LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HOLUNGER pH8J MILL RUN FS-IJ'O P 4Q9 .B81 Copy 1 SOME OLD FRENCH PLACE NAMES LN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS* The southern part of the state of Arkansas was early explored and settled by French traders and trappers. The history of these first settlers is mostly lost already, for they were frontiersmen, who left but lew documents or other records by which their history can be traced. The French names given by them to streams and camping grounds have clung to some of the places, while in other instances these names have been so modified and Angli- cized as to be almost, if not quite, beyond recognition. It is worthy of note that the French names are confined chiefly to the southern and eastern parts of the state, and to the valley of the Ar- kansas. I have no doubt that this is owing to the fact that trappers and traders were the first white men to enter the state in considera- ble numbers, and that they traveled chiefly along the navigable streams. They did not enter the Ozark-Mountains region because there are no navigable streams entering the Arkansas river from that direction, while the Upper White river is swift, and, in places, dif- ficult of navigation. During the progress of the Geological Sur- vey of the state, I have had occasion to use these place names on my maps, and I have been puzzled to know how to spell some of them, and have thus been interested in learn- ing their origin. I have here brought together several of them, witli such e.xplanations of their origins as are suggested Iiy the words them- selves, or by some circumstance connected with the localities. In many instances I have been unable to find what seems to be a rational e.x- planation of the origin of the words. Con- cerning a certain number of them, I am able to give the opinion of Judge U. M. Rose, of Little Rock, and I have inserted his name in parentheses after the explanations for which he is responsible. Judge Rose remarks, how- ever, that he considers some of his suggestions " exceedingly risky." Indeed but few of the explanations offered in the present paper are to be accepted without question. It is to be * Deprinted from Mod. Lang. Notes, vol. xiv, Feb., 1899. hoped that the Arkansas Historical Society will try to trace these words to their sources while yet there is some possibility of its being done : If, for example, Hforo is from 3foreau, why was it called Moureanf Such a history cannot be deciphered by an inspection of the word alone. Some of our most valuable records of these old names are to be found in Dunbar and Hunter's Obsei-vaiiofis, written in 1S05, during a trip up the Washita to Hot Springs.' Un- fortunately it contains many typographic errors. Nuttall, the botanist, who traveled in Ar- kansas Territory in 1819, makes mention of some of these place names, and as he was on the ground before the French origins of the words were entirely lost sight of, his spellings of them are of interest.^ I have looked up the spelling of most of these names on the lithographed copies of the original land-plats of the first official surveys of the state. The references given in the present paper under the head of "plats" are to the lithographs, not to the original sheets themselves. The field notes of the surveyors who did this work are preserved in the office of the Land Commissioner at Little Rock. It would be of interest to find how the names are spelled in those notes, fur while it is not to be supposed that the names were all [>rnnexl^L_ written down in them, changes are liable to have been made in putting those memoranda upon the original plats, and others may have been made when they were lithographed. It is a remarkable fact that some of the names now in use have originated, not by any process of philological evolution, butsimply in clerical errors in copying them. Bodcaw seems to be a good illustration of a name of this kind. No doubt some of the difficulty in tracing I Mi^ssage from the President of the United States com- mutttcating discoveries made in exploring the Jlfissouri^ Red River, and Washita, by Captains Leiuis and Clark, Doctor SibUyandMr, Dunbar, Washington, 1806. 