The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1880-11-06
Antoine LeClaire ana "1owa."
Davenport Democrat.


Davenport Democrat.
There is no doubt that our late towns
man, Antoine LeClaire. was largely instru-
mental in giving this state the name it
bears; and his being quoted as authority
for the origin and meaning of the word
Iowa" has caused an attack upon him
which every Davenporter will be ready to
resent. Rev S. s. Howe of Iowa City.
recently published letter in the Repub-
lican of that place, giving history Of the
naming of the state and quoting Mr.. LIE
Claire. with whom he was we'll acquainted.
This brought down upon him ''an ava
lanche of Indian lore from one DR.. Thos.
Foster, temporarily residing" at Wash
ington, d. c., who disputed the authority
of MIR. LeClaire in regard to tie name,
contending that MIR LeClaire knew very
| little about the Iowa (y) tribe, insisting
on the spelling and pronunciation of Ioioay
as only correct" And to this weak and
unfounded assertion Mr. Howe responds;
| / answer that Mr.. LeCiaire. from boy
hood spoke French. Indian aud Enc fish,
of which two first languages DR.. Foster
cannot be accepted as OF the slightest
authority" He shows by the way 10
which he writes and pronounces Iowa
Aloe" (ah ee-o.ay) and "Ay u e. (a-yoo-
ay) that he (Dr. FOSTER does not under
stand the photography aud pronunciation
of French, and much less of the Indian
language.
During Mr.. LIE Claire's poyhood and
early manhood. there were three tribes of
Indians in. the Territory of iowa-the
Iowans, the Sac and the Foxes, or the
Saukee and Musquakee-Anali Sau-
kee and MusQuakee. | myself. in 1910.
saw an Iowa chief. With members of the
| 60 Il hxyc l.oa RI
settle difficulty between them and The
Winnebagoes, q lodge Of whom had been
fallen upon and murdered by Iowa Indians
mistaking them fer Souix, their natural
enemies. And for DR. Foster TO say that
LIE Claire know very little about the
Iowa tribe" is simply ridiculous asser-
ton. Mr.. e Claire was educated by the
United States authorities to be an expert
interpreter of the Indian tongue, showing
great aptness, when young, in the
use of Indian. French and Enelish.
knew him personally. from 1910 TO the
tiu3e vi lis death. had frequent COM
versati3us with hin about the deriva lion
Of Indian word. The late Willard Bar
rows, of Davenport, q ueighbor OF Mr.. L.
ClaiIe. and student of Indian antiquities,
always relied on LeCiaire as his hest auth
ority.
4 gain the Doctor says the ordinations
''scGy tcec, ois, the last in Illinois, tpro
nouaeed EIlenwee) mean tribe, And 50
,1au. in OTbway Now | visited School
craft, iG 1860 when alex aud confined to
his room in Washington, and he told I'd g
expressly that Illinois meant "a man. y
as if by the name, Indian meant, I am q
man. Besides acee. is not the pronuncia~
ton of ioS.
A few words, in general, on the deriva-
ton OF Indian names and words, and |
have Gona with this controversy about
names. All we have of written or printed
words in Indian dialects of the Northwest,
have come to US through French and
Spanish sourees-chieiy French And
there is no language, ancient or modern,
so poorly fitted to convey the exact sounds
Of the Indian tongues.
The French, especially. have first medi
lied Iuaian words and the Indians, by
conversing with French trappors, hunters,
Town tongues. For example, in
the winter of 1S53-54, fire.
quently met smiling Indian girls
10 the house of John fancy, sof Lansing
| Iowa. who lived ips Wisconsin among the
| Winnebagoes like DR.. Fogte-. As those
young squaws entered the house, their Ini
form salution was2 ''Bejou, be iou" an
Indian corruption of Bon Jour good day,
From one specimen, learn all.
DR.. Foster has evidently q peculiar
spelling of his own, And | perfer the
classic spelling and pronunciation. The
ending ay in not Indian nor French, but
| itSis nearer 20 ah, with ap sspirated
cultural sound. and yet better for the
| chasing ending a, pronounced like IN
her. "a in America, Africa, O1ondag a
Ticonderoga. ANY body who should say
or pronounce Iowdy in our street for Iowa
| (City, State, river, or county, would be
laughed at by our school Echildrep.
Hence in my former article, insisted on
the classic pronunciation Of Iowa. as. found in
| the Webster and Worcester dictionaries.
trust the simple name Iowa-"Here is
the place, n or Here is the spot" and
abe classic pronunciation of Iot0G, will
still obtain and Continue in Use,