The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1916-07-20


by the Pioneers of Titles For Their
New Homes-Why There ls Not q
Great Boston on the Pacific Coast.
The thriving cities. the picturesque
streams and the rugged mountains of
the United States have in numerous In
stances received their names for rea-
sons calculated to give shock to the
national board Of geographic names.
The most grotesque accidents and
condolences, the results of games or
| wagers, the grim efforts of the pisneer
mind to be satirical at the expense of
his new home, all have operated TO de
termine the name by which proud mu
inequalities or imposing physical fea-
lures appear upon the map.
In a general study OF the origin and
significance of place names Of this
| country made by the United States
geological survey the following oddly
given names have been picked out:
The naming of the populous city of
! Portland, Ore, was decided by the
tossing of a copper coin by two set
tiers, one from Portland. Me-, the 9TH
er from Boston. The Maine man won.
else we should have had another great
Boston on the Pacific.
The city of Tombstone, Ariz.,. was
named as bit of grim humor. Its
/ finder had been advised when starting
on his prospecting tour that he would
find his tombstone. In order that
the prophecy might be fulfilled he gave
/ the name to the city he established.
/ The city of Bangor, Me-. bears the
name of an old psalm tune which our
i forefathers sang to the tremor of a
tuning fork. The name was given by
the Rey. Seth Noble. who represented
J the district in the Maine legislature.
,I Wheeling. the metropolis of West Vir-
gfnia, owes its mime to the circum-
stance of the Indians having displayed
!, the head of a white man on pole at
this point The mime is from the In
:, dian weal-ink. meaning place of hu
man head.
One of the most distinctive names on
the map of Colorado is 0uray. 1t has
T been applied to city, county and
an imposing mountain. Yet the name
means nothing more nor less than VII
lie and Is the result of the Ute Indians
attempt to translate this synonym OF
Harold and Percy into their owr
; tongue.
The city of Norwalk, Conn.,, is sait
to have been so named because wher
. purchased from the Indians the north
5 ern boundary of the land was to ex
4 tend northward from the sea one days
walk, according to the Indian mark
ing of the distance.
Al town In Georgia rejoices in thu
strikingly original but somewhat am
biguous designation of Nameless. Tn
name was given from the fact that Il
list of several hundred names sub
!. mitted to the postoffice authorities no
one was found satisfactory.
A town in Gunnison county, Colo
possesses the eloquent name of I'll
Il Cup, given because in its early days
when mining camp, gold was
plentiful that 1t was measured In
4 tin cup.
!. The Calico mountain range in Cal
: fornia was given its name from tn
variegated color of its rocks.
The city of Jacksonville, ILL.,, wa
named for prominent colored preaci
Il err and is perhaps the largest eommun
ty in the country named for negro.
. The city of Spartanburg. s. G., wa
so called from the rigorous, Spartan
I'll like self discipline praeticed by the u
: babitants during the Reyolutionar
= war
= A stream in Ravalh county, Mont
is known as Weeping Child from th
circumstance of an Indian child bein
carried off by a mountain lion. causin
: insanity In the mother.
3 Antelope county, in Nebraska, was
named In commemoration of the xii
If ing and eating of an antelope durin
ts the pursuit of some Indians by th
a. pioneers.
b. The town of Deerfield, n. H., was
Dc named because, when the petition ff
the establishment of the town wa
pending, Mr.. Batcbelder killed a de-
and upon presenting it to Goyernt
Wentworth obtained he act Of estal
lishment and the town name.
He'll Gate. the narrc* pass In =
a. East river ut New York, was called /
81 the Dutch hellegat. meaning "brigl
le strait or clear opening The nan
2 quickly suggested the present Englis
, form, which was regarded as more a
- propriate. on account of the whirlpool
which made navigation dangerous
/