Wah-pah-sâh was the hereditary name of a long and illustrious line of Dakota chiefs. Wabashaw is a corrupt pronunciation. The name is a contraction of Wâ-pa-hâ-sa, which is from Wâ-ha-pa, the standard or pole used in the Dakota dances and upon which feathers of various colors are tied, and not from Wâ-pa—leaf, as has been generally supposed. Therefore Wâpasa means the Standard—and not the "Leaf-Shaker," as many writers have it. The principal village of these hereditary chiefs was Ke-úk-sa, or Ke-ó-sa,—where now stands the fair city of Winona. Ke-úk-sa signifies—The village of law-breakers; so called because this band broke the law or custom of the Dakotas against marrying blood relatives of any degree. I get this information from Rev. Stephen R. Riggs, author of the Dakota Grammar and Dictionary, "Takoo Wakan," etc. Wapasa, grandfather of the last chief of that name, and a contemporary of Cetan-Wa-kâ-wa-mâni, was a noted chief, and a friend of the British in the war of the Revolution. Neill's Hist. Minn., pp. 225-9.
E-hó, E-tó—Exclamations of surprise and delight.
Mah-gâh—The wild-goose.