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diff --git a/35634-h/35634-h.htm b/35634-h/35634-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e1142d2 --- /dev/null +++ b/35634-h/35634-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1892 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<!-- $Id: header.txt 236 2009-12-07 18:57:00Z vlsimpson $ --> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Word Hoosier by Jacob Piatt Dunn and John Finley by Mrs. Sarah A. Wrigley. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em;} + + body {margin-left: 12%; margin-right: 11%;} + + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right; font-style: normal;} + + hr {width: 33%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; clear: both;} + + .giant {font-size: 200%} + .huge {font-size: 150%} + .big {font-size: 125%} + + .blockquot {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .blockquot2 {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 15%;} + .poem {margin-left:20%;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .fnanchor {font-size: 80%;text-decoration: none;vertical-align: 0.25em;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + + </style> +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Word Hoosier; John Finley, by +Jacob Piatt Dunn and Sarah A. Wrigley + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Word Hoosier; John Finley + Indiana Historical Society Publications, Volume IV, Number 2 + +Author: Jacob Piatt Dunn + Sarah A. Wrigley + +Release Date: March 20, 2011 [EBook #35634] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WORD HOOSIER; JOHN FINLEY *** + + + + +Produced by Bryan Ness, David E. Brown and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + + <p class="center"><span class="huge">INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS</span></p> + + <p class="center"><span class="smcap">Volume IV</span> <span class= + "smcap">Number 2</span></p> + + <p> </p> + + <p class="center"><span class="giant"><strong>THE WORD HOOSIER</strong></span></p> + + <p class="center"><span class="huge"><i>By</i> JACOB PIATT DUNN</span></p> + <p> </p> + + <p class="center">AND</p><p> </p> + + <p class="center"><span class="giant"><strong>JOHN FINLEY</strong></span></p> + + <p class="center"><span class="huge"><i>By</i> MRS. SARAH A. WRIGLEY</span></p> + + <p class="center">(His Daughter)</p><p> </p> + + <p class="center">INDIANAPOLIS</p> + + <p class="center">THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY</p> + + <p class="center">1907</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + + <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> + + <p class="center"><span class="giant"><strong>THE WORD "HOOSIER."</strong></span></p> + + <p>During the period of about three-quarters of a century in which the State of + Indiana and its people have been designated by the word "Hoosier," there has been a + large amount of discussion of the origin and meaning of the term, but with a notable + lack of any satisfactory result. Some of these discussions have been almost wholly + conjectural in character, but others have been more methodical, and of the latter the + latest and most exhaustive—that of Mr. Meredith Nicholson<a name="FNanchor_1_1" + id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor"><sup>[1]</sup></a> + —sums up the results in the statement "The origin of the term 'Hoosier' is not + known with certainty." Indeed the statement might properly have been made much + broader, for a consideration of the various theories offered leaves the unprejudiced + investigator with the feeling that the real solution of the problem has not even been + suggested. This lack of satisfactory conclusions, however, may be of some value, for + it strongly suggests the probability that the various theorists have made some false + assumption of fact, and have thus been thrown on a false scent, at the very beginning + of their investigations.</p> + + <p>As is natural in such a case, there has been much of assertion of what was merely + conjectural, often accompanied by the pioneer's effort to make evidence of his theory + by the statement that he was "in Indiana at the time and knows the facts." The + acceptance of all such testimony would necessarily lead to the adoption of several + conflicting conclusions. In addition to this cause of error, there have crept into + the discussion several misstatements of fact that have been commonly adopted, and it + is evident that in order to reach any reliable conclusion now, it will be necessary + to examine the facts critically and ascertain what are tenable.</p> + + <p>The traditional belief in Indiana is that the word was first put in <span class= + "pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>print by John Finley, in his + poem "The Hoosiers Nest," and this is noted by Berry Sulgrove, who was certainly as + well acquainted with Indiana tradition as any man of his time.<a name="FNanchor_2_1" + id="FNanchor_2_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_1" class="fnanchor"><sup>[2]</sup></a> + This belief is at least probably well founded, for up to the present time no prior + use of the word in print has been discovered. This poem attracted much attention at + the time, and was unquestionably the chief cause of the widespread adoption of the + word in its application to Indiana, for which reasons it becomes a natural + starting-point in the inquiry.</p> + + <p>It is stated by Oliver H. Smith that this poem originally appeared as a New Year's + "carriers' address" of the Indianapolis Journal in 1830,<a name="FNanchor_3_1" id= + "FNanchor_3_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_1" class="fnanchor"><sup>[3]</sup></a> and + this statement has commonly been followed by other writers, but this is clearly + erroneous, as any one may see by inspection of the files of the Journal, for it + printed its address in the body of the paper in 1830, and it is a totally different + production. After that year it discontinued this practice and issued its addresses on + separate sheets, as is commonly done at present. No printed copy of the original + publication is in existence, so far as known, but Mr. Finley's daughter—Mrs. + Sarah Wrigley, former librarian of the Morrison Library, at Richmond, + Indiana—has a manuscript copy, in the author's handwriting, which fixes the + date of publication as Jan. 1, 1833. There is no reason to question this date, + although Mr. Finley states in his little volume of poems printed in 1860, that this + poem was written in 1830. The poem as it originally appeared was never reprinted in + full, so far as is known, and in that form it is entirely unknown to the present + generation, although it has been reproduced in several forms, and in two of them by + direct authority of the author.<a name="FNanchor_4_1" id="FNanchor_4_1"></a><a href= + "#Footnote_4_1" class="fnanchor"><sup>[4]</sup></a> The author used his privilege of + revising his work, and while he may have improved his poetry, he seriously marred its + historical value.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> + + <p>As the manuscript copy is presumably a literal transcript of the original + publication, with possibly the exception that the title may have been added at a + later date, I reproduce it here in full:</p> + + <p class="center"><span class="huge">ADDRESS</span><br/> + Of the Carrier of the Indianapolis Journal,<br/> + January 1, 1833.<br/> + <span class="big">THE HOOSIER'S NEST.</span></p> + + <p class="poem"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Compelled to seek the Muse's aid,</span><br/> + Your carrier feels almost dismay'd<br/> + When he attempts in nothing less<br /> + Than verse his patrons to address,<br/> + Aware how very few excel<br /> + In the fair art he loves so well,<br/> + And that the wight who would pursue it<br /> + Must give his whole attention to it;<br/> + But, ever as his mind delights<br /> + To follow fancy's airy flights<br /> + Some object of terrestrial mien<br /> + Uncourteously obtrudes between<br /> + And rudely scatters to the winds<br /> + The tangled threads of thought he spins;<br/> + His wayward, wild imagination<br /> + Seeks objects of its own creation<br /> + Where Joy and Pleasure, hand in hand,<br/> + Escort him over "Fairyland,"<br/> + Till some imperious earth-born care<br /> + Will give the order, "As you were!"<br/> + From this the captious may infer<br /> + That I am but a groveling cur<br /> + Who would essay to pass for more<br /> + Than other people take me for,<br/> + So, lest my friends be led to doubt it,<br/> + I think I'll say no more about it,<br/> + But hope that on this noted day<br /> + My annual tribute of a lay<br /> + In dogg'rel numbers will suffice<br /> + For such as are not over nice.<br/> + <br/> + The great events which have occur'd<br /> + (And all have seen, or read or heard)<br/> + Within a year, are quite too many<br /> + For me to tarry long on any—<br/> + Then let not retrospection roam<br /> + But be confined to things at home.<br/> + A four years' wordy war just o'er<br /> + Has left us where we were before<br /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>Old Hick'ry + triumphs,—we submit<br /> + (Although we thought another fit)<br/> + For all of Jeffersonian school<br /> + Wish the majority to rule—<br/> + Elected for another term<br /> + We hope his measures will be firm<br /> + But peaceful, as the case requires<br /> + To nullify the nullifiers—<br/> + And if executive constructions<br /> + By inf'rence prove the sage deductions<br /> + That Uncle Sam's "old Mother Bank"<br/> + Is managed by a foreign crank<br /> + And constituted by adoption<br /> + The "heir apparent" of corruption—<br/> + No matter if the facts will show<br /> + That such assertions are not so,<br/> + His Veto vengeance must pursue her<br /> + And all that are appended to her—<br/> + But tho' hard times may sorely press us,<br/> + And want, and debts, and duns distress us,<br/> + We'll share a part of Mammon's manna<br /> + By chart'ring Banks in Indiana.<br/> + <br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Blest Indiana! In whose soil</span><br/> + Men seek the sure rewards of toil,<br/> + And honest poverty and worth<br /> + Find here the best retreat on earth,<br/> + While hosts of Preachers, Doctors, Lawyers,<br/> + All independent as wood-sawyers,<br/> + With men of every hue and fashion,<br/> + Flock to this rising "Hoosher" nation.<br/> + Men who can legislate or plow,<br/> + Wage politics or milk a cow—<br/> + So plastic are their various parts,<br/> + Within the circle of their arts,<br/> + With equal tact the "Hoosher" loons,<br/> + Hunt offices or hunt raccoons.<br/> + A captain, colonel, or a 'squire,<br/> + Who would ascend a little higher,<br/> + Must court the people, honest souls.<br/> + He bows, caresses and cajoles,<br/> + Till they conceive he has more merit<br /> + Than nature willed he should inherit,<br/> + And, running counter to his nature,<br/> + He runs into the Legislature,<br/> + Where if he pass for wise and mute,<br/> + Or chance to steer the proper chute,<br/> + In half a dozen years or more<br /> + He's qualified for Congress floor.