Note 11 — Front matter

Considerable controversy has taken place as to the actual meaning of this word. Various suggestions have been made, more generally by local writers, and in the confusion it is difficult to come to a final decision. The latest authorities prefer Gray Snow, and the task would be considerable to enumerate all those who have written on the subject. W. W. Hildreth in Annals of Iowa, April, 1864, gives the derivation from the Omaha word Py-ho-ja, or “Grey Snow.” It has been claimed that the word is of Dakota origin and that it was written by the French Aiouez (see Charlevoix, 1723) and that its anglicization was gradual. The present meaning of Iowa in the Dakota is “something to write or paint with.” Schoolcraft is authority for the statement that the tribes called themselves Pa-ho-ches, meaning “Dusty Nose,” or “Dirty Face,” and Foster in the text emphasizes this point. One writer boldly asserts that the word Iowa is a corruption from Kiowa, and Antoine Le Claire, the celebrated half-breed interpreter, stated that the word in his tongue signified “this is the place.” Taylor Pierce, long connected with the trading post of Fort Des Moines, testified in favor of Kiowa, giving it the same definition as last named. Fulton (Red Men of Iowa) mentions certain writers who interpreted the word as “beautiful.” W. E. Richey (Memoirs of the Exploration of the Basin of the Mississippi Valley, Volume VII, 1903) says, “I feel inclined to think that the word Iowa came from Harahey....” For a full discussion of this subject see Annals of Iowa, April, 1864, and July, 1896.