Ohio History Journal

OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL

SOCIETY.

REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS.

 

BY THE EDITOR.

 

TWO TIMELY BOOKS ON LAFAYETTE

The True LaFayette, by George Morgan    J. B. Lippincott

Company, Philadelphia. 489 pages. Price $2.50.

"The True Lafayette" is a somewhat ambiguous title; but

in this instance the word "true" is applicable alike to the man

and the story of his life.

The work is about all that could be desired in a single

volume. It is a timely, straight-forward and authentic portrayal

of this consistent champion of liberty in Europe and America.

It is based on the authority of a galaxy of writers who at differ-

ent periods have borne testimony to Lafayette's varied, fortunate

and eminent career. The reader is kept constantly in touch with

the sources from which the author has drawn his materials for

this remarkably interesting book.

The frequent quotations and marginal references make it

a valuable manual for students wishing to develop more fully any

phase of the life of Lafayette, while they fortify the general

reader in the essential truth of the narrative.  For instance,

practically every biographer who has written on the subject tells

us how words that fell from the lips of the Duke of Gloucester,

brother to George III of England, at a banquet, turned the

thoughts of the youthful Lafayette to the war that our fore-

fathers were waging for independence. We here quote to show

how appropriately and convincingly the author presents this turn-

ing point in the career of this French boy of noble birth:

"With several other officers, LaFayette, 'in his handsome

dress uniform of blue and silver,' was a guest at this long-drawn-

out banquet given by a prince of France to a prince of England.

(461)

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462       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

Let us now summon Jared Sparks, who had an account of the

dinner from the lips of LaFayette himself, and who shall tell

us what happened:

'Dispatches had just been received by the Duke from England and

he made their contents the topic of conversation; they related to American

affairs. The details were new to LaFayette; he listened with eagerness

to the conversation and prolonged it by asking questions of the Duke.

His curiosity was deeply excited by what he had heard, and the idea of

a people fighting for liberty had a strong influence on his imagination;

the cause seemed to him just and noble, from the representation of the

Duke himself; and before he left the table, the thought came into his head

that he would go to America, and offer his services to a people who were

struggling for liberty and independence. From that hour he could think

of nothing but this chivalrous enterprise.'

"Of course this was the turning point of La Fayette's life.

Historic indeed was the scene at the Commandant's board in that

old garrison town two hundred miles east of Paris.  The impres-

sion made upon LaFayette, comments Charlemagne Tower, 'was

of the kind which goes deep down into men's hearts and remains

there forever.'"

Here we have the story from so eminent an authority as

Jared Sparks, who got it from Lafayette himself.

Americans who think of Lafayette in terms of his knightly

service in the Revolution and the joyous outpouring of the people

to greet him on the occasion of his visit as the "nation's guest"

in 1824-1825 are naturally somewhat surprised that there should

be any question raised in regard to the high place that this friend

of universal liberty should hold in history.

It was Lafayette's fortune, however, to pass through the

French Revolution.   From America he took back to his native

land an abiding faith in constitutional liberty.  He was opposed

to the arbitrary rule of the Bourbon king. When that rule was

overthrown, he refused to support the red terror that rose in its

place.  Thus he incurred the hatred of the royalists on the one

hand and the Jacobin regicides on the other.  His position was

somewhat similar to that of Milyukof and Kerensky after the

overthrow of Czar Nicholas. As they were driven from power

by the Bolsheviki - the red regicides of our day -so Lafayette

was driven into exile and the dungeon by the Jacobin communists

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Reviews, Notes and Comments.            463

of his day. That portion of Morgan's book which treats of this

period of Lafayette's career is illuminating and highly satis-

factory.

The account of Lafayette's visit to America is comparatively

brief but this is adequately covered, for the general reader, in

Levasseur's two volumes devoted to this happy experience of

his career.

The author has adopted the spelling La Fayette. It is true

that writers differ in their spelling of this name, but the final

authority on the subject is Lafayette himself who wrote it

"Lafayette" as his numerous autograph signatures attest.

Fortunately the book has a table of contents and index. The

latter, however, might have been more extended.

