(Henry Hudson lands in NYC, 1609 – steel engraving of painting by Robert Walter Weir)

We had a picnic the other day in Battery Park City and enjoyed a great view of NY Harbor. Joining us was Benny ”the cigar Store Indian.” He told stories about Henry Hudson’s arrival in NYC. This is the third part in that series. See the bottom of this post for the others.

I was still waiting for some friends to join us. It was just my lady friend(LF) and I, along with the pizza and Chinese delivery guys(aka num and nuts), and of course–Benny.

“ . . . as Henry Hudson and his men came ashore we all made signs of welcome,” said Benny, turning away from the water to smile at us. He’s the cutest old man you’ve ever seen. If he was your grandfather, you would bring him around and show him to your friends just like he was your baby brother. Otherwise, he’s whacked. I can’t tell you how many times he thinks he’s been reincarnated.

“Like my Indian brethren, I stared in wonder,” he said, and spoke slowly while squinting. “I carefully examined their faces, each article of clothing–their hats!” He chuckled and opened his hand to the harbor. The blue water was dappled with small boats, except for the rotund Staten Island Ferry, which looked like a blob of orange out by the Statue of Liberty.

(Replica of Henry Hudson’s Half Moon/Halve Maen)

“I kept looking to the Half Moon, anchored just off shore,” Benny said. “Even the smaller boat Hudson and his men had rowed over on was new to us. I had heard of such crafts, but it was breath-taking to see the real McCoy.”

“What was Henry Hudson like?” my LF asked, shielding her eyes from the glare of the setting sun.

Benny shrugged, his eyes the shape of half-moons. “There wasn’t much distinction between any of the men. Their bearded faces were either sunburned or heavily tanned. It would be some time before we started using the term ’white men’ for them.

“I clearly remember how very serious and bone-tired all of them seemed. I thought their clothes made them weary. What did I know.

“Two men did all the talking, and I guess one of them must have been Hudson. His clothes were the most colorful, and he wore the nicest hat! It had a wide, sturdy brim. They pointed to various items, and wanted us to say the names. They were most interested in our furs and skins. We gladly obliged, and laughed over and over at their strange tongue and odd clothing. They made us repeat the names until they were sure of them. We all kept looking in wonder at the Half Moon.”

“They had their eyes on your island,” my LF said, whose long black hair glinted in the evening sun.

“It wasn’t twenty four dollars that you sold it for,” I injected rather smartly. “It was really six hundred and something bucks. I learned that from Kelly Choi in a Secrets of NY episode.”

Benny’s brow wrinkled. My LF looked at me like I should shut up, but it was true. Num and nuts raised their heads and squinted at me with looks of suspicion. Both had their arms folded, while wriggling on the bench. (I really should appreciate the fact that they don’t talk, and just make noises like squawking birds.)

“We never sold it,” Benny said with a sigh. “We gave them use of our island. We didn’t understand that something like that could be traded away.” He smiled and tried to make it seem like it was all in the past.

“I think at first Hudson, and his men were as intrigued by us as we were them,” he said wistfully. “We saw strange looking men with beards, odd clothing, and a fantastical ship. They saw . . .” He shrugged and was hesitant to continue. In the past, he has made crude references to what the Dutch sailors smelled like.

(Photo by Bald Punk - Click to see cement Indian detail on Dakota apartment, NYC)

Benny gathered his knees in his hands and leaned forward. “I think the appreciation of meeting a new race–the innocence of letting excitement be the guiding course of action–was dismissed rather quickly by the white men. Their instincts kicked in, which were a product of what their world had taught them. They soon saw us as half-naked people, with tools, furs, and skins they could sell. I don’t think human bondage was on their mind, but they did bring Old Seven here–”

Benny chuckled.

“–in such close quarters as a ship we would have noticed a demon amongst us. He knew enough to hide from the Lenape. It was only afterwards that I remembered how he had hung back in the rear and never looked at us.

“I was answering nature’s call when I got my first and only-look-since at Old Seven. I had been holding it in from before the sailors came ashore. Over my shoulder and through bushes, I noticed one of the strangers edging away from the group. He mustn’t have seen me. It was why I got a clear look at his face. From what I’ve heard, no one lives to tell of seeing Old Seven’s face. His real face that is, and not whatever visage he presented on the journey over on the Half Moon, or to those he passes on the streets of NYC.

“Old Seven had heavy eyebrows that were as thick as his mustache. He had a prominent nose. Strands of his shoulder length hair swept across his eyes, and his cheeks were blotched with sun poisoning. There were creases in the corners of his eyes and mouth that seemed to be outlined in black ink.

“On his forehead was a mark, seared into the skin. It was more like plunged into his skull. It wasn’t until long after I learned to read and write in English that it hit me. The mark was the number ’7.’ The style was florid and ornate. Years ago when I was rummaging through books outside Strand Book store, I saw hand-copied pages from the Book of the Dead.  I thought the script was a very close–if not an exact match.

