Navesink; A Historical Novel
1645 Gravesend Rises
They carried Penelope into their waterfront cabin. Like Navoo’s boat, the cabin was neither a traditional wigwam nor a typical European house. He had taken advantage of his tools to build the sides of the cabin straight and planked with rough clapboard. There were wooden doors with wooden hinges and window openings with shutters. The roof was shingled with birch bark. The cabin was about 15 by 25 feet and had a pitched roof. The whole structure was mostly pegged. Jahkursoe and Navoo had mixed and compacted crushed shells and sand to cover the floor.
There were bunk beds and shelves and a fire ring was two thirds down the length of the cabin. There was no chimney, the smoke escaped through an opening in the roof that could be opened and closed as needed.
The cabin was within sight and a bit downstream from Ramezing village which had become the main Navesink river settlement after the diseases had devastated so many smaller settlements.
A few days after Navoo and Jahkursoe brought Penelope into the cabin, they were visited by Popamora, a subchief of the Turtle clan. There were no secrets along the river and word had gotten to Popamora that a white woman was staying at Navoo’s cabin. In the early morning he had paddled over to find out more.
“Navoo, are you inside?”
“I am. Who is it?
“Popamora.”
“Come in.”
Popamora opened the door and peered into the darker interior. Jahkursoe and Navoo were reclining by the morning cooking fire.
Navoo knew Popamora well and more or less expected him to stop by to get a feel for what was going on. They got along well and Popamora often relied on Navoo to function as a translator or messenger to the Dutch. Popamora was younger than Navoo and, despite his higher status, treated Navoo with extreme courtesy.
Popamora saw Navoo wave him towards the fire, but his eyes were still adjusting to the darker interior. Once adapted he stepped over to Navoo and sat down next to him, nodding to Jahkursoe who smiled and nodded back and then started to swivel his head trying to discern details in the bunks. Navoo pointed to one of the bunks, “She is in there.”
Popamora smiled, “Thanks, is she alive?”
“Yes, she is and I think she will be fine soon, if there is no infection. Do you want some breakfast?”
“No thank you, I already ate. And how did she get there?”
Navoo related the story to Popamora who listened without interruption. His eyes had fully adjusted to the semi dark in the cabin and during Navoo’s story he kept this gaze fixed on Penelope. She had opened her eyes midway through Navoo’s tale and stared back at Popamora. Popamora sensed she was challenging him to look away first, which he was not going to do, at least not until Navoo finished his story.
When Navoo finished Popamora slowly turned his head to Navoo, “We are at war with the Dutch, couldn’t you just let her die? What is the use of bringing her here?”
“Jahkursoe said the same thing to me. She is not at war with us. She did not even know there was a war. She needs to heal and then we will figure out what is next.”
“Do you intend to keep her as a slave or sell her?”
“I need no slave, nor do I need the money for selling her.”
“So she is not yours?” Popamora asked.
Navoo smiled and then shook his head, “I get your meaning; if she is not mine, anybody can take her. No, she is mine, and can no more be taken than my boat or my cabin without my agreement.”
“So that makes her your slave.”
“Popamora, why are you balancing empty clam shells?”
“I am trying to figure out what to tell the clan. The rumor of a white women living with you has already started tongues wagging, and I am sure some have different plans than you for this woman.”
Navoo looked Popamora in the eye, “Should I be worried?”
“Not about me. I think you are doing the right thing, and I think in the long run it can only help us. If things get worse, we have a kindness to trade, while at best this woman can either be a hostage or speak for us when we have to fight or negotiate with the Dutch.”
Navoo raised his hand, “I am glad you mention that. What do you know about that raid on the people on that ship, and what has happened to the ship? I don’t think the Dutch will undertake an expedition from Nieuw Amsterdam against us here, but who was it that led that raid?”
“It was Katonah.”
“The chief at the mouth of the South branch?”
“One of his men saw the vessel struggle along the shore and he figured it would not be able to make the hook with the wind blowing straight onto the land. He assembled his warriors and they followed the vessel up the beach in hope it had stranded. They were lucky and could take everything off the vessel without having to fight. The Dutch never came back to challenge them.”
