Читать книгу Spanish and Indian place names of California - Nellie van de Grift Sanchez - Страница 23

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Abalone Point, some miles to the southeast of San Pedro bay, was no doubt so-named from the abundance of the great sea snails called abalone, whose iridescent shells, the abandoned dwellings of the dead animals, almost comparable in beauty to the mother-of-pearl, once covered the beaches of the California coast with a glittering carpet. The word “once” is used advisedly, for, with our usual easy-going American negligence we have permitted these creatures of the sea, valuable for their edible meat as well as for their exquisitely colored shells, to be nearly destroyed by Chinese and Japanese fisheries. That the flesh of the abalone formed a useful part of the food supply of the Indians is evidenced by the large number of shells to be found in the mounds along the shore. In the living state the abalone clings to the rocks on the shore, and its grip is so tenacious that more than one unfortunate person, caught by the foot or hand between the shell and the rock, has been held there while death crept slowly upon him in the shape of the rising tide. There is another Abalone Point on the northern coast.

Agua Caliente (literally “hot water”), generally used in reference to hot springs. Of these there are many in the state, one on the Indian Reservation southeast of Riverside. Agua Caliente was originally a land grant.

Alamitos (little cottonwoods), from álamo, a tree of the poplar family indigenous to California. There are several places bearing this name in the state, one a short distance northeast of Santa Ana.

Aliso (alder tree), is the name of a place on the Santa Fé Railroad, south of Los Ángeles, near the shore, and was probably named for the Rancho Cañada de los Alisos. It is probably modern.

Azusa is the name of a place in Los Ángeles County, twenty miles east of Los Ángeles, and was originally applied to the land grant there. It is an Indian place name of a lodge, or ranchería, the original form being Asuksa-gna, the gna an ending which indicates place.

Bandini (a surname), is the name of a place a short distance southeast of Los Ángeles, on the Santa Fé Railroad. The founder of this family was José Bandini, a mariner of Spanish birth, who came to California with war supplies, and finally settled at San Diego. His son, Juan Bandini, was a notable character in the history of the state. He held several public offices, took part in revolutions and colonization schemes, and finally espoused the cause of the United States. Bancroft gives the following resumé of his character: “Juan Bandini must be regarded as one of the most prominent men of his time in California. He was a man of fair abilities and education, of generous impulses, of jovial temperament, a most interesting man socially, famous for his gentlemanly manners, of good courage in the midst of personal misfortunes, and always well-liked and respected; indeed his record as a citizen was an excellent one. In his struggles against fate and the stupidity of his compatriots he became absurdly diplomatic and tricky as a politician. He was an eloquent speaker and fluent writer.” Members of the Bandini family still occupy positions of respect and influence in the state and have made some important additions to its historical literature.

Bolsa (pocket), a term much in use with the Spaniards to signify a shut-in place. Bolsa is in Orange County, twelve miles north by west of Tres Pinos, and was probably named from the land grant, Rancho de las Bolsas.

Cabezón (big head), is the name of a place southeast of Colton. It was probably named for a large-headed Indian chief who lived there at one time and who received this name in pursuance of an Indian custom of fitting names to physical peculiarities. This name is improperly spelled on some maps as Cabazon.

Cahuilla, the name of an Indian tribe, probably “Spanishized” in its spelling from Ka-we-a. The valley and village of this name are situated in the San Jacinto Forest Reserve, southeast of Riverside, and received their name from a tribe who lived, in 1776, on the northern slopes of the San Jacinto Mountains. The word Cahuilla is of uncertain derivation.

Calabazas (pumpkins), is northwest of Los Ángeles. This is possibly a corruption of an Indian word, Calahuasa, the name of a former Chumash village near the mission of Santa Inez. There is another possibility that this name may have been given to the place by the Spaniards in reference to the wild gourd which grows abundantly there and whose fruit may have been considered by them to bear some resemblance to pumpkins, but this is of course mere conjecture.

Casa Blanca (white house), is a short distance west of Riverside, on the Santa Fé Railroad, so-called from a large white ranch house once in conspicuous view from the railroad station.

Casco (skull), shell or outside part of anything. El Casco is situated about twelve miles east of Riverside. Its application here has not been ascertained.

Conejo (rabbit), is the name of a number of places in the state, one of them in the Santa Mónica Mountains, another in the Central Valley, on the Santa Fé road.

Cucamonga, is an Indian name, derived from a village in San Bernardino County, forty-two miles by rail east of Los Ángeles. It was originally applied to the land grant at that place.

Duarte, a surname.

Las Flores (the flowers). At this place there was once a large Indian village, called in the native language ushmai, the place of roses, from ushla, rose.

Garvanza (chick-pea).

Hermosa (beautiful), is the name of a town in San Bernardino County, and of a beach in Los Ángeles County.

Indio, the Spanish word for “Indian,” is the name of a place in Riverside County, near Colton.

La Joya (the jewel).

Laguna (lagoon).

León (lion).

La Mirada (the view).

