The sun., 1890-01-27
Some Remarks About Names.

Nobody knows why the port Of Banana, at
the mouth Of the Congo, bears the name
which 1t has made conspicuous In African
affairs. The agreeable fruit the town is named
after cannot be induced to grow anywhere
near the settlement. In the Catskills is q
hamlet called Oakhill and the inhabitants
have grown weary satisfying the inquisitive-
ness Of strangers who fail to see why town
lying In valley and without single oak
tree in the neighborhood should be called
Oakhill. The explanation is that the town
was named after Mr.. OAK and Mr.. HILL, two
worthy and early settlers in the place. The
late Mr.. MATTHEW ARNOLD was very much
perplexed by some Of the names he encoun-
tered as he was fitting through this country.
Why q railroad station containing two
saloons and q variety store should be called
Paradise was problem too deep for his
reasoning faculties.
Proper names are to some extent matter
OF taste and as tastes differ widely. 1t can
hardly be expected that the appellations given
to persons and things will strike everybody
as happy and appropriate. Sometimes, how
ever names are the result Of accident. Any
body can find on the map of western Colo
RADIO an alleged settlement with the allur-
ing name OF Golden City. 1t is not city at
ALL nor even hamlet, the fact being that
the region Is entirely unfit for human occu-
pancy, sort Of Bad Lands where nature
has given 90 many distorted forms to the
lava and other remains OF an ancient geo.
logical age that some one. with an eye to the
fitness OF things, named tho spot Goblin
City. A printer. in moment OF laundering
inspiration, changed the name to Golden
City, and Golden City it continues to be on
nearly every map that Is published.
1t Is curious TO observe the genesis OF some
names. A recent incident may be cited,
showing how rapidly name now and then
comes to signify something very different
from the object to which it was originally
applied. When STANLEY began his road
making at Vivi ON the Congo he used gun
powder to blast the rocks In his way The
wondering natives at once gave him the
name OF Bula Matari, signifying the Stone
Breaker. That Is the name as STANLEY
wrote 1t. though some recent Congo experts
call 1t BulR Matadi. STANLEY said the name
travelled up the river a good deal faster
than he could. and the fame OF Bula MRtari
extended to Stanley Falls and far along the
utbuOoAiOos WhCiL hO lclt Ouo IlNcE Ju0
name was applied to the agents who carried
on his work. Finally an organized govern
ment was established at Bona as the capital
of the Congo Free State, and. according to
DR.. OSCAR LEM, the Austrian explorer, the
mysterious power at Bona which issues
edicts. Furnishes wrongdoers, and drills
soldiers ls now known far and wide as Bula
Matari. In the course of events the words
first applied by a crowd OF gaping natives
to q man blasting rocks. have come to be
the name OF civilized government.
tls an interesting fact that sAvages do
not give names to extensive tracts OF terri
tory as whole. Probably no tribe In Africa
has name for the continent, all their
names having merely local application.
We sec hundreds of little islands In the
Pacific properly bearing their native names,
but all OF the greatest land masses
like Australia and New Guinea have
been named by explorers. for tho good
reason that they never had native name.
The savage has no idea Of inventing names
to cover regions he has not seen.
When it was discovered that the eminence
now known as Mount Everest In the Him
alayas, was probably the highest mountain
In the world. there was some protest In Eng
land against discafdlng the native name
and calling the great summit after the dls.