Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Monthly Bulletin Published monthly, except in August and September, by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Forbes Street and Bellefield Avenue, Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, Pa. President, S. H. Church, Carnegie Library, Forbes Street and Bellefield Avenue; Secretary, J. D. Hailman; Treasurer, James H. Reed, 1027 Carnegie Building; Director, John H. Leete, Carnegie Library, Forbes Street and Bellefield Avenue. Subscription 50 cents a year. Vol. 26 October 1921 The Name Ohio No. 8 From Archer Butler Hulbert's "Waterways of Westward Expansion." There are various theories concerning the name Ohio, the most popular and generally acceptable being that Ohio was the English way of spelling and pronouncing the name Oyo, "beautiful," which the Indians had given to the river. The French, who usually translated Indian names, called the Ohio River La Belle Rivière. Later came the English, and the Iroquois name Oyo was Anglicized to Ohio, the modern name of the river. This makes a very satisfactory explanation of La Belle Rivière, were it not that the Reverend John Heckewelder affirmed that the French name Belle Rivière was not a translation from the Indian, since there was no such Indian word meaning "beautiful." Mr. Heckewelder felt dissatisfied with the theory that Ohio meant "beautiful," and while yet associated with the Indians and familiar with their language, made a study of their names for the Ohio River with interesting and enlightening results. In tracing the derivation of the word Ohio he shows that, in the Miamis language, O'hui or Ohi, when prefixed, meant "very," while Ohio peek meant "very white" (caused by froth or white caps) and Ohiopeekhanne meant "the white foaming river." He further states: "The Ohio river being in many places wide and deep and so gentle that for many miles, in some places, no current is perceivable, 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 has been the case, caused by southwesterly winds (which by the by are the prevailing winds in that country) so that we, navigating the canoes, durst not venture to proceed, as these white caps would have filled, and sunk our canoe in an instant. Now, in all 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 foaming swells, the Indians would, as the case was at the time, say, 'juh 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.'" The traders who penetrated the Indian country were commonly careless of the pronunciation of names; any word which bore a fragment of similarity to the true name was satisfactory. There is, however, great excuse for this, as it was impossible for white men to acquire the "Indian ear" and pronounce the gutterals of the Indian language. Thus the abridgement of many words was carried to such an extent that nothing significant of the original Indian name remains. The newcomer learned of his predecessor and the "nick-names" were adopted and handed down leaving the true names to pass out of memory and existence. For instance Pittsburg was commonly called "Pitt" by the traders; Youghiogheny, "Yough;" Hockhocking, "Hocken." word Lehigh has no signification but was shortened from the original Indian name Leehauhanne. In this same manner, the traders adopted the first syllables of the word Ohiopeekhanne, thus obtaining an easier name to pronounce and remember. our y. The Reverend Mr. Heckewelder is probably the best authority on Indian names and customs, so that, presumably, his version of the derivation and meaning of the name Ohio is the most authentic; but, the question remains, why should the French have called it La Belle Rivière? One cannot pass, however, without noting that in the Onondaga language there was a word ojoneri-the j being pronounced like The Reverend David Zeisberger, who compiled a copious dictionary of the Onondaga language, asserted that ojoneri meant "beautiful" but in an adverbial sense, describing the manner in which something is done-synonymous with our word well. If the French translated an Indian name La Belle Rivière, it was the first syllables of this word, ojoneri, that they translated-about as correctly as Washington translated Illinois when he first heard it "Black Island" (Île Noire) or Lieutenant-governor Hamilton of Detroit translated Rivière d'Anguille (Eel River, as the Indians called it) as if it were Rivière d'Anglais. The Constitution Comparatively few Americans know how the Constitution of the United States looks in print, and fewer still know the provisions of this famous document under which they are governed, or rather, under which they govern themselves; for no less an authority than Viscount Bryce is of the opinion that the people of the United States do govern themselves, probably to a greater extent than any other people of the modern world. In a very interesting chapter in his famous study, "The American Commonwealth," he tells how public opinion rules in this country. Space does not permit the reproduction here of all that he has to say on the subject, but a part of it is as follows: Of all the experiments which America has made, public opinion is that which best deserves study, for she has shown more boldness in trusting it, in recognizing and giving effect to it, than has yet been shown elsewhere. Towering over Presidents and State governors, over Congresses and State legislatures, over conventions and the vast machinery of party, public opinion stands out, in the United States, as the great source of power, the master of servants who tremble before it. Congress sits for two years only. It is strictly limited by the Constitution, which is a fundamental law placed out of its reach, and by the coexistence of the State governments, which the Constitution protects. It has (except by way of impeachment) no control over the Federal Executive, who is directly named by and responsible to the people. So too the State legislatures sit for short periods, do not appoint the State Executives, are hedged in by the prohibitions of the State constitutions. The people frequently legislate directly by enacting or altering a constitution. The principle of popular sovereignty could hardly be expressed more unmistakably... A consideration of the nature of the State governments as of the national government will show that legal theory as well as popular self-confidence gives birth to this rule of opinion. Supreme power resides in the whole mass of citizens. They have prescribed, in the strict terms of a legal document, the form of government. They alone have the right to change it, and that only in a particular way. They have committed only a part of their sovereignty to their executive and legislative agents, reserving the rest to themselves. Hence their will, or in other words, public opinion, is constantly felt by these agents to |