Something must be added in regard to the attractive form

of the work.  The paper and typography are fully up to the

high standard of the "true" biography series of this well-known

publishing house. The illustrations are numerous and uniformly

excellent. The reproduction of paintings, engravings and mini-

atures has become an art in recent years, and the cuts in this

book exhibit this art at its best.

The general merit of Mr. Morgan's book is of such high

order that it deserves a place in every public and private library

that accords shelf room to the founders of our Republic and the

friends of constructive progress.  We live in times when La-

fayette's ideal of republican institutions is approaching realiza-

tion; in times, too, that call for a larger measure of his altruistic

spirit and a wider exemplification of his guiding principle and

master passion of "Liberty regulated by Law."

 

With   Lafayette in America, by Octavia Roberts.                              Houghton

Mifflin Company.   Boston and New York.                             294 pages.

Price $5.00.

When one picks up this beautiful volume his attention is

caught by the portrait of Lafayette on the front cover artistically

stamped in gold.  Opening the book, he is delighted to find a

striking and faultless reproduction of the famous painting by

Peale, representing the benefactor of America as he appeared

when with generous impulse and youthful ardor he donned the

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464      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

Revolutionary uniform and entered the army of Washington.

In fidelity to the original and artistic finish this portrait is un-

surpassed. Other illustrations are fitting accompaniments to this

sumptuous volume, with large clear type that rests and delights

the eye.

Under the frontispiece portrait is a faithful autograph signa-

ture which shows that the General spelled his name "Lafayette,"

not "La Fayette."

The textual content of the book is the history of Lafayette's

service in the Revolution and his visit to America. This is told

in a style that will interest boys and girls and the general reader

of mature years. The person who reads the opening paragraphs

will reluctantly lay it aside before he has read it through.

While the author does not introduce lengthy quotations or

use notes of any kind, she constantly keeps the reader apprised

of the fact that she has consulted the authorities. Some of her

brief excerpts are very happy and, so far as we are aware, not

elsewhere found in a work of this scope and purpose.

Many who with keen ancestral consciousness trace their

origin to the Emerald Isle will read with satisfaction, on page

95, that Lafayette in a letter to Washington declared that Ireland

"is a good deal tired of English tyranny" and adds:

"I, in confidence, tell you that the scheme of my heart is to

make her as free and independent as America."

 

On page 290, occurs the quotation from Lafayette's reply

to the twenty-six congressmen who had voted against reimburs-

ing him for the money he had expended in the American Revolu-

tion and who now came to assure him that their objections to

the bill were "technical not personal."  For this vote they had

been severely criticised by the press and their constituents. La-

fayette relieved their embarrassment in these felicitous words:

"I can assure you that if I had the honor of being your

colleague, we should have been twenty-seven, not only because I

partake of the sentiments that determined your votes, but because

I think the American nation has done too much for me."

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Reviews, Notes and Comments.            465

 

This quotation is a gem, and the reader will thank the author

for including it.

A wrong impression is left on page 288, by the statement

that the senate "finally voted 'yea' unanimously" on this bill.

Seven senators at one time voted against it including Senator

Brown from Ohio who opposed it in a speech.

While the author uses the correct spelling of the name of

Lafayette she makes a mistake in the spelling of another name

that occurs very frequently in the volume.  She writes the

name of Lafayette's private secretary "Lavasseur." It should

be "Levasseur."

The book has no index.   Why so reputable a publishing

house would issue such a work without an index we do not

know.   In these times of "ready references," "prompt library

service" and "American hurry," indexes are almost a necessity.

Perhaps the index is reserved for a second edition.

This book is stimulating and inspiring.  It is timely and

covers in a single volume a field not recently attempted by

other writers. It is an appropriate gift to any young American.

 

 

PANISCIOWA- JEAN BAPTISTE DUCOIGNE.

