Total Number Of Pages: 1
Source: Scanned from the original photograph which is 10 inches in width and 8 inches in height.
Language: English
Coverage: Unknown
Creators:
Red Thunder Cloud [Cromwell Ashbie Hawkins West]
Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions
Description: The reverse reads:
"Stephen Pharoah was the most popular Montauk Indian since Sachem Wyandanch's time back in 1656. Known to residents of East Hampton and vicinity as Steve Talkhouse, he is still a topic of conversation so much so that one would expect to see Steve coming thru the door at any moment. The name of Talkhouse is still a mystery but recently John Waters, a 99 year old Matinecock Indian of Little Neck, Long Island says that the name Talkhouse derives from the fact that at Indian meeting Steve was always the most eloquent speaker in the house. Mr. Waters also says that Steve's wife was called Hannah Chiphouse because she always kept the chips burning in the pot bellied stove at the Indian meetings.
Steve was a famous walker and the New Haven Register, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 1961, in its "Believe It Or Not" column says, "Stephen Pharoah, son of a King of the Montauk Indians, walked from Brooklyn to Montauk, a distance of 140 miles in a single day!"
This story has always been doubted by East Hampton residents but Ripley has a standing cash offer to any who can disprove his statements and since no one has offered proof to the contrary, the statement can be accepted.
In the fenced in area at Indian Field, Montauk, Steve's grave may be distinguished by a lone American flag since he was a veteran of the Civil War. He was born in a wigwam on a little plot of land in what is now the village of Springs, Long Island. The plot is known as Molly's Hill.
He joined the gold rush in California and Wisconsin Montauks claim that he stopped off in Brothertown to visit relatives on his way back. He was also hired by P.T. Barnum as the world's champion walker. He died in 1879, the same year that the Montauks lost their reservation through fraud and trickery."
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