Executing of ye said Estate to be made as aforesaid shall be & from tyme to tyme & at all tymes hereafter shall & may stand remaine and continue unto ye said Governor & his successors to ye use of his Royall Highness as aforesaid, free & clearly discharged & Acquitted from all & every former bargaines sales guifts Graunts & Incumbrances whatsoever And furthermore the said Sachems for themselues and all others concerned their heires & Successors Doe Covenant That ye said Governor his successors & Assignes for & on ye behalfe of his Royal Highness as aforesaid shall & may from henceforth forever Lawfully peaceably & quietly haue hould possesse & Enjoy all the said Island wth th'appurtenances & all & every othr ye prmisses wth their appurtenances wthout any Lett resistance Disturbance or interuption of the said Sachems or any others concerned their heires & successors & wthout any manner of Lawfull Lett resistance molestation or interuption of any other person or persons whatsoever Clayming by from or under them or any of them And It is likewise Lastly Covenanted & agreed That ye said Sachems & ye rest of the Indians concerned wth them now Inhabiting or residing upon ye said Island shall haue Free leaue & Liberty to be & remaine thereupon untill ye First Day of May next, when they are to surrendr the possession thereof unto such person or persons as ye Governor shall please to appoint to see ye same put in Execution upon wch day They are all to Transporte themselues to some other place & to resign any Interest or Clayme thereunto or to any parte thereof forever To haue & to hould ye said Island so bargained & sould as aforementioned unto ve said Francis Lovelace Governor & his successors for & on ye behalfe of his Royal Highness his heires & Assignes unto ye proper use & behoof of his said Royall Highness his heires & Assignes for ever. In witness whereof ye Partyes to theise prsent Indentures haue Interchangably sett to their hands & seales the day and yeare first herein wrytten Sealed & Deliuered in ye prsence of Memorand. That the young Indyans not being present at the Ensealing & delivery of the within written deed, it was again delivered & acknowledged before them whose names are here under written as witnesses. April the 15th 1670. Signed in presence of The marke of X Pewowahone. The marke of X Rokoques The marke of X Shinginnemo. The marke of X Kanarehanse about 12 yeares old a Girle. The marke of X Maquadus about 15 yeares old, a young man. The marke of X Asheharewas about 20 yeares old a young man. The Payment Agreed upon for ye Purchase of Staten-Island Conveyed this Day by ye Indian Sachems Proprietors (vizt) Memorandum It is Covenanted & Agreed upon by & between ye within mentioned Francis Lovelace Esqr. Governor &c for & in ye behalfe of his Royall Highnss & ye within wrytten Sachems on ye behalfe of themselues & all othrs concerned before th'ensealing & delivery hereof That Two or Three of ye said Sachems their heires or successors or so many Persons imployed by them shall every yeare (vizt) upon ye First day of May yearely after their surrendr repair to this ffort to acknowledge their Sale of the said Staten Island to ye Governour or his Successors to continue a mutuall friendship betweene them As witness their hands. On May 2, 1670, Gov. Lovelace appointed Thomas Lovelace and Matthias Nicolls to go to Staten Island and take possession of it in the name of the Duke of York. This they did by the interesting ceremony of surrender "by turf and twig." Eleven years later, Sir Edmond Andros, Governor of New York, reported "most of Staten Island is lately settled." The Building of Fort Wadsworth. On account of their strategic location, it was inevitable that the headlands on both sides of the Narrows should be occupied by fortifications. Those on the west side, within which the ground has been broken for a national Indian monument, were begun in the winter of 1808-9, with other defences of New York Harbor, at a time when there was great apprehension that the United States would become involved in the European turmoil then prevailing. On April 6, 1808, the Legislature passed an "act to contribute to the defence of this State and for other purposes" and made an appropriation of $100,000 for the necessities of the occasion. In a letter dated October 21, 1808, Col. Jonathan Williams, Commandant of Engineers, sent to Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins recommendations and plans which included the defences at Fort Wadsworth. On account of unavoidable delays, the Governor was not ready to authorize the commencement of work until November. During that winter, from 200 to 250 persons "deprived of the ordinary means of subsistence by the critical state of our national affairs were employed on the construction. Under date of February 16, 1809, the Commissioners of Fortifications, De Witt Clinton, James Fairlie and Jacob Morton, reported the progress on the work on Forts Tompkins and Fort Richmond. Fort Tompkins is the name of the work on the top of the hill; Fort Richmond is the extensive marine battery; and the whole post, which includes various other batteries, was subsequently named Fort Wadsworth. On January 24, 1814, De Witt Clinton reported to Governor Tompkins: The defences of Staten Island now consist of Fort Richmond mounting 27 thirty-two pound ers ... Fort Tompkins mounting fourteen Cannon.. teens. 43-24s 27-32s 14 4-18s 9-24s Making in the whole ninety-seven cannon.... 97 And a small battery to the south of Fort On February 15, 1847, the Federal Government purchased the premises from the State, and since then has added to them extensively. Some of the purchases have been as follows: Since the last mentioned date we believe there have been other acquisitions. When the Federal Government took possession in 1847, the old fortifications were destroyed and new ones built. Since then, they have been greatly strengthened and some of the most powerful coast defence guns erected within them. As so it has come about that the western head of the Hamels Hoofden, where 291 years ago De Rasieres found 80 or 90 Indians raising corn and where Director Kieft stationed soldiers in a primitive block house, has become one of the most powerful military defences of the Metropolis and the site allotted by the Federal Government for a great monument to the American Indian. CITY HALL PARK Reclamation of Post-Office Site Hoped For. In our former Reports we have dwelt on the misfortune which the City sustained when the southern portion of City Hall Park was taken about sixty years ago for a post-office site, the efforts which have been made to reclaim it, and the hope for that consummation aroused by the opening of the new Post-office building at Sth avenue, between 31st and 32d streets, in 1914. Since then, the matter has remained in statu quo except for a development |