174 THE BOROUGH OF THE BRONX 



April 19, 1655, Marshall Claes Van Elslant to warn "Thomas Pell 

 and other trespassers" that the same land had already been bought 

 of the Indians and paid for by other parties, and to order the in- 

 truders to leave the spot. When Van Elslant arrived at Oostdorp 

 on the twenty-second, he was confronted by a band of armed men. 

 Undaunted, he jumped ashore, and tho at once made prisoner, he 

 read the writ and then handed it to Pell, who said : 



"I cannot understand Dutch ; why did not the Fiscal send it in 

 English? If you send it in English then I shall send an answer 

 in writing. But it's no matter; we expect the ships from England 

 and Holland which are to bring the settlement of the boundary." 



The marshal was later released and permitted to return to 

 New Amsterdam. 



Stuyvesant then planned an expedition to surprise the in- 

 truders at night, drive them from Oostdorp and burn their houses. 

 The expedition, however, did not set out until March 6, 1656. When 

 the Dutch reached Oostdorp eight days later, they found the set- 

 tlers prepared for them; but they soon disarmed them and took 

 twenty-three of them prisoners to New Amsterdam. Yielding to 

 the pleadings of the wives of the prisoners the Dutch released them 

 upon their payment of the expenses of the expedition and their 

 promising to leave the colony within six weeks. 



On the sixteenth of March, the settlers drew up a petition 

 to the Dutch, praying permission to remain at Oostdorp and offer- 

 ing allegiance to "the Governor of the Manattas," provided that 

 they be permitted to manage their local affairs. This the governor 

 and council forthwith granted, content with the establishment of 

 their claim to the Vriedelandt. 



For eight years the settlers of Westchester remained under 

 Dutch jurisdiction. On March 23, 1664, Charles II., as a prelim- 

 inery step toward declaring war with Holland, vested in his 

 brother James, the Duke of York and Albany, the Dutch province 

 of New Netherland. The Duke of York accordingly organized an 

 expedition, consisting of four ships and four hundred and fifty land 

 troops, under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls, accom- 

 panied by Governor John Winthrop of Connecticut. 



The ships reached New Amsterdam on September 6, 1664, — 

 just about the time when the settlers of Westchester were peti- 

 tioning the New England authorities to aid them in overthrowing 

 the Dutch claims to their property. Stuyvesant and his council- 





