Chapter VIII (1)

THE COLONY UNDER RISING AND PAPEGOJA, 1653–1655.

I.

Conditions in the colony did not improve after the departure of Printz. Several settlers, having been politely refused citizenship in New Netherland, applied secretly to the authorities in Virginia and Maryland for permission to go there. Here they received a hearty welcome, and fifteen settlers deserted to the English colony on the south. When Papegoja became aware of their flight, he hired Indians “to bring them back”; but they resisted, “and put themselves on the defence against the savages who had been sent after them, [so that two] ... were struck down, whose heads were brought into Fort Christina.” The assistant commissary, Gotfried Harmer, seems to have been the leader. He wrote letters to some of the Swedes after his arrival in Virginia, advising them to leave the colony and join the English. It was also said that Henrick Huygen played false to the Swedes, Nothing further is known of the events in New Sweden from October, 1653, until May, 1654, except that the Indians fired Fort Korsholm.

On Sunday morning, May 21, 1654, the colonists on their way to church were startled by the roar of cannon. It was the _Örn_ giving the Swedish salute before Fort Casimir! A ship had arrived at last! “Vice-Commissary Jacob Svensson with some Swedish freemen” was ordered down the river to confirm the hopes. A little later the yacht bringing Vice-Governor Johan Papegoja was sailing down the stream. As soon as Rising had made provisions for the proper maintenance of Fort Casimir he sailed up to Christina. The emigrants “were now very ill on the ship, and the smell was so strong that it was impossible to endure it any longer. It was therefore agreed that Papegoja should bring the people ashore in the morning with the sloop, the yacht and other crafts, which was accordingly done on the twenty-second. Some of the people were distributed among the freemen up in the river, others taken to Fort Christina, where they were nursed with all care.” The sailors were also so sick and weak that “they could not lift the anchor nor row the boat, without the aid of the old colonists.”

In the afternoon of May 23, Bicker accompanied by the Dutch soldiers and colonists of the Sandhook presented himself at Fort Christina. The new and liberal concessions granted to settlers in New Sweden were read to them, and contrasted with the less favorable privileges enjoyed in New Netherland. The injuries they had caused the Swedes were recounted; but these would all be forgotten, and they would be treated as friends and good neighbors, if they would swear allegiance to the Swedish crown and the New Sweden Company, and become faithful subjects of Her Royal Majesty. “Thereupon all begged pardon” for what they had done in the past against the Swedish colony, “blaming everything on to General Stuyvesant,” and expressed “with one mouth” a desire to remain in New Sweden as Swedish subjects. “They then took the oath in the open air with a waving banner overhead,” signing their names to the documents, after which they were welcomed as subjects of the crown, and invited to join in a festive meal in honor of the occasion. Two of the Dutch were ordered to leave, as they were undesirable citizens. Another Hollander, “Alexander Boyer, was declared to be an evil and ill reputed man, but [he] had a Swedish wife. Simon Lane and Thomas Brown, two Englishmen, were also placed in the same register. There was some hesitation about these three, whether they should be accepted or not, but on their large promises that they would be faithful and honest” they were allowed to stay.

Rising, being anxious to learn how Stuyvesant would regard the surrender of the fort, sent a messenger to the Dutch governor on May 27 with a letter, informing him that Fort Casimir had been summoned to surrender according to the commands of Her Royal Majesty, and that the Dutch colonists had “repaired under the obedience of the government of Sweden.” “Since this is a matter of greater consequence,” the letter goes on, “than can be decided among servants who must only obey orders, the sovereigns on both sides have to settle this matter among themselves, and agree among themselves about it.”

The instructions and memorials given to Rising before his departure from Upsala in December, 1653, authorized him, in case Governor Printz had left the country or would not remain, to take charge “of the political and judicial affairs of the colony,” leaving the military management in other hands. Rising, as well as other officers, were indisposed the first few days after their arrival, due to the hardships and inconveniences of the journey and the change of climate, yet the day following his landing he called the officers, soldiers and freemen to Christina, and caused the orders and instructions to be read in their presence. Thereupon he formally assumed the leadership of the colony with the title of Director of New Sweden, and appointed Sven Skute and Johan Papegoja his assistants. The new royal privileges concerning the settlement were also proclaimed. Private colonists were granted the right to trade freely with neighbors and Indians, they could buy land direct from the savages or from the company, and, by paying an export duty of 2 per cent., they could export every form of produce as well as “gold and silver” (other minerals being excluded) to Sweden and its dependencies duty free. Land bought by an individual freeman from the company or from the savages would become his unqualified perpetual property, and he “would enjoy allodial privileges for himself and his descendants for ever.”

“After the sermon” on June 4, “the freemen were [again] assembled, and it was presented to them how Her Royal Majesty intended hereafter to continue the colony through the South Company by sending good and early succor.” A general day of fasting and prayer was proclaimed for the ninth “over the whole land.” On that day everybody “went to church at Tinicum and after the services the freemen, old and young, were called together.” They were told once more that additional aid was expected from Sweden, and that the outlook for the future was bright. Since there had been mutinies and much trouble during Printz’s time, it would be necessary to examine into the various charges and counter-charges which had been made, and it was hoped that all the inhabitants of New Sweden from now on would act as “true subjects of Her Royal Majesty and honest colonists.” An oath of allegiance and promise of good conduct was thereupon read to them and signed by forty-eight persons, eight of whom were widows of freemen.

