ed horizontally-sandstones, shales and limestonesbut now, upheaved and set on edge, are by metamorphism converted into compact crystalline strata, with the obliteration of all fossils-if fossils they contained. The age of these rocks has not yet been accurately determined, although they have been supposed to be Lower Silurian, and a continuation of those which contain the marble beds of Western Massachusetts and Vermont. There are some reasons, however, why they should be regarded as still older. That they do not form the southern prolongation of the marble belt of Vermont is indicated by the facts that both the marble beds and the rocks associated with them are so unlike in the two localities that they can hardly be parts of the same formation. In Vermont the marbles occur in what is essentially a single belt, are fine-grained, unusually banded and mottled, are nearly pure carbonates of lime, and the rocks immediately associated with them are gray siliceous limestones, quartzites and slates. In Westchester County and on New York Island, on the contrary, the marbles are very coarsely crystalline dolomites (double carbonates of lime and magnesia), which occur in a number of parallel belts, are generally of uniform white or whitish color, and have no rocks associated with them that can represent the quartzites and argillites of Vermont. The valleys are sometimes abrupt on both sides, but usually have one side high, precipitous and rocky, and the other gently sloping; and this is largely due, in connection with the erosion, to the pitch or dip of the beds. But the pitch of the beds may not have been the only cause of the form of the valleys. Prof. Dana holds that the throw of the waters against the right bank of a stream (the western if flowing south, or the northern if flowing west), in consequence of the earth's rotation, may have had its effects, and may possibly account for the cases in which the western side is the steep one, notwithstanding a vertical or even a high eastern pitch. The lime-stoue belts of the county are divided by Prof. Dana into: 1st, the Southern section of the county, from New York Island to White Plains; 2d, The Middle section, from White Plains to Croton Lake; and 3d, the Northern section, north of the Croton Lake, The southern section is composed of three areas or belts which, commencing in New York Island, extend for two or three miles into Westchester County. The first of these areas, the Tremont, extends from Fordham southward to Harlem River, and thence into New York Island. It reaches the Harlem River by two lines--a western at Mott-Haven and an eastern at the mouth of Morris Hill Brook, west of On the east bank of the Hudson, at and above New Brooke Avenue. The second belt of the southern York, we have: 1st. A belt of crystalline rocks form- section, that of "the Clove" follows Cromwell's Creek, ing apparently a continuous series to and beyond the north of Central (or McComb's Dam) Bridge and the Connecticut line; 2d. Strata set nearly vertical, once brook emptying into it. The most southern outcrop forming high hills or mountains, now worn down occurs about a mile north of the Bridge; it again outby long exposure to a more rolling surface; 3d. The crops near the "Club House." This belt probably series composed chiefly of gneiss and crystalline continues southward into New York Island. The schists, with heavy beds of dolomite marble and third area of the southern section is a prominent thinner bands of serpentine; and 4th. Contain- feature of the north end of New York Island, from ing in its western portion, where it adjoins the which it extends three miles northward into WestNew Jersey iron-belt-with which it is inseparably chester County along Tippitt's Brook. The Harlem connected-important beds of magnetic iron-ore, River makes a deep cut through it at Kingsbridge; while apatite is one of the most common dissemina- and where the abutments of High Bridge rest, disapted minerals. For these and other reasons Mr. New-pearing there, outcrops at points in Tippitt's Valley berry regards the New York rocks as belonging to the Laurentian age. On the other hand, Prof. James D. Dana holds that Westchester County is comprised within the Green Mountain region, that it borders the southern side of the Putnam County Archæan, as Dutchess County does the northern, and resembles in its order that part of the Green Mountain region which now makes Western Connecticut. The topographical features of the county owe much to the lime-stone belts, which, by their easy erosion, have determined the courses of river valleys, and the lines of marshes along such valleys, as well as located many of the lakes. The beds of this soft rock stand nearly vertical, thus favoring the excavation of deep channels. Paper on the Geological Relations of the Lime-stone Belts of Westchester County, N. Y., American Journal of Science. as far as nearly three miles from Kingsbridge. Just above the point of junction of the Harlem and New Haven Railroads ledges of lime-stone are visible, and were cut into in grading the railroad tracks. The areas of serpentine, with some calcareous material, appear at New Rochelle and Rye. At Yonkers the lime-stone area follows the course of a north and south bend on Saw-Mill Creek, with a width of at least one hundred feet. There are indications of a more eastern belt along the Saw-Mill River Valley just north of the city. On Grassy