kickapoo = red bud?

[callary ed]

Several early Illinois county histories claim that Kickapoo was a native
name for the red bud. In the words of one, published about 1898, Kickapoo
Creek was so called "by the Indians ... 'the Kickapoo,' which is their
name for the Red Bud or Judas tree, which grew in great abundance along
its banks."

This sense of Kickapoo, usually glossed as 'wanderers,' is not in Mathews
or DARE. Is this a local usage and can it be confirmed by a more reliable
source than a local history?


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Edward Callary                      Phone: 815-753-6627
English Department                  email: ecallary at niu.edu
Northern Illinois University        FAX: 815-753-0606
DeKalb, Il 60115-2863
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