1 a. A yournal 0/ Travels into the Arkansas Territory during the Year jSjq. By Thomas Nuttall, Philadelphia, 1821. b. Observations on the Geological Structure 0/ the Valley 0/ the Mississippi . yournal 0/ the Acad. Nat, Sci., vol. 11, pp. 14-52. Philadelphia, 1820. n'l^ tliese names is due to the fact that travelers in new and unsettled countries often name places from trivial events, or for persons, rather than from some local feature or characteristic. Certain habits regarding the names have been pretty firmly fixed upon the state by these French settlers. For example, streams having several large branches, generally known in the northern part of the state as "forks" (as Bufl'alo Fork and North Fork of the White River), in the southern part of the state are often called "fourche," as Fourche il Loup, Fourche k Caddo. We even find the ".South Fork of Fourche La Fave." In some instances the original French names have been preserved intact, as in the case of the Vache Grasse, Petit Jean, Bayou de Roche, Fourche a Loup, 3 Terre Rouge, etc.; in others, one may occasionally see sometimes the French form, and sometimes the Anglicized word, as in the case of the Terre noiror Turn- wall. It is n(Jt to be supposed that in the substitu- tion of an English word, or of an English- sounding word, for a French one, the changes are necessarily, or even likely to be, of a kind that would take place among a people using a patois or some provincial form of French, but they are often nothing more nor less than a complete abandonment of tlie French word Tor an English word that it seems to resemble, or that strikes the fancy. Although this region was first explored by the Spaniards, they seem to have left but few Spanish names. In looking over a list of the place-names of a state as new as Arkansas, one must of course be on his guard against names of foreign origin but recently bestowed, such as /}oii Air, Belnwut, Barcelona, La Bflle, etc. The words given in the list are far from being the only ones of French origin in the state. In the following alphabetic list the name, as now used, is given first, then the word from which it is derived. Some words are put down without any suggestion as to their origin or meaning. They are possibly of French origin, but I am tmable to make any satisfactory suggestion as to their derivation. 3 Dunbar and Hunter in their Observations (p. i66) call this stream " Fourche \ Luke." Antoine.— L. Page du Pratz mentions in his J/is/oire cie ia Loiiisiane, Vol. i, p. 303, a silver mine in the country of the " Cado- daquioux " or Caddos, located " by a Por- tuguese named Antoine." Stream in Pike and Clark counties, and town in Pike Co. Arkansas.— Father Marquette, who visited this region in 1673, spelled the word Akansea on his map, but in the text it is spelled Akainsca and AkeiiseaA In both instances it is the name of a village. Father Membr^, who was one of La Salle's party on his voyage down the Mis- sissipiM in 16S1, speaks of a tribe or nation of Indians called Aknr/sa.i It was spelled Akansa by Tonty in 16S2.6 Father Anastasius Douay wlio was with La Salle at the time of his death in this region in 1687, mentions "the famous river of the Achansa, who here form several villages" (p. 219); elsewhere he calls the people and the stream Akansa (p]i. 220-1- 2-3; 226). Joutel, the companion of La Salle, spelled it Accancea's in 16S7.7 He nays tliere was a nation of Indians of this name, and on the map accompanying his account the river is called "Riviere des Acanssas." Dr. Elliott Cones says :8 "the name Akansa adopted in some form by the French, is what the Kw.ipas were called by the Illinois Indians, and the origin of our Arkans.is or Arkansaw. The form Ac.inza is lound on Vaugondy's map, Joulel, cited above, used the name a cen- tury earlier. Du Pratz says (p. 125) "The 4 Discovery and Exploration of the liHssissippi Valley; with the original narratives of Marquette, Allouez, etc. liy John G. Shea. New York, 1852, pp. 46. 