Sprain Brook a small area exists with a width to the south of five hundred yards. On the Bronx River a lime-stone belt begins near Bronxville, and tapers out to the south, while to the north, and for the most of its course, it is divided into two parts, separated by a band of mica-schist and gneiss. The Hastings belt occurs along the Hudson to the north of Yonkers. In the middle section of the county, in the Saw-Mill River Valley, a large lime-stone area commences about two and a half miles north of Ashford, and widening at East Tarrytown, continues northward to a near junction with the Pleasantville area. This lastmentioned area is also broad and sinuous in its course, terminating just north of Chappaqua Depot. The Sing Sing belt commences south of the depot on the Hudson and extends north-northeast nearly to the boundary of the town of Ossining; it also branches eastward up a small valley towards the Camp Woods. Half a mile east of the village of Croton occurs a small area without distinguishable features, and south of the Croton River a narrow area extends from near "Quaker Bridge" to the forcation of the river at Huntersville. At Merritt's Corner, and on the east border of Croton Lake, as well as near Bedford Station, small areas of lime-stone are indicated. East of the Pleasantville belt, on the border of New York and THE COBBLING-STONE, IN SOMERS. Connecticut, lies a lime-stone area, which extends along the course of Byram River to its source in Byram Lake. To the northeast of Byram Lake, following a valley along the head-waters of Mianus River, as well as another along that of Stone Hill River, the outcroppings of lime-stone indicate an area which completes the list of areas in the middle section of the county. The areas of the northern section of the county to some extent tend toward the east and west in trend and in the strike of the beds. The large eastern area of the northeast extends into Connecticut; that at Cruger's Station lies mostly to the south and east of the station. At Verplanck's Point, and up Sprout Brook Valley or Canopus Hollow, extends an area nearly five miles in length. Prof. Dana regards Westchester County as topographically a southern portion of the Green Mountain elevation; that the grade of metamorphism fol lows the same rule as to the north-that is, it is of greatest intensity to the eastward and to the southward. It is in accordance with this that the least degrees of metamorphism are found in the lime-stone and associated schists of the vicinity of Peekskill, in the northwest corner, while along the central and eastern portions of the county, and in the western, also, south of the Croton, the crystallization is commonly very coarse; that the lime-stones have the same kind of associated rocks-that is, of mica-schists and gneisses-as the eastern and more metamorphic portions of the region in Connecticut; that the lime-stones have a like paucity in disseminated minerals and similar occurring species with those of Connecticut; and that the ordinary normal trend of the rocks-north 10° east to north 20° east-is very nearly the average trend of the beds of lime-stone and associated rocks in the Green Mountain system. Prof. Dana's conclusions are that: "The lime-stone of Westchester County and New York Island and the conformably associated metamorphic rocks are probably of Lower Silurian age." The soils of the county are made up of the abrasions and disintegration of the gneiss, feldspar and lime-stone rocks, with considerable districts largely composed of sand and more limited areas of clay. As a whole, the soil may be called a light loam. It is generally favorable to the growth of cereals. The valleys have the addition of vegetable matter and are very productive of the rich natural grasses which abound here. The hillsides have suffered from washing by heavy rains, but yield abundant crops to good cultivation. About the hill-tops and along the summits of the ridges the rocks generally crop out, so that these localities are mostly left to be covered with forest growths, adding greatly to the beauty of the scenery. In many places in the county there are peat swamps, where ancient lakes have been filled with the accumulation of vegetable matter and the growth of sphagnum moss. This peat, when pressed and dried, makes excellent fuel. The great differences in elevation and exposure, together with the variety of soils, cause a remarkably large flora. In round numbers, about twelve hundred flowering plants and fifty varieties of ferns have been found here. The surface of the county has been much affected by glacial action and drift deposits. Croton Point, on the Hudson, and other places in the county show evidences of glacial moraines. Deep striæ and lighter scratches still remain upon many exposed rock surfaces and others have been smoothly polished. Immense numbers of boulders are scattered over the surface. The most of these are of granite, brought from Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Some are of conglomerate from across the Hudson River and others have great numbers of shell fossils. It A remarkable boulder is found in Somers. stands on the hill directly northeast of Muscoot Mountain in the southwestern part of Somers, and from its top can be seen the blue hills of Long Island across the sound, the northern elevations of Dutchess County and the distant lands of Connecticut. To the west it overlooks Yorktown