The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-06-18

sissippi toward the rising sun. The
ethics of nations forbid them TO desc.
crate the tombs or names their predeces.
sors leave behind. Avon and Thames
are Celtic. Of the race that peopled Eng.
land before the barks OF the Saxon
pirates were conceived; the Moors are
gone, banished, dead-yet the rivers ol
Spain still whisper the music OF theil
tongue. The American alone has waged
a warfare against Indian names. Ameri-
ca seemed likely to fall victim to the
patriotic and filial feeling Of our fathers
who brought their countries, towns and
counties along with them, and repro
duced with simple child-like plagiarism
their New BostOns and Plymouths In a
New England, Amsterdams and Har-
lens In New Netherlands, Cordovas and
Icons in New Spain. and Orleans and
Abbevilles In New France. A better feel
ing has saved few OF the Indian
names; but oil do not know how near
we once were to losing the majestic
Mississippi, "the father OF waters, in
ST. sters Louis 7. ana. sna FtsSssa R|s Numbering
The next alias OF the Mississippi was
as le fempe Colbert, an exaggerated and
hyperbolical compliment OF Lasalle's
TO q rather shrewed minister, as unde-
served as that paid the FlOreDtine ad-
venturers whose name, as q nation, we
bear. The river Colbert was short lived |;
half q dozen maps. as many books OF
travel speak Of it, and then it suddenly
dried ceased to dow. M. de Gent
claimed 1t for q prince Of the blood
royal, q great general and more particu-
lafly q patron Of his, de Conde, le grand
Conde, as he affected after the style Of
his cousin Of France. 1t was suggested,
however, that NJ. le prince was getting
too much Of this country; had already
one OF the great lakes and score OF
towns and forts and islands bearing his
name, so Conde fell-it never got on
we'll outside Of M. de Genti's book
died an easy death, and the Mississippi
awoke again.
The frontiersmen and pioneers seemed
to bate the Indian names as much
as they did the redskins them
selves. II they could not succeed in
quite destroying and roofing out the
name. they did the best thing they
could in nicknaming and burlesquing
it. The sonorous Alabama was slurred
into Allebammy, Niagara shortened
into Niagrer, and 80 on. The Indian
killed. But Of all the Algonquin names,
the one that received the most torture
was our unfortunate river For CEN
tury 1t labored under all sorts Of fear
full photographed attacks; a hundred
different and most Indifferent spellings
were proposed, of which, of course, we
chose the worst. Meche Sebe was the
first and the nearest to the Algonquin
name. Some one, we forget who 1t was,
proposed Meatche Sepe, and Tonti
Niche bepe. Father Laval suggested
Michisipi, which another father, La
bait, softened into Misisipi, the first
specimen Of our present orthography.
Our only improvements since then have
been to overload the word with more-
letters. Marquette added the first. La
sale the second ., making II Mississipi. 4
So It remains to this dayf France with |
only one p. = very small gain on us. |
The man who slung in the other p is
unknown. At the time Of the cession
OF Louisiana one p only was used. Pro-
badly 1t was some rough backwOOds- |
man, anxious to give more weight and
influence to our river. Altogether they
have succeeded in making about as
ugly word out of it as possible. Who
is there that can spell 'the thing off
hand and blindfold without a second
given 1t its full complement OF p's and
is and SIS? And then the sound
Byron's wheeling, whistling, grunt-
ing, cultural. There is q line Of
Euripides famous for its five sigmas.
(s's), "Are we serpents," exclaim the
critics, that we should hiss thus?"
What would they say to such coinage
as Mississippi? oh, for the simple old
royageuv spelling; Meche Sebe for
Mississippi, Tenasi for Tennessee.
As Jared the father, SO Jared the
children. The offspring OF the Missis-
vippi have "the same old story told
again." the same adventures, the same
fate, q return to the Indian title Of all
save the Red. the Platte and the Yel-
lowstone. Under the priests, the Mis-
souri, figured as St. Philip, the Ohio as
. st. jerome. The Ohio then became q
Cont, struggled on for few years
under the contradictory titles Of Allie
geny (Alleghany), Ouabache (Wabash),
and Ohyo, until the two first sank into
tribute streams, and left the river its
name. The Missouri has been
through as many names-has been the
Long, the Dead, the Usage, the Otata,
The fekintanoutin, and then the Mas
souris and Missouri.