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T H E H A L F - B R E E D S C R I P C O M M I S S I O N 71
• who stands t i l l morning." One of the applicants was Kana-watehaguayo,
or " The ghost- keeper."*
But others were strikingly poetical, particularly the female
names. Payucko geesigo, " One i n the Skies " ; Pesawakoona
kapesisk, " The silent snow i n falling forming signs or
symbols": Matyatse wunoguayo, or rather, for this is a
doubtful name, Powiistia ka nimaghquanetungh, " Listener to
the unseen rapids " ; Kese koo fipeoo, " She sits i n Heaven,"
were all the names of applicants for scrips, and many others
could be added of like tenor. In a word, the Christian or
baptismal names have not displaced the native ones, as
they did i n Wales and elsewhere, and amongst some of
our far Eastern Indians. But there were terrifying and
repulsive names as well, such as Sese kenapik kaow
apeoo, u She sits like • a rattle- snake"; and one individual
rejoiced in the appalling surname of " Grand
Bastard." These instances serve to illustrate the tendency
of half- breed nomenclature at the lake towards the
mother's side. Here, too, there was no reserve i n giving the
family name: it was given at once when asked for, and there
was no shyness otherwise i n demeanour. There was a readiness,
for example, to be photographed which was quite distinctive.
In this connection it may interest the reader to
recall some of the names of girls given by the same race
thousands of miles away i n the East. Take those recorded
by Mrs. Jamesonf during her visit to Mrs. M c M u r r a y and
the Schoolcrafts, on the Island of Mackinac, over seventy
* It may be mentioned here that this hall- breed's " inner " name,
so to speak, meant " The Ghost- Keeper," for the name he gave,
following an Indian usage, was not the real one. Kanawatchaguayo
was the one given by the interpreter, but accompanied by the translation
of the inner name, lo wit, " The Ghost- Keeper." This curious
custom is more fully referred to in a forthcoming work on Indian
folk- lore, traditions, legends, usages, methods and manner of life,
etc., by Mrs. F. H. Paget, of Ottawa. This lady is an expert Cree
scholar, and her work, which I have had the pleasure of hearing
her read, is the result of diligent research and of ample knowledge
of Indian life and character.
t" Winter Studies and Summer Rambles," 1835.
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| Title | Page 82 |
| OCR | T H E H A L F - B R E E D S C R I P C O M M I S S I O N 71 • who stands t i l l morning." One of the applicants was Kana-watehaguayo, or " The ghost- keeper."* But others were strikingly poetical, particularly the female names. Payucko geesigo, " One i n the Skies " ; Pesawakoona kapesisk, " The silent snow i n falling forming signs or symbols": Matyatse wunoguayo, or rather, for this is a doubtful name, Powiistia ka nimaghquanetungh, " Listener to the unseen rapids " ; Kese koo fipeoo, " She sits i n Heaven," were all the names of applicants for scrips, and many others could be added of like tenor. In a word, the Christian or baptismal names have not displaced the native ones, as they did i n Wales and elsewhere, and amongst some of our far Eastern Indians. But there were terrifying and repulsive names as well, such as Sese kenapik kaow apeoo, u She sits like • a rattle- snake"; and one individual rejoiced in the appalling surname of " Grand Bastard." These instances serve to illustrate the tendency of half- breed nomenclature at the lake towards the mother's side. Here, too, there was no reserve i n giving the family name: it was given at once when asked for, and there was no shyness otherwise i n demeanour. There was a readiness, for example, to be photographed which was quite distinctive. In this connection it may interest the reader to recall some of the names of girls given by the same race thousands of miles away i n the East. Take those recorded by Mrs. Jamesonf during her visit to Mrs. M c M u r r a y and the Schoolcrafts, on the Island of Mackinac, over seventy * It may be mentioned here that this hall- breed's " inner " name, so to speak, meant " The Ghost- Keeper," for the name he gave, following an Indian usage, was not the real one. Kanawatchaguayo was the one given by the interpreter, but accompanied by the translation of the inner name, lo wit, " The Ghost- Keeper." This curious custom is more fully referred to in a forthcoming work on Indian folk- lore, traditions, legends, usages, methods and manner of life, etc., by Mrs. F. H. Paget, of Ottawa. This lady is an expert Cree scholar, and her work, which I have had the pleasure of hearing her read, is the result of diligent research and of ample knowledge of Indian life and character. t" Winter Studies and Summer Rambles," 1835. |
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