The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-10-06


slowed a saints name in CUBA. Santiago
Saint James-as the patron saint of
Spain. naturally left trail Of churches
and towns ofh is name all over Spanish
America so that Santiago" alone now
means nothing at all. We must say San
tiago de Cuba, Santiago de Chile, Santi-
ago de Peru, Santiago De los otDalieros
tela, Santiago de Guatemala. and SO on.
There are even two other Sans1agos In
Cuab-Santiago de las Vegas and Santl-
ago de Santa Clara.
John was scarcely behind James IN pop
ularity as saint in Spain; therefore,
San Juan ia found on every Spanish COL.
onial and provincial map. There are at
least two San Juans in Cuba and one in
Porto Rico. There are also at least tnree
San Joses in Cuba, counting the one ID
the Isles of Pines, which is politically q
part of Cuba. Saints names run al
through the alphabet, from Augustln TO
Ygnacio. Other names derived from the
Las Cruces, Ell Paso de la Virgen, III
Paso Teal de San Diego (these two in
testimony to the discovery of footprints OF
the Virgin and of the saint,) La Concep-
cion, Sainto Espiritu and so forth. For
a country which is not now to be classed
as specially religious, Cuba is in posses
sion of great number of place names
w
For the little places. the Cubans have
found very simple names, derived from
the natural features of the land-quite
sutficient-names like Los Mangos, Las
Guasimas, Las Piedras, La ssCeiba, Mar
anjo, Limones, and the like. The trou-
bic is that mango, guasima, ciena, Or
ange, and lemon trees, as we'll as rocks,
hills, and hollows abound everywhere,
and descriptive name may be repeated
five miles further on. In one respect une
Cubans are not troubled on account OF
the multiplication of names; they have
extremely few post offices. SO that their
mail is not 1ikly to go astray, as our let
tiers wander from Burlington, n. G, to
Burlington, N. D., and so on around to
Burlington, IN. Y, by way of .Burling-
ton, N. j. They Eavs helped out their
nomenclature by few names represent
ing abstract qualities, such as Union, Es.
peranza (hope). and the like, but to no
such extent as we have DONE They have
a pleasing number of such fanciful appel
lauions as Monte Oscuro OZARK mountain)
and Ojo de Toro (bull's eye). They have
also imported few names which will go
with our Paris, Pekin, Calcutta, and Jeru-
salem. They have an Australia and
Palestine. But, save in one instance,
know of no such poverty stricken expdient
as is represented in our North, South,
East, and West Jeriohos In Pfnar del
Rio there is Consolation del ssNorte and
a Consolation del Sur-that is to say,
North Consolation and South Consola-
ton. Soldedad is favorite place name
with them. Perhaps after the YanEees
Solitude, East Solitude, South Solitude,
and West Solitude, as we'll as Solitude
Corners, Solitude Flats, and Solitude
Mills. I said at the beginning that there
were no Cuban Smithyilles; but they do
have cities named as frankly for men as
are Parsons, Kan, or Jones, Mich. Glen
fuegos is one of these; this was the name
are already promising to rename cities
after Maximo Gomez and Antonio Maceo
as the Mexicans have rechr1Stened town
Juarez and Porflrio Diaz.
Some Of the names Of Cuban towns tell
an interesting story Puerto Principe.
for instance, means "chief port but 1t
is as far inland as any town in Cuba. 1t
vas originally founded by Columbus on
the Bay of Nuevitas. but the depredations
of French and English pirates kept it
moving further and further inland, Ito get
out of their way, until the ''uhief port
was thirty miles inland, and could not go
any further without approaching the OPP
posite shore. The name OF Matanzas, the
"butoheries, perpetuates the memory of
great slaughter of the aborigines. The
name of Havana, or La Habana, Is OF
somewhat doubtful origin, but is said to
hive been corrupted from the word mean
ing "Savanna;" and it was certainly de-
rived from the name OF the province IN
which it was situated, and not the re-
verse. Bayamo. Guantanamo, Sagua and
Baracoa are all Indian names
It was to the credit of the early Spanish
settle re-, as it is to the credit OF the set
tiers in the newer parts OF the United
States. that they perpetuated the Indian
names even when they were extripating
~ iv,b Ia I'm tc he ~ mo
of the Indian race, which lived in the
western end of the island, is perpetuated,
formidable as it is, in the name of a town
in Pinar del Rio-Guanahacabibes The
memory of the same people is Indirectly
preserved in the names of and Guanabaooa
Guanahay. Guanahayaho, and many other
places. Cuba itself is 'short'' for Cuban
aoan, which was the name of q small dis
trict in the interior of the island, and
which attained prominence because
Colum bus took il for indubitable proof
that he had discovered the Asiatio land
of Kubla Khar Columbus himself en-
deavored quite vainly to bestow upon he
country the name of Juana-which would
have been Spanish for the Land of Jane;
it was also officially named Fernandina
and Santiago, and Ave Maria, and Alta y
Omegal Cuba has been a land Of many
misfortunes, but there are some which it
has been spared. Luckily the name
winch SbuCk W IL W6o pdEu VI uIf0 4ub
aboriginal designation of one of Its 10 cal
cities.
When the men who are "rebels" to the
Spanish 'insurgents" to us, and to them
selves patriots, have attained political
control of the island-if they ever do
attain tilt is their avowed purpose to
establish the capital at the city which is
now Puerto Principe, but which they al
ready call by its original Indian name,
Camaguey. They have expressed an in
tention to restore certain other aboriginal
names; it is possible that they will do one
thing to obliterate Spanish and medieval
memories by giving Santiago de Cuba its
ancient appellation of Bayaquitiri.
CHILLY WHITE HOUSE DINNERS.
philadelphia Press.)
The White House will be thrown open
this winter for q season of greater festivi-