Chapter I: Part 1

FOOTPRINTS OF THE RED MEN.

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Indian Geographical Names

IN THE VALLEY OF HUDSON'S RIVER,
THE VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK,
AND ON THE DELAWARE:
THEIR LOCATION AND THE PROBABLE
MEANING OF SOME OF THEM.

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BY
E. M. RUTTENBER,
_Author of "History of the Indian Tribes of Hudson's River."_

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"Indian place-names are not proper names, that is unmeaning words, but significant appellatives each conveying a description of the locality to which it belongs."--_Trumbull._

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PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES
OF THE
New York State Historical Association.

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Copyrighted by the

NEW YORK STATE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
1906.

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{INDEX p. 237}

Primary Explanations.

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The locatives of the Indian geographical names which have been handed down as the names of boundmarks or of places or tribes, are properly a subject of study on the part of all who would be familiar with the aboriginal geography of a district or a state. In many cases these names were quite as designative of geographical centers as are the names of the towns, villages and cities which have been substituted for them. In some cases they have been wisely retained, while the specific places to which they belonged have been lost. In this work special effort has been made, first, to ascertain the places to which the names belonged as given in official records, to ascertain the physical features of those places, and carry back the thought to the poetic period of our territorial history, "when the original drapery in which nature was enveloped under the dominion of the laws of vegetation, spread out in one vast, continuous interminable forest," broken here and there by the opened patches of corn-lands and the wigwams and villages of the redmen; secondly, to ascertain the meanings of the aboriginal names, recognizing fully that, as Dr. Trumbull wrote, "They were not proper names or mere unmeaning marks, but significant appellatives conveying a description of the locatives to which they were given." Coming down to us in the crude orthographies of traders and unlettered men, they are not readily recognized in the orthographies of the educated missionaries, and especially are they disguised by the varying powers of the German, the French, and the English alphabets in which they were written by educated as well as by uneducated scribes, and by traders who were certainly not very familiar with the science of representing spoken sounds by letters. In one instance the same name appears in forty-nine forms by different writers. Many names, however, have been recognized under missionary standards and their meanings satisfactorily ascertained, aided by the features of the localities to which they were applied; the latter, indeed, contributing very largely to their interpretation. Probably the reader will find geographical descriptions that do not apply to the places where the name is now met. The early settlers made many transfers as well as extensions of names from a specific place to a large district of country. It must be remembered that original applications were specific to the places which they described even though they were generic and applicable to any place where the same features were referred to. The locatives in Indian deeds and original patents are the only guide to places of original application, coupled with descriptive features where they are known.

No vocabularies of the dialects spoken in the lower valley of the Hudson having been preserved, the vocabularies of the Upper-Unami and the Minsi-Lenape, or Delaware tongues on the south and west, and the Natick, or Massachusetts, on the north and east, have been consulted for explanations by comparative inductive methods, and also orthographies in other places, the interpretations of which have been established by competent linguists. In all cases where the meaning of terms has been particularly questioned, the best expert authority has been consulted. While positive accuracy is not asserted in any case, it is believed that in most cases the interpretations which have been given may be accepted as substantially correct. There is no poetry in them--no "glittering waterfalls," no "beautiful rivers," no "smile of the Great Spirit," no "Holy place of sacred feasts and dances," but plain terms that have their equivalents in our own language for a small hill, a high hill, a mountain, a brook, a creek, a kill, a river, a pond, a lake, a swamp, a large stone, a place of small stones, a split rock, a meadow, or whatever the objective feature may have been as recognized by the Indian. Many of them were particular names in the form of verbals indicating a place where the action of the verb was performed; occasionally the name of a sachem is given as that of his place of residence or the stream on which he resided, but all are from generic roots.

To the Algonquian dialects spoken in the valley of Hudson's River at the time of the discovery, was added later the Mohawk--Iroquorian, to some extent, more particularly on the north, where it appears about 1621-6, as indicated in the blanket deed given by the Five Nations to King George in 1726. Territorially, in the primary era of European invasion, the Eastern Algonquian prevailed, in varying idioms, on both sides of the river, from a northern point to the Katskills, and from thence south to the Highlands a type of the Unami-Minsi-Lenape or Delaware. That spoken around New York on both sides of the river, was classed by the early Dutch writers as Manhattan, as distinguished from dialects in the Highlands and from the Savano or dialects of the East New England coast. North of the Highlands on both sides of the river, they classed the dialect as Wapping, and from the Katskills north as Mahican or Mohegan, preserved in part in what is known as the Stockbridge. Presumably the dialects were more or less mixed and formed as a whole what may be termed "The Hudson's River Dialect," radically Lenape or Delaware, as noted by Governor Tryon in 1774. In local names we seem to meet the Upper-Unami and the Minsi of New Jersey, and the Mohegan and the Natick of the north and east, the Quiripi of the Sound, and the dialect of the Connecticut Valley. In the belt of country south of the Katskills they were soft and vocalic, the lingual mute _t_ frequently appearing and _r_ taking the place of the Eastern _l_ and _n._ In the Minsi (Del.) Zeisberger wrote _l_ invariably, as distinguished from _r,_ which appears in the earliest local names in the valley of the Hudson. Other dialectic peculiarities seem to appear in the exchange of the sonant _g_ for the hard sound of the surd mute _k,_ and of _p_ for _g,_ _s_ for _g,_ and _t_ for _d,_ _st_ for _gk,_ etc. Initials are badly mixed, presumably due in part at least, to the habit of Indian speakers in throwing the sound of the word forward to the penult; in some cases to the lack of an "Indian ear" on the part of the hearer.

