"HARTFORD, CONN., _September 29th, 1883_.
"HENRY REED, Esq., Philadelphia.
"DEAR SIR--Wordsworth's 'Muccawis' was, certainly, a Whip-poor-will, and
he must have taken the Indian name, directly or at second-hand, from
Carver's _Travels_. Among the birds 'found in the interior parts of
North America,' Carver (chap. 18) describes 'the Whipper-will, or, as
it is termed by the Indians, the _Muckawis_.... As soon as night comes
on, these birds will place themselves on the fences, stumps, or stones
that lie near some house, and _repeat their melancholy notes without any
variation_ till midnight,' etc. So Wordsworth's
Melancholy muccawis
Repeated, o'er and o'er, his plaintive cry.
"I have an impression--which I have not just now leisure to verify--that
Carver's description of this and some other American birds was reprinted
in the _Gentleman's Magazine_. Two or three English editions of the
_Travels_ had been printed before _The Excursion_ was written.
"I find no other authority for this 'Indian' name. The Chippeway name for
the Whip-poor-will is (as given by Tanner or Dr. E. James) _Wâwonaissa_.
Nuttall states, the Delaware name was _Wecoâlis_: Zeisberger wrote it
_Wecoolis_.--Yours sincerely,