Knickerbocker's History of New York, Complete eBook

In an instant the flag of their High Mightinesses was lowered, and the Yankee standard elevated in its stead, being a dried codfish, by way of a spread eagle.  A strong garrison was appointed of long-sided, hard-fisted Yankees, with Weathersfield onions for cockades and feathers.  As to Jacobus Van Curlet and his men, they were seized by the nape of the neck, conducted to the gate, and one by one dismissed with a kick in the crupper, as Charles XII dismissed the heavy-bottomed Russians at the battle of Narva; Jacobus Van Curlet receiving two kicks in consideration of his official dignity.

FOOTNOTES: 

   [34] The following cases in point appear in Hazard’s “Collection
        of State Papers:”—­“In the meantime, they of Hartford have not
        onely usurped and taken in the lands of Connecticott, although
        uprighteously and against the lawes of nations, but have hindered
        our nation in sowing theire own purchased broken-up lands, but
        have also sowed them with corne in the night, which the
        Nederlanders had broken up and intended to sowe; and have beaten
        the servants of the high and mighty the honored companie, which
        were labouring upon theire masters’ lands, from theire lands,
        with sticks and plow staves in hostile manner laming, and, among
        the rest, struck Ever Duckings [Evert Duyckink] a hole in his
        head with a stick, so that the bloode ran downe very strongly
        downe upon his body.”

“Those of Hartford sold a hogg, that belonged to the honored companie, under pretence that it had eaten of theire grounde grass, when they had not any foot of inheritance.  They proffered the hogg for 5s. if the commissioners would have given 5s. for damage; which the commissioners denied, because noe man’s own hogg (as men used to say), can trespass upon his owne master’s grounde.”

CHAPTER IV.

Language cannot express the awful ire of William the Testy on hearing of the catastrophe at Fort Goed Hoop.  For three good hours his rage was too great for words, or rather the words were too great for him (being a very small man), and he was nearly choked by the misshapen, nine-cornered Dutch oaths and epithets which crowded at one into his gullet.  At length his words found vent, and for three days he kept up a constant discharge, anathematising the Yankees, man, woman, and child, for a set of dieven, schobbejacken, deugenieten, twist-zoekeren, blaes-kaken, loosen-schalken, kakken-bedden, and a thousand other names, of which, unfortunately for posterity, history does not make mention.  Finally, he swore that he would have nothing more to do with such a squatting, bundling, guessing, questioning, swapping, pumpkin-eating, molasses-daubing, shingle-splitting, cider-watering, horse-jockeying, notion-peddling crew—­that