(pronounced with an aspirate) became _Hochelaga,_ the well-known aboriginal name of what is now Montreal. That this name meant simply 'At the beaver-dam' is not questioned. It is rather curious, though not surprising, that two such noted Indian names as _Saratoga_ and _Hochelaga_ should have the same origin.

In _Ochseratongue_ the name is lengthened by an addition which is so evidently corrupted that I hesitate to explain it. I may say, however, that I suspect it to be a 'verbalized' form. It may possibly be derived from the verb _atona,_ 'to become' (in its perfect tense _atonk_), added to _osera,_ in which case the word would mean, 'where a beaver-dam has been forming,' or, as we should express it in English, 'where the beavers have been making a dam.' "With regard to the Mahican name _Amissohaendiek_ or _Amissohaendick_ (whichever it is) I cannot say much, my knowledge of the Algonquin dialects not being sufficient to warrant me in venturing on etymologies.

I remark, however, that 'beaver' in Mahican, as in several other Algonquin dialects, is _Amisk_ or some variant of that word. This would apparently account for the first two syllables of the name. In Iroquois the word for 'beaver-dam' 'has no connection with the word 'beaver,' but it may be otherwise in Mahican."...

Dr. Brinton wrote:... "I have little doubt but that the Mahican term is practically a translation of the Iroquois name.