he Omaha Illustrated
Bee
NUMBER 342.
Entered Second Class at Omaha Postoflice Published "Weekly by The Bee Publishing Co. Subscription, $2.50 Ter Year.
MAltCIT IS, IMG.
AROUND THE WORLD WITH WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
Superstition that Retards Material Progress of China Has Most Direct Effect on Social and Religious Habits of the People of the Celestial Empire as Well as on Their Business Undertakings
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ONGKONO, China, Dec. 19, 105.- (Special Correspondence
of The Bee.) In the flrst article on China reference was
made to some of the characteristics of the Chinese, but
the subject" was not exhausted; lu fact, lt.v. ould require -several
articles to exhaust this subject, and attention can
only be given to those traits or customs which are In most violent
contrast with our own.
Chinese society is patriarchal in its organization, the family
being the unit and the father the head of the family. The Chinese
sages present filial piety and fraternal submission p.s the root of all
benevolent action. The children are subject to the parents as long
as the parents live, and the younger sons are subject to the eldest.
The four relations which are continually discussed by the philoso
phers are: First, the relation between the king and his ministers;
second, between the father and his sons; third, between the eldest
brother and the younger brothers; and fourth, between the individ
ual and his fellows, but the fourth relation receives the least con
sideration. Marriages are arranged by the parents and the children must
be content with the selection made. When the wife is taken to the
home of the husband, she becomes a member of his family and sub
ject to her mother-in-law, if the husband's mother is still alive. As
other sons are married their wives are brought in and they are ex
pected to live peaceably together, an expectation -which is not alwaya
fully realized. As law and custom permit the system of concubinage,
it is not strange that the home a often the scene of contention
rather than the center of felicity. '
As the duty of sacrificing to ancestors falls upon the son, the
advent of a boy Is the signal for rejoicing, while the birth of a girl
is not considered a good omen. So unpopular was the female baby
that in some provinces many of ttfem were formerly put to death,
but child-murder is now on the decrease.
"Losing Face" a Serious Proposition
No one can visit China without becoming acquainted with a
peculiarly oriental phrase called . "losing face." One of the first
newspapers that I picked up in China described the attempted sui
cide of a man who complained that he had "lost his face" because
u magistrate refused to commence a prosecution on his complaint.
In China there is a constant effort to keep up appearances, and
when this is no longer possible the unfortunate one feels that he
cannot look anyone else in the face. Chinese life is saturated with
this "face" doctrine; it percolates through their disputes and oozes
out through the pores of their diplomacy. Justice is of less impor
tance in the deciding of a controversy than the saving of the parties
from the loss of "face." There are in each community "peace talk
ers," who make-a business of so adjusting disputes that neither party
will seem to be in the wrong.
In dealing with China this national character must be borne In
mind, and it is to be regretted that foreign nations have In their
negotiations sometimes imitated China instead of Setting her a bet
ter example. One constantly meets over here with the theory that
the foreigner must conform to, the methods of the'orient, but this la
always advanced as an excuse for following a bad custom. .It is ira
' possible to convince China that our ideal is a better one than hers
unless that Ideal is embodied in action.. When pur country admitted
that the Indemnity collected from Japan after the Shlmonoshekl
' affair was excessive, and returned it, It made a deep impression upon
the Japanese. It was several times referred to' by speakers during,.
our recent visit to Japan as an evidence of our country's desire to
do Justice to other nations. It Is Just as honorable for a nation to
acknowledge an error as It is for an individual. to do so, and our
nation has an opportunity toadmit another- excessive demand and
; return to Chin. a part of the indemnity collected at the close of the
Boxer trouble. . ' '
Duplicity a National Characteristic
No nation has ever given more emphasis to ceremony than does
China. Confucius places propriety among the cardinal virtues, and
the doctrine has been elaborated until the whole life is fettered by
formality. Each, rising generation is. drilled in the performance of
certain rites required by approved etiquette, and it would be humil
iating for one to have to confess that he did not know the proper
thing to do and the proper way to do it. Even sincerity was of less
' Importance, and both Confucius and Menclus set demoralizing exam
ples in placing the latter above the former. In the Analects an In
stance is given where one, Joo Pel, wished to see Confucius, but
the latter refused to see him "on the ground of beina. sick." When
. the bearer of the message had left, Confucius "took his harpsichord
and sang to it, in order that Pel might hear him." It is rehlted of
Menclus that he was about to go to court to see the king when he
received a message from the king saying that the latter "was wish
ing to call on Menclus, but was detained by a cold." Menclus re
plied: "Unfortunately I am unwell and unable to go to court," but
next day he went and paid a visit of condolence to another family.
