Paying for the Land
From the Lunette by C. Y. Turner, Hudson County Court House
For the territory thus sold, which included all the land between the North and Hackensack Rivers and the Kill von Kull, the Indians received "80 fathoms of wampum, 20 fathoms of cloth, 12 brass kettles, 1 double brass kettle, 6 guns, 2 blankets, and one-half barrel of strong beer." It does not seem much; but wampum was good Indian money, and 80 fathoms is 480 feet, and 480 feet of good money would seem not insignificant even today. One wonders, however, how the tribes divided the one "double brass kettle" and who drank the beer. In 1920, this territory was assessed for taxes on a valuation of $671,141,067. It seems to have been one of those excellent transactions that permanently satisfied both parties to the bargain.
Despite the purchase, the concentration orders and the remission of taxes remained in force, and on August 16, 1660,
