Says Scanado was adopted by the nation, when quite young; came from the west; does not know of what tribe, but showed himself smart, and rose to the chieftaincy by his bravery and conduct. Says, that the (syenite) stone on the hill, is the true Oneida stone, and not the white stone at the spring; was so pronounced by Moses Schuyler, son of Hon Yost, who knew it forty years ago; that the elevation gave a view of the whole valley, so that they could descry their enemies at a distance by the smoke of their fires; no smoke, he said, without fire. They could notify also, from this elevation, by a beacon fire. The name of the stone is O-ne-a-ta; auk, added, renders it personal, and means an Oneida. The word Oneida is an English corruption of the Indian.
Origin of the Oneidas.
Abraham Schuyler, an Oneida, says that the Oneidas originated in two men, who separated themselves from the Onondagas. They first dwelt at the outlet of Oneida lake. Next removed to the outlet of Oneida creek, on the lake, where they fortified. Williams says he was born there, and is well acquainted with the old fort. They then went to the head of the valley at the Oneida stone, from which they were named. Their fourth remove was to the present site of Oneida Castle, called a skull on a pole, where they lived at the time of the discovery of the country and settlement of the colony by the Dutch, (i. e. 1609 to ’14.)
Site of the Oneida Stone, Stockbridge.
Etymology.
Asked several Oneidas to pronounce the name for the Oneida stone. They gave it as follows:
O-ni-o-ta-aug.
O-ne-u-ta-aug.
O-ne-yo-ta-aug.
The terminal syllable, aug, seems to be a local particle, but carries also with its antecedent ta, the idea of life or existence, people or inhabitants.
Onia is a stone. The meaning clearly is, People of the (or who have sprung from the) Place of the Stone.
Adirondack, Jourdain, pronounces Lod-a-lon-dak, putting l’s for r’s and a’s. It means a people who eat trees—an expression ironically used for those who eat bark of trees.