While be was absent from the house the king's messenger called
Tenth of This Notable Series of Letters Eleventh
Letter Will Appear in The Bee Next Sunday
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CHINESE LADY MOUNTED FOR A RIDE.
with a physician, whereupon the representative of Menclus explained
that, he was sick the day before, but that being a little better he
had' hastened to court. It was then necessary to send out several
men to intercept Menclus and get him to the king's , house. All of
this subterfuge was resorted to In order to get the king to call upon
Menclus flrst. ,
" KowtcTving a Part of Ceremonial Procedure
x The kowtow is still a part of the ceremonial, greeting. . If two
officials are riding and meet, they dismount and(bow their heads, to
the ground. ; In the schools the students kowtow before a Confucian
tablet twice each month. When we visited the government school
at Shanghai we noticed mats upon the floor of the otherwise empty
assembly hall, and upon inquiry learned that at 7 the next morning
the students would perform the usnal Confucian rites. These con
sist of a series of kowtows. At a given signal the students kneel
on the mats and bow three times toward the tablet, their heads each
time touching the floor; they then rl6e and after a short Interval
kneel again at a signal and bow three times more. This ceremony
Is again repeated, making nine bows In all. Then they kneel and
bow three times to the professors; after saluting the professors each
student bows once to the student next to him and the meeting ad
journs. We thought it would be Interesting to witness this service
In honor of one who has received more formal reverence than other
mortals, and arising before it was light we made the journey to the
college, which is distant an hour's ride from the hotel. When we
arrived we found that for some reason which we could not ascertain
the ceremony would not be performed. Whether the' postponement
was due to objection to the presence of foreigners (visitors had
been present on former occasions) or to some other cause was left
In mystery. .
Our morning ride, however, answered one purpose; as the road
ran some distance by the side of a little stream it enabled us to see
something of houseboat life. Hundreds of little boats line the
stream, and in their diminutive mat-covered cabins were housed
thousands of natives, many of whom are born, live and dleain these
unstable homes. As they were preparing the morning meal, we had
a chance to confirm the stories regarding their want of cleanliness.'
It was. not an uncommon thing to see a woman washing rice in the
muddy water and a few feet away another woman throwing refuse
matter into the stream, or a man performing his morning ablutions.
At Canton one has a still larger opportunity to observe houseboat
life where the Pparl river, furnishes tbewater supply and at the
same time an op tnl sewer for a floating population of many thousand.
The contrast between the bath-loving Japanese and the dirty,
complaisant Chinese laborer is very marked, and this contrast is
also noticeable in the strsets. The sights and smells that greet the
senses along the narrow streets of a native city are not soon for
gotten Ty one who. travels through China, and one's ideas of mod
esty, too, are sadly wrenched.. ,.
Some Queer Customs of the Chinese
But whatever may be' said of the habits of the lower class
Chinese, they are an Industrious and patient people. After watching
them work and observing the conditions under which they live, one
can scarcely begrudge them whatever comfort they can find in the
dreams of heaven which they draw from their opium pipes. And
speaking of opium, one is restrained from speaking too harshly of
the habit by a recollection of the fact that the opium trade was
forced upon the "Heathen Chinee" by a great Christian nation.
The Chinese have their amusements, One of which is the thea
ter. We attended one theater in' Peking and found the room
crowded with men.' It was a commodious hall with a gallery, but
the stage was not relatively so large as in Japan. The acting re
minded us more of the American stage than .did the Japanese, but
ihe scenery was exceedingly scanty. The audience expressed itself
In approval or disapproval with a great deal of freedom.
We found a sport In China which we have not heard of else
where, viz., quail fighting. These little birds are matched against
each other as fighting cocks are in the Spanish countries. One
American told us of a fight between cockroaches. These combats,
as well as those between the quails, give an opportunity for betting
a vice which prevails in the orient as well as in the Occident.
There is one kind of bird contest which involves neither cruelty
nor bloodshed, although the element of gambling is also present in
it. I refer to the singing matches between larks. The Chinese are
very fond of birds and one cannot go upon the street without seeing
men carrying bird cages. The birds are aired much as pet dogs are
exercised in our country. The favorite singing bird is the lark, and
these are entered by their owners in contests, considerable sums
being often placed upon a bird. The award Is made by the birds
themselves, one after another confessing defeat until but one song
ster Is left upon his perch. The winner is quite exultant, while the
others show as much humiliation as a Chinaman who has loBt his
face, and will not afterward sing.
