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#17847
02/01/2001 7:56 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
Does anyone over the other side of the pond know whether the name of the heroine of Longfellow's "Hiawatha" is a "real" native American name, (meaning "laughing water?") or whether Longfellow made it up?
(Strange - Ænigma recognises "Hiawatha", but believes it to have been written by [or in] "Longhand")
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#17848
02/01/2001 3:55 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear RC: I remember reading a long time ago an article about Longfellow that was more than mildly critical of his Indian lore, can't remember reference. I suspect he made up almost all of it, but that does not detract from its charm. wwh
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#17849
02/03/2001 7:49 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
Thanks, Bill, I had a feeling that it was probably so! In those days, before the internet, it was very difficult for anyone to check the veracity of anything sadi about the New World, so they got away with murder!
But, as you rightly say, it is still acharming poem.
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