Through an incidental suggestion of Mr. W. D. Barge, of

1708 Prairie Ave., Chicago, Illinois, we have been enabled to

establish the identity of Chief Panisciowa and Jean Baptiste

Ducoigne. or, as the name is variously spelled, Decoigne, Ducoin

and Du Quoin. There are still other variations. The daughter

of this chief met Lafayette at Kaskaskia and much space was

given to that meeting in the July Quarterly.  Levasseur speaks

of her as Mary and of her father as Panisciowa. This was prob-

ably his Indian name.  Lafayette's secretary devoted much at-

tention to what she said and doubtless exercised care in recording

her name and that of her father as he received them from her

lips.

In Bulletin No. 30. Part I, "Handbook of American Indians,"

issued by the Bureau of American Ethnology, page 405, we have

the following:

Vol. XXIX-30.

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466      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

"Ducoigne, Jean Baptiste. A Kaskaskia chief at the begin-

ning of the 19th century, noted mainly for his firm adherence

to the United States and friendship for the whites. Reynolds

(Pion. Hist., 111, 22, 1887) describes him as a cunning half-

blood of considerable talent. In his Memoirs, Gen. W. H. Har-

rison, who had dealings with Ducoigne, speaks of him as 'a

gentlemanly man, by no means addicted to drink, and possessing

a very strong inclination to live like a white man; indeed has done

so as far as his means would allow.' Writing to the Secretary

of War, he says: 'Ducoigne's long and well-proved friendship

for the United States has gained him the hatred of all the other

chiefs and ought to be an inducement with us to provide as well

for his happiness, as for his safety.' According to Reynolds,

Ducoigne asserted that neither he nor his people had shed the

blood of white men.  He was a signer of the treaties of Vin-

cennes, Aug. 7 and 13, 1803; by the latter the United States

agreed to build a house and inclose 100 acres of land for him.

He had two sons, Louis and Jefferson, and a daughter, Ellen,

who married a white man and in 1850 was living in Indian Ter.

The name of Louis appears on behalf of the Kaskaskia in the

treaty of Edwardsville, Ill., Sept. 25, 1818. Ducoigne's death

probably occurred shortly before Oct., 1832, as it is stated in

the treaty at Castor Hill, of that date, that there should be

reserved 'to Ellen Ducoigne, the daughter of their late chief,'

a certain tract of land. The name is perpetuated in that of the

town of Dequoin, Perry Co., Ill."

It will be noted that the daughter named in this sketch is

Ellen. Whether this was another daughter or whether she was

married a second time to a white man or whether it was the

same daughter, here given a different name, we are not able to

determine at this time.  It is pretty well established, however,

that Mr. Cyrus Thomas of the Bureau of American Ethnology

who wrote this sketch is mistaken in regard to the approximate

time of the death of the Indian chief.  He had been dead some

time before the coming of Lafayette in 1825 according to the

statement of his daughter Mary.

In a letter under date of May 1, 1790, Governor Arthur St.

Clair, writing from Cahokia to the Secretary of War, thus refers

to this chief:

"Baptiste DuCoigne, whom you may remember with the

Marquis de Lafayette, is chief of the Kaskaskia nation, settled

in Kaskaskia. I have been plagued with a great many of his

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Reviews, Notes and Comments.          467

 

talks. The nation is very inconsiderable, and I do not think it

necessary to trouble you with them at present. He himself is

the greatest beggar I have met with among nations who are all

beggars. He counts no little upon his having been with the

American troops in Virginia and so far he merits some coun-

tenance."

 

Under date of May 8, 1799, writing from the same place,

however, Governor St. Clair takes occasion to answer a speech

by Ducoigne in a very different spirit from that suggested in the

above quotation. His speech to the Indian chief was in French.

The original and the translation are both found in Vol. 2 of the

St. Clair Papers. The translation is as follows:

 

"My son:- It is with much pleasure that I have received

the congratulations which you have offered me upon my arrival

in this country I and the other gentlemen whom you see around

me render thanks to God, who has guarded and sustained us

during a very long and wearisome journey. I have great pleas-

ure in seeing you, and in taking you by the hand in witness of my

friendship. The firm attachment which you have shown to the

United States of America, is well known, and consequently you

are entitled to much respect.

"It is true, my son, that for a long time you have seen no

one who has come from the government of the States, and I,

who am the first envoy on their part, have been hindered a long

time after the time fixed for my arrival, by many inevitable

accidents; but the United States never forget their friends,

and the people of this country are their children, whom they will

never abandon.

