TOPOGRAPHICAL NAMES. 431 



359. Indian Names. The Indian names in California 

 are numerous. Among them are Siskiyou, Klamath, Shasta, 

 Tehama, Colusa, Yolo, Napa, Sonoma, Mokelumne, Tuolumne, 

 Inyo, Mono, Chowchilla, Cahuilla, Tahoe, Saticoy, Hueneme 

 (called also Wynema), Suscol, Suisun, Cosumnes, Temecula, 

 Temascal, Jurupa, Petal uma, Tomales, Yreka, Ukiah, Guy- 

 ama, Cocomonga, Mayacmas, Bolbones, Guilicos, Huichica, 

 and Hoopah. Most of these are the names of tribes of In- 

 dians. The Mokelumne, Tuolumne, Chowchilla, and Cosum- 

 nes Rivers were called by the Spaniards el Rio de los Moque- 

 lumnes, el Rio de los Tuolumnes, etc. The second syllable ot 

 Moquelumne was changed by the Americans, to be spelled 

 with a k, which has the same sound as qu before e in Spanish. 

 Cahuilla is sometimes vulgarly spelled " Kaweah " by Ameri- 

 cans, who thus represent the Spanish pronunciation as nearly 

 as possible. Klamath and Shasta were formerly written " Tla- 

 math " and " Tshastl." Sonoma, by some persons written 

 " Zonoma" in early times, is an Indian word meaning " valley 

 of the moon." Temascal means an Indian sweat-house. So- 

 lano is a Spanish word meaning the south wind, but Solano 

 County was so called after the chief of the Suisun tribe of 

 Indians. I have not been able to learn whether his name was 

 given to him by the Spaniards, or was of Indian origin. 

 Marin County was also named after an Indian chief. Yreka 

 is a corruption of Wi-e-kah, which means white, and is the In- 

 dian name of Mount Shasta, at the foot of which the town is 

 situated. 



3150. American Names. Now we come to the American 

 names. Towns are named after Jackson, Washington, Lafay- 

 ette, and Stockton (the last was in command of the American 

 navy on this Coast during the Mexican war). The patronym- 

 ics of Alexander Humboldt, J. A. Sutter, Kern, and Peter 

 Lassen, are affixed to counties. Trinity River was so named 

 because the white man who discovered it in the mountains 

 supposed it emptied into the bay of Trinidad, which had been 



