A Good Tale and a Bonnie Tune
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Texas Stream Names

JOHN Q. ANDERSON

THE FOLK IMAGINATION was not as fertile in naming Texas streams as it was in naming post offices,1 towns, and villages; but early settlers did originate a few unusual creek names, such as Talking John, Hardshell, Fuzzy, Supple Jack, Devils Jump, Washboard, Greasy, Jawbone, Getaway, Picnitt, Purgatory, Raggedy, Rowdy, Tar Box, Hunting Shirt, One Eye, Monkey, Swampoodle, Squabble, and Thunder Struck. These intriguing names are rare, however; most of the approximately four thousand small water courses in the state bear much more ordinary names—those of families, animals, vegetation, or terrain features.2

Despite centuries of occupation by Indians and Spaniards, relatively few of the total number of stream names reflect those cultures. Spanish names of all types form only about 5 per cent of the total, excluding the major rivers which retained their Spanish designations.3 Names associated with Indians, one way or another, account for only about 3 per cent of the total number.4 Thus, 92 per cent of the four thousand names of streams are Anglo-Saxon, mute testimony of the dominance of the Anglo-American culture after 1820—as foreseen by Emerson in 1844, when, in writing about the proposed annexation of Texas, he said: “It is very certain that the strong British race, which have now overrun so much of this continent, must also overrun that tract.”5 The result is that terminology applied to streams is largely English. The word creek is, for example, by far the most common, with a limited use of run in East Texas, an area most closely linked with the mountain country of the eastern United States where run (mill run) appears extensively. The southern word branch, especially spring branch, is widely distributed in Texas; fork, often with the qualifying directional east, west, north, south, is applied to both large and small tributary streams. The more colloquial prong is less common. Intermittent streams are called draws; gully appears in limited areas in South Texas, though gulch is quite rare. Spanish canyon and arroyo are widely used in far West Texas, along the Mexican border, and in a small area in the Panhandle. Bayou6 appears extensively in the Gulf Coast region.

The drainage system of the state is largely self-contained, since about three-quarters of its boundaries are streams: the Rio Grande, south-southwest; Red River, much of the north; Sabine, more than half of the east. Consequently, almost all small streams begin and end in the state as tributaries to these river boundaries. No streams flow west out of Texas; none flow south into Mexico; a very few in the Panhandle flow east into Oklahoma; and a small number flow east into Arkansas and Louisiana. Generally, the land slopes gently from northwest to southeast, and the rainfall diminishes from east to west, from about fifty inches annually on the Sabine to less than ten inches around El Paso, a fact which determines that the largest number of small streams are in the eastern half of the state. The lay of the land and the rainfall that determined the nature and amount of vegetation influenced settlers who gave names to Texas streams. For convenience of discussion these names are listed in the following order:7 names of people (Smith, Johnson, Mary); names of trees, shrubs, and plants (Oak, Briar, Onion); terrain, size, color, number (Prairie, Big, Black, Second); animals, birds, fish, and insects (Horse, Duck, Catfish, Bee); events and implements (Camp Meeting, Ox Yoke); rocks and minerals (Flat Rock, Salt); Spanish names of all types (Charco Redondo, Seco); and names which are associated with Indians (Squaw, Kickapoo).

I

Early Texans drew heavily on their own family names to designate streams, more than fourteen hundred of them (shown in Appendix). Significantly very few of these surnames commemorate historical personages, either Texan or national, a direct contrast with county names—Austin, Houston, Crockett, Washington, Jackson, Polk, Lee. Too insignificant to be of concern to legislators, small streams were named for the settlers who lived on the surrounding land. It is now next to impossible to discover in written records who the Joneses, Smiths, and Wallaces were who gave their names to creeks, branches, and draws. Questionnaires sent to county librarians, local historians, and county newspapers brought only a few specific explanations.8 For instance, Martin Creek, Rusk County, was named for Daniel Martin, who lived nearby; Downie Draw, Pecos County, bears the name of Charlie Downie, who settled there; Iron Creek, Waller County (easily mistaken for a mineral), recalls John Irons, an early settler; Thut Creek, Gray County, was named for pioneer Henry Thut; Journigan Creek, Hunt County, probably was named for William Jernigan, who had the first store in the area; fur trader Colonel Bent gave his name to Bent Creek, Hutchinson County. More prominent is Samuel Highsmith, a soldier of the Revolution and Texas Ranger, who is remembered in Highsmith Creek, Guadalupe County; since there is also a Smith Creek in that county, local residents sometimes distinguish between Highsmith and “Low” Smith creeks.9

These few specific explanations of family names attached to some creeks indicate that similar stories lie behind other names, but such once well-known facts escaped recording. Even more intriguing are streams that bear given names of people—Jakes Creek, Mariana Creek, French John Creek. Some individuals, by personality or by deeds, became associated with specific places. For instance, Kate Creek, Howard County, is said to be named for a woman who lost her life attempting to save a pet coon from a saloon fire.10 Marys Creek, Tarrant County, was named for an Indian squaw who with her children drowned in the stream during a flood. Streams bearing women's given names number thirty-four, as compared to thirty for men's first names. Creeks and bayous in East and South Texas named Gracie, Polly, Magie, and Caroline may recall wives of settlers or widows, but probably streams called Lucy, Lola, and Rose, located in the ranch country where women were scarce, may be for dance-hall girls or perhaps cowboys’ sweethearts back in the settlements. White Woman Creek in the upper Panhandle doubtless recalls the greatest of all horrors to pioneer women, captivity by the Comanches. Big and Little Sister creeks, Kendall County, derive not from specific women, but from the fact that they meet below the town of Sisterdale. Even more anonymous are the victims who gave names to the nine Deadman creeks, draws, and branches. In Guadalupe County Toms Creek, named for William Tom, became Bell Creek, and then about 1861 was changed to Deadmans Creek for reasons not now obvious.

Nationalities and races are remembered in a few stream names: Dutchman, Dutch (for a German trader who drowned in that Rusk County creek), Paddy, Mexican, and Negro. Satan himself is honored in Devils Creek and Devils Draw, Devils Jump Creek, Big and Little Satan, and Devils River, which supposedly was renamed by Texas Ranger Jack Hays, who, when told that it was called San Pedro's, said that it looked more like the Devil's.11 The Rangers themselves are commemorated in Rangers Branch, Kendall County, because they once headquartered at the spring which heads the creek.

II

Like the American Indian before him, the American pioneer was greatly dependent upon trees for housing materials, implements, and sometimes food. The first settlers in Texas found timbered regions in the eastern part of the state not unlike those they had left behind, and named streams for surrounding trees. Later arrivals in the higher and drier parts of the state found fewer trees but named streams for those they did find. Indirectly, then, streams named for trees reflect the rainfall and the original pattern of timber. Statistically, the number of streams named for trees is as follows:

TREES

Oak 69 (Live Oak, 28; White Oak, 13; Red Oak, 7; Pin Oak, 8; Post Oak, 5; one each: Willow Oak, Lone Oak, Shinery) Cedar 57 Elm 56 Cottonwood 52 Willow 29 Walnut 26 Cypress 24 Pecan 20 Hackberry 17 Pine 16 Sycamore 13

Other trees represented in stream names and the numbers of them are: Gum, 9; Mesquite, 8; Cherry, 8; Peach, 7; Mulberry, 6;Hickory, 5; China, 5; Birch, 5; Beech, 4; Bois d'Arc, 4; Ash, 3; two each—Chinquapin (Yonker Pin, one), Myrtle, Dogwood, Crabapple; one each—Alder, Haw, Holly, Juniper, Magnolia, Maple, Palmetto, Paradise (Ailanthus?), Pawpaw, Persimmon, Redbud, Retama, and Yupon. Related names are: Timber, 3; Grove, 3; Little Timber, 2; and one each—Cross Timber, Greenwood, Thickety, Mott, Wood Hollow, Orchard, and Isle du Bois, one of the few French names.

