Naming the Indians, by Frank Terry
Published: American Monthly Review of Reviews, No. 15, March 1897
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NAMING THE INDIANS
BY FRANK TERRY
SUPERINTENDENT OF U. S. BOARDING SCHOOL FOR CROW INDIANS, MONTANA
THE system of proper names in vogue in America and in certain of
the European states is, as we believe, well devised. It is so simple
as scarcely to occasion remark. The name of some prominent ancestor
gone, and, in most cases, forgotten, is handed down from generation to
generation of his posterity, and each child, at birth receives this,
through the operations of laws written and unwritten, as his surname.
The parents place before this one or more names especially pleasing to
them as the child's Christian name, and his designation is thereby
rendered complete. It is a good system, for it fixes the name of each
individual after an unvarying fashion, and establishes the same
practically beyond alteration. We are so accustomed to it from our
youth up that it seems to us perfectly natural that it should be so.
We cannot see how it could be otherwise than as it is. Furthermore,
and what makes it more important, it is practically the only system
known to American law, and it is impossible not to see that in all
things, prominent among which is the transfer of property or the
bequeathing of the same to heirs, trouble must come to those who
disregard this system.
This system of nomenclature the government of the United States in
its dealings with the Indian tribes has aimed to establish among them
as one means the better to fit them for the privileges and advantages
of American citizenship; and that this is a wise and humane act on the
part of the government cannot be gainsaid. The Indian Department has
continually urged this matter upon its agents, superintendents, and
other workers "in the field." The command to give names to the Indians
and to establish the same as far as possible by continuous use has
been a part of the "Rules and Regulations" for years past. Hon. Thomas
J. Morgan, during his incumbency of the office of Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, issued the following circular letter, which I quote in
its entirety, as it clearly and forcefully sets forth the government's
view of the matter:
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS,
Washington, D. C. March 19, 1890.
To Indian Agents and Superintendents of Schools:
As allotment work progresses it appears that some care must be
exercised in regard to preserving among Indians family names. When
Indians become citizens of the United States, under the allotment act,
the inheritance of property will be governed by the laws of the
respective states, and it will cause needless confusion and doubtless
considerable ultimate loss to the Indians if no attempt is made to
have the different members of the family known by the same family name
on the records and by general reputation. Among other customs of the
white people it is becoming important that Indians adopt that in
regard to names.
There seems, however, no good reason for continuing a custom which
has prevailed to a considerable extent of substituting English for
Indian names, especially when different members of the same family are
named with no regard to the family surname. Doubtless, in many cases,
the Indian name is difficult to pronounce and to remember; but in many
other cases the Indian word is as short and euphonious as the English
word that is substituted, while, other things being equal, the fact
that it is an Indian name makes it a better one.
For convenience, an English "Christian name" may be given and the
Indian name be retained as a surname. If the Indian name is unusually
long and difficult, it may perhaps be arbitrarily shortened.
The practice of calling Indians by the English translation of
their Indian names also seems to me unadvisable. The names thus
obtained are usually awkward and uncouth and such as the children when
they grow older will dislike to retain.
In any event the habit of adopting sobriquets given to Indians,
such as "Tobacco," "Mogul," "Tom," "Pete," etc., by which they become
generally known, is unfortunate and should be discontinued. It
degrades the Indians, and as he or his children gain in education and
culture they will be annoyed by a designation which has been fastened
upon them and of which they cannot rid themselves without difficulty.
Hereafter in submitting to this office, for approval, names of
Indian employees to be appointed as policemen, judges, teamsters,
laborers, etc., all nicknames must be discarded and effort made to
ascertain and adopt the actual names or such as should be permanent
designations. The names decided upon must be made well known to the
respective Indians and the importance of retaining such names must be
fully explained to them. I am aware that this will involve some
expenditure of time and trouble, but no more than will be warranted by
the importance of the matter in the near future.
Of course, sudden change cannot be made in Indian
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nomenclature; but if agents and school superintendents will
systematically endeavor, so far as practicable, to have children and
wives known by the names of the fathers and husbands, very great
improvement in this respect will be brought about within a few years.
Respectfully, T. J. MORGAN, Commissioner.
___________________________________
In line with the foregoing is the following further regulation on
the subject by Dr. W. N. Hailmann, General Superintendent of Indian
Schools, which refers to Indian youth in the government schools:
Names by which pupils have previously been known should be
retained as far as practicable. If an English name is given to the
pupil, the Indian name of the father should be retained as a surname.
