Chapter 4

January 13. Early in the morning we were on our journey again, and after going seven or eight leagues we arrived at another hut, where we rested awhile, cooked our dinner, and slept. Arenias pointed out to me a place on a high mountain, and said that after ten days' marching we could reach a big river there where plenty of people are living, and where plenty of cows and horses are; but we had to cross the river for a whole day and then to proceed for six days more in order to reach it. This was the place which we passed on the 29th of December. He did us a great deal of good.

January 14. On Sunday we made ready to proceed, but the chief wished to go bear hunting and wanted to stop here but, because it was fine weather, I went alone with two or three savages. Here two Maquas Indians joined us, as they wanted to go and trade elk skins and satteeu.

January 15. In the morning, two hours before daylight, after taking breakfast with the savages, I proceeded on the voyage, and when it was nearly dark again the savages made a fire in the wood, as they did not want to go farther, and I came about three hours after dark to a hut where I had slept on the 26th of December. It was very cold. I could not make a fire, and was obliged to walk the whole night to keep warm.

January 16. In the morning, three hours before dawn, as the moon rose, I searched for the path, which I found at last; and because I marched so quickly I arrived about nine o'clock on very extensive flat land. After having passed over a high hill I came to a very even footpath that had been made through the snow by the savages who had passed this way with much venison, because they had come home to their castle after hunting; and about ten o'clock I saw the castle and arrived there about two o'clock. Upward of one hundred people came out to welcome me, and showed me a house where I could go. They gave me a white hare to eat that they caught two days ago. They cooked it with walnuts, and they gave me a piece of wheaten bread a savage that had arrived here from Ford Orange on the fifteenth of this month had brought with him. In the evening more than forty fathoms of seawan were divided among them as the last will of the savages that had died of the smallpox. It was divided in the presence of the chief and the nearest friends. It is their custom to divide among the chief and nearest friends. And in the evening the savages gave me two bear skins to cover me, and they brought rushes to lay under my head, and they told us that our kinsmen wanted us very much to come back.

January 17. Jeronimus and Tomassen, with some savages, joined us in this castle, Tenotogehage, and they still were all right; and in the evening I saw another hundred fathoms of seawan divided among the chief and the friends of the nearest blood.

January 18. We went again to this castle, I should say from this castle on our route, in order to hasten home. In some of the houses we saw more than forty or fifty deer cut in quarters and dried; but they gave us very little of it to eat. After marching half a league we passed through the village of Kawaoge, and after another half league we came to the village of Osquage. The chief, Ohquahoo, received us well, and we waited here for the chief, Arenias, whom we had left in the castle Te Notooge.

January 19. We went as fast as we could in the morning, proceeding on the march; and after going half a league we arrived at the third castle, named Schanadisse, and I looked around in some of the houses to see whether there were any skins. I met nine Onondagas there with skins, that I told to go with me to the second castle, where the chief, Taturot, I should say Tonewerot, was at home, who welcomed us at once, and gave us a very fat piece of venison, which we cooked; and when we were sitting at dinner we received a letter from Marten Gerritsen, brought us by a savage that came in search of us, and was dated January 18. We resolved to proceed at once to the first castle, and to depart on the morrow for Fort Orange, and a good three hours before sunset we arrived at the first castle. We had bread baked for us again, and packed the three beavers we had received from the chief when we had first come here. We slept here this night and ate here.

January 20. In the morning, before daylight, Jeronimus sold his coat for four beaver skins to an old man. We set forth at one hour before daylight, and after marching by guess two leagues the savages pointed to a high mountain where their castle stood nine years before. They had been driven out by the Mahicans, and after that time they did not want to live there. After marching seven or eight leagues we found that the hunters' cabins had been burned, so we were obliged to sleep under the blue sky.

January 21. We proceeded early in the morning, and after a long march we took a wrong path that was the most walked upon; but as the savages knew the paths better than we did they returned with us, and after eleven leagues' marching we arrived, the Lord be praised and thanked, at Fort Orange, January 21, anno 1635.

[Vocabulary of the Maquas.]

