"How this name originated is a 'vexata quæstio' among Indo-antiquarians and etymologists. The least plausible supposition is, that the name has any reference to the moralist Seneca. Some have supposed it to be a corruption of the Dutch term for vermillion, cinebar, or cinnabar, under the assumption that the Senecas, being the most warlike of the Five Nations, used that pigment more than the others, and thus gave origin to the name. This hypothesis is supported by no authority. ... The name 'Sennecas' first appears on a Dutch map of 1616, and again on Jean de Laet's map of 1633. ... It is claimed by some that the word may be derived from 'Sinnekox,' the Algonquin name of a tribe of Indians spoken of in Wassenaer's History of Europe, on the authority of Peter Barentz, who traded with them about the year 1626. ... Without assuming to solve the mystery, the writer contents himself with giving some data which may possibly aid others in arriving at a reliable conclusion. [Here follows a discussion of the various forms of name by which the Senecas designated themselves and were known to the Hurons, from whom the Jesuits first heard of them.] By dropping the neuter prefix O, the national title became 'Nan-do-wah-gaah,' or 'The great hill people,' as now used by the Senecas. ... If the name Seneca can legitimately be derived from the Seneca word 'Nan-do-wah-gaah' ... it can only be done by prefixing 'Son,' as was the custom of the Jesuits, and dropping all unnecessary letters. It would then form the word 'Son-non-do-wa-ga,' the first two and last syllables of which, if the French sounds of the letters are given, are almost identical in pronunciation with Seneca. The chief difficulty, however, would be in the disposal of the two superfluous syllables. They may have been dropped in the process of contraction so common in the composition of Indian words--a result which would be quite likely to occur to a Seneca name, in its transmission through two other languages, the Mohawk and the Dutch. The foregoing queries and suggestions are thrown out for what they are worth, in the absence of any more reliable theory." _O. H. Marshall, Historical Writings, page 231_ See above: IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY, and HURONS, &c. See, also, PONTIAC'S WAR, For an account of Sullivan's expedition against the Senecas, See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1779 (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER). AMERICAN ABORIGINES: Shacaya. See above: ANDESIANS. AMERICAN ABORIGINES: Shahaptian Family. See above: NEZ PERCÉS. AMERICAN ABORIGINES Shastas. See above: SASTEAN FAMILY. AMERICAN ABORIGINES: Shawanese, Shawnees, or Shawanoes.