In Barber's collection it is stated that there was an Indian village here called Canastagaones, or "People of the Eel-place." Naturally there wovild be fishing villages in the vicinity. The location of the Aal-plaat is particularly identified in the Mohawk deed for five small islands lying at Kanastagiowne, in 1667, and by the abstract of title filed by one Evart van Ness in 1715. (Cal. Land Papers.) The name is from Keantsica, "Fish," of the larger kind, and -gionni, "Long" -- tsi, "Very long" -- constructively, "The Longfish place," the Aal-plaat, or Eel-place, of the Dutch. The suggestion by Pearson (Hist. Schenectady) that the name "was properly t'hat of the flat on the north side of the river," is untenable from the name itself. The reading by the late Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan: "From Oneasti, 'Maize,' and Coiiane, 'Great' -- 'Great maize field' " -- is also erroneous. The generic name for the field or flat was S'henondohazvah, compressed by the Dutch to Skonoiva. In the vicinity of the Aal-plaat was the ancient crossing-place of the path from Fort Orange to the Mohawk castles, in early days regarded as the "Best" as it was the "Most traveled." The path continued north from the crossing as well as west to the castles. Schenectady, now so written, is claimed by some authorities to be an anglicism of a Mohawk-Iroquoian verbal primarily applied by them to Fort Orange (Albany), with the interpretations, "The place we arrive at by passing through the pine trees" (Bleecker) ; "Beyond the opening" (L. H. Morgan) ; "Beyond (or on the other side) of the door" (O'Callaghan), and by Horatio Hale : "The name means simply, 'beyond the pines.' from oneghta (or skaneghet), 'pine,' and adi or ati, a prepositional suffix (if such an expression vcolY be allowed), meaning 'beyond,' or 'on the other side of.' The suffix is derived from skati, side.