Indigenous Groups Of Saratoga County
Sarachtook-Saratoga
The name is a corruption of an Indian word ” Sarah Ka” “Sarach-togue.
First may I say if I hear this myth perpetuated again Ill scream. Let’s start simple. Sah-Ra-Ka. Without any discussion on tribes who actually lived at Saratoga lets look at just the word. One can understand that Sah-Ra could evolve to Sara but it would take a rather large case of grammatical blindness to say that Ka evolved to toga. In all fairness this explanation is as good as Howard Beecker saying Shenendehowa in Mohawk Territory due means Great Plain due to its similarity to the Seneca word Shenendoah. Great fiction but appears to be an act of a historian who did not have a clue and was desperate for an answer. While the Seneca spoke an Iroquoian language their position in the confederacy, Western New York, exposed them to contact with Natives in the Susquehanna and Delaware Valleys. One only has to study the linguistics of the Seneca’s to realize that the Mohawk and Seneca language were indeed quite different. We have much the same here. It is a fairly desperate individual that with a magic blink gets Toga from Ka.
So let’s look at Sarach -Togue. Here we agree. This is the earliest form of the word I have found. One can see how Sarach could evolve to Sara. Sarach was used on many later versions on Saratoga beyond the 1683 through 1750 period. Togue is pronounced Took and To-Gue in different historical documents. One can see how To-gue could evolve into Toga. I only make these observations based on the word itself and not on the definitions of either Sah-Ra-Kah or SarachToque. I would at this time ask anyone with proof that SahRaKa is an Iroquoian word at all and show me documented proof of a definition. It should be noted at this time that Sarach-Togue as presented in the 1660-1750 time period is is very similar to the word given to the MOHICAN site and the mixed tribes of people of what latter became Scaghtakook. An early historical document uses the same Togue ending for Scatikook. It is my opinion that these to place names came from the same linguistic group and same peoples. My earlier research pointed me to the Mohicans but after further work I am not so sure
So whose names are these? A very difficult question. I have never found a definitive explanation for Sarach- Togue. There will be those that argue it evolved from Ochseratongue or Ochsechrage as given in the 1683 deed for the purchase of the Saratoga Patent. Was this however an example of the Iroquois using their name for the area or as it appears adopting the name of the area in Iroquoian language? The deed clearly states that it is for the sale of land named Sarachtogue AND by the Mohawks called Ochseratonque. If Sarachtoque indeed WAS a Mohawk name then why would the Mohawks call the area a separate word Ochsechrage. It is clear by the presentation of the TWO words that the Mohawks were indeed combining the name Sarachtoque with their name Ochsechrage which in itself can lead us to believe the Mohawks did not name Saratoga. It should be noted at this time that the name listed for the area as attributed to the Mohicans is Amissohaendiek. The only notation I have found for any part of Sarach Toque is that the word Togue is a MicMac word for Trout. Relevant. I do not know yet. We do have a definition for Scaghtakook which is a Pequot word meaning “Where Two Streams Converge”*** as is stated in Historical documents. Another history states this name was “taken from the Mohican site and the Mixed Peoples living there took this name”. The definition of Scatakook comes from the Pequot of Connecticut who had sub groups of Schatakooks and Mohegan. Historians are quick to separate the NY and Connecticut Scaghtikook as being completely different but it is my opinion that they are one and the same group. I share the belief with others that one group of Pequots ended up at Scaghtakook NY before Gov Andross settled the remnants of King Phillps War** were remnants of the First Puritan Conquest also known as the Pequots Massacre *. They settled at the place where the Tomhanock enters the Hoosick and it is this group I believe gave the Scaghtikook name to the area. The issue of who lived in the area during the 1640-1750 time periods is complicated as well. We haveMohicans,Pequots,Abenaki,Nipmucs,Wampanoags,Naraganests,Sokokis, and a host of other New England Tribes as well.
