But the main objection, from an Indian point of view, lay in the exposure of the west side of the island to the bitter wintry winds. In the course of explorations of native sites in and around the island, it has been very definitely determined that the natives preferred the eastern side of hills, or a southern exposure, and the scattered places where aboriginal debris has been found along the west shore of Manhattan indicate their use as summer fishing camps rather than as residential sites. The Dyckman Street site (100) is an exception, but it was peculiarly situated and sheltered on all sides except due west.

There were some favorable situations along the Hudson shore, where fresh-water springs existed, such as at 79th street and at Strikers bay or 96th street; and at the

INDIAN NOTES

MANHATTAN

latter point an old resident stated that oyster-shell deposits had been observed before the Riverside Park improvement began. The limited use of such stations would not have warranted the divergence of the main line of travel up the western side of the island. They were more probably reached by a trail through the woods, which was in use in 1679, when Sluyter and D ankers made their way from Harlem to North river, "which we followed a little within the woods to Sappokanikke." Some trails doubtless led across the island to the main path on the eastern side, one of which may well have extended from Strikers bay along the line of the later Bloomingdale crossroad (between 94th and 96th streets), thus connecting North river with the village of Konaande Kongh (5), the headquarters of the chieftaincy of the Reckgawawanc. An article on the history of Broadway1 states that "The Post Road or Boston Road as it was originally called, was the first highway laid out through the length of the island," and the remark is also made that "the topographical character of the