ABORIGINAL PLACE NAMES OF NEW YORK 45 



CLINTON COUNTY 



Cher-u-bus-co is a Mexican name applied to a village in the 

 town of Clinton, 



Og-ha-ron'-de was a place on the west shore of Lake Cham- 

 plain, mentioned in Capt. John Schuyler's journal of 1690. It seems 

 to have been considerably north of Plattsburg, and may refer to 

 some notable tree. 



Pa-pa-qua-ne-tuck, rk'er of cranberries, according to Sabattis, 

 an Indian hunter and guide, is Ausable river. Pakihm is Delaware 

 for cranberries and po-po-kwa the Abenaki form. 



Pe-ru, a town so called from its mountainous character. 



Sal-a-sa'-nac is the name for Saranac river on Sauthier's map. 



Sar'-a-nac river, town, pond and falls. No meaning has ever 

 been assigned to this, and it is probably but part of the original 

 name, the terminal of which, saranne, means to ascend. The refer- 

 ence might be to the river or the gradual rise of the land. 



R. Serindac, 1755, on the map of French grants, is the Saranac. 



R. Scomotion and cape on the map of New Hampshire grants, 

 are at Cumberland Head. This name is a corruption of the next. 



Squin-an-ton or Squeononton, a deer, is the name of Cumber- 

 land Head. It was called Point Squewonton or Squenonton in 

 1756, and is derived from the old Mohawk word Oskennonton, 

 deer, as given by Bruyas. He thought this came from Gaskennon- 

 ton, to go to the land of souls, " because it is a timid animal, which 

 always thinks itself dead." Schoolcraft has oskoneantea for deer 

 in Mohawk. It differed in other dialects. Cap Scononton, 1748, 

 on the map of French grants, is the same. 



Sen-hah-lo-ne is a name for Plattsburg. This was from Sabat- 

 tis, and from the source might be considered Algonquin, though it 

 has every indication of an Oneida word. So strong is this appear- 

 ance that A. Cusick interpreted it, he is still building, but it is 

 Algonquin. 



There were no Indian towns in this region. For two centuries 

 at least it was a border land, traversed mostly by hostile parties. 

 Even earlier it was mainly frequented by hunters and fishermen 

 It may be remarked that though Champlain gave his own name to 

 the lake, the country east of it was known as Irocoisia in 1616 



