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�that locality it has a co-tidal phenomenon of four [underlined] small tides daily -- Vineyard Sound, Buzzards Bay and the Atlantic contribute to this oscillation of the waters -- mean rise and fall about three feet -- no other island in that region (Nantucket or Block) has this peculiarity. Tooker [?] did not know this. The name was therefore correctly interpreted grammatically by a student -- a real one -- and it fitted the crime. "Amid the Tides," as I gave it, is not only a true picture, but the Indians knew their onions in giving it. My contention in this case for example, is that it is absolutely necessary for an Algonquin-ologist to know his terrain and make his grammar bend to it. Some of these monkey-shine names make me wish to jump ovreboard and bid good by [sic] to the world.

I can see no reason why the Indian should not give a modified or new name to a place as it became identified with the changed character when the white man altered it. I know they did on the Vineyard - possibly as a result of the Mayhew influence. Otherwise their language was not fluid. This view relates to Monhegan. Maine has a thousand miles of coast line if stretched and straight - and heaven knows how many isles, islands, islets and plain rocks. It is satisfactory to me to associate Mona-hegan and Monan = is as from one root. To give this hundreds of hundreds of islands a definite descriptive name must have beggared their resources. Of course Hegan, Egan is the key note to the bigger one of the two. The Indian was not "liable" to consider it as a land fall or to try to name it from the ocean front. While somewhat distinctive it was not so darned different from a hundred others. Dozens of them had little [? illegible] separated by guts between. Martha's Vineyard has one - "Chappaquiddick". (Tchepi-aquiden-auk or eck -- the separated island)

Now, if there were artificial additions to Monhegan, before 1600, made by Europeans, as is very probable, why should not the Indians take note of it and specify the new features? It was as important to him in nomenclature as it is for us to change the name of a settlement from "Town of" to "City of" when it grows big enough.