In structure all Algonquian dialects are Polysynthetic, _i. e.,_ words composed wholly or in part of other words or generic roots. Pronunciations and inflections differ as do the words in meaning in many cases. In all dialects the most simple combinations appear in geographical names, which the late Dr. J. H. Trumbull resolved into three classes, viz.: "I. Those formed by the union of two elements, which we will call _adjectival_ and _substantival,_ or ground-word, with or without a locative suffix, or post-position word meaning 'at,' 'in,' 'on,' 'near,' etc. [I use the terms 'adjectival' and 'substantival,' because no true adjectives or substantives enter into the composition of Algonquian names. The adjectival may be an adverb or a preposition; the substantival element is often a verbal, which serves in composition as a generic name, but which cannot be used as an independent word--the synthesis always retains the verbal form.] II. Those which have a single element, the _substantival,_ or ground-word, with locative suffix. III. Those formed from verbs as participials or verbal nouns, denoting a place where the action of the verb is performed. Most of these latter, however," he adds, "may be shown by strict analysis to belong to one of the two preceding classes, which comprise at least nine-tenths of all Algonquian local names which have been preserved." For example, in Class I, _Wapan-aki_ is a combination of _Wapan,_ "the Orient," "the East," and _aki,_ "Land, place or country," _unlimited;_ with locative suffix (_-ng,_ Del., _-it,_ Mass.), "In the East Land or Country." _Kit-ann-ing,_ Del., is a composition from _Kitschi,_ "Chief, principal, greatest," _hanné,_ "river," and _ing_ locative, and reads, "A place at or on the largest river." The suffix _-aki, -acki, -hacki,_ Del., meaning "Land, place, or country, _unlimited,_" in Eastern orthographies _-ohke, -auke, -ague, -ke, -ki,_ etc., is changed to _-kamik,_ or _-kamike,_ Del., _-kamuk_ or _-komuk,_ Mass., in describing "Land or place _limited,_" or enclosed, a particular place, as a field, garden, and also used for house, thicket, etc. The Eastern post-position locatives are _-it, -et, -at, -ut;_ the Delaware, _-ng, -nk,_ with connecting vowel _-ing, -ink, -ong, -onk, -ung, -unk,_ etc. The meaning of this class of suffixes is the same; they locate a place or object that is at, in, or on some other place or object, the name of Which is prefixed, as in Delaware _Hitgunk,_ "On or to a tree;" _Utenink,_ "In the town;" _Wachtschunk,_ "On the mountain." In some cases the locative takes the verbal form indicating place or country, Williams wrote "_Sachimauónck,_ a Kingdom or Monarchy." Dr. Schoolcraft wrote: "From _Ojibwai_ (Chippeway) is formed _Ojib-wain-ong,_ 'Place of the Chippeways;' _Monominikaun-ing,_ 'In the place of wild rice,'" Dr. Brinton wrote "_Walum-ink,_ 'The place of paint.'" The letter _s,_ preceding the locative, changes the meaning of the latter to near, or something less than at or on. The suffixes _-is, -it, -os, -es_ mean "Small," as in _Ménates_ or _Ménatit,_ "Small island." The locative affix cannot be applied to an animal in the sense of at, in, on, to. There are many formative inflections and suffixes indicating the plural, etc.

Mohawk or Iroquoian names, while polysynthetic, differ from Algonquian in construction. "The adjective," wrote Horatio Hale, "when employed in an isolated form, follows the substantive, as _Kanonsa,_ 'house;' _Kanonsa-kowa,_ 'large house;' but in general the substantive and adjective coalesce." In some cases the adjective is split in two, and the substantive inserted, as in _Tiogen,_ a composition of _Te,_ "two," and _ogen,_ "to separate," which is split and the word _ononté,_ "mountain," or hill, inserted, forming _Te-ononté-ogen,_ "Between two mountains," "The local relations of nouns are expressed by affixed particles, such as _ke, ne, kon, akon, akta._ Thus from _Onónta,_ mountain, we have _Onóntáke,_ at (or to) the mountain; from _Akéhrat_ dish, _Akehrátne,_ in or on the dish," etc. From the variety of its forms and combinations it is a more difficult language than the Algonquian. No European has fully mastered it.

No attempt has been made to correct record orthographies further than to give their probable missionary equivalents where they can be recognized. In many cases crude orthographies have converted them into unknown tongues. Imperfect as many of them are and without standing in aboriginal glossaries, they have become place names that may not be disturbed. No two of the early scribes expressed the sound of the same name in precisely the same letters, and even the missionaries who gave attention to the study of the aboriginal tongues, did not always write twice alike. Original sounds cannot now be restored. The diacritical marks employed by Williams and Eliot in the English alphabet, and by Zeisberger and Heckewelder in the German alphabet, are helpful in pronunciations, but as a rule the corrupt local record orthographies are a law unto themselves. In quoting diacritical marks the forms of the learned linguists who gave their idea of how the word was pronounced, have been followed. It is not, however, in the power of diacritical marks or of any European alphabet to express correctly the sound of an Algonquian or of an Iroquoian word as it was originally spoken, or write it in European characters. Practically, every essential element in pronunciation is secured by separating the forms into words or parts of words, or particles, of which it is composed, (where the original elements of the composition cannot be detected) by syllabalizing on the vowel sounds. An anglicized vocalism of any name may be readily established and an original name formed in American nomenclature, as many names in current use amply illustrates. Few would suspect that _Ochsechraga_ (Mohawk) was the original of Saratoga, or that _P'tuk-sepo_ (Lenape) was the original of Tuxedo.

A considerable number of record names have been included that are not living. They serve to illustrate the dialect spoken in the valley as handed down by European scribes of different languages, as well as the local geography of the Indians. The earlier forms are mainly Dutch notations. A few Dutch names that are regarded by some as Indian, have been noticed, and also some Indian names on the Delaware River which, from the associations of that river with the history of the State, as in part one of its boundary streams, as well as the intimate associations of the names with the history of the valley of Hudson's River, become of especial interest.

In the arrangement of names geographical association has been adopted in preference to the alphabetical, the latter being supplied by index. This arrangement seems to bring together dialectic groups more satisfactorily. That there were many variations in the dialects spoken in the valley of Hudson's River no one will deny, but it may be asserted with confidence that the difference between the German and the English alphabets in renderings is more marked than differences in dialects. In so far as the names have been brought together they form the only key to the dialects which were spoken in the valley. Their grammatical treatment is the work of skilled philologists.

Credit has been given for interpretations where the authors were known, and especially to the late eminent Algonquian authority, J. Hammond Trumbull. Special acknowledgment of valuable assistance is made to the late Dr. D. G. Brinton, of Philadelphia; to the late Horatio Hale, M. A., of Clinton, Ontario, Canada; to the late Prof. J. W. Powell, of the Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D. C, and his successor, William H. Holmes, and their co-laborers, Dr. Albert S. Gatschet and J. B. N. Hewitt, and to Mr. William R. Gerard, of New York.