By the arrival of the _Örn_ the population of New Sweden was increased more than five fold. About twenty-five colonists and soldiers left the settlement with Printz, while others deserted, so that the total number of inhabitants were only about seventy when Rising arrived. About three hundred and fifty embarked on the _Örn_ at Gothenburg; but nearly one hundred died on the journey, and a few succumbed in the colony shortly after their landing, making the total population about the middle of July only “three hundred and sixty-eight souls with the Hollanders and all.” But so large an increase without additional provisions and merchandise for the trade made the situation critical. To relieve the condition “the council found it expedient to butcher one of the company’s young bulls, of which the lands’ people and ship’s people received one-half part each, and were refreshed by it.” The relief, was only temporary, however. The illness of the people continued for weeks. To aggravate matters disease spread to the Indians, who “avoided all communication with the Swedes for a time and consequently brought them few supplies of meat and fish.” One of the first duties of the council was therefore to obtain “provisions for all the people, since they were entirely destitute, and would either die of starvation or desert. Hence it was resolved that Vice-Commissary Jacob Svensson should be sent for this, purpose to North [New] England, as he had good and intimate friends there.... On July 21, Jacob Svensson returned with the sloop from Hartford, New England, bringing grain and provisions purchased from Mr. Richard Lord.”

* * * * *

Rising endeavored to regain the confidence and good will of the Indians. He sent merchandise down to the Horn Kill for trading purposes and distributed presents among the savages for the confirmation of the land purchase in that part of the river. He also called the Indians living above Fort Christina to appear for a conference.

“On Saturday, June 17,” says Rising, “twelve sachems or princes
of the Renapi, that is the natives who dwell on the western hank
of our river, came together [in Printz Hall] on Tinnicum, and
when they had all seated themselves,” an oration was delivered
to them on behalf of the Great Queen of Sweden through Gregorius
Van Dyck, the interpreter. They were reminded of the former
friendship, which existed between themselves and the Swedes,
and they were assured that it would be for their mutual benefit
to renew the old compact. “If any bad man,” the speech went on,
“had given them suspicions that we have evil in mind against
them (as was whispered among them), they should not believe
such a one, but if they would make and keep a treaty with us,
we would keep it irrevocably.” Then we reminded them of the
land, which we had bought from them, that they should keep the
purchase intact, whereupon they all unanimously answered with
one sound ‘Yes.’ Then our presents were brought in and placed
on the floor before them, but they indicated that the presents
should be portioned out to each one, which we also did. And each
sachem was given one yard of frieze, one kettle, one axe, one
hoe, one knife, one pound of powder, one stick of lead and six
awl points. To the other followers, who were sixteen or twenty
in number, some of each kind was given. “When they had thus
received it, some of them went out to take counsel what they
should answer. [When these returned] their field-marshal called
Hackeman spoke in their behalf, saying to them. ‘See how good
friends these are, who have given us such gifts, reproaching
them that they had spoken ill about us, and at times done us
harm. Now, however, they promised that hereafter they would all
be our good friends and stroked himself a few times down the arm
as a sign of great friendship.’” Then he expressed his thanks
for the gifts on behalf of them all, “and said that, if they had
hitherto in the time of Governor Printz been as one body and one
heart, striking his breast [as he said it,] they would hereafter
be as one head with us, grasping his head [and] twisting round
with his hands, as if he wished to tie a secure knot. Thereupon
he made a ridiculous comparison saying that as a _calabash_
is a round growth without crack or break, thus we should
hereafter be as one head without a crack.” Then the Indians were
asked “if they all meant it thus, whereupon they all made a cry
of assent. Thereafter the Swedish salute was fired from a couple
of cannon which pleased them much. Then they fired with their
guns and promised that they would do us no harm, nor kill our
people nor cattle. [They also] offered us permission to build
a fort and house at Passayunk, which is their principal place
of abode, where the greatest number of them live, and they
promised that they would keep all our land purchases [intact]
... The land deeds were thereupon brought forth (although only
some of them were at hand, the rest [being] at Stockholm),
but only the names signed to them were read. When the savages
heard their names, they were much pleased; but when anyone was
mentioned who was dead, they bent down their heads.” A defensive
league was thereupon made, the Indians promising that they would
regard the enemies of the Swedes as their own enemies, and that
they would report any danger to the settlement, which they might
by chance hear of. But, although they were well satisfied with
the Swedes, “yet they remarked that they had received sickness
from the ship, through which they feared that all their people
would perish.” Fire had been seen around the ship at night, and
the savages believed that an evil spirit had come in the vessel.
“A chief sitting on a table asked for a boat for two medicine
men, who should go down to take the spirit away,” but no boat
seems to have been available. “We gave them, however, the best
comfort we could,” says Rising, “that the Lord God [would help
them], and, if they put their trust in him, the plague would not
harm them.”

