ABORIGINAL PLACE NAMES OF NEW YORK I3I 



Sa-po-kan-ick-an was near land patented June 7, 1639, and was 

 in the Ninth ward of New York. Land was also bought at Sapo- 

 kannickan in 1640. Ruttenber placed this below Greenwich avenue, 

 and supposed it meant a carrying place^ from sipon, a river, and 

 oningan, a portage. Greenwich point was called Sapohannickan in 

 1638 and Sappokanike in 1680. Tooker c[uotes from early docu- 

 ments some facts bearing on this name, which also occurs on Long 

 Island. In 1639 there was on Manhattan island " a piece of land 

 near Sapokanikan bounded on the north by the strand road." The 

 same year there was mentioned on this island a " Tobacco planta- 

 tion near Sapohanican with palisades around it." In 1640 appears 

 " this present plantation situate against the reed-valley beyond Sap- 

 pokanican on the Island Manhate." Frenow suggested that this 

 was an Indian village near Gansevoort street. Tooker said : " The 

 name is from the Del. Skappeu, ' wet,' hakihakan, ' a field, planta- 

 tion, land broken up for cultivation.' Probably a wet or moist field 

 near the meadow, on low ground." This place, however, was not 

 the tobacco plantation, but near it. 



Schep-moes kill, mentioned in 1639, was between 47th and 52d 

 streets, and the name seems from sepoemese, a little rivulet. 



The Indians near Manhattan called the Dutch Schwonnack or 

 Swaneckes, people of the salt water. 



Ten-ke-nas, an uninhabited tract, was a name for Ward's island 

 in 1637, when it was purchased. 



Wer-pos is the thicket, according to Tooker, but Schoolcraft 

 wrote it Warpoes, deriving it from wawbose, a hare, and calling it 

 place of rabbits. The latter has no support in eastern dialects, nor 

 does the former seem well sustained. Ruttenber speaks of it as 

 Warpoes, placing it on high land near a pond formerly in Centre 

 street. 



NIAGARA COUNTY 



A-jo'-yok-ta, fishing creek, is Morgan's name for Johnson's creek. 

 The latter name belongs to a village here, but most of the creek 

 is in Orleans county, 



A-qua-ra-ge, near Niagara Falls in 1687, is an abbreviation of 

 the following name. 



Ca-ha-qua-ra-ghe has been defined neck just under the chin, and 

 seems appropriate to the name of Niagara, which means a neck, 