50, 254, and 257. 'l"his work contains a " facsimile of the autograph map of the Mississippi or Con- ception River, drawn by Father Marquette at the time of his voyage. From the original preserved at St. Mary's College, Montreal." 5 Op, cit.. pp. 168, 170, 172. 6 Relation o/' Henri de Tonty Concerning the Explorations 0/ La Salle/roin j6jS to ibSj, I'ranslated by M.B.Ander- son Chicago, The Caxton Club, 1898, pp. 73, 77, 95, 105, 106. 7 A yournal o/the Last Voyage Per/ortneii by Monsr. de la Sale to the Gulph 0/ Mexico. By Monsieur joutel .... and translated from the edition just published at Paris, I^ondon, 1817. Reprinted by the Caxton Club, Chicago, 1896, pp. '55, '58, 159, 162. 8 Pike's Expedition. New ed. by Elliott Coues, N. Y. 1895. Vol. ii,p. 559, foot-note. 1 river of the Arkansas is so denomi- nated from the Indians of that name." (See also pp. 60 and 318-319.) " There are a few villages of the Quaw- pavvs, or Arkansaws and Chocktavvs, situ- ated on the south side of the Arkansa river below the high lands " (/^o?;^'.f Ex- pedition, vol. ii, p. 347). In 1811 Brackenridge spoke of these In- dians and spelled the word as it is now spelled (p. 83). Sibley9 spelled it Arkansa in 1805, and Niittall spelled it so in 1819. It is fre(]iiently assumed tliat the words Arlcansas and Kansas are genetically related. This is erroneous. The word Kansas is also of Indian origin, and it was also the name of a tribe, and in old publi- cations is variously spelled. On Mar- quette's map made in 1673, it is spelled Kavsa. Le Page Du Pratz, who lived in old Louisiana territory from 1718 to 1735, makes frequent mention of the Canzas In- dians and of Canzas river.'o On his map this name is Cansez. Pike makes frequent mention of both the river and the Indians, and calls them both Kans and Kansas. In one place he says : " The Kans are a small nation situ- ated on the river of that name."" In Long^s Expedition'^^ tlie Konzas nation and river are spoken of, and it is staled that these Indians lived upon the river of that name (Vol. ii, p. 348). In one place the author speaks of " the Kon- , zas or Konzays, as it is iironounced by the Indians." (Vol. ii, p. 354.) In a foot-note to the new edition of g Hiitoricai Shetcht's 0/ the Several htdian Tribes in Louisiatt I. By John Sibley. P.irt of UTesstt^e from tiie Presiiient . . . Discoveries ity Lewis and Clark, Doctor Sibley and Mr. Dunbar. Washington, 1S06. pp. 66-86. 10 The History of Louisiana. Translated from the French of M. Le Page Dn Pratz, Newed., London, 1774. The first edition of this work was the Histoire de la Louisana, Paris, 1758. 11 An Account 0/ Expeditions to tlie Sources of the Jl/is- sissipfii and Through the Western Parts 0/ Louisana . . in the Year iS07. By Major Z. M . Pike. Philadelphia, 1810. Appendix to Part ii, p. 17. See also pp. 107, 108, 116, 123, '37, 'S^' ^4°, '19, '5^' *"'• 12 An .Account 0/ an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains Performed in the Years iSlQ and' 20, by Order 0/ the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Sec*y of War ; under the command of Major Stephen H. Long. . . . Compiled by Edwin James. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1823. Vol. i, chaps. vi and vii; Vo! . ii. 245, 346, 348, 354. Lewis and Clark, VoL i, pp. 32-33, Dr. Coues says the early French forms of the word were Quans, Cans, Kances and Kansez. It is, therefore, evident that the words Kansas and Arkansas are not re- lated in origin, and that the -kansas part of the Arkansas was not pronounced like the name of the state of Kansas. The spelling by Marquette in 1673; by Menibr6 in 1681 (Akansa) ; by Douay in 16S7 ; by Joutel in 1687 (Accancea's and Acanssas). and the subsequent spelling by Sibley, Dunbar and Hunter, Pike, and Nuttall, (Arkansa), show as plainly as can be expected that the pronimciation now in vogue in the state is the one originally used. Barkaque. — Featherstonhaugh,i3 who travel- led in tlie state in 1834-5, has much about M. Barraque, who then lived on the Arkan- sas River near Pine Bluff. Township in Jefferson