Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1875-02-12
,,.xa. Gazette Il Virginia Advertiser.
lEoR THE COUNTRY
POTOMAC RIVER.
/ From the Washington Chronicle. !


,omac in the Indian tongue, meant river OF
swans It has also beeu stated that 1t meant
n,locc of the burnug plne-Iesemoilug
council fire." aud again, as meaning 'Porpolse
shout the first reference to this river is to
ho tound in Cap,aiu John Smiths account OF
his VOYAGES, &c. About 1908 he had charge
ola party making explorations up the Chesa-
n,ake bay. After spending some twelve or
fourteen day toug at the oar his comrades
became worn down aud discouraged, aud in
sisted on returning TO jamestown. Smith
made a speech to them, earnestly desiring
them to continue their explorations, at the
close of which he says:
Regain, therefore, you1 old splrlS, tor re-
tnrn will not (if God please) till have seen
the Massawomeks, found Patawomeek, or the
head of this water you concelt to be endless.
Again he says:
''Op the 10th of June we fell in with the
river Patowemeek fears being gone, aud our
men recovered, We were content to take some
paines to know the uame of that seven miles
broad stream
Smiths spelling of the name is about the
same as William Strackey, who was Secretary
ofthc Colony of Virginia in 1909, aud few
wears subsequently,. ln Strackey's "Hlstorle
of Travaile' he calls it Patawomeek.
RIVER OF SWANS.
This explaualion Of the origin of the name
seems tancitul one without any plausible
authority. The Intan word for swan was
obsoweeIa or aobsowculai; aud for river, seepo
secpu, or seebo and hanna or hanDlDg, The
somewhat noted Absecon inlet at Atlantic City
New Jersey, is derived from the Indian words
Abse weelal-coD, meaning place OF swans,
shortened tor euphony, or convenience, to Al
secon.
The Iudian name for river, seepo, was lu-
tended to he given by the French when they
endcavored to give the Iudian prouunclatioD
of the river Mississippi, the in the French
having the sound Of in the Eugish, Hanna
or hanuug seems generally to have been used
10 designate a river by the Indians OF PenDsy-
vauia and New Jersey (Heekwelder, Salem in-
terpreter, 1854, in Lossing's History Record,
July, 1872 Mr.. Cunning, Indian agent iu To-
dian Archives, volume I'd, &C.
BURNING PINE OR COUNCIL FIRES.
Webster's illustrated Dictionary page 1851,
says: Potomac. Ind.,) place Of the burning
pine. resent bling council fire. "
This is another probably fanciful explana-
ton, but it is pity that 1t is not we'll founded
iu view OF the fact that the great couocil fire Of
the nation, Congress, holds its session so near
the river.
The Indian name for pine according to
Heckwelder was cuwen or cuwe, and DIR. E. Is.
O'Callagh han, the learned New York historian,
gives it as kowat or quaat; both writer's evil
deutly intending to convey substantially the
same Indian pronunciation of the Dame-cuwe
cuwen, uuaat but 20 sound resembling either
can be found in the name Potomac. In modern
times the Delaware name for pine is given as
pux.oxk-wes. Cummings
Captain John Smith says the Indian word
for fire was pokatawer the Indian Interpreter
in Lossing's Record, July, 1872 says rutti was
the Iudian word for burned or destroyed. DE
Laet says the Inian word for fire was tinteywe;
in modern times the Delaware word ior fire is
given as tun dahl.
PoRPOlsE RIVER.
The most plausible origin of the name Poto-
mac is derived from "The Historic of Travile
into Virginia Brittanica, by William Strackey,
Gent" published in l6lS. Strackey, as before
stated, was appointed Secretary of the Colony
Of Virginia In 1909.
\ correspondent of the Historical Magazine,
1863, (p. $780, says the name Patawomeek,
IS given in Strackey, is from Potawaugh, a
porpoise, and eek, place. The Dctonaire
appended to Strackey's work gives pota-
waugh as the Indian word for porpus, (por-
pois, and further says: "The last syllable,
frequent termination of locality; without the
x it is the same. Thus the meaning OF
Pa-awo-mee or Poawaugh- meek shortened /
into Potomac by English usage, is Porpoise
river"
The same explanation substantially is given
by another correspondent OF the Historical
Magazine, 1865, p. 81
The probabilities are that these two cor
respondents are about correct, and that the
uame is derived from Potawaugh gh-omcek ;
but 10 regard to the termination omeek, 1t |
comes nearer the Indian word used to desg |
nate wide, big river or broad bay. Heck
welder says Peth-amook means they are COM
ing by wate;' Acc.omac, broad bay, land be-
Captain John Smith speaks of the Massawo-
meks powerful, warlike tribe of Iodians,
who ''came by water to attack the Virginia |
Indians. This explanation of the meaning of
the termination confirms the conclusion of the |
writer's in Historical Magazine, the only differ
ence being that large, great river was meant
-Potawaugh-omeek, "a great river where are
porpoise." Strackey enumerates the porpoise
among "the no mean commodltle" OF fish in
that region.
Heckweder gives still another version of the
origin Of the name Potomac. He thinks it is
corruption of Peth-amook, ''they are coming
by water" If the present name had been be-
slowed by Indians, his explanation would seem
plausible, as Peth-amook and Potomac differ
but little in souud but the name originally was
spelled Patowomeek, ,Patawomeke; then Potow:.
meek, Potowmac, Potomok, aud finally settled
for euphony or convenience to Potomac.
ln attempts to give the Specification of geo.
graphical names Of Indan origin, some writer's
have evidently strained point or gone beyond
the record to give romantic or tancltul der
lVatlons Aud perhaps no writer has been
more severely criticised for this than School
craft. Webster's explanation OF the signi-
hcatiou Of the name Potomac reads as
though it may have been derived from