56 



NEPONSET NESAQUAKE 



[b. a. 



bowlders and erratic fragments have been 

 discovered in lower Fraser valley and 

 at other points in British Columbia and 

 Alaska — facts indicating a wide distribu- 

 tion of the material. Nephrite lias not 

 been found, however, so far as known, 

 within the area of tlie United States 

 proper, with the exception of an erratic 

 bowlder of mottled leek-green color, 

 weighing 47 lbs., obtained by a prospector 

 in auriferous gravels in s. Oregon, and a 

 small pebble from the shores of Puget sd. 

 (Terry). It is usually found associated 

 with metamorphic rocks, but the exact 

 manner of its occurrence is not under- 

 stood. It is not quite as hard as quartz, 

 but on account of its compact, librous 

 structure it is extremely tough and there- 

 fore makes very serviceable implements. 

 Though not always fine-grained, nephrite 

 takes a high polish and presents a very 

 handsome appearance. The colors range 

 through various shades of gray, grayish, 

 and oHve greens, bright greens, to brown- 

 ish and blackish hues. It is often streaked 

 and mottled, and is sometimes more or less 

 translucent. Before the introduction of 

 iron in theN. W. nephrite was much em- 

 ployed for hammers, adzes, drills, knives, 

 whetstones, etc., but it seems rarely to 

 have been used for ornaments; and there 

 is no reason for believing that, as in the 

 S., it had any special or mythologic sig- 

 nificance. As the stone is too tough to 

 be readily shai)ed by fracturing, it was 

 divided by sawing — usually, it is believed, 

 with strips of wood used in conjunction 

 with sharp sand. Many of the specimens 

 in our museums show traces of such treat- 

 ment. The implements were finished by 

 grinding, and sometimes were highly 

 polished. Specimens have been obtained 

 mainly from tlie coast tribes between 

 Puget sd. in the s. and Point Barrow in 

 the N. ; but many are not fully identified 

 as nephrite, and aconsiderable number are 

 probably pectolite(q. v.). The sources of 

 nephrite and related minerals found in use 

 by the natives has been much discussed, 

 since until recently no deposits had been 

 discovered in America, and it was surmised 

 that the northern specimens might have 

 been brought from Siberia, and the Mexi- 

 can and Central American from China; 

 but this view is now practically aban- 

 doned. Analysis of the northern neph- 

 rites gives silica 56 to 58; magnesia, 20 to 

 22; lime, 11 to 14; oxide of iron, 5 to 8; 

 aluminum, lto3; specific gravity, 2.9 to 3. 

 For an account of the nephrites and 

 related minerals of British Columbia, con- 

 sult Dawson in Canadian Rec. of Sci., ii, 

 no. 6, 1887. For the Alaskan nephrites 

 see Clark in Am. Jour. Sci., 3d s., xxviii, 

 1884; Clark and Merrill in Proc. Nat. 

 Mus. 1888, ,\i, 1889; Nelson in 18th Rep. 

 B. A. E., 1899; Smith in Mem. Am. INIus. 

 Nat. Hist., IV, Anthrop. iii, 1903: Terry 



in Science, Jan. 3, 1890; Wilson in Rep. 

 Nat. Mus. 1896, 1898. (w. h. h.) 



Neponset. A former important Massa- 

 chuset village on Neponset r. about the 

 present Stoughton, Norfolk co., Mass. 

 John P^liot lai)ored there as a missionary 

 in 1646, and it was one of several tem- 

 porary residences of Chickataubut, chief 

 of the Massachuset. 



Chickata-wbut,— Hoyt, Antiq. Researches, 32, 1824 

 ^saelK'm's name). Naponsett.— Mass. Hist. Soc. 

 Coll., 4th s.. Ill, 325, note, 1856. Narponset.— Hub- 

 bard (1680), ibid., 2d s., v, 32, 1815. Neponcett.— 

 Holmes, ibid., 1st .s., vil, 9, 1801. Neponset.— 

 Pincheon (1633), ibid.. 2d s., vui, 232, 1819. Ne- 

 ponsitt.— Gookin (1674), ibid., Ists., I, 148, 1806. 



Nererahhe. A civil or peace chief of 

 that part of the Shawnee living on the 

 Scioto in Ohio, present at the conference 

 between Sir Wm. Johnson and the repre- 

 sentatives of the Six Nations at Johnson's 

 Hall, N. Y., in Apr., 1774. He appears 

 to have possessed considerable oratorical 

 power, and at this conference made a 

 strong appeal to the Miami representa- 

 tives to follow Johnson's advice and re- 

 main friendly to the English. Ruttenber 

 (Tribes Hudson R., 306, 1872) mentions 

 him as one of the two or three more 

 prominent chiefs of the Shawnee at that 

 period. Sowanowane, who, Ruttenber 

 thinks, was Cornstalk, was head or war 

 chief of the Shawnee, and when a belt 

 was given to Nererahhe in 1774, he sent 

 it to Sowanowane. (c. t. ) 



Neron. The "captain general" of the 

 Iroquois, taken near Montreal in 1663, 

 and so called by the French because of 

 his great cruelty. In memory of his 

 brother he had burned SO captives, be- 

 sides killing 60 men with his own hand 

 ( Jes. Rel. , 1656, 1663) . He wasan Onon- 

 daga named Aharihon, suggesting his 

 French name. ( w. m. b. ) 



Nesadi {NesA^di, 'salt-water people'). 

 A division of the Wolf i)hratry of the 

 Tlingit, living at Kake, Alaska, (j. e. s. ) 



Nesaquake. (From Neese-saqu-auke, 

 'land of the second outlet,' i. e., Nesa- 

 quake r. — Ruttenber). A settlement to 

 which theMatinecoc retired after the war 

 of 1643, at the present Nissequague, and 

 Nesaquake r., about Smithtown, Suffolk 

 CO., Long id., N. Y. 



Missaquogues. — Ruttenber, Tribes Hudson R., 74, 

 1.S72. Nassaquakes.— Clark, Onondaga, I, IS, 1849. 

 Necceaquake. — Doc. of 1669 quoted by Thompson, 

 Long Id., I, 2.55, 1S43. Neersaquake. — Ibid. Nesa- 

 quack,— Andros (1677) in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist., xiv, 

 729, 18S3. Nesaquak.— Nicolls (1666), ibid., 576. 

 Nesaquake. — Ibid., 575. Nesaquanke, — Doc. of 

 1666, ibid., 576. Nesequake. — Doc. of 1650 quoted 

 by Ruttenber, Ind. (icog. Names, 93, 1906. Nes- 

 sequack. — Doc. of 16S(i, i)iid. Nessequauke, — Skid- 

 more (1675) in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist., Xiv, 702, 

 1883. Nip-a-qua-ugs.— Macau ley, N. Y., n, 164, 1829 

 (misprint). Nisinckqueghacky.— Doe. ofl645inN. 

 Y. Doe. Col. Hist., xiv, 60, 1883. Nissaquague.-^ 

 Wood quoted by Macauley, N. Y., ii, 252, 1829. 

 Nissaquogue, — Thompson, Long Id., i, 94, 1843. 

 Nissequake. — Deed of 1666 quoted by Thompson, 

 ibid., 263, ed. 1839. Nissequogue.— Thompson, 

 ibid., i; 466, 1843. Wissiquack.— Doc. of 1704 

 quoted by Ruttenber, Ind. Geog. Names, 93, 1906. 