county. Ba vou. — This word is in common use in Louis- iana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. It is thus defined by Du Pratz :i4 " Bayouc, a stream of dead water, with little or no observable current." The same has been e.xtended in many cases to swift mountain streams in spite of the protests of the people; for example, Polk Bayou at Batesville. The word is a corrupton of the French ^c/yitur-ar- gut, and by extension, a long narrow pas- sage. Sibley, and Dunbar and Hunter write it " bayau." Bartholomew. — Bartholom^ was the name of a Frenchman who lived near Pine Bluff in 1S19 (Nuttall). This name, however, was already in use in 1804, when Dunbar and Hunter ascended the Ouachita. (See tlieir Obsen'ations, p. 126.) Bayou in Lin- coln, Drew, and Ashley counties. Belle Point. — " The site of Fort Smith was selected by INIajor Long in the fall of 1817, and called Belle Point in allusion to its peculiar beauty. "'S Nuttall calls it by this name. Bodcaw. — The original land map (1S24) has it 13 Excursion Through the Slave States. New York, 1844, pp. 131, 133. 14 The History of Louisiana. Translated from the French of M. Le Page Du Pratz. New ed., London, 1774, page 20. 15 Long^s Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mount.xins, Vol. ii, p. 260. \ spelled Bodcau. This, and the fact that this stream is called Badeati in Louisiana, lead me to believe that Bodcau' comes from Bodcau, which is from Badeau by a clerical error; mistaking the a of ^ua'^«« for an o and the e for a c, thus turned Badeau into Bodcau, and later it was spelled as we now have it — Bodcaw. One difficulty with this theory is that the lake into which the Badeau flows in Louisiana is called the Bodcau. Another one is that as long ago as 1805 Dr. John Sibley said this stream was called Badkah by the In- dians. Dunbar and Hunter, p. 103. Stream and township in Lafayette county. BoDocK. — Bois d'arc (the Osage orange). This is the name of several small streams in the southwestern part of the state, but these stream-names are always, so far as I know, derived from the " bodock " or bois d'arc wood. BouFF. — Breuf (beef). Dunbar and Hunter call it " Bayau aux Bceufs " (p. 124), and the old land plat of 19 S. 3 VV. has it " Bayou Boeuff,'' 1839- Stream in Chicot county. Caddo. — Judge Rose tells me that he has seen an old French manuscript that refers to a tribe of Indians living in Northern Louis- iana and .Southern Arkansas called les Caddaux. The date of the manuscript is not mentioned. This word seems to be of Indian origin. Father Anastasius Douay, who accompanied La Salle in his attempt to ascend the Mississippi in 16S7, mentions the Cadodacchos,i6 a tribe of Indians in this part of the country. In Joutel's journal of La Salle's last voyage, mention is made'7 of a village called Cadodaquio in what is now Te.xas or Louisiana. The map in Page du Pratz shows, north of the Red River, "the country of the Quadodaqui- ous." In the te.xt he calls the "Cadoda- ciuioux " (p. 318) " a great nation." Dun- bar and Hunter speak of these people as " Cadadoquis, or Cadau.\ as the French pronounce the word" (p. 136), while Sibley 16 Discovery and Exploration of the a'^Hss, Valley tt\.Q. Ey J. G. Shea. Pp. 217,221. 17 A Journal of tlie Latest Voyage Perform' d by Monsr. de la Sale. By Monsieur Joutel. London, 1714. Reprint Chicago. 1896, pages 140, 142. calls them Caddos and Caddoquies (Dun- bar and Hunter, p. 105). Pike's map of Louisiana has this word both " Cadaux " and "Caddo;" and he represents a trail "from Caddos to Arkansaw," showing that these Indians lived southwest of Red River. Brackenridge speaks>8 in one place of the " Cado nation," and in another of the "Caddoquis" Indians, who lived thirty- five miles west of Red River and "one hundred and twenty miles by land above Natchitoches." Cadron. — Pike calls it "Quatran;" Nuttall says the French hunters called it "Quad- rant." Mr. Rose thinks it may come from cadran, a sun dial. Stream, old village and township in Faulkner county. Champagnolle. — Possibly the name or nick- name of a person, derived