and Cortlandt. One side of this curious rock has the appearance of an Indian's face. It is an immense mass of red granite, said to be the only specimen in the county, and is perched upon three lime-stone points, two feet or more above the surface of the ground, and four hundred feet above the Muscoot Valley. It was doubtless brought here by a glacier or dropped from an iceberg, which is mentioned in the old deeds as the " Cobbling Stone." almost as light as Caucasians. They spoke many hundred different languages, which showed striking analogies in their grammatical construction, with equally striking disparity in their vocabulary. The goal sought by these discoverers was India, and, imagining that they had found its outlying provinces, they called the inhabitants of the new land Indians. It would be the merest conjecture to attempt to state how long man had occupied the American continent. Apart from the length of time required for producing new languages, or even dialects, and from all ethnological considerations, there are facts connected with his existence here that indicate a period of almost incalculable antiquity. Of the animals found in the New World, none were identical with those known in the Old, and in the vegetable kingdom the same rule held almost as absolutely. Maize and tobacco were cultivated in every portion of the country where the climate suited their requirements, while cotton was grown in a section necessarily more limited in I. Thomas Scharf Scharf CHAPTER II. THE INDIANS OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY. BY JAMES WOOD, A.M. President of the Westchester County Historical Society. THE 13th day of September, 1609, marked the point of division between the pre-historic and the historic periods of the district of country now known as Westchester County. On that day Henry Hudson, the intrepid English navigator, anchored his vessel, the "Half-Moon," in the newly-discovered river, near the site of the present city of Yonkers. The dawn of the following day disclosed the residents of the village of Nappeckamak gathered upon the eastern shore, and viewing with wonder, but with a kindly interest, the strange revelation before them. We now know much, although far too little, of what has since transpired here; but we know almost nothing of the events of the untold centuries that preceded that day. The European discoverers of North America found the continent peopled with millions of human beings, of types analogous to those of the Old World, and with characteristics almost equally varied. In stature they covered a wide range, from the dwarf-like denizens of the far north to the vigorous inhabitants of other sections, whose height averaged, in the men, fully six feet. In activity and courage they excited the admiration of their discoverers. Their color was unique, and was imagined to resemble that of copper; but further investigation showed that this color varied greatly. Some of the natives were found to be nearly as dark as negroes, while in other sections they were area. We may reasonably suppose that man existed here for a long time before he discovered the fitness of maize for food, and for a much longer period before he began its cultivation; and then it must have required centuries to introduce it to general cultivation over nearly a hundred degrees of latitude in the two continents. It is well known that plants change their character very slowly; but maize, tobacco and cotton had so long been subjected to the transforming influences of cultivation as to have lost all resemblance to their original forms, so that they could no longer be identified with the wild species. The force of this consideration is heightened when we remember that, in this transformation, these plants became entirely dependent upon cultivation for their existence. In some portions of the continent the great antiquity of man is proven by the remains of his structures still existing; but as none of these were found in this section, the subject need not be considered here. Closely connected with the question of the time of man's existence here is that of his origin. How came he here? The question has received much consideration. The attempts to designate particular nations as the original peoplers of the American continent, whether they were the Lost Tribes of Israel the Phoenicians or the Chinese, have so utterly failed to convince inquirers, that they have been generally abandoned. The autochthonic theory, the theory of indigenous origin, has had many strong arguments produced in its favor. Some of its advocates suppose that the Creator placed an original pair of human beings here, as Holy Scripture teaches that He did in the Eastern Hemisphere. But these arguments come short of conviction. The advocates of the theory of development that would find the ancestor of man in the monkey, have abandoned all idea of the change having taken place here, as the American for acquiring accurate knowledge of this people's continent has furnished no species of the apes, nor history. the remains of any such species from which man could have been developed. They all admit that narrow-nosed apes could alone have been the ancestors of man, and no such apesno catarrhine simiada-have existed here. When we look at the conditions on either side of the continent, we cannot suppose that it was at all impossible for men, at any indefinitely remote period, to have