The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-02-11

English Turn.
On the other side of the city. English
Lookout commentaries an event that
happened more than century subse-
quently, equally to the advantage OF
Great Britain.
Lafourche, the branch. (anciently the
Cheimacha), owes It's name to the fact
that 1t was the first discovered branch
emptying into the Mississippi by the
Bienvile expedition.
Bayou Teche shows the country once
occupied by the German emigrants,
brought over here by law, Teche or
Tersh being corruption OF Deutsch.
the German name for Germans. This,
with Bayou des Allemands and the Ger
man Coast, otherwise known as Cote
dor, Golden Coast) mark the limits Of
the German settlements In this State.
just rs Spanish Lake. Spanish Town,
and Bayous Tore, (Bull) Negreto.
(BlackD San Miguel, ETC., tell Of the
Spanish dominion.
Chandeleur Islands, or Light Islands,
recall the fact that the early colonists,
in those days when gas companies did
not flourish and when petroleum was
not yet discovered, obtained most OF
their light-a dingy, dim and melan-
choly one@~from the wax which they OBJ
tanned from some myrtle trees growing
on the islands.
The origin of some Of our names 1t is
almost impossible to trace, the tradi-
tons and stories that gave rise to them
having long since either died out or lost
their meaning.
Chef Menteur-Lying Chiefs said
to refer to o. celebrated Choctaw Mum
chausen who was such u liar that the
Choctaws, lovers Of truth, banished
him from their tribe. He and his fol-
lowers were forced TO seek refuge IN the
swamps just back Of New Orleans,
which became known as the Chef Men
teur country.
The Sabine recalls u somewhat in
distinct and less authenticated story
that one of the Indian tribes, living
along It's banks, appropriated wives
from u neighboripg tribe, after the man
n sr Of tho Romans of old with their
friends, the Sabnes.
The Attakapas. 50 called after tribe
OF Indians inhabiting that portion or
the State, means ''cannibals." imam eat
ers": which was either q very old tradi-
ton or q SANDER, as the Attakapas were
very decent and respectable Indians
and, as early as the days of LaSaIle,
showed no disposition to be anthro-
pophagi.
the name OF Lake Borgne. Zone
eyed" lake, Is similarly unintelligible,
1t probably owed Its name to
some Indian cyelops on Its bank, al.
though q distinguished historian
the name to the fact that 1t is
neither q bay or o lake, but something
incomplete and imperfect, like q one
eyed man.
The foreign language, into which
most OF our geography has been trans
lated, gives u touch OF romance to 1t.
We doubt very much IL the people of
would be very proud Of
heir paeish.lif translated into English,
Baton Rouge sounds much better than
Red Stick the latinized Feliciana and |
Joncordia than their affectated English |
names 1.-THE happy land" and "the land |
# peace"-quite different descriptions |
rom those given by the supervisors at
be late election.
Metarie, anciently Leper's Bluff. is
more dignified and respectable than its
english equivalent, small FARMS" al
uding to the fact that the farms on the
idge were small rs compared with the
arge plantations just above and below
he city.
Vacherie Is only Dairy after all.
'asse-a- Loutre, which for q generation
as been incorrectly written Passe-a-.
Outre, Is simply Otter Pass; Grand
ioore, Is Big Bluff, and Cypre- Mort,
lead Cypress. Manchac Is pass or
ivulet connecting two large streamB-
he Mississippi and Lake Maurepas
alize, or Balise. q lookout. or buoy,
howing the channel OF the stream, and
40 reefs to be avoided by the incoming
essel.
Nezpique is pointed nose;" Cote
.elee and Cote Blanc, "frozen and
hite coasts" the quasi, frost being the
hite shells fringing these shores;
AXE Tasse is Cup Lake; Bayou Queue
ortue, "Turtie-tail Bayou"
Raecourci Gut. off L. simply Short Out
ff; GALLON Bay, Flint or Sandy Bay;
AS hero, but from IAN old stump"
The Indian names have all got such
rench look, that it Is no easy matter
distinguish between French and In
an words. Cheyennes has generally {
cen counted as an Indian word. where
! 1t Is French, chien's (dogs), while ,
lark and Osages are simply aur arcs
I'd duT sdges. ,
Bayou, on the other hand, appears +
be French whereas it Is Indian, 8
Gaming nothing more than "stll or |
agnant water" and was given to those :
reams which, connecting two large 4
,dies of water, were without current. .
Bogue is the same as bayou; Pasca- {
,ula Is dread eaters: Castein Bayou, il
@ Bayou OF the Passes; Tchefuncta,
'er river; Catahoula, or Okkatahoula, p
either beautiful white water" or sim Q
y beautiful spot; and Tangipahoa, 7
white corn" e.
Chitto, used frequently in the names y
bayous and streams, means 'big"; t,
ogue Chitto being big Bayou" Qua q
ita, or Wa-chitto, is nothing but big {
,ffalo river" and recalls those days,
w SO long past, when buffal0es
AIMED in thousands over the prairies
Louisiana.
SO, Tchoutchouma. the original name a
the Indian settlement upon whose g
ms New Orleans is built, means the q
.lage of the Dumas or Houmas: Hou- =
\ in English signifies the Sun" and a
'uld have been n much pretticr name +