The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-04-27
National Nicinames,

National NicknameS,
All our boys and girls know that
Uncle Sam is popular name for the
many of them know how it came to
he used this way? Here is the story
told about it
Soon after the declaration of war
1922 between the United States and
England, great quantities of provlS-
ions for the army We're concentrated
at Troy, y. v, and a large force OF
workmen were employed in handling
these goods under the supervision OF
one Of the inspectors, Mr.. Samuel
Wilson, whom everybody Familiarity
called Uncle Sam" The casks in
which the provisions were packed
were marked "E. A.-U. S." the
first two letters being the initials OF
the contractor who purchased them,
Mr.. Anderson, and the others the ab-
breviati0n United States we are all so
familiar with now, but which was not
SO well known in those days. 1t was
new to these w0rkmen, and one OF
them whose bus hess it was to put the
mark on each cask being questioned
by some of his fellows as to its mean-
ing replied that "he did not know un-
less it meant Elbert Anderson and
Uncle Sam" The joke circulated
among the workmen, and little later
when these same men joined the army
it went with them. Before long II
was printed in the papers, and spread
rapidly to all parts of the country, un-
til people everywhere were using the
name.
While Uncle Sam is applied only to
the Government, Brother Jonathan is
nickname for the whole people OF
the United States. This, too, originat-
ed in wartime, but some thirty years
earlier than the other. At the begin
ming of the Revolution General Wash
ingtOn had great difficulty in getting
the arms, ammunition, etc., needed for
successful defense of the country,
and one day, when he had met in
council with his officers and others,
and they had failed to find any means
of obtaining the necessary supplies,
Washington said 1--WE must consult
Brother Jonathan" referring to Jona-
than Trumbull, then the Governor OF
Connecticut, q friend of his, and a
man of whose good judgment and
ability he had the highest opinion.
Governor Trumbull was consulted,
and rendered valuable aid, so much 50
that 1--WE must consult Brother JOna-
than" became common saying in
the army when any difficulty was to
be met, and people SOON found it a
convenient sobribquet for the ma
lion.
John Bull, the well-known syno-
nym for the English, is said TO have OF
iginated with Dean Swift, but its first
appearance in literature was in Ar
buthnot's History of John Bull" a
political satire published i'll
l7l2.
Johnny Crapaud, the nickname of
the people of France, is said to date
back to the time ofthe great monarch,
Louis XIV. The French, after Il long
seige, had taken the city of Aras from
the Spaniards. and, eated by their
victory, they called to mind an old
prophecy Les anciens crapauds pre-
ndront Sara" which means: "rhe
ancient toads shall take Sara" and be-
lieved that they had fulfilled it. moi
very easy to see the fultillment, you
may think but Nostradamas, the old
French-Jewish physician and astrolo-
ger, who wrote it, was accustomed to
make his predictions rather enigmati-
cal, and Sara is Aras spelled backward,
and the old arms OF France were
three toads, instead of the three Fleur-
de-lis as now, SO the people were easily
convinced, and Jean Crapaud, or, as
We say in English, Johnny Crapaud,
became the accepted name for a
Frenchman or for the French ma
ton.
Turkeys sobriquet is The Sick Man
of the East. The alluSion is to the
tottering condition of the empire,
which, since the middle of the sin
teenth century, when it was ut the
height of its prosperity, has been stead
lily declining in power, until now Its
very existence depends largely on the
support it receives from other nations.
The Car Nicholas, of Russia, first APP
piled the phrase to Turkey in the year
1874, and few years later, during
the time just preceding the Crimea.
War, the Cars words were repeated
in the Fnplish Parliament. The
newspapers Immediately gave them
circulation, aud they were soon on
peoples tongues everywhere asa name
for Turkey. 1t will probably cOntin-
lie to be used until the "sick man"
dies, and after.
The Russians, too, have a national
name-Ivan Ivanovich. Ivan is the
Russian for John, which seems to be
SO often chosen for these national
nicknames. We find it again in John
Chinaman, as applied to the Chin
ese.
All these mares are used to express
some characteristics or peculiarlt!es OF
the various nations to which they be-
long.
In much the same way people speak
of the shrewd, cautious Scotchman as
Sandy or Sawney, and the witty,
warm-hearted, irascible lrishman as
Pat, Alexander being so common a
name in Scotland and Patrick among
the Irish.
Sambo is frequently used as Il name
for the negro. more especially at the
South. This, too, was probaoly De-
cause so many were called by that
name in the old slave days.
Lo is name sometimes given IN
sport to the Indian. 1t came by Wit
ty perversion Of the meaning for from
the well-know lines of Pope:
Lo, the poor Indian, whose unturored mind
See God in clouds, and hears him in the Wild.
''- ..... "A lplni1p TavlOr