tobacco, because the old man who was our guide was very tired.  
Another old man approached us, who shouted, "Welcome, 
welcome! you must stop here for the night"; but we wanted to 
be on the march and went forward.  I tried to buy the bear, but 
they would not let it go.  Along these roads we saw many trees 
much like the savin, with a very thick bark.  This village 
likewise stood on a very high hill, and after going for another 
league we came into the fourth castle by land whereon we saw 
only a few trees.  The name is Te notoge.  There are 55 houses, 
some one hundred, others more or fewer paces long.  The kill 
we spoke about before runs past here, and the course is mostly 
north by west and south by east.  On the other bank of the kill 
there are also houses; but we did not go in, because they were 
most of them filled with corn and the houses in this castle are 
filled with corn and beans.  The savages here looked much 
surprised to see us, and they crowded so much around us that 
we could hardly pass through, for nearly all of them were at 
home.  After awhile one of the savages came to us and invited
us to go with him to his house, and we entered.  This castle 
had been surrounded by three rows of palisades, but now there 
were none save six or seven pieces so thick that it was quite a 
wonder that savages should be able to do that.  They crowded 
each other in the fire to see us.

December 23.  A man came calling and shouting through some 
of the houses, but we did not know what it meant, and after awhile
Jeronimus de la Croix came and told us what this was--that the 
savages are preparing and arming.  I asked them what all this was
about, and they said to me:  "Nothing, we shall play with one 
another," and there were four men with clubs and a party with 
axes and sticks.  There were twenty people armed, nine on one 
side and eleven on the other; and they went off against each 
other, and they fought and threw each other.  Some of them 
wore armor and helmets that they themselves make of thin 
reeds and strings braided upon each other so that no arrow or 
axe can pass through to wound them severely; and after they had 
been playing thus a good while the parties closed and dragged 
each other by the hair, just as they would have done to their 
enemies after defeating them and before cutting off their scalps.  
They wanted us to fire our pistols, but we went off and left them 
alone.  This day we were invited to buy bear meat, and we also 
got half a bushel of beans and a quantity of dried strawberries, 
and we bought some bread, that we wanted to take on our march.  
Some of the loaves were baked with nuts and cherries and dry 
blueberries and the grains of the sunflower.

December 24.  It was Sunday.  I saw in one of the houses a 
sick man.  He had invited two of their doctors that could cure
him--they call them simachkoes; and as soon as they came they 
began to sing and to light a big fire.  They closed the house most 
carefully everywhere, so that the breeze could not come in, and 
after that each of them wrapped a snakeskin around his head.  
They washed their hands and faces, lifted the sick man from his 
place, and laid him alongside the big fire.  Then they took a 
bucket of water, put some medicine in it, and washed in this 
water a stick about half a yard long, and kept sticking it in 
their throats so that no end of it was to be seen; and then they 
spat on the patient's head, and over all his body; and after that
 they made all sorts of farces, as shouting and raving, slapping 
of the hands; so are their manners; with many demonstrations 
upon one things and another till they perspired so freely that 
their perspiration ran down all sides.

December 25--being Christmas.  We rose early in the morning 
and wanted to go to the Sinnekens; but, as it was snowing steadily, 
we could not go, because nobody wanted to go with us to carry 
our goods.  I asked them how many chiefs there were in all, and 
they told me thirty.

December 26.  In the morning I was offered two pieces of bear's 
bacon to take with us on the march; and we took our departure, 
escorted by many of them that walked before and after us.  They 
kept up shouting:  "Allesa rondade!" that is, to fire our pistols; 
but we did not want to do so, and at last they went back.  This 
day we passed over many a stretch of flat land, and crossed a kill 
where the water was knee-deep; and I think we kept this day mostly 
the direction west and northwest.  The woods that we traversed 
consisted in the beginning mostly of oaks, but after three or four 
hours' marching it was mostly birch trees.  It snowed the whole 
day, so it was very heavy marching over the hills; and after seven 
leagues, by guess, we arrived at a little house made of bark in the 
forest, where we lighted a fire and stopped for the night to sleep.  
It went on snowing, with a sharp, northerly wind.  It was very cold.

December 27.  Early in the morning again on our difficult march, 
while the snow lay 2 1/2 feet in some places.  We went over hills 
and through underwood.  We saw traces of two bears, and elks, 
but no savages.  There are beech trees; and after marching another 
seven or eight leagues, at sunset we found another little cabin in the 
forest, with hardly any bark, but covered with the branches of trees.  
We made a big fire and cooked our dinner.  It was so very cold 
during this night that I did not sleep more than two hours in all.

December 28.  We went as before, and after marching one or two 
leagues we arrived at a kill that, as the savages told me, ran into 
the land of the Minquaass, and after another mile we met another 
kill that runs into the South River, as the savages told me, and here 
a good many otter and beaver are caught.  This day we went over 
many high hills.  The wood was full of great trees, mostly birches; 
and after seven or eight leagues' marching we did the same as 
mentioned above.  It was very cold.

