Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-08-26
"rhe over uiIs of Oualay.
CAshevIlle u. O. Citlzon)

t4ASneNlhe IA. - IltlItN.)
A Few days ago a HendcrsOnville cor
respondent OF the Charleston News and
Courier writing of the attitudes Of tho
Western North Carolina plateau. desig-
mated this section by the new and strilz-
ing name. The over Hills OF Ottaray."
The Charlotte Observer. In a VEN %
! semi-levl;y. thus alluded 10 the new desig-
nation:
"Our contemporary seems no. 70 have
known before that We had mountain
lakes I'm North Carolina, up In the Sap
phire country. And IL doesn't know any
more than We do how the 'OvSr HIS AMI
Ottavay' started. No doubt it h. a cor
ruption Of some quaint mountalnecr style
OF direction to travellers. such as, FOR cx-
ample, over the hills and that 'er way.
The News and Courier, recognizing that
a new and beautiful expressive name for
THE Land OF the Sky" had been dis
ooyVred by It's correspondent, 40 not dis
noble fashion, and on Saturday II says:
For the Information Of our contempo-
rary, and because Of It's historic value,
we may repeat q part OF the highly In
teresting letter u our HendersOnviiie cor
respondent 'Chuckey-toe," published
wednesday,, IN which, YmaP5 o,nrr
things, he explains tbe Origin Of the nams
he had used Ia his hrst letter. He says
In substance.
I'm Colonial days the term PIEDMONT
was unknown, but Ia the up-country,
then Inhabited largely BY indian trb9s,
their settlements JUST below the bus
Ridge, were known as the u hderhili
Towns; those ~ the bordering uplsnds
OF Norm Carolina ana 1ebneasa az lhT
over nil Towns
"rhe Cherokee tongue 81 that dey (ss
now had several dialects. In Two, az
least the cllet differences consisted IN
tcft - tftg IA nUylIlefig
substitution not unknown ~ other Lam
puages. hence. this name 'Ottalay,' or
'Ottcley' ga one region, IN the oiher was
pronounced 'Otterey,' " 'Ottnray. Whica
last / adopt az being TO M ears the most
euphonious.
"At present We have no generic or
common name, which would lnclCde ps
whole " our Apl aioch.on Hgh.ands 81
Western North Carolina nnd Dlfoeiins
region IN East Tennessee. The Land OF
the Sky Is not name, but dtssFp-
ton, and 10 my ears less euphonlpus
and less suggestive thun me over hiI's
Of Ottaroy' or even simply 'Vtteiay,
poetic substitute for this. IN EneAsh,
which might serve our purpose, would
be- 'Cascada' much mo. G htiy describing
this region than ne name made popular
b. Miss Elsher years aHn. We ftally ste
usually less II the sky here thart you 10
I'm tho lowlands. where often bat a belt
OF shore on woodland bars the blue from
Zenith 20 horizon, whilst nearly every
glen has IT'S succession Of ripping or rush.
ing cascades 81 our leafy over Hills.
Ouaray' about 100 simply meant
Wighlants.' but a. should not De ior-
gotten that the phonetic changes IN an
uuwrltten tongue land Cherokee Is pract.-
Caiiy that 20 this day., are greater IN
three generations than they would DO
in three centuries in English"
The Courier expresses a preference for
"Ottalay" rather than "Ottaray." ana
saws "a name like that is not 20 be lost,
and we venture 10 Soy that u VIII never
be dropped out of slfht snd nearing
again. IL Is an old name. and most
appropriate one. as explained. and y,
wlthai, a name 20 cOn1ure with. IL -
rot "a modern arcctatlon. II GOES h9s
ape foreign us8ges and expectations, ~
is Colonial aboriginal. muslSa., P2 l., ,n,
and distinctly southern. Ceftaliuy ~
thing more f. needed There. T. a rlnS
about IL that IL contagious. IL u a re-
cognitlon Of ths beauty OF me speech y.
our mountain eboriginss, ana shouli o.
adopted. The Courier also declares INA.
hereafter II viii not be Tho counties
along The North Carolina line" when re-
ferring TO the hill country OF sSush
Carolina. but the Under h,l Vs., :, c 1tsa-
lay" SO be y; so long as Norm Na4o-
Ina Is on top We acquiesee.
The Earliest Latin description.
fcorrespondence OF the London News)
IN inscrlption IN archaic Latin dis
covered In the Roman Forum on a coiotnu
close TO the tomb OF Romulus has ire
ouently been the subject OF scientific dis
cusslons az the Academia del Llncei.
which In italy corresponds 10 the lnsu-
tute OF France In Paris.
senator Gamarrini gave an address co.
dav showing that tho inscription is the
same as that on the celebrated vase OK
Formellus and that the arehaic Roman
writing was imported not from cumae.
but from Casre. place Of vast antiquity.
The early Roman civilization as well as
religious rites must therefore have oesa
brought from casre.
The column found In the Forum has
therefore modified the opinion OF archaic
oloxists as 10 the origin OF the Eternal
CITY.
The pundits OF tho Academia del lincei
- o. -~ca8 that ,ha Column dates from