridge, 236 +Elevated railways, 234 +English claim New Netherland, 23, 53 +Erie Canal, 220-222 +Exchange Place, 57 + + +Fairs on Bowling Green, 35, 36 +Federal Hall, 190-194 +Federalists, 187, 188 +"Federal Ship Hamilton," 188 +Ferry-boats, 211 +Fire Department, first, 105 +Fire of 1776, 167 +Fire, "the Great," 224 +First City Hall, 36, 47, 75, 87, 122 +First Continental Congress, 141-143 +First Fire Department, 105 +First houses of white men, 12 +First Jewish cemetery, 104 +First mail route, 57 +First minister, 26, 36, 42, 43 +First newspaper, 79 +First night-watch, 87 +First pavements, 93 +First printing press, 79 +First public clock, 99 +First roads, 35 +First schoolmaster, 26 +First sidewalks, 198 +First soldiers in New Netherland, 26 +First steamboat, 208-211 +First street lamps, 87 +First street numbers, 198 +First telegraph, 230, 231 +First vessel built, 12 +Fitch, John, 209 +Fitzroy, Lord Augustus, 109, 110 +Fletcher, Benjamin, 77-81 +Forrest, Edwin, 231 +Fort Amsterdam, 19, 27, 53 +Fort Clinton, 215, 232 +Fort James, 54 +Fort Manhattan, 13 +Fort Washington, 168 +"Fourteen Miles 'round," 195 +Franklin House, 193 +Franklin Square, 193 +Franklin, Walter, 193 +Fraunces's Tavern, 99, 100, 180 +Frederick, Kryn, 19 +Free School Society, 208 +French Revolution, 199 +"Fulton's Folly," 211 +Fulton, Robert, 210, 211 + + +Gage, General Thomas, 141 +Gardiner's Island, 84 +Gates, General, 172 +_Gazette, New York_, 108 +George II., 104, 116, 125 +George III., 125, 134, 136, 142, 152 +Golden Hill, Battle of, 136, 137, 138 +Golden Hill Inn, 137 +Government House, 196 +Governor's Island, 30 +Grant's Tomb, 164 +"Great Fire," the, 224 +Greenwich Village, 216, 231 + + +Hale, Nathan, 157, 158 +Half Moon, 2, 3, 4 +Hall of Records, 176 +Hamilton, Alexander, 187, 188, 201-203, 206, 207 +Hamilton, Andrew, 109 +Hardy, Sir Charles, 121 +Harlem Heights, 161 +Harlem Heights, Battle of, 164-166 +Harlem River, 229 +Heights, Columbia, 164 +Heights, Harlem, 161 +Heights, Vandewater, 164 +High Bridge, 227 +Holland, 2 +Holland, States-General of, 15, 16 +Houses, first, of white men, 12 +Howe, Admiral, 153 +Howe, General William, 153, 155, 158, 168, 171 +Hudson's Bay, 7 +Hudson, Henry, 3-8, 10 +Hudson's River, 8 +Hunter, Robert, 96, 97, 99, 100 +Hyde, Edward (Lord Cornbury), 91. + + +India, 4 +Indians, 1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 16, 33, 34, 37-41 +Indian War, 38-43, 49 +Ingoldsby, Richard, 71 +Island, Gardiner's, 84 +Island, Governor's, 30 +Island, Long, 30, 31, 84 +Island of Manhattan bought from Indians, 18 +Island, Nut, 30 +Island, Randall's, 31 +Island, Staten, 10, 28, 39 +Island, Ward's, 31 + + +Jail, New, 175, 176 +Jamaica, Long Island, 92 +James, Duke of York, 50-54, 60, 61, 64, 65 +James II., 64, 66, 67 +Jans, Annetje, 28, 42 +Jans's farm, 27, 28 +Jersey, the, 176, 177 +Jewish cemetery, the first, 104 +John Street Theatre, 195 +_Journal, New York Weekly_, 108 + + +Kidd, Captain William, 83-85 +Kieft, William, 33-43 +King's College, 121, 184 +Kip's Bay, 158, 161, 162 +Koopman, the, 19, 34 + + +Lafayette, Marquis de, 171, 217-219 +Leisler, Jacob, 67-76, 86, 89 +Leislerian Party, 68, 89 +Lexington massacre, 143 +Liberty Pole, 134, 136 +Lind, Jenny, 232 +Lispenard's Meadow, 204 +Livingston, Robert, 209, 210 +Lockyer, Captain, 138, 139 +Long Island, 30, 31, 84 +Long Island, Battle of, 154-155 +Lords of the Manors, 21, 22 +Loudoun, Lord, 123 +Louisburg, 117 +Lovelace, Francis, 55-58 +Lovelace, Lord John, 95, 96 + + +Macready, William Charles, 231, 232 +Mail route, the first, 57 +Manhattan Bank, 203 +Manhattan Company, 203 +Manhattan Island, 8, 10 +Manhattans, 8 +Manning, Captain John, 58, 59, 61, 62 +Manors, 21, 22 +May, Cornelius Jacobsen, 16 +Milborne, Jacob, 68, 69, 72-74 +Minister, first, 26, 36, 42, 43 +Minuit, Peter, 17-24 +Mohawks, 40 +Monckton, Robert, 125, 126 +Money used by Indians, 37 +Montgomery, General Richard, 150 +Montgomery, John, 103-105 +Montreal, capture of, 123 +Moore, Sir Henry, 133 +Morris, Lewis, 96, 101, 107 +Morris Mansion, 164 +Morris, Richard, 96 +Morris, Roger, 164 +Morrisania, 96 +Morse, Samuel F.B., 230, 231 +Murray Family, 158-161 +Murray Hill, 158 +Mutiny Bill, 134, 135 + + +Nanfan, John, 89 +National Academy of Design, 230 +Negro Plot, 111-115 +Negro slaves, 27, 98, 99, 111-115 +Netherlands, 2 +Netherlands, Dutch, 2 +New England, 48, 64-67 +New Jail, 175, 176 +New Jersey, 40 +New Netherland, 12-14, 16-18, 24, 50, 60 +New Orange, 59 +Newspaper, first, 79 +Newspapers, 223, 224 +_New York Gazette_, 108 +_New York Weekly Journal_, 108 +Nicholson, Francis, 66, 68-70 +Nicolls, Colonel Richard, 55 +Night watch, first, 87 +Non-Importation Agreement, 130, 136 +Non-Importation Association, 130 +North Pole, 7 +Northwest Passage, 7 +Nut Island, 30 + + +Orange, Prince of, 60 +Osborne, Sir Danvers, 116-120 + + +Park, City Hall, 50, 175, 176, 214 +Patriots, 143 +Patroons, 21, 22, 34 +Pavements, first, 93 +Pearl Street, 16, 36, 193 +Permanent revenue, the, 95, 97, 119 +Pirates, 80-84 +Pitt, William, 134 +Plot, Negro, 111-115 +Prince of Orange, 60 +Printing press, the first, 79 +Prisons, 173-177 +Prison ships, 176, 177 +Prison, Tombs, 205 +Privateers, 80, 83 +Provisional Assembly, the, 144, 147, 149 +Provost, the, 176 +Putnam, General, 157, 161 + + +Quebec, 149, 150 +Queen Street, 122 + + +Railroad, elevated, 234 +Randall's Island, 31 +Rebels, 143 +Restless, the, 12 +Revolution, French, 199 +Revolutionary War, 143, 144, 146, 152, 177, 178 +Riot, Astor Place, 231, 232 +Riot, Doctors', 185 +Riot, Draft, 234 +River of the Mountains, 4, 8 +Roads, the first, 35 +Rolandsen, Adam, 26 +Royalists, 143 + + +St. Mark's Church, 54 +St. Paul's