EARLY HISTORY 7 



There has been much discussion as to the origin of the name 

 of Spuyten Duyvil. It is one of those historical mysteries for 

 whose solution so many delightful theories have been advanced and 

 there is no likelihood of its ever being satisfactorily explained. 



We learn from various deeds and documents of the Seven- 

 teenth Century that the Indian name for Spuyten Duyvil Creek 

 was Paparinemo. The earliest reference to Spuyten Duyvil 

 under that name is found in a remonstrance by Adrien Van Der 

 Donck, grantee of Yonkers, which was presented to the directors 

 of the West India Company, on May 26, 1653. In this remon- 



From ■ An Old Painting 



Lydig House, Bronx Park 



strance he recites that his grant included, besides the Yonkers 

 valley, a convenient valley nearby bordering on the hill behind 

 the Island of Manhattan at Paparinemo, called by the people 

 "Speijt den Duyvel." Riker quotes an old record, dated 1672, 

 which refers to "Spuyten Duyvil, alias the Fresh Spring." "Spit- 

 ting Devil," "Spouting Devil," "Spiking Devil," "Spikendevil," 

 are a few of the ways in which the name occurs on ancient maps 

 and in old documents. 



Many will no doubt recall Washington Irving's legend on the 

 origin of Spuyten Duyvil — how trumpter Anthony Van Corlaer 

 arrived at the creek one stormy day to summon the Dutch farmers 



