Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1851-08-20
INDIAN NAMES.

The Washington Republic takes exception to
the adoption of Indian names. 1t says:
"We have no objection to such fine sounding names
Niagara, Ohio Ontaoro and Manahatta but these are
the gems of aboriginal nomenclature the great staple
of Indian names are to the last degree repusive to En-
glish ears and English tongues. For example, we
letter the other day, written in the State of Maine
and dated at Muechunkemunk; and, in the course OF
a few brief lines, aluson made to the following
localities in the neghborhood where the ground seems
to have been strewn with aboriginal appeations UNI
bagog, Ocwossock, Mooselamaquinc, Cupsuctuck, and
other similar names that unsued 10 our mouths
as Indian ornaments would be to our and noses
For part, we think the further get from The
Indians in language and habits the better will be
for u.s."
We must denur TO the judgment OF our con-
temporary, and express our satisfaction that so
much of our geographical nomenclature has been
derived from the Indian languages. How much
more beautiful are the names OF those States and
Territories which are taken from the Indian tribes
that formerly inhabited them, than the awkward
names that were chosen in many Instances where
mere Anglo-Amercan invention was relied on
On one side we have Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Delaware, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, IL
lnois, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky.
Tennessee, Alabama, OregontUtah, Nebraska >
and Indiana too almost belongs to the catalogue
On the other, our ears are offended, and our ma
tional pride mortified, by such appelatives as Neao
Hompshiye. Ne,o York and New JERSEY, for
which, we admit, Vermont and Pennsylvania make
some atonement, and Rhode Island none. Mary
land, Virginia, Carolina and Georgia are pretty
names, but are all of royal manu- facture Florida,
Louisiana, Texas and California came to us by
purchase. The Post Office Department would no
doubt thank the Indians to supply new list OF
names for its multiplying offices. for the WASH
ingtons, Madisons, Jacksons and Buena Nistas
are producing terrible confusion. American
poverty in name manufacture was ludicrousy de-
monstrated in the early history of the State Of
New York. when the excellent republican, De-
Witt was commissioned to give names to the
principal points in the interior. We have seen or
heard the statement, that the business sorely
puzzled the strong-headed, but not very magma
tive, citizen He soon exhausted his first stock,
then made as many "Neao'' places as he could
think of old ones in England, and. finally, was
fairly constrained to resort to the Classical Die
tonary, and thence, the story goes, the New
Workers got their Syracuse, Ovid, Geneva, Rome,
Troy, Ithica, Palmyra, Angelica, &c. Remarking
once, in that State, to genuine New York man,
what shame it was that the great commercial
city of the Union should be named after an incon-
siderable town in England, and that with the vile
prefix of Neao, he replied to us with the excla-
nation, sold No O. York forever! don't want to
see the name changed in my time"
The proverb saith, there is no disputing about
taste S, but no saw forbds difference in them
and we must say that we like even Mullechunke-
munk better than American Romes or any oft the
Neao-Engtish names.