Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-09-11
NOMENCLATURE.


origin OF Some Familiar biographical and
other Names.
Santa CruS (Cal,) sentinel; The word va.
quero is In common use among those who
have or breed cattle, and by such Is pro,
nounccd buckhara The writer asked
cettle-dealer the origin OF tho word buck.
haurer, as he pronounced IL. twhy,n
said he, "don't you know that all the
men employed by as In taking care OF and
hording cattle always ride bucklng
horses, and the hair from the horses and
cattle stick 10 their clothes, and so the
men are called buokhairers.n
Ills derivation was ingenious, but the
true word IL vaquero. Vaca, meaning
cow, and vaquero, one who tends or
herds cows or cattle; cowherd
There Is on the road 10 San Francisco,
beyond San jose, large tract OF land
which was granted by the Spanish govern
ment, by the name OF Las Pulgas, COM
monty called the ''pulgas Rancho,n and
Is, when translated, the place Of ileas.
Such name leads us TO consider the tor
ments that the sponsors OF that place
must have suffered 20 induce them 10
give tho name OF flea to their property.
II appears 10 be impossible to arrive at
the meaning OF the Indian names that
have been retained. In this country there
are three noted grants Of land that were
made under Indian namos. zayAnte,
now called Sayante, Is one Of them, and
Of which the village of FELTON, forms "A
part.
Sequel Is another, also having village
called by the same name, and Autos, now
altered 10 AptOs, In the third. Tho
writer IN still prosecuting search for the
origin and meaning OF these names.
In an official order OF the governor OF
California, made eighty years ago, Sequel
Is alluded TO; and this was many years
before the land was granted
Al the commencement OF the war with
Mexico Texas acquired great notorlety,
and then came the inquiry: Whence iis
manner What does Texas meAuP Nobody
knew, and many were the aupposltlous
replies.
Yet IL Is easily and simply explained. 10
IL Spanish descriptive word meaning
tiles, such ~ houses are rooted with In
some countries instead OF shingles. In
modern otymology II IL spelled Tejas and
pronounced Tehas.
Its origin Is as follows: The mission
aries OF the Catholic church, after the
conquest OF Mexico, then called New
from the Atlantic sIde and when explor-
ing that part now known as Texas, IN
search Of Indian converts, discovered
upon the banks Of the Rio Grande, which
they had partially assembled, village OF
Indians, who, 10 their surprise, lived In
houses or huts with tiled roofs (Which
was an evidence OF some ciyillzation),
and they gave the name OF Tiles or Texas
TO a very large tract OF country separated
from Mexico by the Rio Grandc or Big
River.
At this time the missionaries were also
exploring the country north OF the bono-
ra, by the way OF the Gulf Of Lower Cali
fornia and the Colorado river from Mex
leo. They arrived at part whore were
encountered many Indians, who were re-
markable for having very large and
hpttened noses, and the soldiers forming
the escort called that part OF the country
Narizona or Big Noses.
Since then the name Narizona hes been
abridged somewhat by dropping the letter
N, and we have Arizona, becoming every
day more generally known by reason Of
its reputed great mineral wealth.
Some writer has given the origin Of the
word as being derived from "Arid Zone"
but the above IL the true origin. Mari
1ona, Big Nose, less the letter N, leaving
II Arizona.
Tho gulf OF California, lying between
the peninsula OF Lower California and the
coast Of Sonora, was formerly called and
named in early Spanish maps the Mar
Roxe, or Red sea One mus. suppose
that Il was so named because Of It's water
being tlnRed with red. In this supposi.
ton be would be mistaken, for II was
cailad the Red aaa nv ite Hnanfqh dlaeoV-