Assire or aggaha..............................Cloth. Atoga.........................................Axes. Atsochta......................................Adze. Assere........................................Knives. Assaghe.......................................Rapier. Attochwat.....................................Spoons. Ondach........................................Kettles. Endat hatste..................................Looking-glass. Sasaskarisat..................................Scissors. Kamewari (Garonare?)..........................Awls. Onekoera......................................Seawan, their money. Tiggeretait...................................Combs. Catse (Garistats?)............................Bell. Dedaia witha..................................Shirts or coats. Nonnewarory...................................Fur caps. Eytroghe......................................Beads. Canagosat.....................................Scraper. Caris.........................................Stockings. Achta.........................................Shoes.

Names of animals that occur there:

Aque (Gario?).................................Deer. Aquesados.....................................Horse. Adiron........................................Cat. Aquidagon.....................................Ox. Senoto wanne..................................Elk. Ochquari......................................Bear. Sinite........................................Beaver. Tawyne........................................Otter. Eyo...........................................Mink. Senadondo.....................................Fox. Ochquoha......................................Wolf. Seranda.......................................Male cat. Ichar or sateeni..............................Dog. Tali..........................................Crane. Kragequa......................................Swans. Kahanckt......................................Geese. Schawariwane..................................Turkeys. Schascari wanasi..............................Eagles. Tantanege.....................................Hares. Onckwe........................................Men. Etsi (Eightjen?)..............................A man. Coenhechti (Gahetien?)........................A woman. Ocstaha.......................................An old man. Odasqueta.....................................An old woman. Sine gechtera.................................A wooer. Exhechta......................................A lass. Ragina........................................Father. Distan........................................Mother. Cian..........................................Child. Rocksongwa (Ronwaye?).........................Boy. Canna warori..................................Prostitute. Onentar.......................................Woman in labor. Ragenonou.....................................Uncle. Rackesie......................................Cousin. Anochquis.....................................Hair. Anonsi........................................Head. Ohochta.......................................Ears. Ohonikwa......................................Throat. Oneyatsa......................................Nose. Owanisse......................................Tongue. Onawy.........................................Teeth. Onenta........................................Arm. Osnotsa.......................................Hands. Onatassa......................................Fingers. Otich kera....................................Thumb. Otsira........................................Nails. Onvare........................................Shoulder blade. Orochquine....................................Spine. Ossidan.......................................Feet. Onera.........................................Pudenda. Oeuda.........................................Excrements. Onsaha........................................Vesicle. Canderes......................................Phallus. Awahta........................................Testicles. Casoya........................................Ship, canoe. Conossade.....................................House or hut. Onega.........................................Water. Oetseira......................................Fire. Oyente........................................Wood (firewood). Oscante.......................................Bark. Canadera......................................Bread. Ceheda (Osaheta?).............................Beans. Onesta........................................Maize. Cinsie........................................Fish. Ghekeront.....................................Salmon. Oware.........................................Meat. Athesera......................................Flour. Satsori.......................................To eat. Onighira......................................To drink. Kastten kerreyager............................Very hungry. Augustuske....................................Very cold. Oyendere......................................Very good. Rockste.......................................Friends. Iachte yendere................................'Tis no good. Quane (Kewanea?)