Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1906-07-19

ping Off the terminative syllables OF
Indian words, may not unreasonable
be taken to represent Ammonoosuc,
an expressive Indian word meaning
"dsh-story river" proof positive
that the red man, as well as his sue
cessors, was given to telling tall
stories about his lucq in fishing.
Even the Indian hates and heredi.
tary feuds found expression in names.
The members Of a certain Indian
tribe, despised for their peacefulness.
were in contemptuous parlance OF
tawas, traders, while a fiercely
fighting tribe were admiringly termed
Fries, or Wildcats" by their en-
emies. Our Iowas are a corruption
Of derlsive word signifying "dropsy
or sleepy ones" a term given by the
warlike Sioux of the north to his
quieter red brethren of the plains.
The scornful Iroquols called each
Algonquin of the New York noun
tains an Adirondack" signifying
he eats bark" The latter retorted
by clubbing each Iroquois mo
hawk" or man eater" a grim testi-
monial in its way of the fierce and re-
lentless Iroquos character. The
family of the Sioux, the famous fight
ers Of the northwest, divided as they
were into eight great branches or
sub-tribes, gave to themselves the
comprehensive name of Dakotas,
allied together in friendly compact :"
but their Indian foemen called them
by the bitter term of Sioux, "cut.
throats."
The Indiai as a born story teller,
Every lake and river, every rock and
every plain had its story, its Incidents,
its legend The Indian gave ever those
names that recalled these legends to
his mind.
Winona, MINI, has a beautiful leg
end. Wlnona, first born daughter"
was the child Of a stern warrior He
bade her marry one of the notable
braves of his people. She loved an
other. Rather than marry the brave,
whom she hated, she threw herself
from The Cliff of the Maiden's Leap,
that overlooks the point where in the
Mississippi's waters found the peace
that was denied her in her in her
fathers lodge. Another Minnesota
legend, that Of Minnehaha, recalls to
most minds Longfellows famous
poem. He, however, took the usual
poets license in the matter. In the
real legend Minnehaha, Laughing
water" did not become the bride of
Hiawatha, but was crossed in love.
In her despair she sought the falls Of
Minnehaha, after which she had been
named, Here, over precipice sixty
feet high, she took the fatal leap.
All Indian traditions are not sor-
rowful Quite the reverse in many
cases, as the story of the naming of
Wakarusa, Kan, will show. Once a
party of Indians on the trail were
stopped in their. progress by a swollen
and angry-looking stream. Deep
water bad bottom" grunted the
braves, hesitating at the brink of the
river, unwilling to turn back, doubt
ing that they could cross. At length
an Indian Crept up behind his squaw,
who was seated on small Indian
pony and deliberately pushed pony,
squaw and all over the bank into the
rapid muddy current He meanwhile
looking stoically on to see whether
she would gain the opposite bank in
safety or drown before his eyes The
astOnished and enraged sQuaw struck
out for mid-stream, and lo the waters
had but spread over a shallow basin
and the danger had been but appar-
ent, not real. Derisiyely the squaw
rose and scornfully shrieked at her
liege lord, who had been so willing to
have been summary rid of her:
'Wallarusa! Waugkarusa" (Thigh-
deep thigh-deepD And Wakarusa
the region has remained until this
day.
The Indian has left behind him
hundreds of musical allterative
names, in which the consonant and
vowel sounds are doubled. Good eX-
lmples are Wawaka, Wawasee, Kanne-
1ee, kennekuk, Tuscaloosa, Tallahas-
see, OchlOcknee, OhoOpee, Oshkosh,
Massabesic, Contoocook,
Loogootee and Hatchechubbee. We
like to roll his Kenebunk and Guilty
hunk, his Nantucket and Wachusett,
his Kickapoo and Tetonka over our
tongues and it would be deplorable,
indeed if they should have to go and
be translated into correct and con
else" English.