38 AMERICAN MUSEUM GUIDE LEAFLETS 



Siwanoy. 



Weckquaskeck. 



Wappinger. 



C. Montauk or Matouwack Confederacy. 

 CanaTsie. 



These tribes were surrounded on all sides by neighbors of the same 

 stock, who differed somewhat in their language and culture. On the south 

 and west, lay the Lenni Lcnape. or Delaware proper; on the north, the 

 Manhattan, and on the east the New England tribes. Almost without 

 exception, these natives were displaced early in the history of this country, 

 and have been long since expatriated or exterminated. A very few mixed 

 bloods may yet be found on Staten Island, Long Island and in Westchester 

 County, but their percentage of Indian blood is extremely low. 



The remains of aboriginal life now to be found, consist of shell heaps, 

 occurring at every convenient point along the coast, on the rivers, and, 

 more rarely, inland; shell, refuse, anil fire pits; camp, village and burial 

 sites; and rock and cave shelters. With one prominent exception, 1 few or no 

 relics have been found in graves. The typical interment was of the flexed 

 variety, but bone burials are not infrequent. 



Dog skeletons complete and intact, bearing the appearance* of having 

 been laid out, are sometimes found buried in separate graves. Some writers 

 have supposed that these individual dog burials are the remains of "white 

 dog feasts" or kindred practices, because the Iroquois even up to the present 

 day hold such ceremonies. The white dog is entirely cremated by the Iro- 

 quois, and so far as we have been able to find out, there is no record of such 

 occurrences among the coastal Algonkin; hence, there seems no reason to 

 attribute this custom to them since other Iroquois traits were so infrequent. 

 It seems more probable that such burials are simply those of pet animals, 



interred as we to-day honor a faithful dog. 



Occasionally, the skeletons of dogs and rarely of other animals have been 

 found in graves associated with human bones. The finding of arrow-heads 

 among the ribs of some of these, and other circumstances, seem to point to a 

 practice of killing a favorite animal on the death of its owner to accompany 

 or protect the spirit of its master on the journey to the hereafter. 



From their appearance and position, many graves seem to indicate that 

 the dead may souk times have been buried under the lodge, especially in time 

 of winter, when the ground outside was frozen too hard to permit grave 

 digging. Others under the same circumstances seem to have been buried 

 in refuse pits. The remains further indicate that "feasts of the dead." were 



1 Burial Ridge, Tottenvilie, Staten Island. 