Let us spend a minute dispelling another perpetuated MYTH. The old “Fruitful Hunting Ground of the Iroquois” myth. There is one thing we do know for a fact. This was NEVER Iroquois land and the Iroquois while having a presence in the area NEVER lived here. The New Netherland Project has provided a whole new Perspective on the inhabitants of Saratoga County and the Mohican Channel but it appears there are those who just choose to ignore the truth. The nearest Mohawk Village was at the present Duffell farm where the Schoharie Creek enters the Mohawk River. An attempt to maintain a village in the vicinity of Hoffmans just west of Scotia NY meet with little success and was abandoned. The Mohawks conquered the Mohicans in 1623 but as will be examined later they did not seize the land nor was it their habit to seize the lands of those they conquered. They seized goods, peoples and tribute but not the land as least not in this case. Let us put the “Fruitful Hunting Lands” back in the fruit Basket and move on.
Now we can address the issue of who did live here. What is fact is that the area of Saratoga County was the land of the Mohicans and part of the Mohican Channel as illustrated by Shirley Dunn. The Mohicans were at war with the Mohawks at different times which escalated with the coming of the Dutch at Albany. The Mohicans and Mohawks competed for status and trade dominance with the Dutch. Both nations learned quickly the advantages to access to Dutch trade goods. This and the natural politics played by the Dutch to caused more friction between the two nations which culminated with the Mohicans being defeated by the Mohawks in 1623. This defeat did not however mean that the Mohicans lost their land or moved of it. We can see that the Mohicans continued to sell land in and around Albany well after the 1623 defeat. It was not until 1683 that the Mohawks are listed as principal sellers of lands in at Sarachtoque. When some Mohicans were asked, concerning the sale of land, if the Mohawks needed to be consulted due to the tribute status of the Mohicans the reply was that the The Mohawks would not have any pretense to their land. Being at war they went to destroy their person and take away goods and beaver but not their land.(1) Again this can be confirmed by examining the deeds for sales of Land in and around Albany in which the Mohicans are the sellers long after being conquered by the Mohawks Further light can be shed by looking at correspondence between General Thomas Gage and Sir William Johnson on the subject.(3) According to Gage the sales by Dominant tribes of their in land of Tributary’s was in the nature of Quitclaims without prejudice to the tributaries rights of Habitation and enjoyment of their lands. Gage states” I don’t imagine we shall find that any conquered nation ever formally ceded their country to their conquerors.”(4) While there is evidence that the Mohicans shifted somewhat after their defeat at the hands of the Mohawks we do not find that they gave up their lands and villages to the Mohawks so that this could become the “Fruitful Hunting Grounds of the Iroquois” That is not to say that some Mohicans did not leave the area. In July of 1685 at the request of New York we do find 56 men and 100 woman and children of the Mohicans returning from Canada to settle at Scatakook..We have established that the area of Scatakook and Saratoga was indeed Mohican Land and NOT Iroquois but was it the Mohicans who were the origin of the place names in the Saratoga area. I at first believed this to be true but further evidence seems to take us away from the Mohicans. The 1683 deed for the sale of the Saratoga Patent specifically lists the Mohican name for the Saratoga area as Amissohiendiek. Again if the Mohican word for the area was Sarachtoque then why the listing of Amissohiendiek in the sale. Then there is the issue of the similarity of Sarachtoque and Scatatoque.Some variation listings for Sacatoque are Scatacook, Scaticook, Shachcook, Skachcook and Scatakosh. It is my opinion that the word used for Sacatakook in NY is the same used with definition as the Connecticut Scatakook. We know that the definition of the Scatakook of Conn is place where two rivers come together or place of the fork in the river. We know that the Scatakook were a sub tribe of the Pequot Nation which must lead us to the origin of Scatatoque and Saratoque be Pequot. While we are provided with evidence that Sacatakook is Pequot we have nothing to definitively say the same for Sarachtoque. Another issue to further confuse the matter and one for future research is that some Mohegan and Scatakook histories claim that the Mohegans and Scatakooks migrated to Connecticut form the Lake Champlain area.
