ABORIGINAL PLACE NAMES OF NEW YORK 217 



it to a creek in Islip, and to Blue Point in Brookhaven. Such a 

 name might be used for many places. 



Napeagne harbor and beach ; sometimes Neapeague, for the 

 isthmus uniting Montauk and East Hampton. Ruttenber derives 

 this from nepe, water, and eage, land, calling it water land. Spaf- 

 ford said of the beach leading to Montauk Point : " It retains the 

 name of Napeage from the Montauk Indians, which signifies, 

 literally, water land; and in the same dialect, Mon, in Montauk, 

 signifies Island." Napeague bay is southeast of Gardiner's island. 



Nar-hig-gan was mentioned in 1675, and on the east end of 

 Long Island Nahicans appears on the map of 1616, but in such a 

 way as to suggest a people like the Mahicans, rather than a place. 

 The former name, however, might be from naiyag, a point. 



Nas-sa-ke-ag is in Brookhaven. 



Nas-sa-yon-suck or Nashayonsuck was land sold in Southold in 

 1645. It may be from neeshuongok, eels, or from nashaue, between, 

 ayeuonk, plaee, and sank, outlet. 



Ne-com-mack was part of the Mastic tract, and the name indi- 

 cates an inclosure there. 



Ne-sar-as-ke or Pascuuks creek was the east bound of an island 

 of meadow in South bay, Huntington, in 1689. Tooker thought 

 this a corruption of " his heirs." 



Ne-shug-gun-cir was one name of Hashamamuck in 1659, with 

 a probable reference to eels. 



Ni-a-maug, bctzveen the fishing places, was one name of Canoe 

 Place. It was written Niamock in 1667, and Niamuck in 1662. 



Ni-sinck-quegh-hack-y, a village mentioned in 1645, was in 

 Smithtown. There are now Nissequague river and Nissequogue 

 neck, harbor and hamlet in that town. Tooker said the tribe and 

 river did not have the name from the chief Nesaquake, as some 

 have supposed. The name first appears in 1645, as " Nisinck- 

 queghhacky, being a place where the Matinnecocks now reside." 

 It may be a derivation from the Massachusetts word pissaqua, 

 mire or clay; or the Delaware word assisqua, clay or mud. Add 

 the terminal hacky or ake, and it is clay or mud country. He 

 thought this might mean a land suitable for making pottery. It 

 seems quite as likely that mere mud was meant. In Nichol's order 

 of 1670, it is said that the Nesaquake lands were on both sides of 