..............................Great. Canyewa.......................................Small. Wotstaha......................................Broad. Cates.........................................Thick. Satewa........................................Alone. Sagat.........................................Doubly. Awaheya.......................................Death. Aghihi........................................Sick. Sasnoron......................................Hurry up. Archoo........................................At once. Owaetsei......................................At present. The derri.....................................Yesterday. Jorhani.......................................To-morrow. Careyago......................................The sky. Karackwero....................................The sun. Asistock......................................The stars. Sintho........................................To sow. Deserentekar..................................Meadow. Sorsar........................................To raise. Cana..........................................The seed. Onea..........................................Stone. Canadack or cany..............................Sack or basket. Canadaghi.....................................A castle. Oyoghi........................................A kill [small river]. Canaderage....................................A river. Johati........................................A path or road. Onstara.......................................To weep. Aquayesse.....................................To laugh. Ohonte........................................Grass, vegetables. Oneggeri......................................Weeds or reeds or straw. Christittye...................................Iron, copper, or lead. Onegonsera....................................Red paint. Cahonsye......................................Black. Crage.........................................White. Ossivenda.....................................Blue. Endatcondere..................................To paint. Joddireyo.....................................To fight. Aquinachoo....................................Angry. Jaghac teroeni................................Frightened. Dadeneye......................................To gamble. Asserie.......................................Very strong. Carente.......................................Artful, crooked. Odossera......................................The bacon. Keye..........................................The fat. Wistotcera....................................The grease. Ostie.........................................The bone. Aghidawe......................................To sleep. Sinekaty......................................Carnal copulation. Jankurangue...................................Very tired. Atsochwat.....................................Tobacco. Canonou.......................................Pine. Esteronde.....................................The rain. Waghideria....................................To sweat. Kayontochke...................................Flat arable land. Ononda........................................Mountains. Cayanoghe.....................................Islands. Schasohadee...................................The overside. Caroo.........................................Close by. Cadadiene.....................................To trade. Daweyate......................................To sit in council. Agetsioga.....................................A string of beads. Aquayanderen..................................A chief. Seronquatse...................................A scoundrel. Sari wacksi...................................A chatterer. Onewachten....................................A liar. Tenon commenyon...............................What do you want? Sinachkoo.....................................To drive the devil away. Adenocquat....................................To give medicine. Coenhasaren...................................To cure. Sategat.......................................To light the fire, make fire. Judicha.......................................The fire. Catteges issewe...............................When will you come again? Tosenochte....................................I don't know. Tegenhondi....................................In the spring. Otteyage......................................In the summer. Augustuske....................................In the winter. Katkaste......................................To cook dinner. Jori..........................................It is ready. Dequoguoha....................................To go hunting. Osqucha.......................................I'll fetch it. Seyendere u...................................I know him well. Kristoni asseroni.............................Netherlanders, Germans. Aderondackx...................................Frenchmen or Englishmen. Anesagghena...................................Mahicans, or Mohigans. Torsas........................................To the north. Kanon newage..................................Manhattan. Onscat........................................One. Tiggeni.......................................Two. Asse..........................................Three. Cayere........................................Four. Wisch.........................................Five. Jayack........................................Six. Tsadack.......................................Seven. Sategon.......................................Eight. Tyochte.......................................Nine. Oyere.........................................Ten. Tawasse.......................................Forty. Onscat teneyawe...............................Hundred.

