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
Mongaup, given as the name of a stream which constitutes in part the
western boundary of Orange County, is entered on Sauthier's map,
"Mangawping or Mangaup." Quinlan (Hist. Sullivan County) claimed for it
also Mingapochka and Mingwing, indicating that the stream carried the
names of two distinct places. _Mongaup_ is a compression of Dutch
_Mondgauwpink,_ meaning, substantially, "At the mouth of a small, rapid
river," for which a local writer has substituted "Dancing feather," which
is not in the composition in any language. _Mingapochka_ (Alg.), appears
to be from _Mih'n_ (_Mih'nall_ plural; Zeisb.), "Huckleberry," and
_-pohoka,_ "Cleft, clove or valley"--literally, "Huckleberry Valley."
Street, writing half a century ago, described the northern approach of
the stream as a valley wreathed (poetically) in whortle berries--
"In large tempting clusters of light misty blue."
The stream rises in the center of Sullivan County and flows to the
Delaware. The falls are said to be from sixty to eighty feet in four
cascades. (Hist. Sul. Co.) Another writer says: "Three miles above
Forestburgh village, the stream falls into a chasm seventy feet deep,
and the banks above the falls are over one hundred feet high."
Meenahga, a modern place-name, is a somewhat remarkable orthography of
_Mih'n-acki_ (aghki), "Huckleberry land" or place.
Callicoon, the name of a town in Sullivan County, and of a stream, is
an Anglicism of _Kalkan_ (Dutch), "Turkey"--_Wilde Kalkan,_ "Wild
turkey"--in application, "Place of turkeys." The district bearing the
name is locally described as extending from Callicoon Creek to the mouth
of Ten Mile River, on the Delaware. Wild turkeys were abundant in the
vicinage of the stream no doubt, from which perhaps the name, but as
there is record evidence that a clan of the Turkey tribe of Delawares
located in the vicinity, it is quite probable that the name is from them.
The stream is a dashing mountain brook, embalmed poetically by the pen
of Street. (See Cochecton.)
Keshethton, written by Colonel Hathorn in 1779, as the name of an Indian
path, is no doubt an orthography of Casheghton. In early years a
trunk-line path ran up the Delaware to Cochecton Falls, where, with other
paths, it connected with the main path leading to Wyoming Valley, [FN]
the importance of the latter path suggesting, in 1756, the erection of
a fort and the establishment of a base of supplies at Cochecton from
which to attack the Indians under Tedyuscung and Shingask in what was
then known as "The Great Swamp," from which those noted warriors and
their followers made their forays. (Doc. Hist. N. Y., ii. 715; Ib. Map,
i, 586.) Colonel Hathorn passed over part of this path in 1779, in pursuit
of Brant, and was disastrously defeated in what is called "The Battle of
Minnisink."
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Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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