The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-10-03
WHY CALLED "YANKEEs.n
Origin of the Term Given to North Amer
leans.

Every one is aware says the Baltimore
Sun, that the word yankee is indis-
criminately applied abroad to all citizens
OF the United States, but it is used gene
rally rs nickname, and not always in a
complimentary spirit. Our Spanish
friends just at..present are doubtless in
clined to employ it in q sneering and de-
rogatory sense, but however it may be
used by them or other Europeans, it has
long since ceased to carry with it the
slightest sting of latent satire. From
term of reproach or ridicule it has be-
come to the citizens of the United States
verbal badge of honor, and is now syn
onymous the world over with shrewdness,
enterprise, pluck and achievement.
Its origin is uncertain. According to
one authority, yankees" is II variation
of ''yenkees." or ~yengees," or "ysung
hees, n lame said to have been given by
the Massachusetts Indians to the English
colonlsts, being, 1T is supposed, an Indian
corruption of the word English or of the
French s'Anglnis." Washington Irving,
in his history of New York, explains the
derivation somewhat differently. The
first settlers of New England, he says,
came to America 'to enjoy unmolested
the inestimable right of talking. And in
fact no sooner did they land upon the
shore of this free spoken country than
they all lifted up. their voices and made
such clamor of tongues that we are told
| they frightened every bird and beast out
| of the neighborhood, and struck such
mute terror into every fish that they have
been called dumb fish every since"
The simple aboriginees of the land for a
while contemplated these strange folks in
utter establishment, but, discovering that
they welded harmless. though noisy
weapons, and were a lively, ingenious,
| good humored race of men, they became
very friendly and socinble, and gave them
the name Yanokies, which is the Mails
| Tchusaeg Cor Massachusetts, language
| signifying silent men, n waggish appel
lation since shortened into the familiar
epithet of "Yankees.'' 1t had gained
great currency as descriptive of the colo
nists in 1855, when DIR. Schuckburgh,
British surgeon, is said to have composed
the words OF yankee Doodle" in deris-
ion of the colonial militia but the tune
to which 1T is set is declared by some au-
thorities to have been popular in England
| during the Commonwealth, at which pc
Rod its doggerel words, il is alleged, also
existed and were applied to Cromwell
Whatever its ancestry and original sig
MITIGATION, it has come in the light of l. is
| tory an accomplishment to be Il designa-
tlon OF which the people of this country
have no reason to be ashamed. They have
no objection to be called by nickname
which is associated with daring, skill,
energy and triumph, that even when used
in derision or anger it creates in the mind
of the vers railer and scoffer a secret feel
ing of envy. The Engli. kman, French
man, German, Russian, Spaniard and the
rest will haze to content themselves with
their narrow national appellations, except
on special occasions of merit, when they
show themselves worthy of being decora-
ted with the Yankee cross of honor and
being complimeAted with the title of Eng
fish, French or Spanish Yankees The
| suggestion as to some other nickname
than Yankee" may be wise, but it is not
prectical. Nobody would ever adopt it
here or abroad Let lis he content with
the designation asst is. We can stand it
if our Spanish cousins can.