Superstitions That Hamper Progress
In another article I have referred to the superstitions bo wide
spread in China. There is one form of superstition which has inter
fered with both religion and commerce. The natives have for cen
turies been the victims of sorcerers and fortune tellers who, pro
fessing a knowledge of terrestrial and celestial forces,' style them
elves "Fungahul" doctors and make a living by selecting lucky
burial sites, foretelling the future, etc. There are certain spirits
which are supposed to preside over certain places, and any change
In the conformation of the ground Is thought to anger the spirits.
A railroad cut or fill in sometimes objected to for this reason, and a
church spire is, in the opinion of the superstitious, liable to endan
ger the peace and safety of a community. ' However, commerce Is
extending in spite of the "spirits" and the Christian religion Is grad
ually making headway against superstition. At Peking I attendod
a morning service at the Methodist church where some 600 Chinese
men and women listened to a sermon in their own language deliv
ered by an American missionary. On Thanksgiving day we ate din
ner at the Presbyterian mission, and during our travels through
China met a number of ministers, physicians and teachers. They
all testified to the stimulus given to the spread of religion by the
fidelity shown by the Chinese Christians during the Boxer troubles.
Prof. Isaac T. Headland of the Methodist university at Peking kns
published a volume entitled "Chinese Heroes," in which he gives
a number of instances of consecrated devotion on the part of the
Chinese to the Christian faith, and why should not China be a prom
ising mission field? Buddhism has here done Its perfect work and
cannot reasonably ask for a further trial; the philosophy of the
sages has also been shown Impotent for the harmonious development
, of the threefold man. China has followed an ideal and followed it
ith a diligence rarely exhibited, but that ideal has been weighed
in the balance and found wanting. It is often said in defense of Con
fucianism that its founder gave to his disciples the Golden Rule,
stated in Its negative form, but too little emphasis has been given
to the difference between the doctrine of Confucius, "Do not unto
others as you would not have others do unto you," and the doctrine
of the Nazarene. "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them." There is a world of difference between neg
ative harmlessness and positive helpfulness, and Christianity could
well afford to rest Its case against Confucianism on the comparison
of the two doctrines.
Rule of Life is Reciprocity
In the Analects of Confucius the . philosopher Is asked:. "Is
there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's
life?" He was answered: "Is not reciprocity such a word?" Here
we have the doctrine of selfishness as plausibly presented as It will
ever be again, Life is described as a balancing of favors, a nice cal
culation of good done and good received. There Is no suggestion
here of a heart overflowing with love, no intimation of a blessedness
to be found in giving.
At another time some one asked Confucius: "What do you say
concerning the principle that" injury should be recompensed with
kindness?" He replied: "With what then will you recompense
kindness? Recompense Injury with Justice and recompense kind
mess with kindness." In reply to another question,' he goes so far
as to charge that one "who returns good for evil, is a man that is
careful of his person." How different these precepts are from those
of the sermon on the mount! Christians are accused of failure to j ,
live up to the high Ideal presented by Jesus, and the accusation Is
just, and yet, although the Christian nations fall far short of the
measure which they themselves recognize, although professing Chris
tians reflect but imperfectly the rays which fall upon them from the
Sun of Righteousness, they are leading the world in all that Is en
nobling and uplifting, and China gives silent recognition to the su
periority of the western ideal in every reform which It undertakes.
W. J. BRYAN.
(Copyright, 1906.)
Meaning of Indian Names to Be Worked Out by National Commission
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Six Thousand Geographical Names of Aboriginal Origin to Be Translated Into Correct English and Their Significance Made Plain for the Uses of the Beading Public
THE commission appointed by the government to translate Into
concise, correct English ell Indian names found in the
geography of the United States has on its hands a job of
great magnitude, as may be comprehended When it Is con
sidered that more than 0,000 names, now fixed to various
points between Maine and California and the Canadian line and the
Rio Grande, commemorate the fact that the red man once was sole
possessor of the land. The names of his chiefs and of bis tribes are
forever fixed In. memory. Indian traditions are perpetuated er.d musi
cal Indian words have been Incorporated into our tongue, a legacy
of poetry and romance even in this practical age.'
Every name the Indian gave meant something. lie left to his pale
fnced brother the absurdities of preflxiug to 2,700 towns and settlements
the stale descriptive terms east, west, north, south; he left to the white
t nan the confusion of thirty-three Sprlugflelds In one union, not a fifth
of which were ever built In a fluid or by a spring; of Plnevllles without
a pine, Oakdales without an oak, Weymouths and Plymouth that are
not ot the mouth of the Wey, the Plym, or any other river; or Mount
Venions tweuty-five strong, many of them without even a hill to their
credit, and of 1,100 New Havens, New Yorks, New-towns and New-every-thlng-else,
all of which have long since ceased to be new.
