Traveling through the universe.....just tarrying on this planet savoring life.
I get the "Last Word" sometimes in "The Indian American' and relish the privilege to have a few Op-eds published in "News India Times". Niche 'n nice!
I saw that and thought I had a virus.. Thanks for confirming they are fooling us.. I am seriously pictured by the word "gullible" in the dictionary ;-)
Hi Traveler1 . Just taking a moment form our vacation when I saw your article and because I spent a lot of time in the west since age four and every spring or summer since, though I would bring you up to date on the correct meaning of the word To-pe-Ka. In college several of the baseball team members went on excursions out west once panning for gold, we learned only minimal; Kansa, Otoe and Missouri Indian language in the Kansas St. Louis area. Kansas was one of our favorite hangouts specially Topeka.
The word Topeka comes from Indian words meaning a good place to dig potatoes, and the tuber to which it is referred is the Psoralea esculenta Rufus Sage said that :The word Topeka came from Indian words meaning a good place to dig potatoes, are roots, known to scientists as Psoralea esculenta and to pioneers and Indians as prairie potatoes or prairie turnips. Founded on December 5, 1854, Topeka was officially named on January 2, 1855. Major Angus L. Langham, who was surveying the Kaw lands in 1826 for the government, referred to the Kansas River as the Topeka River in his notes/reports Johnston Lykins who drew the map on, Topeka was the name of the Smoky Hill fork of the Kansas River. Col. W. A. Phillip, who was a linguist specializing Indian languages, said that Topeka was related to the Potawatomi word “Topheika” meaning “mountain potato.” Kansa Indians living in the area said that the Kansas River Valley was called Topeka because it was a good place to gather the little esculenta tuber known to whites as the wild potato. Joseph James, nicknamed Jo Jim, lived in the Topeka area in the 19th centuryKansa man married a Potawatomi female who said that Topeka meant “a good place to dig wild potatoes.” Many Americans recall seeing the Kansa women digging the prairie potatoes along the Kansas River about 15-25 miles west of Papan’s Ferry. According to Thomas Say “Topeoka” was the native’s name for the Kansas River (Konzes River),. Thomas Say traveled with the 1819-1820 expedition under the leadership of his relative, Major S. H. Long. Say said the Oto word “to-pe-ok-a” and its meaning “good potato river” in his list of Indian words. He explained that he recorded each word on the spot as it was pronounced by an Indian or interpreter. (Barry 322) Others like Lt. John Fremont, (who always used the Latin or Greek names for plants in his notes) as well as John Dunbar, Washburn University professor of Greek and Latin in the 1870s says that Topeka is made up of three words common in the languages of the Iowa, Omaha, and Kansa Indians. “To” means potato, “pe” means good, and “okae” means to dig in these languages. He said that the word Topeka literally means a good place to dig potatoes. (Psoralea esculenta).” John Fremont always used the scientific names for the plants he mentioned in his notes. mapping the land along the Oregon Trail for the government when he saw He had scientists in his party who helped him carefully record scientific names for the flora and fauna as well as recording Numerous native Americans such as White Plume, a Kansa leader, also Topeka means “good place to dig potatoes.”, said that the river and the adjacent bottom lands were called ‘Topeka’ by Native Americans which meant “a river upon the banks of which wild potatoes grow.” Cha-Cha says Categorized: Name Etymology Source: Topeka's Roots: the Prairie Potato — Barbara Burgess PhD. .
Encyclopedia Britannica agrees:http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/599592/Topeka
Comments
Colloquially it meant the "let the ball roll into traffic, kid; you can't get a new leg"
The word Topeka comes from Indian words meaning a good place to dig potatoes, and the tuber to which it is referred is the Psoralea esculenta
Rufus Sage said that :The word Topeka came from Indian words meaning a good place to dig potatoes, are roots, known to scientists as Psoralea esculenta and to pioneers and Indians as prairie potatoes or prairie turnips.
Founded on December 5, 1854, Topeka was officially named on January 2, 1855. Major Angus L. Langham, who was surveying the Kaw lands in 1826 for the government, referred to the Kansas River as the Topeka River in his notes/reports
Johnston Lykins who drew the map on, Topeka was the name of the Smoky Hill fork of the Kansas River. Col. W. A. Phillip, who was a linguist specializing Indian languages, said that Topeka was related to the Potawatomi word “Topheika” meaning “mountain potato.” Kansa Indians living in the area said that the Kansas River Valley was called Topeka because it was a good place to gather the little esculenta tuber known to whites as the wild potato.
Joseph James, nicknamed Jo Jim, lived in the Topeka area in the 19th centuryKansa man married a Potawatomi female who said that Topeka meant “a good place to dig wild potatoes.” Many Americans recall seeing the Kansa women digging the prairie potatoes along the Kansas River about 15-25 miles west of Papan’s Ferry.
According to Thomas Say “Topeoka” was the native’s name for the Kansas River (Konzes River),. Thomas Say traveled with the 1819-1820 expedition under the leadership of his relative, Major S. H. Long. Say said the Oto word “to-pe-ok-a” and its meaning “good potato river” in his list of Indian words. He explained that he recorded each word on the spot as it was pronounced by an Indian or interpreter. (Barry 322)
Others like Lt. John Fremont, (who always used the Latin or Greek names for plants in his notes) as well as John Dunbar, Washburn University professor of Greek and Latin in the 1870s says that Topeka is made up of three words common in the languages of the Iowa, Omaha, and Kansa Indians. “To” means potato, “pe” means good, and “okae” means to dig in these languages. He said that the word Topeka literally means a good place to dig potatoes. (Psoralea esculenta).” John Fremont always used the scientific names for the plants he mentioned in his notes.
mapping the land along the Oregon Trail for the government when he saw He had scientists in his party who helped him carefully record scientific names for the flora and fauna as well as recording
Numerous native Americans such as White Plume, a Kansa leader, also Topeka means “good place to dig potatoes.”, said that the river and the adjacent bottom lands were called ‘Topeka’ by Native Americans which meant “a river upon the banks of which wild potatoes grow.”
Cha-Cha says Categorized: Name Etymology
Source: Topeka's Roots: the Prairie Potato — Barbara Burgess PhD.
.
Encyclopedia Britannica agrees:http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/599592/Topeka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka,_Kansas
Are you really a professor? If so, where, when? Or is that just a delightful and endless April tomfoolery?
Rated.