More on Monsters

[Koontz John E]

GoodTracks gives hompathroji 'spirits with long flat heads, sharp at top
(live in buttes of Missouri and Mississippi Rivers)' in his
English-to-Ioway-Otoe-Missouria side.  In the IOM side he gives
humpathroxje (old) 'dwarf'.  It's possible that pa is pha 'head', but I
can't make anything of the rest.  Threje (<theta>rej^e), cf. OP snede, is
'long'.  Homa or huma is 'elk'.  This is basically the IO outcome of
something like *huNpa, cf. OP aNpha 'elk', though the OP form is aspirated
(without any *ph > h shift!), and the pre-IO form is evidently not.  (A
better example would be Te (wahu'w)apa 'ear of corn' : OP waha'ba 'corn
(ear)' : IO waha'ma 'corn on the cob' : Wi woohaN'p 'ear of corn', though
this stem *hap-/*haNp- is nasal only in IO and Wi.)

I'm not sure any of these suggestions is relevant here, unless 'elk' is
connected with 'antlered' or 'horned'.  McCafferty's Mississippi bluff
painting occurred to me in this connection.