University of Virginia Library

4. CHAPTER IV.

Winter, with silver locks and sparkling
icicles, now gradually approached, under cover
of his northwest winds, his pelting storms, cold,
frosty mornings, and bitter, freezing nights.
And here we will take occasion to express our
obligations to the popular author of the
Pioneers, for the pleasure we have derived
from his happy delineations of the progress of
our seasons, and the successive changes which
mark their course. All that remember their
youthful days in the country, and look back
with tender, melancholy enjoyment, upon their
slippery gambols on the ice, their Christmas pies,
and nut-crackings by the cheerful fireside, will
read his pages with a gratified spirit, and thank
him heartily for having refreshed their memory,
with the half-effaced recollections of scenes and

manners, labours and delights, which, in the
progress of time, and the changes which every
where mark his course, will in some future age,
perhaps, live only in the touches of his pen. If,
in the course of our history, we should chance
to dwell upon scenes somewhat similar to those
he describes, or to mark the varying tints of
our seasons, with a sameness of colouring, let us
not be stigmatized with borrowing from him,
since it is next to impossible to be true to nature,
without seeming to have his sketches in
our eye.

The holydays, those wintry blessings, which
cheer the heart of young and old, and give to
the gloomy depths of winter the life and spirit of
laughing, jolly spring, were now near at hand.
The chopping-knife gave token of goodly
minced pies, and the bustle of the kitchen afforded
shrewd indications of what was coming
by and by. The celebration of the new year,
it is well known, came originally from the northern
nations of Europe, who still keep up many of
the practices, amusements, and enjoyments,
known to their ancestors. The Heer Piper valued
himself upon being a genuine northern
man, and, consequently, held the winter holydays
in special favour and affection. In addition

to this hereditary attachment to ancient
customs, it was shrewdly suspected, that his zeal
in celebrating these good old sports was not a
little quickened, in consequence of his mortal
antagonist, William Penn, having hinted, in the
course of their controversy, that the practice of
keeping holydays savoured not only of popery,
but paganism.

Before the Heer consented to sanction the
projects of Dominie Kanttwell for abolishing
sports and ballads, he stipulated for full liberty,
on the part of himself and his people of Elsingburgh,
to eat, drink, sing and frolic as much as
they liked, during the winter holydays. In
fact, the Dominie made no particular opposition
to this suspension of his blue-laws, being somewhat
addicted to good eating and drinking,
whenever the occasion justified; that is to say,
whenever such accidents came in his way.

It had long been the custom with Governor
Piper, to usher in the new year with a grand
supper, to which the Dominie, the members of
the council; and certain of the most respectable
Burghers, were always bidden. This year, he
determined to see the old year out, and the new
one in, as the phrase was, having just heard of
a great victory gained by the Bulwark of the

Protestant Religion, the immortal Gustavus
Adolphus; which, though it happened nearly
four years before, had only now reached the village
of Elsingburgh. Accordingly, the Snow Ball
Bombie, was set to work in the cooking of a
mortal supper; which, agreeably to the taste
of West Indian epicures, she seasoned with such
enormous quantities of red pepper, that whoever
ate, was obliged to drink, to keep his mouth from
getting on fire, like unto a chimney.

Exactly at ten o'clock, the guests sat down
to the table, where they ate and drank to the
success of the Protestant cause, the glory of the
great Gustavus, the downfall of Popery and
the Quakers, with equal zeal and patriotism.
The instant the clock struck twelve, a round
was fired from the fort, and a vast and bottomless
bowl, supposed to be the identical one in
which the famous wise men of Gotham went to
sea, was brought in, filled to the utmost brim
with smoking punch. The memory of the departed
year, and the hopes of the future, was
then drank in a special bumper, after which
the ladies retired, and noise and fun became
the order of the night. The Heer told his great
story of having surprised and taken a whole
picquet-guard, under the great Gustavus; and

each of the guests contributed his tale, taking
special care, however, not to outdo their host in
the marvellous, a thing which always put the
Governor out of humour.

