16 HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. [1633. 



at the ship at Swanendael, where they were greeted by their 

 friends, who in their absence had shot two whales, which yielded 

 but little oil. 



On the 18th of January, goods were placed in the yacht, 

 which again sailed up the river, but was frozen up in Wyngaert's 

 kill from the 19th of January, till the 3rd of February. 

 While here, they shot wild turkeys weighing from thirty to thirty- 

 six pounds ! When they reached Fort Nassau, they found no 

 Indians, the fort being evacuated, but as it had commenced to 

 freeze again, and being apprehensive of danger, if frozen up 

 where they were, they " hauled into a kiW over against the fort," 

 where they remained eight days before the ice broke. The 

 Indians soon made their appearance in unusually large numbers, 

 for it turned out that a war was raging between the " Minquas 

 who dwell among the English in Virginia," and the tribes on this 

 river, one of which, De Vries calls Armetvamen, and another 

 Sankiekens. After having been subjected to very great danger 

 from the Indians and floating ice, they returned again to the ship 

 on the 20th, after an absence of a month. There was great 

 rejoicing at their safe return, by those left at Swanendael, as 

 " they did not imagine that we had been frozen up in the river, 

 as no pilot or astrologer could conceive, that in the latitude from 

 the thirty-eighth and a half to the thirty-ninth, such rapid run- 

 ning rivers could freeze." 



Still in pursuit of supplies, but partly to gratify a little vanity 

 in being the first of his countrymen to visit that country, he set 

 sail for Virginia on the 6th of March. Here he met with an ex- 

 ceedingly kind reception from the Governor, but after informing 

 his Excellency that he came from South river, he was made 

 acquainted with Lord Delaware's visit to the bay, and the English 

 title thereto ; whereupon our worthy captain duly set forth the 

 Dutch claim to the country, resting it on the establishment of 

 Fort Nassau. " It was strange to the Governor, that he should 

 have such neighbours and never heard of them." The Governor 

 sent six goats by De Vries for the Governor at Fort Amsterdam, 

 and after having purchased provisions, he returned to the whale 

 fishery at Swanendael.^ 



During his absence, but seven whales had been caught, and 

 they very poor ones, yielding but thirty-two cartels of oil. 

 Seventeen had been struck, which went to show that the bay was 

 frequented by those creatures, but their poorness seemed to 

 satisfy De Vries that the business would not be profitable. On 

 the 14th of April, he sailed for Fort Amsterdam, (New 



1 Probably Hollander's creek. 



2 De Vries met with plenty of peach trees nearly in bloom on the James river — the 

 first he had seen on this coast. N. Y. Hist. Col. N. S. iii. 34. 