If we are to believe that Sarachtoque could be Pequot then we must confirm which tribes lived in the area during the 1630 through 1750 period. From this point on I will take the liberty to include the area of Saratoga County and the Area from Stillwater Village across the Hudson east until present day Scaghtakook as the area of which I am writing. This is to include the Village and peoples that would become to be known as the Scatakooks. It is my opinion that these people were the dominating force in this area during the time period 1640-1750. While they paid tribute to the Mohawks they held a place in the politics of Albany and its Government. Their Sachems treated at Albany, were protected by Albany and the New York Government and the mixed tribes were brought here to join the Mohicans as a buffer to protect Albany from the North. Their presence here was significant enough to safely call this their homeland from the 1670 through their decline in 1750. It is therefore not unreasonable to give these peoples recognition as providing many of there place names in Saratoga County.
We already know that this area was Mohican and the historical documents confirm that the Mohicans did have a presence here up until 1750. So who else lived here? Governor Edmund Andross set aside land at Scatakook to create a Native Village that would create a buffer to stop raids on Albany coming down the Hudson from Canada. Governor Andross planted a symbolic peace tree at the site of the Knickerbockers Farm along the Hoosick River where it converges with the Wallomsac. He then “planted” or invited Native American Tribes to live here in peace under New York’s protection. In 1676 a large influx of Natives came at the invitation of Andross as the result of King Philips War in New England. Metacomet, called Philip by the English whose father Massasoit, sachem of the Wampanoag tribe was famous for helping the pilgrims. He brought food to sustain them through their first winter and taught hem to survive in the New World. He was repaid 56 years later. The Puritans demanded the Native People surrender their control and give up their freedom and independence. When the Wampanoags refuse under Philip it resulted in “King Philips War” In 1676 Metacomet led his people in a final attempt to stop the Puritans. In 1676, the battle was over. Philip was slain, his body drawn and quartered, and his head paraded in triumph in Plymouth. Philip’s son, Massasoit’s grandson, was sold into slavery in Bermuda. So much for gratitude. An important point to make concerning the Iroquois is to be made here. IF this was indeed the “Fruitful Hunting Ground of the Iroquois” and Iroquois land they why was it necessary for the Government at Albany to create a Village or Buffer as you will to stop the raids from the North. Mixed tribes were brought to supplement the MOHICANS. If this was a Mohawk controlled area with MOHAWK habitation then this step would not have been taken by Andross. If it had been than the documentation concerning the great lengths taken by Albany to create and maintain this buffer would have included the Mohawks and it does NOT.
The remnants of Philips War which included Wampanoags,Naraganests,Sokokis,Nipmucs and others were sent for by Andross and offered his protection from New England vengeance if they would come join the Mohicans in at a sanctuary he had set aside 10 miles North of Troy New York in New York This they decided to do. It is stated in history that this mixed group of Native Tribes “took its name from the site and became the Scatakooks” This group became the dominant group in the area and at Schatikook.Estimates of refuges received at Scatakook are about one thousand natives. This clue leads one to believe the Mohicans are responsible for the Scatakook and Sarachtogue place names. Yet historical documents give alternative names attributed to the Mohicans for these places. Were there others here with the Mohicans before the influx from Philips War.? The only clue we have in historical documentation is an account of Philip in December 1675. “Philip and a band of his warriors arrived among the Mohicans north of Albany and won recruits. He found survivors there or their descendants of the the First Puritan War or what was known as the Pequot Massacre. The fact that Philip was in the area at the time was confirmed by correspondence in the Andross Papers. This gives us the possibility that the Pequots were indeed here and much earlier than 1675. In 1685 this group was joined by a group of 156 Mohicans who were enticed away from Canada to join the group now known as the Scatakook or River Indians. It is said that they were visiting relatives among the Pennacooks and returned to Scatakook. From time to time groups from the Sacatkoook and Saratoga Area were driven away by white encroachment on their land and demands by whites for payment of debts owed. The government at Albany went to great lengths to maintain this buffer from the north and often intervened on the part of the Native People. The Albany Government often mediated disputes between settlers and Indians. They also become involved when the issue was between the Scatakooks and the Mohawks. When the Mohawks harassed the River Indians or in one case when the Mohawks kidnapped a Mohican boy from the Saratoga area the Albany Government and Andross were quick to act and demanded the Mohawks leave the Sactakooks alone.