(Photo by Bald Punk – Spooky Dakota apartment fence)

“Legend has it that the mark was put there by demon hunters, so he could be more easily identified. You see, a demon can’t really extinguish or killed. His power and influence can only be diminished.”

“How did the demon hunters hold Old Seven long enough to sear the mark on his forehead?” I asked. “Maybe they used a magic spell?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who would?” my LF asked.

I tensed, suddenly realizing the brevity of what we were learning. I didn’t want to be dragged deeper into “Knowing.”

“There’s an old negro slave named Hardy.”

“Where would we find him?” My LF asked.

“Ah-ha!” I cried, and stood, hoping to put an end to the conversation. “Is that Edgar?” I said, searching along the promenade for my friend who was on the way to meet us along with his wife and bambino.

(Photo by Bald Punk – Battery Park City)

“I’ve heard Hardy can be found near a place called Sandy Ground,” Benny said.

“Oh! Come on!” I cried, a little flustered. ”Negro slave??? Slavery ended almost 150 years ago! This guy’s dead, ‘doncha think.”

Everyone looked at me like I should know better.

—

Here are all the posts in this series: Episode Eighteen – October 2009

The Day Henry Hudson Arrived

Old Seven sailed over with Hudson

How Old Seven Got His Name

Here are my STORIES and PHOTOS

(Replica of Henry Hudson’s Half Moon/Halve Maen – uncredited)

“Some say he came over with Columbus,” said Benny, “the cigar Store Indian,” who is an old man with a slight build and boyish face. He shook his head.“Columbus didn’t know where he was going. He wouldn’t have taken such a chance. No. He came over with Hudson. I saw him get off the ship.”

The five of us, including my lady friend(LF) and I, along with the pizza and Chinese delivery guys(aka num and nuts) were having a picnic in Battery Park City. We sat on benches with a view of NY Bay. Benny had happened upon us out of the blue, which he has a habit of doing.  Btw, my friend Edgar, his wife, and bambino were on their way to meet us. I know I mentioned Edgar once before in the blog . . .

Benny had been quiet for the previous twenty minutes. His gray eyes were fixed out over the water. Before that he had told us about his father’s first impression of Henry Hudson’s ship, the Half Moon. He had seen the vessel enter the harbor, while fishing with members of his tribe. The date was September, 1609. Click here for that story. (Benny believes he’s been reincarnated.) His father thought it was a great seabird. The other Lenape Indians out with him believed they had seen a supreme being known as the great Mannitto.

(Photo by Bald Punk – Battery Park City)

We were all eating except for my LF, who was talking on the phone with her sister. No one was paying much attention to Benny.

“Mmmm, this is dee-lish-ous,” I said, munching on this hero that was like three feet long. I like heroes. I really can’t tell you what was on it because I don’t know. Remember when I told you how my LF swore off KFC, and we now buy crazy food that doesn’t have names at Whole Foods . . . Well, the hero was crazy food. I know there was cheese on it and some whacked-out kind of mayo, but it was good. So don’t hate me.

Benny spoke under his breath to himself. My LF closed her phone and asked me what we were talking about.

“Who did what?” I asked Benny, my eyes twisted in circles as I looked best I could between the hero bread, which was supported by my hands and forearms. I spotted avocados and lettuce that looked so weird it must have been flown to outer space and back. Or at least developed by NASA. I’m pretty sure of that. Pretty sure . . .

“Old Seven came over with Henry Hudson,” Benny said.

“Who, Benny,” my LF asked in about as sweet a tone as a person could. The pizza and Chinese delivery guys nodded. Because that’s what they were put on this Earth to do. Nod. Oh! And to annoy me, too. Come to think of it — they probably came down from space with the lettuce.

“You haven’t heard of Old Seven?” Benny asked.

We looked blankly back at him (some of us looking more vapidly than others).

“Is it a person?” I asked, semi-interested in another of his Henry Hudson’s tales.

“Old Seven is a demon. He came over from Europe with Henry Hudson.”

(Henry Hudson coming to NY by David Cunningham Lithgow)

We all looked at Benny and waited. He’s not the kind of person that needs to be egged on to tell a story. And he can prattle for hours. I’ve gone into stores, left him outside while he was mid-sentence, only to come out and have him pick up right where he left off. I bet he’d be a good troubadour. He’s not a good homeless person, but that’s a story for another day.

“After my father and the other braves had returned from sighting what many believed was the great Mannitto while on a fishing trip, we moved to the tip of our island to look for Him. The chieftains thought that was the best place because of the vantage.

“There was a clearing there, too, and it was where we had many a celebration. It was also serviced by the widest trail on the island.”

“You’re talking about the Wickquasgeck Trail, which is now Broadway,” I said.

“Yes!” Benny replied, his whole face reflecting a slight aura. “As a child, I walked up and down that trail thousands of times. I can remember climbing the rocks by what is now Grace Church at 10th Street. When I walk along Broadway today, in my head, I can still see hills, swamps, byways, streams, and woodlands.”

