Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-10-02
LAST OF THE
DELAWARES
GREAT RACE OF INDIANS PASSES
AWAY.
CONTRIBUTIONS HISTORY
Interesting Story Told to the White
Man of the One-Time Power and
Final Extinction of the Sturdy
DeIaWares-An Old Chief Without
Tribe.

The last of the famous tribe of Del
aware Indians is no more. With his
passing has disappeared the last yes
tige of what was once the greatest
tribe of Americas aboriginies. Khan
kia, descendant of a long line-only
he knew how long-of distinguished
Indian chiefs, died about a week ago
! in little hut in secluded spot near
| the shores of the Raritan river, half
score of miles from Pennington, N. j.
| Arthur Tenbroeck of New York, who
i has spent many summers in the neigh
borhood of Pennington, and who made
the acquaintance of the aged chief OF
an extinct tribe ABOUT three years
ago. superintended his burial and says
! that his wishes-that he should be
laid away under the shadow Of an an
cient elm where once his forefathers
sat in solmen council-were carried
out. Mr.. Tenbroeck says that Kiankia
informed him some time before his
death that he was 95 years old.
ct was generally supposed" said
Mr. Tenbroeck, in discussing the
chat old Indian Anne, who died in
Mount Holly in 1894, was the last Of
the famous tribe, but it was not
known then that her brother Kiankia
was still alive"
Mr.. Tenbroeck said that the old
chief without tribe told him a pa
thetic story of himself and tribe, that
he had noted down the old mans
words, which were in substance as fol-
lows:
"I am now going on 90, and it is not
likely that those who are so close to
the grave should speak with a false
tongue. | am a direct descendant of
the once great tribe Lenape, whose
wigwams countless numbers of moons
ago stretched from the snOw-clad for
ests to the sunny waters west of the
big river Mississippi. So powerful
were the Lenape in the early days
that no tribe dared to arouse their
wrath for fear of determination.
"Then came a day when two sons
were born to the great chief Winka-
pula. These succeeded their father
as chiefs in their own right. They di-
vided the tribe into two parts, one
going toward the setting sun and the
other toward the cradle of the morn
ing.
''That part of the tribe which went
westward divided, split up, and inter
married with other tribes, until finally
it's identity was lost altogether. Not
so with the east going tribe; it trav-
eled toward what then was known as
the devouring great water, now called
the Delaware river. My fOrefathers
called this river the Lenapewhittuck
The tribe then called itself the Scha-
yichbians, and by that name it was
known until the coming of the whites.
''In those long-gone days no man,
white or red. knew the soil of that
tract of land called New Jersey, so
the Schayichbians established many
collections of wigwams along the
banks of the various beautiful creeks
and rivers which veined the land.
The Lenapes and later the Schayich-
ians were known among other red
men as the grandfather tribe, and well
did they deserve the name, for in all
things were they superior to other In
dams.
The Six Nations.
/"Soon the days of peace were end
ed with the coming of the Six Nations
the lroquoise. A fierce and bloody
war was waged between the Iroquoise
and the Schayichbians, and many
brave warriors fell on both Sides
Peace was hardly brought about by the
counsel OF wOmen-men considered
it beneath them to have aught to do
with arranging terms of peace-when
the white man came. Lord De la
Ware changed the name of the Lena
pewhittuck to Delaware, and ever
since then has the Schayichian been
known to white men as the Delaware
Indian. Then came the Dutch, but
they were so few and so peaceable
that the red man smoked with them
the long pipe and clasped hands in
strong clasp of friendship.
! LAS time wore on the Delawares
divided into many smaller tribes-the
Rarltans, the Navesinks, the Mingos,
the Assanpinks, the Assicunks, the
Rancocas, the Beverlye, the Com
munipaws, and many others. These
small bands left thebanks of the Rar-
itan and settled in other parts of the
land now known as New Jersey. The
rest OF the Delawares, still keeping
| that name. raised their wigwams
| along the shores of the Raritan and
Delaware rivers, and the many little
creeks and estuaries flowing into
these rivers.
The English Settlement.
When the English white man came
and wanted all the land, the Della |
wares and little tribes sprung from
the Delawares did not make their |
oodles with war paint and sharpen !
their tomahawks, but called a council !
of the old men of wisdom, who told |
them not to resist the white man, but |!
TO sell to him the land which had |
oeen the white mans SOIL The white |
man bought all the land east of the !
Rarltan and Delaware rivers and re-
served to the Delawares a portion of |
the land where the hunting and fish
Ing were good" (This was known as
the Delaware Reservation, and was
situated in Burlington county, N. J)
Among the Delawares when the
white man bouobt fbo;r coil fro,. !