He lights a splinter of wood and holds it to her face. If
she blows out the light, he is accepted; if she covers her head and
leaves it burning he is rejected. The rejection however is not
considered final till it has been thrice repeated. Even then the maiden
is often bought of her parents or guardian, and forced to become the
wife of the rejected suitor. If she accepts the proposal, still the
suitor must buy her of her parents with suitable gifts.
[76] The Dakotas called the falls of St. Anthony the _Ha-Ha_--the _loud
laughing_, or _roaring_. The Mississippi River they called _Ha-Ha
Wa-kpa_ River of the Falls. The Ojibway name for the Falls of St.
Anthony is _Ka-ka-bik-kung_. Minnehaha is a combination of two Dakota
words--_Mini_--water and _Ha-Ha_, Falls; but it is not the name by which
the Dakotas designated that cataract. Some authorities say they called
it _I-ha-ha_--pronounced E-rhah-rhah--lightly laughing. Rev. S.W. Pond,
whose long residence as a missionary among the Dakotas in this immediate
vicinity makes him an authority that can hardly be questioned, says they
called the Falls of Minnehaha "_Mini-i-hrpa-ya-dan_," and it had no
other name in Dakota.
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