Because of climate, streams named for oak, cypress, pecan, and pine trees abound in East Texas; similarly in drier West Texas cedar, cottonwood, and hackberry appear. Location alone is not, however, a totally reliable index to tree names; for example, some of the twenty-four Cypress creeks are located in the bottoms of the Guadalupe River north of San Antonio, and the first settlers there survived the early years by cutting cypress, making shingles, and hauling them to San Antonio to sell.12

The many streams bearing the name Oak indicate the importance of that tree to pioneers. Oak was useful for housing timbers, fence posts, wagon wheels and coupling poles, and singletrees and doubletrees for plows and vehicles. Cedar, too, was important and when large enough substituted for oak in some uses, such as fence posts and firewood. The story is told that wealthy West Texas ranchers who retired to San Antonio paid dearly for cedar wood to burn, long after natural gas was commonly used. Elm was a hard, strong wood useful for saddle trees and wheel hubs.13 Cottonwood and willow trees, often the only green in the dun color of much southwestern scenery, gave names to many Texas watercourses. Of the fifty-two called Cottonwood, a few are the Spanish alamo, and some of the Willows are the Spanish suaz. Black walnut trees, largely in East Texas, provided hard wood for gunstocks, foundation timbers, and furniture.

The pecan, now the state tree, was valued by the Indians for its nuts long before white men came, as is shown in the Caddo Indian folktale of the old woman who gathered and hoarded all the pecans; eventually Coyote killed her because of her greed, and “ever since then the pecan trees have grown everywhere and belonged to all of the people.”14 In the fall of 1858, when Judge S. C. Cross settled in Hood County in Central Texas, the pecan crop was so plentiful that his children raked up the nuts by the hatful, beat them up, fed them to chickens, and produced the fattest ones in the settlement. The Judge also brought the first hogs into the area, and they grew so fat on pecans and acorns and multiplied so prolifically that they stocked the whole neighborhood and anyone who wished could capture them for his own.

The bois d'arc tree, also called Osage orange, hedge apple, and mock orange, was extensively cultivated once in East and Central Texas, where three counties have Bois d'Arc creeks. One historian says:

Early settlers used this wood for fence posts, house blocks, pilings for bridges, and for other purposes. Settlers from Ohio, Illinois, and some other states were familiar with osage hedge fences in their home states; so, soon after their arrival in Texas they began planting the seeds of the osage apple where fences were needed. In an article in the Texas Almanac of 1868, former Governor J. W. Throckmorton explained how to plant, grow, and develop an osage hedge fence from seeds or from cuttings…. After barbed wire fences came into use the osage hedge was regarded as a nuisance, particularly adjacent to cultivated fields since nothing would grow within fifty to seventy-five feet of it.15

Shrubs are represented in stream names as follows: Brushy, 49; Grape, 9; Briar, 9; Berry, 4; Mayhaw, 3; and one each—Butternut, Catclaw, Muscadine, and Screwbean. Plants also gave names to streams: Cane, 44; Grass, 10; Cattail (and Rush), 7; Onion, 5; Hay, 4; Cactus, 3; Moss, 3; Cotton, 3; Sage, 2; Loco, 2; one each—Buttercup, Corn, Cocklebur, Goard, Goldenrod, Lily, Melon, Nettle, Pumpkin, Pursley, Violet, Weed, and Wheat. Hobart Huson of Refugio County says that Melon Creek is a corruption of Malone, for John Malone.16 S. W. Ross of Kilgore mentions Peatown Branch and Peavine Creek in Gregg County. He says that in the 1870's Trip Elder came from Georgia, built a sawmill and store on the bank of a creek; he sold mostly peas at his store because they were plentiful; hence the people got in the habit of saying, “Let's go to Peatown,” and the post office became that.17

The traveler in some parts of Texas today who sees untended pastures overgrown with prickly pear may feel that the pioneers were remiss in giving only three creeks the name Cactus. The changing use of land has caused the prickly pear, like the mesquite, to flourish since prairie fires are no longer common. Another menace is the loco (Spanish, crazy) weed which gave its name to two streams. The gray-green leaves and bright purple flowers arrive early in the spring to tempt grazing animals. When addicted to the weed, animals hunt for it, eat it, and eventually become “locoed,” that is, grow thin and unsteady, and even die. A common belief on the Davis Ranch, Wheeler County, was that range horses, caught up and broken to ride, were likely to be dangerous when overheated if they had eaten extensively of loco weed.

III

Settlers were also impressed by the terrain surrounding streams, by the nature of the water they contained, and by their size, and named more than five hundred of them accordingly:

TERRAIN

Prairie 20 Bluff 16 Flat 14 Mountain 11

Crooked, 9; Hill, 8; Valley, 8; Rough, 8; Lost, 8; Fall, 7; Glade, 6; Richland, 5; Island, 4; Shoal, 4; Line, 3

Two each—Knob, Scatter, Broad, Mound, Canyon, Meadow, Ridge, Cutoff

One each—Blackland, Bottom, Branch, Channel, Cove, Delta, Desert, Eddy, Glenwood, Gravelly, Ground Gulley, Hayrick, Highbank, Hollow, Incline, Low, Oasis, Point, Shut-In, Steep, Straight, Table, Wood Island

Spring water, valued above all other types in the pioneer period, accounts for the many Spring creeks. A desirable home-site included a spring near enough to prevent ambush by Indians. Springs, of course, gave names to towns as well as creeks, such as Big Spring and Coldspring. Appreciation of good water is expressed in the many Clear, Cold, Sweet, and Sweetwater creeks. But many creeks were muddy or full of dangerous quicksand; thus Mud or Muddy creeks and the Boggy creeks (including the Spanish Atascosa Creek). The three Stink creeks were evidently not named by proper Victorians.

NATURE OF WATER

Spring 64 Dry 43 Boggy 27 Clear 26 Mud, Muddy 17 Lake 16

Moss, 6; Deep, 6; Cold (Frio, 1), 5; Waterhole, 4; Running, 4; Pond, 4; Stink, 3; Wells, 2; Rainy, 2

One each—Artesian, Bay, Dead, Glaze, Natural Wells, Roundhole, Sour, Sweet, Sweetwater, Smoky

Color and size account for more than 130 creek names: Black, 15; Blue, 13; Red (Red Bank, 4; Red Paint, 1), 8; White, 6; Yellow, 6; Green, 4; Paint, 3; Dark (Dark Valley, Dark Canyon), 3; and one Chocohte Creek. Some of these, such as Black, White, and Green, may be family names. The three Paint creeks were perhaps so called because they supplied clay for Indian war paint, or possibly they had some connection with the spotted or “paint” ponies favored by Indians. Neither guess explains Turkey Paint Creek. Size gave names to seventy-five creeks: Long, 36; Big, 27; Little, 11; and Short, one.

Since landmarks were important in the early days, a number of streams were named to indicate that they were just that: Sixmile, 6; Threemile, 5; Fourmile, 4; Fivemile, 3; Eightmile, 3; Tenmile, 3; Twomile, 2; Ninemile, 2; one each—Half, Mile and a Half, Twelvemile, and Fifteenmile. Unique in numbering are some tributaries of the Canadian River in the Panhandle where streams are named First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth creeks. Similar are the branches of historic Coleto Creek in far South Texas—Threemile Coleto, Eight-, Twelve-, and Fifteenmile Coleto. There are also four Double creeks, three Twin creeks, and one Nine Point Creek.

IV

The importance of animals, wild and domesticated, to early Texans is evident in the fact that almost five hundred streams bear their names, including those named for fish, birds, and insects:

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Horses 67 (Mustang, 35; Wildhorse, 3; Pony, 3; one each—Horsepen, Horse-head, Paint Horse, Horse Thief) Turkey (Gobbler, 2) 50 Bear (Bearpen, Bearsfoot) 43 Cattle 43 (Calf, Maverick, Bull Wagon, Bull Hide, Bull) Panther 38 (Tiger, 8; Cat, 6; Leopard, 4; Leon, Leoncita) Deer 32 (Buck, 13; Doe, 2; Bucksnag, Buckhorn) Wolf (Coyote, 3) 23 Buffalo (Cibolo, 5) 19 Hog (Shoat, Swine) 12 Beaver 12 Antelope 11 Polecat, 6; Wildcat, 5; Mule, 5; Coon, 4; Rabbit, 3; Squirrel, 3; Goat, 2; Sheep (Lamb), 2; Dog, 2; Prairie Dog, 1 Fish (Catfish, Trout) 16 Snake (Rattlesnake, 7; Moccasin, 3; Cotton Mouth) 14 Alligator 11 Turtle (Tortugas) 5 One each—Frog, Mussel, Otter, Oyster

Game birds account for thirty-five names: Duck, 10; Buzzard, 5; Eagle, 4; Goose, 3; Crow (Crowsnest), 3; two each—Dove, Owl, Pigeon Roost; one each, Partridge, Raven, Falcon, and Bird. The thirteen streams named for insects are: Bee, 11, and Grasshopper and Wasp, one each.