Chapel, 150, 167, 195, 198 +Schepens, the, 46 +Schoolmaster, the first, 26 +Schools, 208 +School Society, Free, 208 +Schout, the, 46 +Schout-fiscal, the, 19 +Schuyler, General Philip, 172 +Schuyler, Peter, 99 +Seal of New York, 63 +Second Continental Congress, 144, 147 +Ship Adventure Galley, 82, 83 +Ship Clermont, 210, 211 +Ship, the first built, 12 +Ship Half Moon, 2-4 +Ship Restless, 12 +Ship Tiger, 10, 12 +Ships, prison, 176, 177 +Ships, tea, 138, 139, 140 +Sidewalks, the first, 198 +Slave Market, 98 +Slaves, 26, 27, 98, 99, 111-115 +Sloughter, Henry, 70-73, 75, 76 +Small-pox, 200 +Smugglers, 34, 39 +Soldiers, first, 25, 26 +Sons of Liberty, 128, 136, 137, 145-147 +Spain, 13 +Stadt Huys, 36, 47, 75, 87, 122 +Stamp Act, 127-136 +Staten Island, 10, 28, 39 +States-General of Holland, 15, 16 +Steamboat, first, 208-211 +Steam ferry-boats, 211 +Street lamps, first, 87 +Street numbers, first, 198 +Street railways, elevated, 234 +Streets, how laid out, 212 +Stuyvesant, Peter, 44-49, 53, 54, 76 +Sugar-house, 174, 175 + + +Tammany Hall, 197 +Tammany Society, 197 +Taxed tea, 135, 139-141 +Tea ships, 138, 139, 140 +Tea taxed, 135, 139-141 +Telegraph, first, 230, 231 +Theatre, John Street, 195 +Third City Hall, 152, 205 +Tiger, 10, 12 +Tombs Prison, 152, 205 +Tories, 143 +Trading Stations, 103 +Trinity Church, 28, 79, 129, 198 +Trinity Churchyard, 207 +Tryon's Gate, 198 +Tryon's Row, 198 +Tryon, William, 149, 158 +Turtle Bay, 145, 146 +"Tyrant of New England," 64 + + +United New Netherland Company, 12 +University of the City of New York, 230 + + +Valley Forge, 172 +Van Arsdale, John, 180 +Van Dam, Rip, 105-108, 110, 111 +Vandewater Heights, 164 +Van Dincklagen, the schout-fiscal, 31 +Van Rensselaer, Kiliaen, 25 +Van Twiller buys Governor's Island, 30 +Van Twiller's tobacco plantation, 27 +Van Twiller, Walter, 25-32 +Vauxhall, 132 +Verhulst, William, 17 + + +Wall Street, 41, 87, 190 +Wall Street, City Hall in, 87-89, 94, 99, 128, 133, 152, 190 +Wall, the city's, 48, 87 +Walton House, 122 +Walton, William, 122 +Ward's Island, 31 +War, Indian, 38-43, 49 +War of the Revolution, 143, 144, 146, 152, 177, 178 +War of 1812, 213-215 +Warren, Admiral Peter, 116, 117 +Washington, City of, 199 +Washington, George, 123, 145, 148, 149, 151-158, 162, 164, 168, 170, + 172, 173,178-183, 186, 189, 190, 193-195, 199, 200 +Weehawken, 207 +Westchester, 168 +West India Company, 13-16, 18, 21-23, 25, 32, 42, 46, 53, 67 +West Indies, 14 +West Point, 177 +Whigs, 143 +Willett, Marinus, 147, 148 +Willett, Thomas, 55 +William III., 60, 67, 68, 70, 82 +"William the Testy," 33 +Windmills, 27, 34 +World's Fair, 233 + + +Yellow fever, 216 +York, James, Duke of, 50-54. 55, 60, 61, 64, 65 + + +Zenger, Peter, 108-110 + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 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