"My son, my heart is troubled on account of the injuries

which you have suffered. I know well that you are surrounded

by foolish and cruel nations, who love to have their hands steeped

in blood; but I have good hopes that an end will be put to their

depredations, because I am come as the ambassador of peace

to all the people who dwell in this land. If they will listen to

the good words which I shall speak to them, it will be for their

own happiness and that of the human race - all, they and our-

selves, then can follow our occupations with good courage, and

the young people will grow and flourish like the green trees,

and abundance will be found beneath their steps. But, my son,

it is only to a certain point that evil proceedings can be suffered;

after that, patience becomes feebleness, a reproach from which

the United States at all times withdraw themselves. If they will

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468      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

listen to me - good; if they will not listen, they will suffer the

consequences.

"Peace is the delight of the United States, but they are also

formidable in war; of that you, Du Coigne, have been the eye-

witness. Believe me, my son, it will not always be a disgrace

to have been their friend.

"My son, I have all the confidence in the world in the sin-

cerity of your words, that they come from the depths of your

heart, and that you do not speak with the lips only. I also tell

you, with all possible sincerity, that I am very glad to see you,

that I am touched by your misfortunes and that I shall try to

soften them.

"That which you have told me touching brandy is but too

true. This excess in drinking is verily the ruin of the Indians,

but they have such a passion for it that it is difficult to restrain

them; it is not easy, either, to deter the whites from this species

of commerce, because, scattered like you through the woods,

they can carry it to you secretly, and consequently with im-

punity. And if it were possible to hinder the Americans and the

French entirely from carrying on this trade, there are others

who would do it, and if not, they would go and seek it them-

selves from the Spaniard; however, we will try to put some limit

to this traffic.

"The love, my son, which you show for the place of your

birth, where the ashes of your ancestors are deposited, is a

sentiment of nature and of generosity in which I am perfectly

in accord with you. I hope the good God will never forsake

this country and that when you have run the number of days

that are assigned to you, you will have an honorable burial with

all the rites of religion.

"The inclination which you have, my son, to see the worship

of God established, and that a proper attention should be paid to

the education of the young people, pleases me extremely, and I

am troubled to know that the priests have withdrawn. Certainly

I shall recall them only at the end, and I hope that you will fol-

low the good road, and that the young will be instructed, in their

duties towards God, towards man, and towards each other.

"You can assure the Peorias and the Cahokias of my good

will on their account, and that I will make known to the Presi-

dent of the United States, General Washington, whom you know,

and who is at this hour the chief of all, both civil and military,

the desire they have to return to this country. The commissary

will give you some powder, to aid your people who are in the

hunting-ground."

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Reviews, Notes and Comments.            469

 

COLONEL FREDERICK W. GALBRAITH, JR.

 

 

NEWLY ELECTED NATIONAL COMMANDER OF THE AMERICAN

LEGION.

Colonel Galbraith enjoys the distinction of having been both

sailor and soldier in the course of his career. He was born at

Watertown, Massachusetts, May 6, 1874, and later attended

grammar school in Springfield, that state. He was graduated

from a nautical training school at Boston in 1893 and served in

various positions aboard American sailing ships after his grad-

uation. In 1908 he went to Cincinnati where he became treas-

urer of the Western Paper Goods Company. A fellow soldier

who has intimately known the Colonel for years has furnished

the following sketch of his military service:

Colonel F. W. Galbraith's connection with things military

began in 1916 when he became identified with the First Ohio

National Guard at Cincinnati in the capacity of Major. His first

big task was to gain for the regiment the support and co-opera-

tion of the leading interests of Cincinnati and the other cities

where units of the regiment were located.

In the spring of 1917 he became Colonel and immediately un-

dertook an intense recruiting campaign to bring the unit of the

regiment up to full strength. The declaration of war increased the

seriousness of the responsibility but did not materially increase

voluntary enlisting. However, on being called into Federal serv-

ice on July 15, 1917, the Colonel's regiment, the First Ohio In-

fantry, was in excellent shape as to personnel and spirit. For

two and one-half months the training of the regiment was carried

on according to a program laid out by the Colonel.