The compilation of names and the ascertaining of their locatives and probable meanings has interested me. Where those names have been preserved in place they are certain descriptive landmarks above all others. The results of my amateur labors may be useful to others in the same field of inquiry as well as to professional linguists. Primarily the work was not undertaken with a view to publication. Gentlemen of the New York Historical Association, with a view to preserve what has been done, and which may never be again undertaken, have asked the manuscript for publication, and it has been given to them for that purpose.

E. M. RUTTENBER.
Newburgh, January, 1906.

INDIAN GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES.

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Hudson's River and Its Islands.

Muhheakun'nuk, "The great waters or sea, which are constantly in motion, either ebbing or flowing," was written by Chief Hendrick Aupaumut, in his history of the Muhheakun'nuk nation, as the name of Hudson's River, in the Stockbridge dialect, and its meaning. The first word, _Muhheakun,_ was the national name of the people occupying both banks of the river from Roelof Jansen's Kill, a few miles south of Catskill, on the east side of the river, north and east with limit not known, and the second _-nuk,_ the equivalent of Massachusetts _-tuk,_ Lenape _-ittuk,_ "Tidal river, or estuary," or "Waters driven by waves or tides," with the accessory meaning of "great." Literally, in application, "The great tidal river of the Muhheakan'neuw nation." The Dutch wrote the national name _Mahikan, Maikan,_ etc., and the English of Connecticut wrote Mohegan, which was claimed by Drs. Schoolcraft and Trumbull to be derived from _Maingan_ (Cree _Mahéggun_), "Wolf"--"an enchanted wolf, or a wolf of supernatural powers." From their prevailing totem or prevailing coat-of-arms, the Wolf, the French called them _Loups,_ "wolves," and also _Manhingans,_ including under the names "The nine nations gathered between Manhattan and Quebec." While the name is generic its application to Hudson's River was probably confined to the vicinity of Albany, where Chief Aupaumut located their ancient capital under the name of Pem-po-tow-wut-hut Muh-hea-kan-neuw, "The fire-place of the Muh-hea-kan-nuk nation." [FN] The Dutch found them on both sides of the river north of Catskill, with extended northern and eastern alliances, and south of that point, on the east side of the river, in alliance with a tribe known as Wappans or Wappings, Wappani, or "East-side people," the two nations forming the Mahikan nation of Hudson's River as known in history. (See Wahamensing.)

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[FN] Presumed to have been at what is now known as Scho-lac, which see.

Father Jogues, the French-Jesuit martyr-missionary, wrote in 1646, _Oi-o-gué_ as the Huron-Iroquoian name of the river, given to him at Sarachtoga, with the connection "At the river." "_Ohioge,_ river; _Ohioge-son,_ at the long river," wrote Bruyas. Arent van Curler wrote the same name, in 1634, Vyoge, and gave it as that of the Mohawk River, correcting the orthography, in his vocabulary, to "_Oyoghi,_ a kill" or channel. It is an Iroquoian generic applicable to any principal stream or current river, with the ancient related meaning of "beautiful river."

It is said that the Mohawks called the river _Cohohataton._ I have not met that name in records. It was quoted by Dr. Schoolcraft as traditional, and of course doubtful. He wrote it _Kohatatea,_ and in another connection wrote "_-atea,_ a valley or landscape." It is suspected that he coined the name, as he did many others. _Shate-muck_ is quoted as a Mohegan [FN-1] name, but on very obscure evidence, although it may have been the name of an eel fishing-place, or a great fishing-place (_-amaug_). Hudson called the stream "The River of the Mountains." On some ancient maps it is called "Manhattans River." The Dutch authorities christened it "Mauritus' River" in honor of their Staat-holder, Prince Maurice. The English recognized the work of the explorer by conferring the title "Hudson's River." It is a fact established that Verrazano visited New York harbor in 1524, and gave to the river the name "Riviere Grande," or Great River; that Estevan Gomez, a Spanish navigator who followed Verrazano in 1525, called it "St. Anthony's River," a name now preserved as that of one of the hills of the Highlands, and it is claimed that French traders visited the river, in 1540, and established a _château_ on Castle [FN-2] Island, at Albany, [FN-3] and called the river "Norumbega." It may be conceded that possibly French traders did have a post on Castle Island, but "Norumbega" was obviously conferred on a wide district of country. It is an Abnaki term and belonged to the dialect spoken in Maine, where it became more or less familiar to French traders as early as 1535. That those traders did locate trading posts on the Penobscot, and that Champlain searched for their remains in 1604, are facts of record. The name means "Quiet" or "Still Water." It would probably be applicable to that section of Hudson's River known as "Stillwater," north of Albany, but the evidence is wanted that it was so applied. Had it been applied by the tribes to any place on Hudson's River, it would have remained as certainly as _Menaté_ remained at New York.

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[FN-1] "_Mohegans_ is an anglicism primarily applied to the small band of Pequots under Uncas." (Trumbull.) While of the same linguistic stock, neither the name or the history of Uncas's clan should be confused with that of the Mahicani of Hudson's River.

[FN-2] Introduced by the Dutch--_Kasteel._ The Indians had no such word. The Delawares called a house or hut or a town that was palisaded, _Moenach,_ and Zeisberger used the same word for "fence"--an enclosure palisaded around. Eliot wrote _Wonkonous,_ "fort."

[FN-3] It is claimed that the walls of this fort were found by Hendrick Christiansen, in 1614; that they were measured by him and found to cover an area of 58 feet; that the fort was restored by the Dutch and occupied by them until they were driven out by a freshet, occasioned by the breaking up of the ice in the river in the spring of 1617; that the Dutch then built what was subsequently known as Fort Orange, at the mouth of the Tawalsentha, or Norman's Kill, about two miles south of the present State street, Albany, and that Castle Island took that name from the French _château_--all of which is possible, but for conclusive reasons why it should not be credited, the student may consult "Norumbega" in Winsor's "Narrative and Critical History of America." Wrote Dr. Trumbull: "Theuet, in _La Cosmographie Universella,_ gives an account of his visit, in 1656, to 'one of the finest rivers in the whole world, which we call _Norumbeque,_ and the aboriginees _Agoncy,'_ now Penobscot Bay."

Manhattan, now so written, does not appear in the Journal of Hudson's exploration of the river in 1609. On a Spanish-English map of 1610, "Made for James I," and sent to Philip III by Velasco in letter of March 22, 1611, [FN-1] _Mannahatin_ is written as the name of the east side of the river, and _Mannahata_ as that of the west side. From the former _Manhattan,_ and from it also the name of the Indians "among whom" the Dutch made settlement in 1623-4, otherwise known by the general name of _Wickquaskecks,_ as well as the name of the entire Dutch possessions. [FN-2] Presumably the entries on the Spanish-English map were copied from Hudson's chart, for which there was ample time after his return to England. Possibly they may have been copied by Hudson, who wrote that his voyage "had been suggested" by some "letters and maps" which "had been sent to him" by Capt. Smith from Virginia. Evidently the notations are English, and evidently, also, Hudson, or his mate, Juet, had a chart from his own tracing or from that of a previous explorer, which he forwarded to his employers, or of which they had a copy, when he wrote in his Journal: "On _that side_ of the river called _Mannahata,_" as a reference by which his employers could identify the side of the river on which the Half-Moon anchored, [FN-3] Presumably the chart was drawn by Hudson and forwarded with his report, and that to him belongs the honor of reducing to an orthographic form the first aboriginal name of record on the river which now bears his name. Five years after Hudson's advent Adriaen Block wrote _Manhates_ as the name of what is now New York Island, and later, De Vries wrote _Manates_ as the name of Staten Island, both forms having the same meaning, _i. e.,_ "Small island." There have been several interpretations of Mannahatin, the most analytical and most generally accepted being by the late Dr. J. H. Trumbull: "From _Menatey_ (Del.), 'Island'--_Mannahata_ 'The Island,' the reference being to the main land or to Long Island as the large island. _Menatan_ (Hudson's _Mannah-atin,_ _-an_ or _-in,_ the indefinite or diminutive form), 'The small island,' or the smaller of the two principal islands, the Manhates of Adriaen Block. [FN-4] _Manáhtons,_ 'People of the Island,' _Manáhatanesen,_ 'People of the small islands.'" [FN-5] The Eastern-Algonquian word for "Island" (English notation), is written _Munnoh,_ with formative _-an_ (Mun-nohan). It appears of record, occasionally, in the vicinity of New York, presumably introduced by interpreters or English scribes. The usual form is the Lenape _Menaté,_ Chippeway _Minnis,_ "Small island," classed also as Old Algonquian, or generic, may be met in the valley of the Hudson, but the instances are not clear. It is simply a dialectic equivalent of Del. _Ménates._ (See Monach'nong.) Van Curler wrote in his Mohawk vocabulary (1635), "_Kanon-newaga_, Manhattan Island." The late J. W. Powell, Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, wrote me: "In the alphabet of this office the name may be transliterated _Kanoñnò'ge._ It signifies 'Place of Reeds.'" Perhaps what was known as the "Reed Valley" was referred to, near which Van Twiller had a tobacco plantation where the Indians of all nations came to trade. (See Saponickan.) The lower part of the island was probably more or less a district of reed swamps.

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[FN-1] Brown's "Genesis of the United States," 327, 457, 459, ii, 80.

[FN-2] Colonial History of New York.

[FN-3] Hudson anchored in the bay near Hoboken. Near by his anchorage he noticed that "there was a cliff that looked of the color of white green." This cliff is near Elysian Fields at Hoboken. (Broadhead.) The cliff is now known as Castle Point.

[FN-4] The reference to Adriaen Block is presumably to the "Carte Figurative" of 1614-16, now regarded as from Block's chart.

[FN-5] "Composition of Indian Geographical Names," p. 22.

Pagganck, so written in Indian deed of 1637, as the name of Governor's Island--Peconuc, Denton, is an equivalent of _Pagán'nak,_ meaning literally "Nut Island." Also written _Pachgan,_ as in _Pachganunschi,_ "White walnut trees." (Zeisb.) Denton explained, "Because excellent nut trees grew there." [FN] The Dutch called it "der Nooten Eilandt," literally "The Walnut Island," from whence the modern name, "Nutten Island." The island was purchased from the Indian owners by Director Wouter van Twiller, from whose occupation, and its subsequent use as a demense of the governors of the Province, its present name.

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[FN] Denton's "Description of New York," p. 29. Ward's and Blackwell's islands were sold to the Dutch by the Marechawicks, of Long Island, in 1636-7. Governor's Island was sold in the same year by the Tappans, Hackinsacks and Nyacks, the grantors signing themselves as "hereditary owners." Later deeds were signed by chiefs of the Raritans and Hackinsacks.

Minnisais is not a record name. It was conferred on Bedloe's Island by Dr. Schoolcraft from the Ojibwe or Chippeway dialect, [FN] in which it means "Small island."

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[FN] The Objibwe (Objibwai) were a nation of three tribes living northwest of the great lakes, of which the Ojibwai or Chippeway represented the Eagle totem. It is claimed by some writers that their language stands at the head of the Algonquian tongues. This claim is disputed on behalf of the Cree, the Shawanoe, and the Lenape or Delaware. It is not assumed that Ojibwe (Chippeway) terms are not Algonquian, but that they do not strictly belong to the dialects of the Hudson's river families. Rev. Heckewelder saw no particular difference between the Ojibwe and the Lenape except in the French and the English forms. Ojibwe terms may always be quoted in explanations of the Lenape.

Kiosh, or "Gull Island," was conferred on Ellis Island by Dr. Schoolcraft from the Ojibwe dialect. The interpretation is correct presumably.

Tenkenas is of record as the Indian name of what is now known as Ward's Island. [FN] It appears in deed of 1636-7. It means "Small island," from _Tenke_ (Len.), "little."

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[FN] The Dutch called the island _Onvruchtbaar,_ "Unfruitful, barren." The English adopted the signification, "Barren," which soon became corrupted to "Barrent's," to which was added "Great" to distinguish it from Randal's Island, which was called "Little Barrent's Island." Barn Island is another corruption. Both islands were "barren" no doubt.

