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336
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AMERICAN LANGUAGE FREAKS. Origin of Peculiar Words in Daily Use
The American government was called
"Uncle Sam" because of one Samuel Wil-
son, government inspector of beef and
pork at Troy, N.Y., in 1812 had a
way of marking his barrels with his
own initials and "U.S." meaning
United States. A workman, who was
something of a wag, saw the letters
and remarked that he supposed they
stood for "Uncle Sam." The joke was
retold and retold until it became a
common saying, and the general gov-
ernment has been so nicknamed for
nearly a hundred years.
"Brother Jonathan"
More than a century ago the United
States was known to England and
other countries as "Brother Jonathan."
It was because George Washington
was greatly influenced by the opinions
of Jonathan Turnbull of Connecticut,
and had a way of saying, "Well, I
must consult Brother Jonathan." be-
fore he made decisions. The term be-
came local and then drifted to its gen-
eral use.
"Tammany"
Tammany was the angicization of
the name of wise old Tamane, an In-
dian chief who lived in Pennsylvania
and whose name had been borrowed
by continental troops when they were
casting about for an American saint
to flaunt in the face of the British
enemy, who had "St. George" on their
banners. When Pennsylvania troops
acclaimed "St. Tamanend" many other
colonials took it up, and he appeared
later in all American almanacts in the
form of his canonization. A day was
even set apart as "Indian Saint's
day." He was recognized in half jest
as the "tutelar saint of the American
colonies." The Virginia Gazette of
May 3, 1773 contains an account of
a celebration in honor of the fine old
chief, who afterward lent his name
to the political club that now immor-
talizes him.
"Skedaddle"
"Skedaddle" was bequeathed to the
American vocabulary by a war corre-
spondent from the London Times, who
came over to report the battle of Bull
Run. He watched the very hurried and
undignified manner in which the union
soldiers left the field and applied to
this rout the term skedaddle. It was
a catchy kind of word and tho its
origin is traced to a dignified position
in the old Irish Bible, it retains the
popularity given it in its new meaning.
An offshoot of this word is the now
popular "skidoo."
"Twenty-Three"
The use of "twenty-three," indicat-
ing the end of anything, came from
the works of Charles Dickens. In "The
Tale of Two Cities," the hero takes
the place of another man condemned
to die under the knife of the guillo-
tine. About the place sit terrible
women, knitting a record of the num-
ber of lives sacrificed to the sharp
blade. As Sydney Carton's head rolls
from the knife to the basket the women
knit "twenty-three." Mr. Dickens makes
a paragraph of that word with dra-
matic effect.
When the story of the book was
staged under the title "The Only
Way," the actors took up the use of
"twenty-tree" to indicate that the
story was done that the play was over,
that it was the end of things. The
stage hands took it up and after
awhile it was common property. Like
many other bits of slang it was in
general use in the West for a year
before Manhattan adopted it. Those
who desire further information should
read the last chapter of "The Tale of
Two Cities."
"Gerrymander"
Eldridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, re-
districted the state to his own ad-
vantage in 1811, and when some one
lookt at the new district and re-
marked that it lookt for all the world
like a salamander, some one else re-
plied: "Better say a Gerry-mander."
And so the name was born and has
been kept to represent all such po-
litical redistricting.
"Bogus"
Borghese, a corrupt man of the West
in early days of history had such a
fashion of framing ficticious checks,
notes and bills of exchange, playing
on the creduilty of traders that any-
thing in the line of forged paper be-
came to the Westerner "borghese" or
bogus, and so the name has remained.
David Bowie, of early pioneer fame,
invented a broad-bladed, sharp-pointed
knife which has since borne his name.
"Buncome"
Buncome county, North Carolina, has
lent its name to the country's vocabu-
lary and is a synonym of hypocritical
enthusiasm, not because that is a
characteristic of the people of that re-
gion but because many years ago a
member of congress from Buncome
county persisted in making a speech
when the general exodus of members
showed they didn't want to hearit.
When it was intimated that he might
as well stop, he replied: "Never mind,
I'm talking to Buncome." The word
in its new sense was first applied to
the speeches that twere made in con-
gress for the express purpose of being
sent home to the admiring constitu-
ents and later received its present ap-
plication.
