time mentioned. In the guttural and rather irregular orthography of the
Book it is spelt _Kanonghsyonny_. The Roman Catholic missionaries,
neglecting the aspirate, which in the Iroquois pronunciation appears and
disappears as capriciously as in the spoken dialects of the south of
England, write the word Kanonsionni. It is usually rendered by
interpreters the "Long House," but this is not precisely its
meaning. The ordinary word for "long house" is _kanonses_ or
_kanonsis_,--the termination _es_ or _is_ being the
adjective suffix which signifies _long_. _Kanonsionni_ is a
compound word, formed of _kanonsa_, _house_, and _ionni_,
extended, or drawn out. The confederacy was compared to a dwelling which
was extended by additions made to the end, in the manner in which their
bark-built houses were lengthened,--sometimes to an extent exceeding two
hundred feet. When the number of families inhabiting these long
dwellings was increased by marriage or adoption, and a new hearth was
required, the end-wall,--if this term may be applied to the slight frame
of poles and bark which closed the house,--was removed, an addition of
the required size was made to the edifice, and the closing wall was
restored. Such was the figure by which the founders of the confederacy
represented their political structure, a figure which was in itself a
description and an invitation. It declared that the united nations were
not distinct tribes, associated by a temporary league, but one great
family, clustered for convenience about separate hearths in a common
dwelling; and it proclaimed their readiness to receive new members into
the general household. [Footnote: The people of the confederacy were
known as _Rotinonsionni_, "They of the Extended House." In the
Seneca dialect this was altered and abridged to Hotinonsonni, the n
having the French nasal sound. This word is written by Mr. Morgan,
"Hodenosaunee."]