and Sinnekens very often came to our factor [commis] Marten 
Gerritsen and me stating that there were French Indians in their land, 
and that they had made a truce with them so that they, namely, the 
Maquas, wished to trade for their skins, because the Maquas Indians 
wanted to receive just as much for their skins as the French Indians 
did.  So I proposed to Mr. Marten Gerritsen to go and see if it was 
true, so soon to run counter to their High Mightinesses; and, besides, 
trade was doing very badly, therefore I went as above with Jero[ni]-
mus [de] la Croex and Willem Tomassen.  May the Lord bless my 
voyage!  We went between nine and ten o'clock with five Macquas
Indians, mostly north-west above eight leagues, and arrived at 
half-past twelve in the evening at a hunter's cabin, where we slept 
for the night, near the stream that runs into their land and is named 
Oyoge.  The Indians here gave us venison to eat.  The land is mostly 
full of fir trees, and the flat land is abundant.  The stream runs 
through their land near their (Maquas) castle, but we could not ascend 
it on account of the heavy freshet.

December 12.  At three hours before daylight, we proceeded again, 
and the savages that went with us would have left us there if I had 
not noticed it; and when we thought of taking our meal we perceived 
that their dogs had eaten our meat and cheese.  So we had then only 
dry bread and had to travel on that; and, after going for an hour, we 
came to the branch that runs into our river and past the Maquas 
villages, where the ice drifted very fast.  Jeronimus crossed first, 
with one savage in a canoe made of the bark of trees, because there 
was only room for two; after that Willem and I went over; and it was 
so dark that we could not see each other if we did not come close 
together.  It was not without danger.  When all of us had crossed, we 
went another league and a half and came to a hunter's cabin, which 
we entered to eat some venison, and hastened farther, and after another 
half league we saw some Indians approaching; and as soon as they 
saw us they ran off and threw their sacks and bags away, and fled 
down a valley behind the underwood, so that we could not see them.  
We looked at their goods and bags, and took therefrom a small [loaf 
of] bread.  It was baked with beans, and we ate it.  We went farther, 
and mostly along the aforesaid kill that ran very swiftly because 
of the freshet.  In this kill there are a good many islands, and on the 
sides upward of 500 or 600 morgen of flat land; yes, I think even 
more.  And after we had been marching about eleven leagues, we 
arrived at one o'clock in the evening half a league from the first 
castle at a little house.  We found only Indian women inside.  We 
should have gone farther, but I could hardly move my feet because 
of the rough road, so we slept there.  It was very cold, with northerly 
wind.

December 13.  In the morning we went together to the castle over 
the ice that during the night had frozen on the kill, and, after going 
half a league, we arrived in their first castle, which is built on a 
high hill.  There stood but 36 houses, in rows like streets, so that 
we could pass nicely.  The houses are made and covered with bark 
of trees, and mostly are flat at the top.  Some are 100, 90, or 80 
paces long and 22 and 23 feet high.  There were some inside doors 
of hewn boards, furnished with iron hinges.  In some houses we 
saw different kinds of iron work, iron chains, harrow irons, iron 
hoops, nails,--which they steal when they go forth from here.  
Most of the people were out hunting deer and bear.  The houses 
were full of corn that they call onersti, and we saw maize; yes, 
in some of the houses more than 300 bushels.  They make canoes 
and barrels of the bark of trees, and sew with bark as well.  We 
had a good many pumpkins cooked and baked that they called 
anansira.  None of the chiefs were at home, but the principal 
chief is named Adriochten, who lived a quarter of a mile from 
the fort in a small house, because a good many savages here in 
the castle died of smallpox.  I sent him a message to come and 
see us, which he did; he came and bade me welcome, and said 
that he wanted us very much to come with him.  We should have 
done so, but when already on the way another chief called us, and 
so we went to the castle again.  This one had a big fire lighted, and 
a fat haunch of venison cooked, of which we ate.  he gave us two 
bearskins to sleep upon, and presented me with three beaver skins.  
In the evening Willem Tomassen, whose legs were swollen from 
the march, had a few cuts made with a knife therein, and after 
that had them rubbed with bear grease.  We slept in this house, at 
heartily of pumpkins, beans and venison, so that we were not hungry, 
but were treated as well as is possible in their land.  We hope that all 
will succeed.

December 14.  Jeronimus wrote a letter to our commis (factor), 
Marten Gerritsen, and asked for paper, salt, and atsochwat--that 
means tobacco for the savages.  We went out to shoot turkeys 
with the chief, but could not get any.  In the evening I bought a 
very fat one for two hands of seewan.  The chief cooked it for us, 
and the grease he mixed with our beans and maize.  This chief 
showed me his idol; it was a male cat's head, with the teeth sticking 
out; it was dressed in duffel cloth.  Others have a snake, a turtle, a 
swan, a crane, a pigeon, or the like for their idols, to tell the fortune; 
they think they will always have good luck in doing so.  From here 
two savages went with their skins to Fort Orange.

December 15.  I went again with the chief to hunt turkeys, but 
could not get any; and in the evening the chief again showed us 
his idol, and we resolved to stay here for another two or three 
days till there should be an opportunity to proceed, because all the
footpaths had disappeared under the heavy snowfalls.