(Photo by Bald Punk – Grace Church on Broadway)

“That sounds so amazing,” my LF said, while num and nuts both tightened their eyes and puckered their lips.

Benny smiled, and by the way he did so, it was clear he believed what he was telling us 1000%.

My mind started to wander, and I said the next thing that popped into my head. “The Half Moon replica, is that ship the same size as the original? It seems small.” After I said that I went back to my sandwich, munching away like a nut. Every once in a while I had to point at the hero and make noises because it was ‘that good.

Benny couldn’t say for certain if the replica was an exact copy.

(Replica of the Half Moon – Exact size as original – uncredited)

“What do you remember when you first saw the ship?” my LF added.

Benny smiled again. He’s 70-something, yet when he smiles, he looks like an 8-year-old boy, especially when his eyes twinkle.

“We were practicing a dance of welcome,” he said and showed us. “Left heel, right toe, left toe, right heel, and spin.” He gave a gap-toothed grin. “One of the braves, I can’t remember his name, ‘water meets sky’ something–his voice was sweet as molasses. He would sing a short verse and we would repeat his lyric. There were about twenty of us dancing in three different circles. We all moved counter clockwise. There were perhaps forty more. All of us were singing. I was deliriously excited. We all were.

“Someone bayed like a wolf, and we came to an abrupt stop. That included the singing, too.

“A brave pointed toward Brooklyn that was all rolling green hills. Much of it was dense forests. I scanned the harbor and saw big-white wings. They hovered over the water.

“It wasn’t until it moved much closer that one of the chieftains told us to dance again.

“I kept looking over as the object drifted steadily toward us. Just like my father, I too had thought it was a great seabird.

“One of my friends cried out that it looked like a floating house. When we saw men moving on its deck, we stopped dancing. Some braves were told to man canoes and row out to them. They returned soon enough, accompanied by the strangers who were on their own small boat that had been let down over the side of the Half Moon.

“I can remember fearfully staring at the boat filled with the ‘white men’ as we called the strangers. I only realized years later that my fear was instinctual. It was because Old Seven was with them.”

–

Next post in this series, Benny tells us more about the demon named Old Seven.

—

Here are all the posts in this series: Episode Eighteen – October 2009

The Day Henry Hudson Arrived

Old Seven sailed over with Hudson

How Old Seven Got His Name

Here are my STORIES and PHOTOS

(Henry Hudson’s Half Moon arrives on Hudson River by Andrew Weiss)

As told to me, my lady friend, and the pizza and Chinese delivery guys in Battery Park City by Benny, “the cigar store Indian.” He believes that he’s been reincarnated . . .

—

“I remember my father’s face on the day Henry Hudson’s ship arrived in 1609.

“I was on the shore, probably not far from where we are seated now. My father and my three brothers were fishing in a canoe. Others in our tribe were also out in the same waters.

“The boats all came back in one big cluster. It was clear by their quick strokes with the paddles that something had happened. When I spotted my father’s canoe, I was surprised to find him glaring at me. He very rarely regarded me so closely.”

Benny laughed.

“I was the runt of the family. I was my mother’s child, meek, arched posture. I had a shy smile. It seemed I was the faithful and attendant daughter she had never had. I was her crutch of love and tenderness. Those were two things my father was incapable of providing.”

Benny’s head tilted and his grayish eyes were distant, showing the same light as his gentle smile. “I can still see my father now in the canoe. It seemed his face was hardened like steel, and his eyes were made of black glass.

“Seated ahead of him, rowing, were two of my brothers. They were tall and lean. Their faces were chiseled just like my father’s.

(Half Moon on Hudson River)

“I ran into the water to my father’s canoe and took two large baskets, heavy with live fish. My brothers jumped overboard and dragged the boat ashore. Those around us did the same.

“The voices of my tribesmen were deep, and they boomed in the lush forest that came right up to the shoreline. They declared the great Mannitto–the Supreme Being was coming. The fisherman had seen Him out on the horizon where the sea-widens. My father offered up no such proclamation. He was more reticent than usual.

“By the time we were on dry land, braves had already been dispatched to spread the news to the neighboring chieftains. Plans were quickly made for rituals and a great celebration.

“I began to step away from my father. I wanted to fall in with my friends and join in their unbridled excitement. My father surely sensed my desire as he came and gripped my shoulder. His head bent to my ear. We listened to the others prattle on about the great Mannito.

“Finally, my father spoke, addressing me in the same manner as he would in his later years, when he was senile and suffering from dementia. Even then he liked to repeat the words he had told me that day.”

“’I saw a great seabird,’” he said. “‘It was resting on the waters. Its large wings were spread wide and drying in the sun.’”

–

Coming next is Benny’s firsthand recollection of seeing Henry Hudson and his ship, the Half Moon.

 –

Here are all the posts in this series: Episode Eighteen – October 2009

The Day Henry Hudson Arrived

Old Seven sailed over with Hudson

How Old Seven Got His Name

Here are my STORIES and PHOTOS