The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-11-23
INDIANA INDIAN NAMES.
New York SUM-


Indiana is the center of literature,
and indianapolis is known throughout
the world as the Omphalos of Poetry
Whatever relates to that center and
that Omphalos interests every reason
ing man and woman. May we borrow
from Mr.. Jacob Plat Dunn, secretary
of the Indiana Historical society. a
little of the light he has just irradiat-
ed on Indiana philology in his Clos
sary of Indian Names" which is part
of his True Indian Stories" lately re-
viewed and praised in the sun?
The good revere, yet deplore, the
name Indianapolis" 1t is pretentiOus
mouth filling, a guess at Greek, IN
worthy of what the city connotates
that has grown up in spite of it. How
much more euphoniOus was the Miami
name of it: "Chanktunoongi an ad-
mirable prophecy of the present cap
ital, for it means Makes a Noise
Place" Is it too late to go back to
this happy appellation?
'Winonah is a Sioux female proper
used TO be famous in Minnesota as the
home of William Window, is now used
in Indiana only of Winona lake; but
Mr.. Dunn gives Us a little lesson in
baby nomenclature among the Sioux:
'Winonam' is a Sioux female proper
name, signifying a first born child. If
the first born is a boy the name given
is 'Chaskay.' and in that case there
can be no 'Winonah' in the family.
When sex is not desired to be indicat-
ed the Sioux word for the first born is
'tokahpah, which is the mineral
first
In a Rooseveltian world these distinc-
tions and delicacies are not without
value. No Sioux. as far as we know
commits the barbarity of saddling his
child with a statesman's name
Winnipeg" means, we say with re-
greet and all apology to northern
neighbors, sinking water" salt wa
ter or 'turbid water" Wabash; :"
we know not what others may think,
has much of the inexplicable and i'm
memorial magic of "Tiber." Nile"
''Tigris." Gauges -'ArnO-" we have
seen and loved to see loyal Indian
ians pointing from the train at that
sacred stream Wabash" as a voca-
bic flows from the Miami name ''Wah-
bahshikki," usually pronounced 'Wah-
pahshikki" (accent on the penulD; and
is IAN infection of the Miami ad-
to the limestone bed of the upper part
of the stream" and there is nothing
in THE somewhat common theory that
Wabash means "a cloud driven By the
equinOctial wind Mr.. Riley's lines
surge into the mind;
Bright waters that swirl and that
razzIe,
BY the cliffs they have bitten to fraz-
zle.
Wabash"
How many Manhattan cockneys
know how to pronounce the Lone Star
Waco, famous among cities? Some of
the untraveled are apt to make the
first syllable broad --ah'," thinking
they show themselves correct and
Spanish thereby. There is a Waco"
(wayeO) in Indiana. imported from
Texas, sometimes written as Spanish.
''Hueco." and said to mean heron
among the Wichita. "Tippecanoe,
mighty word. is a corruption of Ike
tapekonnong." the Indian town below
the mouth Ct TipDecanoe river. Ca
noe" Mr.. Dunn tells US, SIS not word
of the North American Indians Te-
cumseh.'' properly .'Tecumtha," is a
going across" or crossing over.
Mohawk" is probably ''cannibal
Ohio is certainly beautiful Man
haitian" (there is one in Indiana) Nj
Dunn grimly holds after mentioning
many other etymologies. including
beautiful view" to be as HeckeweldeT
said. the place where we all got
drunk" There is a noble fnaliiy
about these guesses. 'Kokomo, for
example. has been translated Black
Walnut Bear Chief and Young
GRANDMOTHER and may be trans
later The Diver"
But we mustn't wear our our well
come. We take our leave. happy in Mr.
Dunn'S confirmation of place of Wild
Onions as the Interpretation of Chi
cago." The old. noephitic calumny is
slowly being diSDelled