<br/> + <br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">I would not have the world suppose</span><br/> + Our public men are all like those,<br/> + For even in this infant State<br /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>Some may be + wise, and good, and great.<br/> + But, having gone so far, 'twould seem<br /> + (Since "Hoosher" manners is the theme)<br/> + That I, lest strangers take exception,<br/> + Should give a more minute description,<br/> + And if my strains be not seraphic<br /> + I trust you'll find them somewhat graphic.<br/> + <br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Suppose in riding somewhere West</span><br/> + A stranger found a "Hoosher's" nest,<br/> + In other words, a buckeye cabin<br /> + Just big enough to hold Queen Mab in,<br/> + Its situation low but airy<br /> + Was on the borders of a prairie,<br/> + And fearing he might be benighted<br /> + He hailed the house and then alighted<br /> + The "Hoosher" met him at the door,<br/> + Their salutations soon were o'er;<br/> + He took the stranger's horse aside<br /> + And to a sturdy sapling tied;<br/> + Then, having stripped the saddle off,<br/> + He fed him in a sugar trough.<br/> + The stranger stooped to enter in,<br/> + The entrance closing with a pin,<br/> + And manifested strong desire<br /> + To seat him by the log heap fire,<br/> + Where half a dozen Hoosheroons,<br/> + With mush and milk, tincups and spoons,<br/> + White heads, bare feet and dirty faces,<br/> + Seemed much inclined to keep their places,<br/> + But Madam, anxious to display<br /> + Her rough and undisputed sway,<br/> + Her offspring to the ladder led<br /> + And cuffed the youngsters up to bed.<br/> + Invited shortly to partake<br /> + Of venison, milk and johnny-cake<br /> + The stranger made a hearty meal<br /> + And glances round the room would steal;<br/> + One side was lined with skins of "varments"<br/> + The other spread with divers garments,<br/> + Dried pumpkins overhead were strung<br /> + Where venison hams in plenty hung,<br/> + Two rifles placed above the door,<br/> + Three dogs lay stretched upon the floor,<br/> + In short, the domicile was rife,<br/> + With specimens of "Hoosher" life.<br/> + <br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">The host who centered his affections,</span><br/> + On game, and range, and quarter sections<br /> + Discoursed his weary guest for hours,<br/> + Till Somnus' ever potent powers<br /> + Of sublunary cares bereft them<br /> + And then I came away and left them.<br/> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span><span style= + "margin-left: 1em;">No matter how the story ended</span><br/> + The application I intended<br /> + Is from the famous Scottish poet<br /> + Who seemed to feel as well as know it<br /> + "That buirdly chiels and clever hizzies<br /> + Are bred in sic a way as this is."<br/> + One more subject I'll barely mention<br /> + To which I ask your kind attention<br /> + My pockets are so shrunk of late<br /> + I can not nibble "Hoosher bait."</p> + + <p>It will be noted that throughout the manuscript the word is spelled "Hoosher" and + is always put in quotation marks. Mrs. Wrigley informs me that her father had no + knowledge of the origin of the word, but found it in verbal use when he wrote. She is + confident, however, that he coined the word "hoosheroon," and the probability of this + is increased by the fact that he did not quote it in his manuscript. In later + editions of the poem he used the form "Hoosier." His original spelling shows that the + word was not common in print, and several years passed before the spelling became + fixed in its present form.</p> + + <p>Although the word "Hoosier" has not been found in print earlier than January 1, + 1833, it became common enough immediately afterwards. In fact the term seems to have + met general approval, and to have been accepted by everybody. On January 8, 1833, at + the Jackson dinner at Indianapolis, John W. Davis gave the toast, "The Hooshier State + of Indiana."<a name="FNanchor_5_1" id="FNanchor_5_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_1" + class="fnanchor"><sup>[5]</sup></a> On August 3, 1833, the Indiana Democrat published + the following prospectus of a new paper to be established by ex-Gov. Ray and + partner:</p> + + <p class="center"><span class="big">PROSPECTUS</span><br/> + + FOR PUBLISHING<br/> + + <span class="huge">THE HOOSIER</span><br/> + + <span class="big">AT GREENCASTLE, INDIANA,</span><br/> + + <span class="big">BY J. B. RAY & W. M. TANNEHILL.</span></p> + + <p class="blockquot">We intend publishing a real <i>Newspaper</i>. To this promise, (though + comprehensive enough) we would add, that it is intended<span class= + "pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> to make the <i>moral</i> + and political world contribute their full share, in enriching its columns.</p> + + <p class="blockquot">The arts and sciences, and agriculture and commerce, and literature shall all + receive a due portion of our care.</p> + + <p class="blockquot">Left to our choice we might refrain from remark on presidential matters; but + supposing, that you may require an intimation, suffice it to say, that our past + preference has been for General Jackson and his administration; and we deem it + premature to decide as to the future without knowing who are to be the candidates. + Those men who shall sustain <i>Western measures</i>, shall be our men. Believing + that there is but <i>one</i> interest in the <i>West</i>, and but little occasion + for partyism beyond the investigation of principles and the conduct of + functionaries, we would rather encourage <i>union</i> than excite <i>division</i>. + We shall constantly keep in view the happiness, interest and prosperity of + <i>all</i>. To the <i>good</i>, this paper will be as a shield; to the <i>bad</i>, + a terror.</p> + + <p class="blockquot">The Hoosier will be published weekly, at $2 in advance and 25 cents for every + three months delay of payment, per annum, on a good sheet of paper of superroyal + size, to be enlarged to an imperial as the subscription will justify it.</p> + + <p class="blockquot">This paper shall do honor to the people of Putnam county; and we expect to see + them patronize us. The press is now at Greencastle. Let subscription papers be + returned by the 1st of Sept. when the first number will appear.</p> + + <p>On Oct. 26, 1833 the Indiana Democrat republished from the Cincinnati Republican a + discussion of the origin and making of the word "Hoosier," which will be quoted in + full hereafter, which shows that the term had then obtained general adoption. C. F. + Hoffman, a traveler who passed through the northern part of the state, says, under + date of Dec. 29, 1833:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">I am now in the land of the <i>Hooshiers</i>, and find that long-haired race + much more civilized than some of their Western neighbors are willing to represent + them. The term "Hooshier," like that of Yankee, or Buckeye, first applied + contemptuously, has now become a <i>soubriquet</i> that bears nothing invidious + with it to the ear of an Indianian. + <a name="FNanchor_6_1" id="FNanchor_6_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_1" class="fnanchor"><sup>[6]</sup></a></p> + + + <p>On Jan. 4, 1834, the Indiana Democrat quoted from the Maysville, Ky., Monitor, + "The <i>Hoosier</i> State like true democrats have taken the lead in appointing + delegates to a National Convention etc." On May 10, 1834, the Indianapolis Journal + printed the following editorial paragraph:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">The Hooshier, started some time ago by Messrs. Ray and Tannehill, at + Greencastle, has sunk into repose; and a new paper<span class="pagenum"><a name= + "Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> entitled the "Greencastle Advertiser," + published by James M. Grooms, has taken its place.</p> + + <p>It is quite possible that this statement was made with the mischievous intent of + stirring up Gov. Ray, for he was rather sensitive, and the Whigs seemed to delight in + starting stories that called forth indignant denials from him. If this was the + purpose it was successful, for on May 31 the Journal said:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">We understand that another No. of the Hooshier has been recently received in + town, and that it contains quite a bitter complaint about our remark a week or two + ago, that it had "sunk into repose." We assure the Editor that we made the remark + as a mere matter of news, without any intention to rejoice at the suspension of the + paper. Several weeks had passed over without any paper being received, and it was + currently reported that it had "blowed out" and therefore, as a mere passing + remark, we stated that it had "sunk into repose." We have no objection that it + should live a thousand years.</p> + + <p>The new paper, however, did not last as long as that. It was sold in the fall of + 1834 to J. W. Osborn who continued the publication, but changed the name, in the + following spring, to the "Western Plough Boy." On Sept. 19, 1834, the Indiana + Democrat had the following reference to Mr. Finley:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">The poet <i>laureat</i> of Hoosierland and editor of the Richmond Palladium has + threatened to cut acquaintance with B. of the Democrat!! The gentleman alluded to + is the same individual that was unceremoniously robbed, by the Cincinnati + Chronicle, of the credit of immortalizing our State in verse, by that justly + celebrated epic of the "Hoosier's Nest."</p> + + <p>On Nov. 29. 1834, the Vincennes Sun used the caption, "Hoosier and Mammoth + Pumpkins," over an article reprinted from the Cincinnati Mirror concerning a load of + big pumpkins from Indiana.