The mustang horse was evidently the most noticeable animal in many areas of Texas in the early days. Early maps bear the legend “Wild Horses” written in large letters across otherwise blank spaces. J. Frank Dobie estimates the number of mustangs at about a million.18 “Mustangers” who made a business of capturing wild horses usually had to go far out past settled areas where they drove mustangs into pens built around waterholes, hence Horsepen Creek. In addition to being used for riding and working, mustangs were sometimes eaten; some colonists who lost their supplies at sea existed in the winter of 1821-22 on horsemeat. Jared Groce, planter and builder of the first cotton gin in the state, kept two hunters busy killing mustangs to feed the slaves on his plantation in the lower Brazos Valley. Captain Jack Hays's Rangers were supposed to be able to eat mustang meat if nothing else was available. The fame of Texas mustangs spread over the nation during the Mexican War from the reports of soldiers stationed at Corpus Christi who enjoyed the sport of chasing wild horses on the prairies to the north.19 Even though thirty-five creeks in Texas recall the mustang, probably others now called Horse Creek were also named originally for the mustang. However, most of the Horse creeks are in West Texas and the Panhandle and therefore may have been named for ranch horses. At any rate, it is fitting that the horse, the best insurance against distance, weather, and Indians for early Texans, should be commemorated in so many Texas stream names.

Even more plentiful in pioneer days were wild turkeys, which once were so common along the Red River in Northeast Texas that settlers ate only the breasts.20 When they ran out of corn for bread, they boiled turkey breasts, dried them in an oven, and pulverized them to make a kind of bread. The tall grasses of the prairies, the pecan groves of the creek bottoms, the acorns of the oak forests, and the low-hanging branches of elm trees made ideal feeding and roosting places for the wild turkey, as indeed they still do on a much more limited scale, since, according to authorities, more than half of the wild turkeys now in the nation are in Texas.21 Turkeys furnished food for farmers and ranchers in parts of South Texas until the 1880's.22 Long after turkeys had been killed out elsewhere, they continued to be plentiful in the breaks along the foot of the High Plains, so much so that the town of Turkey was named in 1893 for them.23 The importance of the wild turkey to settlers is reflected in the fact that fifty streams now bear its name.

Cattle, still part of the image of Texas, contributed almost as many names. Wild cattle, reputedly wilder than deer and fiercer than buffalo, could not be domesticated and were often shot as game. A congressional report of frontier problems in the Texas Republic stated that at the time of the Revolution there were at least three million wild cattle between the Nueces and the Rio Grande.24 Actually they existed in all parts of the state except the High Plains. Although they were descendants of Spanish cattle brought to the New World long before, settlers called them “wild” or “mustang” cattle, and it was not until after the Civil War that range men began calling them “Texas cattle,” which eventually meant Longhorn.25 The late development of the word doubtless accounts for the absence of streams of that name. Similarly, the ranching industry, of comparatively late development, contributed only nineteen stream names: Bronco, Corral, Home Ranch, Pasture Draw, Pickett Ranch, Range, Ranch (2), Rustler (2), Saddle, Saddle Horse, Spade Draw, Stampede, Three Corrals, Windmill. Cattle brands account for two names, Χ Τ Canyon and Η O Canyon, which Barry Scobee of Fort Davis says was named for the brand of Jack Hardwick, who owned a ranch in the canyon about 1890.26 Maverick Creek, the most unusual of these linguistically, comes from the common noun, maverick, in turn derived from Samuel A. Maverick, lawyer and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.27 That Texas was cow country is emphasized by the fact that, despite the thousands of sheep and goats owned by the Spanish, only two Goat creeks and two Sheep creeks recall them. The patient work ox, once a necessity, is remembered in only two names, Ox Yoke Creek and Bull Wagon Creek; similarly, the mule gave its name to only five creeks.

Bears were probably as numerous as wild turkey in Texas in the early days, though settlers were far more accustomed to them than they were to other forms of wild life in the West, such as coyotes and horned toads. The bear had already entered into American metaphor (“bear hug,” “grouchy as a bear,” “bear by the tail”), and had long since been a staple food. One old-time Texan said that he had killed bears that rendered between thirty and forty gallons of fat.28

The most feared wild animal of the frontier and the one about which most folktales have clustered29 was the panther, called “painter” or “mountain lion” by frontiersmen and now called “cougar” by scientists. “Many folk tales repeat the savagery of cougars,” says a Texas scientist, “their numerous attacks on man, and their bloodcurdling screams, but authentic unprovoked attacks on man are far less numerous than those of the domesticated bull.”30 Nevertheless, the animal accounts for thirty-eight stream names in Texas, a number which includes other names for the same animal—Leopard, Tiger, Cat, and the Spanish Leon and Leoncita.

The wolf, for centuries a figure in European lore, was never feared so much as the panther. The large gray wolf that fed on the buffalo and largely disappeared with it, the red wolf of East Texas, and the coyote combined to give names to twenty-three streams. Only three of that number are called Coyote Creek, probably because pioneers made little or no distinction between these animals. In the lore of the Panhandle the large gray wolf was often called by its Spanish name, lobo, but corrupted into loafer, and since it was considered a menace to human beings as well as animals, it is surprising that not one stream bears its name.

Of all the game animals found in early Texas, the buffalo made the most dramatic appearance. The awe felt by settlers is expressed in this letter written during the Republic period:

You would scarcely believe me were I to tell you of the vast herds of buffalo which are about here [between the Brazos and Little Brazos rivers in present Brazos County]; I have frequently seen a thousand in a day…. If we desire buffalo meat, we are able to go out, load our horses and return the same day.31

When bread was not available, one historian writes, dried buffalo meat was mixed with honey as a substitute; “this combination was not only healthful but had a pleasant taste and had the additional advantage of being plentiful.”32 Another historian quotes an old-timer as saying, “We used the tanned hides, with hair left on, for rugs on the dirt floors of our log cabins, and the heavy mop which hung between the eyes for chair cushions. We also used the hides for cover.”33 The significance of buffalo in Texas is evident in the nineteen Buffalo creeks and three towns, Buffalo, Buffalo Gap, and Buffalo Springs.

Most of the eleven Alligator creeks are logically located in Southeast Texas, but the few far inland in Central Texas may be the result of myths rather than the presence of alligators. The extinct wild pigeon is remembered in two Pigeon Roost creeks in the woodlands of East Texas where they stopped in migration in such numbers that they broke limbs on trees where they roosted.

