Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-04-17
name OF THE BIRD WOMAN

f1lSttTICd1 SOClSty, WRITES MIS- u. Is. |
Amidon, president of the State Fedora
ton of Woman's clubs, regarding the
name of the BIRD Woman as fol
lows: %. e
Dear Madam: The spelling and
pronunciation of the name of the
Bird Woman of the Lewis and Clark |
expedition has been referred to me- |
I desire to call your attention to the !
following facts which may help you
to reach some safe conclusions.
1. The Bird Woman, though Sho-
shone by birth, was captured by the
Gros Ventre tribe at an early age
(about eleven) and did not return to |
her own tribe until years after, when,
with her husband, French Interpreter
for Lewis and Clark, she accom-
panied the expedition to her original
| tribal home. She was at that time an
adopted member of the Gros Ventre
tribe, wearing their costume and bear
ing a name given her by the tribe and
still in common use among them.
2. The eros ventre, Hidatsa or
Minitaree language is still. in use in
this state and the name, the Bird
Woman, is written and pronounced in
this language: "Tsa-ka-ka-wi-ash.'
Tsa-ka-ka-bird wia-a-woman sh-
the. -,-.,e~ ~ =
| 3. There are two authorities on the
eros Ventre language; first, the late
DR.. Washington Matthews OF Washing
ton, d. c., for many years army
surgeon at Ft. Berthold and Fl.
Stevenson, and author Of the Gram
mar and Dictionary of the language
of the Hidatsa or eros Ventre;z Sec
ond, Rev. c. L. Hall, Elbowoods, N. d.
missionary among the Gros Ventures
at >Ft. Berthold for thirty years and
an expert in the use of their language,
having translated hymns and portions
of the Bible into this language for
use in his religious services. .::s<
4. These two authorities have
recommended from the first that the
name Bird Woman be spelled Sa-ka-
ka-we-a and be pronounced as indi-
Gated by the accent marks. -.- .s, r ..s
s.. No scientific investigator or
reputable ethologist sanctions the
present misspelling and mispronoun-
citation of the eros Ventre work.
Elliott Cones in his Larpenteur,s
Forty Years a Fur Trader on the
Upper Missouri. Vol &c, p. al, note,
refers to Washington Matthews as an
authority on the spelling Of the name
and suggests that this correction be
borne in mind if ever a monument is
erected to the Bird Woman. His
prudent suggestion has, however, so
far been ignored. s. $aj e.. ..S ..%
6. The Journals Of Lewis and Clark
can not be used as authority on the
form of the name since their own
spelling of the word was variable and
| because neither of these two explorers
ever pretended to be more than pass
h ing travellers, hastily recording as
best they could what came under their
notice. It is manifestly absurd to
ascribe to either of them any ac-
eurate knowledge of the eros ventre
spelling Or pronunciation, matters
which have engaged the attention of
such scholars as Matthews and Hall
for years. s5 .;
z. The later corruption of the eros
+ Ventre name Bird Woman Gas given
? by Lewis and Clark into the Sho-
shone name Boat Launcher has no
bearing on the case. Sa-ka-ka-we-a is
well authenticated English render
ing of the original name given to the
intrepid Indian woman who served SO
well in the famous Lewis and Clark
expedition. 1t is no more than his
toric justice that the name of this
woman should be correctly recorded
on the monument raised in her honor
by the state of her adoption and where
sAe SisWze 70 :WOInannOOd. RE- +%s
+ Hoping that the women OF North
Dakota will take this occasion to
I reotify previous blunders by selecting
!. a ma name n supported by both usage and
! authority. .a.. 4 ~ gs ": 0 U.
Il Patton's Sun Proof Paint mas been
. used in Bismarck for number Of
] years and has given perfect satisfac-
ton and If there is any complaint as
!. TO scalingi etc, any customer can gel
/ paint free Of charge to repaint his
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/: satisfactory for 5 years. For sale by
i. @. Rhud, Third street.
!.
Wild Flowers.
{ Yellowstone is truly one OF the
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