> 
--- On Tue, 8/11/09, [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I don't know of any sources dealing with the "Shawnese"
> language, which might provide some kind of answer.

The classic reference is

Voegelin, Charles F.
1938-1940 Shawnee Stems and the Jacob P. Dunn Dictionary. 5 Pts. Indiana Historical Society, Prehistory Research Series 1(3):63-108, (5):135-167, (8):289-341, (9):345-406, (10):409-476. Indianapolis.

I've never looked at it, but it might be possible to work with "kind messenger" to get some approximation of the Shawnee term for the bird. I would have less hope that one would then find that term linked to a specific English taxon. It's not inconceivable, though, as natural history terms were commonly collected by early linguists. 

Of course Shawnee culture is not extinct. It is possible that this bit of folklore survives among them today.  One would need to be cautious in projecting into the past, however, as this sort of relationship is subject to "linguistic drift". The Oklahoma descendants of Boone's captors might now ascribe prophetic ability to, say, Smith's Longspurs. It might be worthwhile seeking out collections of Shawnee folklore that might discuss the "kind messenger", but unfortunately I'm not familiar with that literature.

Thanks to Bob for a fun exercise.

Paul Gardner
Columbus, OH


______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]