V

The same matter-of-fact attitude that caused pioneer namers to use the names of plants and animals for streams also led them to name for events, household items, tools and implements, and even food:

Mill 46 Camp 28 House 11 (Big House, Blockhouse, Brickhouse, Greathouse [2], Tradinghouse, Log House, Rock House, Stillhouse) Honey 11 Deadman 9 Hurricane 8 Bones (Jawbone, Backbone, Sparerib, Elbow, 2) 6 Battle 6 Dugout 6 Town 6 Station 5 Flag 5 Bridge 5 Dinner 4 Tanyard 4 Sunday 4 Home 3 Sawmill 3 Village 3 Pole 3

Two each: Chimney, Blanket, Washboard, County Line, Christmas, Government, Six Shooter, Trail, School

One each: Stone Chimney, Cabin, Button, Coffee Mill, Cream Level, Crockery, Door, Irons, Tape, Beef, Celery, Candy, Ham, Jelly, Mush, Barrel, Board, Box, Canoe, Carryall, Casks, Grindstone, Kyak, Leather, Log, Ox Yoke, Pipe, Pump, Bent About, Bee Dee, Beef Hollow, Fossil, Big Trestle, Boom, Carasse, Camp Meeting, Centralia, Clay Pit, Colony, Council, Cyclone, Holiday, Friday, New Years, Dead Horse, Double Horn, Fuzzy, Garden, Gauge, Getaway, Good, Greasy, Hunting Bayou, Hunting Shirt, Independence, Junk Yard, Kite, Lookout, Marine, Meridian, Monkey, Muscle, Needmore, Noodle, Not, P D, Pen, Picnitt, Pilot, Plus, Quarry, Raggedy, Rippy, Scuffle Hollow, Sixto, Sloop, Sour Dough, String Prairie, Swampoodle, Stiff, Tar Box, Tick, Tobacco, Tootle, Touchstone, Turnover, Turnpike, Whiskey, Wilds

A group of stream names that indicate the presence of the military on the Texas frontier are: Bugler, Canon, Canon Snap, Massacre, Messbox, Major, Fort Ewell, and possibly Camp Duffau and Camp Rice. It would be interesting to know what human characteristics or conflicts lie behind these creek names: Alarm, Big Head, Friendship, Happy, Hardshell, Harmony, Hasty, Pleasant, Poor (2), Privilege, Repress, Rowdy, Squabble, Tardy, Thunder Struck, Union, and Wanders; or such a miscellaneous group as this: Bayou Din, California (4), Carolina, Cloud, Como, Convict, Doctors, Dixie, Field, Galveston, Ghost, Ice, Imperialist, Irish, Jayhawkers, Kuy, Lodi, New, Mission, Mukewater, Obar, Oil Well, Patroon, Pikes Peak, Pilgrim, Well, Purgatory, Rome, Spindletop, Skull, Tailes, and Tebo. The memorable events, situations, or people that gave rise to such names are now so long in the past that recovery of explanations seems impossible. Numerous questionnaires to local people produced only a few stories, but they were interesting ones. According to Clayton W. Williams of Fort Stockton, Six Shooter Draw, Pecos County, may be named for the stockman who, upon being notified that it would henceforth be against the law to carry a six-shooter, came riding into town dragging a gun at the end of his rope; since he ranched beyond the draw, he probably said that he dragged the gun all the way from Six Shooter Draw.34, Scalp Creek, Menard County, is not, as the name suggests, a result of Indian attacks on people; R. S. Weddle, Menard, writes:

According to the late Fred Ellis, Sr., a couple of cowhands of A. H. Murchison were rounding up strays when they came onto two steers that had been killed with arrows. The skin had been stripped from the head and neck, the choice part for making arrow quivers in the eyes of the Indians. The creek where the scalped steers were found was named for the incident.35

Mr. Weddle also has two stories explaining the name of Los Moras Creek, Menard County: first, that it is Spanish for the mulberries growing along the banks; and, second, that it is really Lost Morris for a Fort McKavett soldier lost in the region on a scouting expedition. Turnover Creek, Coryell County, was named when supply wagons of a military force moving west from Fort Gates turned over at the place. A party of Indian fighters camped on a creek in Kendall County; upon breaking camp a Mr. Saner left his pipe behind and had to return for it; the incident gave Pipe Creek its name.36 Horse Thief Canyon, Jeff Davis County, was named because horse thieves camped there in 1885, according to Barry Scobee of Fort Davis. Tanyard Creek, Red River County, got its name from a tanyard which Rowland T. Bryarly built there about 1840.37

VI

When rocky terrain or minerals in the water formed the main feature of a stream, settlers named it for that obvious characteristic. Sand, for instance, was a nuisance: when wet, it could be treacherous quicksand; when dry, it dragged at the wheels of wagons. Salt, a blessing for man and beast in the proper amount and a curse in excess, gave names to many streams.

ROCKS AND MINERALS

Rock, Rocky 68 (Flat Rock, 6; White Rock, 2; Stoney, 2; one each—Red Rock, Pot Rock, Slickrock, Table Rock, Stone Bottom) Sand 60 Salt 57 (Saline, 7; Salado, 4; Lick, 4) Sulphur 15 Copperas 6 Iron 4 Chalk 3

Two each—Bitter, Gyp, Alum, Quicksand, Crystal, Coal Kiln, Mine

One each—Alkali, Croton, Flint, Gold, Mineral, Silver, Silvermine, Soda, Isinglass

The presence of sulphur in creek water may account for the three Stink creeks mentioned elsewhere. The widely practiced nineteenth-century health fad of drinking sulphur water gave rise to several health resorts located at mineral springs in Texas.

VII

Despite the centuries of Spanish dominance of Texas, only about two hundred of the more than four thousand stream names in the state are obviously Spanish. Among reasons are that Texans were naturally hostile toward anything Spanish after the Revolution and that Spanish settlements were actually few in number and confined to those very areas where Spanish names are still found—the Border, the Rio Grande Valley (though some names here are the result of twentieth-century real estate promotion), and around Nacogdoches and El Paso.

Many Spanish names given to streams are confusing, or, more accurately perhaps, a result of confusion: some are archaic words; others are dialectal spellings which are considerably at variance with standard Spanish; still others are misspellings or corruptions of Spanish words by Anglo-Americans and Texas Mexicans. Consequently, Spanish stream names in the following table are given without translation as they are spelled on the Texas State Highway Department county maps, the accuracy of which local residents may well question.

TEXAS STREAMS WITH SPANISH NAMES

Adinosa

Agua Azul

Agua Dulce

Agua de Piedra

Aguja

Agula

Alamacita

Alamo

Alazan

Alibates

Amaladersos

Appurceon

Aquilla

Arenosa

Balcones

Balluco

Banquete

Barilla

Barraceto

Barrego

Batella

Becerra

Becerro

Bofecillos

Bonita

Cabeza

Cachate

Caiman

Calaveras

Calero

Caliche

Cantu

Capote

Carricotes

Carrizo

Cavasso

Cayanosa

Cerrito

Cesario

Chacon

Chaparrosa

Charamusca

Charco Redondo

Chico

Chicolete

Chiltapin (5)

Chiquita

Chispa

Cibolo

Cienega

Cito

Clareno

Coetas

Coleto

Coloma

Comeios

Conquista

Corazones

Cornudas

Cucharito

Cuevas

Cuevero

Daros

Dismero

Dolores

Ecleto

El Barroso

El Moro

El Sarco

Escondido

Espada

Esperanza

Espio

Fandango

Flores

Fresno

Frio

Galina

Gallina

Guayule

Hondo

Isleta

Jabonoso

Jahuey

Julio

Kayatana

La Parra

Las Arches

Las Tablas

Los Moras

Lavaca

Leon

Leona

Lie Festa (sic)

Limpia

Los Linguish

Los Raices

Los Redos

Macho

Manas

Maravillas

Marcado

Martenas

Matanosa

Medina

Medio

Mesquitoso

Minneosa

Mucorrera

Muela

Mujares

Navidad

Nombre de Dios

Ojo de Agua

Olmos

Oso

Paisano

Pajarito

Palmas

Palo Alto

Palo Blanco

Palo Duro

Palo Pinto

Paloma

Papalote

Pedernales

Pedencia

Pederosa

Pena

Penitas

Perdido

Perdiz

Petronita

Picosa

Piedro

Pintas

Pinto

Placedo

Poesta

Pontesualis

Punte de Agua

Quemado

Quintana

Ranchero

Refugio

Rejo

Resaca

Retama

Rita Blanca

Sabinal (2)

