USA > New York > Onondaga County > Past and present of Syracuse and Onondaga County, New York : from prehistoric times to the beginning of 1908 > Part 24
USA > New York > Onondaga County > Syracuse > Past and present of Syracuse and Onondaga County, New York : from prehistoric times to the beginning of 1908 > Part 24
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72
Captain John Sager has no available record, but has been elaimed as a Revolutionary soldier of Tully.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA. COUNTY
VAN BUREN .- Ebert Hart, Sen., came from Providence, Rhode Island, to Van Buren in 1800. 1Ie died in 1842-43, and was buried at Sorrel Hill in that town.
Ebenezer Morley is probably Ebenezer Moseley, before recorded.
Edward Tylee lived and died near Warner. It is said that Deacon Tylee was a Troy merchant of some means, coming to Onondaga. 1834-36, and that he had been a Revolutionary soldier.
SPAFFORD .- Elias Davis is mentioned in Onondaga's Centennial as coming from Skanaeteles to Spafford in 1806, and dying there June 17, 1851, aged eighty-eight. This would make him but seventeen in 1780, but mere boys enlisted in that war.
Quite a number of Revolutionary soldiers are in the Cazenovia cemetery, and in others near by. The monuments there, and in Fabius and Pompey are quite uniform in character.
Mention has been made of the presence of thirty of these veterans at a Syraense celebration of Independence day. 1824, where they were great fea- ture of the day. as they were in other towns. In the Syracuse Gazette of July 14, 1824, appeared the following card :
"TO COLONEL AMOS P. GRANGER, AND THROUGH HIM TO THE COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS:
"At the request of those soldiers of the revolution present at this day's celebration, the undersigned take this occasion to express their gratitude for the polite and generous attention shown them on this interesting occasion. To us who are now tottering on the down hill of life, whose now feeble limbs were once strong in our country's cause, who went forth to perish or gain that liberty we this day enjoy, the satisfaction of a cheerful welcome, re- sponded by our children and our children's children, eannot fail to reach our hearts and inspire us with respectful gratitude. In you we witness that re- publican spirit which actuated us in times past, and sustained us in the dread- ful conflict, and now holds the world in awe. In the height of your prosperity you were not unmindful of us, a small remnant of the army of the revolution, but conferred on us the honor of leading you to the festive board. under the banners of our hard earned independence. Gentlemen, accept our thanks. and may the God of mercy lengthen your days, strengthen your hands and unite your hearts, in patriotic devotion to the honor and welfare of our be- loved country.
JOIIN YOUNG, BENJAMIN DARLING, GAD MILLER
ASA PARK, HENRY BOGARDUS, PETER BOGARDUS. Committee in behalf of the '76 men.
SYRACUSE, July 5, 1824."
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
Of the above Peter Bogardus and Gad Miller do not appear in the fore- going list, though this card would imply that they belonged there.
Among prominent men who drew lots here was Colonel Philip Van Cort- landt, who drew Lot 76, Lysander. General James Clinton drew Lot 87, Lysan- der, 93 Manlius, 3 Pompey and 3 Tully. General George Clinton drew 98 Ci- cero, and 4 Tully. Colonel Peter Gansevoort, of Fort Stanwix fame, drew 53 Camillus. Colonel Marinus Willett drew Lot 88. Lysander, long occupied by one of his sons. Recently it has been known as the Collins place.
CHAPTER XVIII.
EARLY CLASSICAL AND RECENT LOCAL NAMES IN ONONDAGA.
While so few of our people ean define or give an account of our common local names. it is not surprising that many Indian names are a mystery, and that even the Indians cannot always tell or agree upon the meaning. No less than four widely varying meanings of the word Cayuga have come to ux from as many intelligent Indians, though the word is so well known. Another element of uncertainty is the imperfeet transmission of names and their fre- quent corruption. The Indian languages are as full of delieate gradations in sound and meaning as our own, and the omission of a letter may change the whole. Without discussing this it may merely be said that the Iroquois languages have no labials, and that when these are present in any Indian name in Onondaga county, they show that the name is not native to the soil. Be- cause of a general interest in this subject a full list is given of all the Indian names known here, often with varying interpretations.
