46 



AMERICAN MUSEUM GUIDE LEAFLETS 



about on the line of Isham Street and 

 Seaman Avenue, the soil is white with 

 small fragments of shells. A number 

 of arrow points, flint chips, hammer- 

 stones, sinkers, and potsherds have 

 been found here. On the knolls to 

 the south of this garden, an Indian bur- 

 ial, shell pockets with small deposits 

 of pottery, etc., and several dog bur- 

 ials, have been found. There are two 

 small shell-heaps, containing chips 

 and potsherds, in the Park on the 

 bank of the Ship Canal, and several 

 shell pockets were disturbed in exca- 

 vating 218th Street on the north side 

 of the Park. 



Cold Spring. Cold Spring is sit- 

 uated at the extreme northern end of 

 Manhattan Island on the southern 

 shore of Spuyten Duyvil Creek. The 

 Indian remains consist of three rock- 

 shelters and three refuse heaps. The 

 rockshelter is a formation where the 

 overhanging rocks form a small cave 

 or shelter which the Indians used as 

 a dwelling place. All their rubbish, 

 such as oyster shells, broken pottery, 

 and broken arrow-heads, were dumped 

 near by, forming the so-called shell- 

 heaps. Messrs. Calver and McGuey 

 explored the shell-heaps; but Mr. 

 Chenoweth was the first to suspect the 

 existence of the shelters. There is 

 only one which is likely to have been 

 used as a dwelling place, the others 

 being places where food was stored or 

 shelters for fires used in cooking. 

 These shelters face east, and are at 

 the foot of Inwood Hill (formerly 

 called Cock Hill) which forms the 

 most northern part of Manhattan 

 Island. The largest one was formed 

 by several of the rocks breaking off 

 the cliffs above and falling in such a 

 manner that, by digging out some of 



the earth from beneath them, the 

 Indians could make a small shelter. 

 Probably it was occupied by one fam- 

 ily, while the others lived in bark 

 wigwams near by. 1 Another of the 

 shelters is simply an excavation under 

 the end of a huge fragment which 

 also dropped from the cliffs above, 

 and the third is a large crevice in 

 the foot of these cliffs. When Mr. 

 Chenoweth first explored them, all 

 these shelters were completely filled 

 with earth which had gradually worked 

 its way in since their occupation, and 

 much credit is due him for suspect- 

 ing their presence. In them he found 

 fragments of pottery and stone imple- 

 ments, together with the bones of 

 turkey and deer. The largest of 

 the refuse heaps is situated on a 

 rise directly in front of these shel- 

 ters. It consists of a layer of 

 shells, in places one foot thick, found 

 under a layer of fine loam, a black 

 earth which has been deposited since 

 the shells were scattered over the orig- 

 inal sandy yellow soil. The sheltered 

 position of this place made it an es- 

 pecially desirable camp site. The 

 hills to the south and west formed a 

 protection to the camp from winds, 

 and by Spuyten Duyvil Creek access 

 could be had to either Hudson or East 

 River; while the Cold Spring, from 

 which the place takes its name, fur- 

 nished an abundant supply of fresh 

 water. 



Harlem Ship Canal. Formerly at 

 220th Street and Kingsbridge Road 

 was a large deposit of shells on the 

 westerly side of the road. This was 

 destroyed when the ship canal was put 

 through. As with the Inwood Station 



1 Memorial History of New York, Vol. I, p. 33, 

 for picture of houses, and p. 30 for description. 