found their way hither. The climatic changes of past periods, at some time, may have made the route by Behring's Straits entirely practicable. The route by the Aleutian Islands is not difficult now to canoe navigators. The Pacific currents frequently cast the wrecks of Japanese vessels upon our northwestern shores. The islands of the South Pacific afforded a probable way of communication, and it is believed that many have disappeared, comparatively recently, beneath the surface. On the Atlantic side the difficulties were by no means insurmountable, even if we ignore "the lost Atlantis." The tradewinds and equatorial currents carried Cabral and his Portuguese fleet, bound around the Cape of Good Hope, to the American shores, and led to the accidental discovery of Brazil. On his second voyage Columbus found, in a house on the island of Gaudaloupe, the stern-post of an European vessel. In various periods of the past the same forces may have brought men to these shores. It is probable that America was peopled from various sources, and at widely separated periods. These must have been very remote to afford time for the production of the conditions found existing here. The Algonquin tribes occupied nearly the whole Atlantic seaboard, and their language necessarily was widely diffused. It has been found more fertile in dialects than any other aboriginal speech. It was strangely agglutinative, and gave expression to thought by stringing words together into an extended compound. It was the mother-tongue of those who greeted Raleigh's colonists on the Roanoke, of those who boarded the "Half-Moon" on the Hudson, and of those who welcomed and fed the Pilgrims at Plymouth. It was heard from the land of the Esquimo to the Savannah River and from the Bay of Gaspe to the Mississippi. them. It is not necessary to investigate the national divisions of the Algonquins further than to state that the Mohegans occupied the country along the left bank of the Hudson River, called Mahicannittuk, and eastward to the Connecticut, and from Long Island Sound northward to the mouth of the Mohawk, and perhaps to Lake Champlain. Their country was called Laaphawachking. North and west of the Mohegans were the powerful and warlike Iroquois, their immediate neighbors being the Horicans and Mohawks. Across the Hudson, below Catskill, were tribes belonging to the Delaware nation, and east of the Connecticut were the Pequots. Long Island was occupied by Mohegan tribes. It has been stated that at the time of discovery the Mohegans were under military subjection to the Iroquois, and were compelled to pay an annual tribute to them. This is not substantiated by investigation, for we find no reference to it in any of the treaties made by these The aborigines of Westchester County belonged to tribes with the whites, nor was such a thing ever althe great family of Indians called the Algonquin Len-luded to in all the protracted negotiations between ape. Their connection with the Mound-Builders of the Mississippi Valley, with the Aztecs of Mexico, or with the builders of the wonderful structures found in Central America, if any ever existed, must have been extremely remote. Their traditions referred in a very vague way to long journeys from the northwest, and great suffering from cold on their way hither, and of contests with a people who occupied the country before them. Of their own history they were lamentably ignorant. Their computation of time by moons and revolving cycles led all investigations into inextricable confusion. Any event beyond an individual's recollection floated vaguely in the boundless past. No records of any kind were made. For these reasons the Europeans were able to obtain from this people very little information of them selves or their fathers. They existed here for unnumbered centuries, and then passed away, leaving behind them no sign to mark their occupation of the country, save a few simple implements of stone, and no structure of any kind memorializes their power or attests their strength or skill. We are thus singularly destitute of nearly all means The subdivisions of the tribes were very numerous. They had advantages for local government and the preservation of order. The form of government was very simple. Each local tribe had its ruler, called the sachem. He was also their representative in the general councils, which were composed of the representatives of the smaller tribes of the nation. They were presided over by the national grand sachem, who occupied the position of a sovereign. These councils assembled only in cases requiring concerted action, as in a general war. In all other matters the local tribes were independent, and declared war for themselves, or made peace without consulting their brother tribes. The national obligation was imperative, and treason to the decisions of a council was punished with death. Each nation had its emblem, or totem, which served the purpose of the flag of a civilized nation. These were used in times of war, and were drawn upon trees and rocks to indicate that the tribes had taken up the hatchet and had gone upon the warpath. The Mohegan totem was a wolf, and in declaring war the animal was represented with its dex ter paw raised in a threatening manner. The name Mohegan meant " Enchanted Wolf." Their military forces had regular forms of organization and discipline. The companies from the local tribes had their commanders, who