The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-04-29
TUXEDO'S INDIAN MEANING
WILLIAM WALDORF ASTOR'y 0bn
VOLUME OF HISTORY.

'''sh s.' fN''N ~ Wv ""'lAN vi "A mHfa.A
little volume Of local history The existence Of vbr.
IL comparatively little known, In the earle, t.,'
Of the Tuxedo Club a committee was sppo,n,.,
TO examine into the original historical nan.,
The Tuxedo region, and Mr.. As,or did pracie.n.
all the committees work. So complete w,, A..
report that IL was put together into a dSinnl,
bound little volume, printed on a fine qrsha :,
paper, giltedged and In a cover of heavy r,rdho,,
and red cloth, with the title, "llisionral Nam.
OF the Tuxedo Region" Mr. Asior's nons d~.
not appear on the title page. II is onl, SION.
al the end OF the essay as II might b. at the .rt
OF an article In a magazine. There are co,..
Of the little book in the Historical S0ciety's Hb,..
and in the possession Of msmbers uf the T,,.L,
Club. but otherwise the book is rare. though -
occasional copy strays into he hands Of de,,..
In the notsam and ietsam Of the book n,l.,
II was published In 1850
Accompanying the book and printed on he,na
full parchment paper Is a copy Of he mhnus,r,,
map Of the portion Of New York and New ,Ierss,,'
question, made In IT'S and 1870 by Robert F.
kine for the Use Of Gen Washington in his militia,
operations against the English The or,,r.,
Of this map Is in The possession of the IIisIorc.,
Society. and bears this inscription, 'Sursy,
Done for His Excellency General Wasbipvc,
by Rob Erskine F. X. S, Geogr 10 he Ann,
X Assistants. l77S & l779"
Mr.. Astor plunges abrlptly into lis srbo,.
THE earliest mention" he says, "oi the nam.
lTu>edol occurs in Sargeanrs Surrey Of IN
where II is referred 10 as Tuxedo Pond. In R,s,'
sons survey Of 1895 il is set down a. Tp,s,.
Pond. In MorrLs's testimony upon the STATE lin.
In 1909 IL is written Tuxetough, and in CbsS..
cocks patent Of the same year II is Tuckso.
In Ryerson's Second survey Of l77i 1t amen, a.
both Tugseto and Tucsedo. Erskine, IN nj.
survey Of ITS 20. writes II Tuxedo, Tesedo ana
Toxedo"
The Marquis de Cbastellux, ore # tho r-orrt
Officers who came 10 this country during the va,
OF the Revolution with Lafayette mentions ,Ss
name in the journal he kept of his movements.
and his spelling Of II is an amusing orlhographici
reproduction Of the name as its local pronundaron
sounded 10 his French ears. BY a SCR, II rpyens
process from that by which it mas became an arud.
OF faith with some French people that the propr,
pronunciation Of the English term "hign li.'
.,igg leaf" the Marquis de ChaslelluA rcachp,
Duck Slider" From which IL is Ia b. inferred
That the local pronunciation Of Tuxedo IN he
MARQUIS days, II not IN these, was "Iucksepder'
wrote the name in his Zig journal as Duel Sidpf
ana by a curious little chain Of et,molug..
cal events his amusing error led etymulogiSts %
recently as lbi7 and 1875 10 attribute the orlgn
OF the name 10 the great number Of Gear Tree,
mat grew IN the vicinity. In Eager's and Rul.
tenber's histories Of this tract, written respect.
lively IN lSI1 and 1875, the name appears as Duck
that the name comes from the abundance If ts
cedar trees and that the place is the iayorte "a
sort OF great numbers Of Wild ducks
Mi Astor, however, became convinced thd
geants Survey Of 1854. is undoubtedly Ne COZ.
ruption Of one or more Indian words. and 40.
cordingly he studied the language If the ~.
gonauins who in early DAYS occupied thr Tuxedo
y, beng unknown In this dialect, is represented
IN the fragments that remain by rs i IS es)
iounc that 70 or tough means a plGc" The
best authorities upon the language # the AZ.
gonquins have found that the name Tuxedo.
no matter how spelled, contains no elements
that mean pond, lake or water; nor can the vorl
Q, any OF rs variants he made to mean anything
like beautiful view, as has been stated.
