Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-04-19
NAMES OE THE STATES.

gin Queen, III whose Teleu or aiIei va
leigh made the first attempt to coIonlze that
region
FLoRInA.-Ponce de Leon landed on the
coast of Florida on Easter Sunday and called
the country in coumemoration OF the day
which was the Pasqua Florida of the Span
iards, or Feast of Flowers
louisiana was called after Louis the Four
,eenth. who at one time owned that section OF
the country.
ALABAMA was so named by the Indians, and
signifies ''He.e we Rest.
MISSISSIPPI is likewise an Indian name,
meaning Long River
So also is ARKANSAS, from Kansas, the In
dian word tor smoky water. Its prefix was
really arc, the French word for bow.
The CARoIINAs were originally one tract,
and we're called 'Careua' after Charles the
Ninth of France.
GEORGIA owes its name to George the Be
r,Id of England, who first established a colony
there in 1872.
TENyEssEE is the Indian for ''the River of
the Bend, l. e., the Mississippi which forms
its western boundary.
KESrrcKY is the Indian tor "at the head of
ONO means ''beautiful:" ''IowA, "drowsy
ones" MIySsEoTA, cloudy water, and Wis
coHslS. ''wdruShiug channel.
ILLINOIS, is derived from the Indian word
ilini. and the French sutfix ois, together signl-
flying tribe Of men,.
M1cHGAN was called by the name given the
lake, fish weir, which was so styled from its
iaucied resemblance to fish trap.
MISSOURI is from the Indian word mud
dy,' which more properly applies to the river
which flows through it.
OREGON owes its Indian name also TO its
lriy
CORTEs named California.
MASSACHUSETTS is the Indian for The
country around the great hills
CoSSEcTICrT from the Indian Qunnchta-
Cut, signfying Long River
MARYLAND, after Henrietta Maria, Queen
of Charles the First Of England.
NEW YORK was named by the Duke OF
York.
Everybody knows that PENNSYLVANIA
means Penn woods, aud was so called after
William Penn, its original owner.
DELAWARE after Lord De la ware.
New JERSEY, as called in honor of Sir
George Carteret who was Governor OF the Is
land of Jersey, in the British Channel.
MAINE was called after the province OF
Maine in France in compliment of Queen Hen
rictta OF England who owned that province:
VERMONT from the French word Vert
Mont, signifying Green Mountain.
NEW HAMpsIIIRE, from Hampshire county
in England 1t was formerly called Laconia
The beautiful little State of Rhode Island
owes its name TO the Island OF Rhodes in the
Mediterranean, which OMAN 1t is said to
greatly resemble.
TEXAS is the American word for the Mexi-
can name by which all that section was called
before it was cedcd to the United States.
ITEMS
Monsieur De Paris, the headsman of France,
is dead! He made his exit from life's state on
Good Friday. Death gave him but short no.
tice He was, when returning to his house IN
the Boulevard Beaumarchas from hearing a
Stabat at Eustache, taken suddenly Ill, and
died some moments after, Just as he reached
home. He had beheaded l39 persons during
his lifetime and he tooka prideln his thorough
knowledge of his business. In point of thor
oughnesS-to compare small things with great
he was in his way Moltke. 1t was his prac-
tce to attend Eepeau's lectures to make him
self acquainted with the exact locality OF that
point Of the spine described by French autonat
lists as the neeud vital He obtained the posi-
ton Of public executor of Paris against 552
competitors He had a fixed salary Of 5000
francs year, "gratfcation" Of $50 francs
for every execution. an allowance Tor cabs aud
calves, and for coffee and brandy on the morn
ings on which he exercised his odious calling.
\ writer iu the Boston Journal gives an ac-
count of winter-living in Florida, from which
this is an extract: ''We get up in the morning
aud eat few oranges, by way of preparing an
appetite for breakfast Mrs. Nj. and L. take
theirs n their rooms | take mine under the
trees After breakfast, which usually consists
of about fifteen dishes more or less, ottener
more, we 90 out for a walk We usually begin
under an orange tree; always end there There
are 50. 600 of the trees, which accounts for it.
At dinner we have oranges again. They con-
>tute the sixth course, each having from one
to thirty dishes If they are not on the table
We ask for them We have never had to ask
yet They are both cooked and uncooked,
skins both on and off. After dinner we eat
oranges under the trees. | forget all about
lunch. One day counted eighteen dishes and
two negroes; we had oranges, and hao them
AGAIN IN the afternoon
Speaking about being buried alive, there IS a
story of an OK 10 Wisconsin which survived the
longest living burial on record. He had the
good fortune however, to be buried 10 nay
stack which fell upon him. Nobody knew what
han become of the creature until after his mys-
terlous disappearance had lasted over three
weeks, when he put out an appearance from
the haystack, having eaten his way from centre
TO circumference There was snow on the
ground which afforded moisture enough TO
Prevent his dying from thirst.
Josh Billings says: when We cum to think
that thare aint on the face of the earth even one
ta, too much, and that thare haint been, since
the daze ov adam. a single surpuss muskeeters,
egg laid by ack>ident, we kan form SUN KIND
ov an idee how little we know, and what a poor
job We should make ov it runniu the mashlnery
ov kreashun. Man IL phool emmy how, and
the best oY the Joke IL he don't seem tew kn0 It: