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
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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Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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