8o The Story of The Bronx 



ordinary shrewdness and foresight. This was in 1662; she 

 died about 1690 or '91 . The second Mrs. Philipse was Cather- 

 ine Van Cortlandt, the sister of Stephanus Van Cortlandt and 

 widow of John Dervall. 



Philipse was named in the order for Dongan's council and 

 was a councillor for upwards of twenty years. His business 

 ventures were in both the East and the West Indies and with 

 the Five Nations of the Mohawk Valley. He was accused of 

 having direct dealings with the island of Madagascar off the 

 African coast, then the most notorious resort of pirates on the 

 face of the earth. His ships supplied the pirates with rum, 

 gun-powder, flour, and other necessities at exorbitant prices, 

 and received in payment merchandise captured from innocent 

 merchantmen. This illicit trade seems to have been consid- 

 ered more or less honorable, or at least not dishonorable, in 

 those days, as we find Livingston and other wealthy manor- 

 lords and high officials engaged in it, until it became so scan- 

 dalous that the authorities determined to put a stop to it. 

 New York had become the resort for vessels which, under the 

 guise of privateering, indulged in piratical exploits and sold 

 their spoils in New York. 



The person selected to stop this nefarious custom was 

 Captain William Kidd, who was recommended to the Governor 

 by Philipse, Livingston, and others; but who, finding his crew 

 willing, hoisted the black flag and began the career that has 

 sent his name down the centuries. He was finally captured, 

 tried, convicted, and hanged; but was reticent to the last and 

 would not expose his backers. A large portion of his spoils 

 could not be accounted for, which has led to the tradition that 

 he buried them along the American shores, an especially 

 favorite location being Gardiner's Island and other places 

 in Long Island Sound. Probably, the Governor, Lord Bello- 



