[FN-1] Williams wrote in the Narraganset dialect Qussuck, stone; Qussuckanash, stones; Qussuckquon, heavy. Zeisberger wrote in the Minsi-Lenape, Ksucquon, heavy; Achsun, stone; Apuchk, rock. Chippeway, Assin, stone; Aubik, rock. Old Algonquian, Assin, stone. Eliot wrote in the Natick (Mass.) dialect, Qussuk, a rock; Qussukquanash, rocks; Hussunash, stones; Hussunek, lodge or ledge of rocks, and for Hussimek Dr. Trumbull wrote Assinek as an equivalent, and Hussun or Hussunash, stones, as identical with Qussukqun, heavy. Eliot also wrote -pick or -p'sk, in compound words, meaning "Rock," or "stone," as qualified by the adjectival prefix, Onap'sk, "Standing rock."
[FN-2] Literally, "A meeting point," or sharp extremity of a hill.
[FN-3] Doc. Hist. N. Y., iii, 1039. The heap referred to by Rev. Hawley was on the path leading to Schohare. It gave name to what was long known as the "Stoneheap Patent." The heap is now in the town of Esperance and near Sloansville, Schohare County. It is four rods long, one or two wide, and ten to fifteen feet high. (French.)
[Ahashewaghick] and Ahashewaghkameck, the latter in corrected patent of 1715, is given as the name of the northeast boundmark of the Manor of Livingston, and described as "the northernmost end of the hills that are to the north of Tachkanick"—specifically by the surveyor, "To a heap of stones laid together on a certain hill called by the Indians Ahashawaghkik, by the north end of Taghanick hill or mountain"—has been translated from Nash-ané-komuk (Eliot), "A place between." Dr. Trumbull noted Ashowugh-commocke, from the derivatives quoted—Nashaué, "between"; -komuk, "place," limited, enclosed, occupied, i. e. by "a heap of stones laid together," probably by the surveyor of the prior Van Rensselaer Patent, of which it was also a boundmark. The hill is now the northeast comer of the Massachusetts boundary line, or the north end of Taghkanick hills.
[Taghkanick,] the name of a town in Columbia County and primarily of a tract of land included in the Livingston Patent and located "behind Potkoke," is written Tachkanick in the Indian deed of 1685; Tachhanick in the Indian deed of 1687-8; "Land called Tachhanick which the owners reserved to plant upon when they sold him Tachhanick, with the land called Quissichkook;" Tachkanick, "having the kill on one side and the hill on the other"; Tahkanick (Surveyor's notation) 1715—is positively located by the surveyor on the east side of the kill called by the Indians Saukhenak, and by the purchasers Roelof Jansen's Kill. Of the meaning of the name Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan wrote: "Tachanûk, 'Wood place,' literally, 'the woods,' from Takone, 'forest,' and ûk, 'place'"; which Dr. Trumbull regarded as "the least objectionable" of any of the interpretations that had fallen under his notice, and to which he added: "Literally, 'wild lands,' 'forest.'" It would seem to be more probable that Tachk, Taghk, Tachh, Tahk, etc., represents Tak (Taghk), with formative an, Taghkan, meaning "wood;" and ek, animate plural added, "Woods," "trees," "forest." Dr. O'Callaghan's ûk (ook), "Land or place," is not in any of the orthographies. The deed-sentence, "When they sold him Tachanick," reads literally, from the name, "When they sold him the woods." The name was extended to the reserved field, to the stream and to the mountain. [FN] The latter is familiar to geologists in what is known as the Taconic rocks. Translations of the name from Del. Tuphanné, "Cold stream," and Tankkanné, "Little river," are without merit, although Tankhanné would describe the branch of Roelof Jansen's Kill on which the plantation was located.
[FN] The purchasers claimed but the Indians denied having sold the mountain. It was heavily wooded no doubt. Livingston claimed it from having bought "the woods." The Moravian missionaries wrote, in 1744, W'takantschan, which Dr. Trumbull converted to Ket-takone-wadchu, "Great woody mountain."
[Wichquapakat,] Wichquapuchat, Wickquapubon, the latter by the surveyor, given as the name of the southeast boundmark of the Livingston Patent and therein described as "the south end of the hills," of which Ahashawagh-kameck was the north. Wichqua is surely an equivalent of Wequa (Wehqua, Eliot), "As far as; ending at; the end or extreme, point." [FN] Now the southwest corner on the Massachusetts line.
[FN] Robert Livingston, who wrote most of the Indian names in his patent, was a Scotchman. He learned to "talk Dutch" in Rotterdam, and picked up an acquaintance with the Indian tongues at Fort Orange (Albany). Some of his orthographies are singular combinations.