To further satisfy the Indians “two large kettles and other vessels” full of _sappan_ or porridge of Indian maize were placed before them upon the floor, and some strong drinks, “which they love exceedingly,” were given them. During the conference they were much offended because Van Dyck contradicted them, but he appeased them by praising their qualities, and they left Printz Hall well satisfied and in the best of humor.

* * * * *

On the morrow, which was Sunday, a sachem of the Minquas, called Agaliquanes, “a brother of the former general,” came to Christina. Presents were given to him and he promised to keep good peace with the Swedes, for they treated the Indians well, unlike the English of Virginia, “who used to shoot them to death, wherever they found them.”

When conditions had somewhat changed for the better Rising could turn his attention to expansion and necessary betterments. He had been instructed to observe “that the land should be properly portioned out to the colonists, so that each one would receive as much ground as could be given to him.” After an inspection of the country Rising decided that certain old farms should be improved and a number of new tracts be reclaimed from the forest. He also caused a map to be made of the river, “as good as was possible in a hurry, from the bay up to the falls.”

On June 10, Rising writes in his journal: “This and the following [days] we settled the people who were well [enough] to cultivate the land.” These colonists were supported by the company, until they could make a start, and were given cows on rental for half of the offspring and eighteen pounds of butter yearly. Several donations of land had been made to officers in New Sweden, but as some of these tracts had been cultivated for years, the freemen who owned them were greatly displeased. Several of the old settlers desired to sell their homesteads in Order to occupy “new lands, encouraged thereto by the privileges given by Her Royal Majesty ... [to private settlers]; but none of the new-comers had means to redeem them.” A few cultivated farms were purchased for the company, and in the summer and autumn tenure of land was given to freemen at Upland, Printztorp and on the Schuylkill. Servants were also assigned to the estate of Printz at Tinicum Island “to guard the hall against the savages ..., and to do all that was necessary for the fields and meadows, besides whatever else might be required.”

The majority of the new settlers were assigned places between Christina and Fort Trinity along the shores of the Delaware. A few were located upwards along the banks of Christina River “in order to protect the colony against Virginia,” and to lay the foundations for a “commercial road” from the Swedish settlement to the Elk River and the Chesapeake.

Several new appointments were made in the summer. The gunner Johan Stålkofta was commissioned to “prepare material and planks for the buildings, that were to be erected from time to time”; the corporal Anders Olofsson to superintend the agriculture of the colony, and the ensign Peter Hansson Wendel to manage the plantation and the clearing of the land. No special wages accompanied these offices. “There was some dislike against the arrangement among the people,” says Rising, “but for what reason could not be ascertained.”

Mindful of the other paragraphs of his instructions Director Rising selected “suitable places where villages ... as well as towns and trading places could be established.” Lindeström was ordered “to divide the fields [north of and next unto Christina] into lots.” The town proper was laid out into a rectangular plot (broken by the encroachment of the low lands) with square blocks and with streets running parallel and at right angles to each other--antidating William Penn’s Philadelphia plan about thirty years. A map of the fort and the town plan were finished by Engineer Lindeström on July 8, and sent to Sweden with the _Örn_.

Towards the middle of July the preparations for the return voyage of the _Örn_ were completed. Some tobacco had been bought from Virginia merchants, but a sufficient cargo could not be secured. “On July 15 the dispatches were finished, and, as Papegoja had in mind to go home with the ship,” a recommendation to the government was prepared for him by the director. The settlers assembled on the shore at Fort Christina during the day to wish a happy voyage and bid farewell to the ship and its passengers, and in the afternoon the _Örn_ (Eagle) spread her wings, and glided down Christina river amid the cheers of the people on the bank. Rising went over land to Fort Trinity, where he boarded the ship, and remained over night. On the sixteenth he went ashore together with Madam Papegoja, (who had accompanied the vessel as far as Fort Trinity to see her husband off), and the _Örn_ made her final start for the return journey.

In his report sent on the ship Rising gave a brief review of the conditions in the colony as he found them, and proposed several reforms, complaining that he was in want of potters, brickmakers, lime-burners, cabinet-makers, tanners, shoemakers, and turners, but above all of provisions and supplies and colonists. He thought it a pity that a country with so many advantages, where expenses would be rewarded a thousand fold, should be neglected, when “one often spent both property and _blood_ on land, which could not by far be compared with this. Why should one not risk the expense of money and property, _without_ the shedding of blood” on a settlement that “in the future in case of need, would be able to do good service to the fatherland, and become a jewel in the Royal Crown, if aid should now be sent at an early date.” As yet he had made no progress in the establishment of manufactories and the founding of towns, on account of the bad health of the people and the small resources; but he promised to do his best as soon as opportunity occurred, since there were many localities where towns could be built and several waterfalls, where mills could be erected. He was particularly planning to construct a dam at the great fall of Christina river, “when everything had been harvested and sown” in the autumn.

