The earliest European settlers kept a certain distance from the Munsee when they arrived in New York. Indians were warm and hospitable, but they were not fools. The Europeans' strange appearance and the great ships they arrived in kept them wary. As Europeans and Indians grew more familiar with one another, the Europeans proposed living alongside them, asking only for a plot of land no bigger than a vegetable garden.
The plot could be covered or enclosed by a single oxhide, and that oxhide was laid out before the Indians. They readily agreed.
But then the settlers took out a knife and began cutting the hide from one end into long cords, each no wider than a child's finger. Once the entire hide had been cut, it became a heap of leather thongs. They drew out one end and walked slowly, carefully, taking pains not to snap the cord.
In the end, the leather cord formed a circle, its ends joined together, enclosing a vast tract of land. The Indians were astonished by the settlers' cleverness, but could not be bothered to haggle with them over such a small patch of land. After all, they still had more than enough land of their own.
After Indians and Europeans had lived peacefully together for a time, the Europeans began making requests for trade now and then. Wampum was made from oyster shells, and shells were produced on Staten Island and along the eastern coast of Long Island. These beads were regarded as sacred gifts of nature. At first, they had no monetary function. They were used as wedding gifts, symbols of friendship, tokens of exchange, and objects of mourning. Yet the Dutch, lacking gold and silver, noticed how much the locals valued wampum and turned it into currency.
The Indians' early