140 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



distances, his friends believing it had moved itself. Several such 

 stones were described. Thus in Lothrop's life of Kirkland it is- 

 said : " Oneida signifies the upright stone. There is still stand- 

 ing in the township of Westmoreland, a few miles 'from the 

 old Oneida castle, an upright stone or rock, of considerable size, 

 rising a few feet from the ground, which tradition,' and without 

 doubt correctly, points out as their national altar. Here, in the 

 days of their paganism, from time immemorial, they were accus- 

 tomed every year to assemble to worship the Great Spirit, and hold 

 a solemn religious festival." 



O-ney-da river was an early name for Fish creek. 



O-ris'-ka-ny, nettles, is derived by Morgan from ole'-hisk, and 

 applied to the creek. The Oneidas often used 1 for r. Ochriskeny 

 creek is on a map of 1790, and Orisca on earlier maps. It has 

 been interpreted where there zvas a large Held, and this is supported 

 by the Indians' complaint in 1765, that a German squatter was on 

 their "large Held Orisca." In the Clinton papers of 1777 the 

 Indians of Orisc&. are mentioned. It is O-his'-heh in Seneca, 

 O-his'-ha in Cayuga, O-his'-ka in Onondaga, Ose-hase'-keh in 

 Tuscarora, Ole'-hisk in Oneida, and Ole-his'-ka in Mohawk. No 

 dialect now gives precisely the usual form, but in 1756 the Oriskeni 

 patent was recorded, and Oriscany creek and Ochriscany patent 

 are on Sauthier's map. The Rev. Dr Belknap said in 1796: 

 '■' Between Mr Kirkknd's and his sons is the Oriskany creek, 

 which, Mr Deane says, is a corrupt pronunciation of Olhiske sig- 

 nifying ' a place of nettles.' -The nettles are very plentiful and 

 large on its banks." While the Mohawk for nettles is ohrhes, A. 

 Cusick said this might be applied to anything growing large in a 

 field. 



Ose'-te-a-daque, in the bone, is Morgan's name for Trenton 

 village. 



Os-ten-ra-gowa-ri-on-ni was an Oneida fishing place mentioned 

 by Bruyas. Ostenra is a rock, and this may be the point of rocks 

 above mentioned, though the word is different. 



Ot-se-quotte, a lot in Westmoreland was called after an Indian. 

 It is a corruption of the head chief's title, which is O-tat-sheh-te, 

 bearing a quiver. 