Monatun was conferred by Dr. Schoolcraft on the whirlpool off Hallet's Cove, with the explanation, "A word conveying in its multiplied forms the various meanings of violent, forcible, dangerous, etc." Dr. Schoolcraft introduced the word as the derivative of Manhatan, which, however, is very far from being explained by it. _Hell-gate,_ a vulgar orthography of Dutch _Hellegat,_ has long been the popular name of the place. It was conferred by Adriaen Block, in 1614-16, to the dangerous strait known as the East River, from a strait in Zealand, which, presumably, was so called from Greek _Helle,_ as heard in Hellespont--"Sea of Helle"--now known as the Dardanelles--which received its Greek name from _Helle,_ daughter of Athamas, King of Thebes, who, the fable tells us, was drowned in passing over it. Probably the Dutch sailors regarded the strait as the "Gate of Hell," but that is not the meaning of the name--"a dangerous strait or passage." In some records the strait is called _Hurlgate,_ from Dutch _Warrel,_ "Whirl," and _gat,_ "Hole, gap, mouth"--substantially, "a whirlpool."

Monachnong, deed to De Vries, 1636; _Menates,_ De Vries's Journal; _Ehquaons_ (Eghquaous, Brodhead, by mistake in the letter _n_), deed of 1655, and _Aquehonge-Monuchnong,_ deed to Governor Lovelace, 1670, are forms of the names given as that of Staten Island, and are all from Lenape equivalents. _Menates_ means "Small island" as a whole; _Monach'nong_ means a "Place on the island," or less than the whole, as shown by the claims of the Indians in 1670, that they had not previously sold all the island. (Col. Hist. N. Y., xiii, 453.) It is the equivalent of _Menach'hen,_ Minsi; _Menach'n,_ Abn., "Island," and _ong,_ locative; in Mass. _Mimnoh-han-auke._ (See Mannhonake.) _Eghquaons_ and _Aquehonga_ are equivalents, and also equivalents of _Achquoanikan-ong,_ "Bushnet fishing-place," of which _Acquenonga_ is an alternate in New Jersey. (Nelson's "Indians of New Jersey," 122.) In other words, the Indians conveyed places on the island, including specifically their "bushnet fishing-place," and by the later deed to Lovelace, conveyed all unsold places. The island was owned by the Raritans who resided "behind the Kol," and the adjoining Hackensacks. (Deed of 1655.) Its last Indian occupants were the Nyacks, who removed to it after selling their lands at New Utrecht. (See Paganck note.)

Minnahanock, given as the name of Blackwell's Island, was interpreted by Dr. Trumbull from _Munnŏhan,_ Mass., the indefinite form of _Munnŏh,_ "Island," and _auke,_ Mass., "Land" or place. Dr. O'Callaghan's "Island home," is not in the composition. (See Mannhonake.)

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On Manhattan Island.

Kapsee, Kapsick, etc., the name of what was the extreme point of land between Hudson's River and the East River, and still known as Copsie Point, was claimed by Dr. Schoolcraft to be Algonquian, and to mean, "Safe place of landing," which it may have been. The name, however, is pretty certainly a corruption of Dutch _Kaap-hoekje,_ "A little cape or promontory."

Saponickan and Sapohanican are the earliest forms of a name which appears later Sappokanican, Sappokanikke, Saponican, Shawbackanica, Taponkanico, etc. "A piece of land bounded on the north by the strand road, called Saponickan" (1629); "Tobacco plantation _near_ Sapohanican" (1639); "Plantation situate against the Reed Valley _beyond_ Sappokanican" (1640). Wouter van Twiller purchased the tract, in 1629, for the use of the Dutch government and established thereon a tobacco plantation, with buildings enclosed in palisade, which subsequently became known as the little village of Sapokanican--Sappokanican, Van der Donck--and later (1721) as Greenwich Village. It occupied very nearly the site of the present Gansevort market. The "Strand road" is now Greenwich Street. It was primarily, an Indian path along the shore of the river north, with branches to Harlem and other points, the main path continuing the trunk-path through Raritan Valley, but locally beginning at the "crossing-place," or, as the record reads, "Where the Indians cross [the Hudson] to bring their pelteries." [FN-1] "South of Van Twiller's plantation was a marsh much affected by wild-fowl, and a bright, quick brook, called by the Dutch 'Bestavar's Kil,' and by the English 'Manetta Water.'" [FN-2] (Half-Moon Series.) _Saponickan_ was in place here when Van Twiller made his purchase (1629), as the record shows, and was adopted by him as the name of his settlement. To what feature it referred cannot be positively stated, but apparently to the Reed Valley or marsh. It has had several interpretations, but none that fare satisfactory. The syllable _pon_ may denote a bulbous root which was found there. (See Passapenoc.) The same name is probably met in Saphorakain, or Saphonakan, given as the name of a tract described as "Marsh and canebrake," lying near or on the shore of Gowanus Bay, Brooklyn. (See Kanonnewage, in connection with Manhattan.)

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[FN-1] "Through this valley pass large numbers of all sorts of tribes on their way north and east." (Van Tienhoven, 1650.) "Where the Indians cross to bring their pelteries." (De Laet, 1635.) The crossing-place is now known as Pavonia. The path crossed the Spuyten Duyvil at Harlem and extended along the coast east. To and from it ran many "paths and roads" on Manhattan, which, under the grant to Van Twiller, were to "forever remain for the use of the inhabitants." The evidence of an Indian village at or near the landing is not tangible. The only village or settlement of which there is any evidence was that which gathered around Van Twiller's plantation, which was a noted trading post for "all sorts of tribes."

[FN-2] Bestevaar (Dutch) means "Dear Father," and Manetta (Manittoo, Algonquian), means, "That which surpasses, or is more than ordinary." Water of more than ordinary excellence. (See Manette.)

Nahtonk, Recktauck, forms of the name, or of two different names, of Corlear's Hook, may signify, abstractively, "Sandy Point," as has been interpreted; but apparently, _Nahtonk_ [FN-1] is from _Nâ-i,_ "a point or corner," and _Recktauck_ [FN-2] from _Lekau_ (Requa), "Sand gravel"--a "sandy place." It was a sandy point with a beach, entered, on English maps, "Crown Point."