"Barbeque"
Barbeque, a method of preparing
meat that has lent is name to all-day
picnics in the South, is said to be from
the French barbe-a-queue, "from snout
to tail." Others say that America bor-
rowed the name from the Indians of
Guiana who grilled their meats on
a wooden frame called berbekot. The
Southerners are willing to accept
either origin of the word so long as
the art of preparing meat in this man-
ner is not forgotten.
"O. K."
Another purely American term is
"O. K." It was derived from the words
Aux Cayes, from which place the best
tobacco and rum were brought over
a century ago. The pronunciation was
O K and brevity-loving America im-
mediately took the letters as a means
of indorsing other things that were
as satisfactory as the tbacco and rum
from Aux Cates. Enemies of Andrew
Jackson have tried to prove that the
magical letters were nothing more
than the initialls of "Oll Korrect," the
alleged fashion of the general's spell-
ing. This theory has been disproved.
"Polly"
The name "Polly" for parrot was
brought from New Orleans by early
flatboat men wh went from the Cum-
berland and Ohio countries down the
Mississippi to sell their produce. They
saw these tropical birds swinging
in front of Louisiana homes and heard
the owners call to the birds, "Parle,
parle." When the travelers returned
home and told of the strange birds
they called them "Pollies"
"Schooner"
The word "schooner," as applied to
a sailing vessel came from New Eng-
land, where it was coined by a Glouces-
ter boatman in 1713. A new vessel
was launched and one of the work-
men cried out in great admiration"
"See how she scoons," meaning smim-
ming along. The owner grasped the
word and called the boat a "scooner,"
or "schooner," as it is now spelled.
"From the Spanish"
The Spaniards gave many words to
the vocabularies of settlers in the
Southwest. The first gold discovery in
California was called a bonanza, from
the Spanish word meaning good luck.
Bronco is Spanish-American for a
mustang, but bronco busting is purely
American in its origin and application.
Cayuse is also Spanish as is calaboose,
a provincialism for the town lockup.
Chaparral, the only vegetation on the
long stretches of desert region in the
West gets its name from the same land
that gave peublo, sombrero and the lariat
to this language. Guerrilla is also of
Spanish origin.
"Pone"
The black mammy of the South will
bake you a corn dodger at your re-
quest and know you are Southern
born. The impression will be the same
if you ask for pone. The latter word
is of pure Indian manufacture, coming
direct from the village of Powhatan
himself, who called it "pohn" when
speaking to the men of Capt. Smith's
party.
"Mugwump"
Mugwump is another Indian word
which has been removed from its
primitive dignity. It meant a chief
among the old Algongquins. Elliot used
it in his Indian Boble as a synonym
for centurion or captain. Political par-
ties borrowed it in 1872 as a term of
derision for Republicans who had de-
serted to vindicate certain principles.--
New York Sun
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[remaining clippings, left to right]
JANUARY 11, 1907
---
Life Frog in Lump of Coal
CUMBERLAND, Md.--John Savage, a
miner in the Enterprise mine, breaking a
lump of coal saw a live frog jump out
and hop around, says the New York
World. The hole in which the frog was
confined was not large enough to permit
any exercise. It is supposed that cen-
turies ago it dug itself a hole in the
ground and went to sleep. This is not
the first time live frogs have been dug
out of the ground far below the surface,
but it has never been satisfactorily ex-
plained how life is sustained under such
conditions. The frog measured six and
one-half inches, and lived for some time
after discovery.
---
HOW THE SAFE WAS SAVED
Professor Tells How to Undo the
Work of Safe-Crackers
BOZEMAN--A letter received by
Prof. V. K. Chesnut, chemist at the ag-
ricultural college, from Senator J. B.
Annin of Columbia, Mont., has a bit
of rather curious history in it. A few
weeks ago Mr. Annin's safe at Colum-
bus was visited by some safe-crackers.
They tried one charge of nitroglycerin
on the safe and failed to blow it open.
They had put in another and much
heavier charge when they were
frightened away, leaving it undis-
charged. The problem then was to
open the safe without an explosion
that might destroy the safe and its
contents and injure the experimenters.
Mr. Annin called Prof. Chesnut up
by telephone and asked for directions.