Vulgar or otherwise offensive sobriquets, such as "Tobacco," "Mogul,"
etc., should be discountenanced and abandoned.
___________________________________
RULES NOT OBEYED
One can contemplate only with pain the extent to which these
reasonable requirements of the Indian Office have been disregarded by
trusted servants in the field. While some have made earnest efforts to
carry out the wishes of the Department in this particular, others have
treated the matter as one of little or no concern. In many cases no
attempt seems ever to have been made to systematize the names of the
Indians, and in many others where such attempt was made the correct
names for want of attention on the part of officers in charge, have
been forgotten or permitted to fall into disuse. I direct attention to
the records of allotments of lands among the members of the several
Indian tribes as proofs that officials intrusted by the Indian
Department with the carrying out of its instructions on this subject
have been so derelict in this duty that the Indian people, even those
who have made the best advances in civilization, are to-day a very
poorly named race. In many cases long, unpronounceable Indian names
have been retained, in others Indian names have been translated into
English with the most unsatisfactory results, "vulgar or otherwise
offensive sobriquets" have been countenanced, and a list is produced
which should have no place upon record, local or national.
Such Indian agents and superintendents of Indian schools have not
sought to impress the Indian people with the importance of having
their names fashioned after the whites, consequently they have had in
this direction the opposition instead of the co-operation of the
Indians. In this thing, as in nearly all others, the Indians do not
know what is best for them. They can't see that our system has any
advantages over their own, and they have fought stubbornly against the
innovation. Furthermore, these officials have not exercised due care
to discover or select the correct family names, or when selected have
not made sufficient effort to fix those names upon the members of the
respective families.
The rough-and-ready frontiersmen who first came in contact with
the Indians and had much to do with the naming of the older
generations took no pains to discover and systematize the Indian
names. They preferred to rename the whole race with the vulgar
translations of the Indian phrases, or with familiar names of the
English sort. Nor did they
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choose to give this uncouth people such genteel names as Samuel, Robert,
James, Peter, Richard, etc., the sobriquets Sam, Bob, Jim, Pete, Dick,
etc., suiting their purpose better. Indian Bob, Siwash Jake, Mud Bay
Sam, Packsaddle Jack, and Crackerbox Jim were considered good. It
therefore clearly became the duty of the agents, in taking charge of the
Indians, to correct all such abuses and to search out and assign to the
Indians true and respectable names. Instead, however, to this day in
many places and by duly constituted authorities the practice of giving
to the children for surnames these diminutives of English Christian
names is allowed. Hence, we find everywhere such names as Harry Sam,
Silas Bob, Lissie Pete, Hannah Ned, Maggie Bill, Tommy Jim, Cora Jake,
etc. When, in the fall of '94, I took charge of the Chehalis school in
the state of Washington, I found there an Indian youth who had been
retained by my predecessor as an "apprentice." I should explain that the
word apprentice, as here used, is the name of a position in the school.
By consent of the Honorable Commissioner of Indian Affairs one of the
larger boys, or girls, as a reward of good conduct, or as an incentive
to assist in the discipline of the school and to take a leading part
in the work, is paid a nominal salary, generally about five dollars
per month, and is carried as an "apprentice." He is part pupil, part
employee. When I met this boy I asked him his name. He hesitated, said
he didn't know, but most people called him George Jim. I asked what
his father's name was. He said he thought it was Sanders. Upon further
inquiry I found the following to be the facts: The father of the boy
is a Nisqually Indian by the name of Jim; hence, commonly known as
"'Squally Jim." Therefore, the children were known as George Jim, Tom
Jim, etc. But my predecessor had very properly discountenanced the
name Jim as a surname, and had entered the children on the school roll
by the more stately name of James -- George Q. James, Thomas P. James,
Benjamin S. James, and Mary James. I further found that "'Squally Jim"
had signed a contract with the Post Office Department to carry the
mail from Rochester to Lincoln Creek. I concluded at once that the
name he signed to that document was the one he regarded as his correct
name. I wrote the postmaster at Rochester. He replied that Jim had
signed the contract as Jim Sanders. Immediately George Q. James became
George Q. Sanders, a fact with which "'Squally Jim" was much pleased.