Counsellor Langfanger talked wonderfully
about public improvements; Counsellor Varlett
sung, or rather roared, a hundred verses of a
song in praise of Rhenish wine; and Othman
Pfegel smoked and tippled, till he actually came
to a determination of bringing matters to a
crisis with the fair Christina the very next day.
Such are the wonder-working powers of hot
punch! As for the Dominie, he departed about
the dawn of day, in such a plight, that if it had
not been impossible, we should have suspected
him of being, as it were, a little overtaken with
the said punch. To one or two persons who
chanced to see him, he actually appeared to
stagger a little; but such was the stout faith of
the good Dominie's parishioners, that neither of
these worthy fellows would believe his own eyes
sufficiently to state these particulars.

A couple of hours sleep sufficed to disperse
the vapours of punch and pepper-pot; for heads
in those days were much harder than now, and
the Heer, as well as his roistering companions,
rose betimes to give and receive the compliments

and good wishes of the season. The morning
was still, clear, and frosty. The sun shone with
the lustre, though not with the warmth of summer,
and his bright beams were reflected with
indescribable splendour, from the glassy, smooth
expanse of ice, that spread across, and up and
down the broad river, far as the eye could see.
The smoke of the village chimneys rose straight
into the air, looking like so many inverted
pyramids, spreading gradually broader, and
broader, until they melted away, and mixed
imperceptibly with ether. Scarce was the
sun above the horizon, when the village was
alive with rosy boys and girls, dressed in their
new suits, and going forth with such warm anticipations
of happiness, as time and experience
imperceptibly fritter away, into languid hopes,
or strengthening apprehensions. “Happy
New Year!” came from every mouth,
and every heart. Spiced beverages and lusty
cakes, were given away with liberal open hand;
every body was welcomed to every house; all
seemed to forget their little heart-burnings, and
disputes of yore—all seemed happy, and all were
so; and the Dominie, who always wore his coat
with four great pockets on new-year day, came
home and emptied them seven times, of loads of
new-year cookies.

When the gay groups had finished their
rounds in the village, the ice in front was seen
all alive with the small fry of Elsingburgh,
gamboling and skating, sliding and tumbling, helter
skelter, and making the frost-bit ears of winter
glad with the sounds of mirth and revelry.
In one place was a group playing at hurley,
with crooked sticks, with which they sometimes
hit the ball, and sometimes each other's shins.
In another, a knot of sliders, following in a row,
so that if the foremost fell, the rest were sure to
tumble over him. A little farther might be
seen a few, that had the good fortune to possess
a pair of skates, luxuriating in that most
graceful of all exercises, and emulated by some
half a dozen little urchins, with smooth bones
fastened to their feet, in imitation of the others,
skating away with a gravity and perseverance
worthy of better implements. All was rout,
laughter, revelry and happiness; and that day
the icy mirror of the noble Delaware reflected
as light hearts as ever beat together in the new
world. At twelve o'clock, the jolly Heer, according
to his immemorial custom, went forth
from the edge of the river, distributing apples,

and other dainties, together with handsfull of
wampum, which, rolling away on the ice in different
directions, occasioned innumerable contests
and squabbles among the fry, whose disputes,
tumbles, and occasional buffetings for the
prizes, were inimitably ludicrous upon the slippery
element. Among the most obstreperous
and mischievous of the crowd was that likely
fellow Cupid, who made more noise, and tripped
up more heels that day, than any half a
dozen of his cotemporaries. His voice could
be heard above all the rest, especially after the
arrival of the Heer, before whom he seemed
to think it his duty to exert himself, while
his unrestrained, extravagant laugh, exhibited
that singular hilarity of spirit which distinguishes
the deportment of the African slave
from the invariable gravity of the free red-man
of the western world.

All day, and until after the sun had set, and the
shadows of night succeeded, the sports of the ice
continued, and the merry sounds rung far and
near, occasionally interrupted by those loud
noises, which sometimes shoot across the ice
like a rushing earthquake, and are occasioned
by its cracking, as the water rises or falls. All
at once, however, these bursts of noisy merriment

ceased, and were succeeded by a hollow,
indistinct murmur, which gradually died
away, giving place to a single voice, calling, as
if from a distance, with a voice growing feebler
at every repetition, “Help! help! help!”