1t has been suggested that a frequent habit
of the Indians was Ia name n place after the Chsi
whose tribe occupied it, and, this clue being taken
P'tauk Sect, the hear, who, in the seventeenth
ruled over a tract II country inrlUd-
ing Tuxedo. Using his name with tough
the Mgonqu'n Tor place We Should infer tai
its meaning The Home Of the Bear
Another surnise Is that. as H." forest called
The Greenwood and lying .w~es,Har! Of Trr
was occasionally the refuge Of bears, tie
district may have received from the Indians tie
apLellation, Place II Bears.
THE frst settlement at Tuxedo. was mad,
Al the northern extremity of the lake. Prior
to 1905. a woodcutter named Nasenclcyer IN.
closed a en-acTe tract lying equally un b,th ~lCes
OF the outlet On q survey, made IN lIiN -
shown his enclosure and the dam built lv ilrr,
and also the position OF the house situated iity
yards northwesterly from the dam, and hDIi
by a man named Howard. who Was probably
the original settler During the Revolution when
the iron works on the Ramapo were liable t. inter.
nv the Hriiiah iuSpItlgNpF pa ti0n V9N
raised several feet, and the overflow turned south.
west to supply the Ringwood furracrs IN New
Jersey. During this period Tuxedo lake v@'
found shelter among the rocks which they named
after their leader. tlaudius Smiths Cave
The first description Of this section i written
1850, following the Continental road through
the gorge south Of the lake, then called 'lls
Glove, presently came in view Of IuAcGr he
that at Ringwood he stopped to ask
full information about the roads and wood
paths, and also a glass Of Madeira, IN accou..
anoe with a custom Of the country, which Nl
not allow you to leave a house without toHios
Having been thus refreshed, the Marquis SAYS
J got on horseback and penetrated atresl INTO
the woods. mounting and descending pred7t'u,
81 secluded lba, 1t Is hardly visible from the SUI.
thicset, It's banks are 50 steep tla'h
9 deer made a false sep ON the top he would IN
lalllDly roll INTO the lake. Inns lake. Nhltn ~
moi marked upon the charts, and is Jailed Duck
is about three miles long and two mile,
vide lsic,l and is In the widest, most deSerled
country ! have yet passed through My poeiic
imagination was enjoying the solitude when az
a distance ] perceived in an open spot a Qual'
ruped, which a nearer observation showed f" -
not the elk or caribou, for which ] nj 'tS' MIS-
took him, hut a horse grazing reac"abIN m"
held belonging Ia q new settlement
In concluding his little historical study W.
AstOr deyOtes some space to proposal HWrhl-
mentS or changes Of the names II lura,lic~ ~
The Tuxedo region and he iHGl nc
names be retained where they still rN'
sted or restored where others have taken ihrIt
places lie closes with the following suggestions
the revised nomenclature
"Frst-That the gorge extending southWAfq
rom the lake be called The Glove, by Vm'hh
WAS known a century ago.
Second That the hiding place q tie It'o-
utionary cowboys receive again Its Hpp'ila'i't-
Claudius Cave and that at some cnnyeni'h!
opportunity II he rendered accessible by a vn"d
path.
Third -Tha, some fragment ot the rosd tray;
,rsed by Washington and his army be preserved
inder the name 81 The Continental RYad, H'h
near the club house,
"FOuTth--Thnt the name Of Grub I rerN ~
10 Steinv alletie. meaning R.ohH l~'t'l''
"IiNh-That q position about mldNl, 0',"r'n
he southern extremity 81 the lake and ~llsh"Ei.
lens Point. at which locality 'hastrIiu\ nVI
lrst have seen the lake, he cleared ans ITu'l''h
NTH rustic benches. that several cuts raG'Al'g
ron II be made througI the trees, 50 ~ 4" so
.rlimpses over the lake, and that HIS spot Doe 'G'Si
ChastelluG.'