The daily Alaskan., 1916-08-01
ODD PLACE NAMES
How Some of Our Cities Received
 Their AppeIIatiOnS.
CHANCE HUMOR AND SATIRE.

All Those Had Roles In the Selection
 by the Pioneers of TitIss For Their
 New Homes-Why There To 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 iD. stances received their names for req sons calculated to give a shock to the national board of geographic names
 The most grotesque accidents and colncidences, the results of games or wagers, the grim efforts of the pioneer mind to be satirical at the expense of his new home, all have operated to de. termine the name by which proud mu- nIclpalities or imposing physical fea- lures appear upon the map.
 In 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 Oth- CT 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 a bit of grim humOr. It's 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 forefathers sang to the tremor of a tuning fork The name was given by the Rev Seth Noble, who represented the district In the Maine legislature.
 Wheeling, the metropolis of West Vir- ginia, owes It's name to the Circum- stance of the Indians having displayed the head of white man on a pole at thls point. The name Is rfOG the h. dian veal ink. meaning place of hu' man head
 One of the most distinctive names on the map of Colorado Is Ouray. It has been applied to a city. a 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 own tongue.
 The city of Norwalk, Conn.,, is said to have been so named because when purchased from the Indians the north ern boundary of the land was to eS' tend northward frcm the sea one days walk. according to the Indian mark ing of the distance.
 A town in Georgia rejoices in the strikingly original but somewhat am biguOus designation of Nameless. The name was given from the fact that in q list of several hundred names sub mitted to the postofice authorities not one was found satisfactory.
 A town In Gunnison county, Colo, possesses the eloquent name of Tin Cup, given because In Its early days when a mining camp. gold was so plentiful that 1t was measured In a tin cup.
 The Calico mountain range Tn Cali. fornia was given its name from the varlegated color of It's rocks.
 The city of Jacksonville, H., was named for a prominent colOred preach CT and Is perhaps the largest communi ty in the country named for negro.
 The city of Spartanburg, S. C., was SO called from the rigorous, Spartan like self discipline practiced by the in- habitants during the Revolutionary war
 A stream in RavaIll county, Mont Is known as Weeping Child from the circumstance of an Indian child being carried off by mountain lion, causing insanity in the mother
 Antelope county. in Nebraska, was 30 named in commemoration of the Kill, ing and eating of an antelope during the pursuit of some Indians by the pioneers.
 The town of Deerfield, N. H., wes so named because. when the petition for the establishment of the town was pending. a MT. Batchelder killed a deer and upon presenting 1t to Governor Wentworth obtained the act of estab- lishment and the town name.
 Hell Gate. the narrow pass in the East river at New York, was called by the Dutch hellegat. meaning bright strait or clear opening" The name quickly suggested the present English form, which was regarded as more ap- propriate on account of the whirlpools which made navigation dangerous Cincinnati Enquirer.