Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-04-01
BOln baZlne or Bonn Oseen.


WEST CAsTLEToN.' VT, March H.
ia tie Editor Of tie Rutland Herad -
Dear sir-I enclose with this letter an
article copied from the Nation, literary
newspaper of wide reputation, published
in New York city. March 10th. | think
as Rutland county, as whole, il interest
ed in the proper nomenclature of the i'm
portant features of the landscape, it will
be well if you will give the article cur
rency through your columns. 1t seems
pity that 30 beautiful a lake as Bemoseen.
named evidently after historical charac-
ter, should be disgraced by the unmean-
ing name il now bears. Many persons
have assigned fanciful reasons for it it,
popularity and unftness have always at
tracted attention, and every one should
welcome the true name. We are very
destitute in this district of local Indian
names, because there were but few resi-
dent Indians between the Green Noun
tains and Lake Champlain. This was a
border country disputed by the Wabena-
ks and the Mohawks, and the scene of
many bloody encounters. II was the path
over which the Huron and ST. Francis
Indians marched to make their attacks on
the white settlements along the Connecti-
cut, and though there were endless Indian
remenisences attached to the various local
tiles, they did not stick and transmit
themselves to the white settlers as to the
region where the Inut..-- -, - =: 49,,
and died after the white. began to get
foothold
1t is rarely the case that Indian names
are harsh in sound, though some are
most of them have pleasant sound,
when uttered, as if full of consonants. are
so picturesque in their sounds that We
welcome them.
The few actual Indian names we can
lay claim to should be cherished. and we
may now add to Winooski, Moosalamoo.
Connecticut, Nc., the family name of the
old Bohaba of the Norridewocks, Bono
seen, and it would be a good thing if
some enterprising hotelkeeper would
place his token or sign manuel on his sign
board and claim the credit of keeping the
true Bomoseen house. ] can furnish, il
any wishoa to mako good use of il. 4
the actual token or picture signature used .
by Bomoseen in signing one of the treaties
negotiated between the whites of the
Massachusetts, bay colony and tho Indians
am yours very respectfully,
ROBERT NORRIS CopELA,rn
The following is the extract referred to
i'll the above letter:
when New England was a wilderness.
tribes which inhabited the north
ern and eastern part went under the gem
eral name of Abenikas or Wabenakis. OF
these, the NorFid gewock tribe or clan was
the most important, and was ruled by a
hereditary chieftain called Bashaba,
whose family name was Bomoseen. These
Indians and their Bashaba migrated about
New England more or less, and left be-
hind them evidences of their residences
in local names. Thus, on the Kennebec
river, at Norridgewock, there are some
falls or rapids, called by the inhabitants
'Bombazine rips and in Vermont,
beautiful lake in Castleton, nine miles
long and three miles wide, is called Lake
For a long time this name
was puzzle because it was obviously a
misnomer Plainly, some Yankee trader,
familiar with the article of dry goods
called bombazine had substituted that
name for the Indian or local name resem-
bling it in sound,
"Whittier's "Meg Megone' let in light
on the question, as he refers in the poem
and the notes to Bomoseen, Bashaba of
the Norridgewocks Further inquiry
signed by Bomoseen with his name and
token Here We see the true name, eu-
phonious and significant, instead of the
prosaic and ill-sounding Bonn
bazine. Names become 80 firmly fixed
that when they are wrong it is almost
hopeless 10 try to change them, though
could be done if the inhabi-
tants of the misnamed localities would
try to correct them in their maps and
One of the Bonn ba-
zines is in fair way to be obliterated.
A new map of Rutland county, VT, has
been published this winter, by Beers, Ell
lis g. Soule, New York, in which the lake
is rebaptized-as the old chief signed the
sreaties-"Bomoseen." If the Kenne-
Deckers will take little care when a new
map is made of their country, "Bomba-
zine" and the home Of the Bashaba will
no longer be desecrated by his mispelled I
name"
The m hnuscript furnished us was some !
what unintelligible as to Indian names, .
but we hope we have deciphered them |
aright. 4