Los Molinos (the mills, or mill-stones), a name applied to a place east of San Gabriel by the Moraga party of 1819, who went out from the mission on a punitive expedition against the Amajaba (Mojave) Indians. Padre Nuez, who accompanied the party, says: “On the return we passed by a place where there was plenty of water, below a hill of red stone, very suitable for mill-stones.” The same name, probably for similar reasons, was applied to other places in the state, among them one in Sonoma County, and Mill Creek in Tehama County, originally called El Río de los Molinos (The River of the Mill-stones).

Montalvo (a surname), the name of a place in Ventura County, near Ventura. This name is interesting as being the same as that borne by the author of Las Sergas de Esplandián, in which the fabulous island of California plays a leading part.

Murietta (a surname), the same as that of the noted bandit, Joaquín Murietta, who once terrorized California with his depredations. The town of Murietta, however, was not named in honor of this gentleman of unsavory memory, but for Mr. J. Murietta, who is still living in Southern California.

Los Nietos (literally “the grandchildren”), but in this case a surname, that of the Nieto family. Los Nietos was a land grant taken up by Manuel Nieto and José María Verdugo in 1784.

Pasadena, said to be derived from the Chippewa Indian language. The full name is said to be Weoquan Pasadena, and the meaning to be “Crown of the Valley.” Let no man believe in the absurd story that it means “Pass of Eden.”

Prado (meadow). “The Prado” is also the name of a famous promenade in the city of Madrid.

Puente (bridge), in Los Ángeles County, was taken from the name of the land grant, Rancho de la Puente.

Pulgas Creek (fleas creek).

Redondo Beach (round beach), a well-known seaside resort near Los Ángeles, is usually supposed to have received its name from the curved line of the shore there, but the fact that a land grant occupying that identical spot was called Sausal Redondo (round willow-grove), from a clump of willows growing there accounts for its name.

Rivera (river, stream). Rivera was also the name of a pioneer family.

Rodéo de las Aguas (gathering of the waters), a name once given to the present site of La Brea Rancho, near Los Ángeles, perhaps because there is at that point a natural amphitheatre which receives the greater portion of the waters flowing from the neighboring mountains and the Cahuenga Pass.

San Clemente (St. Clement), the name of the island fifteen miles south of Santa Catalina. The saint for whom this island was named “was condemned to be cast into the sea bound to an anchor. But when the Christians prayed, the waters were driven back for three miles, and they saw a ruined temple which the sea had covered, and in it was found the body of the saint, with the anchor round his neck. For many years, at the anniversary of his death, the sea retreated for seven days, and pilgrimages were made to this submarine tomb.”—(Stories of the Saints.)

San Jacinto (St. Hyacinth), was a Silesian nobleman who became a monk, and was noted for his intellectual superiority, as well as for his piety. San Jacinto is the name of a town in Riverside County, thirty miles southeast of Riverside, in the fruit region, and of the range of mountains in the same county.

San Juan Point (St. John Point).

San Matéo Point (St. Matthew Point).

San Onofre (St. Onophrius), was a hermit saint whose chief claim to sanctity seems to have been that he deprived himself of all the comforts of life and lived for sixty years in the desert, “during which time he never uttered a word except in prayer, nor saw a human face.”

San Pedro (St. Peter), is on San Pedro bay, twenty-six miles south of Los Ángeles. St. Peter, the fisherman apostle and companion of St. Paul, is usually represented as the custodian of the keys of Heaven and Hell, one key being of gold and the other of iron. “There is a legend that the Gentiles shaved his head in mockery, and that from this originated the tonsure of the priests.” Peter suffered martyrdom by crucifixion, “but traditions disagree in regard to the place where he suffered.” The name Peter is said to signify “a rock.” “Thou art Peter, on this rock have I founded My church.”—(Matthew, 16, 18.)

Saticoy was the name of a former Chumash Indian village on the lower part of Santa Paula River, in Ventura County, about eight miles from the sea. The present town of Saticoy is on the Santa Clara River, in Ventura County, near Ventura.

Serra (a surname), probably given in honor of the celebrated founder of the California missions.

El Toro (the bull).

Trabuco Canyon (literally blunderbuss canyon), from trabuco, a short, wide-mouthed gun formerly used by the Spaniards, although this may not be the true derivation of the name in this case. One writer has translated this name as “land much tumbled about,” but where he obtained such a meaning remains an impenetrable mystery. Trabuco may be a surname here.

Valle Verde (green valley), incorrectly spelled on the map as Val Verde.

Valle Vista (valley view), is in Riverside County, five miles northwest of San Jacinto. This name is modern and incorrect in construction.

Verdugo was named for the Verdugo family, the owners of the Rancho San Rafael, northeast of Los Ángeles and near the base of the Verdugo mountains. José María Verdugo was one of the grantees of the Nietos grant in 1784.

Vicente Point (Point Vincent). This point was named in 1793 by George Vancouver, the English explorer, in honor of Friar Vicente Santa María, “one of the reverend fathers of the mission of Buena Ventura.”