Significance of Names
Not so with the Indian. He pitched his wigwam beside the
stream. Through the curling Maters the long dark stoue on the
river's bed looked like otters at play, and forthwith the camping place
received the name it bears today Kalamazoo "stones-llke-otters" in
the Iivllun tongue. Again, be saw ou a river bank a plue tree wreathed
in flame; for hours it threw lis torchlike glare over the landscape, as
would have Iwamed the glow of some council fire fed by attendant war
riors, and Potomac hat region became, a literal translation of which
U "the plrw-e of tho burning plue, that resembles a council tire."
Poughkeeprlu Is "a sal's harbor for small b:mt" Norridgevvock, "the
place of devr;" Ontario, " be village on tho niouutaiu;" Siiranac, "the
river that flnw under th ah," aud Saratoga, "the place of the mirac
ulous water in a rock."
fmllarly, 8cii-nectady Is "the river valley lieyond the plue trees;"
Schoharie is "the tributary that throws its waters strong over aud
across the main stream;" the Wabash is "a cloud blown forward by an
equinoctial wind;" Monongahela Is "the falllni,-ln-baok river;" Rappa
hannock, "the river of qulck-risiug water." snd Torouto, "oak treea
rising from the lake." Such wonls show a wondrous skill In the art of
word paluUug, aud their exprebslve Ludiau tvutu reflects their Ua-
presssions with a vivid minuteness impossible to more cumbersome
English.
Picturesque Terms.
There is no commonplace in Indian names. All of the Indian's
terms are picturesque, because alive and full of meaning to him. A
thousand examples could be given. Once, before the white man's day,
a cavlng-ln of a river bank revealed the huge fossil tusk of some pre
h'stirlc monster. At once the river received the name Chemung, "Big
Horn," and generations of squaws told to generations of papooses the
traditions of the big bones and wide Jaws that once had been found
there. In 1075 a portion of Maine was visited by a most devastating
fire. The Indians at once gave the region the name of Bchoodlc, the
"great burnt lands," perpetuating forever the memory of the terrible
disaster. Orinoco Is "colling snake," possibly a reference to the crooked
course of the stream, but more probably marking the notable killing
of some v enomous reptile.
Sometimes It was the physical features that were name-reflected.
Thus: Wetvimpka Is "tumbling waters;" Sandusky, the "cold spring;"
Katahdln, the "highest place;" Tioga, "the swift- current;" Niagara, the
"iieck of water;" Nahant is "at the point;" Passumpslck is "much
clear water," and Chautauqua Is the "foggy place." Sometimes the
Indian's names reflected bis superstitions. Thus, Manlto is "spirit,"
Montauk is "a manlto or spirit tree," and Mlnnewaukon means the
"devil's lake." Sometimes his names celebrate his hunting or fishing
exploits. Mackinaw Is an abbreviation of a longer word meaning "the
great turtle place." Qulnslgnmond means "the fishing place for pick
erel." There are several Amnions, which, as the government has a
peculiar penchant for lopping off the termlnatlve syllables of In
dian words, may not unreasonably be taken to represent Ammonoosuc,
an expressive Indian word meaning "fish-story river," a proof positive
that the red man, as well as his successors, srs given to telling tall
stories about his luck In fishing.
Fueds Perpetuated in Nimes
Even the Indian hates and hereditary ieuds find expression lu
names. The members of a certain Indian tribe, despised for their
peacefulness, were in contemptuous parlance Ottawa, "traders,"
while a fiercely fighting tribe were admiringly termed Erles, or "wild
cats," by their enemies. Our Iowas are a corruption of a derisive
word signifying "drowsy or sleep ones," a term given by the warlike
Sioux of the north to bis quieter red brethren of the plains. The
scornful Iroquois called each Alonquln of the New York mountains an
"Adirondack," signifying "he eat bark," The latter retorted by dub
bing e.ich Iroquois a "Mohawk," or "man eater," a grim testimonial In
its way to the fierce and relentless Iroquois character. The family of
the Sioux, the. famous fighters of the northwest, divided as they were
Into eight great branches or subtribes, gave to themselves the com
prehensive name of Dakotas, "allied together in friendly compact;"
but their Indian foemen called them by the bitter term of Sioux, "cut
throats." The Indian was a born story teller. Every lake and river, every
rock and every plain bad Its etrry, Its incident, Its legend. The In
dian gave ever those names that recalled these legends to bis mind.
