Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-02-09
ABBREVIATED NAMES.
an American Custom that Greatly Deceiv,
EAR

an American Custom that Greatly Deceives
foreigners
One thing that always surprises for
elgners Is that, with our beautiful and
original geographical names, we have so
little taste as to disguise them in abbrevi-
ations. l heard a foreigner once say that
he had a brother living in ST. Paul,
"Minn.,s and he said "Miap.n and not
Minnesota. with evidently no idea what
ever that Mimi" was cheap and vulgar
abbrevlat1on of musical ana romantic
word. That We Americans write to our
european friends, or even our American
ones, as Me-, Miss, No., NJ, Mon. and
Min., Is no credit whatever to our aesthetic
sense, and that we disguise in our public
journals our lovely Colorado, California.
connecticut, Montana. Iowa, Idaho, and
wyoming, as Col, Cal, Conn, Ia, TO-.
and Wy, shows that we have no national
sense OF poetry and music. English peo-
pie shortened their country names. but
their county names are taK prose com
pared with the breezy picturesoueness OF
our state and territory names. Besides,
the English aSbreviation is usually in the
mere suppression of the word "soire.n
common to all their counties. The
French are never toe much 10 haste TO
treat their geographical names with disre-
spect, although the majority of these
names are much longer than ours. The
average American would consider it a
sheer waste of time and ink to write
Meurtheet Moselle or Seine nferieure or
Pyrenees- Orientales, but what French
man would date his letter from Met NJ.
s., Inf, or P.-O.? It would take much of
the tlnkls and trill, the sweet lutte notes,
and echoes of pipe SID tabor, from out
our memories Of Europe if it was thus
Americanizsd. An anonymous letter in
Europe was once traced to an American
because the word Vermont was written
VT, as no one but one to the common
place manner born would have written it.
On the other hand, a letter was once re-
turned TO its writer, who had Just re-
turned from a long distance abroad, by
the postmaster of q remets western ham
let because he could not make out its des-
tination. 1t was directed in full: New
bury port, Massachusetts,. "Oh, you
mean Mass" said the postmaster, when
the matter was explained. "Your writin'
amt very plain, aud I thought p'raps
twas some Turin mistake o. yourn." This
IS an actual fact, incredible as it seems.
On Missouri Prairie
The forests of Kansas do not impress
the beholder as do these maenifcens
plains of Missouri, over which we are
whirling as these lines are penned. There
is nothing vast, nothing awe-ins piring
about Kansas tree. IL does its best, I
suppose, but 1t runs too much to warps
and knots and corns and cramps and bun
ions and warts and excrsscences and
crooks and lunches that it can't get very
high. Il wastes its energies in crooked
ness. But maybe it catches that from
the Indian agents. Anyhow a danger
board ought to be put up near Kansas
forest, lest some careless man might stsT
on it in the dark.
moment the train slacks up, anu
down the long sweep of this vast Mis-
souri, prairie comes the sturdy settler
There is no snow, but he drives a sleigh.
The sleigh weighs somewhat less than
ton and is drawn by an only OK, and he
an orphan. L Judge that he is an orphan
from the tender, reproachful expression
that films in his dim and glazing eye
every time the sturdy settler fetches him
whack with the piece of rail be uses
for ''gad." IF the rail doesn't break
and the OK doesn't die, the sturdy settler
will get there In fact, thiak he is near
ly there now.
This is great big country. II makes
you tired to try to see the nearest edge
of it. The longer you look the further
away it seems, and the further into this
country you go the wider it grows. Bless
your soul! there's room out here for the
man who wants the earth. He could
come out here and have it, and then there
would be plenty left for the rest, of US.