</p> + + <p>These extracts sufficiently demonstrate the general acceptation of the name in the + two years following the publication of Finley's poem. The diversified spelling of the + word at this period shows that it was new in print, and indeed some years elapsed + before the now accepted spelling became universal. On Jan. 6, 1838 the Ft. Wayne + Sentinel, republished the portion of the poem beginning with the words, + "Blest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> + Indiana, in her soil." It was very probable that this publication was made directly + from an original copy of the carrier's address, for Thomas Tigar, one of the founders + and editors of the Ft. Wayne Sentinel, had been connected with the Indianapolis press + in January 1833, and the old-fashioned newspaperman was accustomed to preserve + articles that struck his fancy, and reproduce them. In this publication the poem is + given as in the Finley manuscript, except that the first two times the word occurs it + is spelled "hoosier" and once afterward "hoosheer," the latter evidently a + typograpical error. At the other points it is spelled "hoosher." This original form + of the word also indicates that there has been some change in the pronunciation, and + this is confirmed from another source. For many years there have been perodical + discussions of the origin of the word in the newspapers of the State, and in one of + these, which occurred in the Indianapolis Journal, in 1860, when numerous + contemporaries of Finley were still living, Hon. Jere Smith, a prominent citizen of + Winchester, made this statement:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">My recollection is that the word began to be used in this country in the fall of + 1824, but it might have been as late as 1826 or 1827, when the Louisville & + Portland canal was being made. I first heard it at a corn-husking. It was used in + the sense of "rip-roaring," "half horse" and "half alligator," and such like + backwoods coinages. It was then, and for some years afterwards, spoken as if + spelled "husher," the "u" having the sound it has in "bush," "push," etc. In 1829, + 1830 and 1831 its sound glided into "hoosher," till finally Mr. Finley's "Hoosier's + Nest" made the present orthography and pronunciation classical, and it has remained + so since.<a name="FNanchor_7_1" id="FNanchor_7_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_1" + class="fnanchor"><sup>[7]</sup></a></p> + + <p>Of course, this is not conclusive evidence that there was a change in + pronunciation, for Mr. Smith's observation may have extended to one neighborhood + only, and it may have taken on a variant pronunciation at the start, but his + testimony, in connection with the changed spelling, is certainly very plausible.</p> + + <p>There have been offered a number of explanations of the<span class= + "pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> origin of the word, and + naturally those most commonly heard are those that have been most extensively + presented in print. Of the "authorities" on the subject perhaps the best known is + Bartlett "Dictionary of Americanism's" which was originally published in 1838 and was + widely circulated in that and the subsequent edition, besides being frequently + quoted. Its statement is as follows:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">Hoosier. A nickname given at the West, to natives of Indiana.<br/></p> + + <p class="blockquot">A correspondent of the Providence Journal, writing from Indiana, gives the + following account of the origin of this term:<br/></p> + <p class="blockquot2">Throughout all the early Western + settlements were men who rejoiced in their physical strength, and on numerous + occasions, at log-rollings and house-raisings, demonstrated this to their entire + satisfaction. They were styled by their fellow-citizens, hushers, from their + primary capacity to still their opponents. It was a common term for a bully + throughout the West. The boatmen of Indiana were formerly as rude and primitive a + set as could well belong to a civilized country, and they were often in the habit + of displaying their pugilistic accomplishments upon the levee at New Orleans. Upon + a certain occasion there one of these rustic professors of the "noble art" very + adroitly and successfully practiced the "fancy" upon several individuals at one + time. Being himself not a native of the Western world, in the exuberance of his + exultation he sprang up, exclaiming, in a foreign accent, "I'm a hoosier, I'm a + hoosier." Some of the New Orleans papers reported the case, and afterwards + transferred the corruption of the word "husher" (hoosier) to all the boatmen from + Indiana, and from thence to all her citizens. The Kentuckians, on the contrary, + maintained that the nickname expresses the gruff exclamation of their neighbors, + when one knocks at a door, etc., "Who's yere?"</p> + + <p>Both of these theories have had adherents, and especially the latter, though + nobody has ever found any basis for their historical features beyond the assertion of + this newspaper correspondent. Nobody has ever produced any evidence of the use of the + word "husher" as here indicated. It is not found in any dictionary of any + kind—not even in Bartlett's. I have never found any indication of its former + use or its present survival. And there is no greater evidence of the use of the + expression "Who's yere?" when approaching a house. As a matter of fact, the common + custom when coming to a house and desiring communication with the residents was to + call,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> "Hallo + the house!" And this custom is referred to in Finley's line:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">He hailed the house, and then alighted.</p> + + <p>Furthermore, if a person who came to a house called "Who's yere?" what cause would + there be for calling the people who lived in the house "who's yeres?" There is + neither evidence nor reason to support it. But there is still a stronger reason for + discarding these theories, and most others. To produce the change of a word or term + by corruption, there must be practical identity of sound and accent. It was natural + enough for the Indiana pioneers to convert "au poste" into "Opost." It was natural + enough for the New Mexican settlers to change "Jicarilla" to "Hickory." It was + natural enough for the Colorado cowboys to transform "Purgatoire river" to + "Picketwire river." But there is scant possibility of changing "husher," or "who's + yere"—as it would probably be spoken—into "hoosh-er." This consideration + has led to the suggestion that the expression from which the word came was "who is + yer?" but there is nothing to support this. The early settlers did not use "is" for + "are" but usually pronounced the latter "air." And they did not say "yer" for "you," + though they often used it for "your."</p> + + <p>Another theory, almost as popular as these, derives the word from "hussar," and + this theory, in its various forms, harks back to a Col. John Jacob Lehmanowsky, who + served under Napoleon, and afterwards settled in Indiana, where he became widely + known as a lecturer on the Napoleonic wars. The tradition preserved in his family is + that once while in Kentucky he became engaged in a dispute with some natives, and + sought to settle the matter by announcing that he was a hussar. They understood him + to say that he was a "hoosier," and thereafter applied that name to everybody from + Indiana. This theory has several shapes, one being presented by the Rev. Aaron Wood, + the pioneer preacher, thus:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">The name "hoosier" originated as follows: When the young men of the Indiana side + of the Ohio river went to Louisville,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id= + "Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> the Kentucky men boasted over them, calling them "New + Purchase Greenies," claiming to be a superior race, composed of half horse, half + alligator, and tipped off with snapping turtle. These taunts produced fights in the + market house and streets of Louisville. On one occasion a stout bully from Indiana + was victor in a fist fight, and having heard Colonel Lehmanowsky lecture on the + "Wars of Europe," who always gave martial prowess to the German Hussars in a fight, + pronouncing hussars "hoosiers" the Indianian, when the Kentuckian cried "enough," + jumped up and said: "I am a Hoosier," and hence the Indianians were called by that + name. This was its true origin. I was in the State when it occured.<a name= + "FNanchor_8_1" id="FNanchor_8_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_1" class= + "fnanchor"><sup>[8]</sup></a></p> + + <p>Unfortunately, others are equally positive as to their "true origins." The chief + objection that has been urged to this theory is that Lehmanowsky was not in the State + when the term began to be used, and the evidence on this point is not very + satisfactory. His son, M. L. Lehmanowsky, of DePauw, Ind., informs me that his father + came to this country in 1815, but he is unable to fix the date of his removal to + Indiana. Published sketches of his life + <a name="FNanchor_9_1" id="FNanchor_9_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_1" class="fnanchor"><sup>[9]</sup></a> state that he was with + Napoleon at Waterloo; that he was afterwards imprisoned at Paris; that he escaped and + made his way to New York; that he remained for several years at New York and + Philadelphia where he taught school; that he came to Rush county, Indiana, and there + married and bought a farm; that after bearing him seven children his wife died; that + he then removed to Harrison county, arriving there in 1837. These data would indicate + that he came to Indiana sometime before 1830. The date of the deed to his farm, as + shown by the Rush county records, is April 30, 1835. Aside from the question of date, + it is not credible that a Polish officer pronounced "hussar" "hoosier," or that from + the use of that word by a known foreigner a new term could spring into existence, and + so quickly be applied to the natives of the State where he chanced to live.</p> + + <p>To these theories of the origin of the word may be added one communicated to me by + James Whitcomb Riley, whose <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg + 15]</a></span>acquaintance with dialect makes him an authority on the subject. It is evidently + of later origin than the others, and not so well known to the public. A casual + conversation happening to turn to this subject, he said: "These stories commonly told + about the origin of the word 'Hoosier' are all nonsense. The real origin is found in + the pugnacious habits of the early settlers. They were very vicious fighters, and not + only gouged and scratched, but frequently bit off noses and ears. This was so + ordinary an affair that a settler coming into a bar room on a morning after a fight, + and seeing an ear on the floor, would merely push it aside with his foot and + carelessly ask, 'Who's year'?" I feel safe in venturing the opinion that this theory + is quite as plausible, and almost as well sustained by historical evidence, as any of + the others.</p> + + <p>In this connection it is of interest to note the earliest known discussion of the + meaning of the word, which has been referred to as republished in the Indiana + Democrat of Oct. 26, 1833. It is as follows:</p> + + <p class="center"><span class="big">HOOSHIER.