The San Francisco call., 1898-06-21
THE NAMES OF SHIPS.

Nearly all the papers in the United States have commented upon the inappro- priate names selected for the vessels added to the navy during the past couple of years, and the Yale and Harvard, as the New York and Paris have been re- christened, are specially criticized. But meaningless as these names are when ap- piled to ships there are still others se- lected apparently with no other object than to exhibit a close reading or Fen1- more Cooper's tales of the noble red man as the latter existed in imagination, and the jaw-breaking Indian names of Penn syIvania and "down East" are once more resurrected. During 1S61-65, when nearly 800 vessels were either built or purchased for the navy, some Indian lore sharps Tn the Navy Department hunted up names which no two persons could spell alike and new ships were handicapped With aboriginal nomenclature. Sea-faring men of the present day differ greatly from the sailors of thirty odd years ago in many respects; they are now less capric1ous about the names of their ships, but 1t is safe to assert that such names as Yale, Harvard, Wompatook, Uncanoomuck, Hist, Accomac, Menemsha, Pompey, Bru- tus. Nero and Nezinscot are not likely to meet with more favor than the names selected during the last war.
 Admiral Porter, while in the Navy De- partment during the few months Bor1e signed papers as Secretary or the Navy, was really the autocrat of the navy, and the Indian names of the ships were a source of annoyance to him. He called attention to the fact that sailors were always prone to call ships and other things by different names to what they were known to landsmen; that it was a practice which should be discouraged as much as possible, and he gave instances where inappropriate names gave Jack all the encouragement to nickname ships.
 The Contoocook had been transformed to Can't-hook; Isonomia to Insomnia Kickapoo, a decent Indian name, was translated into Peek-a-boo. The Amo- noosuc, he feared, would be called 'Im- no-sucker,' and the Miantonomah was all ready known as "My-aunt-don't- t-know- me-" The monitor Suncook was irreverent- ly nicknamed "Son-of-a-sea-cook," and the Wissahickon was known among sailors as the ''Widow Higgins" Sassacus became "Saucy cuss" and Yazoo was Yahoo.
 With the object of abridging Jacks propensity to coining nicknames, Admiral Porter issued general order No. 124 on May 15, 1869, over the signature of A. E. Borie, changing the names of seventeen vessels, among the most notable of which were: Ammonoosuc to Iowa, Neshansing to Arizona, Contoocook to Albany, Pone- panoosuc to Connecticut, Pushmataha to Cambridge and Wampanoag to Florida. This order was followed up by another, one month later, changing the names of forty-one vessels, notably: Kalamazoo to Colossus, Passaconaway to Thunderer, Quinsigamond to Hercules, Shackamaxon to Hecla, and the objectionable Suncook and Yazoo to Spitfire and Tartar.
 Further re-christenings were cut short by MT. Borie's resignation and Robeson's advent to the office. Porter disappeared with Borie, and Robeson on August 10, 1869, restored most of the original names to the vessels The Suncook and Yazoo came back and all the noble Roman names given by Porter had to give way for simple but euphonious Indian names, which they retained to the end of their short and inglorious careers.
 Of the thirty-eight vessels mentioned in Robeson's order of August 10, 1869, all but eight disappeared during his incumbency, but they went off the list and into the scrap heap relieved from the incubus of the names of Roman dignitaries and Greek gods.
 Roman history and Cooper's novels have furnished names in the main for the pres ent auxiliary navy, but that will not pre- vent disgruntled and irreyerent seamen The BrutuS, only a few weeks in the ser vice, is already known as the Brute, and Nero, Pompey and even the Harvard and Yale are likely to receive more ap- propriate although perhaps less elegant names from the crews in the service.