INDIAN GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES.
Hudson's River and Its Islands.
[Muhheakun'nuk,] "The great waters or sea, which are constantly in motion, either ebbing or flowing," was written by Chief Hendrick Aupaumut, in his history of the Muhheakun'nuk nation, as the name of Hudson's River, in the Stockbridge dialect, and its meaning. The first word, Muhheakun, was the national name of the people occupying both banks of the river from Roelof Jansen's Kill, a few miles south of Catskill, on the east side of the river, north and east with limit not known, and the second -nuk, the equivalent of Massachusetts -tuk, Lenape -ittuk, "Tidal river, or estuary," or "Waters driven by waves or tides," with the accessory meaning of "great." Literally, in application, "The great tidal river of the Muhheakan'neuw nation." The Dutch wrote the national name Mahikan, Maikan, etc., and the English of Connecticut wrote Mohegan, which was claimed by Drs. Schoolcraft and Trumbull to be derived from Maingan (Cree Mahéggun), "Wolf"—"an enchanted wolf, or a wolf of supernatural powers." From their prevailing totem or prevailing coat-of-arms, the Wolf, the French called them Loups, "wolves," and also Manhingans, including under the names "The nine nations gathered between Manhattan and Quebec." While the name is generic its application to Hudson's River was probably confined to the vicinity of Albany, where Chief Aupaumut located their ancient capital under the name of Pem-po-tow-wut-hut Muh-hea-kan-neuw, "The fire-place of the Muh-hea-kan-nuk nation." [FN] The Dutch found them on both sides of the river north of Catskill, with extended northern and eastern alliances, and south of that point, on the east side of the river, in alliance with a tribe known as Wappans or Wappings, Wappani, or "East-side people," the two nations forming the Mahikan nation of Hudson's River as known in history. (See Wahamensing.)
[FN] Presumed to have been at what is now known as Scho-lac, which see.
[Father Jogues,] the French-Jesuit martyr-missionary, wrote in 1646, Oi-o-gué as the Huron-Iroquoian name of the river, given to him at Sarachtoga, with the connection "At the river." "Ohioge, river; Ohioge-son, at the long river," wrote Bruyas. Arent van Curler wrote the same name, in 1634, Vyoge, and gave it as that of the Mohawk River, correcting the orthography, in his vocabulary, to "Oyoghi, a kill" or channel. It is an Iroquoian generic applicable to any principal stream or current river, with the ancient related meaning of "beautiful river."
It is said that the Mohawks called the river Cohohataton. I have not met that name in records. It was quoted by Dr. Schoolcraft as traditional, and of course doubtful. He wrote it Kohatatea, and in another connection wrote "-atea, a valley or landscape." It is suspected that he coined the name, as he did many others. Shate-muck is quoted as a Mohegan [FN-1] name, but on very obscure evidence, although it may have been the name of an eel fishing-place, or a great fishing-place (-amaug). Hudson called the stream "The River of the Mountains." On some ancient maps it is called "Manhattans River." The Dutch authorities christened it "Mauritus' River" in honor of their Staat-holder, Prince Maurice. The English recognized the work of the explorer by conferring the title "Hudson's River." It is a fact established that Verrazano visited New York harbor in 1524, and gave to the river the name "Riviere Grande," or Great River; that Estevan Gomez, a Spanish navigator who followed Verrazano in 1525, called it "St. Anthony's River," a name now preserved as that of one of the hills of the Highlands, and it is claimed that French traders visited the river, in 1540, and established a château on Castle [FN-2] Island, at Albany, [FN-3] and called the river "Norumbega." It may be conceded that possibly French traders did have a post on Castle Island, but "Norumbega" was obviously conferred on a wide district of country. It is an Abnaki term and belonged to the dialect spoken in Maine, where it became more or less familiar to French traders as early as 1535. That those traders did locate trading posts on the Penobscot, and that Champlain searched for their remains in 1604, are facts of record. The name means "Quiet" or "Still Water." It would probably be applicable to that section of Hudson's River known as "Stillwater," north of Albany, but the evidence is wanted that it was so applied. Had it been applied by the tribes to any place on Hudson's River, it would have remained as certainly as Menaté remained at New York.
[FN-1] "Mohegans is an anglicism primarily applied to the small band of Pequots under Uncas." (Trumbull.) While of the same linguistic stock, neither the name or the history of Uncas's clan should be confused with that of the Mahicani of Hudson's River.