Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-04-19
DAGOS AND GRINGOS.
where tho Words Came From and How
They Became Popular.


They Became Popular.
There can be no doubt that the word
Dago is derived from the Portuguese
word Diego (James,) the patron saint
of Portugal. About 30 years ago an ex-
haustive research was made by the New
York Leader to ascertain the derivation
Of this word, with this result: The first
recorded instance of its use was Gus
toms entry, about the year 1920, Of a
ship belonging to Davis q Brooks which
traded between New York and Mediter-
ranean ports. The skipper, after writ
ing in the entry his name and that Of
his mates and American sailors, wound
up with land three Dagos He was
asked for an explanation by the custom
house people, showing that the word
and its meaning were new TO them. He
replied that be meant three Portuguese,
all of the same name, Diego which he
had spelled incorrectly, and that he had
shipped them at Funchal
In those days Italian sailors were sell
dom found out of the Mediterranean,
and Spanish sailors only on Spanish
ships, but the Portuguese sailors would
take a berth on any craft without regard
to the flag it sailed under, so that it was
very hard to find a ship without two or
three natives Of either the Azores,
Canary or Cape Verde islands among the
crew They made splendid sailors and
worked cheap, an important corsidera-
ton in the eyes of Yankee skippors, par
tioularly whalers, who invariably
sought these islands Oh their way to the
Pacific to complete their crews and catch
the southwest trade winc
The name Diego was SO plentiful
among these Portuguese sailors that it
got TO BIZ the custom to call them all
Diego" or Dago, much as all China
men are called John. As they were a
good natured lot they took it kindly,
until along in the forties the manner Of
its application became offensive to
them. Since then it has been applied to
Spaniards, Italians and all dark skinned
people other than negroes.
An equally interesting story can be
told of the word gringo, so much used
by our Mexican neighbors. The accept
ed version Of this word S origin is to the
effect that some American sailors,
ashore on the harbor Of Mazatlan, get
ting water, sang the old ditty, "Green
Grow the Rushes, O, " and the natives
took kindly to the melody, ever after
ward calling the Americans gringos.
The year lS45 is given as the date Of
this happening.
Now, as long ago as 1925 the firm Of
Rowland e. Aspinwall did an immense
business with the west coast of Mexico.
Their agents in Mazatlan were the
Messrs. Barre & Kennedy. There is in
New York city, in the family of Robert
Lennox Kennedy, a letter from Mr..
Lewis Barre of this firm, dated Mazat-
Ian, 1925, which speaks Of an entertain
ment at his house, and that Oh the rec
ommendation Of one of the captains of
Rowland g. Aspinwall's ships then in
the harbor sailor furnished the mu-
sic. The captain vouched for him as
being a very talented fiddler, and it
turned out that the fellow played but
one tune, "Green Grow the Rushes, ..
This was his entire repertory. They
danced everything to this tune, singing
the song at the same time, and the en-
tertainment furnished lots Of fun.
In a subsequent letter he wri S that
from this entertainment his Mexican
friends had evolved a nickname for
Americans that was coming greatly in
to use, gringo which was as near as
they could come TO the pronunciation OF
green grow" 1t is easy to see how
this word could become q word Of OPP
probrium among people who did not
know its origin. Certain it is that Mr..
Barre, an old and respected merchant
in Mexico, had never heard OF it pre-
vious to this time, lS25.-Kansas City
Star.