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
[FN-1] Aepjin's name appears of record first in 1645 as the
representative of the Westchester County clans in negotiating a treaty
of peace with the Dutch. In the same capacity he was at Esopus in 1660.
He could hardly have been the "old man" whom Hudson met in 1609. In one
entry his name is written "Eskuvius, alias Aepjin (Little Ape)," and in
another "Called by the Dutch Apeje's (Little Ape's) Island." He may have
been given that name from his personal appearance, or it may have been
a substitute for a name which the Dutch had heard spoken. Eliot wrote,
"_Appu,_ He sits; he rests, remains, abides; _Keu Apean,_ Those that
sittest," descriptive of the rank of a resident ruler or peace chief,
one of a class of sachems whose business it was to maintain the
covenants between his own and other tribes, and negotiate treaties of
peace on their behalf or for other tribes when called upon. From his
totemic signature he was of the Wolf tribe of the Mahicans. (See
Keessienway's Hoeck.)
[FN-2] The prefixed _M,_ sometimes followed by a short vowel or an
apostrophe (M'), has no definite or determinate force. (Trumbull.)
[FN-3] The Journal locates the place at Lat. 42 deg. 18 min. This would
be about five miles (statute) north of the present city of Hudson.
"But," wrote Brodhead, "Latitudes were not as easily determined in
those days as they are now; and a careful computation of the distances
run by the Half-Moon, as recorded in Juet's day-book, shows that on the
18th of September, 1609, when the landing occurred, she must have been
'up six leagues higher' than Hudson, in the neighborhood of Schodac and
Castleton."
Sickenekas, given as the name of a tract of land on the east side of the
river, "opposite Fort Orange (Albany), above and below," dates from a
deed to Van Rensselaer, 1637, the name of one of the grantors of which
is written Paepsickenekomtas. The name is now written Papskanee and
applied to an island.
Sicajoock, (Wickagjock, Wassenaer), is given as the name of a tract on
the east side of the river extending from Smack's Island to Castle Island
where it joined lands "called Semesseeck," Gesmessecks, etc., which
extended north to Negagonse, "being about twelve miles (Dutch), large
measure." The northern limit seems to have been Unuwat's Castle on the
north side of a stream flowing to the Hudson north of "opposite to
Rensselaer's Kil and waterfall." _Sicajoock_ (Dutch notation), "Black,
or dark colored earth," from _Sûcki_ "Dark colored, inclining to black,"
and _-ock,_ "land." The same name is written Suckiage (_ohke_) in
application to the Hartford meadows, Conn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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