Mr. John Reade, whose contributions for many years to the Saturday edition of the Montreal Gazette under the title of "Old and New," and whose wide knowledge and critical scholarship have made his papers the subject of keen appreciation by students and thoughtful reading people, in one of his articles under his usual heading, in the Gazette of Sept. 16th, 1905, commented upon or rather reviewed Judge Girouard's paper before cited. Mr. Reade wrote:

FROM OLD AND NEW.

"Among interesting articles in the September issue of the Bulletin des Recherches Historiques is a study by Mr. Justice Girouard (Supreme Court of Canada) on the Etymology of the name Missisquoi. As Judge Girouard points of out, Missisquoi is the name north of Lake

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bay at the the Champlain, of a river in state of Vermont and of a Canadian county. It has been borne by more than one Canadian newsOne model country paper paper. was originally called, we believe, the Missisquoi News. Judge Girin ouard has found the name concession of a seigniory dated the 6th of April, 1733, to the Sieur de Lusignan, but thinks with reason that it must have been known to the people of the Old Regime at much earlier period. Fifty years later it is mentioned in another document, reproduced by Mr. John Noyes, K. C. president

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the Missisquoi County Historical Society in his "Early Settlers in the District of Bedford." The word has been spelled in different ways-Missiskoui, Missisqui Missisco-the familiar form (Missisquoi) finally triumphing over all rivals. Judge Girouard, having been consulted by a pondent of Worcester, Mass., on this comparatively insignificant question wrote first to Mr. Noyes, who, after offering two etymoand logies-" much water fowl" "old squaw," gave the preference to the former. He offers some curious reasons for the rejection of the "old squaw" derivation, supposing it to be based, not knowledge of any Indian tongue, but on a vulgar conjecture— the sound, "Missis Squaw," suggesting a matronly person of advanced years. Writing under his nom de plume of " Wayside Warbler,' to the Bedford News, Mr. Noyes quotes from the "Geography and History of Lower Canada, Designed for the Use of Schools, by Zadock Thompson, the preceptor of Charleston (Hatley) Academy, Stanstead and Sherbrooke, L. C. Published by Walton and Gaylord, 1835." This author, who is doubt the well known historian of Vermont (mentioned not long ago in Old and New,) cites two Indian words in favor of the etymology that Mr. Noves prefers. These are "missi" (much) and "kisko" (water fowl.) Mr. Ernest Racicot, C. F., suggests that the "Mis" of Mississippi, etc., means "water," and compares quoi" with last syllable of Iroquois. A former

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missionary of Sault Saint Louis is sure that the word (Missisquoi) is not Iroquois.

Another missionary holds that Missisquoi (Missiskaw "pour les besoins de l'etymologie" is not Algonquin. Judge Girouard then consulted the missionary of the Hurons of Lorette who referred the enquirer to a priest of Huron origin at Mastai, also near Quebec, who replied that the word (Missisquoi) was not Huron. Finally Judge Girouard wrote to Father de Gonzague of St. Thomas de Pierreville, not far from Missisquoi Bay. This reverend gentleman offered a new explanation. The word, he says, is from "Masipskoik." which means "a place where there are flint stones, or pebbles." Mr. Noyes, to whom Judge Girouard made known this last etymology, though inclined. to cling to his "water-fowl" origin still makes a suggestion that would seem to corroborate M. de Gonzague's explanation. Although he says, there are no flints or pebbles at the Bay, the River Missisquoi is full of stones, and therefore of rapids and falls. Judge Girouard is inclined to accept M. de Gonzague's view as a settlement of the question.

It may, however, be worth while to mention that in Baraga's Otchipwe Dictionary, edited by Father Lacombe, O. M. I., "Missiquoi" is said to mean "The Big Woman" (from "misi"-big and iskwew-woman). In M. Cuoq's Lexique Algonquin "misi" is said

to

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"large (grand) mean 'kwe," femme, mulier, Womз1 These two works may be said to

represent the western and eastern dialects of Algonquin. The extent of the Algonquin family of languages may be gathered from Pilling's Bibliography. How little what is common to all its branches has changed is shown by comparing some of the early vocabularies with corresponding words in the later dialects. Yet sometimes the pronunciation of the same word by the French and English varied to an extent which made identification impossible. Some Algonquin words, such "assin," "sibi" or "sipi," "wab' and their compounds are easily recognized. It is also generally easy to distinguish any Iroquois from any Algonquin word. For half Canada and at least a quarter of the United States Algonquin, and Iroquois are what Archbishop Charbonnel called them-the 'two great Indian languages.'

IV.

R. V.

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The reference which M. Pattison has made, as before mentioned, to the New York Indians led me to write W. P. Cantwell, Esq., Malone New York, President of the Franklin County Historical Society - about the middle of the three extreme northern counties which constitute what is called Northern New York, asking for information as to the Mississagas Indian tribe, pointing out to him. that during a residence for a time in early youth in Northern New York, I had received the impression that there had never been a settled tribe of Indians there in

the early days prior to settlement. Mr. Cantwell, in his kind and courteous reply, did not discuss the matter, but forwarded a memorandum prepared at his request for my use by Dr. Collins, Secretary of his Society, based upon such information as the Society

possessed. It was with a pang of regret that I learned a few weeks later that Mr. Cantwell, the foun

der of that Society, had passed away at the advanced age of 76 years. It is a distinct loss to local historical research, there and elsewhere, when such keen intellects, trained by years of professional work to examine into, and to investigate, are moved from further participation

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in life's activities. The memorandum of Dr. Collins is as follows:

DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF

NEW YORK.

Report of Indians in Canada, 1736, "Missisgues" at Huron, 50 men. Report of Sir William Johnson, 1763, "Mississagais," residing above Detroit, 320.

CENTURY DICTIONARY,

"Missisaga a tribe of North Am"erican Indians, once a part of the "Ojibwa, first known in the middle "of the 17th century north of Lake "Huron and Ottawa they spread "over South Ontario. In 1846 "they were admitted as the sev"enth tribe of the Iroquois Con"federacy. The name is translated ""Great Mouth," referring to "the mouth of the Missisaugh "river emptying into Lake Hur"on."

V.

Col. J. D. Bulman, of Sweetsburg, P. Q. kindly gave me communication of an interesting old book which he had inherited from his grandfather called, "Miscel"laneous Correspondence contain"ing a variety of Subjects, Re

"lative to Natural and Civil His"tory, Geography, etc, etc., by "Benjamin Martin, for the year "1755-56, Printed and Sold by W. "Owen, Temple Bar, London." In this venerable book is a well executed "Map of the British French Settlements in North America," and the points given agree with what is now known of the

and

countries, settlements and physical marks of that period. It was made by F. Bowen, Sculp. and stated it was, made from authentic sources. Lake Champlain appears upon it as of that name or as Iroquois lake. The outline of Missisquoi bay is there, but without a name, North of Lakes Erie and Ontario is placed what is called the Six Nations, with the added remark, "conquered from the Antient Hurons in 1650 and possessed ever since." North of Lake Huron is given the Missesagues Indians with the note "subdued by the Six Nations."

The records seem to show that the Missesagues of Dr. Collins the Mississagui of Mr. Watson and Missisaguis of Weld, the same tribe mentioned in that old mapwere north of Lake Huron about 250 years ago. Parkınan (A Half Century of Conflict Vol. 1, p. 278), says that in the middle of the 17th century the Iroquois