He was told to pour in an abundant
supply of ether, which would dissolve
the nitroglycerin and render it nonex-
plosive. The letter from Mr. Annin
said that the plan had proved entirely
successful and that when opened the
safe showed that so heavy a charge had
been put in that had it not been for the
use of the ether, a serious accident
must have resulted from any attempt
to open the safe. --Anaconda Standard
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RIGHT PAGE
To Stop a Leak in a Cask 337
Mix 60 parts of Lard, 40 of Salt, 33 of
White wax and 40 of Sifted Wood Ashes,
and spread the Mixture on the Seams while
it is hot. It stops it at once. Another
Receipt is to Melt a stick of Sluphur on an
open fire and add a little Wax. Pour it
in the seams while hot or apply with Brush.
Scientific American June 29 1907
Sept 1907 A paste to stick to Tin plate
2 parts powdered Tragacanth with 16 parts
of Boiling Water with vigorous stirring all
the time and let it settle or Else use
starch paste and glycerine. June 29 1907
THE DERRINGER
THE BOWIE KNIFE
Two of the most deadly weapons ever
invented are the Deringer and the Bowie
knife. Once they were the most popular
arms in the Southern States and from
1840 to 1865 the Deringer was a part of
every Southern gentleman's personal
equipment. Usually he had a pair of
them and they were called "bone break-
ers." They were intended for close quar-
ters and at twenty paces their bullets
would smash an arm or leg to splinters.
Hardly more than three inches in the
barrel, and carrying about sixty bullets
to the pound, by reason of the peculiarity
in the manner of boring and the arrange-
ment of the powder chamber, no other
small pistol ever drove a ball with such
terrible power and deadly effect.
The wonderful little Deringer became
world renowned. in every section of the
continent and every country of Europe
the Deringer became a household symbol
of safety, which has given the name a
place in history. It has been the un-
erring arbiter in duels and encounters,
the most pitiless harbinger of revenge
and hate, the most unfaltering ally of
justice or of crime the world has ever
seen. It was a bullet from one of these
deadly weapons that crashed through the
brain of President Lincoln and plunged
a nation into grief. Booth selected the
Deringer as the surest messenger of
death, and after he had fixed the fatal
shot the pistol was dropped to the floor
in the box of the theater. It was used
against the conspirators as evidence and
is now in the possession of the war de-
partment.
Wherever the Deringer has been the
messenger of fate to man records bear
witness to the irresistible power which
lurks in these light and delicate servants
of purple death. Just behind the line
which separates the District of Columbia
from Maryland, near the town of Bla-
densburg, is a secluded spot, embowened
with trees and known as "Blood Run,"
which has witnessed many tragic scenes
in which the Deringer has figured.
About 1830 there lived in Philadelphia
a gunsmith named Deringer who was
noted for the exquisite fineness of his
work on firearms and its general excel-
lence, especially in pistols. The flintlock
was then used, and to insure its not
missing fire the lock work had to be done
with a great deal of care. In 1837 the
contract was let by the government for
the pistols with which to arm the First
regiment of Dragoons, just created by
act of congress. Two thousand holster
pistols, carrying thirty bullets to the
pound were wanted. Deringer got the
contract and also a contract for thirty-
six pair of officers' pistols of a finer
quality. From that time until 1860 he
was the first small arms maker in the
United States in the matter of pistols.
Gen. John Magruder, a famous officer of
the artillery in the old army and a Con-
federate major-general, owned the finest
and most elaborate pair of pistols that
Deringer ever turned out. They had
two sets of barrels fitted to each stock.
One set was four inches and the other six
inches in length. Each carried sixty bul-
lets to the pound. The pistols were gold-
mounted with beautiful inlaid work,
wherever it could be placed, in siler and
gold. The locks were made by Brazier
the foremost maker of gunlocks in Eng-
land and they cost $60 alone. Capt. Ma-
gruder said that these Deringers had
saved his life three times. With them
he could cut the spots out of the four of
spades at twelve paces. The cost of these
pistols could not have been less than $375.
They were presented to the captain when
he went to Mexico to take command of
his battery of the First artillery.
Another costly pair of Deringers was
presented to Gen. Beaurigard late in 1860
by a creole gentleman of New Orleans.