Amboy is an introduced Algonquin name, applied to a hamlet on Nine Mile creek. According to Heckewelder it is derived from the Delaware word, Emboli. A PLACE RESEMBLING A BOWL OR BOTTLE, and properly be- longing to a bay or pond.
Ar-non-i-o-gre may be an error in transcribing. or it may have been the name of a small village between Limestone and Butternut ereeks, now called Indian Castle. Father Lamberville dated a letter at this place in 1686, he being there alone. It gave news from Onondaga about Oswego Falls, etc. Onondaga had been recently removed to Butternut creek, and it is eonceiva- ble that the name may be an erroneous transcript of Onontague.
Canaseraga is an old name for Chittenango ereek and Cazenovia lake, derived from a Tuscarora town, a little east of the county line. Major John Ross thus mentioned it in his expedition of 1781: "On the 11th (Oct.) I left Oswego and proceeded to Oneida Lake as far as Canasarago Creek, where I left some provision and a Guard." In an act incorporating Cazenovia village, the lake is called Canaseraga. According to Morgan, Ka-na-so-wa-ga means SEVERAL STRINGS OF BEADS WITH A STRING LYING ACROSS. This is also Seaver's interpretation, which the Onondagas say is correct.
Ca-hung-hage is a name for Oneida lake on a map in the Secretary of State's office.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY .
Caugh-de-noy is from T'kah-koon-goon-da-nah-yeh, WHERE THE EEL IS LYING DOWN. This beautiful spot is still a fine fishing place for eels. Quaguendenalough is the same place on Southier's map and seems the same word. but a different interpretation has been givn this. An Onondaga chief had his fishery here in 1753, but the Oneidas claimed rights there at a later day.
"Chenughivata (ODJINO-IIIA-DA. it is a sinew,-llewitt). An Onon- daga village in New York in 1774." This appears in Handbook of American Indians, Washington, 1907, and comes from an error in the New York Colonial History, volume eight. It is there printed "Bunt at Chenughivata, " but should be "Bunt al Chenughivata," these being his English and Indian names. The definition is correct, but there was no such village. It is mentioned to prevent mistakes. Chit-te-nan-go creek is on the northeast line of the county, but once belonged to the Onondagas. Morgan rendered it Chu-de-naang. WHERE THE SUN SHINES OUT. Sylvester defined it RIVER FLOWING NORTIL. but there is no basis for this. A still weaker definition is WIIERE THIE WATERS DIVIDE AND RUN NORTH. On a map of 1825 it is Chitening. much like Morgan's form. Spafford called it Chitteningo, and in land treaties it is Chittilingo. A Cusick thought this meant MARSHY PLACE, the stream flowing many miles through the lowlands before reaching Oneida lake. The Indians now know it as O-wah-ge-nah or Perch creek. De-a-o-no-he, WIIERE THIE CREEK SUDDENLY RISES. Limestone creek at Manlius. Clark said : "Limestone Creek, passing through Manlius-Indian name, Te-a-une-nogh-he, the angry stream or Mad Creek; otherwise, a stream that rises suddenly, over flowing the country through which it passes." An appropriate name.
De-is-wa-ga-ha, place of many ribs, is Morgan's name for Pompey. In the eleven names next to be considered, the first form of each is Morgan's.
De-o-sa-da-ya-ah, deep basin spring. He said this meant "the spring in the deep basin. and was a favorite stopping place of the Iroquois in their journeys upon the great thoroughfare." A journal of Colonel Gansevoort's party in 1779 speaks of it as the "Sunken Spring in the road." It is mentioned in the land treaties of 1788 and 1795, but in no others. By a natural change of the initial letter J. V. H. Clark made this Te-ungh-sat-a-yagh, but defined it by the fort at the spring, and added: "Near this spring was anciently the eastern most settlement of the Onondagas. They had at this place an earthen fort, sur- rounded with palisades. There were always stationed at this place a party of warriors, to hold the eastern door." If this was the tradition, there is nothing in history, in the name, or on the spot to prove it. The first definition is correct.
De-o-nake-ha-e, oily water. Morgan gave this as Oil Creek in this county. but I know of no such stream, nor is it on his map.
De-o-nake-hus-sink, never elean. Christian hollow.
