CHAPTER I 



EARLY HISTORY 



Henry Hudson Skirts the Western Shore of The Bronx, 1609 — His Encounter 

 with the Indians — Adrien Block Explores the Eastern Shore, 1614 — 

 The Settlement and Development of The Bronx — An Intimate 

 Recital of Jonas Bronck, the First White Settler to Locate There. 



The Borough of The Bronx affords a history probably 

 more remarkable and more unique than that of any 

 of her sister boroughs. Its numerous historic points of 

 interest, both civil and military, make it a center 

 of attraction to travelers from all over the United 

 States. 



The important part The Bronx has played in the 

 making of this country's history is, however, not its 

 only claim to our interest. Of even greater significance 

 is its wonderful and rapid progress. There is not 

 another tract of land in the whole United States that 

 can boast of so marvelous a growth in population and 

 in development within the past ten years. Indeed, so 

 prodigious has been its increase and so progressive its develop- 

 ment, that it has no parallel in the annals of municipal government. 

 Prior to the white man's invasion, this region was inhabited 

 by various tribes of Indians, the most noted of which were the 

 Mohegans, Weckquaesgeeks, Siwanoy, Sint Sines (or Sint Sincks), 

 Kitchenwonks (or Kitchawancs), Manhattans, Tankitekes and the 

 Taekmucks. They were the same in their general habits and 

 ways of life, but there was a marked distinction in their individual 

 character. 



No one knows where the North American Indian originally 

 came from. There are many ingenious theories to explain his 

 presence on this continent. The most plausible and the one most 

 generally accepted is, that his ancestors found their way from 

 Asia across Behring Strait, many centuries ago, and, migrating 

 southward, gradually overspread North and South America. The 

 latest scientific researches corroborate this theory. 



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