Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-03-01

SCCllOu VI ulO " lis WIZ
the Sank and Fox compact gave him
another section on which is now the
city of lie Claire; the Pottawatta-
mics gave him a section on which
is now the city of Moline. In 1888
he was appointed to settle all mat
tiers of difference between whites
and Indians respecting land pur-
chased of the Sauks and Foxes OF
the Mississippi from Dubuque to
Burlington.
AS the years passed interest in
creased in the effort to get the true
meaning of the word "KiOwa," and
in 1860, Theodore S. Parvin, the
far-famed antiquarian and pioneer
of Iowa long before it was admitted
as a state, wrote to Mr.. LIE Claire,
asking the definition of the word.
The reply was: "A tribe of Indians
were in search of a home, or hunt
ing-in fact, wandering-and when
they reached a point they admired,
and was all they wished, they said,
"Kiowa--this is the place."
On q reservation is the remnant
of tribe of Kiowa Indians. / once
asked a full blooded, we'll educated
member of it the meaning. of the
word, and he said he understood it
was equivalent to here, the place"
but 1t had become obsolete with his
tribe from the universal use of the
modern word, without the Ok"
When the Sauks and Foxes were
removed from the eastern part Of
the state to the reservation in Van
Buren, county, they frequently came
to Fort Des Moines, when they were
hunting game along the rivers to
exchange pelts for goods at the fur
trading post Taylor Pierce, who
was chief clerk of the trading post,
once told me that sometimes he ask
ed them where they were going, and
the answer would be pucka-chee
(going) kiowa Ito or up) Kesauk
(Des Moines) sepo driver. From
It's mouth to its source they called
! nass t.ioines river Kesauk. At other
times their answer would be rPuck-
a-chee kiowa Asepolo sepo," mean
ing they were going up the Racoon
river. Asepolo meaning racoon; or
it might be, "Puck-a-chee kiowa All
ma-qua sepo,' Ah-maqua meaning
Beaver creek, along which they
caught the dam building rodents
The word always meant place, or
here, he said.
Once, when a band of the Mus
quake Indians came here from Ia
governor, | asked the head chief, a
very old man. the meaning of the
word, "Kiowa," and he gave it in
almost the precise words of lie
Claire. that when a band went out
on hunting and fishing trip, and
came to good place to make a
camp and for their ponies to feed,
the head man would say to them,
"Kiowa," meaning, stop and make
camp.
There has been a very general be-
lief that the state derived it's name
from the river.
In 1882 Lieutenant Albert Lea
of the United States army, who was
exploring along the upper Missis-
sippi published a small book lau-
daily descriptive of "Ioway dis
trict,' with map on which he gave
prominence to Ioway river. Nicoltsts
the French explorer, saw it while in
preparation, and wrote of it that
'Ioway district" was name eu-
phonious and appropriate, being de-
rived from the river. the extent and
Importance of which was then first
made public.
The logic of Lea and Nicollet
seems plausible, but it comes two
years after the Michigan council
bad officially and publicly named it.
the details of which are of record .
II was known for some time to
members of congress and public Of
ficials in Michigan as the 'Ioway
district before it was known there
was such river in it. The word
"Ioway' was spoken as spelled, with
the accent on the last syllable. a
more euphonious pronunciation than
the short, jerky method of modern
times with. the accent on the first
syllable. The early explorers of the
Mississippi, from Marquette, 1887,
Hennepin, 1880. Franquilin, 1853,
Charleviox, 1921, the map on the
large terrestrial globe in the Cap
ucine Convent at Dion, France,
make no mention Of Iowa river
while all pictured the Des Moines
river equal in size to the Mississip-
pi, and Charlevoix, impressed with
its Importance, traversed it from
mouth to source. The Michigan
council in 1892 gave its name to
cne-half of the state.
There was scattered over the To-
way district, several bands of Sioux
Indians. who had separated from the
family. who were called by the Span
ish and French fur traders, who
came up from st. Louis the
"Ayouas.' "Aiouz," "Ayouways."
"Ayos." which was the best they
could enunciate the Indian word
"Kiowa," as spoken by the Sauks
and Foxes. who occupied the south
ern and southeastern portion OF
what is now Iowa, the first with
whom they came in contact. and
from which came the English SPELL
ing 'Ioway" by the early settlers.
A searcher of the history of Iowa
Indians will find numerous contra
dictions and discrepancies in the
spelling of names. In the treaties
made with them, the names of chiefs
are written differently, for not be-
ing able TO write. they made their
mark" and the interpreter wrote
the name as near as possible from
the chiefs enunciation. In the
treaty of July 80. 1880, Po-wa-
shick;" in the treaty of 1853. APP
panoose's name Is signed "Appan-