HISTORY OF ORANGE
dead, and made doleful lamentations and howlings at the time of interment. The last Indian interred here was Betty Taukus, aged 63, on June 4, 1794. The ground where this burying place was, at present is occupied for the purpose of husbandry. There are but fifteen graves which have any monuments remaining.''
After a lapse of some years, the Indians complained that they had sold all their land and had no place to live, so they asked the town to assign them some place on the river, where they might live and fish and hunt. Accordingly, about a hundred acres of land at Turkey Hill were reserved for their use and benefit. Tradition has it that Turkey Hill received its name because wild turkeys were numerous there, and used to fly across the Housatonic River at that point. The original Turkey Hill is the steep hill that rises from the Housatonic River, opposite Two Mile Island.
About 1665, the Chief Ansantawae, with most of his tribe, moved to Turkey Hill, where he soon died. But some of the tribe continued to live there for over a hundred years. The last family amity of the tribe was named Hatchett. Molly Hatchett was the wife, according to Indian custom, of John Hatchett, and they had four children. He died at an early age, so she was a widow for many years. Molly Hatchett was a very tall and powerful woman, with piercing black eyes, and long, black hair, falling over her shoulders. She always wore a white blanket shawl, a man's hat, and carried a cane or a hatchet. Like most of the Indians, she was a basket maker. She had the custom of making basket rattles, holding six kernels of corn, which she presented to any new born baby. However, if there happened to be more than six children in the family, she added the corresponding number of kernels. Her family moved to Kent, to join the Scatacook tribe, but she lived in a little house, all alone, and was very much respected in the neighborhood. Her real name is unknown, but she was often called ''Magawiska.'' Her great failing was a fondness for "uncupe" as she called rum. She died January 17, 1829, almost one hundred years old.
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