December 16.  After midday a famous hunter came here named 
Sickarus, who wanted very much that we should go with him to 
his castle.  He offered to carry our goods and to let us sleep and 
remain in his house as long as we liked; and because he was 
offering us so much I gave him a knife and two awls as a present, 
and to the chief in whose house we had been I presented a knife 
and a pair of scissors; and then we took our departure from this 
castle, named Onekagoncka, and after going for half a league over 
the ice we saw a village with only six houses, of the Canowarode; 
but we did not enter it, because he said it was not worth while, and 
after another half league we passed again a village where twelve 
houses stood.  It was named Schatsyerosy.  These were like the 
others, he saying they likewise were not worth while entering; and 
after passing by great stretches of flat land, for another league or 
league and a half, we came into this castle, at two good hours after 
dark.  I did not see much besides a good many graves.  This castle 
is named Canagere.  It is built on a hill, without any palisades or 
any defense.  We found only seven men at home, besides a party of 
old women and children.  The chiefs of this castle, named Tonno-
satton and Tonewerot, were hunting; so we slept in the house of 
Sickarus, as he had promised us; and we counted in his house 120 
pieces of salable beaver skins that he captured with his own dogs.  
Every day we ate beaver meat here.  In this castle are sixteen houses, 
50, 60, 70, or 80 paces long, and one of sixteen paces, and one of five
paces, containing a bear to be fattened.  It had been in there upward of
three years, and was so tame that it took everything that was given to it 
to eat.

December 17.  Sunday we looked over our goods, and found a paper 
filled with sulphur, and Jeronimus took some of it and threw it in the 
fire.  They saw the blue flame and smelled the smoke, and told us 
they had the same stuff; and when Sickarus came they asked us to let 
them take a look at it, and it was the same; and we asked him where 
he obtained it.  He told us they obtained it from the stranger savages, 
and that they believed it to be good against many maladies, but prin-
cipally for their legs when they were sore from long marching and 
were very tired.

December 18.  Three women of the Sinnekens came here with dried 
and fresh salmon; the latter smelled very bad.  They sold each salmon 
for one florin or two hands of seawan.  They brought, also, a good 
quantity of green tobacco to sell; and had been six days on the march.  
They could not sell all their salmon here, but went farther on to the 
first castle; and when they returned we were to go with them, and in 
the evening Jeronimus told me that a savage tried to kill him with a 
knife.

December 19.  We received a letter from Marten Gerritsen dated 
December 18, and with it we received paper, salt, tobacco for the 
savages, and a bottle of brandy, and secured an Indian that was 
willing to be our guide for the Sinnekens.  We gave him half a 
yard of cloth, two axes, two knives, and two awls.  If it had been 
summer, many Indians would have gone with us, but as it was 
winter they would not leave their land, because it snowed very 
often up to the height of a man.  To-day we had a great rainfall, 
and I gave the guide a pair of shoes.  His name was Sqorhea.

December 20.  We took our departure from the second castle, and, 
after marching a league, our savage, Sqorhea, came to a stream that 
we had to pass.  This stream ran very fast; besides, big cakes of ice 
came drifting along, for the heavy rainfall during yesterday had set 
the ice drifting.  We were in great danger, for if one of us had lost 
his footing it had cost us our lives; but God the Lord preserved us, 
and we came through safely.  We were wet up to above the waist, 
and after going for another half league we came thus wet, with our 
clothes, shoes and stockings frozen to us, to a very high hill on 
which stood 32 houses, like the other ones.  Some were 100, 90, 
or 80 paces long; in every house we saw four, five, or six fireplaces 
where cooking went on.  A good many savages were at home, so we 
were much looked at by both the old and the young; indeed, we 
could hardly pass through.  They pushed each other in the fire to 
see us, and it was more than midnight before they took their departure. 
We could not absent ourselves to go to stool; even then they crawled
around us without any feeling of shame.  This is the third castle and 
is named Schanidisse.  The chief's name is Tewowary.  They lent me 
this evening a lion skin to cover myself; but in the morning I had 
more than a hundred lice.  We ate much venison here.  Near this 
castle there is plenty of flat land, and the wood is full of oaks and 
nut trees.  We exchanged here one beaver skin for one awl.

December 21.  We started very early in the morning, and thought 
of going to the fourth estate, but after a half league's marching we 
came to a village with only nine houses, of the name of Osquage; 
the chief's name was Oquoho--that is, wolf.  And here we saw a 
big stream that our guide did not dare to cross, as the water was 
over one's head because of the heavy rainfall; so we were obliged 
to postpone it till the next day.  The chief treated us very kindly; 
he did us much good and gave us plenty to eat, for everything to 
be found in his houses was at our service.  He said often to me that 
I was his brother and good friend; yes, he told me even how he had 
been travelling overland for thirty days, and how he met there an 
Englishman, to learn the language of the Minquase and to buy the 
skins.  I asked him whether there were any French savages there 
with the Sinnekens.  He said yes; and I felt gratified and had a 
good hope to reach my aim.  They called me here to cure a man 
that was very sick.

December 22.  When the sun rose, we waded together through 
the stream; the water was over the knee, and so cold that our 
shoes and stockings in a very short time were frozen as hard 
as armor.  The savages dared not go through, but went two by 
two, with a stick and hand in hand; and after going half a league 
we came to a village named Cawaoge.  There stood fourteen 
houses, and a bear to fatten.  We went in and smoked a pipe of