Of the Fresh River.

After Fort Good Hope, begun in the year 1623,<1> on the Fresh
River, was finished, some time had elapsed when an English
bark arrived there. Jacob van Curler, factor of the Company,
by order of Director Wouter van Twiller, protested against
it, but notwithstanding his protest they did, a year or two
afterwards, come there with some families. A protest was
also made against them; but it was very manifest that these
people had little respect for it, for notwithstanding frequent
protests, they have finally seized and possessed the whole of
the Fresh River, and have proceeded so far in their shameless
course as, in the year 1640, to seize the Company's farms at
the fort, paying no regard to the protests which we made.
They have gone even still further, and have belabored the
Company's people with sticks and heavy clubs; and have forcibly
thrown into the river their ploughs and other instruments,
while they were on the land for the purpose of working, and
have put their horses to the pound. The same things happened
very frequently afterwards. They also took hogs and cows
belonging to the fort, and several times sold some of them
for the purpose, as they said, of repairing the damage.
Against all these acts, and each one in particular, protests
were repeatedly made, but they were met with ridicule.
Several sharp letters about this were written in Latin to
their governors; of which letters and protests, minutes or
copies remain with the Company's officers, from which a much
fuller account of these transactions could be made. But all
opposition was in vain, for having had a smack of the goodness