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[FN-1] Naghtonk (Benson); Nahtonk (Schoolcraft); Rechtauck (record). It was to the huts which were located here to which a clan of Long Island Indians fled for protection, in February, 1643, and were inhumanly murdered by the Dutch. The record reads: "Where a few Rockaway Indians from Long Island, with their chief, Niande Nummerus, had built their wigwams." (Brodhead.) "And a party of freemen behind Corlear's plantation, on the Manhattans, who slew a large number and afterwards burned their huts." The name of the Chief, _Niande Nummerus,_ is corrupted from the Latin _Nicanda Numericus,_ the name of a Roman gens. De Vries wrote, "Hummerus, a Rockaway chief, who I knew."

[FN-2] See Rechqua-hackie. "The old Harlem creek, on Manhattan Island, was called Rechawanes, or 'Small, sandy river.'" (Gerard.)

Warpoes is given as the name of "a small hill" on the east side and "near ye fresh water" lake or pond called the _Kolk_ (Dutch "pit-hole"), which occupied several acres in the neighborhood of Centre Street. [FN-1] The Indian name is that of the narrow pass between the hill and the pond, which it described as "small" or narrow. (See Raphoos.)

In the absence of record names, the late Dr. Schoolcraft conferred, on several points, terms from the Ojibwe or Chippeway, which may be repeated as descriptive merely. A hill at the corner of Charlton and Varick streets was called by him _Ishpatinau,_ "A bad hill." [FN-2] A ridge or cliff north of Beekman Street, was called _Ishibic,_ "A bad rock;" the high land on Broadway, _Acitoc;_ a rock rising up in the Battery, _Abie,_ and Mount Washington, _Penabic,_ "The comb mountain." The descriptions are presumably correct, but the features no longer exist.

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[FN-1] "By ye edge of ye hill by ye fresh water." (Cal. N. Y. Land Papers, 17.) The Dutch name ran into _Kalch, Kolack_ and _Collect,_ and in early records "_Kalch-hock._" from its peculiar shape, resembling a fish-hook.

[FN-2] "At ye sand Hills near the Bowery." (Cal. N. Y. Land Papers. 17.) _Ishpetouga_ was given by the same writer to Brooklyn Heights, with the explanation "High, sandy banks," but the term does not describe the character of the elevation. (See Espating.)

Muscota is given as the name of the "plain or meadow" known later as Montagne's Flat, between 108th and 124th streets. (Col. Hist. N. Y., xiv.) It also appears as the name of a hill, and in Muskuta as that of the great flat on the north side of the Spuyten Duivel. "The first point of the main land to the east of the island Papirinimen, there where the hill Muskuta is." The hill takes the name from the meadows which it describes. "_Moskehtu,_ a meadow." (Eliot.)

Papinemen (1646), Pahparinnamen (1693), Papirinimen (modern), are forms of the Indian name used interchangeably by the Dutch with Spuyten Duivel to designate a place where the tide-overflow of the Harlem River is turned aside by a ridge and unites with Tibbet's Brook, constituting what is known as the Spuyten Duivel Kill, correctly described by Riker in his "History of Harlem": "The narrow kill called by the Indians Pahparinamen, which, winding around the northerly end of Manhattan, connected the Spuyten Duyvil with the Great Kill or Harlem River, gave its name to the land contiguous to it on either side." The locative of the name is clearly shown in the boundaries of the Indian deed to Van der Donck, in 1646, and in the subsequent Philipse Patent of 1693, the former describing the south line of the lands conveyed as extending from the Hudson "to Papinemen, called by our people Spuyten Duivel," and the latter as extending to and including "the neck, island or hummock, Pahparinnamen," on the north side of the passage, at which point, in the early years of Dutch occupancy, a crossing place or "wading place" was found which had been utilized by the Indians for ages, and of which Jasper Bankers and Peter Sluyter wrote, in 1679-80, "They can go over this creek, at dead or low water, upon the rocks and reefs, at a place called Spuyt ten Duyvel." From this place the name was extended to the "island or hummock" and to what was called "the Papirinameno Patent," at the same point on the south side of the stream, to which it was claimed to belong in 1701. Mr. Riker's assignment of the name to the Spuyten Duivel passage is probably correct. The "neck, island or hummock" was a low elevation in a salt marsh or meadow. It was utilized as a landing place by the Indians whose path ran from thence across the marsh "to the main." Later, the path was converted to a causeway or road-approach to what is still known as King's Bridge. A ferry was established here in 1669 and known as "The Spuyten Duyvil passage or road to and from the island to the main." In 1692 Governor Andros gave power to the city of New York to build a bridge "over the Spiken devil ferry," and the city, with the consent of the Governor, transferred the grant to Frederick Philipse. In giving his consent the Governor made the condition that the bridge "should thenceforth be known and called King's Bridge." It was made a free bridge in 1758-9. The "island or hummock" came to be the site of the noted Macomb mansion.

The name has not been satisfactorily translated. Mr. Riker wrote, "Where the stream closes," or is broken off, recognizing the locative of the name. Ziesberger wrote, Papinamen, "Diverting," turning aside, to go different ways; accessorily, that which diverts or turns aside, and place where the action of the verb is performed. Where the Harlem is turned aside or diverted, would be a literal description.

Spuyten Duyvil, now so written, was the early Dutch nickname of the Papirinimen ford or passage, later known as King's Bridge. "By our people called," wrote Van der Donck in 1652, indicating conference by the Dutch prior to that date. It simply described the passage as evil, vicious, dangerous. Its derivatives are _Spui,_ "sluice;" _Spuit,_ "spout;" _Spuiten,_ "to spout, to squirt, to discharge with force," as a waterspout, or water forced through a narrow passage. _Duyvil_ is a colloquial expression of viciousness. The same name is met on the Mohawk in application to the passage of the stream between two islands near Schenectady. The generally quoted translation, "_Spuyt den Duyvil,_ In spite of the Devil," quoted by Brodhead as having been written by Van der Donck, has no standing except in Irving's "Knickerbocker History of New York." Van der Donck never wrote the sentence. He knew, and Brodhead knew, that _Spuyt_ was not _Spijt,_ nor _Spuiten_ stand for _Spuitten._ The Dutch for "In spite of the Devil," is _In Spijt van Duivel._ The sentence may have been quoted by Brodhead without examination. It was a popular story that Irving told about one Antony Corlear's declaration that he would swim across the ford at flood tide in a violent storm, "In spite of the devil," but obviously coined in Irving's brain. It may, however, had for its foundation the antics of a very black and muscular African who was employed to guard the passage and prevent hostile Indians as well as indiscreet Dutchmen from crossing, and who, for the better discharge of his duty, built fires at night, armed himself with sword and firebrands, vociferated loudly, and acted the character of a devil very well. At all events the African is the only historical devil that had an existence at the ford, and he finally ran away and became merged with the Indians. _Spiting Devil,_ an English corruption, ran naturally into _Spitting Devil,_ and some there are who think that that is a reasonably fair rendering of Dutch _Spuiten._ They are generally of the class that take in a cant reading with a relish.

