Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-07-06
NOMENCLATURE
THE INDIAN GIFT.
Poetic Names The Indian Gave
Places.

Places.
The commission appointed by the
government to translate in concise,
correct English all Indian names
found in the geography of the United
States has on its hands a job of
great magnitude, as may be compre-
heoded when it is considered that
more than 6,000 names, now fixed to
various points between Maine aud
California and the Canadian line
and the Rio Grande, commemora.e
the fact that the red man once was
the sole possessor of the land. The
names of bis chiefs and of his tribes
are forever fxed in memory. Indian
traditions are perpetuated aud musi-
cal Indian words have been incorpo.
rated into our tongue, legacy of
poetry and romance even in this
practical age.
Every name the Indian gave meant
something. He left to his pale faced
brother the absurdities of prefxing
to 2,700 towns and settlements the
stale descriptive terms, east, west,
north. south; he left to the white
man the confusion of thirty three
Springfields in one union, not fifth
of which were ever built in field
or, by a spring; of Pinevilles without
a pine, Oskdsles without an oak,
Weymouths and Plymouths that are
noteat the mouth of the Wey, the
Plym, or any other river; of Mount
Vernons, twenty-five strong, many OF
them without even hill to their
credit. and of LOO New Havens,
New Yorks, Newtons and New every.
thing else, all of which have long
since ceased to be new.
Not so with the Indian. He
pitched his wigwam beside the
stream. Through the curling
waters the long, dark stones on the
rivers bed looked like offers at play
and forthwith the campaign place
received the name it bears today
Observation-Disclosures" in
the Indian tongue. Again he saw
on river bank pine tree wreathed
in flames; for hours it threw Its
torchlike glare over the landscape,
as would have beamed the glow of
some council fire fed by attendant
warriors, and Potomac that region
became, literal translation of which
is "the place of the burning pine
that resem bles council fire.. Pough-
keepsie is ga safe harbor for small
boats"; Norridgewock, the place Of
DEER; Ontario, "the village on the
mount tain; Saranac, sthe river tnat
flows under rocks" aud Saratoga,
"the place of the miraculous waters
in rock"
Schoharis is "the tributary that
throws its waters strong over and
across the main stream" the Wabash
is "a cloud blown forward by al
equinoctial wind" Monongahela i,
"the falling-in-bank river" Kappa
hammock, "the river of quick-risins
water" and Toronto, soak trees ris
ing from the lake." Such words
show wondrous skill in the art oi
word painting.
There is no commonplace in In
dian names. All Of the Indiar
terms are picturesque, because they
are alive and full of meaning t.
him. A thousand examples coult
be given. Once before the whit
mans day, caving in of rive
bank revealed the huge fossil tusl
of some prehistoric monster. A
once the river received the nam,
Chemung ("Big Horn, and genera
tions of squaws told to generation
of pappooses the traditions of tn,
big bones and white jaws that onc
had been found there.
. Sometimes it was the physica
: features that were name-reflected
Thus = Wetumka, is "tumblin,
waters;" Sandusky, the"cold spring.;
Katahdin, the "highest place;
Tioga, the "swift CURRENT" "Niag
ara" the "neck of water" and Chau
: tauqua is the ''foggy place." Some
times the Indian names reflecte,
the superstitions. This Manitou j
"spirit," Montauk is "manitou o
: spirit tree" and Minnewauko
means the "devil's lake. Sometime
his name celebrate his hunting O
fishing exploits. Macklnaw is an al
breviation of a longer word meanin
"the great turtle place." Quinsigs
$ $ mond means "the fishing place fo
:, picserel." Ammonoosus is an ey
l.