Salado

Sambarieto

San Casmiro

San Cirilo

Sandia

Sandiguela

San Miguel

San Roque

Sarco Saucita

Sauz Mocho

Serasco

Sierrita de la Cruz

Souceda

Sous

Taianes

Talpacate

Tapado

Tecolote

Tecoyas

Terretas Blancas

Todos Santos

Torneros

Tornillo

Toro

Torres

Tortugas

Tovar

Tres Palacios

Tule

Valeno

Vatoso

Velenzuelo

Venado

Verde

Yo-Lo-Digo

Zapata

Zuesco

The Spanish in Texas gave names to streams for the same obvious reasons that Anglo-Americans after them did: terrain, nature of the water, colors, animals, and plants. Señor Mercurio Martinez, native of Zapata County, says that Arroyo Tigre Chiquito is a branch of Arroyo Tigre Grande, both in the area of a ranch founded by Don Benito Ramirez which he called El Tigre and which now is under Falcon Reservoir. Similarly, Don Anastacio Garcia named his original grant Charco Redondo, and that name became attached to the arroyo. Arroyo Valeno, Señor Martinez writes, derives from the surname of Juan and Jesus Vela, brothers from old Guerrero, Tamaulipas, who founded a ranch near the Rio Grande, a portion of which is now under Falcon Reservoir.38 At the opposite extreme of the state, E. S. Collins, Channing, explains that Spanish livestock owners from Santa Fe grazed animals in the upper Panhandle and named creeks Rita Blanca (white), Punta de Agua (point of water), Los Redos (lost wheel, lost wagon wheel), and Tascosa (atascosa—boggy).39 Clayton Williams, Fort Stockton, points out that in addition to Paisano Creek in Pecos County there is also a pass in the Davis Mountains by that name. Cayanosa Draw, he thinks, is a corruption of cayanto, and Assibuche Draw a corruption of acebuche, a wild olive tree. Miss Eleonore Jandt of Seguin explains that Cantu Creek, Guadalupe County, got its name from Jesus Cantu, who was given a special grant of land by the State of Coahuila and Texas; Geronimo Creek is not, she adds, named for the famous Apache chief, since as early as 1831 it was called Tio Geronimo and then San Geronimo.

One significant difference between Spanish and Anglo-American stream names in Texas is that the Spanish occasionally gave religious names, such as Navidad and Nombre de Dios.

VIII

Indians, particularly the Plains Indians, retarded the Spanish expansion into parts of Texas for more than a hundred years, and for more than fifty years afterward they menaced the Anglo-American frontier. Despite that prominence, hardly more than one hundred stream names in Texas recall Indians. Early Texans were apparently anxious to forget the fierce Comanche and named only four Comanche creeks as compared with twelve for the friendlier Kickapoos.

STREAM NAMES ASSOCIATED WITH INDIANS

Indian (Indio, 1) 39 Kickapoo 12 Tonkawa 6 Comanche 4 Keechi 4 Tehuacana 4 Cherokee 3 Shawnee 3 Lipan (Lapan) 3 Karankahua 3 Biloxi (Paluxy) 2

One each—Apache, Anadarko, Bedias, Caddo, Choctaw, Delaware, Ioni, Kiowa, Natchez, Pottawatomie, Quapaw, Seminole, Wichita, Attoyac, Blackhaw, Coahoma, Concatana, Copano, Elkhart, Hisaw, Itasca, Matate, Naconiche, Pinchachay, Quitaque, Quihi, Swauano, Tallahone, Tandakee, Tantabogue, Teneha, Towash, Toyah, Waxahachie

A very few stream names recall individual Indians: Jim Ned, Anadaqua chief;40 One Eye and One Arm, Cherokees; Bowles, Cherokee chief, killed in Henderson County; Katemcy, perhaps Katemoczy, Comanche chief; and Manahuilla, an unidentified Indian girl. M. H. Marwil of Henderson says that Tiawichi Creek is named for John Tiawichi, an Indian or half-breed, who was drowned in the stream. In addition there are five Squaw creeks, two Teepee creeks, a Bow Creek, and a Spear Creek.

Here is a recapitulation:

STREAM NAMES ON TEXAS STATE HIGHWAY DEPT. MAPS, 1957

Family, given, and other names of people 1,429 Trees, plants, and shrubs 654 Terrain, size, color, nature of water 589 Animals, fish, birds, insects 496 Household and work items, events 364 Minerals and rocks 238 Spanish names of all types 197 Names associated with Indians 124 Total 4,091

In conclusion, this study of the names of small streams in Texas shows that pioneers who gave these names were seldom as whimsical as they sometimes were in giving names to places. Also, instead of turning to heroes, politicians, and famous people for names, they took them from their neighbors and community leaders, vegetation, animals, terrain, tools, equipment, and memorable events. Altogether, the types of names chosen indicate that the land itself and the people who lived and worked on it were of first importance to early Texans.

Appendix

Texas watercourses named for families (small rivers,

creeks, draws, branches, bayous, canyons, arroyos)

(Note: Hyphenated names indicate that the stream flows into another county: Milam-Lee. Comma separations indicate more than one county.)