There was also an apprentice girl by the name of Julia Jake. She had
some sisters, Cora Jake, Jettie Jake, and Rebecca Jake; and their
mother, who was employed as washerwoman at the school, was Linda Jake.
I found that the girls were the daughters of Jake Benn, and that Jake
had some brothers, to wit: George Benn, John Benn, and Dave Benn. It
became quite clear to my mind that the family name was Benn Julia Jake
at once became Julia Benn. But I experienced some difficulty in
convincing certain of my subordinates (white people) that it was best
to make these changes. And so throughout the whole Indian service one
finds an immense amount of indifference to this question of names. A
former attache of this school once wrote me in regard to "Peter Clams,
the father of Joe Pete." Joe Pete (alias Joseph G. Peters) was
formerly a pupil of Chehalis. As sure as he's born he would have been
Joseph G. Clams had he re-entered the school during my administration.
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"DON'T KNOW"
A funny little incident is reported from the Apache reservation in
Arizona. An Indian policeman rode up to the government school and
delivered a little boy to the superintendent. "What's his name?"
inquired the superintendent. "Des-to-dah," replied the Indian in
Federal blue, as he rode away. "Destodah," mused the superintendent.
"Queer name, ain't it? 'Max' will fit him very nicely for a 'first
name.'" So the little fellow was duly christened "Max Destodah." It
turned out, however, that des-to-dah was the Indian word for "don't
know." The policeman had simply said he didn't know what the boy's
name was. It further turned out that Max was one of four brothers in
the same school, no two of whom had the same surname. One finds many
cases here and there where a name is not carried through the family.
On the Chehalis reservation dwells Tenas Pete. He has two sons, Same
Pete and Joe Peterson. Two brothers went from this reservation to
non-reservation schools. Bruce Jack to Chemawa, Ore., Robert Jackson
to Carlisle, Pa. If asked why I did not correct these names, my answer
is that in the case of Tenas Pete and his sons their names are now
fixed in the patents to their homesteads. Jack and Jackson were not
under my control.
Translations of Indian names, as a rule, have been unsatisfactory,
though there are exceptions. The case is reported from the Pawnee
reservation, Oklahoma, of an Indian name Coo-rux ruh-rah-ruk-koo. He
was commonly called Afraid-of-a-bear. The literal interpretation of his
name, as given to me, is "fearing a bear that is wild." With this
interpretation the agent proceeded to call the Indian Fearing B. Wilde;
not a bad arrangement, if he had made a success of it. But he did not,
for the allotment was finally made to the Indian's native name. But such
names as Flying eagle, Pipe-chief, Crazy-horse, Yellow bonnet,
Afraid-of-his-enemy, Walk-in-the-water, Rain-in-the-face,
Bull-all-the-time, Keeps-his-head-above-water, No-hair-on-his-tail,
Bob-tail-wolf-No. 3, Kills
the-one-with-the-blue-mark-in-the-centre-of-the-chin, are ridiculous
and should not be perpetuated. Such names are uncouth, un-American,
and uncivilized.
As the Indian child grows he commits acts from time to time each
of which gives him a new name. For example, he may see a bear and run
screaming to the tepee. The folks all laugh at him, and call him
Runs-from-a-bear. Later on he may become the possessor of an unruly
pony which he fears to ride, and becomes known as Afraid-of-his-horse.
Or, he may mount a horse from which another Indian has been thrown,
and he then is spoken of as Rides-the-horse. Further on he becomes a
great hunter and kills five bears, and they call him Five-bears, and
when he slays another his name changes to Six-bears. He may perform a
valiant deed in battle and ride his horse through the camp of the
enemy, for which he is dubbed Charges-through-the-camp. During the
conflict he may kill one of the enemy. If his victim is the only one
slain he is called Kills-the-enemy. But if others fall the one he has
killed must be described, as Kills-the-one-with-the-big-knee. If he
braids in his hair a yellow feather which he has plucked from the tail
of an eagle he may be called Eagle-tail, Eagle-feather, Yellow-tail,
or Yellow-feather. If he gives it to his friend he will be named
Gives-feather, but if he refuses to part with it his name will change
to Keeps-his-feather. Or he may obtain his name from some other
object. If he is accustomed to ride what is commonly known as a
"calico" horse he may be called Spotted-horse, but if his horse has a
short tail he will be known as Bob-tail-horse. The chances are that he
will be known by all the foregoing names. His enemies in the tribe
will continue to speak of him as Long-ears, Runs-from-a-bear, or
Afraid-of-his-horse, while his friends will call him Rides-the-horse,
Six-bears, or Kills-the-enemy. For this reason it occurs that if you
speak of the Indian in the presence of certain members of the tribe and
call him Six-bears they will laugh at you and say: "That not his name;
his name Runs-from-a-bear." But if you speak of him to certain others
as Runs-from-a-bear they will scowl and say: "That not his name; his
name Kills-the-enemy."
