The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-08-25
INDIAN NAMES.
They Are Frequent in Missouri and Kansas
X k X X X X

Missouri is an Algonquin word and
It meant Canoe People wherever that
language was spoken. big. Muddy
was the definition to another word.
The Missouri Indians, a tribe long
since extinct, dwelt at the confluence
Of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers
In the days of the early explorers.
Their chief seat was between the two
great rivers, the waters of which
they navigated in canoes, often to the
embarrassment of their enemies,
until the terrible Iroquois from the
East came and drove them from their
ancient homes and d~issipated them
to find shelter among other tribes.
The Missouri Indians were known
among the neighboring tribes as the
Ancient Missouris. Their mythology
was widely accepted among neighbor-
ing tribes and constituted a part OF
the practical religion Of Algonquin
peoples. 1t was the universal Gus
tom of the Indians arriving in can
oes, where the waters of the Mis-
souri, and Mississippi rivers came to-
gether to throw some present or sac
ri6ce overheard to appease the great
Manitou, the Indians deity, whose
abode was known to be in these
depths, from the fact that a boat
loaded with Missouri warriors was
swamped at this place by the Of
Tended and vengeful god and the &C.
cupants drowned.
The most distinguishing trait of
the Missouri Indians was their skill
In navigating the great rivers Dor
iering their land. They owned a
great many canoes and spent much
time on the water. They were
known far and wide as the Canoe
People of Missouris. The a%ppellation
was current with the surrounding
tribes, from which the early French
voyagers acquired it, though for a
long time the French explorers
sought in vain tc give the stream
some name arbitrarily selected. 1t
was at different times called the Vel
low River, the Usage, the Riviere
Langue and the P~ekitanoui. But the
popular taste ever returned to the
name of the Canoe People, and after
many changes in spelling settled
down to the present form, Missouri.
The Missouri Indians called the
river Pek-i-tan-oui, which in their
language meant big Muddy" Ac-
sording to their definition Big Muddy
Is a proper pseudonym for the Mis-
souri, River.
The name Of the Mississippi River
has chung tenaciously to the Indian
form in use among the natives when
the French first penetrated to the
West, although many ambitious eff
forts were made to select a name
which it was thought would be more
appropriate for the great stream
than an uncouth savage term. For
brief seasons and among a very few
the Father of Waters has been called
Espiritu Santo, Conception, Colbert
md St. Louis. But here again popu-
lar taste asserted itself and pre-
served for all time the beautiful In
iian name. The word Mississippi Is
derived from two Chippewa words
and therefore originated in the Far
North. The Indian word Meseha
mea great; the companion word,
Cebe, means river. From Meschace-
be, great river, we have evolved, by
simple changes, the ~euphonious Mis-
sissippi. 1t is notable that many Of
our great rivers deriving their anne
from the Indians conferred the same
On great States, as the Mississippi,
the Missouri, the Kansas, the Ohio
and others.
The word Kansas is of Spanish orr
gin, according to George F. More
house, in Volume 10, Kansas Histor-
lcal Collections. The first mention
Of the Kansas Indians is made by
Juan de Ouate, who in 1901 came
from New Mexico with a company Of
soldiers. He found a wild and pow
srful band of Indians bent on plum
lering their docile neighbors, the
prosperous Quivirans. Ouate admin
stored severe but condign punish
nent on the wild tribe, which he
,alled Escansaques. a troublesome
people. Dropping the sufix and af1x
he word Cansa remains, a Spanish
7erb which means to harass, or mo-
lest. Mr.. Morehouse says: This
famous historic word Cansa or Kansa
IS neither of Indian nor French ORR
gin, and it is useless to look to those
languages for some strained and
5ague Specification. The word is
plain Spanish, and as such has a
w%ell-defned and expressive meaning
when applied to an Indian tribe, and
especially when used to designate
that Indian tribe from which our
State takes its noted name" The