Name & Number County Adams (4) Brown, Burnet, Anderson, Orange Adaway Rusk Adlong Harris Aherns Comal Aiken Red River Red Aleck Kent Alexander Hamilton Allans Austin Allcorn Brazos Allen (6) Donley, Cherokee, Shelby, Sabine, Kerr, Lee-Milam Allens Milam-Lee Alley Marion Alvin Presidio Anderson Bowie Jim Anderson Young Anding Anderson Anthony Kaufman Arms Harrison Armstrong (5) Cass, Parker, Ellis, Houston, Comanche-Hamilton Arnold Collin Arthur Presidio Ashby Rusk-Nacogdoches Austin Brazoria Avery Milam Auburn Smith Baden Montague Bailey (3) Clay, Collin, Fisher Baileys Lampasas Bain Anderson Baker (3) Cass, Lamar, Somervell Bakers (2) Nacogdoches, Hardeman Balance Newton Baldin Walker Ball Motley Ballard Motley Ballinger Austin Barber Cherokee Barkman Bowie Barnes Rusk Barnett San Saba Barnetts Delta Barnhard Rusk-Nacogdoches Baron Gillespie Barrett Jones-Haskell Barton (4) Donley, Parker, Hays-Travis, Roberts Bartons Bastrop-Fayette Barts Medina Bassett Bowie Bassford Galveston Bastrop Brazoria Bates (2) Comal, Leon Bauerlin Bandera Bauman Llano Baylor (2) Childress, Fayette Beacham Upshur Beals Howard Beans (2) Cherokee, Jack Bearfoot Montague Beasons Grimes Beaumont Liberty Beck (2) Anderson, Collin Beckard Donley Beckum Harrison Bedford Llano Belknap Montague Bell (5) Cherokee-Smith, Burleson, Donley, Live Oak, Parker John Bell Dickens Bennets Lampasas Bennett (2) Mills-Lampasas, Bell-Milam Bergher Lamar Bernard Austin Berryhill Rusk-Nacogdoches Berrys Parker-Comanche Best Bee Billiams Tyler Bingham (2) Cooke, Nacogdoches Birchman Cooke Birkhand Red River Bishop Jasper Blacks Haskell Bledsoe Liberty Bliss Leon Block Williamson Blocker Denton Blundell Morris Blythe Bowie Bodan Jasper Bolivar Kaufman Boon Wise Boons (3) Leon, Fayette, Kinney-Uvalde Boothe Bowie Borden Fayette Boregas Sabine Borlandy Brewster Boughmans Wharton Bowden Somervell Bowers Anderson Bowman Brazos Box Anderson Boxes Cherokee Boyce Kaufman Boyd Anderson Brack Newton Bracken Houston Bradford (3) Irion, Bell, Culberson Bradtree Montague Brady McCulloch-San Saba Brauley Shelby Brays Harris Brewer Williamson Brewington Bandera Brewster Cooke Brinkley Freestone Brittain Shelby Brizendine Williamson Brook Panola Brookeen Ellis-McLennan Brooks (2) Fayette, Upshur Brookshire Waller-Fort Bend Brown (3) Cass, Coryell, Freestone Browns (4) Freestone-Leon, Mills-Brown, Lampasas, Cherokee Browning Van Zandt Bry Williamson Buckley (2) Shelby, Val Verde Buckner (2) Fayette, Karnes Bufford Rusk-Nacogdoches Buford King Bugby Hutchinson Bullard (3) Fannin, Hall, Harrison Buller Cherokee Burgess Parker Burk Bee Burke (2) Hopkins, Wood Burleson (2) Lampasas, Williamson Burnet San Saba Burns Denton Burrell Jefferson Burris Jasper Burton Red River Burtons Lamar Busch Anderson Busley Orange Butler (2) Smith, Harrison Cade Newton Cages Young Calloway Tarrant Calvert Red River Camberon Jack Campbell (4) Briscoe, Robertson, Guadalupe, Menard Campbells Gregg Canant Anderson Carlow Cass Carmel Williamson-Milam Carpenters Harris Carpers Comal-Hays Carrington Burleson Carrol (2) Donley, Jack Carron Cass-Marion Carson Hutchinson Carters Brazos Case Grayson Casey Reeves Cass Rusk Cassidy Walker Castle McLennan Castleman (2) McLennan, Gonzales Catney Bell Cattlet Wise Cauthom Schleicher-Sutton Cazey Bandera Cedron Bosque Cercey Leon Chamberlain San Saba-Mills Chambers (3) Shelby, Rusk, Hill-Ellis Chamblee Van Zandt-Henderson Champion Mitchell Chandler Williamson-Milam Chapman Menard Chappell Comanche-Hamilton Childers Zavala Childress McLennan Choates Polk Church Colorado Cidwell Parker Clark (2) Bandera, Bell-Milam Clarks (4) Collin-Denton, Jackson, Lavaca, Harrison Clay Washington Clays Milam Clemens Gonzales Clemons Collin Cleveland Jack Click Lamar Clifton Wilson Cobb (4) Leon, Montague, Ellis-McLennan, Robertson Cobbs Madison Cockerell Stephens-Throckmorton Coe Washington Coggins Llano Cole Cass-Marion Coleman (2) Bastrop, Ellis-McLennan Coles Washington Coley San Jacinto Colley Cass-Marion Collier Red River Colliers Harrison Collin Shackleford Collins (2) Houston, Lamar Conkline Childress Conner Sabine Conners Young Connor Houston Conway Hood Cook Shackleford Cooke Cherokee Cooks (2) Kinney-Uvalde, Smith Cooper (3) Calahan, Gregg, Red River Coopers (2) Van Zandt-Hender-son, Cherokee Copeland Leon-Madison Copelle Sabine-Jasper Coppers Anderson Corey Cass-Marion Corley Milam Cornell Jeff Davis-Culberson Coryell Coryell Cottle Gonzales Counts Parker-Comanche Cowan Williamson Cowsers Smith-Cherokee Cox (4) Bosque, Reeves, Scurry, Limestone-Robertson Coxs (2) Sterling, Jackson Crabb Walker Craddock Lamar Cramers Moore Crasco Colorado Crawford Angelina Crockett Parker-Comanche Cross (4) Somervell, Harrison, Lee, Williamson Crutchers Red River Cryer Navarro Cryers Brown-Mills Culver Matagorda Cummins (3) Colorado, Johnson-Navarro, Lee-Washington Cunningham Cass-Marion Curry (2) Eastland, Kendall Dabbs Polk Dalby Bowie-Red River Daniel Gregg Daniels (2) Anderson, Bowie Darnell Archer Daros Kinney-Uvalde Darrs Bell Darst Guadalupe Davidson (3) Dickens, Burleson, Milam-Lee Davis (12) Jasper, Newton, Panola, Stephens-Young, Houston, Van Zandt, Fannin-Lamar, San Saba, Rusk, Archer, Williamson-Milam, Limestone-Robertson Dawson Presidio Day Bowie Deaton Val Verde Delaney Anderson Dements Cherokee Denis Williamson Denton (4) Kaufman-Tarrent Montague-Wise, Gonzales Dickens Polk Dickey (2) Polk, Houston Dickeys Parker Dickinsons Galveston Diffy Kaufman-Henderson Dikes King Dillard (3) Red River, Walker, Upshur-Camp Dismero Nueces Ditmar Gillespie Dixon (3) Dallas, Leon, Hutchinson Dockum Dickens Dodds Van Zandt Dokegood Garza Dolan Valverde Dollarhide Angelina Donahue (4) Sabine, Newton, Waller, Williamson-Bell Donalson Lampasas Doss Lamar Downey Brewster Doyle Mitchell Dozier (2) Collingsworth, Cooke Drakes (2) Anderson, Tyler Drennan Fannin-Lamar Drews Liberty Dudleys Haskell Duffau Comanche-Bosque Dugan Wilbarger Dulaney Fisher Dunbar Schleicher-Sutton Duncan Comanche-Hamilton Dunn Robertson Duns Delta Dutch Rusk-Nacogdoches Duty Fayette Dyer Williamson-Milam Dyes Bosque Eads Leon Eagans Kaufman-Henderson Eckhardt Williamson Edmoore Smith Elam Bandera Elba Grayson Elijah Washington Elkins Reeves Ellinger Fayette Ellington Cass Elliott (3) Bowie, Cass, Lampasas Ellison Morris Elmir Parker-Comanche Ely Anderson Ennis Scurry Epps Schleicher-Kimble Ernst Brewster Eubanks Callahan Evans (2) Moore, Val Verde Everett (2) Rusk-Nacogdoches, Jasper Evert Valverde Ezell (2) Limestone-Robertson, Kaufman Fain Mills Fairchilds Fort Bend Farmers Montague Faulkenberry Limestone Fields Menard Fielders Val Verde Fitzhugh Collin Flagg Parker Flanigan Rusk-Nacogdoches Fleming Red River Flemming Kimble Floyd Cass Ben Fort Grimes Foss Fort Bend Foster Milam Fosters Delta Foyle Shackleford Franklin Collin Frazier Cass-Marion Frederick Kendall Freemans Lampasas Frizelle Sabine-Jasper Frost Anderson Fuller Bell Gageby Hemphill Gamble Bee Garcitas Jackson Garland Anderson Garners Harris Garrett (2) Wise, Rains Gary Bosque Gaston Freestone Gault Dallas Gazley Bastrop Gentle Collin Gentry Kimble Geronimo Guadalupe Gibbons (2) Nacogdoches, Grimes Gibson (2) Bosque, Erath Giladon Van Zandt Gilbert Wichita Gilleland Travis Gilley Rusk-Cherokee Gilliland Angelina Gillis Marion Gilmore Erath Givins Stephens Glenn (2) Hudspeth, Brewster Glover Bell Goens San Saba Goldman Anderson Goldstens Scurry-Kent Gonzales Stephens Gordon Lamar Gould Dawson Graham (3) Gray, Jasper, Angelina Grays Navarro Greenlee Presidio Greens (3) Fayette, Harris, Bastrop Greer Anderson Griffin (2) Leon, Kinney-Uvalde Griffins Garza Groesbeck Childress-Hardeman Guthrie Howard Hady Fort Bend Hagers Houston Haggerty Harrison Hale Leon Hales Houston Haley Leon Haleys Harrison Halifax Hays Halis Anderson Halls (2) Harris, Brazoria Hamilton Burnet Hardeman Matagorda Hanibal Parker Hardin Concho-McCulloch Hardin-Russell Burnet Hardins Robertson Hardy Rusk-Nacogdoches Hardys Lavaca Harkell Val Verde Harl Milam Harmons Walker Harpers Walker Harral Pecos Harrington Delta Harris (5) Grayson, Menard, Red River-Bowie, McLennan, Smith Harrison Harrison Harrston Burnet Hart Reeves Harveys Colorado Hawkins Gregg Hayden Ellis Haydon Parker Hayes Leon Haynie Grimes-Walker Helser Comal Heltons Gregg Henderson (4) Cass-Marion, Jack, Kerr, Marion Hendon Cherokee Hendricks Milam Henesy Leon Hennings Parker-Comanche Herman (2) Panola, Mason Herndon Collin Herron Red River Hester Lee Hickey Burnet Hickman (2) Polk, Newton Hicks (2) Lamar, Bandera Highsaw Anderson Hildebrandt Jefferson Jim Hill Harrison Hills Smith-Cherokee Hines Leon Hinton San Saba Hitson (2) Stephens, Hudspeth Hitt Smith Hobbs Bastrop Hockley Cooke-Denton Hogan Bosque Hogans Panola Holbrook (2) Bowie, Wood Holder Nolan-Fisher Holeman Freestone-Limestone Holland Crimes Holley Washington Hollis Leon-Madison Hollowman Anderson Holmsley Comanche-Hamilton Holynok Williamson-Milam Hookers Burleson Hooking Burnet Hooks Bowie Hoosier Goliad Hopes Brazos Hord Goliad Hords Coleman-Brown Horsley Van Zandt Horton Gregg Hostella Walker Housen Sabine Howards Crockett Howell Polk Hubbard (2) Bowie, Harris Hudspeth Cherokee Hughes (2) Cass-Marion, Panola Hughs Lampasas Hull Harris Hunt (2) Wise, Jack Hunter Cooke Hurds Robertson Hurger Newton Hurst Travis Iatan Howard-Mitchell Ijams Chambers Isaac (2) Reagan, Comal Ivys Austin Jackson (7) Cass, Dallas, Panola, Bandera, San Saba, Harris, Washington Jacobs (2) Comal, Karnes James Kimble-Mason Jarrell Rusk-Nacogdoches Jarvis Wharton Jasper Wise Jeeter Newton Jenkins Stephens Jimms Williamson Jinks Williamson Johnson (6) Marion, Gregg, Jasper-Sabine, Kimble, Kerr, Llano Johnsons Crockett Jones (11) Bowie, Montague, Kaufman-Henderson, Smith, Camp, Leon, Fayette, Brazos, Polk, Fort Bend, Wharton Cobb Jones Franklin Jordans (2) Washington, Jasper Joumigan Delta Joy (2) Kimble, Williamson Kaiser Kendall Karnack Harrison Kaufman Cass-Marion Kay Moore Keegans Harris Kellers Jackson Kelley (2) Red River, Cass Kellisons Houston Kelly (2) Donley, Concho-McCulloch Kelsey Upshur Kemp San Saba Kennedy Polk Kent (4) Culberson, Donley, Motley, Edwards-Real