﻿ABORIGINAL 
  PLACE 
  NAMES 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  39 
  

  

  1 
  terminate 
  the 
  first 
  (Chautauqua) 
  with 
  an 
  a, 
  because 
  I 
  sometimes 
  

   hear 
  it 
  pronounced 
  by 
  strangers, 
  in 
  two 
  syllables, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  that 
  

   this 
  orthography 
  comes 
  nearer 
  the 
  Indian 
  pronunciation. 
  The 
  fol- 
  

   lowing 
  is 
  written 
  from 
  statements 
  given 
  me 
  in 
  1815, 
  and 
  subse- 
  

   quently, 
  by 
  several 
  chiefs 
  and 
  interpreters 
  of 
  the 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  in 
  

   the 
  western 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  State. 
  In 
  their 
  language 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  phrase, 
  

   or 
  word-in-t 
  heir-manner 
  j 
  signifying 
  of 
  the 
  fog, 
  at 
  the 
  fog, 
  foggy 
  

   place, 
  etc., 
  spoken 
  Ots-ha-ta-ka, 
  with 
  long 
  sound 
  of 
  0, 
  and 
  the 
  

   broad 
  of 
  a, 
  except 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  letter, 
  a 
  short, 
  almost 
  like 
  e. 
  

  

  This 
  would 
  seem 
  conclusive, 
  but 
  has 
  been 
  disputed. 
  In 
  the 
  

   Glen 
  Echo 
  Chautauqua, 
  August, 
  1891, 
  Mr 
  Albert 
  S. 
  Gatschet 
  had 
  

   an 
  article 
  on 
  this 
  name. 
  Mr 
  J. 
  N. 
  B. 
  Hewitt 
  had 
  told 
  him 
  that 
  

   " 
  the 
  first 
  two 
  syllables 
  are 
  both 
  pronounced 
  short," 
  and 
  gave 
  the 
  

   original 
  name 
  as 
  T'kantchata'kwan, 
  "one 
  who 
  has 
  taken 
  out 
  fish 
  

   there." 
  This 
  pronunciation 
  disagrees 
  with 
  all 
  writers, 
  early 
  and 
  

   late, 
  unless 
  the 
  prefix 
  is 
  meant. 
  He 
  said, 
  "There 
  exists 
  an 
  old 
  

   tradition 
  that 
  the 
  Indians 
  of 
  the 
  vicinity 
  took 
  out 
  fish 
  from 
  Lake 
  

   Erie 
  to 
  stock 
  Lake 
  Chautauqua." 
  He 
  thought 
  Cattaraugus 
  creek 
  

   was 
  the 
  place 
  stocked. 
  Mr 
  Gatschet 
  gave 
  the 
  story 
  of 
  Dr 
  Peter 
  

   Wilson, 
  an 
  educated 
  Seneca 
  (Cayuga) 
  chief: 
  "A 
  party 
  of 
  Senecas 
  

   were 
  returning 
  from 
  the 
  Ohio 
  to 
  Lake 
  Erie. 
  While 
  paddling 
  

   through 
  Chautauqua 
  lake, 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  caught 
  a 
  strange 
  fish 
  and 
  

   tossed 
  it 
  into 
  his 
  canoe. 
  After 
  passing 
  the 
  portage 
  into 
  Lake 
  Erie, 
  

   they 
  found 
  the 
  fish 
  still 
  alive, 
  and 
  threw 
  it 
  into 
  the 
  water. 
  From 
  

   that 
  time 
  the 
  new 
  species 
  became 
  abundant 
  in 
  Lake 
  Erie, 
  where 
  one 
  

   was 
  never 
  known 
  before." 
  Hence 
  they 
  called 
  the 
  place 
  where 
  it 
  

   was 
  caught, 
  Jah-dah-gwah, 
  the 
  elements 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  Ga-joh, 
  

   " 
  fish," 
  and 
  Ga-dah-gwah, 
  " 
  taken 
  out." 
  By 
  dropping 
  the 
  prefixes, 
  

   according 
  to 
  Seneca 
  custom, 
  the 
  compound 
  name 
  "Jah-dah-gwah" 
  

   was 
  formed. 
  

  

  In 
  Schoolcraft's 
  Seneca 
  vocabulary 
  Kenjuck 
  expresses 
  fish 
  

   in 
  general, 
  gahquah 
  being 
  used 
  for 
  bass- 
  The 
  Onondagas 
  call 
  fish 
  

   ojoontwa, 
  nor 
  does 
  this 
  derivation 
  have 
  much 
  support 
  from 
  other 
  

   vocabularies. 
  For 
  the 
  early 
  name 
  Evans' 
  map 
  of 
  1758 
  has 
  Jadach- 
  

   que, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  boundary 
  map 
  of 
  1768 
  it 
  is 
  Jadaghque 
  on 
  Lake 
  

   Erie. 
  Rev. 
  Mr 
  Alden 
  said 
  the 
  name, 
  as 
  pronounced 
  by 
  Corn- 
  

   planter, 
  was, 
  Chaud-dank-wa. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  Seneca 
  name, 
  of 
  course, 
  in 
  

   its 
  later 
  form 
  at 
  least, 
  and 
  "according 
  to 
  the 
  system 
  of 
  the 
  late 
  

   Rev. 
  Asher 
  Wright, 
  long 
  a 
  missionary 
  among 
  them 
  and 
  a 
  fluent 
  

  

  