126 



ONEIDA 



[b. a. e. 



1881. Oneydays.— Albany Conf. (1748), ibid., vi,447, 

 1855. Oneyders.— Markham (1691), ibid., in, 807, 

 1853. Oneydes.— Livingston (1677), ibid., xili, 510, 

 1881. Oneydese. — Livingston (1720), ibid., v, 565, 

 1855. Oneydeys.— Albany Conf. (1751), ibid., VI, 719, 

 1855. Oneydoes.— Marshe (1744) in Mass. Hist. Soc. 

 Coll., 3d s., VII, 196, 1838. Oneydos.— Clarkson (1691) 

 in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist., Ill, 814, 18,53. Oneyds.— 

 Fletcher (1693), ibid., iv, 55, 1854. Oneyede.— 

 Dongan (1688), ibid., 521. Oneyonts.— Boudinot, 

 Star in the West, 100, 1816. Oneyoust.— Denon- 

 ville (1685) in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist., ix, 282, 1855. 

 Oneyuts.— Macauley. N. Y., li, 176, 1829. Oniadas.— 

 Carver, Travels, 172, 1778. Oniades. — Coursey 

 (1682) in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist., xiii, 557, 1881. 

 Onids. — Homann Heirs map, 1756. Oniedas. — 

 Vetch (1719) in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist., v, 531, 1855. 

 Oniedes.— Albany Conf. (1746), ibid., VI, 317, 1855. 

 Onioets. — Coxe, Carolana, 56, 1741. Onioutche- 

 ronons.— Jes. Rel. 1646, 3, 1858. Oniouts.— School- 

 craft, Ind. Tribes, v, 154, 1855. Oniyouths.— Bou- 

 dinot, Star in the West, 128, 1816. 0-ni-yu-ta.— 

 Macauley, N. Y., ll, 176, 1S29. Oniyutaaugha.— 

 Ibid., 274. Onneiochronnons. — Jes. Rel. 1648, 46, 

 1858. Onneiotchronnons.— Jes. Rel. 1658, 3, 1858. 

 Onneioust.— Bruyas (1673) in Margry, Dec, I, 242, 

 1875. Onneiout. — Vaudreuil (1712), ibid. .41. Onnei- 

 outchoueronons. — Jes.Rel. 1656,14, 1858. Onneioute. — 

 Jes. Rel. 1(;64, 34, 1858. OnneiStheronnon.— Jes. Rel. 

 1660, 6,1858. Onneiouthronnons.— Jes. Rel. 16.57, 34, 

 18.58. Onnejioust. — Bellin, map, 1755. Onnejochro- 

 nons. — Jes. Rel. 1652, 35, 18.58. Onnejoust. — Louis 

 XIV (1699) in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hi.st., ix, 697, 1856. 

 Onnejouts.— Jes. Rel. 1669, 7. 1858. Onneydes.— 

 Dongan (16.S7) in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist., in, 438, 185S. 

 Onneyotchronon. — Jes. Rel., index, 1858. Onne- 

 youth.— Charlevoix, Voy to N. Am., ll, 25, 1761, 

 Onnogontes. — Charlevoix (1736) in Schoolcraft, 

 Ind. Tribes, in, 555, 1853. Onnoyotes.— Lahontan. 

 New Voy., I, 157, 1703. Onnoyoute. — Ibid., map. 

 Onodos.— Coxe, Carolana, map, 1741. Onoiochrho- 

 nons.— Jes. Rel. 1635, 34, 18,58. Onojake.— La Mon- 

 tague (1664) in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist., xiii, 355, 1881. 

 Onoyats.— Mallerv in Proc. A. A. A. S., xxvi, 352, 

 1877. Onoyauts.— Greenhalgh (1677) in N. Y. Doc. 

 Col. Hist., in, 252, 1853. Onoyote. — Pouchot, map 

 (1758), ibid., x, 694, 1858. Onoyouts.— Lahontan, 

 New Voy., l, 23, 1703. Onoyuts.— La Tour, map, 

 1779. Onyades. — Greenhalgh (1677) in N. Y. Doc. 

 Col. Hist., Ill, 2.50, 1853. Onydans.— Harris, Voy. 

 and Trav., ii, 311, 1764. Onyedauns.— Lei.sler (1690) 

 in N. Y. Doe. Col. Hist., in, 700, 1853. Otatsightes.— 

 Macauley, N. Y., n, 176, 1829 (chief's name). 

 Ouiochrhonons.— Jes. Rel. 1635, 34, 1858 (misprint). 