</span></p> + + <p class="blockquot">The appellation of Hooshier has been used in many of the Western States, for + several years, to designate, in a good natural way, an inhabitant of our sister + state of Indiana. Ex-Governor Ray has lately started a newspaper in Indiana, which + he names "The Hoshier" (sic). Many of our ingenious native philologists have + attempted, though very unsatisfactorily, to explain this somewhat singular term. + Mordecai M. Noah, in the late number of his Evening Star, undertakes to account for + it upon the faith of a rather apocryphal story of a recruiting officer, who was + engaged during the last war, in enlisting a company of HUSSARS, whom by mistake he + unfortunately denominated Hooshiers. Another etymologist tells us that when the + state of Indiana was being surveyed, the surveyors, on finding the residence of a + squatter, would exclaim "<i>Who's here</i>,"—that this exclamation, + abbreviated to <i>Hooshier</i> was, in process of time, applied as a distinctive + appellation to the original settlers of that state, and, finally to its inhabitants + generally. Neither of these hypotheses are deserving any attention. The word + Hooshier is indebted for its existence to that once numerous and unique, but now + extinct class of mortals called the Ohio Boatmen.—In its original acceptation + it was equivalent to "Ripstaver," "Scrouger," "Screamer," "Bulger," + "Ring-tailroarer," and a hundred others, equally expressive, but<span class= + "pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> which have never + attained to such a respectable standing as itself. By some caprice which can never + be explained, the appellation Hooshier became confined solely to such boatmen as + had their homes upon the Indiana shore, and from them it was gradually applied to + all the Indianians, who acknowledge it as good naturedly as the appellation of + Yankee—Whatever may have been the original acceptation of Hooshier this we + know, that the people to whom it is now applied, are amongst the bravest, most + intelligent, most enterprising, most magnanimous, and most democratic of the Great + West, and should we ever feel disposed to quit the state in which we are now + sojourning, our own noble Ohio, it will be to enroll ourselves as adopted citizens + in the land of the "HOOSHIER."—Cincinnati Republican.</p> + + <p>Here is a presentation of the question, ten months after Finley's publication, + covering most of the ground that has since been occupied. The "hussar" theory is + carried back to the war of 1812, long before Col. Lehmanowsky was in this country. + The "who's here" theory is carried back to the government surveys, although it is + certain that there were few, if any, "squatters" on government lands in Indiana + before the surveys were made. The "husher" theory, in embryo, is presented in the + writers theory, which is apparently conjectural, except perhaps as evidence that the + word was applied to the rather rough-looking class of flat-boatmen who made their + trips down the Ohio and Mississippi.</p> + + <p>There has been notable tendency to locate these stories at Louisville, and to + connect them with the building of the Louisville and Portland canal which was under + construction from 1826 to 1831, inclusive. The "husher" story is located there by + several of its advocates. Another story, of recent origin, coming from one + Vanblaricum, was recounted by Mr. George Cottman in the Indianapolis Press of + February 6, 1901. Vanblaricum claimed that while passing through southern Tennessee + he met a man named Hoosier, and this man said that a member of his family had a + contract on the construction of the Louisville and Portland canal; that he employed + his laborers from the Indiana side, and the neighbors got to calling them "Hoosier's + men," from which the name "Hoosier" came to be applied to Indiana men + generally.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> + Vanblaricum could not give the address of his informant, or any information tending + to confirm the story. At my request Mr. Louis Ludlow, Washington correspondent of the + Indianapolis Sentinel, made inquiry of the representatives from the southern + districts of Tennessee, and learned that none of them had ever heard of such a story, + or knew of the name "Hoosier" in his district. An examination of the directories of + Atlanta, Augusta, Baltimore, Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Little Rock, + Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Richmond, St. Louis, St. + Joseph, Savannah, Wheeling, Wilmington, the District of Columbia, and the state of + Tennessee, failed to reveal any such name as Hoosier. As it is hardly possible for a + family name to disappear completely, we may reasonably drop the Vanblaricum story + from consideration. The same conclusion will also apply to the story of a Louisville + baker, named Hoosier, from whom the term is sometimes said to have come. It is now + known that the occurrence of "Hoosier" as a Christian name in the minutes of an early + Methodist conference in Indiana, was the result of misspelling. The members name was + "Ho-si-er (accent on the second syllable) J. Durbin," and the secretary in writing it + put in an extra "o." It may be mentioned in this connection that "Hooser" is a rather + common family name in the South, and that "Hoos" is occasionally found.</p> + + <p>One of the most interesting wild-goose chases I ever indulged in was occasioned by + a passage in the narrative of Francis and Theresa Pulszky, entitled "White, Red and + Black." The Pulskys accompanied Kossuth on his trip through the States and visited + Indianapolis in 1852. In the account of this visit Mrs. Pulszky says:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">Governor Wright is a type of the Hoosiers, and justly proud to be one of them. I + asked him wherefrom his people had got this name. He told me that "Hoosa" is the + Indian name for maize, the principal produce of the State.</p> + + <p>This opened a new vista. The names "Coosa" and "Tallapoosa" came to memory. How + simple! The Indiana flatboatmen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id= + "Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> taking their loads of corn down the river were called + "Hoosa men" by the Southern Indians, and so the name originated. But a search of + Indian vocabularies showed no such name for maize or for anything else. The nearest + approaches to it are "Hoosac" and "Housatonic," which are both probably corruptions + from the same stem, "awass," meaning beyond or further. The latter word is supposed + to be the Indian "wassatinak," which is the New England form of the Algonquin + "awassadinang," meaning beyond the mountains.</p> + + <p>In 1854 Amelia M. Murray visited Indianapolis, and was for a time the guest of + Governor Wright. In her book entitled "Letters from the United States, Cuba and + Canada" (page 324), she says:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">Madame Pfeiffer (she evidently meant Mrs. Pulszky, for Madame Pfeiffer did not + come here and does not mention the subject) mistook Governor Wright, when she gave + from his authority another derivation for the word "Hoosier." It originated in a + settler's exclaiming "Huzza," upon gaining the victory over a marauding party from + a neighboring State.</p> + + <p>With these conflicting statements, I called on Mr. John C. Wright, son of Governor + Wright. He remembered the visits of the Pulszkys and Miss Murray, but knew nothing of + Madame Pfeiffer. He said: "I often heard my father discuss this subject. His theory + was that the Indiana flatboatmen were athletic and pugnacious, and were accustomed, + when on the levees of the Southern cities, to 'jump up and crack their heels + together' and shout 'Huzza,' whence the name of 'huzza fellows.' We have the same + idea now in 'hoorah people,' or 'a hoorah time.'"</p> + + <p>It will be noted that all these theories practically carry three features in + common:</p> + + <p>1. They are alike in the idea that the word was first applied to a rough, + boisterous, uncouth, illiterate class of people, and that the word originally implied + this character.</p> + + <p>2. They are alike in the idea that the word came from the South, or was first + applied by Southern people.</p> + + <p>3. They are alike in the idea that the word was coined for<span class= + "pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> the purpose of + designating Indiana people, and was not in existence before it was applied to + them.</p> + + <p>If our primary suspicion be correct, that all the investigators and theorists have + followed some false lead from the beginning, it will presumably be found in one of + these three common features. Of the three, the one that would more probably have been + derived from assumption than from observation is the third. If we adopt the + hypothesis that it is erroneous, we have left the proposition that the word + "hoosier," was in use at the South, signifying a rough or uncouth person, before it + was applied to Indiana; and if this were true it would presumably continue to be used + there in that sense. Now this condition actually exists, as appears from the + following evidence.</p> + + <p>In her recent novel, "In Connection with the De Willoughby Claim," Mrs. Frances + Hodgson Burnett refers several times to one of her characters—a boy from North + Carolina—as a "hoosier." In reply to an inquiry she writes to me:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">The word "hoosier" in Tennessee and North Carolina seems to imply, as you + suggest, an uncouth sort of rustic. In the days when I first heard it my idea was + also that—in agreement with you again—it was a slang term. I think a + Tennesseean or Carolinian of the class given to colloquialisms would have applied + the term "hoosier" to any rustic person without reference to his belonging to any + locality in particular. But when I lived in Tennessee I was very young and did not + inquire closely into the matter.</p> + + <p>Mrs. C. W. Bean, of Washington, Ind., furnishes me this statement:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">In the year 1888, as a child, I visited Nashville, Tenn. One day I was walking + down the street with two of my aunts, and our attention was attracted by a large + number of mountaineers on the streets, mostly from northern Georgia, who had come + in to some sort of society meeting. One of my aunts said, "What a lot of hoosiers + there are in town." In surprise I said, "Why I am a Hoosier." A horrified look came + over my aunt's face and she exclaimed, "For the Lord's sake, child, don't let any + one here know you're a hoosier." I did not make the claim again for<span class= + "pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> on inspection the + visitors proved a wild-looking lot who might be suspected of never having seen + civilization before.</p> + + <p>Miss Mary E. Johnson, of Nashville, Tenn., gives the following statement:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">I have been familiar with the use of the word "hoosier" all my life, and always + as meaning a rough class of country people. The idea attached to it, as I + understand it, is not so much that they are from the country, as that they are + green and gawky. I think the sense is much the same as in "hayseed," "jay" or + "yahoo."</p> + + <p>Hon. Thetus W. Sims, Representative in Congress from the Tenth Tennessee district, + says:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">I have heard all my life of the word "hoosier" as applied to an ignorant, rough, + unpolished fellow.