New-York tribune., 1868-06-16
T0pOGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE.

The innumerable political divisions ana SUD-
divisions of the American Republic into States,
Counties, and Towns, requiring, in most in
stances, new names, has made rather an ex-
hausting demand upon the ingenuity both OF
settlers and of legislators We have been for
tunate wherever we have been content toavoid
trite and already appropriated Names and to
adopt the sonOrous and impressive appellatlons
of the aborigines. In fixing the name of new
locality, great or small, the first object should
be to avoid mean and vulgar associations.
What the pr ecise difference may be- as mat
ter of taste, between names like "BelmOnt
and "Skunk's Misery" it is hardly necessary
to inquire. 1t is an affair of feeling about
which it would be wasting time to dispute
As general rule, no name should
be fixed upon which is clearly beneath the
dignity and the decency of history. Again, 1T
is, for the sake of convenience, absolutely
necessary that there should be as few repeti-
tions as possible, as all who have lived Qor
instance) in Quincy, Mass, and have had their
letters sent continually to some one OF the
half dozen Quincies in the West will willingly
admit. Naming townships or counties in honor
of great men affords but a limited resource,
and the number of "WashingtOns" "Adamses"
and "Jacksonvles" in the p. 0. Directory is
frightful to contemplate, and must be per-
petual torment to everybody engaged in max
ing up the Federal mails Calling towns after
the heather gods and goddesses is simply
absurd. SO is the continued importation of
names from the older countries. SO Is
the adoption of Greek termination with
pure Yankee prefix, as Smithopolis"
an exploit of ingenuity which always reminds
us of the "HumdnO cdpit cerUicem pictor equi-
"ndmr with which Horace's Epistle to the PisOs
opens. There is plenty of genuine Saxon
examinations to which Saxon or any other
proper names can easily and judicously be
joined such as cham" and "ton." The
aquatic terms of "mouth," "ford," "haven,"
and port may be endlessly and pleasingly
varied. Thus, there is a little group of towns
in Bristol County, Massachusetts,, which affords
an illustration of the use of all these words
New Bed ford, FarhdUen, Dartmouth, and
West port The points of the compass are
rather dangerous to meddle with, except for
the sake of purely local convenience. "Ville"
is by this time we'll naturalzed, and so is
"burg" BY the use of these and other endings
which will occur to the reader, we may have
the first syllables will be the distinctive feature,
and which will readily fix themselves in the
memory, The whole system of naming towns
after Greek Roman, or even Hebrew cities, is
radically aud incurably vicious. Athens in
Greece meant something, but what does "Ath-
lens" in Georgia mean 7 " Rome" in Italy meant
something, but what does /" Rome in New
York, or "Scipo," or Cato" or " Palmyra"
or Babylon" meant The repetition of foreign
modern names is equally meaningless and irri-
tating. 1t was commenced by the early Eng
lish, Dutch, French, and Spanish settlers, for no
earthly reason that we can discover except that
they were extremely home-sick, nor do we think
the course which they pursued was likely to
mitigate their malady.
Ii happens fortunately for us that we have in
this country fine stock of sOnorous and in
many instances euphoniOus Indian names,
fresh and unappropriated by civilization, and
TO which we can resort for a long time to come.
Mr.. Longfelow's poem of " Hiawatha has done
a good deal to bring these into fashion, and
we believe that there are in that rather inde-
finite locality called "0ut West from fifteen
to twenty "Mnnehahas," all prosperous and
promising young cities, while the number of
babies chrstened Minnie" since the printing
of this popular work defes any census. One
advantage of these Indian names is that they
are extremely valuable in literature, and espe-
cially in poetcal literature, lending that in
definite charm to verse which has often been
discussed by ancient and modern rhetoricians
and padding beautifully lines which otherwise
might limp. For specimen of this the reader
is referred to Campbelrs Gertrude of Wyo-
"ming," or he may take
"The VOLTS long howl from Onolaskas Shore"
OF Goldsmiths noble line
"on Torno's cliffs or Pambamarcas side"
We have great store of Indian names, all as
euphonious as these, many of which, indeed,
have already been used by our verse makers
with excellent effect.
These remarks have been suggested by the
recent debate in the Senate upon the naming
of the new Territory of Wyoming. This name
it was proposed to change to Lincoln" in
honor of the late President; but however
agreeable this might be to the feelings of the
country, it was Objectionable on the ground
that there are scores of places in Ithe United
States called by that name already "Wy-
"Omingn is o sweet name, with excellent asso-
Citations, and il was adhered TO. The next thing
will be definitely to fix its pronunciation, so
that il shall not be wyoming in one par OF
the country and Wyoming in another.
Salisbury, the Senatorial buffoon, suggested
the name of "Ad Interim" for which we are
sorry, for we fear that, acting upon this hint,
somebody will be actually bestowing that name
upon new settlement before the expiration of
the Ipresent year. We should prefer, strange
as ii may SEEM to have 1t christened "Sauls-
bury
We sInposa that il ia not in the mower of