The next group we have evidence of comes in the 1699 through 1750 period. In 1699 a group of Scatakooks wintered at the mouth of the Winoosaki River on Lake Champlain. The Albany Government became alarmed and feared they would lose the buffer at Saratoga. The bigger fear was that these peoples would go over to join the French at Canada. The Governor appealed for them to return to their home. The group stated that the Onion River or Winooski was “The Place where we formerly dwelled” This confirmed when in 1703 a number of the Scatkooks wanted to go join or went over to the Mohawks. Albany became alarmed when the group informed the Albany Government that they were” Going to join there relatives the Mohawks” The reply was that when” The Group was planted at Scatakook by Governor Andross it was from the Lake Champlain area and the group was not from the Mohawks. The occupation of the Winooski River was by the Winooskik which were a band of the Abenaki. If the history is correct then the Abenaki were living in the Saratoga area as well. As is mentioned above one band that came with the remnants of Philips War were the Sokokis. This was band of the Abenaki as well. The histories have the Sokokis from the Middle Connecticut River Valley near present Northfiled Mass. What there connection to the Winooskik is I have yet to research. According to Joseph Laurent in his “New familiar Abenakis and English dialogues 1884″ The Abenaki word for Saratog is Salatogi. Laurent goes on to list”Saratoga-(ind)Place of the Miraculious waters in a rock.the Abenakis designate this place by nebizonbik a local term which means at the Mineral Spring or rather at the physical water” If the Abenakis refered to Saratoga as Nebizonbik it is not unreasonable to rule out the Abenakis providing the place names of Sarachtoque or Scatatoque.It is stated by Dunn that the Esopus came to live at Scatakook around 1700 and that Soquans was the chief among the Mohicans and New England Indians at Sacatakook.
By 1754 the composition of the Native Tribes in Saratoga had completely changed. The entire village at Scatakook had moved north. It is stated in the histories that the people of Scatakook had been adopted into the villages of Missisquoi and Odanak.White encroachment on the lands in and around Saratoga became too much and the influx of permanent settlers made living in Saratoga County and the Scatakook Village impossible. While the Saratoga Patent was created by the sale of the land in 1683 only the Villages of Schuylerville and Stillwater as well as had been surveyed and settled along with a pocket of other areas along the river and on the east side as well as along the Batenkill. In 1750 John Bleeker surveyed the rest of the patent and settlement began in earnest. Settlement of The Kayderosseross Patent had been delayed by a court battle over its sale which began in 1759 and lasted until 1769. It was after 1754 that Saratoga County became Iroquois land. The new Settlers of Saratoga had never been aware of the tribes living here prior to the 1760 so the Iroquois became the Native Tribe of Saratoga County and the mixed group and the Mohicans were ignored in history from this point on until the work of the New Netherlands Project. While the New owners of Saratoga County had contact with the Iroquoian tribes the land of Saratoga had already been sold. What was once Mohican land was now the Saratoga Patent, The Van Schaick Patent, The Kaydeross Patent, The Clifton Park Patent, The Ballston Patent, The Apple Patent and etc. With the onset of the Revolution and its eventual victory for the Americans we find the Iroquois driven form the Mohawk Valley as well. The native history of Saratoga County became the history as allowed by Europeans with factual information replaced by European vanity and imagination. It is here that the myth of the “Fruitful Hunting Ground” of the Iroquois begins. I t is only through the efforts of Charles Gehring and the New Netherland Project, Shirley Dunn and her excellent work on the Mohicans and the efforts of Sue Bender of Skidmore College that the TRUE history of Native tribes in Saratoga County will finally be told.
