Note 44 — Western Indians

Wyoming.

The Delaware name given to a valley on the Susquehanna river, of three to four miles in width, by about sixteen in length, extending from the mountain range above the Lackawana, where the river wends its way through a gorge a thousand feet deep, south-westerly to where the river again finds its way through a range equally lofty and precipitous. This was the Schahentoa or Schahen-dowane of the Iroquois, signifying great plains, as does also the Delaware name of Wyoming. From its earliest known history, this valley has been a favorite place of Indian residence, and was the probable seat of an Iroquois tribe, called Schahentoar-ronons by Brebeuf in 1635, whom he describes as allies of the Hurons, and speaking their language. In 1614, three Dutchmen in the employ of the Directors of New Netherland, accompanied a party of Mahican Indians from near Fort Orange, in a war expedition against the Carantouannais, a powerful Iroquois tribe, whose main village containing more than eight hundred warriors, was located on the so-called "Spanish Hill" near Waverly, N.Y. These Dutchmen were captured by the Carantouannais, and were the first white men these Indians had ever seen; believing them to be French, who were allies of their friends the Hurons, they treated them kindly, and conducted them down the Susquehanna to this point, and thence by way of the Lehigh river, to the Delaware, where they were ransomed by Capt. Hendricksen, "giving for them kittles, beads and merchandise." In the map made by the Captain from information furnished by these Dutchmen, he indicated four towns on the west side of the river, at this point, and designated the tribe as Minquas, this being the general name applied by the Dutch to all the Iroquois tribes south of the Five Nations, and west of New Netherland, several of which are known to have been in existence at that early date, but which appear to have been entirely overlooked by the scholars of the country.