, Winona, Minn., has a oeiutlfci legend. Winona, "first-born daugh
ter," wus the child of a stern tvarrtor. He bade her marry one ot the
notable braves-of his people. hUe loved another. Rather than marry
the brave, whom ahe bated, she threw herself from the cliff of the
Maiden's Leap, that overlooks the point where the Mississippi's waters
flow through I.ake Pepin, and beneath the river's turbulent waters
found the peace that was deuftd her on earth. Another Minnesota
legend, that of Minnehaha, recalls to most minds Longfellow's famous
poem. He, however, took the usual poet's license In the matter. In
the real legend, Minnehaha, "laughing water," did not become the bride
of Hiawatha, but was crossed In love. In her despair she sought the
falls of Minnehaha, after which she had been named. Here, over a
precipice sixty feet high, she took the fatal leap.
A Derisive Cry
All Indian traditions aie not sorrowful. Quite the reverse In
many cases, as the story of the naming of Wukarusu, Kan., will show.
Once a party of Indians on the trail were stopped In their progress by
a swollen and angry looking stream." "Deep water, bad bottom!"
grunted the braves, hesitating at the brink of the river, unwilling to
turn back, doubting that they could cross. At length an Indian crept
up behind bis squaw, who was seated ou a small Iudlau pony, and de
liberately pushed pony, squaw and all over the bank Into the rapid,
muddy current, meanwhile looking stoically on to see whether she
would gain the opposite baak in safety or drown before his eyes. The
astonished and enraged squaw struck out for midstream, and lo! the
waters had but spread over a shallow basin and the danger had beeu
but appareut, not real. Derisively the squaw rose and scornfully
thrieked at her liege lord, who had been so willing to have beon sum
marily rid of her: "Wakarusa! Wakarusal" (Thlghleep, thigh-deep).
And Wakarusa the region has remained until this day.
Tepee City, Squaw Valley and Sachem's Head show that the In
dian was once a power, and so, also, do Indlanola, Indian polU, Indian
Hay, Indian Bayou, Indian Bottom, Camp and Creek; Indian Diggings,
Falls, Gap, Gulch and Head; Indian Mound, Neck, Ridge and River;
Indian Rock, Run, Springs and Townr Indian Trail and Indian Valley.
He .has left behind him his klnnlklnnlck that he used to smoke, his
moccasin that he used to wear, medicine lodge that he used to visit,
and the wampum for which he bartered bis pony or bis beaver skins.
He has left behind him, also, the Indian names of mauy familiar ob
jects, though the memory of these meanings has all but been forgot
ten. Mondamln means corn; wawa, wild goose; opeechee, the robin;
Roanoke, a seashell; Chicago, the wild onion; omeeme, a pigeon; waw
beek, a rock, etc.
Musical and Alliterative
The Indian has left behind him hundreds of musical alliterative
names, in which the consonant or vowel sounds are doubled. Good
examples are Wawaka, Wawasee, Kankakee, Kennekuk, Tuscaloosa,
Tallahassee, Ocklocknee, Oboopee, Oshkosh, MInnetouka, Massabeslc,
Contoocook, Loogootee and Hatchechubbee. We like to roll bis Ken
nebuuk and Cuttyhunk, his Nantucket and Wacbusett, his Kickapoq
and Tetonka over our tongues, and it would be deplorable ludeed If
they also should have to go aud be translated 'Into "correct and con
cise" English.
Other historical landmarks closely Interwoven with Indian his
tory, but whose names will remain untouched by the commission, the
place names that preserve the memory of the early missionaries and
explorers, and of the first pioneers, sturdy men of the wilderness, every
one of'tbein Inured to hardship and skillful in expedient, as he liter
ally took his life In his hand as he ventured among hostile redskins
In an unknown land. The names of De Soto, Ponce de Leou, Hud
son, Champlaln and La Salle, and of Fathers Heuuepin aud Mar
quette are Interwoven with the very beginnings of our history, just as
the names of 1'reiiiout, Ivvis and Clark are ludlssolubly linked with
the early days of the far west. Washington Star.
Into a Society Pitfall
Modern society is full of pitfalls aud perils, as a certain smart
young man realized to his sorrow the other day.
"Oh, I'm sure I've met you before," he declared to a pretty woman
whose name, of course, be had not caught Ignoring the warning
frown from a friend he rushed on. "Why, of course, I used to see you
around with Blank-Dans'; now, didn't I?" And he smiled triumphantly.
"I can't deny It," she returned sweetly, "but I couldn't help It I1
used to be married to Lim," New Xork Sun,