Can I say without a doubt that I know the origin of Saratoga. No. Can I say without a doubt that I know the definition of Saratoga. No. I have been looking for a very long time and the answer is very elusive. What I can say is that the historical documentation in my opinion leads us away from the Iroquois as is stated in Sylvesters and works like Saratoga Coumty Heritage. I would only hope that this information I am presenting will finally stop future writers of Saratoga County History from automatically assuming the story of “The Fruitful Hunting Ground of the Iroquois” to be true when there is so much evidence available on the other tribes of Native People who lived in Saratoga County. Perhaps one should verify the facts before perpetuateing the same myth over again.
Richard Dorrough
July 2006
*** This could be in reference to either the Hoosick into the Hudson or the Tomhanock into the Hoosick.
**”Captured, King Philip was taken and destroyed, and there was he (like as Agag was hewed in pieces before the Lord) cut into four quarters, and is now hanged up as a monument of revenging Justice, his head being cut off and carried away to Plymouth, his Hands were brought to Boston.
Philip’s War: America’s Most Devastating Conflict by Walter Giersbach
*In the pre-dawn in May 1637. English Puritans from Massachusetts Bay Colony and Connecticut Colony, with Mohegan and Narragansett allies, surround a fortified Pequot village at a place called Missituck (Mystic). In the village, the Pequots were asleep. The Puritans attacked. The awakened Pequots mount a valiant defense. But within an hour, the village is burned and 400-700 men, women, and children are killed”
References:
The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism, and the Cant of Conquest by Francis Jennings. Published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture. Copyright © 1975 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher.
Francis Jennings, The Ambiguous Iroquois Empire: The Covenant Chain Confederation of Indian Tribes with English Colonies. (New York & London, 1984).
Francis Jennings, Empire of Fortune (New York, 1988).**
Shirley W. Dunn’s The Mohicans and Their Land, 1609-1730 (Fleischmanns, NY: Purple Mountain Pr., 1994)
The Andros Papers Files of the Provincial Secretary of New York During the Administration of Governor Sir Edmund Andros 1674-1680, ed. by Peter R. & Florence A. Christoph, 3 vols., 1989-91 [N.Y. G 55.2]
The Papers of Sir William Johnson, compiled by the New York State Historian’s office and published by the State in thirteen volumes (1921-1962).
The Livingston Indian Records, 1666-1723,” edited by Lawrence H. Leder, printed in Pennsylvania History 33:1 (January 1956), 240 pages
New familiar Abenakis and English dialogues : the first ever published on the grammatical system Principal Author: Laurent, Jos. (Joseph) Imprint: [Québec? : s.n.], 1884
Gordon Day The Identity of the Saint Francis Indians: Paper 71 Canadian Ethnology Service, National Museums of Canada
Internet Sources:
Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook Abenaki People
http://www.cowasuck.org/history/ndakina.cfm
Native Languages of the of the Americas
http://www.native-languages.org/languages.htm#alpha
http://www.schaghticoke.com/index.html
Maliseet-Passamaquoddy Dictionary
http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/Maliseet/dictionary/
Lee Sultzmans Site Listing Historys and a Wealth of Information on Native Americans
http://www.dickshovel.com/Mahican.html
http://mrc.uccb.ns.ca/miscellany.html#4
http://www.tolatsga.org/Compacts.html
http://www.shinnecocknation.com/contactus.asp
http://www.avcnet.org/ne-do-ba/menu_odn.html
The identity of the St Francis Indians
From Gordon Days Study of Odanak
http://iroquoisindians.freeweb-hosting.com/webdoc142.htm as
nalabégik — both referring to the ‘still, quiet’ (nala–) stretch of a river between two riffles, rapids, or cascades; –bégik, for nipégik, means ‘at the water’
by richarddorrough@yahoo.com