They were equally as pretty as those of
Capt. Magruder. In those days these
pistols--now known as the Deringer--were
not sold singly but only in pairs and the
cost of the cheapest make was $40. Imi-
tations, made abroad, could be secured
for as low as $8 but they could in no
way compare with the genuine Deringer.
The fame of the Bowie knife is as wide
as was that of the old-time 22-inch Roman
sword.
Two states--Tennessee and Maryland--
claim the birthplace of the inventor, John
Bowie, and the question has never been
quite settled. But he gave the name to a
weapon as deadly as any that has ever
been forged from steel.
When Louisiana became a state the old
Spanish and French records created a
great deal of trouble. It frequently hap-
pened that a planter who had taken up
a large tract of land and fairly opened it
out as a plantation would learn that it
was claimed by some one under an old
colonial grant. James Bowie was a very
frequent claimant under these old laws.
Several capitalists of the time had sent
him to Havana where the old papers of
the Spanish colony of Louisiana were
kept, and caused careful transcripts of
these to be made. They appointed him
as their agent to put them into poses-
sion of these properties. In those early
days it did not take much provocation to
bring on "a personal encounter," as a
fight to the death was euphoniously en-
titled. A man who had been to the trou-
ble of opening up an estate only to find
it claimed by a lot of people he did not
know, was generally ready to fight for
it, whether a fight would settle the ques-
tion or not.
The consequence of this state of things
was that James Bowie and his two broth-
ers, Stephen and Rezin Bowie had on
hand almost constantly some sort of dif-
ficulty that had to be fought out with
deadly weapons. This was before the
days when the percussion cap was in
general use, and the smaller pistols of
the period were flintlocks, inconvenient
to carry and not very reliable. So the
knife had to be used when one wanted a
really trusty weapon. James Bowie
worked out with a pocket knife and
shingle his idea of a weapon that would
be about the proper thing for the busi-
ness he had in hand, and it was made by
the local blackmith at Shrevesport, La.
About 1830 however, Bowie heard of a
New Orleans cutler, a Spaniard named
Pedro, who was making knives of a won-
derful kind and temper. They could be
driven through a silver dollar without
damage to the point or edge. This artist
made Bowie a knife which was a marvel
of beauty and temper. The blade was
nine inches long. The handle measured
six inches. This weapon was used by
Bowie in nineteen encounters, and it was
the one found in his stiffening hand when
with six dead Mexicans about him, show-
ing the evidence of his fatal skill, he was
found dead at the Alamo.
Bowie's method of using the knife was
one peculiar to himself. He did not hold
it in his hand with the point downward,
but grasped the handle as a swordsman
would grasp the hilt of his sword. He
always struck at the neck of his man.
In the most famous of his battles, the
one fought on Natchez Island in the
Mississippi river, he killed two men with
his knife. In this fight there were seven
men engaged. One of them was James
Madison Wells, known throughout the
country as president of the Louisiana re-
turning board of 1876-77. Bowie was very
dangerously wounded, but managed to
recover.
Bowie weighed only 140 pounds when at
his prime. He was a quiet, soft-voiced
man who never drank nor dissipated in
any way. He possessed enormous physi-
cal strength for his ize and was as
quick and lithe as a wildcat and as game.
Bowie was the terror of all the "hard
causes" from Louisville to New Orleans.--
San Francisco Chronicle.
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QUEER MONEY
"Tobacco used to be the money of Vir-
ginia," said the antiquary. "A wife cost
150 pounds of tobacco--you know they
imported their wives into the colony from
England--though it was possibly to secure
a withered and thin wife for as little as
100 pounds.
"Whales' teeth are still used in the re-
moter Figis as money, and nails were once
the money of Scotland, as dried cod was
Newfoundland's money.
"In Angola, when a young sppoort goes out
to make a night of it, instead of stuffing
his pockets with silver and gold, he slings
on his back a big bundle of rice straw
mats of assorted sizes. They are the
Angolan currency. A beer costs one small
mt, a whisky two, a Welsh rare-bit
twenty-five and so on.
"Salt passes for money in Abyssinia,
beeswax in Sumatra, tea in Tartary and
iron hoes in Madagascar."
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