“Well that certainly indicates that the Dutch do not have the stomach to raid our villages. Katonah must now be a rich man.”
Popamora nodded, “Yes, they emptied the vessel. They took all its cargo, all its ropes and sails and most of the iron. They now have more cloth than all the area clans combined.”
“I could use some sailcloth. I may have to visit Katonah”
“If you do, make no mention of the woman here. I think we should keep her here while there is fighting between the Dutch and us. She may be of use and we do not want other clans to steal her. When things settle down, we can let her go.”
“I have no objection to that. If you can keep the village quiet, I will make sure she does not stand out too much.”
Popamora got up. For a second he considered taking a closer look at the women, but decided against it. “Let me know when she is better and then you can introduce me properly. Thank you Navoo, I think you have been most helpful. Jahkursoe, feel free to come by if anything is needed.” He hesitated for a moment and then turned to Penelope again and nodded to her. She nodded back.
Navoo and Jahkursoe also stood and accompanied Popamora to his canoe. In the distance they could see some people standing at the beach at Ramezing. Undoubtedly, they were curious about what Popamora had to report.
For a moment Navoo and Jahkursoe watched Popamora paddle away. It was a lovely morning.
“Any plans for today, Jahkursoe?”
“I may take a paddle to see Katonah. I am curious what they know. As near as I can figure they have no idea that Penelope survived, and if they do, I will probably find out. Do you have any messages for Katonah?”
“Can’t think of anything, but I am sure that they will be happy to give you the full story when they see you. There is not much wind, I presume you’ll take the canoe?”
“Yes, and I may stay there for the night. Maybe Gela will take some interest in me.”
“You like her? I have not seen her in years. I like her parents. Well, perhaps you will have a lot of news when you get back. Be careful my son.”
“Careful in general or about anything in particular?”
Navoo chuckled, “It was a standard careful in general. I am just doing it because your mother is not here to do it.”
Jahkursoe went to get ready as Navoo went back into the cabin.
Penelope had pushed herself up into a sitting position. Even though she had a spectacular black eye, she looked alert and her blue-eyed gaze was clear.
“Good morning Penelope. How are you feeling?” Navoo walked over and pulled the hide covering her aside, under which she was naked. This had concerned her at first, but both Navoo and Jahkursoe were so matter of fact she was no longer concerned.
“Who was that, Navoo?”
Navoo did not immediately answer, instead inspecting the wound on her stomach. Once his eyes adjusted, he could see that there was no serious cause for concern. The wound had sealed and there was little swelling. He pushed on the edges and Penelope did not flinch. Maybe tomorrow he would try to remove the sutures.
“Do you want to eat?” he inquired.
“Yes, please,” she answered as she pulled her cover back up, repeating “Who was that?”
“That was Popamore, a young chief in Ramezing, which is the village a little up the river. The village folk had figured out there is a white woman here and he came to investigate.”
“Will they take me?“
Before answering Navoo poured yaupon tea, filled a bowl with stew and walked back to Penelope. She took the tea as he placed the stew next to her. “There is nothing to worry about. You are safe here.”
She took a sip, “I like this tea. It does not taste like China tea, though.”
“It is our tea. It grows here. We call it yaupon.”
“How do you make it sweet?”
“I used maple juice, but sometimes we have sugar too. We buy it from the Dutch.”
“I am feeling much better. When will you take me to Nieuw Amsterdam?”
“Not any time soon. I am not saying you are a prisoner, but I hope you will allow me to care for you here until the fighting stops. It would be best for all of us.”
Penelope did not say anything, looking about the cabin. It was not luxurious, but in all it was better than being aboard the ship. “Do I have to stay inside?”
“No, I think you can go outside, but you need to stay away from the village. Popamora and I agreed it would be best for all to keep you out of sight. I am sure the whole village will know that you are here, but if you stay out of sight, I expect you will also stay out of mind.”
As Penelope had been gaining her bearings, her natural inquisitive nature started to take control. She flashed her blue-eyed smile and said, “Navoo, tell me about yourself. You and Jahkursoe intrigue me. I am sure I never had a realistic picture of Indians, but I never expected to find Indians like you.”
