The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-05-09
Sentiment in American Names.

IEtEG Is 1000 Tor IeueCllON, EOI the
philosophical observer, in a map Of the
United States. especially one Of those
detailed affairs which give the names
Of all the little towns and villages.
There is certain fascination to the
phiIologist in man Of any Iong-set-
tied country, because Of TIE history Of
the region which is tied up in the names
Of cities. towns, mountains, and rivers
But to understand a map OF France or
Of England one must have studied both
phiIology and history more than lit
tie. while the map Of the United states
Is . sort of epitoTne of the American
character, II there is such thing, and
one need not be a saVant to get at its
inner meaning.
It Is easy to sac, for example. which
parts Of the country were settled by
the French. which by the Dutch, which
by the Spanish, and which by men Of
British extraction The names tell the
story Moreover. it IS possible to dis
cover in this way. even without know
ing the history Of the country. what
some of the leading historical move
meats have been. But there IS one thing
which is seldom to be found in the
names on an American map, and that
IS sentiment. If there is any of that
quality TO be observed, il is in the
names which are taken from some other
language. The Spanish settler might
call his village santa Maria de los
Angeles or "Gracias a Dios. but the
prosaic American abbreViates the name
to Los Angeles or Gracious The
Dutchman might call his little village
Sleepy Hollow" but If the American
does anything Of the kind il is because
ne has read Irving and wants to seem
literary. It is a curious thing. this mat
ter Of names.
In r few cases-not naany-the origi-
nal Indian names of places have been
retained. but this has almost invariably
been true only in places which attained
Importance suddenly after the Indian
name became fixed upon them in their
iusignifcance- When place has started
in life as q trading post or factory
village it has almost always taken the
name of the man who was its chief
character. CT the place from which most
Of the first settlers came The cOIonists
did not want TO name their new home
after the Indians. Indians were too apt
to be ASSOCIATED in their minds with
scalpfng knives and war paint
Here end there, also. IS a place in
which the inhabitants, with q pathetic
aspiration after literary culture, have
borrowed an appeHation from historic
in the Far West which. starting in their
career with such cheerful nicknames
as Bloody Gulch. Yuba Dam, or One
Eye, have reached affuence and cUI-
ture, and striven 10 get themselves
christened Athens, Camel9t, Magnolia
Vale Gn spite Of the fact that not one
person in ten among the townsfOIk
knew what a magnolia was), OF andre
mache Notwithstanding the tendency
existing in the minds Of the inhabitants
to confound the name Of the Grecian
rnatron with that Of the dromedary).
But whatever Of borrowed poetry, or
myth, or legend, there may be about
the names Of American towns, there
IS very little Of the native article Big
Creek Gap may have q ghost or two
hanging about it. in whose reality the
natives most firmly believe, but it IS
not named after that spirit, nor does
the Big Greek acquire the name Of the
Haunted water. There may be d Low
ers' Leap somewhere on the banks Of
the river at Boggs Junction, but it is
not called that because any lovers ever
did go into eternity together by that
road; only because some lovers did that
somewhere, IN the Old World, and il
occurred 10 Economically inclined
townspeopIe TO call this place by a sus-
gestive name. \ recent descriptive
writer speaks of q MINDLESS Road
in the mountains Of his acquaintance,
but it is safe 10 say that that road is
not so named because it IS MINDLESS.
secluded, POLITICALLY sweet and still:
but because il winds about the noun
tain as rope around windIass-pro-
n0Unced ''windIess'' ia rural America
The nearest approach 10 real sentiment
in this country. 50 far as the naming
Of towns IS concerned, Is perhaps 10 be
found in some Southern States, where
one finds little hamIets bearing the
name "LuIie," "Eugenia." or '.Aggie."
There is no doubt that sentiment, Of
sort, inspired those christenings. but
somehow it does not sound romantic
The truth probably is that the Amer
lean is shy OF procIaiming to the world
his deepest sentiments and supersti-
tions, if he has any He prefers to
take himself either as a joke or as a
-
a town 10 name, he calls it Smith