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Samuel M. Deal (formerly Miss Mary L. Davis of Indianapolis) gives me this + statement:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">While visiting Columbia, S. C., I was walking one day with a young gentleman, + and we passed a rough looking countryman, "My! what a hoosier," exclaimed my + escort. "That is a very noble term to apply to such an object," I said. "Why so," + he inquired. "Why I am a Hoosier—all Indiana people are," I answered. "Oh! we + do not use it in that sense here," he rejoined. "With us a hoosier means a + jay."</p> + + <p>The following three statements were furnished to me by Mr. Meredith Nicholson, who + collected them some months since:</p> + + <p>John Bell Henneman, of the department of English, University of Tennessee, + Knoxville, writes:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">The word "hoosier" is generally used in Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee as + an equivalent for "a country hoodlum," "a rough, uncouth countryman," etc. The idea + of "country" is always attached to it in my mind, with a degree of "uncouthness" + added. I simply speak from my general understanding of the term as heard used in + the States mentioned above.</p> + + <p>Mr. Raymond Weeks, of Columbia, Mo., writes:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">Pardon my delay in answering your question concerning the word "hoosier" in this + section. The word means a native of Indiana, and has a rare popular sense of a + backwoodsman, a rustic. One hears: "He is a regular hoosier."</p> + + <p>Mrs. John M. Judah, of Memphis, writes:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">About the word "Hoosier"—one hears it in Tennessee often. It always means + rough, uncouth, countrified. "I am a Hoosier," I have said, and my friends answer + bewilderingly, "But all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg + 21]</a></span> Indiana-born are Hoosiers," I declare, "What nonsense!" is the + answer generally, but one old politician responded with a little more intelligence + on the subject: "You Indianians should forget that. It has been untrue for many + years." In one of Mrs. Evans's novels—"St. Elmo," I think—a noble + philanthropic young Southern woman is reproached by her haughty father for teaching + the poor children in the neighborhood—"a lot of hoosiers," he calls them. I + have seen it in other books, too, but I can not recall them. In newspapers the word + is common enough, in the sense I referred to.</p> + + <p>It is scarcely possible that this widespread use of the word in this general sense + could have resulted if the word had been coined to signify a native of Indiana, but + it would have been natural enough, if the word were in common use as slang in the + South, to apply it to the people of Indiana. Many of the early settlers were of a + rough and ready character, and doubtless most of them looked it in their long and + toilsome emigration, but, more than that, it is an historical fact that about the + time of the publication of Finley's poem there was a great fad of nicknaming in the + West, and especially as to the several States. It was a feature of the humor of the + day, and all genial spirits "pushed it along." A good illustration of this is seen in + the following passage from Hoffman's "Winter in the West"<a name="FNanchor_10_1" id= + "FNanchor_10_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_1" class="fnanchor"><sup>[10]</sup></a> + referred to above:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">There was a long-haired "hooshier" from Indiana, a couple of smart-looking + "suckers" from the southern part of Illinois, a keen-eyed, leather-belted "badger" + from the mines of Ouisconsin, and a sturdy, yoemanlike fellow, whose white capot, + Indian moccasins and red sash proclaimed, while he boasted a three years' + residence, the genuine "wolverine," or naturalized Michiganian. Could one refuse to + drink with such a company? The spokesman was evidently a "red horse" from Kentucky, + and nothing was wanting but a "buckeye" from Ohio to render the assemblage as + complete as it was select.</p> + + <p>This same frontier jocularity furnishes an explanation for the origin of several + of the theories of the derivation of the name. If an assuming sort of person, in a + crowd accustomed to the use of "hoosier" in its general slang sense, should + pretentiously announce that he was a "husher," or a<span class="pagenum"><a name= + "Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> "hussar," nothing would be more + characteristically American than for somebody to observe, "He is a hoosier, sure + enough." And the victim of the little pleasantry would naturally suppose that the + joker had made a mistake in the term. But the significance of the word must have been + quite generally understood, for the testimony is uniform that it carried its slurring + significance from the start. Still it was not materially more objectionable than the + names applied to the people of other States, and it was commonly accepted in the + spirit of humor. As Mr. Finley put it, in later forms of his poem:</p> + + <p class="poem"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">With feelings proud we contemplate</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">The rising glory of our State;</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor take offense by application</span><br/> + Of its good-natured appellation.</p> + + <p>It appears that the word was not generally known throughout the State until after + the publication of "The Hoosiers' Nest," though it was known earlier in some + localities, and these localities were points of contact with the Southern people. And + this was true as to Mr. Finley's locality, for the upper part of the Whitewater + valley was largely settled by Southerners, and from the Tennessee-Carolina mountain + region, where the word was especially in use. Such settlements had a certain + individuality. In his "Sketches" (page 38) the Rev. Aaron Wood says:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">Previous to 1830 society was not homogeneous, but in scraps, made so by the + electic affinity of race, tastes, sects and interest. There was a wide difference + in the domestic habits of the families peculiar to the provincial gossip, dialect + and tastes of the older States from which they had emigrated.</p> + + <p>The tradition in my own family, which was located in the lower part of the + Whitewater valley, is that the word was not heard there until "along in the + thirties." In that region it always carried the idea of roughness or uncouthness, and + it developed a derivative—"hoosiery"—which was used as an adjective or + adverb to indicate something that was rough, awkward or shiftless. Testimony as to a + similar condition in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg + 23]</a></span> the middle part of the Whitewater valley is furnished in the following + statement, given me by the Rev. T. A. Goodwin:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">In the summer of 1830 I went with my father, Samuel Goodwin, from our home at + Brookville to Cincinnati. We traveled in an old-fashioned one-horse Dearborn wagon. + I was a boy of twelve years and it was a great occasion for me. At Cincinnati I had + a fip for a treat, and at that time there was nothing I relished so much as one of + those big pieces of gingerbread that were served as refreshment on muster days, + Fourth of July and other gala occasions, in connection with cider. I went into a + baker's shop and asked for "a fip's worth of gingerbread." The man said, "I guess + you want hoosier-bait," and when he produced it I found that he had the right idea. + That was the first time I ever heard the word "hoosier," but in a few years it + became quite commonly applied to Indiana people. The gingerbread referred to was + cooked in square pans—about fifteen inches across, I should think—and + with furrows marked across the top, dividing it into quarter-sections. A + quarter-section sold for a fip, which was 6-1/4 cents. It is an odd fact that when + Hosier J. Durbin joined the Indiana Methodist Conference, in 1835, his name was + misspelled "Hoosier" in the minutes, and was so printed. The word "Hoosier" always + had the sense of roughness or uncouthness in its early use.</p> + + <p>At the time this statement was made, neither Mr. Goodwin nor I knew of the + existence of the last four lines of Finley's poem, in which this same term + "hoosier-bait" occurs, they being omitted in all the ordinary forms of the poem. The + derivation of this term is obvious, whether "bait" be taken in its sense of a lure or + its sense of food. It was simply something that "hoosiers" were fond of, and its + application was natural at a time when the ideal of happiness was "a country-boy with + a hunk of gingerbread."</p> + + <p>After the word had been applied to Indiana, and had entered on its double-sense + stage, writers who were familiar with both uses distinguished between them by making + it a proper noun when Indiana was referred to. An illustration of this is seen in the + writings of J. S. Robb, author of "The Swamp Doctor in the Southwest" and other + humorous sketches, published in 1843. He refers to Indiana as "the Hoosier state," + but in a sketch of an eccentric St. Louis character he writes thus:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">One day, opposite the Planter's House, during a military parade, George was + engaged in selling his edition of the Advocate<span class="pagenum"><a name= + "Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> of Truth, when a tall hoosier, who had + been gazing at him with astonishment for some time, roared out in an immoderate fit + of laughter.<br/></p> + + <p>"What do you see so funny in me to laugh at?" inquired George.</p> + + <p>"Why, boss," said the hoosier, "I wur jest a thinkin' ef I'd seed you out in the + woods, with all that har on, they would a been the d—dest runnin' done by + this 'coon ever seen in them diggins—you're ekill to the elephant! and a + leetle the haryest small man I've seen scart up lately."</p> + + + <p>Unfortunately, however, not many writers were familiar with the double use of the + word, and the distinction has gradually died out, while persistent assertions that + the word was coined to designate Indiana people have loaded on them all the odium for + the significance that the word has anywhere.