“Please do not call us Indians. Once a Dutchman tried to explain to me why you call us Indians. I did not quite understand it, but it does not make me feel right. Please call us humans, or Lenape, or Navesinks.”
“I apologize Navoo, I did not mean to offend.”
“I know you did not, we are humans from different parts of the world and we will often misunderstand each other. I hope I can be frank with you when there are misunderstandings.”
“Navoo you honor me, I hope I can return the favor.”
“Please do and that makes us friends. I also know that Dutch women are uncomfortable without clothes. I have washed and repaired your clothes and will get them for you to put on. Please be very careful when you get dressed so the stitches do not tear. When you go outside you should wear one of our tunics because your Dutch clothes will stand out too much to people passing on the river.”
Navoo puttered around the cabin while Penelope got dressed.
“Navoo, you still have not told me about yourself.”
“I was born before the white men arrived, witnessed our first misunderstanding that resulted in the violent death of one of Hudson’s men, and then the violent death of one of our people. Since that time, I learned much and have felt less and less certain about what the Great Spirit intends to do with us humans.”
“Tell me more, Navoo.”
And Navoo did. Through that Summer, the Fall, the Winter, and into the Spring, Penelope listened and Navoo ended up having a student after all.
In the Spring, the war that Kieft had brought about settled down when the Lenapes and other Algonquians agreed to a truce with the Dutch. The Dutch burghers had effectively sidelined Kieft and were awaiting the arrival of a new Director General.
Penelope took stock of her life. Beyond the scar on her stomach, she suffered no remaining effects of her injuries. She had spent almost a full year at Navoo’s cabin and, all things considered, it had been a wonderful year. Navoo had been the closest thing to a father she had known, and she had become very familiar with the Lenape customs and practices, to the point she lived and dressed as a Lenape, even braiding her brown hair. In truth she had lacked nothing. Unexpectedly, she had also been able to recover a significant part of the property she had lost in the wreck.
Jahkursoe’s trip to Katonah’s clan had been very successful, and Penelope felt some satisfaction knowing she had been part of the success. Jahkursoe had come to realize his father had found a new meaning in life taking care of Penelope, and this made it easier for him to ask Gela to marry him. Once Jahkursoe had moved to Katonah’s village, he used some of Navoo’s silver to buy Penelope cloth and other salvage from the wreck, which enabled Penelope to sew new clothes, making herself a reasonable young women’s outfit in her accustomed fashion. Jahkursoe had even found a Bible and bought it for Penelope. She enjoyed reading it, but now the authoritarian tone of the Old Testament seemed alien and at odds to the world she occupied now. On the other hand, Jesus and the New Testament seemed to be just as much at home on the Navesink as it was in Holland or England.
With the weather warming, Navoo had asked Penelope if she was ready to go to Nieuw Amsterdam. Penelope found she had some difficulty in making up her mind. She was happy in the cabin on the river, and also realized that nobody was waiting for her in Nieuw Amsterdam. If she moved to Nieuw Amsterdam, she would be alone again. Moreover, Gela was pregnant and would be giving birth soon. She had come to love Jahkursoe and Gela as part of her family and was very excited to meet the new baby.
Navoo was making some repairs to Pahki. The boat was halfway pulled up on the beach and she climbed over the bow to join him.
“Navoo, should I go to Nieuw Amsterdam?”
Navoo put down his work and took a long look at Penelope. She was wearing a buckskin tunic. She was completely comfortable in it, as she was comfortable in Pahki and the cabin, and in the larger world of the Navesink river and the Lenapes. She had learned some of the language, knew how to grow corn and fish and certainly would become better at it when time went on. She was young and pretty and might find a husband here. But was it where she would find happiness? Navoo was a man between two worlds. Should Penelope become a woman between two worlds?
“Penelope, I think you should go to Nieuw Amsterdam. I don’t think my people will find happiness in the years to come, and Nieuw Amsterdam is where your future should be.”
“But I don’t know anybody there, and I think I am happy here.”