Hence it will be seen that the Indian names are nothing, a
delusion, and a snare, and the practice of converting them into
English appears eminently unwise. It is certain that the name on the
rolls at the agency is the interpretation of only one of the Indian's
several "names." A short Indian name in their own vernacular, or a
syllable or two of a long one, if euphoneous and pronounceable, as
they
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usually are, will answer quite well for a family name, but the
translations are never satisfactory, and cannot be too strongly
condemned.
Following is the complete roll of pupils at the Crow Agency
Boarding School, Mont., reported by my predecessor for the quarter
ended June 30, 1896:
BOYS
Homer Bull-tongue
Edson Fire-bear
John Adams
Frank Hairy-wolf
George Washington
Lafayette Corner-of-the-mouth
Tommie Gardner
Jimmie Shell-on-the-neck
Hartford Bear-claw
Hugh Ten-bears
Robert Picket
Barkley On-the-other-side
Percy Stops
Walter Young-jack-rabbit
Eric Likes-the-horse
Eugene Long-ear
Antoine No-hair-on-his-tail
Moses Comes-in-the-day
Joe Kills-with-his-brother
Barney One-goose
Herbert Old bear
Blake White-bear
Otto Rides-the-horse
Prescott Comes-in-a-day
Mortimer Dreamer
Albert Chief-child
Clinton Fire-bear
Harry White-bear
Irvie Comes-out-of-fog
James G. Blaine Buffalo
Levi Yellow-mule
Charlie Robbinson
Arthur Bay-wolf
Henry No-shin-bone
Morris Shaffer
Howard Yellow-weasel
Fletcher Bird-shirt
Willie Bends
Elmer Takes-a-wrinkle
Benamin Hillside
Norman Record
Portus Keeps-his-feather
Lee One-blue-bead
Frank Gardner
Guy Bad-boy
Robert Yellow-tail
Charley Record
Max Big-man
Victor Three-irons
GIRLS
Fannie Plenty-butterflies
Kittie Medicine-tail
Alice Shoots-as-he-goes
Maggie Broken-ankle
Louisa Three-wolves
Helen Comes-out-of-fog
Mabel Hunts
Mamie Reid
Lillian Hunts
Louise Enemy-hunter
Agnes He-says
Ruth Bear-in-the-middle
Floy Hairy-wolf
Bertha Full-mouth
Eva New-bear
Lottie Grandmother's-knife
Rosa La Forge
Jessie Flat-head-woman
Sarah Three-irons
Anna Wesley
Carrie Wallace
Mary Old-jack-rabbit
Clara Spotted-horse
Ida Wrinkle-face
Minnie Nods-at-bear
Lucy Hawk
Anna Medicine-pipe
Nellie Shell-on-the-neck
Olive Young-heifer
Edith Long-ear
Susie Leider
Isabel Lunch
Bessie Crooked-arm
Irene Mountain
Stella Wolf-house
Jennie Wesley
Hattie Wallace
Esther Knows-his-gun
Lena Old-bear
Ada Sees-with-his-ear
Martha Long-neck
Said one of the teachers to whom I spoke of the preposterous names
in this list: "We speak only their Christian names; they seem to be
ashamed of their other names." Ashamed of them? I hope, indeed, that
they have sense and decency enough to be ashamed of such names!
Kittie Medicine-tail will not be a pupil during the current year,
for on July 4, 1896, she entered the holy bonds of matrimony with
Bear-goes-to-the-other-ground. On the following day Nellie
Shell-on-the-neck was united to Bird Bear-in-the-middle, and Fannie
Plenty-butterflies married Charlie Ten-bears.
Bob-tail-wolf-No.-3, Creeping-bear, and Standing-in-water are
policemen at the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Agency, Ohlahoma [sic: Oklahoma].