December 29.  We went again, proceeding on our voyage; and after
marching a while we came on a very high hill, and as we nearly had
mounted it I fell down so hard that I thought I had broken my ribs, 
but it was only the handle of my cutlass that was broken.  We went
through a good deal of flat land, with many oaks and handles for 
axes, and after another seven leagues we found another hut, where 
we rested ourselves.  We made a fire and ate all the food we had, 
because the savages told us that we were still about four leagues 
distant from the castle.  The sun was near setting as still another of 
the savages went on to the castle to tell them we were coming.  We 
would have gone with him, but because we felt so very hungry the 
savages would not take us along with them.  The course northwest.

December 30.  Without anything to eat we went to the Sinnekens' 
castle, and after marching awhile the savages showed me the branch 
of the river that passes by Fort Orange and past the land of the 
Maquas.  A woman came to meet us, bringing us baked pumpkins 
to eat.  This road was mostly full of birches and beautiful flat land 
for sowing.  Before we reached the castle we saw three graves, just 
like our graves in length and height; usually their graves are round.  
These graves were surrounded with palisades that they had split 
from trees, and they were closed up so nicely that it was a wonder 
to see.  They were painted with red and white and black paint; but 
the chief's grave had an entrance, and at the top of that was a big 
wooden bird, and all around were painted dogs, and deer, and snakes, 
and other beasts.  After four or five leagues' marching the savages 
still prayed us to fire our guns, and so we did, but loaded them again
directly and went on to the castle.  And we saw to the northwest of 
us, a large river, and on the other side thereof tremendously high 
land that seemed to lie in the clouds.  Upon inquiring closely into this, 
the savages told me that in this river the Frenchmen came to trade.  
And then we marched confidently to the castle, where the savages 
divided into two rows, and so let us pass through them by the gate, 
which was--the one we went through--3 1/2 feet wide, and at the top 
were standing three big wooden images, carved like men, and with 
them I saw three scalps fluttering in the wind, that they had taken 
from their foes as a token of the truth of their victory.  This castle 
has two gates, one on the east and one on the west side.  On the 
east side a scalp was also hanging; but this gate was 1 1/2 feet 
smaller than the other one.  When at last we arrived in the chief's 
house, I saw there a good many people that I knew; and we were 
requested to sit down in the chief's place where he was accustomed 
to sit, because at the time he was not at home, and we felt cold and 
were wet and tired.  They at once gave us to eat, and they made a 
good fire.  This castle likewise is situated on a very high hill, and 
was surrounded with two rows of palisades.  It was 767 paces in
circumference.  There are 66 houses, but much better, higher, and 
more finished than all the others we saw.  A good many houses had
wooden fronts that are painted with all sorts of beasts.  There they 
sleep mostly on elevated boards, more than any other savages.  In 
the afternoon one of the council came to me, asking the reason of 
our coming into his land, and what we brought for him as a present.  
It told him that we did not bring any present, but that we only paid 
him a visit.  He told us that we were not worth anything, because 
we did not bring him a present.  Then he told us how the Frenchmen 
had come thither to trade with six men, and had given them good 
gifts, because they had been trading in this river with six men in 
the month of August of this year.  We saw very good axes to cut the
underwood, and French shirts and coats and razors; and this member 
of the council said we were scoundrels, and were not worth anything
because we paid not enough for their beaver skins.  They told us that 
the Frenchmen gave six hands of seawan for one beaver, and all sorts 
of things more.  The savages were pressing closely upon us, so that 
there was hardly room for us to sit.  If they had desired to molest us, 
we could hardly have been able to defend ourselves; but there was no
danger.  In this river here spoken of, often six, seven, or eight hundred
salmon are caught in a single day.  I saw houses where 60, 70, and 
more dried salmon were hanging.

December 31.  On Sunday the chief of this castle came back (his 
name is Arenias), and one more man.  They told us that they 
returned from the French savages, and some of the savages shouted 
"Jawe Arenias!" which meant that they thanked him for having come 
back.  And I told him that in the night we should fire three shots; and 
he said it was all right; and they seemed very well contented.  We
questioned them concerning the situation [of the places] in their 
castle and their names, and how far they were away from each other.  
They showed us with stones and maize grains, and Jeronimus then 
made a chart of it.  And we counted all in leagues how far each place 
was away from the next.  The savages told us that on the high land 
which we had seen by that lake there lived men with horns on their 
heads; and they told us that a good many beavers were caught there, 
too, but they dared not go so far because of the French savages; 
therefore they thought best to make peace.  We fired three shots 
in the night in honor of the year of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus 
Christ.

Praise the Lord above all!  In the castle Onneyuttehage, or Sinne-
kens, January 1, 1635.

January 1, 1635.  Another savage scolded at us.  We were scoundrels, 
as told before; and he looked angry.  Willem Tomassen got so excited 
that the tears were running along his cheeks, and the savages, seeing 
that we were not at all contented, asked us what was the matter, and 
why we looked so disgusted at him.  There were in all 46 persons 
seated near us; if they had intended to do mischief, they could easily 
have caught us with their hands and killed us without much trouble; 
when I had listened long enough to the Indian's chatter I told him