St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-03-22
MUGWUMP.

Having heard sharp discussion at
the club of the old question as to the
origin and early use of the word "mug-
wump" as a political term, and being
mindful of the fact that questions are
never answered until they are answer
ed right, the Listener is constrained to
give the special knowledge on the sub
ject which he possesses. The words
first appearance in an American news
paper is distinctly traceable, though
as far as the Listener knows, it has not
been looked into except in Il limited
way. The story was unknown, ut
least, to the disputants in the group
that has just been referred to. This
is the fact On October 10, 1876, there
was, in the city of Detroit, Mich, a
great Tilden procession, in which the
mayor of the city and other prominent
democrats took part, and in the De-
troit Tribune "a republican paper)
next morning, October 20, there ap-
peared this item in reference to the
parade:
"There were 1864 torches, 160 mug
wumps in carriages, and $50 horses in
the democratic procession last night"
The next issue of the Detroit Free
Press, the democratic organ of the city
expressed indignation at the applica-
ton of such word as "mugwump" to
such gentlemen as Mayor Alexander
Lewis, and wanted to know what a
mugwump was. And in the next issue
of the Tribune there appeared an an
swer written by Mr.. William p. Fuller
"a member of the editorial staff of
the paper, an eastern man by origin,
and Il person overlooking with humor,
occasionally slightly favored with
cynicism-who was also the author of
the paragraph that had offended the
Free Press. This answer gave the
following elaborate definition:
MUG-wUMP, n muh-gwump; FIR.
lejagasses SIP. magWmmpolla Ger. der
muggerlOggerbierich; CIR. D HI. A mug
who wumps; the bearer of the gon-
Talon the small part of democratic
procession which does not leave its
cape, cap and torch at the democratic
headquarters, and retire for lodgings
at the police station.
MUG wUMP, q. muh- gwump.I To
wump; to wave the gonfalon to lodge
at police station after assisting at
democratic parades and slip off in the
without being sent up for
to dispense hiccoughs
from kerridge instead of stubbing
your toes against your heels in the re-
formers night parade !; to wump with
mug.
Now Mr.. Fuller, whose word is new
er doubted by the honorable circle of
eastern journalists and men of letters
to whom he is known, AYERS that, so
far as he is aware, he invented the
word "mugwump" himself. But it has
been demonstrated that it was an In
dian word, and that it occurs in Eliot's
Indian Bible. How did it get into Mr..
Fuller's head to pop out in this queer
spontaneous use of it as a political
term of contemptP The probable
answer to this constitutes the interest
ing psychological part of the story.
Mr.. Fuller admits that he may have
heard the word years before he used
it, and that it may have effected an
Judgment in his memory,
to come out afterward to all intents
and purposes as an original word.
And this evidently was just what
for in early life Mr.. Fuller
had been, at Hartford, friend and as
sOciate of Mr.. j. Hammond Trumbull,
who is probably the greatest living au-
thority on the Indian languages-th
only man in America, perhaps, who
reads the extinct Indian dialects of |
New England with perfect understand
ing. Mr.. Trumbull's conversation. no
doubt, was from time to time favored |
with his Algonquin lore, and this
word "mugwump" may have dropped |
from it into his friend Fulle's con-
sciOusness tickled his humoristic fam
cy for moment; was apparently for
gotten, but really uncOnsciously laid |
away on some shelf of his memory :;
and thence, in the course of some auto
matte psychological busting on the
night of the Tilden parade in Detroit,
t was pulled out and brought into use.
Therefore it thus appeared in print i'm
1916. 1t did not come into immediate
lse, but slumbered for some years like
;he term chestnut" and many other
slang phrases that have long lain dor
nant and then suddenly burst into the
'ull bloom of popularity. 1t was not
until the presidential term of 1884,
eight years after Mr.. Fuller unclaimed
he word mugwump with all the os-
of his double definitions. that
t came into general USE Boston
Transcript.
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nov oin1S in, tho oho1r