As a result of the troubles of the previous autumn, dissatisfaction was rife among the colonists. A court was convened at Tinicum in the summer to examine the charges against the Rev. Lars Lock and Olof Stille; but no definite evidence could be established in Locke’s case, and Stille produced bondsmen, who were accepted by the court. “The great majority complained about the severity of Governor Printz,” and the director, who handled the case as delicately as possible, being unwilling to offend them, requested the dissatisfied ones “to draw up their complaints themselves, which they later did.”

Rising also attempted to bring back the deserted colonists from Virginia and Maryland; and, when two Swedish officials were sent to Severn in May, 1654, on a commercial mission, he instructed them to demand “the return of the proselytes.” An open and general passport was issued, assuring them an unmolested journey to New Sweden, “if they came and explained their affairs, howsoever they were.” But none returned.

The English continued to lay claim to the Delaware. In June, 1654, commissioners from Maryland visited Christina to confer about the boundary between the colonies. Commander Lloyd on behalf of the commission presented the English rights to the entire river, basing them on original discovery and King James’ grant to Lord Baltimore; but Lloyd was no match for the Swedish director “in the noble school of argument.” Rising was in his own element, in his special field, and prepared with delight a learned refutation, to which “Mr. Lloyd answered not a word.”

Rising endeavored to promote friendly correspondence with the New England settlements, and wrote “letters to the governor and magistrate in that district as well as to the former Governor-General Endicott.” At the general court of New Haven in July it was ordered that Governor Eaton should write a letter “to the Swedes at Delaware Bay, informing them of the property, which some in this colony have to large tracts of land on both sides of Delaware Bay and river, and desiring a neighborly correspondence with them, both in trading and planting there and an answer hereof.” Upon the arrival of the letter at Christina, July 22, Rising took immediate steps to refute the New Haven claims. The council was convened and “the oldest [settlers] in the country were called together” for the purpose of drafting an adequate reply to Governor Eaton’s missive. Copies of the Indian donation of land were made, and “an attestation, signed by the oldest [colonists was drawn up, stating] that the English held no tract of land in the river by proper purchase.” These documents were sent to the English governor, who presented them at the meeting of the commissioners of the united colonies at Hartford in September. The commissioners promptly formulated a detailed answer to Rising’s statements, “which appeared a little strange to them.” They affirmed that the New Haven people had a just claim to certain lands on the Delaware, and they hoped that “the friendship and good accord in Europe betwix England and Sweden would have a powerful influence on Rising’s spirits and carriages in these parts of America.”

Meanwhile the New Haven proprietors continued their activity, holding several meetings about their claims, and sent agents and commissioners to inspect the country and to treat with the Swedes directly, but their efforts were in vain, and ten years were to pass before the English could obtain a foothold on the South River.

“Swedish log cabin” situated “on the west bank of Darby creek
about a quarter of a mile above Clifton.” The above (built
in the 18th century) shows many characteristics to be found
in the log cabins erected by the Swedes and Finns in their
native country; the extension of the second story, “the
porch-roof,” etc.]

The defence of the country was naturally one of the first concerns of Rising. Since Fort Trinity was the key to the river, its old ramparts were greatly strengthened, and new walls were erected. Four fourteen pound metal cannon, which had been taken from the _Örn_, were placed behind an entrenchment constructed before the palisade on the river side, and balls, lead, powder and other ammunition to the value of 92 D. were stored in the magazine of the fort. Captain Sven Skute assisted by former Commander Bicker, worked all summer on the fortifications with twenty men. “Fort Christina, being in a state of entire delapidation,” was also repaired by the freemen and soldiers.

As Rising was to occupy Papegoja’s dwelling, which had been bought for the company, Madam Papegoja “went up to Tinicum with her children and household in a little sloop,” and settled on her father’s estate. The ale house at Tinicum, “daily robbed of doors and clapboards by the savages, was brought to Christina on the keel boat, where it was erected outside of the fort ... for an inn.” A cellar was dug in Christina, and masoned with stone, and a warehouse purchased from Papegoja was placed above it.

On September 5, Rising entered in his journal:

“Five freemen from Kingsessing and some others ... repaired
the [principal] dwelling in Fort Christina (the sill and five
logs being decayed in the corner ...), and covered the whole
building below with planks, in order that the house would not
rot from water. Later they built the provision-house five rounds
[of logs] higher, covered it with boards and protected it below
with planks; and dug around the storehouse, which was likewise
cased with planks on account of the water. Lastly they removed
the roof of the bath-house ... raised the walls four rounds [of
logs] higher, [so as to make it useful] for a smokehouse of meat
and fish, and made a porch before it of planks.”

The other dwellings in the fort were likewise repaired, and four clapboard rooms were made to provide more space for the people.

In the autumn the lots near Fort Christina were more accurately measured off, and plans were projected for the building of a village, “since there was little room in the fortress.” This was to be the staple town of the colony, and skilled workmen, such as shoemakers, blacksmiths, carpenters and the like were to reside there.[19] Factories of various kinds were to be founded and the harbor was to be improved and enlarged, so that it could meet the new conditions, and maintain itself for all times, as the principal commercial port of the country. Several men were appointed to “cut timber on the eastern bank” of the Delaware (almost opposite Tinicum Island) under the direction of Johan Stålkofta, “and later they brought a little timber raft to Fort Christina.” Soon “some of the settlers commenced to build manors and houses on their lots.” A plot was also prepared for an orchard, a sort of a park, “planted with fruit trees and surrounded with palisades.” The city thus begun was called Christinehamn, the forerunner of present Wilmington.

