Nesquake
The Nesquake were one of 14 Algonquin- speaking Indian tribes on Long Island in the US state of New York and lived at the beginning of the 17th century on the north coast of the island, roughly where the city of Smithtown in western Suffolk County is now . They believed to speak Quiripi-Unquachog, an Algonquian dialect spoken by the tribes of central Long Island and western Connecticut .
Sachem Wyandanch is said to have given the land on which the city of Smithtown is today to the English colonist Lion Gardiner out of gratitude. He had rescued the sachem's daughter from captivity by enemy Indians, probably Narraganset . Gardiner was the first European settler on eastern Long Island and held the land until 1663 when he sold it to Richard Smythe for an undisclosed price. Smythe is considered to be the founder of the city that was named after him. At that time, the colonists lived in peaceful coexistence with the Nesquakes , as no incidents are known. However, like all other New England tribes, the Aborigines were gradually decimated by devastating smallpox epidemics , and today there are no surviving descendants of the Nesquakes.
Epidemics in southern New England and Long Island:
| epidemic | year |
|---|---|
| smallpox | 1631, 1633, 1639 |
| flu | 1647 |
| smallpox | 1649 |
| diphtheria | 1659 |
| smallpox | 1670 |
| flu | 1675 |
| smallpox | 1677, 1679 |
| Smallpox and measles | 1687 |
| smallpox | 1691, 1729, 1733, 1755, 1758, 1776 |
In Smithtown, legend has it that the Nesquake promised that Richard Smythe could keep all the land that he would ride a bull in one day for a fixed sum. The land he acquired corresponded to the urban area of today's Smithtown. The truth of this story is doubtful, because riding a bull over 50 km through impassable jungle in one day would be impossible. A large bronze statue of Smith's Bull Whisper can be seen at the junction of Jericho Turnpike and St. Johnland Road .
See also
literature
- Bruce G. Trigger (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Vol. 15. Northeast . Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 1978 ISBN 0-16-004575-4
Individual evidence
- ↑ Line by Richard Smythe / Smith ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ population
- ↑ Bull statue
