Mrs. Herrick was a person the Indians felt condescended to them, and they bore her little love in return. When she asked a certain old Indian to tell her the Wiyot word for the place...but he was not in the mood to give out the information, and answered instead..."Come on, let's go to bed." (We paraphrase an unprintable word...)
Karl V. Teeter, "Notes on Humboldt County, California, Place Names of Indian Origin," in NAMES v.6, no.1
Re: “'Let's Have Intercourse' - An Etymological Mystery”
This is how linguist Teeter explained it:
Mrs. Herrick was a person the Indians felt condescended to them, and they bore her little love in return. When she asked a certain old Indian to tell her the Wiyot word for the place...but he was not in the mood to give out the information, and answered instead..."Come on, let's go to bed." (We paraphrase an unprintable word...)
Karl V. Teeter, "Notes on Humboldt County, California, Place Names of Indian Origin," in NAMES v.6, no.1