A great many Indian chiefs visited the Swedish fortress during the summer, and several conferences were held with them. Some of the old land purchases were renewed, and a number of Indians from the eastern bank promised to supply the Swedes with great quantities of hops. A certain sachem “by the name of Mister, who pledged himself to gather all the hops that grew along the river,” and deliver them to Rising, was given some gifts and a bag in which to carry the hops; but he never returned the sack nor did he bring any hops to the fort.

The usual commercial relations were established with the savages in the fall. The sloops were sent up and down the river to fetch hops and to purchase provisions, and over a thousand bushels of Indian corn and several bushels of beans were bought. Twenty bushels of maize and a few deer skins were presented to Rising as a gift from the sachems. Jacob Svensson, although he had been ill several times during the summer, was very successful in his transactions with the Indians and in December we find him buying deer meat from the savages “for frieze, powder and lead.”

The needs of the country and the failure of new supplies to arrive made the purchasing of provisions from the neighbors imperative. On September 24 Richard Lord from Hartford arrived at Christina “with a cargo of provisions and other goods.” He also delivered letters from Elswick, which told the sad story that the _Haj_, the one hope of the colony in its want and distress, had been captured. “It was a special injury to us,” says Rising in his journal, “and a blow not easily repaired.” As Lord undertook to transmit letters to Sweden via England, the director made his second report “to the commercial college, in which he related their weak condition and the pressing necessity of relief.”

We have seen that the settlers were well supplied with cattle, when Printz departed from the colony, but with the arrival of the new expedition the domestic animals became too few in proportion to the number of freemen. When the English from Virginia visited Christina in the summer a contract for the delivery of a number of cows was made with them. Theodore Ringold from Maryland desired to buy five or six mares, but so large a number could not be spared. The Swedish council agreed, however, to exchange two mares with him for four cows that were with calf. In like manner Marsh, “the richest man in his colony,” promised to send over ten cows, when Ringold delivered his. Through these purchases the value of a cow in New Sweden fell about 50 per cent.

On the last day of September a messenger from Elswick appeared with the commissions, which appointed Rising director of the colony and Sven Skute commander of the forts. Three days later these papers were read to the people, who were assembled at a court in Fort Christina. It seems that Rising and his council now took a bright view of the situation, as they soon provided for the re-organization of the internal government of the settlement and the adoption of a constitution or rule of conduct. “On October 27 the best men of the colony were called together at Fort Christina, and an _ordinance_ was drafted.” The ordinance was proclaimed among the Swedes and Dutch, “but it could not be enforced and followed, before aid would arrive from the fatherland.”

About the end of November a boat with provisions and people was sent up to [Trenton] falls to meet Hendrick von Elswick, who was expected overland from New Amsterdam. On November 30 he arrived at Christina in company with Sven Höök, a servant, a secretary and a soldier. The account books, bills and the like were now turned over to Elswick, who was given charge of the storehouse in the fort.

In the autumn the council issued an order “that every freeman [at the Sandhook] should enclose his plantation, and watch his cattle that they did no damage to others, on penalty of punishment.” Orders for the clearing of certain lands were likewise given to the freemen. “The field at Fort Christina was ploughed, and manure was brought upon it.... The land across Christina River [opposite the fort, called the low-land], was cleared and sown with wheat” by some freemen, who were to have one-third of the crop for their labor. Horses and oxen were taken to the Sandhook for the ploughing and cultivation of certain farms, which had been forfeited to the company by Dutch colonists. In October, November and December “the new freemen were ordered to clear their lands at various places, for the purpose of planting maize in the coming spring; and several fields at Sandhook, at Fort Christina and up at the [Christina] River were cleared and sown for the benefit of the company with the grain which Mr. Lord had brought in.... A pair of young oxen belonging to the company was assigned to Måns Månsson, the Finn, who had rented a farm at Upland.... Some old freemen were also ordered to help with their oxen, so that sufficient land was cleared for the sowing of about sixty to seventy bushels (about seventy to eighty acres), part of it being sown with wheat, the other part to be planted with maize in the spring. Various kinds of fruit trees were also planted in the autumn both by Rising and the freemen.”

Director Rising had received a grant of land in the colony large enough for the settlement of twenty to thirty peasants; but it was located at Fort Trinity, “somewhat remote from Christina, so that he could not superintend it daily,” and he therefore requested a grant on Timber Island instead of it. He did not wait for an answer from Sweden, but proceeded to clear it off at his own expense with the assistance of the officers and servants. Then he “caused a house with two stories to be built thereon and a dwelling as well as a cellar below it.”