from Cham- pagne. On the old land plates it is spelled " Champagnole " (1818-45). The name was in use in 1805 (Dunbar and Hunter, p. 133). Stream and landing in Calhoun county. Canadian. — Canada (.Spanish). '9 Diminutive form of cation, a steep-sided gorge. A stream in Clark county. Chicot. — Chicot, a stump. Name of a county on the Mississippi River. Q,Ki,H. — Cache. Brackenridge {Op. cit., loi) calls this stream Eait.v cachi'{i). Stream and village in Greene county. CoRNiK, or CORNV. — (?) Streams in Union county. Cossatot. — Casse t^te. The stream runs through a very rough country, and the name may have been suggested by the topogra- phy along its course. The word cassetHr, however, was the French for "tomahawk," and the name may have been given the stream, just as a stream in Searcy county is now known as Tomahawk creek. River in Sevier county. D.\RDANELLE. — Nuttall says (p. 126) this place was conniionly called "Derdanai" by botli the French and Americans. I do not know whether the name was imported from Eu- iS Vieivs of Louisiana: Together "with a Journal of a Voyage up the Missouri River ill tStr. By H. M, Bracken- ridge. Pittsburgh, 1814, pp. 63 and 8q. 19 The Expedition of Z. M. Pike. By Elliott Coues, New York, 1S95. Vol. ii, p. 558, foot-note. / rope, or, as is said of the European name, was derived directly from dort d'uu ocille- A rocky point projects into the river at this place making the navigation a little dan- gerous. In Long's expedition it is usually given as Dardenai, but in one case it is called "Dardenai Eye" (Vol. ii, 28S). Name of a town on the Arkansas River. Darvsaw, Darisaw, and Dairvsaw. — Des riiisseaux (streamlets). Mr. Rose tells me that one of the early settlers at Pine Bluff was named Des Ruisseau.x. Township and village in Grant county. Decipkr.— (?) The land plat of 9 S 19 W. (1S19) has it " Decepier; " that of 8 S. 19 W. has it "Deciper." Streams in Clark county. De Gray. — De gris (sandstone). The stream of this name is noted for the soft, easily cut, sandstone along its course. This rock was formerly much used for chimneys and foundations. The original land plat, sur- veyed in 1819, calls it " Bayou Degraff," however, and it may be that it comes from a personal name, and that the sandstone has nothing to do with the case. Stream in Clark county. Des Arc. — Des nrcs. See explanation of "O- zark." Stream and town in Prairie county. De Iaiter. — This is Saluter on tlie original land plat (1838-1844) ; possibly from Sa/u- tnire. In Long's Expedition (\\, 2,01) sovne of the tributaries of the Washita are spoken of as the "Saluder, Derbane," etc. Sa- luda is a rather common name in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. Or was it originally Bayou de loiitre; that is, otter creek ? Bayou in Union county. Devoe and Deview. — IJe vcaii. On the old land plat this name is spelled both "De- view" and "Devue." Stream in Craig- head, Ponisett, and Woodruff counties. DoRCHEAT. — In Long's Expedition to the Rocky 3foimtains (ii, 307) mention is made of "Bayou Dache " which enters Lake Bistineau in Louisiana. In Dunbar and Hunter's Observations (ii, 102), Doctor Sibley mentions Bayau Paicet. There is nothing said that suggests the origin of the word. Dunbar and Hunter mention (p. 133) the " Bayau de Hachis " at a certain place on the west side of the Washita. At the point referred to there is no considerable stream, and I cannot learn that any of the creeks of the vicinity have, or ever had, such a name. Pike's map of the Washita gives a Bayou Hachis and also " C6te de Hachis " in this same region. I infer that Pike took the names from Dunbar and Hunter, and that the latter by mistake put down a stream on the Washita that was reported to them to lie to the west of where they locate it. Another suggestion comes from the mention by Father An- astasius Douay (in 1697) of a tribe of In- dians in this part of the world under the n2.me o( Hag uis.