_Harriet Martineau._
* * *
=Catskill=, 111 miles from New York, was founded in 1678 by the
purchase of several square miles from the Indians. The landing is
immediately above the mouth of the Catskill or Kaaterskill Creek. It
is said that the creek and mountains derive their name as follows: It
is known that each tribe had a _totemic_ emblem, or rude banner; the
Mahicans had the wolf as their emblem, and some say that the word
Mahican means an enchanted wolf. (The Lenni Lenapes, or Delawares, had
the turkey as their totem.) Catskill was the southern boundary of the
Mahicans on the west bank, and here they set up their emblem. It is
said from this fact the stream took the name of Kaaterskill. The
large cat or wolf, similar in appearance, forms the mark of King
Aepgin on his deed to Van Rensselaer. Perhaps, however, the mountains
at one time abounded in these animals, and the name may be only a
coincidence. The old village, with its main street, lies along the
valley of the Catskill Creek, not quite a mile from the Catskill
Landing, and preserves some of the features of the days when
_Knickerbocker_ was accustomed to pay it an annual visit.
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