And all this he did with a high air, which chafed us the more because of Master Van Twiller and Master Minuit having ruled us with kindly hands.
He set himself up almost as a king, by discharging the members of the town Council, and by appointing all the public officers, even so important an one as the schout-fiscal.
He decided, without heed to judge or jury, all cases which were brought up in court, and, in fact, took upon himself the entire government, regardless alike of Council or of the West India Company.
But, in justice to Master Kieft, I must say that he took heed to that which was wrong among us, for straightway he caused all our vessels to be repaired, and indeed they were in sore need of attention.
He enlarged and beautified the storehouse, of which I was in charge, and, what was more to my liking, put an end to the trading with the Indians by the people of the town, which had become, as I believed, a serious evil, for almost every man in New Amsterdam was buying furs of the savages on his own account, which was much to the loss of the West India Company, and served greatly to cheapen our goods.
UNJUST COMMANDS
It would be useless for me to try to tell you all with which our people charged Master Kieft before he had been in New Amsterdam a year. It is better I should spend my time relating what he did which cost the lives of so many white men, for to his door may be laid much of the suffering which we knew while he ruled over us, although we were in the meanwhile called upon to answer for the crime of the negroes who had killed the Indian, as I have told you.