LEWES
HISTORY
1631
FIRST
RESIDENTS OF CAPE HENLOPEN
They
called themselves ' Lenape ' , meaning common men
in
the Algonkian language which they spoke. Later a tribe was
named
for the river they lived around, The Delaware Indians. There
were
more than 40 communities on both shores of the Delaware Bay &
River,
it's tributaries, from the capes to the northeaster
Pennsylvania
and
New York stream headwaters. Estimates hold the total
population
to
be 12000 to 15000. Each village had a chief and great men who
were
independent
of one another, held responsible for government, religion,
welfare
of it's families.
The
one thing they held in common was their friendlyness to visitors,
sharing
wigwams, meals, and such. There is documentation that notes
the
Cape Henlopen village shared the favors of their women with
early
settlers,
therefore the name Whorekill. Their life was primitive, tools
were
of wood, shells, stone or bone, no metal. No cloth, only animal
skins
for clothing and weather protection. The lodges were made of
grass matting and bark, dirt floors, no window's , only one door.
Smoke from
the
cook and heating fire escaped through a hole in the roof. Women
made
cooking
and eating utensils of clay. Lenape's were farmers, fishermen,
hunters
and had no ambitions to take other tribes territory or means.
The
forest nearby furnished wild fruits, nuts and berries, roots and
herbs
as
medications, the river and it's branches furnished fish, clams
and
oysters
. Each villager had his own garden plot for corn, beans, squash,
and
tobacco.
The
Lewes area Indian village inhabitants were known as Siconese and
or
Sickoneysinks. The creek, Lewes Creek, was the Sickoneysinck's
Kill,
pronounced “ chick-hawness-sing “ meaning “place near
the
great
tidal waters “ .
Abstract:
Lewes Historical Society 1978 seminar by C.A. Weslager &
'
Touching Leaves ' of Oklahoma, a Lenape descendent.
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