De-o-wy-un-do, wind mill, from an early mill on Pompey Hill.
Ga-ah-na, rising to the surface and then sinking. This is connected with
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CARNEGIE LIBRARY.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
an unrecorded story of a drowning man in Otisco lake. A Cusick's definition harmonized with this, the last seen of any thing. but he knew not the allusion.
Ga-do-quat is an Oneida name for Brewerton, which the Rev. Albert Cusick defined, I got out of the water. It may allude to fording the river or landing from the lake. In 1654 an Indian bore Father Le Moyne to the shore lest he should get wet. The place has many names.
Ga-na-wa-ya, great swamp. At the village of Liverpool and its vicinity, but it should have been Cicero swamp.
Ga-che-a-yo, lobster. Limestone creek at Fayetteville, meaning that fresh water eray fish were abundant there. The Onondaga name for this crustacean is O-ge-a-ah, meaning claws.
Ga-nun-ta-ah, material for conneil fire. Onondaga lake. A Cusick, how- ever, defined it near the village on a hill; that is, Onondaga. Ganentaa was the early French form and Kaneeda the English. The Indians now call it Oh-nen-ta-ha.
Ga-sun-to, bark in the water. Butternut creek and Jamesville. Clark said of the ereek: "Indian name Ka-soongk-ta, formerly called by the whites. 'Kashunkta;' literally, barks in the water, or a place where barks are placed after being peeled in spring, that they may not curl in summer, and thereby become unfit for covering their eabins for winter, or that they may always be in readiness for use." The Indians give the same account now. The town burned in 1696 was just east of Butternut creek.
Gis-twe-ah-na, little man, according to Morgan an Indian village near the present village of Onondaga Valley. This seems an error. there being none so far north. The allusion is to the pigmies, or little men, who lived in the ravines west of Onondaga Valley. on good terms with the Indians.
Goi-en-ho, a name for Oneida lake in 1655, which A. Cusick translates crossing place. It may refer to the Brewerton crossing place, or to passing the lake elsewhere. In some way the water had often to be crossed.
Ha-nan-to, small hemlock limbs on the water, is Morgan's name for Jordan and Skaneateles creek. An old map has the same name. Clark said : "It is called Hanauttoo, water running through thick hemlocks, or hemlock creek ;" an appropriate name. Elias Johnson said the Tuscaroras had a settle- ment there, ealled Kan-ha-to, limbs in the water, but there was no such village.
Kai-oongk is Clark's name for Otisco lake, though he gave others. This is a name for the wild goose, from its note.
Kah-che-qua-ne-ung-ta is Clark's name for Onondaga West Hill and he added : "On Mitehell's map of the British and French dominions in America this range of hills is called 'Tegerhunkserode mountains,' and in an ancient Dutch map they are called the 'Table Mountains.'" According to the trust deed of 1726, however, Tegerhunekseroda was a hill of the Cayugas, near Lake Ontario. On a map of 1839 Onondaga Hill appears as West Hills. Morgan gives the prefix to the name first mentioned, making it Te-ga-che-qua-ne-on-ta, hammer hanging. The allusion is now forgotten.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA.COUNTY.
Kai-elin-tah, trees hanging over the water, is A. Cusick's name for Nine Mile creek. Kia-heun-ta-ha is Clark's name for its estuary at Onondaga lake, and seems the same word.
Clark called "Green Pond, in the town of De Witt, Kai-yah-koo, satisfied with tobacco," and said that the main trail from Oneida to Onondaga passed near this pond, as it may have done at a late day. An Indian woman lost her child and was told that an evil spirit had borne it away. It could not be re- gained, but the Great Spirit would keep it safe if she and her family would east tobacco into the pond every autumn. This was done till white settlers came, and hence the name of Kai-yah-koo, satisfied with tobacco. He gave the full story later. The Onondagas have lost the story and give this name to Green lake near Kirkville, a customary halting place between Oneida and Onondaga. Here they satisfied themselves with a smoke, and ealled it Kai- yahn-koo, a resting place. There seems no doubt of this, but Green pond had good stories of the Stone Giants and False Faees, the latter once making it their seeret resort.
