Footprints of the Red Men: 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.Ruttenber, Edward Manning
History
Footprints of the Red Men: 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.
Ruttenber, Edward Manning
Indians of North America -- New York (State); Names, Geographical -- New York (State); Names, Indian -- North America
Peakadasank, so written in Indian deed to Governor Dongan in
1684--_Pachanasinck_ in patent to Jacob Bruyn, 1719; _Peckanasinck,
Pachanassinck,_ etc.--is given as the name of a stream bounding a tract
of land, the Dongan deed description reading: "Thence southwesterly all
along said hills and the river Peakadasank to a water-pond lying on said
hills called Meretange." The name is preserved in two streams known as
the Big and the Little Pachanasink, in Orange County, and in Ulster
County as the "Pachanasink District," covering the south part of the town
of Shawongunk. The Big Pachanasink is now known as Shawongunk Kill. In
1719, Nov. 26, a certain tract of land "called Pachanasink" was granted
to Jacobus Bruyn and described in survey as "on the north side of
Shawongunck Creek, beginning where the Verkerde Kill [FN] flows into
said river," indicating locative of the name at the Verkerde Branch. In
a brief submitted in the boundary contention, it is said that the line
of the Dongan purchase ran "along the foot of the hills from a place
called Pachanasink, where the Indians who sold the land had a large
village and place," and from thence "to the head of the said river, and
no where else the said river is called by that name." The evidence is
cumulative that the name was that of the dominant feature of the district,
from which it was transferred to the stream. It is a district strewn
with masses of conglomerate rocks thrown off from the hills and
precipitous cliffs. The two forms of the name, Peakadasank (1684) and
Pachanassink (1717), were no doubt employed as equivalents. They differ
in meaning, however. Wm. R. Gerard writes: "_Peakadasank,_ or
_Pakadassin,_ means, 'It is laid out through the effects of a blow,' or
some other action. The participial form is _Pakadasing,_ meaning, 'Where
it is laid out,' or 'Where it lies fallen.' The reference in this case
would seem to be to the stone which had fallen off or been thrown down
from the hills." _Pachanasink_ means, "At the split rocks"; _Pachassin,_
"Split stone." In either form the name is from the split rocks.
* * * * *
[FN] The Verkerde Kill falls over a precipice of about seventy feet.
The exposed surface of the precipice is marked by strata in the
conglomerate as primarily laid down. The entire district is a region
of split rocks. Verkerde Kill takes that name from Dutch _Verkeerd,_
meaning "Wrong, bad, angry, turbulent," etc. It is the outlet of
Meretange Pond near Sam's Point. It flows from the pond to the falls
and from the falls at nearly a right angle over a series of cascades
aggregating in all a fall of two hundred and forty feet. The falls are
in the town of Gardiner, Ulster County. (See Aioskawasting.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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