^° Stream and township in Columbia county. Dota or Doty. — D'eau titde (Rose). Doty is so common a name that it might well have come from the name of a Doty family. Stream in Independence county. EcoRE Fabre. — £core (or accore) a shore- bank or bluff and Fabre a proper name. On the land plat of 12 S. 18 W. it is put down "Fabre," " Ecoze a Fabra " and "Ecoze Fabra" (1838). These last are only niispellings by the draftsmen. Stream and township in Ouachita county. The Ecore Fabre is now a stream entering the Oua- chita just above the high bluffs at Camden. The name Ecore Fabre was originally ap- plied to the bluffs on which the city of Camden is built. Dunbar and Hunter (p. i34)speakof "the Ecor Frabri (j/c)(Fabri's cliffs) .... and a little distance above, a " smaller cliff called Le Petit Ecor a Fabri. Eleven Points.— /^^•j'(?/>o«/(? Rose). River in Randolph county. Fort Smith. — See Bei/e Point. FouRCHE A Loup. — I supposed this name was correct as it stands, but Dunbar and Hunter call it " Fourche h Luke " (p. i66). Franceway.— Francois, a proper name. Creek in Grant county. Freed.— /^r/o, cold. (Spanish.) On the land plat (1845) this is .spelled " Frio." Creek in Dallas and Ouachita counties. Galla or Galley KocK.—Galets (pebbles). 20 Discovery and Exploration, tic. IJy J. G. Shea, New York, 1852, p, 217, Landing on the Arkansas River in Pope county. Glazypool or Glazvpeau. — Glaise d Paul, Paul's clay pit. (Dunbar and Hunter, p. i66.) On the land plat of 2S. 20 W. it is called "Glady pole " (1838) ; while on i S. 20. W. it is " Glazy pole." Mountain and stream near Hot Springs. Gl.\ise (Grand). — Glaise, pottery clay. Pike has a "Great Glaise" on his map of Louisiana about where Arkadelphia now stands. Dunbar and Hunter have the following upon tlie origin of Glaise: " The salt lick marsh does not derive its name from any brackisliness in the water of the lake or marsh, but from its contiguity to some of the licks, sometimes called saline, and sometimes 'glaise,' generally found in a clay compact enough for a potters' ware." (Observations, p. 130.) Name of an old landing and town on the White River in Jackson county. Gulpha. — Calfat, calker, a proper name. On land plat 3 S. 19 \V. this is " Gulfer " ; on 3 S. 18. VV. it is "Sulphur" (1837-S). Creeks near Hot Springs. Dunbar and Hunter call it " Fourclie of Calfat " (pp. 143, 157, 159)- La Fave. — La Feve (Beau). A family of this name formerly lived near the moutli of the stream. (Nuttall, 103.) Dunbar and Hunter (p. 159) mention "a Mr. Le Fevre .... residing at the Arkansas." On land plat 4 N. iS-20 W. it is " La Feve " ; on 4 N. 17 W. it is " La Feve " (1839-42), and in Long's Expedition to the Rocky Moun- tains (ii. 345) it is called " Le Fevre." Stream in Perry county. L'Agles. — L'aigle, an eagle. On the old land plat it is called " Eagle or L'aigle Creek." Streams in Bradley county. Lagrui:.— Aa^rHC, a crane. On Pike's map this is called Crane river. Streams in Arkansas county. L'Anguille.— Z'rt«^7^///c, an eel. Stream and township in .St. Francis county. Lapile. — La pile,-A\\\\& or pier. Probably a personal name. It is spelled " La Peil " on the original plat of the land survey. Stream and town in Union county. Low Fkeight. — L'eau froide. On the land plat 16 .S. 17 \V. this name is spelled "Low Freight" (1856 ). Dunbar and Hun- ter call it " Bayau de l'eau Froide" (p. 137) Stream in Clark county. LuFRA. — This name of a post-office in Oua- chita is, in all probability, another form derived from "Low Freight" and Veau fraiche or I'eait froide. [Camp de I'or- fraic, fish-hawk, Rose). Maddrv. — Possibly ULadre, of Spanish origin. Post-office in Hot Spring county. Magazine. — Magasiu, a barn or warehouse. The name was probably given the moun- tain on account of its peculiar house-like form, and the town took its name from the mountain. Mountain and town in Logan county. Marie Saline Landing. — Marais satin, salt marsh. Dunbar and Hunter mention the "marais de saline" near this place and state that: " the salt lick marsh does not derive its name from any brackisliness in the water of the lake or marsh, but from its contiguity to some of the licks, some- times called saline " (p. 130). Landing in Ashley county. Mason. — Maison, a proper name. " On this part of the river lies a consider- able tract of land granted by the Spanish government to the marquis of Maison Rouge, a French emigrant, who bequeathed it with all his property to M. Houligny." (/Tunbar and Hunter's Observations, p. 126.) Bayou in Chicot county. Massard.