STICHT SHEPHERDS IN THE WRONG

In 1999 appeared a hitherto unknown, chronicle of the 18-century Scheepen of Huizen Lambert Rijcksz Lustigh. It consisted of 66 written pages, mainly by Lustigh made copies of all the documents.
In one of the movements was reported receiving copies of an event,
which took place on Friday 30 September 1718.

It had played out on the Gooi common heathland and those involved were the Naarden magistrates against two shepherds
On this Friday, the Naarden schout (sheriff) Gerrit Ganseb called Tengnagel, sent four of his rakkers (henchmen) to a place east of the village of Hilversum.
To hear him had come there was once again a Sticht flock of sheep had the Gooi territory invaded. The grazing of the Gooi heathland was exclusively reserved for the approximately 2000 sheep of the local erfgooiers.

The four henchmen of the schout got the order to move the shepherds with their flocks to Hilversum. In the area near the Hollandse Rading they did find two unknown shepherds with their flock. They walked directly to one of them
By seeing the henchmen the shepherds whisled with his fingers, to stampede the whole herd with the sheep-dog. In an effort to stop the sheep and to bring them to a stop failed, then one of the henchmen shot at the dog. Although the animal was severely injured, he tried to finish his task. Later he collapsed, the poor animal, due to his injuries. In anger the shepherd treatened the henchmen with his sheep-hook and drove his herd east across the border. When they came to the Utrecht territory, they were was save, the Naarden court had there no juristiction. Once there the shepherd was save he started to curse the henchmen for their actions. The insults and curses proved to be so terrible that they could not write them down in their report.

After that affair was done, the henchmen went on to confront the second illegal flock. This shepherd, also put the herd on the move with his dog and tried to escape. However he was captured and was forced to take his animals to the village in Hilversum. When he arrived they seized his flock. They found out that the shepherd was a servant of a certain William Dirksz Smaldaat, the owner of the sheep. Smaldaat was summon to come to Hilversum.

Meanwhile came the schout from Naarden who had the highest authority in the Gooi justice systeem. The Hilversum rural policeman Jan Bitter, together with the burgomasters Lambert Tijmensz Flanders and Lubbert Boschuizen offered their mediation in this thorny issue. They did not want any quarrel between the Sticht and Gooi neighbours. Ultimately, the Naarden schout agreed to fine Smaldaat of 225 guilders. A considerable sum of money, which is in the Goois villages some one could buy a little farmhouse. Smaldaat left home after he had promised the next day to come back with the money. On his return he could not come up with the actual sum, since he was short on cash.

However there was one man named Cornelis Dirksz which would loan him that amount of money for a period of fourteen days. For a guarantee to cover the loan Cornelis demanded the whole herd to be in escrow. Should Smaldaat not pay his fine then he would loose his whole herd, and become the property of Cornelis Dirksz. Further there was also a charge of 12 guilders for having the sheep graze for another two weeks two weeks before leaving the pastures with the sheep.

That incident led to some unpleasant consequences. William Dirksz Smaldaat and Zeegers Hendriksz Schouten, the owner of the escaping herds, were defendants named in their Utrecht magistrate. They told a hung total different story than what the henchmens had decleared under oath. The Edel Mogende Heeren of the States of Utrecht wanted immediate contact with the Naarden schout. Only, after one year later the schout replied, and he described how and what had happend during the occurrence. The investigation showed that not only the villagers of the Sticht were guilty of moving over the border crossing. The Gooiers also provided a lot of angry problems in their own right.
They dug illegally peat from the Sticht territory and smuggled cattle and beer. As a result of these and other illegal border violations there were two surveyors commissioned in 1719 to determine the existing border between the Gooi & Sticht. In order to ensure imparciality and correctivity the work was jointly carried out by the surveyor from Utrecht, Justus of Broeckhuysen and the surveyor Maurice Walraven from Holland.
The results of the measurements was recorded on a narrow, long map at the scale of 1: 2800. Maurits Walraven took the new border lines and registered the in 1723 at an scale of 1 : 14.4000. He mentioned the measurement in the title:
'GOYLANDT, with the New-Limit-separation between Goylandt and the Sticht of Utrecht - under the Convention In Ao dated July 1719' .
In order to define the border, it went from the 'Leeuwenpaal' in Blaricum every kilometre there were fieldstones as border lines laid in place, 22 rocks in total.

Even until today, these historical fieldstones are still part of the nature that can be found Gooi & Sticht survived. You can still see them along the Hollandse Rading, the existing frontier of the province.

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Explanation:

Edel. Mogende Heeren: Nobel Lords of the magistrates

Erfgooiers: Farmers called Erfgooiers had certain right to let their farm animals graze on the Common Lands.

Hollandse Rading: Border of the province Holland

Gooi: Area in the east of the province North Holland

Gooiers : restitends of the Gooi

Leeuwenpaal: The oldest fieldstone with a lion, the coat of arms of the province Holland.

Rakker: Servant or henchmen of the schout

Scheepen: had several adminitrative and judical functions in the administrations of a Dutch town or village.

Schout: A kind of sheriff. The schout was responsible for public order and policing. He was responsible for investigating a crime, apprehending a criminal and presenting the criminal to the court of magistrates for judgment.

Sticht: Area in the west of province of Utrecht. East of the Gooi