The regiment was ordered to Camp Sheridan and was as-

sembled in the camp quarters on October 13, 1917. Here the

first real trials began, for two weeks after arrival the Colonel

found that the regiment he had worked so hard to build up had

been transferred from his command and officers and men were

divided between the 147th Infantry, 148th Infantry and the 136th

Machine Gun Battalion by the process of organizing the ₃7th

Division. But it did not take him long to show himself a capable

man. By hard work and leadership he soon found himself in

command of the 147th Infantry where the majority of his old

officers and men were. This unit was formerly the old Sixth

Ohio Infantry and had seen service on the border. The Colonel

is a man who believes in seeing the best, doing the best, and hav-

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470      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. ing the best, and endeavors to pass this spirit on to his officers and men; hence, pride in condition, personnel and efficiency be- came paramount throughout the 147th. Training was undergone with a will, and when the call to overseas duty came, the 147th was ready.

Leaving Camp Sheridan, Alabama, in May, 1918, the regi- ment arrived at Camp Lee, Virginia, and towards the end of June embarked for France in two units, arriving at Brest on the 5th of July. During the next four months came the real war activity of his command. For six weeks the regiment manned the famous Rainbow Sector in the Bacarrat Sector in the Vosges,

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Reviews, Notes and Comments.            471

 

Lorraine, and had the honor of capturing the first German pris-

oners taken by the Division. In this place, the real fighting or-

ganization was developed and perfected, and on leaving the

sector the Colonel received the highest compliments from the

incoming French commanders.

Early in September the regiment moved toward the famous

Argonne, and on the 26th went "over the top" in the initial at-

tack. In the five days that followed no commander ever showed

more thoughtfulness for his men, more energy in holding every

inch gained, more real leadership at critical times when the

morale or spirit of the fighting men was low because of lack of

food or physical fatigue, or more personal indifference to danger

when the occasion demanded. He was not to be found in the

rear but always where he could see and know what was the real

condition so that helpful and well directed moves were made with-

out entirely needless sacrifice of life. The Colonel never forgot

that mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts had entrusted their

all to him. It was here that he narrowly escaped death as he was

sniped by a machine gunner, the bullet passing through the gas

mask on his chest, and he was also struck on the cheek by flying

shrapnel. On the second of the five days he found himself in

command of two regiments and both in a very serious condition.

For his splendid conduct here he received the D. S. C.

The holding of the Xannes Sector on the St. Mihiel front

next fell to his command. From there his regiment went to Bel-

gium for the first and second offensive. The 14₇th Infantry went

into action for the last time in the night of November 9th, con-

tinued the attack through the 10th and 11th, until the signing of

the armistice and reached a line marking the farthest advance

of the American Army in Belgium. Picked troops of his com-

mand participated in the triumphal entry into Brussels and into

Aix la Chappelle or Achen. His interest and inspiring leadership

made the return trip to the United States a matter to be proud

of as few units, if any, cleared the fort of Brest with a record

that his regiment acquired as a well disciplined and efficient

organization. The Colonel stands out as a real American who

believes in his country and his fellowmen and will do more than

his part to make it all that it should be.

It is very gratifying to know that one so entirely worthy of

the distinguished honor has been chosen National Commander of

the Legion. The recent annual meeting of that patriotic order

was held in Cleveland.  The procession was inspiring as it

marched through the streets of that city and the proceedings of

the meetings were of a character to impress most favorably all

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472      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

who had an opportunity to be present at the sessions or read the

reports in the public press.

Colonel Galbraith was elected Department Commander at the

first state convention of the American Legion held in Ohio. He

was elected National Commander on September 29th, two years

to the day after he performed the act of heroism which won for

him the Distinguished Service Cross. His citation for this honor

reads:

"For extraordinary heroism in action near Ivoiry, France,

September 29, 1918. When an enemy counter-attack was im-

minent, he went into the front lines under a violent artillery

and machine-gun barrage, and by the coolness and certainty of his

orders and the inspiring example of his personal courage reorgan-

ized his own command and took command of other units whose

officers had been lost or diverted in the confusion of battle.

