It will be remembered that the Esopus Indians had been completely humbled, and almost annihilated.  The tribe living in the immediate vicinity of the village of Esopus, had been slaughtered or driven from their lands.  The survivors had taken refuge with other neighboring tribes, who were more or less in sympathy with them.  Thus while there was a cessation of actual war, hostility continued.  No terms of peace had been agreed to, and there could be no friendly intercourse.

News reached Governor Stuyvesant that the Connecticut people, in their intrigues to get possession of New Netherland, were tampering with these river Indians, endeavoring to enter into a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive with them.  It was consequently deemed desirable immediately to secure a general peace with these Indians.

The sachems of several tribes were invited to assemble in the Council Chamber at fort Amsterdam.  The governor with nine of his council, met them.  It is worthy of special notice that, the preliminaries being settled, one of the Indian chiefs offered an earnest prayer.  First he called several times, with a loud voice, upon the Great Spirit to hear him In his language Bachtamo was the name for God.

“Oh Bachtamo,” he said,

“help us to make a good treaty with the Dutch.  And may the treaty we are about to negotiate be like the stick I hold in my hand.  Like this stick may it be firmly united, the one end to the other.”

Then turning to the governor, he said, “We all desire peace.  I have come with my brother sachems, in behalf of the Esopus Indians, to conclude a peace as firm and compact as my arms, which I now fold together.”

Then presenting his hand to Governor Stuyvesant he added, “What I now say is from the fullness of my heart.  Such is my desire, and that of all my people.”

A solemn treaty was soon negotiated.  It was signed the next day, and the event was celebrated by salvos of artillery.  On the whole, the terms were fair, but rather hard for the Indians.  The treaty is concisely given by O’Callaghan in the following words: 

“By its terms all that had passed was to be forever forgotten and forgiven.  The land, already given to the Dutch as an indemnity, and now again conquered by the sword, the two forts belonging to the Indians included, became the property of the Christians.  The savages were not to return thither to plant, nor to visit the village, or any remote Dutch settlements with or without arms.  But as it was not intended to expel them altogether from the country, they were permitted to plant near their new fort, and this year only, by their old castle, as they had already placed some seed in the ground there.  But the lands, in the neighborhood of these forts, having been conquered, were to belong to the Dutch.

“To prevent all future collision, no savage should hereafter approach the place