214 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



the north and the West river valley at the northeast, the flats are 

 entirely surrounded by great hills, Hatch hill at the east, Knapp 

 hill and Pine hill at the south, and High point, West hill and 

 Gannett hill on the west are all 1300 to 1500 feet higher than the 

 bottom of the valley, while passes between them at the hight of 

 about 700 feet make neighboring valleys accessible. 



The villages were not only sheltered from the winter storms by 

 these hills; they were also so secluded that, though in the 

 heart of the Seneca country and on the principal trail leading from 

 Kanadesaga to the Cohocton and Canaseraga valleys, neither De 

 Nonville's invasion of their territory in 1687 nor Sullivan's puni- 

 tive raid in 1779 reached them. 



The slopes of the hills, cut by numerous gullies and large ravines, 

 and the swamp must have afforded game in abundance. The lake 

 was easily reached by canoe down the inlet or along the foot of 

 West hill, while nuts and berries and the sugar maple trees grew 

 everywhere. 



The soil, a dark mellow, rich alluvium, required but little culti- 

 vation to produce large crops of fruit, corn and vegetables, and 

 several large springs furnished an ample supply of pure water. 



Little can be ascertained in regard to the Indian occupation of 

 this valley previous to the advent of the white settlers. On 

 Pouchot's map of 1758 the number 28 indicates a village here with 

 the name Kancntagc. Dr Beauchamp says this means " Canan- 

 daigua, but at the wrong end of the lake." The dotted line show- 

 ing Pouchot's route, however, passes through this valley [see N. Y. 

 State Mus. Bui. 78]. 



Lewis H. Morgan in The League of the Iroquois 185 1, describes 

 the separation of the Iroquois into the Five Nations and says 

 [page 6, Dodd, Mead & Co. 1904] : " The Cayugas and Senecas 

 were many years united and resided upon the Seneca river, but 

 one band of them having located upon the east bank of Cayuga 

 lake grew up in time to a distinct nation; while the residue, pene- 

 trating into the interior of western New York, finally settled at 

 Nun-da-wa'-o at the head of Canandaigua lake and there formed 

 the nucleus of the Seneca nation.. The Onondagas have a legend 

 that they sprang out of the ground on the banks of the Oswego 

 river; and the Senecas have a similar legend that they sprang out 

 of the ground at Nun-da-wa'-o." On pa"ge 48 he says: "The Sen- 

 ecas called themselves the Nun-da'-wa-o-no' which signifies the 

 great hill people.' Nun'-da-wa, the radix of the word, means ' a 



