Home / Ruttenber, E.M. Footprints of the Red Men: Indian Geographical Names in the Valley of Hudson's River, the Valley of the Mohawk, and on the Delaware. Published in the Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association, Vol. VI. 1906. / Passage

Footprints of the Red Men: Indian Geographical Names

Ruttenber, E.M. Footprints of the Red Men: Indian Geographical Names in the Valley of Hudson's River, the Valley of the Mohawk, and on the Delaware. Published in the Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association, Vol. VI. 1906. 250 words

Trumbull, "At or near the fishing place" y root Am, "to take by tihe mouth" ; Amau, "he fishes" ; Abn., Ama"'ga", "ou peche Id." "he fishes there," (Rasles) ; s, diminutive or derogatory ; ett, "Near or a'bout," that is, the tract was near a small or inferior fishing-place, which is precisely what the composition describes. , Peconic, now so written and applied to Pecoriic Bay and Peconic River, but primarily to a place "at the head of the river," or as otherwise described, "Land from ye head of ye bay or Peaconnack, was Shinnecock Indians' Land" (Col. Hist. N. Y., xiv, 600), is not the equivalent of Peqan'nuc, "a name common to all cleared land," as translated by Dr. Trumbull, but the name given as that of a small creek tributary to Peconic River, in which connection it is of record Pehick-komik, which, writes Mr. Gerard, "plainly stands for K'pehickonuk, or more properly Kepehikanik, 'At the barrier,' or weir. Kepehikan from Kepehike, 'he closes up,' or obstructs, i. e. 'dams.' " The bounds of the Shinnec'ock Indians extended east to this stream ; or, as the record reads, "To a river where they did use to catch the fish commonly called alewives, the name of which creek was Pehickkonuk, or Peconic." (Town Records.) Agwam, Agawam, is quoted by French as the name of Southampton, L. I, Dr. Trumbull wrote: "Acawan, Agawan or Auquan, a name given to several localities in New England Where there

^4 INDIAN GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES.