The Algonkins call the earth "_Me-suk-kum-mik-o-kwa_"--the
great-grandmother of all. _Narrative of John Tanner_, p. 193.
[71] The Dakotas reckon their months by _moons_. They name their moons
from natural circumstances. They correspond very nearly with our months,
as follows:
January--_Wee-te-rhee_--The Hard Moon; i.e.--the cold moon.
February--_Wee-ca-ta-wee_--The Coon Moon--(the moon when the coons come
out of their hollow trees).
March--_Ista-wee-ca-ya-zang-wee_--the sore-eyes moon (from snow
blindness).
April--Maga-oka-da-wee--the moon when the geese lay eggs; also called
Woka da-wee--egg-moon; and sometimes Wato-papee-wee, the canoe-moon, or
moon when the streams become free from ice.
May--Wo-zu-pee-wee--the planting moon.
June--Wazu-ste-ca-sa-wee--the strawberry moon.
July--Wa-sun-pa-wee--the moon when the geese shed their feathers, also
called Chang-pa-sapa-wee--Choke-Cherry moon, and
sometimes--Mna-rcha-rcha-wee--"The moon of the red-blooming lilies,"
literally, the red-lily moon.
August--Wasu-ton-wee--the ripe moon, i.e., Harvest Moon.
September--Psin-na-ke-tu-wee--the ripe rice moon. (When the wild rice is
ripe.
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