File #5189: "ms158_b1f005_007.2.pdf"

�New London now is. Others will occur to you. I think of others containing the same distinctive idea - Nobska (Woods Hole) and Pe-Nobsk-ut (Penobscot). One is a river - another a headland. Why the difference? We have to deal with many sources of error such as the ignorance of the explorers in understanding the language of the Indian. By putting yourself in the shoes of Capt John Smith, as an example, you can see how difficult it would be to know[word underlined] what a red-skin meant by a word, or place name, whether it applied to a limited area or its most prominent attribute. Many of the translations are simply silly. I saw one for Kennebec = he gives thanks! For Portland's early name, Machigonne = clay land! As if clay were distinctive of that locality. The Indian had some intelligence and certainly gave names to places identified them for his purposes.[Last three words underlined] Many names were given after[word underlined] the whites