The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-11-09
NAMED BY THE INDIANS
Rivers and Towns in the United
States Bearing Their Titles.
REASON FOR EACH ONE


else, correct English all Indian
names found In the geography of the
United States has on It's hands job
Of great magnitude, as may be COM
pretended when 1t is considered
that more than 5000 names, now
fixed to various points between
Maine and California and the Cana
dian line the Rio Grande, commem
crate the fact that the red man once
was sole possessor of the land. The
names of his chiefs and of his tribes
are forever flxed in memory. Indian
traditions are perpetuated and musi-
cal Indian words have been incor
porated into our tongue, a legacy Of
poetry and romance even in this
practical age.
Every name the Indian gave
meant something, says the Washing
ton Star. He left to his palefaced
| brother the absurdities of prefixing
to 2,700 towns and settlements the
north, south; ne left to the white
man the confusion of thirty-three
| Springfields In one union, not a fifth
of which were ever built In field or
by spring; of Pinecilles without
pine, Oakdales without an oak,
Weymouths and Plymouths that are
not at the mouth of the Wey, the
Plym, or any other river; or Mount
Vernons twenty-five strong, many of
them without even a hill to their
credit, and of 1000 New Havens,
New Yorks, New-towns and New
ry-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 stone on the rivers
bed looked like offers at play, and
| forthwith the camping place re-
ceived the name 1t bears to-day
Kalamazoo "stones-like-otters" in
the Indian tongue. Again, he saw a
river bank a pine tree wreathed In
flames; for hours 1t threw it's torch
like glare over the landscape, as
would have beamed the glow of
some council fire fed by attendant
warriors, and Potomac that region
became, a, literal translation of
which is "the place of the burning
pine, that resembles council fire."
Poughkeepsie is "a safe harbor for
place of DEER; Ontario, "the village
on the mountain; Saranac. "the
river that flows under the rock"
Winona, Mimi, has beautiful le-
gend. Winona, 'first-born daugh-
ter" was the child of stern war
rior. He bade her marry one of the
notable braves of his people. She
loved another. Rather than marry
the brave, whom she hated, she
threw herself from the cliff of the
Maiden's Leap, that overlooBs the
point where the Mississippis waters
flow through Lake Pepin, and be-
meath the rivers turbulent waters
found the peace that was denied her
on earth. Another Minnesota le-
gend, that of Minnehaha recalls to
most minds Longfellow's famous
poem. He, however, took the usual
poets license in the matter, In the
real legend, Minnehaha, laughing
water did not become the bride Of
Hiawatha, but was crossed In love.
In her despair she sought the falls
of Minnehaha, after which she had
been named. Here, over precipice
sixty feet high, she took the fatal
leap.
All Indian traditions are not sor-
rowful. Quite the reverse In many
cases, as the story of the naming of
Wakarusa, Kan, will show. Once a
party of Indians on the trail were
stopped in their progress by a swol-
len and angry looking stream. Deep
water, bad bottom!" grunted the
braves, hesitating at the brink of the
river, unwilling to turn back, doubt
Ing that they could cross. At length
an indian crept UP behind his
squaw, who was seated on a small
Indian pony, and deliberately push
ed pony, squaw, and all over the
bank into the rapid, muddy current,
meanwhile looking stoically on to
see whether she would gain the OPP
posite bank in safety or drown be-
fore his eyes. The astoDished and
enraged sQuaw struck out for mid
stream, and 10! the waters had but
spread over a shallow basin and the
danger had been but apparent, not
real. Derisively the squaw rose and
scorntully shrieked at her liege lord,
who had been so willing to have
been summarily rid of her: "Waka-
rusa! Wakarusa!" (Thigh deep,
thigh deep). And Wakarusa the re-
gion has remained until this day
The Indian was born story-tel-
Ter. Every lake and river, every
rock and every plain had It's story
its incident, It's legend. The Indian
gave ever those names that recalled
these legends to his mind.