The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-07-14


TRIBE OF INDIANS, WHO Z
i GOT CLASSICAL 2s8 TILE @s4a
FROM THE DUTCH. s
Next to its uncertainty concerning
the views OF Judge Alton Parker on
i the issues of the campaign the pop-
f5ularS mind has been more worked &up
! over the meaning Of the name of the
Village that claims the Democratic
.fcandidate for the Presidency than
lauything else. The uncertainty con-
Ecernins his views has had more actual
eNistence in theory. perhaps, than In
/ fact, but Esopus was a name to con-
liiure with and although there was a
vast deal of conjurins little satisfac-
tory Information resulted 7.
AT first blush the name would seem
4 to be that of the great Greek fahu-
| HIST for Aesop, or Esop, in Greek is
Aisopos and in Latin Aesnpus. The
now common eiision OF the first vowel
| in the diphthong makes this Latin
form E;sopus, which is the name of
the Ulster county village on the OUT.
skirts of which is "Rosemont,- Judge
Parker.s home. The % in Esopus.=
incidentally is pronounced as the to'':
in go
1t is entirely probable that this Is
the derivation OF the Villages name
although it was not taken directly
from the Latin. When the Dutch
came to New York after Henrik Hud-5
son had made his famous voyage they
found the present site Of the metrop-
oils in the possession OF the Manhat-5
tan tribe of the Algonquin Indians.
The Algonquius were the most power
full division of the American aborigi-
mes at the time of the discovery and
settlement of this continent by the
white man. They comprised tribes
speaking some forty dialects and occu-.
pied the country from Hudson Bay to:
Pamlico Sound and the Cumberland
river. with the Shawnees outlying on
the south and the Cheyenne and Ara
pahoes cleaying the Sioux on the5west.
The NIanhattans were not the only
Algonquin tribe in. the neighborhood
Of New York Bands from other al.
lied tribes either lived or made their
appearance at frequent intervals In
the neighborhood For some reason
that is not now apparent the Dutch
called these Indians in the Hudson
river valley the Esopus indians, and 4
in this fact is to be found the imme-
diate origin of the villages name. The
village, it may be said, is on theSWest
shore of the railroad, about rs miles
from New York City and about 45
from Albany. It's nearest neighbor-5
hood of any size is Kingston, the
largest town between the metropolis
and the capital of the Empire State
There is every reason to suppose
that the Dutch took the name Esopus
from the Latin, for the annals of
Gotham furnish evidence enough that
those pioneers were not unIearned
men Why they chose the name is;
as has been said, a matter that may
not be settled at this late day. All
that can. be known is that it was ap-
piled to the Indians and that 1t has
been preserved as the name of the
village that is now sharing public at
tention with that other abode of em-3
inence. oyster Bay.
Abundant promise has already been
given that Esopus will live up to the
traditions of it's name during the
coming campaign. It will not make
much difference whether the name be /
considered as Of Indian origin, orr as
coming from the Latin, or even going
back to the parent Greek. There are
traditions enough and to spare con-
nected with any Of these sources.
One Of the best known. fatter1y. of
the Algonquin or EsoDus Indian
tribes is the Kickapoo This tribe.
now quartered in the Indian Territory,
has gained new fame for itself by
going into the medicine business and
rowing. bands of it's people still tour
the country Offering specifics of rare
virtue to cure whatever is wrong with
you. Even a hasty review of the ora
tory with which the name of the
pride of Esopus was put before the
ST. Louis convention is sufficient to
convince one that Judge Parker is Of
fered to the country as a sagwa mar
.velously well fitted to cure the coun-
try's ais. The greeting given the an
nouncement OF Judge Parker's name
was Of a surety such concourse Of |
Fx.Sr., ,f<aIAa g.r,fs q,