The mill-dam and mill were repaired, and towards the end of October Rising went up to Naaman’s Kill “in company with several good men,” where he found “a serviceable little waterfall for a sawmill.” Such a mill, able to supply the needs of the country and produce lumber for export, had been planned by Printz. Now it could be erected, as saw-blades had been imported on the _Örn_; but the director decided to wait until the following spring.

A great calamity threatened the colony in the fall. A fire broke out in Christina one night, endangering the entire fort; but it was fortunately extinguished without loss of property or life. A little later a storm of tremendous velocity accompanied by “an exceptionally high flood” damaged Fort Trinity, “washing away the wall up to the palisades.”

As winter approached the dwellings were thoroughly repaired, and the old barns were improved, while new ones were built, for indications pointed to a cold season. Large stores of Indian corn and game were purchased from the aborigines, and other provisions made for the winter. The new-comers were now somewhat acclimatized. They had erected their log cabins, which gave them sufficient shelter, and they had learnt many new customs and usages from the old settlers.

Regular religious services were continued in the church at Tinicum. Holidays and daily prayers were observed as before, and special days of fasting and prayer were proclaimed. Rising suggested plans for building schools and churches and for meeting the expenses “of the congregations.” He recommended that tithes of grain and cattle be paid, “willingly by the people ..., the half part of it to be used for the salaries of the preachers and the other half part for the erection and support of a school building and a church.” Rev. Lars Lock was alone in the colony from 1649 until 1654. But now new preachers, Matthias Nertunius and Peter Hjort arrived with the _Örn_. Rev. Nertunius, who was assigned to Upland, where he lived on a tract of cleared land belonging to the company, conducted services at Tinicum. He “was indeed the best” preacher in the colony at this period, and Rising proposed to the government that the land “at Upland on which he lived [large enough for the sowing] of twenty or thirty bushels of seed, should be given [to him] for a parsonage with the few houses there ..., in which case he would need no other salary from the company.” Peter L. Hjort was stationed at Fort Trinity, where he preached, until the capture of the stronghold by the Dutch; but, as he was “a preacher worldly and spiritually poor,” his labors were probably of small result. It seems that Rev. Lock was transferred to Christina in the summer of 1654. Since he had been accused of mutiny, Rising decided to send him to Sweden on the _Örn_ “to defend and free himself”; but he became severely ill, when the ship was about to sail, and the charges against him seem to have been dropped.

“The poor are always with us,” and they were not absent from New Sweden. During the governorship of Printz “Karin the Finnish woman” was compelled to beg for the support of herself and her children and perhaps others were reduced to similar circumstances. Rising established a charity fund and appointed “the preacher” (probably Nertunius) to distribute food and clothing according to the needs of the poor. The colonists were invited to contribute to the fund, and one of the blacksmiths gave 19:15 florins to the “poor account.” “The children of Paul Malich, the little Pole, the blind Kirstin with her two children,” Anders ..., Per Paulsson’s mother and the daughter of Klas Johansson are especially numerated among those receiving aid, and food, clothes, shoes and other articles were given to them. The accounts, were kept by Elswick in a special book, not known to exist, but they were also entered in the general _Schuldt und Cargason Buch_.

Slavery was not employed to any extent by the settlers. The slave brought to Christina in 1639 lived for many years, but beyond this single case, there is no definite record of slaves in New Sweden. Lars Svartz (Lars the Black) might have been a negro slave, but it is more likely that _Svartz_ simply referred to his complexion as _Snöhvit_ (_Snow-white_) in the case of Jöran Kyn.

The winter of 1654–55 became so severe that the river froze over, and when the ice broke in January Christina Kill rose far above its usual level. The heavy flood carried the ice down towards the fort, “a large part of which would have been swept away had not the new palisades prevented it,” and the sloop lying on the bank was carried far up on the land. In February warm and pleasant weather returned, causing the ice to disappear. During the winter the colony was disturbed by the savages. A certain tribe became restless, “killed a woman not far from Fort Christina ..., and stole what they could get hold of. Later they promised to make it good, but gave no more than ten yards of _sewant_ as an indemnity.”

Director Rising exhibited an unusual activity, and almost the entire male population of New Sweden was engaged in clearing the forests in January, February and March. The settlers occasionally made use of a peculiar means of removing the forest, the so-called _svedjebruket_ (agriculture by burning). The method was very old both in Sweden and Finland, being referred to in the _Kalevala_ as well as by old Scandinavian writers. It has been employed by the American Indians and other primitive peoples. The old Romans made use of it, and the Swedes, Finns, Swiss, Germans and other Europeans have preserved the method down to our present day.

The _svedging_ or burning served two purposes, it cleared away the forest and produced a splendid fertilizer. When a tract of wooded land was to be made into field by this means, the trees were felled in a certain order and allowed to dry for about a year, when the branches were removed from the trunks, and all useful timber was cut into logs. The following summer the branches and trees were burnt; “among the Finns,” after certain incantations had been read. Men and women dressed in their poorest clothes superintended the burning, and saw to it that every part of the surface was singed. In the autumn or some weeks after the burning, rye was sown in the ashes among the stumps and the large tree trunks, that had not been removed or that would not burn. When the crop had been harvested all the trunks and logs were rolled or carried into piles to be burnt. The ground was then prepared more carefully, and grain (oats, rye or wheat) was again sown. Soil that had thus been enriched with ashes through burning, could bear good crops for five or six years without manuring or new burning. Hence logs, branches and the like were sometimes carried from the woods, and spread over the old fields. When these had been burnt, grain was sown as before.

