It was employed to locate the place of settlement of the Palatine immigrants in 1709 -- "The Parish of Quassaick," later, "The Parish of Newburgh." It is now preserved as the name of the creek which bounds (in part) the city of Newburgh on the south. "Near to a place called Quasek," indicates that the place of settlement was located by the name of some other place whioh was near to it and generally known by the name. The late Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan read it, in 1856: "From Qussuk, 'Stone,' and -ick, 'Place where,' literally, 'A place of stone,' " the

Hudson's river on the west. 129

presumed reference being to the district throug-h which the stream flows, which is remarkabk for its deposit of glacial bowlders. The correctness of this interpretation has been questioned on very tenable girounds. Qiisiik is not in t'he plural number and -iik does not stand for -ick. Eliot wrote: "Qiissiik, a rock," and " Qtissiikquanash, rocks." Qnssiik, as a substantive simply, would be accepted as the name of a place called "A rock," by metonymie, "A s'tone." N'o other meaning can be drawn from it. It does not belong to the dialect of the district, the local terms being -dpuch, "Rock," and -assin, or -achsihi, "Stone." Dr. O'Callaghan's interpretation may safely be rejected. William R. Gerard writes : "The worst corrupted name that I know of is IVequaskeg or Wequaskeek, meaning, *At the end of the marsh.' It appears in innumerable forms -- IVeaxashiik, Wickerschriek, Weaqtiassic, etc. I think that Quassaick, changed from Ouasek (1709), is one of these corruptions. The original word probably referred to some place at the end of a swamp. The word would easily become Quasekek, Quasek, and Quassaick. The formative -ek, in words meaning swamp, marsh, etc., was often dropped by both Dutch and English scribes." This conjecture would seem to locate the name as that of the end of Big Swamp, nearly five miles distant from the place of settlement.