^ — This word is variously spelled on the old land plats: on 7 N. 31 W. (1829), and on 8 N. 32 W. it is " Massara " and "Massaras," evidently due to a mistake of the draftsman of the final (/for an a. On 7 N. 32 \V. (1827), it is "Massards pniirie;" on 8 N. 31 W. (1827), it is "Massard Creek" and " Massards prairie;" Nuttall speaks (p. 121) of the Mazcrn mountains; and this, it seems, was the name formerly ap- plied to what is now called the Massard. The name appears to have originated as suggested below for the Mazarn. I quote from Long's Expedition (ii, 264). On leaving Fort .Smith to go to Hot Springs the writer says : — "Our route lay on the south side of the '^ / Arkansas, at considerable distance from the river, and led ns across two small creeks, one called Massern, or Mount C.erne and the other Vache Grasse." In a foot-note to this statement it is said : "The word Masserne applied by Darby as a name to the hills of the Arkansa terri- tory, near the lioniulary of Louisiana, by Nuttall to the mountains at tlie sources of the Kieniesha and the Poteau,is supposed to be a corruption of Mont Ceiiie, the name of a small hill near Belle Point, long used as a look-out post by the French hunters." Stream and prairie in Sebastian county. Maumelle. — Manic/le, breast. It is sjielled IMavielle in Long' s Expedition, ii, 345. A conical hill in Pulaski county which has given name to streams also. Maz.\rn. — Mt. Cerne, Round mountain. A mountain in the region southwest of Hot .Springs is called Mt. Cerne on the map accompanying Pike's report. ^i This refer- ence is to the streams and mountains southwest of Hot Springs. Meto or MzTER. — Bayou nii-terre (Rose). This stream is about half-way between the White and the Arkansas, and nearly par- allel with both. On the land plat of 2 N. 10 W. it is called "Bayou Netto" (1818-19). A stream in Lonoke and Arkansas counties. MoRo. — /l/ureau, feed-bag. Probably a proper name. On the original land plats it is spelled "Muro," " Moroe," and on one sheet " Moreau " (1832). .Stream and vil- lage in Bradley county. Osage. — Father Membrii of La Salle's party in 16S0-81 makes mention of the Osnge river, while Father Douay speaks of the river of the Osages and of tribes of the same name." "The name of this nation, agreeably to their own jironunciation is Jl'azv-sacli-c, but our border inhabitants speak of them un- der the names of Hii--~mus;\nA O-satc-ses, as well as Osaoes. The word U'awsashe of tlnee syllables has been corrupted by the French traders into Osage 23 Stream in north Arkansas. 21 An Account of an Expeclition ta the Sources of the Mississippi, etc. By Major Z. M. Pike. Philadelphia, 1810, 22 Discovery and Exploration 0/ the Mississippi Valley, with the Origintil Narratiz'es of .Marquette, ..illouez, .Ment- bre, Hennepin and Anastase Douay. By J. G. Shea, New York, 1852. Pp. 166-7; 222. 23 Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains. By Stephen H. Long. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1B23, Vol. ii, p. 244. Ouachita or Washita.— Indian origin. " Between the Red River and the Arkan- sas there is at present no nation. Formerly the Onachites lived upon the Black River and gave their name to it ; but at this time there are no remains of that nation. "»4 On the maps accompanying Du Pratz's history the Ouachita is called Black River in the English translation, and Riviere Noire in the original French. Du Pratz tells why the stream was called Black River and adds (English, p. 169; French, ii, 304-5): "It is sometimes called the river of the Wachitas, because its banks were occupied by a nation of that name who are now extinct." Pike spells it Wascheta (appendix to part iii, p. 56). OzAN. — Au.T ones. Prairie d'Ane or " De Ann " is near Ozan. The old land plats call the creek Ozan. Town and stream in Hempstead county. Ozark. — Featherstonhaugh who traveled in the state in 1834-5, says this word is a cor- ruption of " Aux arcs," the French ab- breviation of " Aux Arkansas. "25 School- craft thinks it "to be compounded from Osage and Arkansas. "'6 P ALAV.M. —Ptare des alarviis (Rose). Pike mentions (p. 128, appendix 41) Babtiste Larme, and the place name may have come from a personal name. Town .