Knickerbocker's History of New York Vol. 2 Book V Chapter I

In which a sagacious reflection on the indifferent passage of great men leads us to the character and commencement of Peter Stuyvesant’s governance in the turbulent colony of New Amsterdam. With a sturdy frame, a resolute will, and a singular wooden leg adorned with silver, Stuyvesant embarks boldly upon his administration amidst omens and a city fraught with internal discord and external threat.