Presently it was rumoured, that a traveller,
coming down the river on the ice, had fallen
into what is called an air-hole, occasioned by
the tide, which was stronger at this spot, in consequence
of the jutting out of a low, rocky
point. In places of this sort, the ice does not
cease all at once, but becomes gradually thinner
and weaker towards the centre, where there
is an open, unfrozen space. The consequence
is, that if a person is so unfortunate as to fall
into one of these places, which are, in fact,
hardly distinguishable at night from the solid
ice, it is next to impossible to escape by his own
efforts, or to be relieved by those of others. As
fast as he raises himself upon the ice, it breaks
from under him, and every effort diminishes his
strength, without affording him relief. Thus
the poor wretch continues his hopeless struggles,
and becomes gradually weaker and weaker, until,
finally, his blood is chilled, his limbs become
inflexible, he loses his hold, and sinks to
rise no more.

The same cause that forbids his relieving
himself, operates in preventing others; since, if
any one were to approach sufficiently near to
reach his hand, the ice would break under him,
and both would perish together. In this situation
was the poor man whose cries were now
heard, at intervals, growing weaker and weaker.
All the village was out, and many hardy
spirits, actuated by feelings of humanity, made
vain and desperate attempts to approach sufficiently
near to afford assistance. But although
several risked their lives, none succeeded; and
at length the conviction that his fate was inevitable,
was announced in a dismal groan from the
bystanders. At this moment the Long Finne
approached, with two boards upon his shoulder,
which he brought as near to the opening
as was safe to approach it on foot. Standing
exactly at this line, he threw one of the boards
upon the ice before him, and, dragging the other
after, proceeded cautiously along to the end.
Then he drew up the board which he had dragged
behind, and threw it before him, walking
steadily and cautiously on that, dragging the
other after him as before. In this manner,
while the bystanders watched in breathless silence,
he gradually approached the opening,

encouraging the poor man to hold out, for
God's sake, a few moments longer.

At last he came near enough to throw him a
cord, which he had brought with him. The
perishing wretch caught it, and while Koningsmarke
held the other end, essayed to raise himself
out of the water by its assistance. But the effort
was beyond his strength, the ice again broke
under him, and he disappeared, as all thought,
forever. He arose, however, with a desperate
effort. “Tie the cord around your
waist,” cried the youth. “My fingers are
stiff with cold,” replied the other, “and if I let
go the ice to tie the cord, I am gone.” Koningsmarke
now crawled on his hand and knees,
on one of the boards, and pushing the other before
him, cautiously crept to the end of the
advanced board. He was near enough to
reach the hand of the drowing man, and to fasten
the cord about his arm. Then, receding
in the manner he had advanced, he threw the
other end of the cord to the people, who dragged
the poor wretch out of the water, with a shout
that announced the triumph of courage and
humanity.

During the whole of the scene we have just
described, the anxiety of Christina had been

excited in the most painful manner. At first, the
situation of the poor perishing traveller monopolized
her feelings; but when it was told her, that
the Long Finne was risking his life for the stranger,
her apprehensions rose to agony; she wrung
her hands, and, unconscious of the presence of
any body, would exclaim, “he will be drowned,
he will be drowned!” The hollow voice of
the Frizzled Head answered, and said, “be
not afraid; the race of him for whose safety thou
fearest, is not destined to close here. He will
not perish by water.”

“What meanest thou!” exclaimed the apprehensive
girl.

“He will go upwards, not downwards, out of
the world,” replied the Frizzled Head, and glided
out of the room.

Now was heard the noise of many footsteps,
and many tongues, approaching, and Christina
summoned her fortitude to go down stairs, for
the purpose of offering her assistance, should
it be necessary. The body of the stranger,
now almost stiff and frozen, was brought in, laid
in a bed with warm blankets, and every means
taken to restore the waning circulation. Slowly,
these applications had the desired effect: the
stranger gradually recovered. He announced

himself as from Coaquanock, and as being on
his way down to the Hoar Kills, having taken the
ice, as the best and most direct path thither,
The worthy Heer, whose generous feelings never
failed to conquer his antipathies, treated the
stranger with the greatest kindness, during his
progress to a perfect recovery; praised and caressed
the Long Finne, for his gallant presence
of mind; and finally observed, “I would give
twenty rix-dollars, if the galgen schivenkel had
been any thing save a Quaker.”