Shorakkapoch and Shorackappock are orthographies of the name of record as that of the cove into which the Papirinemen discharges its waters at a point on the Hudson known as Tubby Hook. It is specifically located in the Philipse charter of 1693: "A creek called Papparinnemeno which divides New York Island from the main land, so along said creek as it runs to Hudson's River, which part is called by the Indians Shorackhappok," _i. e._ that part of the stream on Hudson's River. In the patent to Hugh O'Neil (1666): "To the Kill Shorakapoch, and then to Papirinimen," _i. e.,_ to the cove and thence east to the Spuyten Duyvil passage. "The beautiful inlet called Schorakapok." (Riker.) Dr. Trumbull wrote "_Showaukuppock_ (Mohegan), a cove." William R. Gerard suggests "_P'skurikûppog_ (Lenape), 'forked, fine harbor,' so called because it was safely shut in by Tubby Hook, [FN-1] and another Hook at the north, the current taking a bend around the curved point of rock (covered at high tide) that forked or divided the harbor at the back." Dr. Brinton wrote: "_W'shakuppek,_ 'Smooth still water;' _pek,_ a lake, cove or any body of still water; _kup,_ from _kuppi,_ 'cove.'" Bolton, in his "History of Westchester County," located at the mouth of the stream, on the north side, an Indian fort or castle under the name of _Nipinichen,_ but that name belongs on the west side of the Hudson at Konstable's Hook, [FN-2] and the narrative of the attack on Hudson's ship in 1609, noted in Juet's Journal, does not warrant the conclusion that there was an Indian fort or castle in the vicinity. A fishing village there may have been. At a later date (1675) the authorities permitted a remnant of the Weckquasgecks to occupy lands "On the north point of Manhattan Island" (Col, Hist. N. Y., xiii, 494), and the place designated may have been in previous occupation.

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[FN-1] Tubby Hook, Dutch _Tobbe Hoeck,_ from its resemblance to a washtub.

[FN-2] Called Konstabelshe's Hoek from a grant of land to one Jacobus Roy, the Konstabel or gunner at Fort Amsterdam, in 1646.

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Names on the East from Manhattan North.

Keskeskick, "a piece of land, situated opposite to the flat on the island of Manhattan, called Keskeskick, stretching lengthwise along the Kil which runs behind the island of Manhattan, beginning at the head of said Kil and running to opposite of the high hill by the flat, namely by the great hill," (Deed of 1638.) _Kaxkeek_ is the orthography of Riker (Hist. of Harlem); and _Kekesick_ that of Brodhead (Hist. New York), in addition to which may be quoted _Keesick_ and _Keakates,_ given as the names of what is now known as Long Pond, which formed the southeast boundary of the tract, where was also a salt marsh or meadow. In general terms, the name means a "meadow," and may have been that of this salt marsh (a portion of the name dropped) or of the flat. The root is _Kâk,_ "sharp;" _Kâkákes,_ "sharp grass," or sedge-marsh; _Sik-kákaskeg,_ "salt sedge-marsh." (Gerard.) _Micûckaskéete,_ "a meadow." (Williams.) _Muscota,_ now in use, is another word for meadow.

Mannepies is quoted by Riker (Hist. Harlem) as the name of the hilly tract or district of Keskeskick, described as lying "over against the flats of the island of Manhattan." It is now preserved as the name of Cromwell Lake and creek, and seems to have been the name of the former. The original was probably an equivalent of _Menuppek,_ "Any enclosed body of water great or small." (Anthony.)

Neperah, Nippiroha, Niperan, Nepeehen, Napperhaera, Armepperahin, the latter of date 1642 (Col. Hist. N. Y., xiii, 9), forms of record as the name of Sawmill Creek, and also quoted as the name of the site of the present city of Yonkers, has been translated by Wm. R. Gerard, from the form of 1642: "A corruption of _Ana-nepeheren,_ that is, 'fishing stream' or 'fishing rapids.'" _Ap-pehan_ (Eliot), "a trap, a snare." There was an Indian village on the north side of the stream in 1642. (Col. Hist. N. Y., xiii, 9.)

Nepahkomuk, Nappikomack, etc., quoted as the name of a place on Sawmill Creek, and also as the name of an Indian village at Yonkers, may have been the name of the latter by extension. It has been translated with apparent correctness from _Nepé-komuk_ (Mass.), "An enclosed or occupied water-place." [FN]

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[FN] This translation is from _Nepe (Nepa, Nape, Nippe,_ etc.), meaning "water," generally, and _Komuk,_ "place enclosed, occupied, limited," a particular body of water. "The radical of _Nipe_ is _pe_ or _pa,_ which, with the demonstrative and definitive _ne_ prefixed, formed the noun _nippe,_ water." (Trumbull.) _Nape-ake (-auke, -aki)_ means "Water-land," or water-place. _Nape-ek,_ Del., _Nepeauk,_ Mass., means "Standing water," a lake or pond or a stretch of still water in a river. _Menuppek,_ "Lake, sea, any enclosed body of water, great or small." (Anthony.) _Nebi, nabe, m'bi, be,_ are dialectic forms. The Delaware _M'hi_ (Zeisb.) is occasionally met in the valley, but the Massachusetts _Nepe_ is more frequent. _Gami_ is another noun-generic meaning "Water" (Cree, _Kume_). _Komuk_ (Mass.), _Kamick_ (Del.), is frequently met in varying orthographies. In general terms it means "Place, limited or enclosed," a particular place as a field, garden, house, etc., as distinguished from _auke,_ "Land, earth, unlimited, unenclosed."