^rj stream in Faulkner county. Point Remove. — Remous, an eddy. In Long's Expedition (ii, 274) mention is made of " I^oint Remove or Eddy Point creek, which enters the Arkansa about thirty miles above the Cadron." Nuttall spells it " Remu," which suggests that the word was so pronounced in his time. It is spelled Point Remove on the original land plats. Stream in Conway county. Poteau. — Poteau, a post, possibly some old land-mark, as Professor Coues suggests. Pike and Nuttall call it " Pottoe." " The Poteau, so called by the French, from the word signifying a post or station. "27 Moun- tain and stream in Scott county. Quapaw. — Kappas and Cappas. (Indian.) In 24 The History 0/ Louisiana. Translated from the French of M. Le Page Du Pratz. A new edition. London, 1774, p. 318. See also Dunbar and Hunter, p. 121, 25 Excursions Titrough the Slave States, p. 89. 26 Scenes atid Adventures in the Ozark Mountains. By H.R.Schoolcraft. Philadelphia, 1853, p. 246. 27 Long s Expedition, Vol. ii, p. 260. \ f ? i6S7 M. Joutebs of Salle's party spoke of " Cappa," an Indian village. The name of a land line near Little Rock. Saline. — This name, of such common occur- rence in South Arkansas, is best explained by Dunbar and Hunter in speaking of the Saline River that enters the Ouachita between Ashley and Bradley counties. "It has obtained its name from the many buffaloe salt licks which have been discovered in its vicinity. Although most of these licks, by digging, furnish water which holds marine salt in solution there exists no reason for believing that many of them would produce nitre" (p. 131). See also D/arie Sa/iiie. Salisaw — Nuttal! (p. 16S) has " Salaiseau " ; in Long's Expedition (ii. 225) reference is made to " Bayou Sa/aison, or meat salt- ing Bayou," which is probably the correct derivation. It might have come, however, from Safes eaux, dirty water, or from Sa/issant, that soon gets dirty. Stream in Indian Territory near the Arkansas line. Smackover. — Cheutin eoiivert, covered road. The original land map surveyed between 1838 and 1845 'it's this spelled ".Smack overt : " this suggests that the original might have been Cheimn overt,open road. Dunl)ar and Hunter, however, speak of it as follows: "A creek called Cheniin Convert, which forms a deep ravine in the highlands, here enters the river." (p. 133.) Stream in Union county. 38 Op. cit.y pp. 142, 1^9. 155, 159, 160. LIBRfiRY OF CONGRESS H 014 647 863 3 Spadra. — (?) Village and stream in Johnson county. Tchemanahaut.— C/;^w;'// a haul, or Chemin h ean. The old land plat of 19 S. 7W. spells It " Chimanahaw " (1842). Stream in Ashley county. Teager Creek. — Probably from a proper name. Dunbar and Hunter (p. 142^ say: " 'Fourche au Tigree' (Tyger's Creek.)" .Stream in Hot Springs county. TuRNWALL. — Terre twir, black land. This stream runs through the " Black lands." Featherstonhaugh speaks of it^g as Tour- nois, and philologists suggest that Turn- wall would not be derived from Terre iioir. Terre Rouge is the name of a stream in the same region, and this stream flows through the tertiary red lands. The Terre Noir flows through the chalky cretaceous black lands, and I think there can be no doubt about the explanation here given. Some of the maps of the state put it down "Terre noir." The old land plat of 9 .S. 19 VV. (1819) has it " Terre noire ; " others have it "Terre noir." Creek in Clark Co Washita, see Ouachita. Waver Light. — IVavel/ite. The mineral of this name is found in Garland countv. Formerly post-oflice in Garland county west of Hot Springs. John C. Branner. Sinn font University. 29 Geological Report of an Exniitination made in iS^. Washington, 1S35, p. 73.