﻿98 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  KINGS 
  COUNTY 
  

  

  In 
  dealing 
  with 
  old 
  names 
  and 
  records 
  the 
  arrangement 
  by 
  

   counties 
  is 
  arbitrary 
  and 
  a 
  mere 
  matter 
  of 
  convenience. 
  On 
  Long 
  

   Island 
  nearly 
  all 
  published 
  matter 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  old 
  division 
  of 
  towns 
  

   and 
  counties, 
  and 
  thus 
  it 
  is 
  easier 
  to 
  refer 
  to 
  local 
  names 
  in 
  this 
  way. 
  

   Those 
  belonging 
  to 
  Nassau 
  now 
  will 
  be 
  included 
  in 
  Kings 
  and 
  

   Queens. 
  In 
  fact, 
  but 
  for 
  its 
  great 
  length, 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  almost 
  as 
  

   well 
  to 
  treat 
  Long 
  Island 
  as 
  one 
  natural 
  division 
  as 
  to 
  divide 
  it 
  

   midway. 
  The 
  Indians 
  there 
  were 
  in 
  several 
  groups, 
  under 
  petty 
  

   chiefs, 
  but 
  they 
  acknowledged 
  the 
  rule 
  of 
  one 
  greater 
  than 
  the 
  rest. 
  

   All 
  local 
  names 
  are 
  Algonquin. 
  The 
  Iroquois 
  had 
  some 
  general 
  

   ones 
  for 
  the 
  island 
  and 
  ocean. 
  

  

  Can-ar-sie 
  is 
  generally 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  called 
  after 
  an 
  Indian 
  tribe, 
  

   but 
  Mr 
  W. 
  W. 
  Tooker 
  said 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  at 
  first 
  a 
  tribal 
  designation 
  or 
  

   a 
  description 
  of 
  their 
  place 
  of 
  abode, 
  but 
  was 
  only 
  applied 
  to 
  part 
  of 
  

   their 
  possessions. 
  Kanarsingh 
  was 
  one 
  Dutch 
  spelling 
  of 
  this 
  word, 
  

   meaning 
  at 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  zricinity 
  of 
  the 
  fence, 
  or 
  boundary 
  which 
  

   divided 
  their 
  lands 
  from 
  the 
  colonists. 
  In 
  1656 
  the 
  sachem 
  of 
  

   Canarsie 
  was 
  under 
  Dutch 
  protection. 
  Canarsie 
  Indian 
  Fields 
  are 
  

   on 
  an 
  old 
  map, 
  east 
  of 
  Flatbush 
  and 
  near 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  Canarsie 
  bay. 
  

   The 
  present 
  village 
  is 
  in 
  Flatlands. 
  Mr 
  Tooker 
  carefully 
  dis- 
  

   tinguished 
  between 
  locally 
  descriptive 
  and 
  personal 
  names, 
  though 
  

   the 
  names 
  of 
  owners 
  were 
  often 
  given 
  to 
  places 
  which 
  they 
  

   possessed. 
  

  

  Cas-tu-tee-uw 
  is 
  Kestateuw, 
  the 
  central 
  one 
  of 
  three 
  flats, 
  was 
  

   sold 
  in 
  1636. 
  It 
  was 
  called 
  Cashuteyie 
  in 
  1639. 
  

  

  E-quen-di-to, 
  or 
  Barren 
  island, 
  was 
  sold 
  in 
  1664, 
  and 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  

   town 
  of 
  Flatlands. 
  The 
  English 
  called 
  it 
  broken 
  lands. 
  

  

  Ga'-wa-nase-geh, 
  a 
  long 
  island, 
  is 
  Morgan's 
  Iroquois 
  name 
  for 
  

   Long 
  Island. 
  

  

  Go-wa-nus 
  suggests 
  how 
  near 
  an 
  Algonquin 
  name 
  may 
  approach^ 
  

   an 
  Iroquois 
  word 
  in 
  sight 
  and 
  sound. 
  Mr 
  Tooker 
  rejected 
  Mr 
  

   Jones' 
  interpretation 
  of 
  the 
  shallows, 
  Hozving 
  down, 
  etc., 
  but 
  said 
  : 
  

   " 
  the 
  land 
  probably 
  takes 
  its 
  name 
  from 
  an 
  Indian 
  who 
  lived 
  and 
  

   planted 
  there, 
  Gau-wa-ne's 
  plantation. 
  His 
  name 
  may 
  be 
  trans- 
  

   lated 
  as 
  ' 
  the 
  sleeper,' 
  or 
  ' 
  he 
  rests,' 
  related 
  to 
  the 
  Delaware 
  gauwi- 
  

   han, 
  sleep, 
  gauwin, 
  to 
  sleep-" 
  Mr 
  Tooker 
  is 
  a 
  critical 
  student 
  of 
  

   Algonquin 
  dialects 
  and 
  an 
  excellent 
  authority. 
  Stiles 
  also 
  con- 
  

  

  