The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-08-23
THE CHINQUEKA SPRING.
1T CONES ER0M THE oLD HUNTING
GROUNDS OF THE RARITAEs.

September, 1909. Many, many years
before Hendrick Hudson had pene-
trated the waters of Raritan Bay, or
| John Colman had fallen, pierced by
the poisoned arrow of the savage
the forests primeval heard the war cry
of the Naraticongs, and the Ria
weighweros laughed Is it listened to
the tale of Indian love. The seat of
the Raritan King was called by the
English Mount Ployden, or the Re
tired Paradise of the Children of the
Ethiopian Emperor. 1t vas described
by Plantagenet in 1913 as a square
two miles in compass and 150 feet high,
with a WALL like precipice and straight
entrance easily made invincible, at
which a guard of 200 warriors was con-
tinually stationed. This was the
home of the Naraticongs, a tribe of
the Raritan Indians. They fished in
the muddy Sacunk, hunted the deer
in the forests and were at peace with
their neighbors.
Most fair of the maidens was Chin
queka, the "Goldfnch, the child of
the Naratieong chieftain. Her eyes
were dark as midnight forests and
bright as the sunlit Raritan. Mama
saanitt, "a petty chief, fell in love with
tine maiden, but Chinqueka scorned
his attentions.
Far to the South dwelt the Manhat-
tans. Hunting the deer was their
pastime. Beyond the meandering
Raritan, in whose limpid waters the
painting hind loved to queneh its
thirst, two parties of hunters had met
the son of the Manhattan Chieftain
and the Chief of the Naraticong
braves. The Raritan Chief extended
the wanpum and invited the stranger
TO partake of his corr and venison.
The son of Manhat@ becomes a guest
in the wigwaIn of the Chief and falls
in love with Chinqueka. The Indian
father has promised and the fairest OF
all the maidens of the Naraticongs
has become the betrothed of the Man
haitian. The fallen Manasamitt, dark
with anger, seeks the friendly forests,
where he would starve the pain of love
and bury his youthful dreams. The
youth and maiden learned of love and
happily passed the summer.
The Rhaweighweros dashes noisily
dI1G -0WllIk4 az - p1AO Nti ~
needless of the rocks and crags which
impede it's course, to the north of
Mount Ployden, and, leaping over
q high precipice, falls boiling and
foaming with anger into the abyss be-
low, and then, as if to hide a guilty
act, turns abruptly to the south and
flows through the valley as gentle, as
peaceful as a little meadow stream.
High above the roaring cascade, on
an overhanging ledge of rock, sat at
eve the lovers, looking silently down
into the turbid waters far beneath
them. Manasamitt, returning late
from the hunt, discovers them, and,
burning with the uncomfortable fires
of love and hate, he steals behind
them and buries his tomahawk in the
skull of the son OF ManhatB and casts
his body far down the steep mountain
side. The beautiful Chinqueka,
broken hearted. fled to her wigwam
and there, overcome with grief,
wept-and wept : = \ and, when
the autumn leaves were falling, and
the birds of the forest were seeking a
SUMMER cline, she departed for the
Happy Hunting Grounds, to which
he, whom her heart longed for, had
already gone.
From her tears arose q spring OF
pure and sweet water ON the spot
where her wigwam stood, and which
the Indians many Years ago pre-
scribed as an infallible cure for love.
Chinqueka's Spring is about two hun
dred feet north of what is known as
the chimney" rock which was form
erly the eyrie OF the Raritan Chief,
and is visited by many of the worlds
unfortunates for the qualities which
the Indians ascribed to it.
When Manhatie learned of his sons
death he called his warriors together
to take vengeance upon the Narati-
congs. This was the aus of a long
and bloody war which was still waged
when the white man first appeared,
and of the deadly hatred which ever
existed between the Raritans and the
Manhattans.
This legend is said to be founded
on facts, but it is probable that fic-
ton has done much in the last two
centuries to ornament the tale and
make it it's own. Sacunk, meaning a
slow, sluggish stream" was the name
of the brook to the east of Bound
Brook, and was applied as
well in early times to designate what
is now the village. The '.Rhaweigfl-
weros' pronounced ''Ragaweighweros"
and meaning running from a deep
hole or gorge was what is now
known as the Middlebrook. Over the
spring has lately been placed a board
on which is written 'Chinqueka
Spring. 1t is to be hoped that the
waters of this spring will do much to
allay the epidemic now so prevalent
in its worst forms among the young
men of this yicinity.-Boatnd Brook
Chronicle.
Fruit Luncheons.
In Newport, r. l., during the hot
days OF the season the favorite mode
of entertainment has been fruit lunch
cons. at which some one fruit made
the principal dish and gave color to
the whole meal. Mrs. Vanderbilt gave
a grape luncheon lately, at which
all the decorations were of pale gray
green and purple. A long green scarf
went down the middle of the table,
bordered with purple fieur de lys. In
the centre stood a greatsilver epergne,
piled high with white and purple
grapes, with long sprays of vine leaves
twisted in and dropping from the
chandelier above it. Vine leaves and
fiuer de lys made the favors, and the
name cards were painted with little
water colors and bacchantes. The
ices We're all frozen in the form of
hupches Of CRANES and fbere were