 Ouneyouths.— Baudry des Lozieres, Voy. a la Le., 

 243, 1802. Tau-hur-lin-dagh-go-waugh.— Macauley, 

 N. Y., II, 185, 1829. T'-wa-ru-na.— Hewitt, inf'n, 

 1886 (Tuscaroraname). TJniades. — Coursev (1682) 

 in N. Y. Doc. Col. Hist., xiii, 558, 1881. Uniu- 

 taka. — Ciatschet, Tuscarora MS., 1885 (former 

 Tuscarora name). Wtassone.— Heckewelder. 

 Hist. Inds., 99,1876 ('makers of stone pipes': 

 Delaware name; applied also to other Indians 

 who excelled in that art). 



Oneida. One of the chief and first 

 known villages of the Oneida people, and 

 M'hich within historical times has been 

 removed to several new situations. It 

 seems to have been originally a town of 

 the Wolf clan, for it is so enumerated in 

 the Chitnt of Welcome of the Condolence 

 Council of the League of the Iroquois; 

 the Wolf clan constituted one of the two 

 phratries in the tribal council of the 

 Oneida. Arent Van Curler, who visited 

 this town in 1634, wrote that it was situ- 

 ated on a high hill and defended by two 

 rows of pali>sades; in the ramparts were 

 two gates, one on the w. side, over which 

 were standing "3 wooden images, of cut 

 (carved?) woo^, like men," adorned with 

 3 scalps, and tftie other, on the e. side, 

 adorned with only one scalp; the western 

 gate was 3j ft wide, while the other was 



only 2 ft. He wrote that this palisade 

 was 767 paces in circumference, and that 

 within it were 66 lodges, ' ' much better, 

 higher, and more finished than all those 

 others we saw." Those seen by Van 

 Curler and his companions were the Mo- 

 hawk castles. Of the first INIohawk cas- 

 tle Van Curler wrote: "There stood but 

 36 houses, in rows like streets, so that 

 we could pass nicely. The houses are 

 made and covered with bark of trees, 

 and mostly flat at the top. Some are 

 100, 90, or 80 paces long, and 22 or 23 ft 

 high. . . . The houses were full of corn 

 that they lay in store, and we saw maize; 

 yes, in some houses more than 300 

 bushels." His description of the third 

 Mohawk castle, then called Sohanidisse, 

 or Rehanadisse, follows: "On a very high 

 hill stood 32 lodges, like the other ones. 

 Some were 100, 90, or 80 paces long; in 

 ev^ery lodge we saw 4, 5, or 6 fireplaces 

 where cooking went on." Some of the 

 lodges were finished with wooden fronts, 

 painted with all sorts of beasts, and in 

 some of them were found very good axes, 

 French shirts, coats, and razors, and 

 lodges were seen where ' ' 60, 70 and more 

 dried salmon were hanging." While in 

 the Oneida castle Van Curler witnessed 

 the conclusion of a temporary peace com- 

 pact between the Oneida and the French 

 Indians for purposes of trade for four 

 years. To this he gave the name " Cas- 

 tle Enneyuttehage, or Sinnekens." The 

 Oneida, the Onondaga, and the Cayuga 

 were named respectively Onneyatte, On- 

 ondaga, and Koyockure (for Koyockwe), 

 which indicates that the tribal divisions 

 of the Iroquois were well known to the 

 narrator at this period. This town was 

 probablyon oneof theearly Oneida village 

 sites in the upper valley of Oneida cr., 

 not far from Oriskany cr., and according 

 to Van Curler's estimate, 75 or 80 m. w. 

 of the Mohawk castle of Tenotoge (Tio- 

 nontogen? ) ; it was situated on the e. side 

 of Oneida cr., and Van Curler saw x. w. 

 of it, on the left bank of the creek, "tre- 

 mendously high land that seemed to lie 

 in the clouds." Just before reaching the 

 castle he saw three graves, "just like our 

 graves in length and height; usually their 

 graves are round." These graves were 

 surrounded with palisades, nicely closed 

 up, and painted red, white, and black. 

 The grave of a chief had an entrance, and 

 at the top there was " a big wooden bird, 

 and all around M'ere painted dogs, and 

 deer, and snakes, and other beasts." 

 Such was the chief Oneida town of 1634. 

 While with the Oneida Van Curler wit- 

 nessed apparently a part of the New Year 

 ceremonials of the Iroquois, which he re- 

 garded as so much "foolery." 



According to Greenhalgh, who visited 

 the Oneida in 1677, they had only one 

 town, "newly settled, double stock- 