Wounds-the-enemy, Joseph Black-spotted-horse, Thomas White-horse,
Elizabeth Burnt-thigh, James-in-the-camp, are employees at the Cheyenne
River Agency, South Dakota, and Joshua Scares-the-hawk, The-man-No.-2,
John Makes-it-long, Puts-on-his-shoes, Dennis Brings-the-horses, belong
to the police force at the same agency. In the list of attaches of the
Fort Belknap Agency, Montana, we find such names as these: Hailstone,
Thunder-pipe, Gone-high, Otter-robe, Wetan, Lame chicken, No bear,
Skunk, Lizard, The Bull, Shaking-bird, Three-white-cows, etc.
Some Indian names, on the other hand, are too long and
unpronounceable for practical use. At the Devil's Lake Agency, North
Dakota, they are trying to perpetuate such names as these:
Sunka ho waste
Waanatan
Ecanajinka
Tiowaste
Wiyakamaza
Iyayuhamani
Wakauhotanina
Tunkawwayagnani
Wasineasuwmani
Eyaupahamani
No Christian names are given. And at the Colville Agency,
Washington, such names as these:
Grant On hi
Jim Chel quen le
Mack Chil sit sa. Tom e o
Lot Whist le po som
Alex Sin ha sa lock
The plan resorted to in some quarters of discarding the Indian
names altogether and fitting the Indians out with names that are
purely English has not worked well, for those selected in many cases
are names illustrious in American history, and this has caused the
Indians to become the butt of many a vulgar joke. William Penn,
Fitzhugh Lee, David B. Hill and William Shakespeare are policemen at
the Shoshone Agency, Wyoming. Only a short while ago it was reported
that on an Indian reservation in New Mexico William Breckenridge
arrested
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John G. Carlisle for being drunken and disorderly. It would no doubt
surprise the reader, and no less so our Honorable Secretary of the
Navy, should I say that I have seen George Washington, John Quincy
Adams, Franklin Pierce, Rip Van Winkle, Allen G. Thurman and Hillary
Herbert engaged together in a game of shinney. Yet this interesting
spectacle I have gazed upon; and I have been the enforced witness to
a severe spanking administered to James G. Blaine.
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OVERNAMED RED-FACES
Furthermore, faulty as the names of the old Indians are, the bad
matter is rendered much worse when the off-reservation schools take it
into their hands to rename the children that come in with names
entirely different from those of the parents. In 1893 seven girls went
from the Crow reservation to the industrial training school at Fort
Shaw, Montana. In the first column below are the names of the girls
when on the reservation; in the second column are the names recognized
at Fort Shaw school:
Clara Bull-knows. Clara Harrison.
Beatrice Beads-on-ankle. Beatrice B. Hail.
Katie Dreamer. (No change.)
Lilian Bull-all-the-time. Lilian Bomfort (intended for Bompard).
Susie Bear-lays-down-plenty (alias Crow). Susie Folsom.
Minnie Reed. (No change.)
Blanche Little-star. Blanche Brown.
I think no one will question that the names given the girls by the
able and successful superintendent of Fort Shaw are better than the
reservation names. It is also a satisfaction to know there are men in
the Indian service who have correct tastes in this matter. But it
should be borne in mind continually that tampering with their names
will yet cause these children endless litigation, perhaps loss, when
the question of inheritance of property comes up. When old
Bull-all-the-time dies Lilian Bomfort must convince the court that she
is his daughter and entitled to his land. The fact that she does not
bear his name takes away the strongest evidence in her favor. The fact
that at any time previous to marriage she bore any other name than his
will at least complicate the case. Changes of names should originate
on the reservations. The parents' names should be revised first.
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HOW INDIAN NAMES MIGHT BE MADE
In the early English and contributing tongues all names were
phrases, expressing some peculiarity of the person or giving his
location, but the ideal English surname of to-day is a meaningless
word of from one to three syllables. It would be an easy matter in
constructing names for Indians to make them conform to this ideal. It
is best to obtain the family name by an arbitrary shortening or
working over of the Indian name, for thereby a name is procured which
in English is meaningless and, generally, euphoneous. Such names could
have been fixed early in the history of the Indian service, if the men
in charge at that time had taken the pains to do it. And, while I do
not wish to censure the men now in charge at the various schools and
agencies, all of whom have come in since the above mistaken schemes of
Indian naming were set on foot, I may say that in some places it is
not too late even now to make changes either forward or backward to
the method indicated by the Department. Wherever change can be made it
should in the interest of decency and humanity be done. It is certain
that the system, or, rather, want of system, of names now in vogue on
many of the reservations, as shown above, will yet cause the Indians
great trouble in the inheritance of property. Such trouble has come
already to certain tribes. It will come to the others by and by.
