﻿8 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  to 
  the 
  body 
  of 
  the 
  word. 
  De 
  is 
  equivalent 
  and 
  is 
  quite 
  as 
  often 
  

   used. 
  The 
  interchangeable 
  sounds 
  of 
  several 
  letters 
  must 
  be 
  borne 
  

   in 
  mind. 
  

  

  On 
  another 
  point 
  Cadwallader 
  Colden 
  had 
  some 
  excellent 
  obser- 
  

   vations 
  in 
  his 
  New 
  York 
  land 
  report 
  of 
  1732. 
  In 
  that 
  he 
  said: 
  

  

  There 
  being 
  no 
  previous 
  survey 
  of 
  the 
  grants, 
  their 
  boundaries 
  

   are 
  generally 
  expressed 
  with 
  much 
  uncertainty, 
  by 
  the 
  Indian 
  names 
  

   of 
  brooks, 
  rivulets, 
  hills, 
  ponds, 
  falls 
  of 
  water, 
  etc., 
  which 
  were 
  

   and 
  still 
  are 
  known 
  to 
  very 
  few 
  Christians 
  ; 
  and 
  what 
  adds 
  to 
  their 
  

   uncertainty 
  is 
  that 
  such 
  names 
  as 
  are 
  in 
  these 
  grants 
  taken 
  to 
  be 
  

   the 
  proper 
  name 
  of 
  a 
  brook, 
  hill, 
  or 
  a 
  fall 
  of 
  water, 
  etc., 
  in 
  the 
  

   Indian 
  language 
  signify 
  only 
  a 
  large 
  brook, 
  or 
  broad 
  brook, 
  or 
  

   small 
  brook, 
  or 
  high 
  hills, 
  or 
  only 
  a 
  hill, 
  or 
  fall 
  of 
  water 
  in 
  general, 
  

   so 
  that 
  the 
  Indians 
  show 
  many 
  such 
  places 
  by 
  the 
  same 
  name. 
  

   Brooks 
  and 
  rivers 
  have 
  different 
  names 
  with 
  the 
  Indians 
  at 
  differ- 
  

   ent 
  places, 
  and 
  often 
  change 
  their 
  names, 
  they 
  taking 
  the 
  name 
  often 
  

   from 
  the 
  abode 
  of 
  some 
  Indian 
  near 
  the 
  place 
  where 
  it 
  is 
  so 
  called. 
  

   O'Callaghan, 
  1 
  1375 
  

  

  This 
  last 
  seems 
  oftener 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  Iroquois 
  than 
  with 
  Algon- 
  

   quin 
  names, 
  the 
  latter 
  being 
  usually 
  descriptive 
  of 
  the 
  place, 
  and 
  the 
  

   former 
  often 
  referring 
  to 
  some 
  person 
  or 
  local 
  incident, 
  but 
  the 
  

   statement 
  is 
  true 
  of 
  both. 
  With 
  both 
  there 
  is 
  little 
  appearance 
  of 
  

   poetic 
  fancy. 
  Names 
  were 
  a 
  convenience, 
  and 
  but 
  little 
  more. 
  Mr 
  

   Morgan's 
  words 
  follow 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  method 
  of 
  bestowing 
  names 
  was 
  peculiar. 
  It 
  frequently 
  

   happened 
  that 
  the 
  same 
  lake 
  or 
  river 
  was 
  recognized 
  by 
  them 
  

   under 
  several 
  different 
  names. 
  This 
  was 
  eminently 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  

   the 
  larger 
  lakes. 
  It 
  was 
  customary 
  to 
  give 
  to 
  them 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  

   some 
  village 
  or 
  locality 
  upon 
  their 
  borders. 
  The 
  Seneca 
  word 
  

   Tc-car-ne-o-di 
  means 
  something 
  more 
  than 
  " 
  lake." 
  It 
  includes 
  

   the 
  idea 
  of 
  nearness, 
  literally 
  " 
  the 
  lake 
  at." 
  Hence, 
  if 
  a 
  Seneca 
  

   were 
  asked 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  Lake 
  Ontario, 
  he 
  would 
  answer, 
  Ne-ah-ga 
  

   Te-car-ne-o-di 
  ; 
  " 
  the 
  lake 
  at 
  Ne-ah-ga." 
  This 
  was 
  a 
  Seneca 
  village 
  

   at 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Niagara 
  river. 
  If 
  an 
  Onondaga 
  were 
  asked 
  the 
  

   same 
  question, 
  he 
  would 
  prefix 
  Swa-geh 
  to 
  the 
  word 
  lake, 
  literally 
  

   " 
  the 
  lake 
  of 
  Oswego." 
  The 
  same 
  multiplicity 
  of 
  names 
  frequently 
  

   arose 
  in 
  relation 
  to 
  the 
  principal 
  rivers 
  where 
  they 
  passed 
  through 
  

   the 
  territories 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  nation. 
  It 
  was 
  not, 
  however, 
  the 
  

   case 
  with 
  villages 
  and 
  other 
  localities. 
  Morgan, 
  p. 
  413 
  

  

  