BEGIN "MEGAPOLENSIS ON THE MOHAWKS."

A Short Account of the Mohawk Indians, by Reverend Johannes Megapolensis, Jr., 1644. In J. Franklin Jameson, ed., Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664 (Original Narratives of Early American History). NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1909.

A Short Account of the Mohawk Indians, their Country, Language, Stature, Dress, Religion and Government, thus described and recently, August 26, 1644, sent out of New Netherland, by Johannes Megapolensis the younger, Preacher there.

The Country here is in general like that in Germany. The land is good, and fruitful in everything which supplies human needs, except clothes, linen, woollen, stockings, shoes, etc., which are all dear here. The country is very mountainous, partly soil, partly rocks, and with elevations so exceeding high that they appear to almost touch the clouds. Thereon grow the finest fir trees the eye ever saw. There are also in this country oaks, alders, beeches, elms, willows, etc. In the forests, and here and there along the water side, and on the islands, there grows an abundance of chestnuts, plums, hazel nuts, large walnuts of several sorts, and of as good a taste as in the Netherlands, but they have a somewhat harder shell. The ground on the hills is covered with bushes of bilberries or blueberries; the ground in the flat land near the rivers is covered with strawberries, which grow here so plentifully in the fields, that one can lie down and eat them. Grapevines also grow here naturally in great abundance along the roads, paths, and creeks, and wherever you may turn you find them. I have seen whole pieces of land where vine stood by vine and grew very luxuriantly, climbing to the top of the largest and loftiest trees, and although they are not cultivated, some of the grapes are found to be as good and sweet as in Holland. Here is also a sort of grapes which grow very large, each grape as big as the end of one's finger, or an ordinary plum, and because they are somewhat fleshy and have a thick skin we call them Speck Druyven. If people would cultivate the vines they might have as good wine here as they have in Germany or France. I had myself last harvest a boat-load of grapes and pressed them. As long as the wine was new it tasted better than any French or Rhenish Must, and the color of the grape juice here is so high and red that with one wine-glass full you can color a whole pot of white wine. In the forests is great plenty of deer, which in autumn and early winter are as fat as any Holland cow can be. I have had them with fat more than two fingers thick on the ribs, so that they were nothing else than almost clear fat, and could hardly be eaten. There are also many turkies, as large as in Holland, but in some years less than in others. The year before I came here, there were so many turkies and deer that they came to feed by the houses and hog pens, and were taken by the Indians in such numbers that a deer was sold to the Dutch for a loaf of bread, or a knife, or even for a tobacco pipe; but now one commonly has to give for a good deer six or seven guilders. In the forests here there are also many partridges, heath-hens and pigeons that fly together in thousands, and sometimes ten, twenty, thirty and even forty and fifty are killed at one shot. We have here, too, a great number of all kinds of fowl, swans, geese, ducks, widgeons, teal, brant, which sport upon the river in thousands in the spring of the year, and again in the autumn fly away in flocks, so that in the morning and evening any one may stand ready with his gun before his house and shoot them as they fly past. I have also eaten here several times of elks, which were very fat and tasted much like venison; and besides these profitable beasts we have also in this country lions, bears, wolves, foxes, and particularly very many snakes, which are large and as long as eight, ten, and twelve feet. Among others, there is a sort of snake, which we call rattlesnake, from a certain object which it has back upon its tail, two or three fingers' breadth long, and has ten or twelve joints, and with this it makes a noise like the crickets. Its color is variegated much like our large brindled bulls. These snakes have very sharp teeth in their mouth, and dare to bite at dogs; they make way for neither man nor beast, but fall on and bite them, and their bite is very poisonous, and commonly even deadly too.

As to the soil of this country, that on the mountains is a reddish sand or rock, but in the low flat lands, and along the rivers, and even in the jutting sides of the mountains for an hundred or two hundred paces up, there is often clay. I have been on hills here, as high as a church, to examine the soil, and have found it to be clay. In this ground there appears to be a singular strength and capacity for bearing crops, for a farmer here told me that he had raised fine wheat on one and the same piece of land eleven years successively without ever breaking it up or letting it lie fallow. The butter here is clean and yellow as in Holland. Through this land runs an excellent river, about 500 or 600 paces wide. This river comes out of the Mahakas Country, about four leagues north of us. There is flows between two high rocky banks, and falls from a height equal to that of a church, with such a noise that we can sometimes hear it here with us. In the beginning of June twelve of us took ride to see it. When we came there we saw not only the river falling with such a noise that we could hardly hear one another, but the water boiling and dashing with such force in still weather, that it seemed all the time as if it were raining; and the trees on the hills near by (which are as high as Schoorler Duyn) had their leaves all the time wet exactly as if it rained. The water is as clear as crystal, and as fresh as milk. I and another with me saw there, in clear sunshine, when there was not a cloud in the sky, especially when we stood above upon the rocks, directly opposite where the river falls, in the great abyss, the half of a rainbow, or a quarter of a circle, of the same color with the rainbow in the sky. And when we had gone about ten or twelve rods farther downwards from the fall, along the river, we saw a complete rainbow, like a half circle, appearing clearly in the water just as if it had been in the clouds, and this is always so according to the report of all who have ever been there. In this river is a great plenty of all kinds of fish--pike, eels, perch, lampreys, suckers, cat fish, sun fish, shad, bass, etc. In the spring, in May, the perch are so plenty, that one man with a hook and line will catch in one hour as many as ten or twelve can eat. My boys have caught in an hour fifty, each a foot long. They have three hooks on the instrument with which they fish, and draw up frequently two or three perch at once. There is also in the river a great plenty of sturgeon, which we Christians do not like, but the Indians eat them greedily. In this river, too, are very beautiful islands, containing ten, twenty, thirty, fifty and seventy morgens of land. The soil is very good, but the worst of it is, that by the melting of the snow, or heavy rains, the river readily overflows and covers that low land. This river ebbs and flows at ordinary low water as far as this place, although it is thirty-six leagues inland from the sea.