200 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



beautiful in form and stature than can possibly be described ; one 

 was about forty years old, the other about twenty- four." They were 

 dressed in the following manner: 



" The oldest had a deer's skin around his body, artificially wrought 

 in damask figures, his head was without covering, his hair was tied 

 back in A-arious knots, around his neck he wore a large chain orna- 

 mented with many stones of various colors. The young man was 

 similar in his general appearance." In stature, he relates '' they 

 exceed us," their complexion swarthy, faces sharp, hair black and 

 long, eyes black and sharp and expression pleasant and mild. The 

 women w^re " of the same form and beauty, very graceful, of fine 

 countenance, and pleasing appearance in manners and modesty." 

 Clothes they had none " except a deer skin ornamented like those of 

 the men." Others wore " very rich lynx skins upon their arms, and 

 various ornaments upon their heads, composed of braids of hair 

 which hung down upon their breasts on each side. Older married 

 men and women " wore many ornaments in their ears, hanging down 

 in the oriental manner." They were generous, giving away what- 

 ever they had. The women usually stayed in the canoes when they 

 came to the ship. 



Our next data in regard to the personal appearance of the natives 

 of old New Amsterdam is in Hudson's mate's journal written in 

 1609: "The people of the country [perhaps Staten island] came 

 aboard of us, seeming very glad of our coming, and brought greene 

 tobacco, and gave us of it for knives and beads. They goe in deere 

 skins loose, well dressed. They have yellow copper. They desire 

 cloathes, and are very civill. They have great store of maize or 

 Indian wheat, whereof they make good bread. . . . Some of the 

 people were in mantles of feathers, and some in skinnes of divers 

 sorts of good furres. Some women also came to us with hempe. 

 They did weare about their neckes things of red copper. At night, 

 they went on land againe, so wee rode very quiet, but durst not trust 

 them." 



The next day after Hudson dropped anchor in the Lower bay, he 

 sent out the ship's boat with a crew of five men through the Narrows 

 to the Upper l)ay to make some observations. As they returned, 

 they were met by a score or more of warriors in two canoes and 

 were speedily drawn into a quarrel with them. One sailor, an 

 Englishman named John Colman, was killed by an arrow shot 

 through his neck and two others were hurt. Colman was afterwards 

 buried at a point usually identified as Sandy Hook, which for many 