“I may have a solution. Two years ago, I met an English lady in a new village she was leading south of Nieuw Amsterdam. I only met her briefly, but I very much liked her spirit and had planned to visit her again. Why don’t we go and see her? You can decide then.”
“Thank you Navoo, but after the baby is born.”
Newborns always were cause for joy, but after the diseases and the war, the new baby was an especially welcome event. Gela delivered a healthy girl and promptly, and much to Navoo’s delight, named her Weenjipahkihelexkwe after her grandmother and Pahki’s great grandmother. An honored name that now became closely associated with the women that in Navesink history had the closest contact with the white people.
Pahki, the boat, was loaded with Penelope’s outfit and after a last visit with Jahkursoe and Gela, Penelope and Navoo headed out the Navesink, left Rensselear’s pier behind, passed Sand Hoek, and headed due north for the south shore of Lang Eiland.
When Navoo approached the location where he had met Lady Moody two years ago, he found a small creek, which he entered. Inside the mouth of the creek there was a small pier that connected to a path. They tied Pahki to the pier, but Navoo decided to wait rather than walk up the narrow path. He was unsure he would be welcome, and possibly somebody would come out to check on them and escort them to the village, which he assumed was somewhere along the path, but not visible from the boat or pier.
Penelope was wearing a new European-style dress and shirt and had brushed out her hair. She looked like a lovely well cared for white women, although she wore moccasins instead of western shoes.
He decided, “Let’s eat something and see what happens”
Penelope readily agreed; while she was curious and excited, she was also nervous. Navoo’s matter of fact attitude settled her down.
Navoo and Penelope had just started to share a lunch when a man appeared on the path. He did a double take at Penelope and then turned to Navoo and said something. Navoo did not understand him so turned to Penelope.
“He says he knows you”
Navoo took a closer look. He realized it was one of the two men who had accompanied Lady Moody. The one he did not like as much. “Ask him if he speaks Dutch.”
The man shook his head. Navoo stood and reached his hand out to the man on the pier: “Navoo.”
The man took his hand and replied: “James Grover.”
The man then turned to Penelope and spoke to her in English. Penelope turned to Navoo to translate, but Navoo held up his hand. “You know why we are here, ask him to take us to Lady Moody, but be careful, I do not trust him.”
Penelope addressed James and he waved them off the boat and indicated to follow him. He reached out a hand to Penelope to pull her up on the pier. Penelope took his hand and when he pulled her up, he pulled her up against his body, smiled as if he made a mistake, but held on to here just a little too long for politeness.
Penelope glanced at Navoo, but his lack of reaction compelled her not to react, so she pushed passed James and started to walk along the path. Navoo followed her and James ended up behind them.
The path was sandy and dry, with marshes on both side of the path. After about a half mile walk they came upon a village with farmland around it.
It was a modest village of a few houses, and more houses under construction. It had a sense of order to it that Navoo knew to be missing in the larger town of Nieuw Amsterdam. Penelope thought she had walked into a small farming village in Holland although it was surrounded by a low stockade which would have been unusual in Holland. People were working on the houses, there were cows, some mules, pigs and chickens and some people were working the fields.
James had not spoken during the walk. In Dutch Penelope said: “This is nice”. Navoo did not react, but from what he knew of the white man’s ways this was a very well-organized little town, and while he did not care for Grover, he hoped the nice young man he met a few years ago was still here. They walked through a gate, where James passed Penelope and Navoo to address an older man working on the frame of a house. The man pointed to the field and James signaled them to follow him.
They walked into a corn field where a few women were tending to the three sisters. They were wearing long dark dresses and large hats and were facing away from them. When they were a few feet away James said, ”Lady Moody”, and one of the women turned around.
“Hi James. Who is this? Wait! Navoo! You came back to visit! And who is this?”
Penelope stepped forward, reached out to offer her hand first, and addressed her in English. “Lady Moody, I am Penelope van Princes and Navoo brought me here to meet you.”
Lady wiped her hand on her skirt and took Penelope’s hand, “Pleased to meet you. Did you recently arrive in Nieuw Netherlands?”
“Not really, I arrived last year, but stayed with Navoo through the winter.”