</p> + + <p>The real problem of the derivation of the word "hoosier," is not a question of the + origin of a word formed to designate the State of Indiana and its people, but of the + origin of a slang term widely in use in the South, signifying an uncouth rustic. + There seems never to have been any attempt at a rational philological derivation, + unless we may so account Mr. Charles G. Leland's remarks in Barriere and Leland's + "Dictonary of Slang, Jargon and Cant," which are as follows:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">Hoosier (American). A nickname given to natives of Indiana. Bartlett cites from + the Providence journal a story which has the appearance of being an + after-manufacture to suit the name, deriving hoosier from "husher—from their + primary capacity to still their opponents." He also asserts that the Kentuckians + maintained that the nickname expresses the exclamation of an Indianian when he + knocks at a door and exclaims "Who's yere?" However, the word originally was not + hoosier at all, but hoosieroon, or hoosheroon, hoosier being an abbreviation of + this. I can remember that in 1834, having read of hoosiers, and spoken of them a + boy from the West corrected me, and said that the word was properly hoosieroon. + This would indicate a Spanish origin.</p> + + <p>The source of Mr. Leland's error is plain. "Hoosieroon" was undoubtedly coined by + Mr. Finley to designate a Hoosier child, and what the boy probably told Mr. Leland + was that the name to apply properly to him would be Hoosieroon. But that alone would + not dispose wholly of the Spanish suggestion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" + id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> for "oon" or "on" is not only a Spanish ending, but + is a Spanish diminutive indicating blood relation. In reality, however, Mr. Finley + did not understand Spanish, and the ending was probably suggested to him by quadroon + and octoron, which, of course, were in general use. There is no Spanish word that + would give any suggestion of "hoosier." The only other language of continental Europe + that could be looked to for its origin would be French, but there is no French word + approaching it except, perhaps, "huche," which means a kneading trough, and there is + no probability of derivation from that.</p> + + <p>In fact, "hoosier" carries Anglo-Saxon credentials. It is Anglo-Saxon in form and + Anglo-Saxon in ring. If it came from any foreign language, it has been thoroughly + anglicized. And in considering its derivation it is to be remembered that the + Southerners have always had a remarkable faculty for creating new words and modifying + old ones. Anyone who has noted the advent of "snollygoster" in the present + generation, or has read Longstreet's elucidation of "fescue," "abisselfa," and + "anpersant"<a name="FNanchor_11_1" id="FNanchor_11_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_1" + class="fnanchor"><sup>[11]</sup></a> will readily concede that. And in this + connection it is to be observed that the word "yahoo" has long been in use in + Southern slang, in almost exactly the same sense as "hoosier," and the latter word + may possibly have developed from its last syllable. We have a very common slang word + in the North—"yap"—with the same signification, which may have come from + the same source, though more probably from the provincial English "yap," to yelp or + bark. "Yahoo" is commonly said to have been coined by Swift, but there is a + possibility that it was in slang use in his day.</p> + + <p>It is very probable that the chief cause of the absence of conjectures of the + derivation of "Hoosier" from an English stem was the lack in our dictionaries of any + word from which it could be supposed to come, and it is a singular fact that in our + latest dictionaries—the Standard and the Century—there<span class= + "pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> appears the word "hoose," + which has been in use for centuries in England. It is used now to denote a disease + common to calves, similar to the gapes in chickens, caused by the lodgement of worms + in the throat. The symptons of this disease include staring eyes, rough coat with + hair turned backward, and hoarse wheezing. So forlorn an aspect might readily suggest + giving the name "hooser" or "hoosier" to an uncouth, rough-looking person. In this + country, for some reason, this disease has been known only by the name of the worm + that causes it—"strongylus micrurus"—it sounds very much like "strangle + us marcus" as the veterinarians pronounce it—but in England "hoose" is the + common name. This word is from a very strong old stem. Halliwell, in his "Dictionary + of Archaic and Provincial Words," gives "hooze" and "hoors," and states that "hoos" + occurs in the "Promptorium Parvulorum," and "hoozy" in the "Cornwall Glossary," the + latter being used also in Devonshire. Palmer, in his "Folk-Etymology," says that + "hoarst—a Lincolnshire word for a cold on the chest, as if that which makes one + hoarse," is a corruption of the Old English "host," a cough, Danish "hoste," Dutch + "hoeste," Anglo-Saxon "hweost," a wheeziness; and refers to Old English "hoose," to + cough, and Cleveland "hooze," to wheeze. Descriptions of the effect of hoose on the + appearance of animals will be found in Armatage's "Cattle Doctor," and in the + "Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland," fourth series, Vol. 10, at page + 206.</p> + + <p>There is also a possibility of a geographical origin for the word, for there is a + coast parish of Cheshire, England, about seven miles west of Liverpool, named Hoose. + The name probably refers to the cliffs in the vicinity, for "hoo," which occurs both + in composition and independently in old English names of places, is a Saxon word + signifying high. However, this is an obscure parish, and no especial peculiarity + of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> the people + is known that would probably give rise to a distinctive name for them.</p> + + <p>There is one other possibility that is worthy of mention—that the word may + come to us through England from the Hindoo. In India there is in general use a word + commonly written "huzur," which is a respectful form of address to persons of rank or + superiority. In "The Potter's Thumb" Mrs. Steel writes it "hoozur." Akin to it is + "housha," the title of a village authority in Bengal. It may seem impossible that + "hoosier" could come from so far off a source, and get it is almost certain that our + slang word "fakir," and its derivative verb "fake," came from the Hindoo through + England, whither for many years people of all classes have been returning from Indian + service. It is even more certain that the word "khaki" was introduced from India, and + passed into general use in English and American nurseries long before khaki-cloth was + known to us.</p> + + <p>As a matter of fact, words pass from one language to another in slang very + readily. For example, throughout England and America a kidnapper is said in thieves' + slang to be "on the kinchin lay," and it can scarcely be questioned that this word is + direct from the German "kindchen." The change in meaning from "huzur" to "hoosier" + would be explicable by the outlandish dress and looks of the Indian grandees from a + native English standpoint, and one might naturally say of an uncouth person, "He + looks like a huzur."</p> + + <p>It is not my purpose to urge that any one of these suggested possibilities of + derivation is preferable to the other, or to assert that there may not be other and + more rational ones. It is sufficient to have pointed out that there are abundant + sources from which the word may have been derived. The essential point is that + Indiana and her people had nothing whatever to do with its origin or its + signification. It was applied to us in raillery, and our only connection with it is + that we have meekly borne it for some three score years and<span class= + "pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> ten, and have made it + widely recognized as a badge of honor, rather than a term or reproach.</p> + <hr style="width: 45%;" /> + + <p><i>Addendum</i>, February, 1907. The greater part of the preceding was published + in the Indianapolis News of Aug. 23 and 30, 1902. Afterwards I rewrote and enlarged + it. Since then there have appeared two publications which threw some additional light + on the subject. One of these is an account of Col. Lehmanowsky, purporting to be + autobiographical, published under the title, "Under Two Captains," by Rev. W. A. + Sadtler, Ph. D., of Philadelphia. This demonstrates that Lehmanowsky believed he + originated the word, for he gives the following account of it:</p> + + <p class="blockquot">In this connection I may mention an amusing incident that occured somewhat later + in a town in Kentucky, where I happened for a day or two. There was a drunken brawl + in progress on the street, and as quite a number were involved in it, the people + with whom I was speaking began to be alarmed. I remarked just then that a few + hussars would soon quiet them. My remark was caught up by some bystander, and the + word hussar construed to mean the men of the State of Indiana (from which I had + just come), and thus the word "Hoosier" came into existence. Such is the irony of + fate! Learned men have labored long to introduce some favored word of the most + approved classic derivation, and as a rule have failed. Here a chance word of mine, + miscalled by an ignorant loafer, catches the popular fancy and passes into + Literature.<a name="FNanchor_12_1" id="FNanchor_12_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_1" + class="fnanchor"><sup>[12]</sup></a></p> + + <p>At the same time he furnishes conclusive evidence that he did not originate it, + for he says that he did not leave Washington for the West until the spring of 1833; + that he went as far as Ohio with his family and passed the winter of 1833-4 in the + state,<a name="FNanchor_13_1" id="FNanchor_13_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_1" class= + "fnanchor"><sup>[13]</sup></a> reaching Indiana the next spring, or more than a year + after "The Hoosier's Nest" had appeared in print. His story, as given above, locates + the incident at a still later date.</p> + + <p>The other publication is the third volume of The English Dialect Dictionary, in + which appears the following: .<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id= + "Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> + + <p>"<span class="smcap">Hoozer</span>, Cum. 4 (hu-zer) said of anything unusually + large."</p> + + <p>The "Cum 4" is a reference to "A Glossary of the Words and Phrases pertaining to + the Dialect of Cumberland;" edition of 1899.</p> + + <p>Although I had long been convinced that "hoosier," or some word closely resembling + it, must be an old English dialect or slang word, I had never found any trace of a + similar substantive with this ending until in this publication, and, in my opinion, + this word "hoozer" is the original form of our "hoosier." It evidently harks back to + the Anglo-Saxon "hoo" for its derivation. It might naturally signify a hill-dweller + or highlander as well as something large, but either would easily give rise to the + derivative idea of uncouthness and rusticity.