Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1906-07-23

ping off the terminative syllables or
Indian words, may not unreasonably
lie taken to represent Ammonoosuc,
an expressive Indian word meaning
"fsh-story river" proof positive
that the red man, as we'll as his sHc-
/ 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,
tawas, traders, while fiercely
fighting tribe were admiringly termed
Fries, or Wildcats" by their en-
emies Our Iowas are corruption
of a derisive word signifying ''dropsy
or sleepy ones term given by the
warlike Sioux of the north to his
quieter red brethren of the plains
The scornful Iroquois called each
Algonquin of the New York noun
tains an Adirondack" signifying
'he eats bark" The latter retorted
by clubbing each Iroquois a mo
hawk" or man eater" a grim testi-
monial in it's way of the fierce and re-
lentless Iroquois character. The
family of the Sioux, the famous fight
ers of the northwest, divided as they
were into eight great branches or
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
Threats"
The Indiai as born story teller,
Every lake and river every rock and
every plain had its story, it's incidents,
it's legend. The Indian gave ever those
names that recalled these legends to
his mind.
Winona. Mimi, has beautiful leg
end. Winona, first born daughter"
was the child of a stern warrior. He
babe 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 Longfellow's 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 SOY
rowful. Quite the reverse in many
cases, as the story of the naming al
Wakarusa, Kan, will show. Once a
party of Indians on the trail were
stopped in their progress by 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 a small Indian
pony, and deliberately pushed pony,
suuaw 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 stru&1az
out for mid-stream, and 10! the waters
had but spread over a shallow basin
and the danger had been but appar-
ent, not real. Derisively the squaw
rose and scornfulIy shrieked at her
liege lord, who had been so willing to
have been summarily rid of her.
"Wakarusa! Waugkarusa!" (Thig8Is-
deep, thigh-deep) And Wakarusa-
the region has remained until This
day.
The Indian has left behind him
hundreds of musical alliterative
names, in which the consonant and
vowel sounds are doubled. Good ex-
amples are Wawaka, Wawasee, Kanne4
kee. Kennekuk, Tuscaloosa, Tallahas-
see, Ochlocknee, Ohoopee, Oshkosh
Minnetonka, 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.