Evening star., 1953-07-08
EorIy Mohawk Village
Finally Is Uncovered
Stockude's Outline Seen
In Traces Of Stoke Holes
By Thomos R. Henry

In Traces Of Stoke Holes
By Thomos R. Henry
The site Of the stockaded Indian
town which was the gateway TO
much Of the interior Of North America
during the middle Of the 17th century
now has been almost completely un-
covered.
It was the Mohawk village of Caugh-
nawaga-"at-the-rap - the FIRST
castle" Of the IroquoiS west Of the
Hudson where Dutch and English
traders and missionaries made some
of their first contacts with the people
of the Five Nations. It stood directly
in the pathway of the fur trade with
the West. The village itself has not
existed for almost $50 years.
Some years ago the Franciscan Order
obtained title to the land on which.
historic records showed. the first cas-
tie" stood. It was the childhood home
and site of the conversion of beatifled
Kateri Tegaquitha. the Mohawk girl
who now is well on her way toward
Catholic Sainthood. Eventually. shrine
may be established there.
Stake Holes Outline Town.
After several years Of intensive study
of the estate Of 140 acres, some of
whose fields had been ploughed year
after year for more than a century
while others were overgrown with brush
and woodland, Rev. Thomas GraSsman
was able from surface indications to
determine the exact site of the Indian
town.
He since has removed the topSoil
down to an underlying layer of yellow
sand. There he found what might be
considered an exact map of the old
settlement, outlined by the impressions
of stake holes. Thus, through what
probably is the most laborious and
painStaking archaeological work yet de.
voted to an Iroquois site. he has been
able to reconstruct the ground plan Of
the entire first castle"
The village covered approximately
two hilltop acres near the present vil-
lage of Fonda on the north bank Of the
Mohawk River about 80 miles west of
Albany. It was surrounded by double
line of stakes, IS feet high and from
21a to 6 inches in diameter. There
stakes stood contiguous to each other.
forming nearly solid wall. Pointed
ends apparently were driven into the
soil about two feet. Father Grassman
could find no evidence that the soil
had been disturbed, as would have been
the case if postholes had been dug.
A total Of 3;341 such stakes, the inn
pressions in the soil show, made up this
stockade. Through it were three gates.
each about three feet wide. There is
no evidence as to how they were con-
Structed.
Bare Strip Inside Wall.
Just inside the wall was a vacant
strip from 20 to 80 feet wide. entirely
surrounding the village. The reason for
this, it can be assumed. was to protect
the houses from firebrandS tossed over
the wall. There was considerable likeli-
hood that these would hit in the empty
strip, rather than on the roofs.
The village itself consisted of five
longhouses, the peculiar form of Mo-
hawk architecture. Four were used
as dwellings. The fifth, somewhat larger
than the others and located in the CEN
ter, was the council house, which could
be considered as combined church.
community house and town hall. The
dwelling houses were about 68 feet long
and little more than 81 feet wide.
In one of them three circles of black
ened soil indicate that this particular
building sheltered three families with
their separate hearthfires. Each ap-
parently had assigned to 1t a space
I iC KrnW1
whether these spaces were separated by
any kind of walls or curtains
The outer walls of the houses con-
sisted of stakes ten to IL feet long
driven into the soil and covered with
sheets of bark. The roofs probably
were rounded composed of bent sap
lings covered with bark. The council
house. however, appears to have been
provided with gable roof at each end.
Row of Bunks Indicated. .~-
Just inside the house wall on both
sides were marks of a double row OF
stakes, probably about two feet high.
These were the supports for the con-
tinuous sleeping bench. under which
was slowed the paraphernalia Of the
families. such as clothing, weapons and
tools. Walls above the benches were
festooned with dried ears of corn.
The council house, the stake rows
show, was between IS and 76 feet long
and about % feet wide. It contained
only one hearth where had burned the
council fire of the clan or of the sister
hoods. The village may have contained
as many as 300 persons in ten or twelve
families.
The next step will be to seek evidences
OF houses, perhaps sheltering single
families, outside the stockade.
Caughnawaga was occupied, the rec
ords show, from 1867 to 1693-some-
what longer than was customary for
Mohawk clan.
Search also is being made for the
town cemetery. The site was occupied
long enough for a great feast of the
dead" at which the bones of all who
had died over period of from five to
ten years were gathered and placed in
a common grave. No indications Of
such an ossuary or, for that matter,
of individual burials have been found.