</p> + + <p>There is a suggestiveness in the fact that it is Cumberland dialect. The very + center of hoosierdom in the South is the Cumberland Plateau with its associated + Cumberland Mountains, Cumberland River, Cumberland Gap, and Cumberland + Presbyterianism. The name Cumberland in these, however, is honorary in origin, the + river and mountains having been named for that Duke of Cumberland who is known to the + Scotch as "The Butcher of Culloden." But many of the settlers of this region, or + their immediate forebears, were from Cumberland county, England, and so "hoozer" was + a natural importation to the region. Thence it was probably brought to us by their + migratory descendants, many of whom settled in the upper Whitewater Valley—the + home of John Finley.</p> + + <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> + + <hr style="width: 65%;"/> + + <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> + + <p class="center"><span class="giant"><strong>JOHN FINLEY.</strong></span></p> + + <p>For many years Mr. Finley was known as "The Hoosier Poet," an appellation since + transferred to James Whitcomb Riley, who wrote of him:</p> + + <p class="poem">"The voice that sang the Hoosier's Nest—<br/> + Of Western singers first and best—"</p> + + <p>Readers are always interested in the development of an author. They naturally + inquire of his ancestry, early environment and education: how much was due to native + talent, how much acquired by association with kindred spirits.</p> + + <p>Mr. Finley's ancestors were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians; the family was driven from + Scotland to Ireland by religious persecution, and failing to find the religious and + political freedom they sought the seven brothers emigrated to America, in 1724. + Samuel Finley became president of Princeton College; John explored the western wilds + with Daniel Boone, and the youngest brother, William, settled on a farm in Western + Pennsylvania. His son, Andrew, married and removed to Brownsburg, Rockridge county, + Virginia, where John Finley was born, January 11, 1797.</p> + + <p>Andrew Finley was a merchant in the village, but the family occupied a farm in a + beautiful valley near the Blue Ridge Mountains. This mountain range could not fail to + impress a child of poetic temperament—the blue haze veiling its summit, the + drifting clouds that clung to its side, the rising sun dispersing the mists in the + valley, or, the shadows creeping over valley and mountain as the setting sun + disappeared beyond the western horizon, all left lasting pictures in his memory and + influenced his after life.</p> + + <p>His school days were cut short by his father's financial reverses, following the + capture of a cargo of flour by the British during the war of 1812. This misfortune + threw the boy of sixteen on his own resources, and, as nothing better + offered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> he + accepted a position with a relative who was conducting a tanning and currying + business in Greenbrier county. This was a most humiliating alternative for a young + Virginian whose surroundings led him to look upon manual labor as only fit for + slaves, but it was part of the discipline of life which resulted in marked regard for + all practical workmen, and an abhorence of the institution of slavery.</p> + + <p>In 1816 he joined an emigrant company and with fifty dollars in his pocket, a + saddle-horse and rifle and a pair of saddle-bags, turned his face towards the + "Eldorado of the West." His first stopping place was Cincinnati, Ohio, but in 1820, + we find him in Richmond, Ind., where he lived to see a small village develop into a + thriving city.</p> + + <p>Taking an active part in its growth, he was rewarded by the confidence and esteem + of his fellow citizens who elected him to various offices of trust and + responsibility. His official career began in 1822, as Justice of the Peace. He + represented Wayne county in the Legislature, 1828-31, and then was Enrolling Clerk of + the Senate for three years. During this time he met the leading men of the State and + formed many lasting friendships. 1833-37, he edited and held a controlling interest + in the principal newspaper of the county, the Richmond Palladium, and in 1837, was + elected clerk of the Wayne County Courts, with a term of seven years; this + necessitated a removal to the county seat, Centerville, but on the expiration of the + terns (1845) he returned to Richmond, having always considered it his home. Elected + mayor of the city in the spring of 1852, he retained the office, by re-election, + until his death, December 23, 1866, having almost continuous public service for more + than forty years.</p> + + <p>He was a man of sterling integrity; none who knew him ever doubted his word; an + oath could not make it more binding. As a member of the Masonic fraternity he was + active in the relief of the poor and needy; his sympathy and assistance were freely + given to the ignorant negroes seeking refuge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" + id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> in Indiana: he looked upon them as children that had + been deprived of their birthright.</p> + + <p>A self-educated man, his reading covered a wide field; he was familiar with + standard English authors and was a constant reader of the best current periodicals + and newspapers, especially those containing the opinions of leading statesmen on + political questions and internal improvements.</p> + + <p>He was twice married, and had six children, one son, Maj. John H. Finley, gave his + life for his country in the war for the Union—from this blow the father never + recovered. A widow and three daughters survived him. Robert Burns was his favorite + poet, the humor convulsed him with silent laughter, and "Highland Mary," or "The + Cotter's Saturday Night" brought the quick tears to his eyes.</p> + + <p>Mr. Finley's reputation as a poet was established when the Indiana Journal + published "The Hoosier's Nest," January 1, 1833. It was the first "Carrier's Address" + written by the author, and was followed by an "address" to the Journal for eight or + nine years in succession. The Palladium also had an annual "address." These were + rhyming reviews of State and National questions or humorous references to + peculiarities of candidates for public office. They were of local interest but did + not arrest general attention as the graphic description of Hoosier life had done. + After a lapse of seventy-five years "The Hoosier's Nest" is still in demand at Old + Settlers' Picnics, and at the reunions of the many "Hoosier Clubs" springing up + wherever Indiana's sons have become prominent in the Great West. The following + extract is conceded to be the best description of pioneer life to be found in + print:</p> + + <p class="poem"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'm told in riding somewhere West</span><br/> + A stranger found a <i>Hoosier's Nest</i>—<br/> + In other words a Buckeye cabin,<br/> + Just big enough to hold Queen <i>Mab</i> in;<br/> + Its situation, low but airy,<br/> + Was on the borders of a prairie;<br/> + And fearing he might be benighted,<br/> + He hailed the house, and then alighted.<br/> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span><span style= + "margin-left: 1em;">The Hoosier met him at the door—</span><br/> + Their salutations soon were o'er.<br/> + He took the stranger's horse aside,<br/> + And to a sturdy sapling tied;<br/> + Then having stripped the saddle off,<br/> + He fed him in a sugar trough.<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">The stranger stooped to enter + in—</span><br/> + The entrance closing with a pin<br /> + And manifested strong desire<br /> + To seat him by the log-heap fire,<br/> + Where half a dozen <i>Hoosieroons</i>,<br/> + With mush and milk, tin cups and spoons,<br/> + White heads, bare feet, and dirty faces,<br/> + Seemed much inclined to keep their places,<br/> + But Madame, anxious to display<br /> + Her rough but undisputed sway,<br/> + Her offsprings to the ladder led,<br/> + And cuffed the youngsters up to bed.<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Invited shortly to partake</span><br/> + Of venison, milk, and <i>johnny cake</i>,<br/> + The stranger made a hearty meal,<br/> + And glances round the room would steal.<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">One side was lined with divers' + garments,</span><br/> + The other spread with skins of <i>varmints</i>;<br/> + Dried pumpkins overhead were strung,<br/> + Where venison hams in plenty hung;<br/> + Two rifles placed above the door;<br/> + Three dogs lay stretched upon the floor—<br/> + In short, the domicile was rife<br /> + With specimens of Hoosier life."<br/></p> + + <p>The word <i>Hoosieroon</i> was coined for the poem, and "<i>Hoosier</i>" no longer + designated a rough, uncouth backwoodsman but a self-reliant man who was able to + subdue the wilderness, defend his home, and command the respect of his neighbors:</p> + + <p class="poem">"He is, (and not the little-great)<br/> + The bone and sinew of the State."<br/></p> + + + <p>"Bachelor's Hall" was published anonymously, and was immediately credited to the + Irish poet, Thomas Moore; it was reproduced in England and Ireland many times before + the authorship was established. It was set to music for "Miss Leslie's Magazine," and + was sung at a banquet given for the members of the Indiana Legislature:</p> + + <p class="poem">"Bachelor's Hall! What a quare-looking place it is!<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Kape me from sich all the days of my + life!</span><br/> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>Sure, but I + think what a burnin' disgrace it is,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Niver at all to be gettin' a wife.</span><br/> + See the ould bachelor, gloomy and sad enough,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Placing his tay-kittle over the fire;</span><br/> + Soon it tips over—St. Patrick! he's mad enough<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">(If he were present) to fight with the + Squire.</span><br/> + <br/> + Pots, dishes, pans, and sich grasy commodities,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ashes and praty-skins kiver the floor;</span><br/> + His cupboard's a storehouse of comical oddities,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Things that had niver been neighbors + before.</span><br/> + Late in the night then he goes to bed shiverin';<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Niver the bit is the bed made at all;</span><br/> + He crapes like a terrapin under the kiverin':<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Bad luck to the picture of Bachelor's + Hall!"</span><br/></p> + + <p>His poem entitled, Our Home's Fireside, expresses his appreciation of domestic + life. He felt that the homes of a country are the fountain of all true happiness, and + the bulwark of civil and religious liberty:</p> + + <p class="poem">"There's not a place on earth so dear<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">As our Home's Fireside,</span><br/> + When parents, children all draw near<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">To our Home's Fireside;</span><br/> + When the toil-spent day is past,<br/> + And loud roars the wintry blast,<br/> + Then how sweet to get at last<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">By our Home's Fireside!