In Sweden and Finland this method became so common during the seventeenth century, that ordinances were passed against it by the government, and many Finns were sent to New Sweden for violating the laws forbidding the practice. The Finns, and in some cases the Swedes, continued the _svedging_ (burning) on the South River, and several tracts were thus cleared in 1654–55.

When spring came the improved land of New Sweden was large enough to support the people, but the winter frost ruined the grain, which had been sown in the autumn. There was no corn in the colony for a new seeding, but Richard Lord promised to supply the want. As he arrived rather late, however, the old fields were planted with tobacco in March and April, and many new plots were prepared.

About the beginning of May Isaac Allerton was in New Sweden with his skipper Michel Tentor. He sold a hogshead of French wine, twenty-six cups and saucers, one hundred pounds of butter, forty pairs of shoes, twenty-three undershirts, several gallons of vinegar, a quantity of hops and a variety of other goods. On May 7 Skipper William King sold three hundred and twenty yards of frieze for 1,144 florins. The two bills were paid for by drafts, one due in three months from date, the other in August. A few days later Richard Lord finally came to Christina with his ketch and a cargo, “consisting of grain, fish, cloth, clothes, salt, hops, bread, meat and other goods.” His prices were exorbitant, but, as the Swedes were in extreme need, they contracted a purchase. He would not sell the merchandise on the same terms as formerly, and also presented some old bills for payment. Finally he accepted a draft for the amount of the new purchase, drawn on the commercial college to be cashed one month after sight. Eight per cent. were to be paid him on the new as well as on the old debt, and all damages, which he would suffer as a result of the bills not being settled before August, were assumed by Rising. About the same time Thomas Sanford from Boston arrived at Christina with a quantity of bread, dried meat, brandy, salt and other things which he sold to the Swedes.

During his stay Lord also “promised to import English sheep and other cattle, as well as bees and all sorts of fruit trees.” Again, as he had done in the previous autumn, he agreed to transport mail through his correspondents to Sweden and to the Swedish agents in Holland. Accordingly Rising wrote letters to his principals in Stockholm as well as to Peter Trotzig in Amsterdam, and made his _third relation_, dated June 16, 1655. He reported that the colony was in a fairly good condition. Much land had been cleared, corn and tobacco had been planted, and the territory of New Sweden had been greatly increased. But provisions, clothes and the like were sorely needed; and, if new supplies would not soon arrive to cheer the people, many would desert as some had already done, so that “affairs would have a speedy end.” More colonists were desired, and requests for skilled workmen were repeated (but “house carpenters, who understood how to cut all kinds of timber,” Rising expected to find in New England). He proposed that a large sum of money should be employed for the development of the colony according to plans submitted by Elswick, and he suggested a new route for the expeditions. The journey by way of the Canaries was long and troublesome on account of the severe heat; the route further north used by the English was many hundred miles shorter, and could be accomplished in from five to ten weeks. Plans for the establishment of factories were still unaccomplished, but as soon as supplies arrived beginnings would be made. Threats of the Dutch and dangers from the English and the savages disturbed the colony somewhat, but not to any alarming degree.

Except for the outbreak mentioned above the colony had been at peace with “the denizens of the forest” for a long time. Rising treated them with kindness and forbearance, permitting them “to pass freely in and out.” Thomas Ringold warned the Swedes not to allow the Indians so much liberty in coming and going, “because they were murderous men,” but Rising’s policy proved a correct one. The Minquas always remained friendly, and called themselves “the protectors of the Swedes.” Rising wished to buy a large tract of land from them bordering on Chesapeake Bay, and it was proposed that the Swedes “should build a fortress at Chakakitque, for the purpose of trading with those from Severn, Kent and the whole of Virginia.” The English had also set their heart on this district. But Jacob Svensson, who had been sent to the Susquehannas in the beginning of June succeeded in bringing about an understanding with the Indians, and on June 6, “four sachems or chiefs from the Minquesser,” who intimated that they had important matters to present from their entire council, accompanied him to Christina. They remained in the fort over night, and on the following day a conference took place, of which Rising gives the following account:

