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Noble, Honorable, Esteemed, Wise and very Prudent Lord:

My last letter^[1] to you was with Captain Jan Jacobs in which the arrival of the cattle was mentioned as well as the two soldiers. Evert Brantsen and P. Poulus, who are to continue in service here in place of the two^[2] sent there last year. The bearer of this is Skipper Jacob who had gone there to bring back some goods that came over on de 'Moesman.: It is painful and unpleasant for me to hear the complaints about their laziness and unwillingness in their service; as it also is to hear from those who brought the cattle over that excessive charges and troubles had been made, in addition to the many cattle arriving here lame because of the long drive. They still have to be treated and attended to, except those that I had butchered for fear that they would only get worse. Concerning the beavers which I sent to Thomas Hall: they came from Captain Cryger and were brought to my house by his son Frans as payment for freight on goods that came from Holland aboard de Sonne. I had to accept them on the condition that I could give them out to others. I had previously asked Kriger to pay Skipper Jac[      ] planks with them, but...

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...had offered four guilders in sewant apiece, and that Captain Kriger's son Frans is supposed to have said that the beavers offered to Captain Jacob were not worth sending to Holland. When one helps another, and suffers difficulties, ingratitude and impaired credit as a result, it is not becoming to add insult. But, it is necessary in many matters to have patience.

When the ship, de Meulen, arrives and is being unloaded, it it evident that it will be difficult to bring all the passengers back together if they go ashore; therefore, I would like to request that you order on such occasions that they be transferred immediately from the ship to the galliot, together with provisions received from the ship in order to bring them here as quickly as possible. This shall be a service to the City and an act of friendship to me.

The widow of Christian Barents shall be [      ] by you; the widow goes there on her...

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The seamen on the galliot are rather troublesome and rebellious; they are also troublesome here for the skipper and helmsman in the performance of their duties. I would have certainly known what course to take in the matter but they furnished as pretext that the rations established by the Company or City were insufficient. Therefore, with regard to this (in order to prevent any outcries and complaints over the expenses, to the prejudice of this colony) they were satisfied at once, and any further trouble has been moderated for the time being. If they begin to behave unreasonably and improperly there, which is quite likely since they do not get along with the skipper and do not listen to him, then please assist the skipper by punishing the trouble-makers and preventing them from being absent from being absent from the galliot or from desiring to depart, and to put a stop to their mischievous designs which are detriment to the City.

Relying thereon I pray to God that the Noble, Honorable, Esteemed, Wise and very Prudent Lord be kept in continuous health and prosperity.

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References

Translation: Gehring, C. trans./ed., New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch, Vols. 18-19, Delaware Papers: Dutch Period, 1648-1664 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.: 1981).A complete copy of this publication is available on the New Netherland Institute website.