Knocked down by a shell, he refused to be evacuated and con-

tinued to carry on the work of reorganizing his position and dis-

posing the troops to a successful conclusion."

 

 

OHIO-ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NAME

William D. Gallagher, the well-known early Ohio poet in

1835 wrote an ode to "Our Western Land" in which the follow-

ing lines occur:

"Ohio-peh-he-le !-Peek-han-he! The pride

Of the land where thy waters, O-pe-le-chen glide.

* * *

"Ohio-Pechen! Belle Riviere!

For beauty none with thee compare."

In notes the explanation is made that "Ohio-peh-he-le" means

very white frothy water; "Peek-han-ne," deep and white stream;

"O-pe-le-chen," bright, shining; "Ohio-pe-chen," it is of a white

color. Here is material from which we may arrive at the poet's

conception of the significance of the name Ohio.

In the New International Encyclopedia, edition of 1904, we

find the statement that Ohio is a corruption of the Iroquois

Ohionhiio which means beautiful river.

A writer in the Quarterly (Vol. XIV, page 274) suggests

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Reviews, Notes and Comments.               478

 

that the name is from the Seneca language and means beautiful

river.

On the same subject Archer Butler Hulbert in the first

chapter of his valuable and authentic work, "The Ohio River,

A Course of Empire", devotes considerable space to the discus-

sion of this subject. We here quote at length from this volume:

"The first brave English adventurers who looked with eager

eyes upon the great river of the Middle West learned that its

Indian name was represented by the letters Oyo, and it has since

been known as the Ohio River. The French, who came in ad-

vance of the English, translated the Indian name, we are told,

and called the Ohio La Belle Riviere, 'the beautiful river.'

"We have, however, other testimony concerning the name

that cannot well be overlooked. It is that of the two experienced

and well-educated Moravian missionaries, Heckewelder and Zeis-

berger, who came into the trans-Allegheny country long before

the end of the eighteenth century. Upon such a subject as the

meaning of Ohio, one might easily hold these men to be final

authorities. John Heckewelder affirms that Oyo never could

have been correctly translated 'beautiful'; Zeisberger adds that in

the Onondaga dialect of the Iroquois tongue there was a word

oyoneri which meant 'beautiful' but only in the adverbial sense

-something that was done 'beautifully,' or, as we say, done

'well.' Mr. Heckewelder, knowing that it was commonly under-

stood that the French had translated Oyo when they gave the

name La Belle Riviere to the Ohio, took occasion to study the

matter carefully. He found that in the Miami language O'hui or

Ohi, as prefixes, meant 'very'; for instance, Ohio-peek meant

'very white'; Ohiopeekhanne meant 'the white foaming river.'

'The Ohio River (he writes), being in many places wide and deep

and so gentle that for many miles, in some places, no current is perceiv-

able, the least wind blowing up the river covers the surface with what

the people of that country call "white caps"; and I have myself witnessed

that for days together, this had been the case, caused by southwesterly

winds (which, by the way, are the prevailing winds in that country), so

that we, navigating the canoes, durst not venture to proceed, as those

white caps would have filled and sunk our canoes in an instant. Now, in

such cases, when the river could not be navigated with canoes, nor even

crossed with this kind of craft-when the whole surface of the water

presented white forming swells, the Indians would, as the case was at the

time, say, "ju Ohiopiechen, Ohiopeek, Ohiopeekhanne"; and when they

supposed the water very deep they would say "Kitschi, Ohiopeekhanne,"

which means, "verily this is a deep white river."'

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474      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

"For one, I like the interpretation of 'Ohio' as given by those

old missionaries - the 'River of Many White Caps.' True, there

is a splendid, sweeping beauty in the Ohio, but throughout a

large portion of its course the land lies low on either bank, and

those who have feasted their eyes on the picturesque Hudson,

or on the dashing beauty of the Saguenay, have been heard to

call in question the judgment of the French who named the Ohio

La Belle Riviere. But it must be remembered that the French

first saw the upper waters of the Ohio, which we now know

as the glittering Allegheny. La Belle Riviere included the Ohio

and the Allegheny; it was not until the English had reached the

Ohio, about the middle of the eighteenth century, that it came to

be said that the Allegheny and Monongahela formed the Ohio at

Pittsburgh.  To one acquainted with the roaring Allegheny,

dancing down through the New York and Pennsylvania hills,

and who can see how clear the waters ran in the dense green

of the ancient forests - to such a one it is not difficult to see

why the French called it La Belle Riviere."

