﻿42 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  Sing 
  Sing 
  creek, 
  in 
  the 
  town 
  of 
  Big 
  Flats. 
  French 
  says 
  it 
  was 
  

   called 
  after 
  John 
  Sing 
  Sing, 
  a 
  friendly 
  Indian, 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  known 
  

   by 
  this 
  name 
  in 
  1758. 
  Gen. 
  J. 
  S. 
  Clark 
  would 
  seem 
  to 
  extend 
  it 
  

   farther 
  up 
  the 
  river, 
  into 
  Steuben 
  county, 
  making 
  it 
  a 
  scattering 
  

   settlement. 
  It 
  is 
  usually 
  defined 
  stone 
  upon 
  stone, 
  in 
  allusion 
  to 
  

   the 
  peculiar 
  rocks 
  along 
  the 
  river. 
  On 
  Guy 
  Johnson's 
  map 
  of 
  1771 
  

   it 
  is 
  Sin 
  Sink- 
  

  

  Cayuga 
  branch 
  was 
  a 
  frequent 
  name 
  for 
  Chemung 
  river. 
  

  

  Ca-yu'-ta 
  creek 
  and 
  postoffice. 
  This 
  may 
  be 
  from 
  Gahato, 
  log 
  in 
  

   the 
  water. 
  

  

  Che-mung' 
  has 
  various 
  forms, 
  as 
  that 
  of 
  Skeemonk 
  in 
  1777, 
  and 
  

   Shimango 
  in 
  1779. 
  In 
  1757 
  the 
  French 
  spoke 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  Loups 
  of 
  

   Chaamonaque' 
  or 
  Theoga," 
  meaning 
  the 
  Delawares 
  living 
  at 
  Tioga. 
  

   It 
  was 
  written 
  Shamunk 
  in 
  1767, 
  but 
  usually 
  Chemung. 
  The 
  river 
  

   and 
  an 
  Indian 
  village 
  bore 
  this 
  name, 
  which 
  meant 
  big 
  horn. 
  The 
  

   village 
  was 
  burned 
  in 
  1779. 
  Zeisberger 
  has 
  Wschummo 
  for 
  horn, 
  

   and 
  the 
  locative 
  may 
  be 
  added. 
  Spafford 
  said 
  : 
  " 
  Chemung 
  is 
  said 
  

   to 
  mean 
  big 
  horn, 
  or 
  great 
  horn, 
  in 
  the 
  dialect 
  of 
  the 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  

   that 
  anciently 
  possessed 
  this 
  country. 
  And 
  that 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  horn 
  

   was 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  Tioga 
  or 
  Chemung 
  river 
  is 
  well 
  ascertained." 
  

   This 
  was 
  a 
  Delaware 
  name, 
  and 
  the 
  river 
  had 
  another 
  of 
  similar 
  

   meaning. 
  In 
  'Schoolcraft's 
  larger 
  work 
  [5:609] 
  is 
  a 
  communica- 
  

   tion 
  from 
  Thomas 
  Maxwell, 
  who 
  gave 
  the 
  usual 
  definition 
  and 
  

   said 
  that 
  the 
  name 
  came 
  from 
  a 
  large 
  horn 
  or 
  tusk 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  

   river. 
  Of 
  coi 
  rse 
  this 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  in 
  colonial 
  times 
  to 
  have 
  

   originated 
  the 
  Delaware 
  name. 
  The 
  early 
  settlers 
  found 
  a 
  similar 
  

   one 
  in 
  the 
  stream 
  in 
  1799. 
  It 
  was 
  sent 
  to 
  England, 
  and 
  an 
  eminent 
  

   scientist 
  called 
  it 
  the 
  tusk 
  of 
  an 
  elephant 
  or 
  some 
  similar 
  animal. 
  

   In 
  1855 
  Mr 
  Maxwell 
  added: 
  

  

  One 
  oi 
  much 
  the 
  same 
  character 
  was 
  found 
  on 
  an 
  island 
  in 
  the 
  

   river 
  below 
  Klmira, 
  a 
  few 
  weeks 
  since, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  now 
  here. 
  I 
  have 
  

   recently 
  examined 
  it. 
  It 
  is 
  about 
  4 
  feet 
  in 
  length, 
  of 
  the 
  crescent 
  

   form, 
  perhaps 
  3 
  to 
  4 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter. 
  Capt. 
  Eastman 
  saw 
  it 
  yes- 
  

   terday 
  and 
  with 
  others 
  who 
  have 
  seen 
  it 
  pronounced 
  it 
  to 
  be 
  ivory, 
  

   and 
  a 
  tusk 
  of 
  some 
  large 
  animal, 
  probably 
  now 
  extinct. 
  This 
  is 
  

   tie 
  third 
  horn 
  or 
  tusk 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  Chemung 
  so 
  that 
  

   the 
  name 
  is 
  likely 
  to 
  be 
  perpetual. 
  

  

  Con-e-wa-wa-wa, 
  Ka-no-wa-lo-hale, 
  and 
  Ka-na-wa-hol-la, 
  head 
  

   on 
  a 
  pole, 
  arc 
  different 
  forms 
  of 
  a 
  favorite 
  name 
  given 
  to 
  a 
  village 
  

  

  