The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1898-01-07
NAMES IN JERSEY.
some OF THE TOWNS THAT MAY BE
FOUND IN EVERY ATLAS.
Picturesque Nomenclature That IL Orig
insl and Fresh From the SOFIA Native
J~erseyman's Explanations Of Some of
the Applications.


Other states may be bigger and
richer and turn in a heavier VOTE said
the man with the woodbine whiskers
twining gently about his face, but for
picturesqueness Of nomenclature New
Jersey takes the gold medal"
You're from Jersey, sir, l suppose"
said the man who had just come in
from the smoking car.
II am, sir, and I'm proud of it. I
come in On this train every day to bust
ness in the city, and in my leisure mo-
ments I make a study of the geography
Of my native state. l may say, sir-I
think l may say with CONFERENCE.-THE
tew men are so we'll informed as l upon
this interesting subject Of New Jerseys
geographical nomenclature. You OBJ
serve, sir, that l say New Jersey, not
jersey, which is an u~ndlgnihed behead-
ing Of a noble title"
Possibly it is because I'm a New
Yorker, said the man across the aisle,
but l have always thought New York
10 be pretty strong on interesting
Names
a great error, sir, declared be of
the whiskers. "A very great error.
Your AN are mainly corrupted In
dian titles or direct cribs from ancient
davs-Ithaca. Marathon, Utica, Homer,
Virgil, Syracuse, Sempronius, Moravia.
Rome, Cato. Palmyra and a score Of
others. You have borrowed the glories
that should have been buried with
Greece and Rome. Our titles. sir, are
dug up from the soil and replete with
meaning. Let me cite ome.'
Here he pulled asmall notebook from
MS pocket, and the other man, with
resretful politeness, said he would be
glad TO learn something OIL the subject.
Consider, sir, continued the Jersey
lite, the appropriateness of such names
as Ragtown, Breakfast Point, Camp
Cav. Polihv. Radix, Pluckemin. Pock-
town. Tiilietudelum and Succasuna."
some Of them sound familiar" said
the New Yorker, but are all Of those
zeal names
Every one Of en- on the map, SIR"
replied the other warmly. IN give
you 500 fer any one Of these that isn't
a real place, and they fairly reek Of
the soil. Now. here's another batch
Bone Hill. Wickatunk. Bamber, Atco,
Woliyfeld. Blue Anchor, Blazing Star,
Hockamick, Jahokeyville, Oney's Hat,
kalarama. Flyat, Flickerville, Zings-
en-. Wakeake and Batsto.'
They sound as if they were taken
from Jabberwocky. remarked the New
Yorker. They're utter nonsense"
Taken straight from the country
side" averred the geographer. They
may not be very strong on sense. Those
names l cite merely as instances of pure
beauty of sound. If you're looking TO,
meaning, l can give that TO you. Fo,
instance, there are Barley Sheaf and
Wheat Sheaf, POLITICALLY suggestive Of
the agricultural riches of our beautiful.
state. Our domestic animals are com.
memorated in such fitting titles a:
Goosetown, Hensfoot, Hogtown, Mon.
kevtown, Horseneck and Peacocktown
while for other animals there are Skunk
town. Pole Tavern, which used TO b.
Polecat Tavern: Postertown (if a poste,
amt a wild animal l don't know wha
-, Snake Hill, Turtletown, Frogtown
and / don't know but what Batstf
ought to come in there. The frogs &c
another show at Manunka Chunk
which is the name they gave it them
selves, singing Of nights out in tn
swamps.
Now, for the temperance folk Their,
are blazing signs Of warning III sucl
namsA as Whisky Lane, Gin Point, jug
town and Bum Tavern. There used Il
be an innkeeper in the latter place, b,
the way, who sued the authorities ono
a year for maintaining such a title ant
always compromised for 3 cents, wit!
which he bought himself a drink AM
was well satisfied. One year the authori
ties started in TO fight the case and tn
.nnkeeper in disgust quit the bushes
and Bum Tavern simultaneously. :
place with a suggestive title is Naugh
right, which got its name from a larg'
farm owners sign, nailed on a tree a
the roadside, No right Of way here.
They got calling him Old No Right
and when the village sprung up the,
called it after him, but a man who hat
spelling reform the wrong way made j
as 1t now stands. Speaking of spelling
there's n village YOU can spell eithe
Packnack, Pacquanac, Pequanac q
P~equannock, hut you can't prouounc'
it as the natives do, 10 matter which
way you choose.
There are some names more sug
eestive than beautiful-Scrabbletown
Scrapetown, Shutdown, Samptown an
Solitude, for instance. Some belle thei
names, like Recklesstown, which is a
peaceful as a graveyard and in tn
same general line Of business, keeping
its inhabitants buried far from the care
Ct this busy world. Then there's Round
about. which is a plain four corner
crossing, and Small Lots, with nothin,
but wide stretches Of countryside. Al
for Pellettville, I've heard that there
isn't a drug store there, but / can't swea,
as to that, not having been there TO
many years"
Look here" put in the New York
er. II believe you're the man VIII
writes the suburban stories in the conf
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