Ka-no-wa-ya, skull on a shelf, is Morgan's name for Elbridge, hardly differing from his name for Cieero swamp, and it might thus be translated and applied to the swamps in the north part of the town.
Ke-quan-de-ra-ge was said to be the only rapid in the Oneida river in 1792, which is hardly true, but Caughdenoy seems meant. A Cusiek defined this as the red place, and another form will appear.
Kach-na-wa-ra-ge. red or bloody place, was a ledge (lodge?) on the Chitte- nango, below Butternut ereek in 1700. Kaquewarage and Kachnawaacharege were the same. Clark, for some reason, placed the name at Oswego Falls, and credited it to Le Mercier. It will be found on Romer's map and in his journal.
Ki-ech-i-o-i-ah-te was Butternut ereek on this map.
Kah-yung-kwa-tah-to-a, the creek, is one of Clark's names for Onondaga creek.
Ka-na-ta-go-wa, large village. is the village at the present council house. At one time there were other small hamlets on the reservation.
Kun-da-qua, the ereek. is contracted from a name above. Mr. Clark had it from a map made by Mr. Thurber of Utica.
Ku-na-ta-ha, where pine trees grow, is the present Indian name of Phoenix alluding to the fine grove west of the river.
"Ka-nugh-wa-ka, where the rabbits run, great swamp, where is plenty of game." Mr. Clark gives for Cicero swamp. This is deseriptive, great swamp being the definition.
Ka-na-wah-goon-wah, in a big swamp, is a better form given by A. Cusick.
Ku-na-tah, where the hemloeks grow, is a local name on the reservation near Cusick's.
Ku-ste-ha. to the stony place, is on the reservation near Printup's.
Ka-no-a-lo-ka is Oneida lake on Thurber's map, derived from Oneida Castle and meaning head on a pole. The name varies much in form.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
Ka-na-sah-ka. sandy place. Brighton, now the vieinity of Colvin street in Syracuse. In the sand there were the traditional footprints of the great mosquito and of Taenyawahkee. his pursuer. The former were twenty inches long and often renewed.
Kah-yah-tak-ne-t'ke-tab-keh, where the mosquito lies. Cicero swamp near Centerville. There the great mosquito died and decayed, originating the smaller forms.
Kah-ya-hoo-neh. where the ditch full of water goes through, is one of Clark's names for Syracuse. I Also received as Ken-tue-ho-ne, a creek or river which has been made. The Onondagas eall the city Sykuse."
. Kot-cha-ka-too, lake surrounded by salt springs, is Clark's name for Onondaga lake. A. Cusick called it Ka-chik-ha-too, place of salt, applying this to the salt springs and works. Morgan also gives the name of Te-ga-jik-ha-do, place of salt, the word lake not being included. It will be observed that in many of these names the initial syllable is dropped in common use. As the Indians did not at first nse salt. the name meant something disagreeable.
Ka-ne-en-da, at the inlet of Onondaga lake, was often mentioned about the year 1700 as a sort of port for Onondaga; then on Butternut creek. It was the English form of Ganentaa, and was applied to the lake. Colonel Romer wrote it Canainda.
Nan-ta-sa-sis. GOING PARTLY ROUND A IHILL, is Morgan's name for a village on the west side of the valley, three miles south of the council house. The village seems an error.
Na-ta-dunk, PINE TREE BROKEN, WITHI TOP HANGING DOWN, ap- plied by him in Syraense. Clark gives a fuller form saving: "The estuary of the creek and neighborhood of Syracuse. was formerly ealled OH-NA-T.1- TOONK-among the pines." A. Cusick gave it as Tu-na-ten-tonk, A HANG- ING PINE.
O-nun-o-gese. LONG HICKORY. is Morgan's name for Apulia, and may be compared with some names in Moravian journals.
On-on-da-ga. ON THE MOUNTAIN. and thence PEOPLE ON TIIE MOUNTAIN, or great hill. To express people in full RONON was formerly added. Among themselves the Indians now pronounce it On-on-dah-ka, but in talking to white people almost always give the long instead of the broad sound to the third vowel. The name was first known to the whites in 1634. The Relation of 1656 says that "Onontae," or. as others pronounce it, Onon- tague, is the principal dwelling of the Onontaeronons." In the relation of 1658 is a full definition: "The word Onnonta, which signifies a mountain in the Iroquois tongue, has given name to the town called Onnontae, or as others call it, Onnontaghe. because it is on a mountain, and the people who dwell there eall themselves Onnontaeronnons from this, or Onnontagheronnons."