During the summer of 1894 I was connected with the service on
Klamath reservation, Oregon, and received instructions from the agent,
Maj. D. W. Matthews, to go personally among the Indians on the eastern
end of the reservation and obtain from them as nearly as was possible
their correct names, ages and other facts. I was directed to exercise
the greatest care in the matter. The allotting agent was on the
ground, and it was important that the
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names be had just right in order to save the Indians trouble in the
transfer and inheritance of lands. I was to ascertain, if possible,
what each Indian regarded as his correct name. Failing in this, I was
to construct one out of his Indian name, or otherwise. By all means
the name of the father was to be retained for all his descendants. I
realized that this would be a difficult task. I knew the Indians well
and was aware of much confusion in their nomenclature, but this I
attributed to the correct ones having fallen into disuse. As I
conceived it, therefore, my mission was more to revive than to revise
their names.
When I started on my tour I went first to Modoc Camp, and at once
encountered Modoc Ike, who was one of the reservation policemen. He
told me his name was Isaac Taylor, and I entered it so on the
corrected roll. Then Horace Modoc, the schoolboy, became Horace
Taylor. I next found Old Duffy. He had a son on the lower end of the
reservation who was called Arthur Tupper and another son in the Yainax
school known alternately as Watson Tupper and Watson Duffy. He also
had two grand-daughters at Yainax -- Ellen and Effie Robinson. The
girls got their cognomen from their mother's father, Mark Robinson,
and I retained it. As Duffy had but one name and that of his son
Arthur was quite well established I added the name Tupper, so that he
became Duffy Tupper. Watson remained Watson Tupper. I found that Jim
Sconchin and Peter McSconchin were cousins. The father of Jim was
chief of the Whiskey Creek Modocs, true to the United States during
the Modoc War. The father of Peter was the Sconchin who, with Captain
Jack, Boston Charley and Shacknasty Jim, was hanged by the military at
Fort Klamath for the massacre of General Canby and Rev. Thomas,
members of the Peace Commission during the war. Peter was with the
rebellious band that shot a hundred soldiers from the crevices of the
lava beds on Tule Lake, for which he was banished to the Quapaw
reservation in the Indian Territory, but had returned. While on the
Quapaw reservation he received the name of McCarty, which he, on his
return, combined with Sconchin. I let him keep the three names, so
that he became Peter McCarty Sconchin. Modoc Billy was found to be
William Hutcherson, father of Homer and Anna Hutcherson of Yainax
school. Modoc Scott, a policeman, was found to be Scott Davis. Whiskey
John was found to be John Whiskin, Pitt River John became John Pitt,
and Little John became, by act of Agent Matthews, John Little. Billy
Turner, brother of Henry Jackson, one of the wealthiest Indians on the
reservation, became, by his own choice, William Turner Jackson. Old
Mosenkasket has three sons quite prominent on the reservation -- viz.,
Henry Brown, Harrison Brown, and Dick Brown. At the suggestion of
Major Matthews the old chief became Mosenkasket Brown. Tall Jim was
mad the moment I mentioned my business to him. He denounced the name,
as it was never his. I had been informed previously that he was
dissatisfied with it. He said his correct name was Frank Lynch. As he
had no brothers, and no mischief could ensue from the change, I said
to him: "Very well, Jim, if you wish to be called Frank Lynch you
may;" and thereupon Elmer James and Edith James of the Yainax school
became Elmer James Lynch and Edith Lynch, respectively.
I shall not trespass upon the patience of the reader by relating
all the discoveries and changes made. Enough have been given to show
the painstaking necessary to the performance of this work, and to
establish the claim that great negligence and indifference have been
shown this very important subject. What is true on the Klamath
reservation is true on nearly all reservations. I have said that one
contemplates this with pain. One is astonished that men supposed to be
intelligent, earnest and honest should treat a matter so grave with
such exceeding unconcern -- that men intrusted with the weal of this
independent and confiding people, familiar as these men were with
civilized methods, knowing that the subject was of great moment,
should commit, or stand idly by and allow committed, this careless
trifling with the nomenclature of a great race like the aborigines of
this Continent.
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