The first appearence of Kahoos is on the Danckerts, Justus. Novi Belgii Novaeque Angliae. (New Netherland and New England.) mid-1650’s. It is clearly marked Kahoos with an explanation in Dutch about Kahoos being a great waterfall. The listing on the map of Kahoos is not at the junction of the Mohawk and Hudson but further North at the junction of the Hoosick and Hudson. This is reproduced onother early 1500 maps of the area. What does this tell us. While the Iroquios defeted the Mohicans in 1623 they collected tribute but did not take their lands. The Mohicans and a mixed New England Group of Natives occupied the area of Saratoga County with a large Village at the junction of the Hoosick and the Hudson that was at one time 1000 strong. We know for a fact that a group of these Native Americans were setled at Halfmoon by Albany in 1690 where they remained until 1696.This mixed group at Scaghticoke people remainewd until circa 1750. After 1750 the Mohawks claimed what was left and future historians forgot and ignored these people and made this area”The Fruitul Hunting Ground of the Iroquios”
What we have is the name Kahoos on a dutch map 100 years before the Iroquios on land that was NOT Iroquios but Mohican and domianted by a mixed group with a large village at Schagticoke. These included Pennacooks,Wampanoags,Naraganests,Sokokis,Nipmucs,Mohicans and Abenakis. One band of the Abenakis that lived in the vicinity and were part of this group were the Cowasuck which were also called Cowas,Cohase or Coos,Cohass,Cohoos and Cohassic form the Abenaki word meaning “People of the White Pine”. Documentation confirms that the Cohase were living here.In 1699 a group of Scatakooks wintered at the mouth of the Winoosaki River on Lake Champlain. The Albany Government became alarmed and feared they would lose the buffer at Saratoga/Schagticoke. The bigger fear was that these peoples would go over to join the French at Canada. The Governor appealed for them to return to their home. The group stated that the Onion River or Winooski was “The Place where we formerly dwelled” This confirmed when in 1703 a number of the Scatkooks wanted to go join or went over to the Mohawks. Albany became alarmed when the group informed the Albany Government that they were” Going to join there relatives the Mohawks” The reply was that when” The Group was planted at Scatakook by Governor Andross it was from the Lake Champlain area and the group was not from the Mohawks. There are two similar native place names to Cohoes or Kahoos as listed on the Dutch maps. One ws listed as Cowass(also known as Cohase or Coos) near Deerfield Mass. amd another near Newbury Vt known by the French variant of Koes and also Cowas,Cohase and Coos. This was the original home of the Cowasuck. The Cowasuck are now closley related with the Peenacook and now are known as the Cowasuck Band of the Peenacook -Abenaki People. I would like to note at this time that the Peenacook word Co Che Co means falls or Great falls.The name is broken down as follows
CO (falls) CHE (great) CO (falls), thus Cocheco means ‘falls and great falls’
I offer the above information for consideration as an alternative to the Iroquios “Canoe over a Falls” explanation. This area as always been falsely labeled Iroquios and the origin of the Place names have also been attributed to the Iroquios. A second look is being taken at much of the Archealogical work done in our area due to the work of The New Netherland Project, Charles Gehring and Shirley Dunn I believe that it is time to consider alternative sources and to give the correct Native groups their place in our history.