In his essay of an Onondaga grammar, Zeisberger uses gachera for ON or UPON. and gives Ononto for a HILL or MOUNTAIN. and Onontachers as UPON THE IHILL, with the latter meaning also for Onontaeta. Spafford said: "Onondaga is purely an Indian word, signifying swamp under or at the foot of a hill or mountain." This is a
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
erroneous, but he added : "Onondagahara, a place between the hills. Į wish the people of Onondaga Hollow would take a hint from this, and let their village be 'Onondagahara,' and that on the hill 'Onon- daga,' the capital of the County of Onondaga." In the earlier edition he said : "Onondaga, on the authority of Mr. Webster, Interpreter to the Oneidas, sig- nifies in the dialect of the Indians, a swamp under, or at the foot of a hill or mountain." Mr. Clark referred to this explicit statement, and made special inquiries about the word. He said: "From the best information we have ob- tained. we set it down as the 'RESIDENCE OF THE PEOPLE OF THE HILLS,' the word swamp having no connection with it." The successive towns were at first on hills near Limestone creek, but the name followed the later sites on lower lands. The Oneida and Oswego rivers once had this name. and Onondaga creek and lake retain it.
O-min-da-ga, ON THE HILLS, is Morgan's name for Onondaga creek.
O-tis-co or Otskah lake appears as Ostisco on a map of 1825. Spafford said : Otisco is from Ostiekney, signifying waters dried away; "perhaps from supposing that the lake was once much larger. The derivation is reason- able. Zeisberger has the Onondaga word Ostick, THE WATER IS LOW; in the perfect tense Ostisqua, TIIE WATER HAS BEEN LOW. It might also be derived from Usteka, the name of its outlet, but the resemblance is less.
Ote-ge-ga-ja-ke, for Pompey and La Fayette, is correctly given by Clark as "a place of much grass-openings or prairies." This alluded to the many fields abandoned in removing villages. for the Onondagas occupied several places in these towns.
Mr. Clark added: "Another name given to this locality. uot often re- peated, and about which there is much superstitious reserve, is Ote-queh-sah-he- ch, the field of blood, or bloody ground-a place where many have been slain. It has been said that no Indian ever visits this neighborhood. They certainly very much dislike to converse about it." A. Cusick did not know Pompey by this name, but defined it as BLOOD SPILLED. There is no evidence of battles there, but the allusion is to the numerous cemeteries. In Iroquois speech any death may be considered as the shedding of blood, however peace- ful, and to call a place a field of blood was merely to say many were buried there.
O-ser-i-gooeh, the large lake in Tully, so called by Spangenberg when there in 1745.
O-ya-han, APPLE SPLIT OPEN, is Morgan's name for Camillus.
For Brewerton Clark gives "Ohsahaunytah-Soughkah-literally where the waters run out of Oneida Jake." In this case Seughkah is the name of the lake.
Oneida lake and river had their name from the PEOPLE OF THE STONE; Oneida being more exactly the STANDING STONE.
Onida-ho-go is the name for the lake in Captain Thomas Machin's journal of 1779.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
Oh-nen-ta-ha is the present name of Onondaga lake.
Oswego river or Osh-wa-kee, FLOWING OUT, was an old name for the Seneca river in its downward course. Going up above Onondaga creek, it was often ealled Cayuga. Below Three River point it is now the Oswego.
O-wah-ge-nah is applied both to Cazenovia lake and Chittenango creek. more properly to the former. "Hoh-wah-ge-neh (Onondaga). O-wah-ge-ha-gah (Oneida). Literally, the lake where the yellow perch swim. or yellow perch lake," is J. V. II. Clark's definition, and both Oneidas and Onondagas say this is essentially correet. Of course the word yellow does not enter into the combination, the name merely specifying a well known fish. In his gazetteer for 1813, Spafford speaks of Cazenovia lake. "called by the Indians Hawhag- hinah, and sometimes by the English Canaseraga."
