San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-10-10
NAMES FROM INDIANS
THEY ARE ATTACHED TO AMERICAN
LAKES, RIVERS AND TOWNS.
Some Interesting Information Concerning
Their origin-They Contain Curious Bits
of Native Thought or Fancy, History or
Tradition.

Just as the history of Celtic, Roman,
Saxon, Dane and Norman occupation is
marked in England by the geographical
names that these various peoples have
left so in our own country the many
Indian names of rivers, lakes, noun
tains, districts and towns remain per
manent witness, independent of written
history, to the fact that the red man
possessed the land before us.
Here, as in other parts of the world,
Language adheres to the soil when the
lips that spoke it have been resolved in
to dust Mountains repeat and rivers
murmur the voices of nations donation
allied nr extirpated in their own land. "
The Indian names that dot the map of
America are full of meaning. Many of
them, when translated, are found to
contain curious bits of native thought
or fancy, history or tradition. Some,
like Niagara and Oregon, are so euphoni-
Gus that they easily lend themselves to
the uses of the poet Others, such as
Moostocmaguntic, Mollichunkamunk,
Wellokenepacook, are as savage as were
the people that originated them.
Indian geographical names are very
similar in origin to their personal
names. The Dakota Indians of the
present day have applied to General
Crook the name -hpi-yamni
(Three Stars), in allusion to the stars
ON the shoulder strap of a generals uni
form, and the cue suggests the name by
which the Chinese are known to them
Pe.co- kan-yan-han-ska (soalp lock-
This same quality of poetic descrip-
tiveness is seen in most of their local
and their river names. Modern explorers
and geographers often apply personal
names to natural objects, and thus We
have Mount Hood, Pixies peak, the Mac
kenzie river, Hudson bay and many
others. The Indians never did this,
though sometimes they gave their tribal
names to rivers near which they lived.
The Hudson river was known to the In
dams of New York as Mohioanittuok,
the river of the Mohicans, and the ma
tive name of the Delaware was Lena
pewihittuok, the river of the Lenape,
or Delawares.
The Assiniboin Indians of Canada
have left their name to a province,
river and a town. The word means
"stone people, 1" and is of no significance
until we learn that this tribe, unlike
the other Indians, made no clay pot
terry, but boiled their food by placing
redhot stones in waterproof vessels of
bark. Chippeway, pointed skins, is
name that refers to the peculiar way in
which these Indians wore their skin
robes, the points hanging down behind
and before. Eskimo is an Algonkin
word meaning eaters of raw flesh. Zu-
nj, the people Of the long nails, alludes
to the fact that the medicine men of
this pueblo always wore their nails
long.
A South Carolina river, which now
bears the prosaic name of Broad, was
known to the Indians as Eswawpudde-
nah, the dividing river, after a bloody
battle which made this stream the d.
viding line between the Catawbas and
the Cherokees. The name Piscataway
has much the same meaning. DEVILS
lake, in North Dakota, is still known
to the Indians as Minnewaukan, the
mysterious water They say that in
terrible battle fought ON its banks many
years ago the Contending warriors, as
they slew each other, pitched the dead
over the precipice into the deep water
until very few were left. Since then
mysterious sounds are heard in the
neighborhood, and the Indians will mel
Their drink the water nor eat fish that
are taken from it.
Genisee or Geniseo means beautiful
valley; Onondaga, on the hills; Canaan
daigua, place chosen for settlement;
Omaha, to go against the current; At.
tacapau, man eaters; Chitimaoha LA },
they possess cooking vessels; Athapas-
ca, place Of hay and reeds; Yankton,
end village; Sisseton, village; Owato-
ma, straight; Waseca, rich. Winona,
little daughter "a town in Winoonsin),
perpetuates the name of an Indian girl
who, being disappointed in love, cast
herself into Lake Pepin from point
called Maiden rock and was drowned
The same story, but without the name,
appears in many other Lovers Leaps
in various parts Of our country.
Kanawha is a descriptive name mean
ing sit is long" Coronaca is Quooran.
hequa, the place of big white oaks.
Wabasha means red battle standard.
Passamaquoddy is an Indian word for
pollock fish Shamokin means the place
of the chief. South Carolina was known
to the Indians as Chlcola, the place of
foxes The Delaware Indians called
eastern Pennsylvania Winakaking, sas-
safras land.
The names Of about half of the states
and territories of the Union are of In
dian origin. Alaska means the great
land; Alabama, here we rest; Arkansas,
bow on the smoky water; Connecticut,
long river; Dakota, friendly; Idaho,
gem of the mountains; Illinois, the
men; Iowa, drowsy ones; Kansas,
smoky water; Kentucky, at the head
of the river; Massachusetts, the place
,f &r,ng. N Gcb xuoir