onguiaahra

Updated: May 13, 2025

The name of Niagara, written Onguiaahra by Lalemant in 1641, and Ongiara by Sanson, on his map of 1657, is used by Hennepin in its present form. His description of the falls is the earliest known to exist. They are clearly indicated on the map of Champlain, 1632. For early references to them, see "The Jesuits in North America," 143.

Francis Parkman - France and England in North America; a Series of Historical Narratives — Part 3

Their Huron confederates, keen traders, would not suffer them to pass through their country to traffic with the French, preferring to secure for themselves the advantage of bartering with them in French goods at an enormous profit. An excellent summary of their character and history, by Mr. Shea, will be found in Hist. The Niagara was then called the River of the Neutrals, or the Onguiaahra.

Francis Parkman - The Jesuits in North America in the Seventeenth Century