Qua-quen-de-na-lough, RED PLACE, according to A. Cusiek, is on South- ier's map and apparently at Caughdenoy.
Qui-e-hook was defined as WE SPOKE THERE, by A. Cusick, and was a creek flowing into, not out of, Oneida lake in 1700. Its correet location ap- pears on Romer's map of 1700, where the name is applied to Chittenango ereek below Butternut. It was also called Quohoek, and was mentioned then as "Quiehook by the Ledge called Kagnewagrage about 11% Dutch mile from the Lake of Oneyda." Clark erred in saying "An Indian village, at the Os- wego Falls, was called by Mercier, 'Quiehook,' and the ledge over which the water falls, he ealls. 'Kagnewagrage.'" Both names belong to Chittenango ereek and a later day.
Ra-rag-hen-he, PLACE WHERE HE CONSIDERED, as defined by Cusick, was a place on Oneida river in 1788.
Skan-e-at-e-les. LONG LAKE, is one form of this frequent name, Morgan gives this as Ska-ne-o-diee in Onondaga and Seneca, Ska-ne-a-dice in Cayuga, Skon-yat-e-les in Tuscarora, Ska-ne-o-da-lis in Oneida, and Ska-ne-a-da-lis in Mohawk. The last is nearest the local pronouneiation. The Moravians wrote it Sganiatarees in 1750, but their guide was a Cayuga. Clark gave the Onon- daga form as Skehneahties, or VERY LONG LAKE, and it has since been received as Skaneateles. It is Lae Seaniatores on the map of Charlevoix. Spafford made a note on the name: "SKANEATELES, in the dialeet of the Onondaga Indians, signifies Long, and the lake has its name from them ..... The inhabitants say I must write this Skaneateles, but why, they do not tell me."
It will be observed, however, that the word is in the Mohawk dialeet. There is a groundless but persistent belief that this means BEAUTIFUL SQUAW, but all good authorities, as well as the Onondagas, assert that it is LONG LAKE. So great was the local opposition to this prosaic definition, that Mr. Clark put on record the deposition of two Onondaga chiefs in 1862. Among other things they said: "We would here distinctly state that we have never known among the Indians the interpretation of Skaneateles to be 'Beautiful Squaw,' nor do we know of any tradition among the Ouondagas,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
connected with Skaneateles, that has any allusion to a 'Beautiful Squaw,' or 'Tall Virgin,' or any 'Female of graceful form.' The Onondagas know the lake by the name Skeh-ne-a-ties, which, literally rendered, is 'Long Water.' Nothing more or less. We have inquired of several of our chief men and women, who say that it is the first time they have ever heard that Skaneateles meant 'Beautiful Squaw.' They, as well as ourselves, believe such interpre- tation to be a fiction." This was signed by Harry Webster and Captain George.
So-hah-hee, Clark's name for Onondaga outlet, is the title of one prin- cipal chief, which means WEARING A WEAPON IN HIS BELT. It may be a corruption of O-sa-a-, MUDDY, a name of putty and paste, but appropriate for marly shores.
Sta-a-ta, COMING FROM BETWEEN TWO BARREN KNOLLS, is his name for the east branch of Onondaga creek.
Swe-nugh-kee, CUTTING THROUGH A DEEP GULF. is his name for the west branel. Cusick gave the name of Swe-no ga for this, defining it as A HOLLOW.
Swe-noch-so-a was Zeisberger's name for the whole stream in 1752.
Sen-e-ca river has the Algonquin name of the Sencea nation, which ap- pears on the Dutch maps of 1614 and 1616 as Senecas, and was long applied to the four nations west of the Mohawks. General J. S. Clark and Hon. George S. Conover, derived it from the Algonquin Sinne, TO EAT. The reference might be figurative, as when the Senecas called Washington THE DEVOURER OF VILLAGES, or it might refer to cannibal propensities. Mr. Hale said that Sinako was Delaware for STONE SNAKES, and Mr. Squires was told that here it meant MOUNTAIN SNAKES, or enemies. This laeks proof. Another erroneous derivation is from cinnabar, a name of vermilion, but the name is too old. Mr. Conover's derivation seems most satisfactory.
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