erson, and
besides is not of good life, yet had to give utterance to his passion,
having taken his text largely upon us, at which many of his auditors,
who knew us better, were not well pleased, and blamed, condemned, and
derided him for it, which we corrected.[347]

[Footnote 347: Rev. Gideon Schaets (1608-1694) was minister of
Rensselaerswyck from 1652 to 1657, and of Fort Orange (Beverwyck,
Albany) from 1657 to 1694.]

In the afternoon, we took a walk to an island upon the end of which
there is a fort built, they say, by the Spaniards. That a fort has
been there is evident enough from the earth thrown up and strewn
around, but it is not to be supposed that the Spaniards came so far
inland to build forts, when there are no monuments of them to be seen
elsewhere and down on the sea coasts, where, however, they have been
according to the traditions of the Indians. This spot is a short
hour's distance below Albany, on the west side of the river.[348]

[Footnote 348: With these data may be compared the matter of the
Pompey Stone, found in Pompey, N.Y., and bearing apparently a Spanish
inscription of 1520.]

_29th, Monday._ We should have left to-day, but it was not yet to
happen, for our skipper, so he said, could not obtain his passport. We
called upon several persons, and among others, upon the woman who had
brought up Illetie, the Indian woman, and had first taken her from the
Indians, and to whom we have alluded before. This woman, although not
of openly godless life, is more wise than devout, although her
knowledge is not very extensive, and does not surpass that of the
women of New Netherland. She is a truly worldly woman, proud and
conceited, and sharp in trading with _wild_[349] people, as well as
_tame_ ones, or what shall I call them, not to give them the name of
Christians, or if I do, it is only to distinguish them from the
others. This trading is not carried on without fraud, and she is not
free from it, as I have observed. She has a husband, which is her
second one, and he I believe is a Papist. He remains at home quietly,
while she travels over the country to carry on the trading. In fine
she is one of the Dutch female traders, who understand their business
so well. If these be the persons who are to make Christians of the
heathen, what will the latter be? But God employs such means as
pleases Him to accomplish His purposes. He had given Illetie more
grace than to her, we are very certain.

[Footnote