Meghkeekassin, the name of a large rock in an obscure nook on the west side of the Neperah, near the Hudson, is written _Macackassin_ in deed of 1661. It is from _Mechek,_ Del., "great," and _assin_ "stone." "_Meechek-assin-ik,_ At the big rock." (Heckewelder.) The name is also of record _Amack-assin,_ a Delaware term of the same general meaning--"_Amangi,_ great, big (in composition _Aman-gach_), with the accessory notion of terrible, frightful." (Dr. Brinton.) Presumably, in application here, "a monster," _i. e._ a stone not of the native formation usually found in the locality. [FN]

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[FN] The Indians are traditionally represented as regarding boulders of this class, as monuments of a great battle which was fought between their hero myth Micabo and Kasbun his twin brother, the former representing the East or Orient, and the latter the West, the imagery being a description of the primary contest between Light and Darkness--Light gleaming from the East and Darkness retreating to the West before it. Says the story: "The feud between the brothers was bitter and the contest long and doubtful. It began on the mountains of the East. The face of the land was seamed and torn by the wrestling of the mighty combatants, and the huge boulders that are scattered about were the weapons hurled at each other by the enraged brothers." The story is told in its several forms by Dr. Brinton in his "American Hero Myths."

Wickquaskeck is entered on Van der Donck's map as the name of an Indian village or castle the location of which is claimed by Bolton to have been at Dobb's Ferry, where the name is of record. It was, however, the name of a place from which it was extended by the early Dutch to a very considerable representative clan or family of Indians whose jurisdiction extended from the Hudson to or beyond the Armonck or Byram's River, with principal seat on the head waters of that stream, or on one of its tributaries, who constituted the tribe more especially known to the Dutch settlers as the Manhattans. Cornelius Tienhoven, Secretary of New Amsterdam, wrote, in 1654, "_Wicquaeskeck_ on the North River, five miles above New Amsterdam, is very good and suitable land for agriculture. . . . This land lies between the Sintsinck and Armonck streams, situate between the East and North rivers." (Doc. Hist, N. Y., iv, 29.) "Five miles," Dutch, was then usually counted as twenty miles (English). Standard Dutch miles would be about eighteen. The Armonck is now called Byram River; it flows to the Sound on the boundary line between New York and Connecticut. A part of the territory of this tribe is loosely described in a deed of 1682, as extending--"from the rock Sighes, on Hudson's River, to the Neperah, and thence north until you come to the eastward of the head of the creek, called by the Indians Wiequaskeck, [FN] stretching through the woods to a kill called Seweruc," including "a piece of land about Wighqueskeck," _i. e._ about the head of the creek, which was certainly at the end of a swamp. The historic seat of the clan was in this vicinity. In the narrative of the war of 1643-5, it is written, "He of Witqueschreek, living N. E. of Manhattans. . . . The old Indian (a captive) promised to lead us to Wetquescheck." He did so, but the castles, three in number, strongly palisaded, were found empty. Two of them were burned. The inmates, it was learned, had gathered at a large castle or village on Patucquapaug, now known as Dumpling Pond, in Greenwich, Ct., to celebrate a festival. They were attacked there and slaughtered in great numbers. (Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv, 29.) Bolton's claim that the clan had a castle at or near Dobb's Ferry, may have been true at some date. The name appears in many orthographies; in 1621, _Wyeck;_ in treaty of 1645, _Wiquaeshex;_ in other connections, _Witqueschreek, Weaquassick,_ and Van der Donck's _Wickquaskeek._ Bolton translated it from the form, _Weicquasguck,_ "Place of the bark kettle," which is obviously erroneous. Dr. Trumbull wrote: "From Moh. _Weegasoeguck,_ 'the end of the marsh or wet meadow.'" Van der Donck's _Wickquaskeck_ has _the same meaning._ It is from Lenape _Wicqua-askek--wicqua,_ "end of," _askek,_ "swamp," marsh, etc.: _-ck, -eck,_ formative.

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[FN] The creek now bearing the name flows to the Hudson through the village of Dobb's Ferry. Its local name, "Wicker's creek," is a corruption of Wickquaskeek. It was never the name of an individual.

Pocanteco, Pecantico, Puegkandico and Perghanduck, a stream so called [FN-1] in Westchester County, was translated by Dr. O'Callaghan from _Pohkunni,_ "Dark." "The dark river," and by Bolton from _Pockawachne,_ "A stream between hills," which is certainly erroneous. The first word is probably _Pohk_ or _Pak,_ root _Paken_ (_Pákenum,_ "Dark," Zeisb.; _Pohken-ahtu,_ "In darkness," Eliot). The second may stand for _antakeu,_ "Woods," "Forest," and the combination read "The Dark Woods." The stream rises in New Castle township and flows across the town of Mt. Pleasant to the Hudson at Tarrytown, where it is associated with Irving's story of Sleepy Hollow. The Dutch called it "Sleeper's-haven Kil," from the name which they gave to the reach on the Hudson, "Verdrietig Hoek," or "Tedious Point," because the hook or point was so long in sight of their slow-sailing vessels, and in calms their crews slept away the hours under its shadows, "Over against the Verdrietig Hoek, commonly called by the name of Sleeper's Haven," is the record. Pocanteco was a heavily wooded valley, and suggested to the early mothers stories of ghosts to keep their children from wandering in its depths. From the woods or the valley the name was extended to the stream.[FN-2] (See Alipkonck.)

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[FN-1] December 1st, 1680, Frederick Phillips petitioned for liberty to purchase "a parcel of land on each side of the creek called by the Indians Pocanteco, . . . adjoining the land he hath already purchased; there to build and erect a saw-mill." (Col. Hist. N. Y., xiii, 546.)

[FN-2] "Far in the foldings of the hills winds this wizard stream--sometimes silently and darkly through solemn woodlands.. . . In the neighborhood of the aqueduct is a deep ravine which forms the dreamy region of Sleepy Hollow." (Sketch Book.)