Van Wyck
Brinkerhoff, presents many things of interest. "Its history, anterior
to 1682, belongs to the red men of the valley, and, more than any
other spot, this was the home of their priests. Here they performed
their incantations and administered at their altars." According to
Broadhead, "It would seem that the neighboring Indians esteemed
the peltries from Fishkill as charmed by the incantations of the
aboriginal enchanters who lived along its banks, and the beautiful
scenery in which those ancient priests of the Highlands dwelt, is
thus invested with new poetic associations." Dunlap speaks of them as
"occupying the Highlands, called by them Kittatenny Mountains. Their
principal settlement, designated Wiccapee, was situated in the
vicinity of Anthony's Nose. Here too, lived the Wappingers, a war-like
and brave tribe, extending themselves along the Matteawan, along
the Wappingers Kill and tributaries, along the Hudson, and to the
northward, across the river into Ulster County. These and other tribes
to the south, west and north, were parts of and tributaries to the
great Iroquois confederation--the marvel for all time to come of a
system of government so wise and politic, and for men so eloquent and
daring.
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