“On the seventh of this month (June) they, with a long oration,
on behalf of the joint council of the Minquesser and of their
united nations, presented to us Swedes all the land which is
located on the east side of the Virginia River (called Elk River
in English), all [the way] from the beginning of Chakakitque
Falls unto the end of Amisacken Falls; a land[20] ... of
choice soil, endowed with beautiful fresh rivers, so that many
thousand families, who might be settled there, can find their
nourishment. And they gave us this with special ceremonies
for an everlasting possession, the land with everything that
might be upon it, woods, the ground, birds and animals, soil
and everything that might be in it and could be found useful,
the water and everything therein of fish, birds and animals
(of which they enumerated a large number and designated with
particular signs). [They] also promised that, whenever we would
send our people there to settle said land, they would supply all
the Swedish people with venison and maize for a year without any
remuneration, on the condition that they could buy there from us
cloth, guns and other merchandise, which they now purchase from
the Hollanders and English, and that we would settle blacksmiths
and tanners there, who could make their guns and other things
for good pay. As a sign that this donation would be legal, they
presented some beavers, and then they caused their guns to be
discharged, upon which they were answered by a Swedish salute
from two cannon. Thereupon a deed was made, which they signed
with their marks, namely _Chakcorietchiaque_, who was sent
by the Tehaque and Skonedidehaga nation; _Svanahändäz_,
sent by the true Minqueser; _Waskanäquäz_ [sent] by the
lower quarter of the Minques; _Sahagoliwatquaz_, sent by
the Serosquacke [tribe] ... And Mr. Richard Lord, who was there
with us, was greatly astonished on account of the liberality and
the speeches of these Minqueser, for they presented to us the
lands, which the English desired to have long ago ... [But] we,
[who are] mentioned below, also signed this letter of donation,
Johannes Rising, Hend[rick] Elswick, Jacob Svensson, Sven Höök,
the ship-lieutenant, Sven Hansson, the ensign. When all this was
completed, these Minquese sachems took us all by the hand; and
_Svanahändäz_, who had been spokesman, took me by the hand,
and led me forward on the floor, and said, ‘as I now lead you by
the hand, thus we will bring your people into the country, and
[we] will sustain you there and defend you against Indians and
against Christian enemies. Thereupon we confirmed this donation
with our gifts.’”

By this purchase the territory of New Sweden was increased westward. It now included the present state of Delaware, parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland, and bordered on two great bays with splendid possibilities for developing trade and shipping. If sufficient resources had been at hand, Rising would have laid the foundation for a strong and prosperous colony, which could have opposed the attacks of the neighbors. As it was the donation proved useless. Two former land grants were also confirmed about this time, and the relations with the savages continued to be friendly during the summer and autumn.

As rumors were circulated in the summer that Stuyvesant had decided to attack New Sweden a plan of defence was outlined. “Hereafter,” says Rising in his journal, “we let the soldiers and other people of the company work on the fortifications as much as we could; and [about June 19, they] cut and harvested the hay at Fort Christina and Fort Trinity, as well as the grain, which had grown this year.”

Shortly after harvest Rising, in company with “Lindeström as engineer” and three other men, “sailed down to the entrance of the bay in order to observe the situation of the river” for the purpose of making a correct map of it; and a few days later he went up to the Falls at Trenton “with some men who were acquainted there ..., so as to make a sketch of the whole river.” He believed that there were minerals in this region, as a sachem told him “that a large mountain was situated a day’s journey from the falls, where the savages find lead-ore, with which they color themselves on the body and on the face.”

The settlers gradually laid out roads between the homesteads, and began to use wagons at this time for the transportation of goods, increasing the comfort of the pioneers and solidifying the colony. The merchandise bought from the English and Dutch did not suffice. Provisions apparently were plentiful, but clothes gave out. “Linen,” writes Elswick in the late summer (1655), “is so scarce here, that some soldiers already go without shirts. As long as _buldan_ or sailcloth remained, shirts were made for them from it, but now this is also gone.” The old freemen as usual fared better. The majority had enough for their daily needs, and some were prosperous.

II.

It was August. Dutch preparations for the overthrow of New Sweden had been in progress for a long time. The friendly relations which existed between Sweden and Holland in the early days of the colony had to a large extent disappeared. Peace had been made with England, removing imminent danger from that quarter. When therefore the directors of the Dutch West India Company heard of the capture of Fort Casimir, they at once resolved to retaliate. They decided to send renforcements to Stuyvesant, who had proposed to retake the fortress, as soon as he received orders from his superiors. “The drum was daily beaten” in Amsterdam to call men to enlist for service in New Netherland, the directors being “in hopes of sending over a detachment of soldiers in the ship _Groote Christoffel_ together with an arquebusier and two carpenters.” Letters and lengthy instructions were dispatched to Governor Stuyvesant, who, in case the winter should interfere with their plans, and prevent the sending of the re-enforcements, was advised to proceed to the South River with such forces, as he could command, since it was thought that these were “about strong enough for the occupation of New Sweden, especially if the said expedition should be undertaken speedily and before the Swedes were relieved.” He was advised to hire two or three private ships, in addition to the _Swarte Arent_ (Black Eagle), placed at his disposal by the company, and to engage “all such freemen as offered themselves [freely at a stated wage] or might be induced by some other means.” Haste was imperative, for it was “feared, not without reason, that ... the Swedes ... might get assistance and reinforcements” in the near future. Stuyvesant was ordered to transmit “not only authenticated copies of the conveyance and titles of the purchased lands on the ... South River, executed in the year 1651, but also such other authentical documents and papers, as may be found necessary for the confirmation of the indecency of these proceedings [of the Swedes] and the violation of the so lawful possession of the company.”