Kerr (2) Jackson, Washington Keuhns Lavaca Keyes Wood Keys Cherokee Keyser Mason Kicester Wilson Kid Jefferson Kildoogan Fisher Kilgore Goliad Kimball Tyler Kimbau Polk Kinchelo Lampasas King (3) Cass, Polk, Brown-Mills Kingham Nacogdoches Kings Kaufman-Henderson Kinnon Leon Kirby Dallas, Presidio Kitchens Marion Koonce Van Zandt Krisp Kimble Kruse Bowie Lacy (2) Kaufman-Henderson, Sterling Joe Lake Cottle Lambert Hood Landers Cook Landreth Crane Lane Sabine-Jasper Langford Red River Langham Harris Larrisons Cherokee Larue Henderson Law Rusk-Gregg Laxon Bandera Ledbetter Anderson Lee (2) Chambers, Houston Legg Nacogdoches Legion Gillespie-Llano Leon Leon-Madison Lewellyn Wood Lewis Baylor Lillus Wilbarger Lindleys Montgomery Lindville Brazoria-Matagorda Linn Freestone-Leon Lloyd Scurry Loggins Angelina Longs Jackson Lopez Irion Loren Cooke-Denton Louis Jasper Love Bandera Lovelace Ellis-McLennan Lozier Terrell Lucas Atascosa Luce Liberty Lynch (2) Houston, Lampasas Lynn (2) Tarrant, Smith Lytters Bastrop McAffey Rusk McBee Van Zandt McBride Potter McCain Washington McCall Blanco McCampbell San Patricio McClellan Gray McComb Culberson McCoy(2) Dewitt, Red River McCullum Donley-Briscoe McDaniell Anderson McDonald (2) Crosby-Garza, Victoria McDowell (2) Potter, Stephens McFadden Panola McFall Milam McFarland Jackson McGary Walker McGee San Jacinto McGoughlin Henderson McGraw Newton McGrow Tyler McGrue Shelby McInturff Van Zandt McKay Hemphill McKee Terrell McKenzie (2) Gaines-Dawson, Kent McKim Jasper McKinney Bowie McLean Houston McManus Polk McNames San Patricio McNeal Brazoria McNeil Gregg McTennel Karnes Machae Sterling Madden Hudspeth Maddox Sabine Madera Jeff Davis Magill Llano Maha Travis Majors Ellis Mallory Lamar John Mann Hall Manness McLennan Manning Hamilton Manske Williamson Manson Cherokee Mansons Anderson Mantell Kinney-Uvalde Manton Polk Marley San Saba Marshall (3) Mason-Llano, Briscoe, Gillespie Martin (4) Moore, Johnson, Mason, Frio-LaSalle Martinez (2) Mason, Shelby Martins (3) Panola, Dimmitt, Jack-Wise Mason (2) Harris, Williamson-Milam Masons Bandera Massey Gregg Mathis (3) Brazos, Mills, Cherokee Maxey Lamar Maxwell Lamar Mayde Harris Mayfield Washington-Austin Maynard Menard Maysfield Milam Meade Bowie Meakin Panola Meckel Schleicher-Sutton Meddlin Upshur Medley Jeff Davis-Presidio Medlin Young Melton (2) Navarro, Newton Mellons Jasper-Newton Menard Polk Menger Kendall Menzie Menard Mercer (2) Coleman-Brown, Comanche-Hamilton Bert Meriz Crockett Merrill (2) Jeff Davis, Presidio Merrits Hopkins Meuseback Gillespie Meyers Terrell Miers Val Verde Milam (3) Denton, Bowie, Williamson Milby Jackson Milheim Austin Milhiglum Bell Miller (8) Llano, Blanco, Newton, Colorado, Cherokee, Haskell, Culberson-Reeves, San Jacinto Quil Miller Johnson Millers (3) Baylor, Fayette, Goliad Mills (2) Anderson, Limestone-Robertson Minden Rusk-Nacogdoches Mitchel Anderson Mitchell (5) Briscoe, Franklin, LaSalle, Gonzales, Parker-Comanche Mixons Lavaca Monahans Midland Montague Cooke Montgomery Limestone Mooar Scurry Moody(4) Upshur, Gregg, Mason, Harrison Moore (3) Hutchinson, Comanche-Hamilton, Palo Pinto-Jack Moores Newton Morgan (3) Howard-Mitchell, Coryell, Burnet Morgans Polk Morris Franklin Morriss Harrison Moses Galveston Muhle Baylor Mullanox Potter Mullin Brown-Mills Murchison (3) Houston, Bee, Kaufman-Henderson Murphy (3) Shackelford, Bee, Anderson Murray Gonzales Murvaul Panola Musquiz Jeff Davis Myer Grayson Nabors Mills Nail Panola Nails Lee Nash (2) Eastland, Guadalupe Neal Rusk-Nacogdoches Jim Neal Eastland Neils Bosque Nelson Walker Newman King Newton Newton Neyland Jasper Nicholas Newton Nixon Anderson Noble Lamar Nolan Bell Noland Johnson Noltke Upton Nolton Kinney-Uvalde Norton Victoria Oatman Llano Odell Angelina Oglesby Coryell Olivers Denton Oppenheimer Val Verde O'Quinn Fayette Orman Hamilton Osman Val Verde Otis Bastrop Owen Rusk-Nacogdoches Owens (2) Limestone-Robertson, Crockett Paces Polk Page Kinney-Uvalde Panton Lavaca Parker (7) Rusk-Nacogdoches, Medina, Bee, Jasper, Ellis-McLennan, Donley-Briscoe, Rockwall Patrick Parker Patterson Lampasas Patton Freestone-Limestone Payne Panola Peacock (2) Cass, Morris Pemberton Glasscock Pennington (2) Llano, Bell-Milam Perkins Sabine-Jasper Perry Camp Peter (2) Burnet, Houston Peters (3) Red River, Goliad, San Patricio Petit Madison Pevitot Jefferson Pew Coryell Peytons Matagorda Pfeiffer Kerr Pickens Henderson Picket Karnes Pipers Colorado Pirtle Rusk-Nacogdoches Pitts Van Zandt Plowman Bosque Plummer Lipscomb Plummers Limestone-Robertson Pollard Moore Pompea Tyler Pompey Mills-Brown Pope Wood Pophers Angelina Porter Shelby Porters Wharton-Jackson Poteet Fisher Potter (2) Kimble, Comal Powell Howard Prescott Mills Price (3) Collin, DeWitt, Williamson Puckett Wood Pulaski Wilson Pulliam Edwards-Real Purtis Kaufman-Henderson Pyle Brewster Quinlan Kerr Quitman Hudspeth Rabb Fort Bend Rabbs Lee-Washington Ragsdale (2) Lavaca, Cherokee Rainey (2) McLennan, Coryell Rainwater Wood Randolph Guadalupe Random Fort Bend Rankin Upton Ratliff Colorado Rattan Williamson Ray Harrison Rays (2) Smith, Hunt Reagan (2) Rusk-Nacogdoches, Brewster Redgate Colorado Redmond Liberty Reed (2) Burleson, Leon Reeds (2) Matagorda, DeWitt Reese (3) Bell, Newton, Liberty-San Jacinto Reeves Stephens-Young Reinhardts Harris Reiss Robertson Resley Parker-Comanche Reubes McCulloch-San Saba John Rey Potter Reynolds Roberts Rhodes Llano Rice (3) Bowie, Smith, McLennan Richards Jeff Davis-Culberson Richardson (2) Parker-Comanche, Somervell Richland Terrell Riggs (2) Reeves, McLennan Riley Leon-Madison Rinard Travis Ringgolds Leon Ripley Titus Rippy Parker Roark Denton Roberts Motley Robertson (3) Bandera, San Jacinto, Nolan-Cooke Robeson Anderson Robinson (5) Walker, Chambers, Fayette, Hood, Johnson Rochelle Bowie Rogers (2) Wood, Panola Roseborough Harrison Ross Fayette Rowlett Collin-Dallas-Rockwall Rucker Hood Ruiz Frio-LaSalle Russel Collin Russell (2) Tyler, Stephens-Palo Pinto Russett Bowie Rutherford Collin Ryan Burleson Sadler (2) Anderson, Donley Saenger Harris Salem LaSalle Salter (2) Blanco, Donley Sampson Cherokee Sanches Parker Pete Sand Crosby Sanders (5) Dickens-Motley, Freestone-Limestone, Henderson, Lamar, Wood Sanderson Terrell Sanson Polk Santa Anna Atascosa Sawyer Parker-Comanche Saxon Polk Scarborough Erath Schep Mason Schumacher Bosque Scoober Rusk-Nacogdoches Scott (3) Cooke, Crockett, Gillespie Scotts Marion Seals Caldwell Self Freestone-Leon Sewell Harrison Shackleford Cherokee-Smith Shannon Johnson Shaw (3) Lee, McLennan, Parker Shaws(2) Fayette, Mills Shearwood Jasper Sheffield (2) Pecos, Rusk Shepherd Madison Sheppard Washington Shine Bell Shirley Nacogdoches Shores (2) Childress, Cottle Shurley Schleicher-Sutton Sikes Houston Simmons Kendall Simms (2) Lampasas, Matagorda Simpson (2) Leon, San Saba Sims (2) Erath, Harris Singleton Grimes Sisk Harrison Slater (2) Collin, Kaufman-Henderson Slaughter (2) Bell, Travis Sloan Collin Smally Williamson Smith (10) Chambers, DeWitt, Ellis, Guadalupe, Henderson, Leon, Washington, Wilbarger, Williamson, Smith-Hays High Smith Guadalupe Smothers Lavaca Snailum Shackelford Snell Red River Snow Lamar Sorrell Comal Sowells (2) Parker-Comanche, Comanche-Hamilton Sowes Williamson Sparks Burnet Spencer (3) Moore, Presidio, Williamson Spries Bandera Stagg Comanche-Hamilton Stamp Newton Stanard Bandera Stanley (2) Angelina, Grayson Stark Kimble Starks Newton Starrett Leon Steel Kerr Steele (3) Bosque, Robertson, Limestone-Robertson Stephens San Jacinto Steppe Brown-Mills Sterling Sterling Stevens (2) Gillespie, Lamar Stewart Red River Stewarts (2) Denton, Montgomery Stills Anderson SUllwell Brewster Stockard Henderson Stone Mason Stouts Franklin Stovall Angelina Stover Collin Stribling Blanco Strickland Kenney-Uvalde Striker Smith-Rusk Strouds Hood Stuarts Colorado Hulf Stuttlee Jack-Stephens Styes Brazoria Sutherland Jackson Sutton (2) Chambers, Walker Swager Shackelford Tankersly Titus Tarkington San Jacinto Taylor (5) Harris, Jefferson, Lampasas, Smith, Shackelford Tempe Polk Theuvines Tyler Thomas (2) Archer, Cass Thompson (4) Bowie, Harrison, Parker, Walker Thompsons Brazos Thornton [Rustlers] Hall Thouching Tyler Threadgill Mason Throckmorton Collin Thurston Terrell Thut Gray Tidwell Robertson Timmons Panola Tinsley Gonzales Tomlin Leon Tommelson Washington Townsend Cooke Trimmer Bell Trotti Jasper Truillo Oldham Tuttle Panola Underwood Newton Valentine Tom Green-Menard Vanham Gonzales Van Horn Jeff Davis-Presidio Van Zant Somervell Varner Brazoria Veale Young Venchoner Wise Vestal Leon Vince Houston Volkman Menard Wadsworth Matagorda Wagner Bowie Waldrop Kaufman-Henderson Walker (5) Roberts, Presidio, Ellis-Kaufman, Tarrant, Jefferson Walkers Camp Wallace (7) Hamilton, Houston, Irion, Bandera, Johnson, San Saba, Val Verde Waller (2) Travis, Bee Wallis Wharton Walls Wharton Walters Kendall Ward (2) Bowie, Leon Warring Hamilton Warsaw Kaufman Wasson Hudspeth Waters Llano Watson Throckmorton Watts Coleman-Brown Waulege Lee Wayne Walker Weathersby Live Oak Weaver Bowie Webber Red River Webster Cass Weide Mason-Llano Weirs Williamson Wesco Wood-Franklin Whatley Cass Wheeler (3) Coleman, Somervell, Williamson Whiteley Houston Whites (5) Chambers, Walker, Grayson-Collin, Childress, Leon Whitman Burnet Whitmans Fort Bend Whitmore Morris Whitney Ellis Wickson Brazos Wiers Montgomery Wilbarger (2) San Saba-Mills, Travis-Bastrop Wilbum (2) Cooke, Cass-Marion Wilderson Panola Wilds Rusk-Nacogdoches Wilkins Cass Willford Stonewall Williams (8) Bandera, Harris, Cooke-Denton, Polk, McLennan, Jasper, Fayette, Kaufman-Henderson Williamson (2) Gillespie-Blanco, Travis Willis Williamson Willoughby Mills-Brown Wilshire Smith-Rusk Wilson (12) Bell, Bosque, Cooke, Collin, Johnson, Karnes, Kerr, Matagorda, Parker, Sabine, Shelby, Williamson Winans Bandera Winters San Jacinto-Liberty Woodbury Rains Woodfin Shelby Wooten Rusk-Nacogdoches Wordswell Gaines Worser Palo Pinto Wright (2) Jasper, Llano Wrights Walker Yeager Blanco Ygnacio McMulIen Young (3) Bowie, Guadalupe, Red River Youngs Lavaca Zoro Val Verde

