Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664 — John Shaqi
Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664
History
Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664
New York (State) -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Sources
January 16. In the morning, three hours before dawn, as the moon rose,
I searched for the path, which I found at last; and because I marched
so quickly I arrived about nine o'clock on very extensive flat land.
After having passed over a high hill I came to a very even footpath
that had been made through the snow by the savages who had passed this
way with much venison, because they had come home to their castle after
hunting; and about ten o'clock I saw the castle and arrived there about
two o'clock. Upward of one hundred people came out to welcome me, and
showed me a house where I could go. They gave me a white hare to eat
that they caught two days ago. They cooked it with walnuts, and they
gave me a piece of wheaten bread a savage that had arrived here from
Ford Orange on the fifteenth of this month had brought with him. In
the evening more than forty fathoms of seawan were divided among them
as the last will of the savages that had died of the smallpox. It was
divided in the presence of the chief and the nearest friends. It is
their custom to divide among the chief and nearest friends. And in the
evening the savages gave me two bear skins to cover me, and they
brought rushes to lay under my head, and they told us that our kinsmen
wanted us very much to come back.
January 17. Jeronimus and Tomassen, with some savages, joined us in
this castle, Tenotogehage, and they still were all right; and in the
evening I saw another hundred fathoms of seawan divided among the chief
and the friends of the nearest blood.
January 18. We went again to this castle, I should say from this
castle on our route, in order to hasten home. In some of the houses we
saw more than forty or fifty deer cut in quarters and dried; but they
gave us very little of it to eat. After marching half a league we
passed through the village of Kawaoge, and after another half league we
came to the village of Osquage. The chief, Ohquahoo, received us well,
and we waited here for the chief, Arenias, whom we had left in the
castle Te Notooge.
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