were selected for their prowess and achievements in arms. The united forces were commanded by chiefs who had obtained military distinction, and these stood in rank according to their services and their reputation for bravery, prudence, cunning and good fortune. There was but little need for civil government, as their chief possessions were held in common, and where personal property existed, the owner's rights were recognized. It is probable that these local tribes were communities of blood relations, who readily recognized the patriarchal authority of their sachem and who held their lands in common. Doubtless, they closely resembled the clans and septs of Great Britain and Ireland, without the land being held either by tanistry or gavel-kind. The sachems received their support by the free contributions of the community. The ownership of land depended upon conceded original occupation or upon conquest. If obtained by conquest, all original rights became vested in the conquerors, and if it was re-conquered, these returned to the original owner. They had but little idea of title to land. They valued only its occupation and use. The game that filled the forests and the fish that swarmed in the waters gave a value that they well appreciated, and they also prized their cultivable tracts. There is much uncertainty regarding the subdivisions of the tribes in any given district, and if the question of their location were left to the statements and maps of the early European settlers, it well might be abandoned as hopeless. Fortunately, the title-deeds given to the settlers supply considerable information, which, though not perfect, enables us to locate the sub-tribes with tolerable accuracy. Yet the boundaries of such tracts as were sold by the aborigines were designated with much uncertainty by the Indian names of rivers, brooks and rivulets, hills, ponds and meadows, which are sometimes difficult to locate. Treaties made between the settlers and the Indians assist us in the undertaking. The island upon which the city of New York has been built was occupied by the Manhattans. Their territory also extended along the Mahicanituk, or Hudson River, northward to the Neperhan, or SawMill River, and eastward to the Aquehung, or Bronx River. Between the Neperhan and the Pocantico were the Weckquaesgeeks. The Sint Sinks occupied the land between the Pocantico and the Kitchawan, or Croton River. North of the Croton were the Kitchawancs, whose lands extended to Anthony's Nose and the Highlands, and eastward across the northern portion of Westchester County. East of the Manhattans, occupying the territory along the Sound, were the Siwanoys, who also occupied the southwestern portion of Connecticut. North of the Siwanoys were the Tankitekes, occupying the central and eastern portions of the county. The western end of Long Island was occupied by the Canarsees. The Rockaways, Merricks, Marsapequas, Matinecocks, Corchangs, Manhassets, Secatogues, Patchogues, Shinnecocks and Montauks extended eastward, in the order named. West of the Hudson were the Navesinks, Raritans, Hackinsacks, Tappans and Haverstraws. Above the Highlands, upon the eastern side of the river, were the Nochpeens and the Wappingers. Eastward, in Connecticut, was the large chieftaincy of the Sequins. That the Indians of Westchester were very numerous is proven by the fact that over fifteen hundred warriors were at one time in arms against the whites, and also by the number of their large villages. These villages were located where there were special advantages for fishing, or where a light and easilyworked soil was favorable for cultivation. The Manhattans had three villages upon Manhattan Island. Their largest village in this county was Nappeckamak, which occupied the site of the present city of Yonkers. At the southern end of the original township of Yonkers, overlooking the Hudson River (Mahicanituk) and Spuyten Duyvil Creek (Papirinimen,) they had a fortress which they called Nipinichsen. The Weckquaesgeeks had their principal village at the mouth of Wysquaqua, where the village of Dobb's Ferry now stands. It was called by the tribal name. Until recently its site was designated by extensive shell-beds. They had another village at the mouth of the Pocantico, on the site now occupied by Tarrytown. This village was called Alipconck. They had another village by the Neperhan, west of White Plains. The Sint Sinks had a village called Ossing-Sing, where "The Kill" empties into the Hudson at Sing Sing. They had a smaller village at the mouth of the Kitchawan or Croton River. The Kitchawancs had a large village upon Van Cortlandt's Neck, connecting Croton Point with the mainland. They had here the strongest fortress of any in the county. Like Nipinichsen, it was a heavily-palisaded stockade. They had another village upon Verplanck's Point and a larger one called Sackhoes, where Peekskill now stands. The Siwanoys were a numerous tribe. They had a village upon Pelham Neck, in the present town of Pelham; another on Davenport's Neck, in New Rochelle; and their largest settlement upon the shores of Rye Pond, in the present town of Harrison. Here was a very extensive burial-ground. There was also a settlement near Rye Beach. They had another village in the southern part of the town of Westchester, near Bear Swamp. They had an important castle upon what is still known as Castle Hill, west of Westchester Creek. |