 

Mr. Marshall, as will be seen in his contribution to the

Magazine of American History, reproduced in this issue of the

Quarterly, explains that the word Ohio comes from the Seneca

word O-hee-yuh, meaning "beautiful river." In the Cayuga and

Mohawk dialects, we are told, the name is O-hee-yo; in the Onon-

dago and Tuscarawa, O-hee-yee; Oneida, O-hee, all signifying

"fine or fair river".

And now comes Mr. William E. Connelley, another recog-

nized authority, whose carefully prepared contribution appears

elsewhere in this issue of the Quarterly, who tells us that the

word Ohio does not mean "the beautiful river" or "the river of

many white caps" but that it very clearly signifies "the great

river."

When authorities differ thus widely the average layman will

naturally be silent on this subject until he "is shown." It seems

that the original significance of the word is involved in almost

as much doubt as the origin of the mound builders and many

problems suggested by their remains.

Just now, in view of Ohio's eminence among the sisterhood

of states, however, we are disposed to favor the view of Mr.

Connelley. Ohio is "great" in so many ways.

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Reviews, Notes and Comments.           475

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

The forthcoming annual meeting of the Society will be one

of the most important in its history.  For reasons that will be

explained in due time the date of the meeting will be later than

usual.

A supplement to the October Quarterly will be printed before

the close of the year. This will contain the full proceedings of

the annual meeting, the index to the current volume and other

matter of interest.

 

SPELLING OF PROPER NAMES.

The spelling of proper names is apt to involve the average

writer and editor in doubts and difficulties. Elsewhere we have

drawn attention to the spelling of Lafayette.  Some authors

spell it La Fayette. Authorities are divided in regard to the

spelling Galissoniere. The New International Encyclopedia has

it Gallissonniere, and there are other variations. The name of

Father Bonnecamps is spelled by a well known historian Bonne-

champs, while Celoron and Father Lambing spell it Bonnecamp.

As far as possible we refer the orthography in such cases to the

party who bore the name. It should be Lafayette and Galissoniere

because these two men spelled their names thus, as will be seen in

their autographs. It should be Bonnecamps because he so signed

it to his Journal and so wrote it in his map of the Celoron ex-

pedition. In like manner Celoron is final authority on the spelling

of his own name which frequently is incorrectly printed Celeron.

 

 

We are pleased to present in this issue the paper of William

E. Connelley, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society.

This paper was written to correct what the author believes are

a number of mistakes in an article on origin of State names,

published in the August number of the National Geographic

Magazine.  We are pleased to have Mr. Connelley's paper.

There should be reciprocity on matters of general and local

interest among the historical societies of the different states and

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476      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

we trust that we shall receive from similar sources future contri-

butions relating to Ohio or the Mississippi valley.

 

We are under especial obligations to the Burrows Brothers

Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, publishers and owners of the

copyright of The Jesuit Relations, for the privilege of reproduc-

ing the translation of Father Bonnecamps' Journal of the expe-

dition of Celoron.

 

The number of gifts that are coming to the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society is increasingly gratifying.

A full account of these, with recognition of the generous donors,

will appear in the supplement to this issue which will be printed

after the annual meeting of the Society.

 

Publishers are invited to send for review any books that they

may issue on American history or archaeology. Beginning with

the year 1921, we expect to organize more fully for the work of

reviewing such publications. We hope to have some assistance

from professors of the Ohio State University.

 

Will some member or friend of our Society be so kind as to

procure for us a set of The Olden Time, republished by the

Robert Clark Company; also a set of Parkman, late edition.

Our set of the latter work is old and incomplete. Someone

doubtless has a set that he would be willing to contribute to the

Society.

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