Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-01-15
THE STATE SOCIETIES.
Their Original Homes Be-
yond the Great Divide.
NAMES AND NIGHTMARES AGAIN
Four Western Commonwealths
and how They Were Settled.
Their Legends Etc.
NAMES AND NTcKNAMEs AGAIN

IN thia morning nEhALD appeared
the proceedings Of the Michigan Asso-
ciation. This society embraces a long
list of the prominent men Of Los Angeles,
and viii no doubt prove very useful
organization in bringing together former
residents OF that great State who now
live in this city and county, and it will
be Of still greater value to newcomers
who arrive here often strangers in
strange land.
Michigan is OF course another Indian
name, as are those Of large majority OF
the States Of the Federal Union. 1t is
hard to discover the meaning Of these
aboriginal names. but very many OF
them have reference to some body of
water, This is true OF the State now
under review, as she bears the name OF
the vast fresh water sea which nearly
surrounds her. Her sons are called
Wolverines, because the woods are
full7 OF the wild animals. The settlers
were very largely from the northern
States along the Atlantic seaboard, al
though OF course some of them were of
French origin. Detroit is one OF the
Oldest, If not the very oldest, city east
of the Mississippi river. She disputes
the crown of age with St. Angus
tine, Florida, and probably rightly
claims the honor. The city was
founded by the French from
Canada. All over both peninsulas
are scattered other places named by
these same hardy pioneers. The es-
cutcheon Of the State has shield in its
center upheld by two stays. 1t Is SUR
mounted by an eagle in whose talons are
thunder bolts, and over the birds head
the National legend II Piaribus Ununl.
On the shield is written Tue6or, shall
behold, and beneath quotation from
the Eneid Of Virgil. 81 quo. eris peninsu.
lam amcnani circumspice. II you seek
peninsula Of saluprious cline look around
you. On one side of the shield is a
lake steamer plowing the CLASSY surface
OF one Of the inland seas which surround
the State. On the other is engraved
scene from the far-famed copper mines
of the Lake Superior shore.
Crossing the lake one reaches one of
the fairest of all the Northwestern States,
Wisconsin, which like her brilliant sister
States all round her has grown within
the space of single generation from o
wilderness to great commonwealth.
Her name, again, is Indian through the
medium OF the French tongue of the
early missionaries. 1t was spelled
Ouisconsin in those days. The nickname
is Badgers after the little burrower
which aboands on all the edges Of her
prairies and woodlands. The State is
noted for her lovely scenery. There
are low hills in parts Of the State from
which a score Of small lakes can be
seen. She was made State in l64S,
and her escutcheon has upon il all the
insignia Of the pioneer days: the log
cabin. the hardy feller of the primeval
forest, the plow, the new settlers wife
holding her babe, who is watching the
domestic fowls about the door OF the
cabin In the woods. The badger is in
the shield. At the top is the legend
Forward" watchword which
Wisconsin deserves in every pos
sible respect. Her semi-maratime
position is proclaimed in the presence Of
= genuine Jack Tar in full sail as to the
sstogs be donns.
There Is no Wisconsin society here.
Why mott There are not so many pre-
yious residents of the State here as
there are from Illinois, or some OF the
other States, but there are States repre-
scented here whose sons and daughters
are probably not 30 numerous as those of
the Badger land Let them arise and
proclaim themselves. The motto is
ssForw ard" Why are they getting left
behind here, The writer has for many
. long day and in many places gloried in
the name Of Badger. Let US all crawl
out OF our holes aud show ourselves.
The great North Star State" shines
respiendent in her Hyperborean home
and so does the society Of her sons
aud daughters here in this sunny
south land. The name is one more abo
riginal one. The name Of the people is
ssGophers, so she is rich in nicknames,
having one for the State and one for the
people. She was admitted to the Fed
erai Union ia 1855, ten years after her
badger cousin State. This is but short
tims since, yet in these few years the
wilderness OF that recent day is great
empire with million souls to-day. Her
escutcheon shows the early settler plow-
ing with his gun by his side and the wild
Indian on his wild horse fleeing from his
presence. The patient oxen draw the
hay-laden vain which the as patient
frontiersman has gathered from the field.
The legend is in French. EEtoile du
Nord, "rhe Star of the North" from
which Minnesota gets her soubriquet.
Just south Of this State lies
Iowa, named from the Indians and
nicknamed for the Hawkeyes. They
have here enc Of the most Hourishing
State societies. They became State in
IS45. Like all the States in the series
Of this date she was settled almost en-
tirely by people from the Northeastern
tiers OF States, from Maine to Ohio.
Agriculture and commerce are emphasiz-
ed in the escutcheon. In the center is
soldier wrapped by flag Of the Nation.
The legend Is in plain English. "Our
Liberties we Prize. Our Rights we will
Maintain"