The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1888-02-23
WHAT THE WORD MEANS.
How the Name Ohio Came to be Se-
lected-An Heirloom from the Sen.
eca Indians-A Test Survives.

The origin OF Indian names is an ex-
ceedingly interesting study. They are
always expressive of some idea, and
hence are, in many cases, excellent
helps in chronological investigations.
To rightly understand their force one
must remember the Indian had no
words for abstract ideas. These were
preixes or suffixes of other words, and
hence one Indian word often contained
the significance OF an English sentence.
When the celebrated missionary, Elliott,
translated the Bible for the use OF the
savages he found it necessary to make
combination of Indian words for
English ideas expressed in kneel, pray,
seek, find, etc. The Indian language
had words for what could be seen,
heard, felt, etc. Hence, when he gave a
name to an object, it expressed an idea
to him, denoting whatever was inn
pressed strongly on his mind.
Thus the English word water was ex-
pressly the Indian in sepe, and we have
Misipi-sepe-great water, waba-sepe,
water moving like summer cloud, etc.
The word Ohio is found first among
the Senecas, portion of great Iroquois
confederacy-the Six Nations. The
Seneca nation of this remarkable union,
live in northwestern New York and in
day. This river, by all Indian nations,
when seen by the whites from 1905 to
100 and even later, was considered
part of the Ohio. They even considered
the Ohio the great river, making it con
sist of the Allegheny, the Ohio and the
Mississippi below the mouth of the
Ohio.
The great French explorer, LaSalle
came to Canada in 1866 and not long
after was visited by band of these In.
dams for trade and who told him of a
great river rising in their country and
flowing into the sea. As all nations were
eagerly trying to find such a route to
the sea, and hence direct route to
China. La Sales determination was
fixed to find this river, explore it, and
take possession OF it for his King. The
Senecas called the river "Oyo" or O-hee.
zuh. LaSalle discovered this river late
in 1899 and explored it as far as the
great rapids. where now are the cities
of Louisville, KY, and Jetf'ersonville
and New Albany, Ind. In 1850 he dis
covered the outlets of the Ohio and Mis-.
sssippi and fixed their positions cor
rectly on the maps. But the Seneca In
dian could not then comprehend the
English idea in his word and it was
many years before this was made
manifest. The word formed excel
lent vocal boat sounds for the
rowers, as they vociferated O-hee-zuh,
and with the exclamation made stroke
of the oar. TO the Frenchman the river
came to be "La Belle Reviere''-the
Beautiful River, SO much 80 that many
ascribe TO these early voyaguers the
name and its meaning. This is, how
ever, hardly correct. When the Ameri-
cans came to dwell in the country of the
Senecas, they were informed of the
same river, "Oyo-sepz," and when q
Seneca Indian learned to comprehend
abstract ideas and could tell what he
meant, he said the word means beauti-
full. No evidence has come down to us
to show that they used Oyo elsewhere.
with other objects to express the idea
of beauty. This fact to many casts a
| film of doubt on the word and its mean
ing, but SO far it has withstood the test
T of over two centuries and must stand
! till better evidence than has yet been
| adduced overthrows it.