Texas streams bearing Christian names

Dan Angelina Eds Bowie French John Llano Georges* (2) Polk, Somervell Jack* (2) Angelina, Bowie Jacks* (3) Hill, Fayette, Hardin-Tyler Jakes (2) Red River, Titus Jerrys San Saba Big Jim Reagan Jims Cass Jocks Roberts Jim John San Saba Talking John Hardeman-Foard Johns* (2) Cass, Delta Jonah Hall-Childress Joshua* Kendall Mack* (2) Anderson, Walker Pats Roberts Steve Van Zandt Tom (3) Comal, King, Motley Long Tom Polk

* May be a family name.

Name & Number Country Angelina Rusk Aurelia Sabine Bonita Potter Caroline Freestone Cathey Bell Clare Newton Elizabeths Denton Gracie Gregg Harriet Denton Henrietta Tarrant Huana Shelby Jenny Eastland Juanita Matagorda Kate Borden Lallah Erath Laureila Polk Lelia Donley Leota Bell Lilly Upshur Betty Logan Coleman Lola Wise Lucy Lampasas Magie Anderson Mariana Wilson Margaret Brewster Marys Parker Little Marys Parker Polly Nacogdoches Queen Williamson Rebecca Comal Rose (2) Smith, Howard Ruby Polk Victoria Montague

Other