New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-09-12
these $4,000 and $4,000 wagers is going
NORTHERN PACIFIO NOMENCLATURE.

| The opening of "a new trunk line across the
continent suggests some curious comparisons In
nomenclature. The five great divisions OF
Northwestern territory trayersed by the North
ern Pacific Railroad are singuarly fortunate in
| their Names Minnesota, Dakota, Montana ana
Idaho are indigenous words musical in sound
and poetic in significance and while the noble
mountains of the Cascade Range would have
supplied many an Indian name to complete the
SERIES it is eminently proper that the most re-
mote quarter of the Union should bear witness
| to the patriotic reverence for Washington. The
| long chain of projected towns and ambitious
villages within these great territorial divisions
stretching from Lake Superior to the PACING
! presents in the main monotonous array OF
| dull and meaningless names Poverty OF IN
| yention and lack of imagination are attested oy
| gratuit0us limitations such as New-Chlcago,
New-Buffalo. New Salem Detroit Cleveland,
| Moscow, Lisbon and Geneva, and by a long
series of the Smith Brown Robinson order,-
| Youngs Taylor Sprague, Kurtz Steele, An
drews, Dickinson, Dawson, Thomson, himOer-
ley, Aldrich, Beknap, and so on, until the
resources OF the average business directory are
exhausted The capital Of Dakota informs the
upper Missouri Valley of the mature fame OF
Bismarck and an obscure hamlet OF the BAD
Lands staggers under the eloquent name OF
Gladstone ard the stalwart heroes OF the
Indian campaigns-Custer,. Miles and Terry-are
not forgotten in the distribution OF honors;
but majority of the stations on the limo OF
this new steam highway bear the names OF
obscure pioneers, ranchmen. miners iand GAM
blers, who happened to be the earliest settlers.
Sometimes the name is invested with full civic
bonors as in the case of Sykeston and Ewarts-
vile, but generally the title stands in its orig
inal simplicity, as plain Billings, honest
McGregOr, refined Livingston, hardy Richard
son. humble Hathaway, and lacOnic Sims.
There are few characteristic names in, Mon
tana. such rs Big Horn Rosebud and Missoula,
and several artificial French derivatives in
Idaho, such as Pend dOreille and Cgur
d'Alcne, but the choicest flowers in the nomen-
clature of this new continental route are to he
culled in Washington Territory. The earliest
settlers on the coast set q bad example in nam
ing fur trading station after an enterprising
merchant of Manhattan Island and poaching
upon classic preserves in calling the capital
Olympia, and subsequent map-makers have
bestowed the honors Of the majestic mountain
masses with lavish hand upon the Hoods,
his stirring narrative Of his ride from Van
couver's Island TO the Columbia, made many m
indignant remUnstrance against the reckless
ness with which the water courses and snow
capped SUBMITS were being mlsnamrd. lie
would not consent to sacrifice the Scandina-
Wan flavor of the expressive word Whulge,
and in the name of n critical world siernly de-
manded why the title of Puget should be
saved from Lethe " ard given TO =" n vast ford
aparting rocks and forests primeval with
"mighty tide Hs insisted that IA magnificent
mountain should not be iDsulted with the Dslg-
nihcant name of q single uudlstlnguished blped
known as Baker, but should he hOnored with
the more imposing title of kushau. which he
mad learned from the Lummi tribe ut It's base.
The vulgar appellatiCns against which he in-
Weighed have unfortunately prevailed 10 - large
extent The Sound is known n Puget, and the
Cascade Giants are without honor IN the
tongue OF the white man. But Tacoma,
beautiful Indian VOID signifying mountain
summit crowned with snow, has been retained
not only in the Cascades but on the coast
where it gives the name to the terminus of the
Northern Pacific.
The "pasni0oks,n as the Yankee invaders in
Washington were called in the Chinook jargon,
have shown greater reverence for the beauties
of Indian nomenclature than the unimgginative
settlers and plodding immigrants IN the great
Territories eastward in the direction of Luke
Suprrio! have displayed. Wallulah, Yakima,
Steilacoom, Newaukum. Okinakane. Walla
Wallu, Nisqually, .Kalama. Seattle, Wnatcom
and many other names are heritage from the
Klckatu 5, Shoshones, Klalams aud other
Il. fh. IL, ,r
Whulge aud were content 10 call every noun
tain landmark Tacoma. There are a few
French names along the Columbia, for some OF
the early trappers who sold their furs on the
coast and explored the interior were OF that
nationality. They gave u name to the Dalles,
one of the most remarkable freaks of nature in
the Territory, and very inadequate word il
was. The great falls OF Spokane, however,
have as legitimate if not rs musical an Indian
name as Niagara.