THE TOWN OF YONKERS. 579 



The last remnant of his tribe in this place was a noble Indian by the 

 name of Shucktaman, who occasionally visited the village, but was 

 oftener to be seen in his canoe cruising along the various fishing 

 grounds of the Hudson. 



We have shown that the next grantee in Yonkers, under the Indians, 

 was the renowned Dutch De Heer Adriaen van der Donck. a "This 

 illustrious personage was the son of a free citizen of Breda in Dutch 

 Brabant, and a lineal descendant of Adriaen van Bergen, part owner of 

 the famous turf boat, in which a party of Dutch troops were clandestinely 

 introduced, in the year 1599, into the castle commanding that city, then 

 in the hands of the Spanish, by which stratagem that stronghold fell into 

 the hands of their high mightinesses the States General." 6 "Van der 

 Donck enjoys the distinction of having been the first lawyer in the col- 

 ony of New Netherlands. He received his education at the University 

 of Leyden, in Holland, where he attained the degree of Juris utriusque 

 Doctor ; he subsequently obtained permission to practice as an advocate 

 in the Supreme Court of Holland. In the autumn of 1641, he embark- 

 ed on board a vessel belonging to the Patroon Killian van Rensselaer, 

 for the New Netherlands. On his arrival he was created sheriff of Rens- 

 selaerwyck." e 



After remaining here for two or three years, and finding himself dis- 

 appointed in his efforts to plant a colony in that neighborhood, "he 

 obtained, in consideration of the assistance he afforded in negotiating 

 the treaty between the Director General and the Mohawks, and in re- 

 turn for the advances he then made to enable the government to pur- 

 chase presents for the Indians, the tract of land called " Nepperhaem." 

 This valuable property, for which he received a patent from the Dutch 

 authorities in 1646, was situated on the east side of Hudson's river, 

 about sixteen miles above New Amsterdam. It was bounded on the 

 north by a stream which the Indians called " Maccakassi?i," and ran 

 south to Nepperhaem ; thence to the Shorakapkock kill, and to Papir- 

 inimen creek, called by the Dutch "Spuyten Duyvel," whence it stretched 

 eastward to the river Bronx. The title of this colony was " Cole?i £>ofick" 

 Donck's colony, and the proprietor thereof, was invested with all the 

 rights and privileges contained in the charter of 1629." d 



He also obtained a deed of confirmation for the same from the an- 

 cient lords of the soil. This fact is proved by the testimony taken be- 



et Donck is a village in South Holland, three and a half leagues from Gorcum. 



6 O'Callaghan's Hist. N. N., 32T. 



c N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll. ii., Sec i. 27. 



d O'Caliaghan's Hist, of the Netherlands, vol. i. 382. 