</span><br/> + <br/> + 'Tis wedded love's peculiar seat,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">At our Home's Fireside,</span><br/> + Where happiness and virtue meet<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">At our Home's Fireside;</span><br/> + When each prattler, loth to miss,<br/> + Climbs to claim the wonted kiss,<br/> + 'Tis the sum of human bliss,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">At our Home's Fireside."</span><br/></p> + + <p>He was ambitious to write a National Hymn which should voice the patriotism of the + people, but this wish was never gratified. The "Ode for the Fourth of July" was an + effort in that direction—constant attention to business prevented the + cultivation of his poetical talent:</p> + + <p class="center"><span class="big">"ODE FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY."</span><br/> + Tune—"Hail to the Chief."</p> + + <p class="poem">Hail to the day that gave birth to a nation!<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">And hail each remembrance it annu'lly + brings!</span><br/> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>Hail + Independence! Thy stern declaration<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gave Freedom a home in defiance of + Kings.</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Britain's despotic sway</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Trammeled thy early day.</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Infant America, "child of the skies."</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Till with a daring hand</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Freedom's immortal band</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Severed thy shakles and bid thee + arise!</span><br/> + <br/> + Then was the standard of Liberty planted—<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">The star-spangled banner proud floated on + high;</span><br/> + Columbia's sons met the foeman undaunted,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">With firm resolution to conquer or + die.</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Precious the prize they sought,</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Dearly that prize they bought:</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Freedom and peace cost the blood of the + brave.</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Heaven befriended them,</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Fortune attended them—</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Liberty triumphed o'er tyranny's + grave!</span><br/> + <br/> + Peace to those patriots, heroes, and sages,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whose glorious legacy now we enjoy!</span><br/> + May it descend to the world's latest ages,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Like primitive gold, without any + alloy!</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Then let our motto be,</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">"Union and Liberty,"</span><br/> + High on our national banner enshrined,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Like a bright morning star,</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 6em;">Glittering from afar,</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Casting its beams o'er the world of + mankind.</span><br/></p> + + <p>When urged by friends to make a collection of poems for publication; he found, (in + 1866), that many had been lost beyond recovery, his hope of writing something more + worthy of preservation made him careless of that which had been published; there is, + however, considerable variety in the collection, ranging from "grave to gay." These + are some of the titles; "Lines," written on opening a mound on the bank of Whitewater + near Richmond, Ind. containing a human skeleton. "What is Life," "What is Faith," "A + Prayer," "My Loves and Hates." This was the first poem written for publication. + "Valedictory, on closing my term as Clerk of the Wayne County Courts."</p> + + <p>In lighter vein are, "Advertisment for a Wife," "The Last of the Family," "To My + Old Coat," and "The Miller."</p> + + <p>Mr. Finley was not a church member but his creed is embraced<span class= + "pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> in the following + sentence—"The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man."</p> + + <p>An unpublished fragment, found after death in the pocket-book he carried, shows + his truly devotional spirit:—</p> + + <p class="poem">"My Heav'nly Father! deign to hear<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">The supplications of a child,</span><br/> + Who would before thy throne appear,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">With spirit meek, and undefiled.</span><br/> + <br/> + Let not the vanities of earth<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forbid that I should come to Thee,</span><br/> + Of such as I, (by Heav'nly birth)<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thy Kingdom, Thou hast said, shall + be."</span></p> + <p> </p> + + <p class="center"><span class="big">TO JOHN FINLEY.</span><br/> + By Benjamin S. Parker.</p> + + <p class="poem">"Hail thou poet occidental,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">First in Indiana's Clime—</span><br/> + Whose true passions sentimental,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Outward flowed in living rhyme.</span><br/> + <br/> + Let no more thy harp, forsaken,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hang upon the willow tree,</span><br/> + But again its chords awaken<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">To thy songs blithe melody,</span><br/> + <br/> + As thou didst in time now olden,<br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">When our Hoosier state was young,</span><br/> + 'Ere the praises of these golden<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Days of progress yet were sung."</span></p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Strickland W. Gillilan, wrote a "Versified Tribute."</p> + + <p class="poem">"He nursed the Infant Hoosier muse<br /> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">When she could scarcely lisp her name;</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forerunner of the world's great lights</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">That since have added to her fame,</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">He blazed the way to greater things,</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">With "Hoosier's Nest," and "Bachelor's + Hall;"</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">And, while the grand world-chorus + rings</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">With songs our Hoosier choir sings,</span><br/> + <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Let not the stream forget the + springs,—</span><br/> + Let Finley's name before them all."</p> + + <p> </p> + + <div class="footnotes"> + + <p class="center"><span class="big"><strong>FOOTNOTES:</strong></span></p> + + <div class="footnote"> + <p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> "The Hoosiers," pp. 20-30.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_2_1" id="Footnote_2_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_2_1"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> History of Indianapolis and + Marion County, p. 72.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_3_1" id="Footnote_3_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_3_1"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> "Early Indiana Trials and + Sketches," p. 211.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_4_1" id="Footnote_4_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_4_1"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Coggeshall's "The Poets and + Poetry of the West," and Finley's "The Hoosier's Nest and Other Poems" published + in 1860.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_5_1" id="Footnote_5_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_5_1"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Indiana Democrat, Jan. 12, + 1833.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_6_1" id="Footnote_6_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_6_1"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> "A Winter in the West," p. + 226.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_7_1" id="Footnote_7_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_7_1"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Indianapolis Journal, January + 20, 1860.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_8_1" id="Footnote_8_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_8_1"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Sketches, p. 45.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_9_1" id="Footnote_9_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_9_1"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Salem Democrat, October 25, + 1899; March 28, 1900.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_10_1" id="Footnote_10_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_10_1"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Published in 1835, Vol. 1, + Page 210.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_11_1" id="Footnote_11_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_11_1"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Georgia Scenes, page 73.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_12_1" id="Footnote_12_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_12_1"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Pages 188-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Footnote_13_1" id="Footnote_13_1"></a> <a href= + "#FNanchor_13_1"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Pages 182-5.</p> + </div> + </div> + + + <p><strong>Transcriber's Notes:</strong></p> + + <p>Inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation have been retained from the + original.</p> + + <p class="blockquot">Page 11: typograpical should be typographical; perodical should be periodical<br/> + + Page 14: occured should be occurred<br/> + + Page 17: Pulskys should be Pulszkys<br/> + + Page 22: electic should be eclectic<br/> + + Page 24: Dictonary should be Dictionary<br/> + + Page 26: symptons should be symptoms<br/> + + Page 28: occured should be occurred<br/> + + Page 32: abhorence should be abhorrence<br/> + + Page 36: shakles should be shackles; Advertisment should be Advertisement</p> + + + <p>Punctuation has been corrected without note.</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Word Hoosier; John Finley, by +Jacob Piatt Dunn and Sarah A. 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