James Grover was visibly shocked, Lady Moody looked puzzled. Before Lady Moody could respond, Penelope turned to Navoo and asked, “Should I translate, Navoo?”
“No need to Penelope, I am sure you can explain all later.”
Penelope turned to Lady Moody again, but before she could continue her conversation Lady Moody turned to James Grover, “Thank you James, why don’t you get back to work?”
James nodded, turned around and walked back to the village. Lady Moody watched him for a moment before turning back to Penelope, “So you arrived last year? On which ship?”
“I arrived on the Duifken”
“The ship that was attacked by the Navesinks?”
“Yes, but I was not saved by the people from Nieuw Amsterdam. I was left for dead.”
“Were you the woman that tried to save her husband and was left on the beach?”
“That was me.”
Lady Moody looked from Penelope to Navoo and back to Penelope, “Let’s have some tea. I think this is going to be a long story.”
Lady Moody’s cabin was smaller than Navoo’s, but it had glass windows, a sleeping attic, a hearth and chimney and some furniture including a table and four chairs. Lady Moody started a cooking fire and heated water for tea. Penelope told her story while Lady Moody prepared tea and set out some food. She did not interrupt Penelope so that by the time she poured the tea, Penelope had brought Lady Moody up to date.
“When I met Navoo two years ago, I knew I met a good human. Please tell him that I am deeply touched by his kindness and generosity and am proud to know him as a friend.”
Penelope turned to Navoo and translated. Navoo nodded to Lady Moody and told Penelope to thank her for her generous words and tell her that the Great Spirit has created the earth as a place where “his spirit is everywhere, and we all delight when the better parts of his spirit meet. I felt that when I met Lady Moody the first time, and I feel it again.”
Penelope made an effort to translate Navoo’s mixture of Dutch and Lenape. Lady Moody smiled, “Please tell Navoo that I know exactly what he means.”
Navoo smiled, “I know what Lady Moody said, Penelope, no need to translate.”
“My child, while I can guess, I suppose that Navoo brought you here for a reason. What can I do for you?”
“Yes, Lady Moody...”
“Please call me Deborah”
“I am honored, but may I still call you Lady Moody?”
“Do as you wish, Penelope.”
“Yes Lady Moody. When I started to think about returning to my own people, Navoo suggested I meet you instead of going to Nieuw Amsterdam. So, I came here to see if I may be of any use. I have no money, but I have my own clothes and can sew, spin, weave and farm. I know a little Lenape medicine. Navoo has also taught me about farming and fishing. I saw you are working three sisters in the field, I know how to do that.”
“Yes, we are experimenting with different methods and crops. We are also planting our own wheat. There is a great demand for food for Nieuw Amsterdam, as well as the Dutch islands in the Caribbean, and it provides us with cash to improve our village. We can certainly use your help here and you are most welcome to stay. Indeed, you are welcome to stay here in my house. It is simple, but it is comfortable and I would enjoy your company. It is little lonely now my kids have their own home. Our little village is a close-knit community. We have not yet built a true church, but we have a kitchen building where we eat our evening meals together and worship. I think you will enjoy meeting the rest of our community. What do you think Penelope, do you want to stay?”
“I do Lady Moody. I would like to live here.”
Penlope turned to Navoo, “Navoo, I have decided to stay.”
Navoo did not hide his sadness, “I know, I will miss you my friend, but I hope you will be very happy, and I hope I can visit often. I will leave now.”
Navoo rose and nodded to Lady Moody.
Lady Moody also rose, “Penelope, ask him to have a meal with us"
“I don’t think Navoo wants to stay any longer, but I will walk him to his boat, so I can retrieve my belongings.”
Lady Moody joined them. She and Penelope watched Navoo sail off to the Highlands.
“Lady Moody, what is the name of this place?”
“We call it Gravesend, I don’t know its original name. Let me carry some of your belongings.”
ENDNOTES:
Navoo’s cabin is near Ramezing, an actual Lenape village that became more prominent around this story’s time. It is located near the convergence of the presently named Swimming River and Pine Creek, very close where the present Garden State Parkway crosses the Swimming River around mile 108. Chief Popamora is a historic character, but nothing is known about him at the time of the story.